All posts filed under: Things for Decorating

BirdProject Soap

Published by designy things

I love it when a quiet little object is able to convey an entire story— it’s like product poetry. This is the tale of BirdProject Soap: One day, as it’s foraging for food, a seabird is caught up in a terrible man-made disaster. When it tries to fly out of the sea again, it is coated with oil and is clinging to life. The next day it is found by rescue workers, who gently wash off the black oil and release it back into the wild. The concept for BirdProject began in 2010, when designer and entrepreneur Tippy Tippens moved from Brooklyn to New Orleans to help contribute to the relief efforts after the BP Oil Spill. Intended to be a powerful representation of all of the creatures affected by the disaster, BirdProject is a black, bird-shaped soap that contains a white ceramic bird keepsake—handmade from Louisiana Clay by New Orleans-based artist Brooke Cassady—that will slowly reveal itself over time as the soap washes away. The soaps are made by Emily Manger Davis of Sweet Olive Soaps—a …

Dish Bunny Drying Rack

Published by designy things

You had a bad day. The faster you needed to work, the slower the internet wanted to go. The dog destroyed another pillow and you came home to find her sitting in the middle of a pile of fluff. You turn on the kitchen light and realize you forgot your lunch leftovers in the work fridge. It was pasta bolognese, and it would have been amazing right about now. You are about to scream when you see something that makes everything a little better. It’s a dish rack. A white, wire dish rack that is in the form of a cute little bunny. Aww, that’s better now, isn’t it? Measuring 19.7” wide by 9” deep, the Dish Bunny was designed by Chris Koens. It is available for £27.95 via Pretty Dandy.

The Alarm Dock for the iPhone 5

Published by designy things

Designed by New York City-based industrial designer Jonas Damon for Areaware, the Alarm Dock is made of sustainably harvested, new growth beech wood to mimic the classic bedside alarm clock. Simply download the flip clock app, insert the phone into the dock (the connector can be pulled through so the phone, or iPod, can be charged while in use). Note that this is a simple holder for your phone, and does not come with built-in electronics or speakers. Here is a video of how it works. The Alarm Dock, designed for the thinner profile of the iPhone 5, measures 6.75 x 3.5 x 2.5. It is available in a rainbow of colors for $40 from Areaware.

Light Bulb Magnets

Published by designy things

Along with the Museum of the City of New York’s new textile exhibition “The World of D.D. and Leslie Tillett,” (on display through February 3rd) the museum shop is offering a set of 18 light bulb magnets designed by D.D. and Leslie’s daughter Linnaea Tillett, owner of Brooklyn-based Tillett Lighting. Linnaea, who once served as a juror in a product design competition I run for my day job, has a doctorate in environmental psychology, and is celebrated for her firm’s lighting of public and private interiors, including, most recently, the lighting for FDR Four Freedoms Park on New York City’s Roosevelt Island. Linnaea worked with Tillett in-house designer/illustrator Charlie Brokate, whose black and white drawings appear on the front of each magnet. LEDs, CFLs, and other sources of illumination are joined by the ever-present cell phone, which often doubles as a light in a dark theater. The set of 18 magnets are available for $22 from the shop of the Museum of the City of New York, http://www.mcny.org

D-Torso Animal Puzzles

Published by designy things

These laser-cut, cardboard animal puzzles were developed by Japan’s Aki Co., Ltd. through a 3-D manufacturing technique that allows the material to be divided and cut along three axes and reassembled. These adorable creatures, now available in a range of new color options, are part of a line of 3-D objects including mannequins, packaging, and interior furnishings.