September 30, 2009

LIFE Photo Gallery: 30 Dumb Inventions.

Sometimes "dumb" actually means "terrifying."


Baby Cage, 1937

A nanny supervising a baby suspended in a wire cage attached to the outside of a high tenement block window. The cages were distributed to members of the Chelsea Baby Club in London who have no gardens, or qualms about putting a child in a box dangling over a busy street.

Photo: Reg Speller/Getty Images
Jun 23, 1937


30 Dumb Inventions - Photo Gallery, 30 Pictures - LIFE

(via our ol' chum, Tim)

Full Moon by Sotirios Papadopoulos.

Fun and quite lovely.



A striking credenza, with a photo-realistic, luminous image of the moon printed on its surface.

Coated with ELI (Eco Light Inside), an eco-friendly material developed by the designer, which creates a realistic, glowing effect when the lights go out.

Ships with an accompanying CD of original music designed specifically for this piece.

Limited Edition of 24 pieces.


Generate Design | Full Moon by Sotirios Papadopoulos

girlscantell oven mitts.

Cute. Unique. I like.




Loads more products at Supermarket - girlscantell

September 28, 2009

It's Banned Books Week.

September 26 - October 3, 2009


Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. Click here to see a map of book bans and challenges in the US from 2007 to 2009. People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent. They object to profanity and slang, and protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups--or positive portrayals of homosexuals. Their targets range from books that explore the latest problems to classic and beloved works of American literature.

Banned Books Week

(via down the rabbit hole :: @ainwonderland)

Decor-A-Boards.

A little cutesy, but sweet.




Ready-to-hang Pop Ink Decor-a-Boards are made out of birch veneer over MDF board, manufactured with recycled wood scraps and unused portions of lumbered trees. Small variations in the woodgrain finish are an invetible and charming part of this product, naturally.

French Paper

(via apartment therapy)

Grain Edit's Photo-Lettering Alphabet Blocks, Prints & T-Shirt Giveaway.

I want the blocks.


grain edit :: Photo-Lettering Alphabet Blocks, Prints & T-Shirt Giveaway

September 24, 2009

Seksi Spam Buttons.

They made me chuckle.



Finally, a use for the Internet's 200 billion spam emails! Seksi Spam Buttons are wearable pinback buttons featuring the comically mangled subject lines from porn-site spam.

Buttons raise funds for SIECUS (Sexuality Information & Education Council of the United States) thus creating value and worth from the most worthless of modern blights.


SEKSI SPAM BUTTONS

(via trendcentral, who's 2 for 2 with BB today)

Missed Connections by Sophie Blackall.

Lovely concept and execution.



Paintings drawings and original curiosities by SophieBlackall

(via trendcentral)

September 22, 2009

Wigglebot.

I have no idea where this came from, but it makes me happy.

Wigglebot

UPDATE:
Thanks to our new pal, mogadonia, I can now link to the original entry that has even more wiggles. Thank you!

The actual movie is Devil Girl From Mars, but the animation itself is from the very wonderful darkstarpilot community on livejournal. It's like the film_stills community on LJ, but each post is a sci-fi movie accompanied by a series of animated gifs captured from it. Simple but effective idea, much like threeframes.net as mentioned above.

DRAK STAR - DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS 1954

The Difference Between Art and Design.

Not a fan of the color choices or gradients, but I find the messages really thoughtful and interesting.



The Difference Between Art and Design | Webdesigner Depot

Cubical B-Boy.

I know some kids that live this lifestyle. You know who you are.


Cubical B-Boy by vinylville on Etsy

September 16, 2009

Ninja House.

Love.



Scott C. - Ninja House - Nucleus | Art Gallery and Store


Check out the rest of his stuff here. So good.

Pentagram's War Memorial for the London Science Museum.

With the adulation Pentagram's receives, I always expect to find them mailing it in on a project. I click, then sit back in my chair with my arms folded, like, "Okay, this is it. You're finally going to disappoint me." Yet, they never do. I always find their designs (like that below) thoughtful, beautiful, interesting and inspiring. If history doesn't treat them as a major design force of the late 20th/early 21st century, it will be a shock and a shame.




The wall-mounted war memorial designed by Harry Pearce for the London Science Museum is a reverential and sober tribute to those employees of the Museum that fell in the First and Second World Wars. The plaque is made from a single piece of cast iron layered with typographic interventions that are powerful in their simplicity. Each layer represents a world war with ‘19’ serving as a link between the two sets of dates ‘14-18’ and ‘39-45’. A single cross is cut through both layers.

New Work: War Memorial for the London Science Museum | New at Pentagram | Pentagram

(via @cunabula)

September 15, 2009

Nathalia Ponomareva's origami tea bags.

Normally, I try to track back to the original source, but this thing is flying around the interwebs too fast. Based on how viral the reaction is, someone really needs to produce this prototype for retail pronto.


sub-studio design blog: Nathalia Ponomareva

Calf and Half Creamer.

Hee!


Calf and Half Creamer from FRED AND FRIENDS :: ELSEWARES

September 04, 2009

They Might Be Giants :: Electric Car.

So cute. Features vocals by Robin Goldwasser. From TMBGs new DVD/CD set Here Comes Science.

grain edit's Little Friends of Printmaking interview.

Since Grain Edit is one of my desert island websites (assuming I have wifi there), I was really happy to see that they featured Milwaukee's own Little Friends of Printmaking yesterday. Yaaaay!




What do you guys like best about Milwaukee? Would you ever consider moving?

JW: Well, it sounds like a terrible cliché, but I genuinely fear moving because we’re so accustomed to fresh beer, and incredible cheese and sausage. Did I say incredible? I think I meant phenomenal. An aged Gouda that will make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. It’s too bad because I think the major design capitals don’t share our commitment to dairy.


grain edit :: Little Friends of Printmaking interview

ToilandTrouble Knits and Fiber Art.

I love this shop. With her Labor Day sale, I just got the upcycled t-shirt necklace below for $10. I'm looking forward to getting the cowls for winter, but I just can't bring myself to buy them yet. (Not ready to start mourning summer quite yet.)



ToilandTrouble on Etsy - Knits and Fiber Art - LABOR DAY WEEKEND SALE 20% OFF

The United Steaks Of America.

I'm sorry - it made me laugh. (Sorry, vegetarian friends.)


The United Steaks Of America (SLIDESHOW)

September 03, 2009

2009 Chicago Jazz Festival poster.

I kinda like this year's poster.


This original poster celebrating the 31st Annual Chicago Jazz Festival is from a limited edition of 120 and is signed & numbered by the artist, John Solimine.

Poster Plus - Solimine, Chicago Jazz Fest, 2009