Author: designy things

Grids & Guides (Red): A Notebook for Visual Thinkers

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Valentine’s Day approaches. You can’t give them chocolates because they are on a diet. Flowers die so quickly. Tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway? Yeah, right! Why not try Grids & Guides (Red): A Notebook for Visual Thinkers instead? This type of gift says,”I know you are a creative, thoughtful person, who needs to express yourself. Write it down, then share it with me later over cavier and souffles.” Or something like that. Ideal for architects, designers, or anyone who likes to sketch, the 160-page, cloth-wrapped notebook includes eight repeating graph paper patterns (including some new grid designs) and a variety of useful charts covering knot-tying, logic expressions, perspective projection, a world map, and more. $16.95 from Princeton Architectural Press and other book sellers.   Images courtesy Princeton Architectural Press.

Chocolamixture by Nendo

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Japanese design firm Nendo has announced their latest venture into chocolate. Following their recent experiments with chocolate made in different textures and in the form of a paint set, Nendo’s chocolamixture consists of little flask-shaped chocolates that come with five different flavors in miniature-sized test tubes: freeze-dried mango, freeze-dried raspberry, a popping candy that bursts in your mouth, three colored heart-shaped sugar candies, and chocolate puffs. Even the lids of the chocolate flask are made of white chocolate that has been smoked to develop a cork color. As with many of Nendo’s edible delights, these chocolates are unfortunately only available for purchase in Japan.   Photos by Akihiro Yoshida.

Two Brazilian Shoe Brands Collaborate with Iconic Designers

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Move over Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid. The shoe world is drawing more big-name designers to the footwear industry, starting with a collaboration between the famous Brazilian shoe brand Ipanema and the world-renowned designer Philippe Starck. Called Ipanema with STARCK, the Spring/Summer 2016 collection is a re-envisioning of the modern sandal. Offered in four distinct designs in 12 colors each, the collection is both modern, yet comfortable, qualities that do not always go hand-in-hand (or foot-in-foot?) when it comes to shoes. The sandals are made of 30% recycled materials and are 100% recyclable. To achieve Starck’s designs, Ipanema adapted its industrial process to be more manual and artisanal, resulting in a production process employing a proprietary plastique injection technique. Available worldwide, the shoes range from $30-$40. Perhaps not to be outdone by their countrymen, another Brazilian footwear brand, Melissa Shoes, has collaborated with the furniture design duo the Campana Brothers. Inspired by their Baroque furniture collection, the Melissa Barroca x Campana collection are plastic flats that “lend a playful interpretation of Italian Baroque infused with the vibrancy of everyday Brazilian culture,” according to the brand. In celebration of the latest designs, the Campana Brothers have launched an installation Barroca: The Harmony …

Boombotix & Globe Introduce World’s First Bluetooth-Enabled Speaker Skateboard

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Two new Bluetooth-enabled speaker skateboards from the San Francisco-based audio technology maker Boombotix and the Australian board brand Globe were designed to help eliminate the isolation of skating with headphones and let users more easily share their music with others. The GSB Blazer, a mini cruiser board and GSB Pinner, a long board, are outfitted with a custom wireless speaker module that plays continuously for two hours with a full charge and at full volume. At 70% volume, the music lasts for up to six hours or more. The dust, water, and standard-impact resistant boards were engineered to retain their rigidity, while allowing for the audio components. The boards feature a vibration easing system and a high-impact ABS construction. They charge with a 6′ USB cable and work with any Bluetooth-enabled device. A custom 5W amp with an integrated passive radiator lets users feel the bass as they ride. Can speaker-friendly snowboards or surfboards be far behind? $249.95, Blazer; $299.95, Pinner   Images courtesy of Globe.

MAG Stickers for Knife Storage

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There are two ways to store knifes: carefully or dangerously. The careful way keeps them out of reach of children yet accessible enough so that you actually can find the right one for the job. This approach also helps protects the knives from becoming dull or damaged by banging around other things in a drawer. The folks behind MAG Stickers, the Moscow-based AMOD-DOMA Design Studio, hope to offer a new way to store and organize your knives. Made of magnetic vinyl, these stickers attach to cabinets to help optimize kitchen space. The stickers come in different sizes and shapes for various blades, which simply attach to the magnetic surface. Since the adhesive material isn’t permanent, they will not destroy the finish on cabinets when you want to move them, according to the designers. MAG Stickers are on sale at Etsy and come in a set of three knife shapes, a circular shape, and festive Christmas Tree shapes. All images courtesy of AMOD-DOMA.