Posts | | Page 20

Latest Posts

Meet the Food Cycler: The First Residential Composting Appliance

Published by designy things

Most food waste can be turned into healthy compost for your garden or potted plants, but urban dwellers don’t have an easy way to compost their own waste into a nutrient-rich soil supplement without an outdoor composting container. Or, perhaps they do have the outdoor space, but other issues prevent them from composting outside (attracting hungry bears or violating local ordinances, for example). Food Cycle Science, the Canadian producers of organic food waste recycling solutions for the foodservice industry, offers an interesting new solution with the launch of the Food Cycler:Home, the first residential composting appliance. The 1 cubic meter size unit is able to operate anywhere there is an electrical outlet, and can be incorporated into the home from as early as the design phase. Food Cycle Science hopes the Food Cycler will help reduce the 475 pounds of food waste each person creates every year.

The Food Cycler eliminates the use of drains, venting, or additives used in traditional composting process and is claimed to be completely odorless, noiseless, and cost-effective. Through a simple four step process, food (cooked or uncooked) is collected in the device’s removable basket and then grinded and dehydrated to produce organic material in as little as three hours. The manufacturer is currently crowdfunding on indiegogo. To get one of the first units, you must make a donation of $399 Canadian (approximately $358 US). If you aren’t sure yet if you want to be an early adopter, check out the site just to see the video of how it works — it’s really an interesting new type of residential appliance.

All images courtesy Food Cycle Science.

Winnie the Pooh Tables for Disney by Nendo

Published by designy things

The Japanese design firm Nendo has designed a new table collection based on Winnie the Pooh and friends exclusively for Walt Disney Japan. In a nod to Pooh’s home in the Hundred Acre Wood, the tables are made of natural maple and come in sizes and silhouettes that recall characters including Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, and Piglet. Colored knit bands cover different parts of the tables to subtly suggest specific traits of the characters. The Eeyore table, for example, has a a gray band and sloped edge to indicate his perpetually depressed attitude, while the three-legged Tigger table has a central foot covered in a knit orange edge to indicate that lovable (and sometimes annoying) character’s bouncy tail. Pooh’s coffee table has a burgundy shelf that resemble the too-small shirt that he infamously wears sans pants.

Drawing by Nendo of Winnie the Pooh collection.

Pooh table.

Tigger table.

Detail of Tigger table.

Eeyore table.

Eeyore table detail.

Kanga & Roo table.

Rabbit table.

All images © Disney

Disruptus Game

Published by designy things

Disruptus is a new award-winning game from U.S.-based Funnybone Toys that combines function and fun with a minimal design. The game, which includes cards, a die, and a small hourglass timer, asks players to look at objects and ideas and use different approaches to innovate. The game draws inspiration from the practice of ‘disruptive thinking’, a powerful way to innovate that has been used by corporations and designers to create ideas and objects like digital music, camera phones, and car-sharing programs. It’s a fun gift for designers, students, teachers, or anyone that likes coming up with better ways of doing things. Best of all, it does it while taking you off the electronic grid, even if for just a little while. $24.99. Ages 10 to 99.

All images courtesy of Funnybone Toys.

C&C Bottle Cutter Helps DIYers Upcycle Bottles

Published by designy things

If it meets its Kickstarter campaign goal of £6,000, the C&C Bottle Cutter will soon have every DIYer in the country transforming their used bottles into glasses, jars, candleholders, light pendants, and anything else they can imagine. Made of laser-cut plywood, the cutter features a custom-made cutter and screws that can be adjusted to numerous positions, allowing it to cut virtually any size bottle.

The cutter works in three easy steps. First, users adjust the cutter to the exact position desired and slowly rotate the bottle to make a score line. Then, thermal shock is used to split the bottle by slowly pouring boiling water on the score line, then slowly pouring ice-cold water. Once the bottle is split, the edges can be smoothed with the sand paper that is provided. When the cutter is not in use, it is beautiful enough to double as a bottle holder. If you want to learn more or donate, check out their Kickstarter page.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/85335189″>C&C The Bottle Cutter</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user22818991″>bottlecutter</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>

All images courtesy of C&C.

Tattyoo Temporary Art Tattoos

Published by designy things

Ever wonder what kind of tattoos sexy robots will wear in the future? Look no further, because the Swiss brand Tattyoo has launched five new designs that will give you a pretty good idea.

Designed by Mélanie Raetz and Simone Korbati, the new temporary tatts range from a lacy, feminine butterfly and faux diamond designs to digital abstractions that would not look out of place on the wrist of an alien race. And at about six euros a pop, they are an affordable (and painless) way to try out a modern design before committing to something a lot more permanent.

Embroidered Creations by Harp & Thistle Stitchery

Published by designy things

Valentine’s Day Avocado Love Necklace.

To pass the inevitable downtime during auditions, rehearsals, or shoots, New York City-based actor/singer Erin Flanagan Lind would make sure to bring along punch needle projects to work on. Her work started to get fans among her fellow cast mates. “They would tell me I should sell them, so three years ago I took their advice and opened up shop on Etsy.” Her husband Corey photographs all of the merchandise and ships the items.

Lind’s mother introduced her to punch needle embroidery over six years ago. Punch needle, or needle punch, is an ancient rug-hooking technique shrunken down onto a much smaller scale and uses a special twice-threaded hollow needle, embroidery floss, and weaver’s cloth. Each piece is designed, and each tiny loop is meticulously hand-punched by Lind. Her punchneedle creations have been featured on The Martha Stewart Show, marthastewart.com, Apartment Therapy, Apartment Therapy’s Re-Nest, Plus Model Magazine, Going Home to Roost, and on Etsy’s Front Page.

We asked Lind a few questions about her embroidery.

How long does a piece typically take to complete?

Good question. Depends upon the piece. Take for example this piece.

Honeycomb Hexagon Embroidery Hoop Wall Art

The embroidery part itself probably only takes 20 to 30 minutes (I’ve gotten extremely fast over the years) — but I stain the embroidery hoops which is weirdly more time consuming than it sounds and my husband and I hand dye the weaver’s cloth green. In a lot of my listings I indicate how long the embroidery itself takes.

This piece takes about 2 1/2 hours:

Snowy Pine Tree Christmas Wall Hanging.

This one took about 4 hours:

This one took about 12 hours:

This one took about 40 hours:

What has been the most challenging piece to date?

Without a doubt, the Lady and the Unicorn was the most challenging, and also one of the most fun.

What inspires you?

I really love holidays, especially Halloween and Christmas — and this form of embroidery really lends itself to great holiday decor. I try to always have a lot of unique pieces listed for whichever holiday is just around the corner. For example, right now I’m working on building up my Valentine’s Day inventory, focusing on unique pieces for both him and her.

I am also really inspired by nature and one item from nature in particular, the avocado. I love them. First of all, they are delicious, and have healthy fats, Folic acid, Fiber, Potassium, and Vitamin E. I also love them because they compliment the punchneedle technique so much, with the adjustable needle making such a realistic pit. Mostly, they are just plain quirky and fun.