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The shoes that came back from the future.
2007-03-06 15:54:00
During the late eighties when car business was booming, car manufacturer Volvo (then Swedish, now owned by Ford) made experiments to see if any other production method could out-perform the age-old assembly line. In Uddevalla, not far from Volvo's home turf in Gothenburg, a revolutionary new factory was built. Here, the assembly line was replaced with separate work shops manned by teams of skilled and to an extent self-governing groups of workers. Everything in this cutting edge factory of the future was given a work-over by designers and experts in ergonomics and production techniques. In cooperation with the old and respected Docksta Skofabrik they even designed and produced a special shoe for the workers to wear. The shoe was called Dovo, possibly from combining the first two letters of Docksta and Volvo. The factory was short-lived, however. As the car industry went into less profitable times in the early nineties, the experimental plant was shut down in 1993 after only six yea...
More About: Shoes , Future , Hat , The Future , Back

Charlie Brown's pathetic Christmas tree.
2007-03-06 15:54:00
Good grief. Now you can have a pathetic Chris t mas , too. Just get the Charlie Brown tree from Urban Outfitters and you're all set. USD 24:-. Via Design Boom.

Non-permanent barcode tattoo for the 90's nostalgic.
2007-03-06 15:54:00
These temporary tattoos were designed by barcode artist Scott Blake and are sold in sixpacks with six different barcodes and phrases; SLAVE, HUMAN, TATTOO, PRODUCT, FOR SALE and SCAN ME. Just pick your fav to make a 24 hour statement, 'cause that's about how long they'll last. USD 5:- at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
More About: Tattoo , Code , Erma , Nostalgic , Arco

His and hers ball and chain handcuff key rings.
2007-03-06 15:54:00
I got this in an e-mail from the people on Firebox and even though I'm very much aware they just want to peddle their merch, these key rings just were too much fun to pass up. A perfect gift for that certain Valentine. GBP 7:95 (almost USD 16:-) on Firebox. I have already ordered mine, but cheeez, postage and shipping really hurt at GBP 20:- (that's almost 40:- US Dollars for a 16 buck product!).
More About: Ring , Rings , Hers , Hand , Ball

Interlocking bookcase system.
2007-03-06 15:54:00
Danish designers Copenhagen-i showed this rather ingenious shelving system called Shelwing at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. The tin shelves and legs interlock making it possible to build a bookcase several stories high without much effort. Back at the office, I had a few moments to browse their promotional CD, and found two other designs I would like to share: The Mamba rug/magazine holder is made of aluminum and covered with a wool rug. Available in gray, green and red, and this beautiful stainless steel table that would sit just right in the garden if I had one.
More About: System , Inter , Book , Case , King

An astronaut's pictures...
2007-03-06 15:54:00
This, and the pictures after the link, are supposedly taken by Swedish (oh, yes) astronaut Christer Fuglesang during his time on the space shuttle and the ISS recently. Some of the the pictures i can believe are taken from the altitude of the ISS, but these wonderful shots of the night lit Earth seem to have been taken at a much greater distance from the Earth than the ISS orbit. I may be wrong, I'm far from an astronomer, but the pictures are so awesome I wanted to post them anyway. Follow the links to larger (and heavier) shots of The North Pole | Africa | Asia | Australia | Europe and North America.
More About: Pictures , Picture , Astron , Tron , Astro

The cactus coat stand.
2007-03-06 15:54:00
I made the rounds at the 2007 Stockholm Furniture Fair this weekend, and although there was not all that much new (to me) and exciting stuff, I found some gems that I want to share with you over the next few days. Today's fair find is the Wild Bill coat hanger from Tveit & Tornøe, a k a Norwegian design duo Atle Tveit and Lars Tornøe. The Wild Bill coat stand is still a concept, but if enough of us show our interest, it could very well be produced. I think it deserves to be. What do you think?
More About: Cactus , Stand

Take a walk on the wild side.
2007-03-06 15:54:00
Now this may seem a bit tacky, but I could not resist, especially since I've posted so many defferent rugs before (see links below). The tiger rug is 100 percent artificial, and no tigers were killed or hurt in the process of its manufacture. From Melta.se webshop for SEK 599:- (approx. USD 85:-). Cardboard box doormat, bear rug, pawprint rug, bear doormat, rug with integrated pillow, rabbit pawprint rug, british stamp rug, and the unfortunate yeti .
More About: Take , Wild , Side , Walk

If children would have designed your dining set.
2007-03-06 15:54:00
I cant help it. I love these chairs and the table. I found them on Lucy Merchant's website today. They are called "Mommy's Chair" and since there's no story provided on the site, I can't help but think that they were drawn by children and produced for the fun of it. Made from recycled steel and powder coated, they can be used both indoors and outdoors.
More About: Design , Children , Signed , Desi , Your

Charlie Brown T-shirt.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
A clothing icon, no doubt. The Charlie Brown T-shirt is USD 24:- at The Prank Place web shop.
More About: Shirt , T-Shirt , Arli

How many calories have you eaten today?
2007-03-06 15:53:00
With this idea for chocolate bar design, you'll always know how much you've indulged yourself. Or, alternatively, you can pick a piece that matches your daily allowance of sweets. From Italian ADF (Agencia per il Disegno & la Funzione).
More About: Today , Have , How Many , Calor , Calories

Fabulous urinal art.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
These are probably the only pieces of art you can pee on with the blessing of the artist. Well, at least since Andy Warhol is departed and he just let a select few pee on his art (and only to make it into art). These are the mind bending flower urinals by Clark Sorensen. But, starting at USD 6,500:-, not everyone gets to relieve themselves in one of these. Are you one of the lucky few?

Screwdriver lollie.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
From the crazy and fun crative types at Atypyk. The classic screwdriver handle as a lolipop. This was a while back, but we tried to resist and finally failed. There's np mention of what flavor is it though.
More About: Drive , Driver , River , Screw , Crew

Earthworm bracelet.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
A silver earthworm. How chic. USD 220:- on Bittersweet New York. Via Shawn on Everything and Nothing, who thinks she may be drawn to this bracelet because she liked to play in the mud as a child. I like it because it's cool. And beacuse it must be a great conversation starter. "What's that on your wrist?""Oh, this? It's an earthworm." You take it from there.
More About: Earth , Worm , Bracelet

The lamp lamp.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
No if's or but's. I want this lightbulb. From 100% via Seihin World.
More About: Lamp

Little girl wellies.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
Possibly the cutest little girl rubber boots you've ever seen.
More About: Girl , Little , Ellie , Lies , Little Girl

Monumental ceramic pixel art.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
These are some of the monumental pixel art by Swedish artist Maria Ängquist Klyvare (Swedish only, but look at the pictures!). Klyvare has worked with mosaics since the eighties, and her artwork seems to get larger and larger. Here are three of her amazing pieces in ceramic tiles. There are several more on the site.
More About: Mental , Men , Monumental , Menta , Pixel

Balcony flower pot by Rephorm.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
The Steckling flower pot from Rephorm. What a clever way to attach a flower pot to the railing of a balcony. And what a relief to get rid of those tub shaped pots we've seen so far. Thank you! Via Design Spotter.
More About: Flower , Lower , Lowe , Flow

The Buddington bear rug.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
We seem to be finding a lot of strange and cool rugs nowadays. Here's the Buddington bear rug, depicting a poor bear that lost to the fierce hunter, a more dangerous predator than himself. From Loyal Loot and designed for Cabin.
More About: Bear

Roughing it... the granite sink.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
Why not, once you've decided to go for the rough style. From Stone Forest.
More About: The G , Rani

Sausage and cheese sponges.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
What can I say. The madmen and -women at Atypyk have done it again. Crazy as ever. Fun as ever. Gotta love it.
More About: Pong , Cheese , Sausage , Usage , Sage

Push pin lamp.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
I've loved these pushpins ever since I discovered them years and years ago. They were so much more fun than the thumbtacks I knew before. I even at one time bought a jumbo pushpin from the Think Big store in New York. It must have been the latter part of the eighties, possibly '87 or '88. Anyway, I remember I stayed late at the office to place the call (this was before the internet) and I ordered a couple of giant crayons, a toothbrush, a tennis racket, the pushpin and a giant Ticonderoga #1388-2 soft, which I still have in my possession along with the pushpin. All the stuff was used in an ads for a local chain of burger joints we were working for at the time. The Push Pin Lamp is USD 19:99 on Hot Gadget.

The Revolver firepit.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
Possibly the best looking firepit I've seen so far. I like clean straight designs. Design that's above and beyond mere decoration. From Bodie & Fou and it's GBP 219:- (approx. USD 412:-). Who said beauty came cheap?
More About: Fire , Evolve

Sugar lump holder.
2007-03-06 15:53:00
Ever thought the sugar lumps in the sugar bowl looked awfully disorganised? Thought so. Here's the answer. The Sugar Lump Hold er arranges the sugar lumps in neat rows, three by three, nine in all. There's nothing random here. Everything very tidy. In order. There must be order. If not, there's chaos. Anarchy even. That's bad. Order is good. Ordnung. Straight ranks and everybody accounted for. The SLH is designed by Kathleen Hills (funny, we thought there must be a German involved somewhere) and available at Bodie & Fou for a measly GBP 15:- (that's about USD 28:- for eveybody across the pond). Comes with Tate & Lyle sugar lumps pre-installed. PS. Browsing further I found these beautiful tounge-in-cheek concrete candlesticks by one of my favourite designers, Tove Adman, on the Bodie & Fou website.

Clever lids give standard jars a second life.
2007-03-06 15:52:00
The Cas Pots is a collection of lids suitable for standard food industry pots, like the ones in which you buy jam, marmalade, condiments, etc. Each lid has its specific function; like coffee mug, citrus press and spout, but they are all aimed at giving jars a second lease on life. Designed by Bezou & Jourdy. From Industreal.
More About: Life , Second Life , Standard , Second , Anda

Lego-like planters.
2007-03-06 15:52:00
The Nello Il Matto planters from Italian firm Serralunga (famous for those outsized polyethylene planters also by Corrado Thibaldi) gives a playful wink to Lego , and they would look cool on any terrace or in any garden. They are available in four colors and with three, two or one pot. Combines like Legos. Design Corrado Thibaldi, they sell for EUR 55:- (one pot), EUR 84:- (two pots) and EUR 102:- (three pots) That is USD 70:-, 108:- and 131:- respectively.
More About: Plan , Like , Plant

The champagne case.
2007-03-06 15:52:00
Our visit to the Normann showroom revealed the Trio Bike in the flesh, as it were, but also one other interesting idea. The case above is no-doubt merely a promo thing, but pretty fun just the same, if not for anything else, it would make a nice gift for the champagne inclined. The Veuve Cliquot champagne carrying case with cooler will double as a purse when the bubbly is all gone.
More About: Champagne , Case , Cham , Champ

The Fox Hotel.
2007-03-06 15:52:00
If you've read Smart Stuff recently, you know we're in wonderful Copenhagen to see some design classics (the Poul Kjærholm exhibition at the Louisiana art museum), but also to se some new stuff, like the Normann showroom we posted on at Smart Stuff. We're staying in the Hotel Fox in central Copenhagen, a place brimming with contemporary art and design, where every room is different and designed by young designers from all over the world. Above are our pictures of the lobby area and the outside roof terrace at Fox Hotel.

Fork bottle opener.
2007-03-06 15:52:00
What can I say, besides thait I like it, and that it could come in handy on occasion. Stainless steel. USD 14:- on Hot Flamingo. Via OMGiwantit.
More About: Open , Bottle , Pene

Putting the pop back in mopping.
2007-03-06 15:52:00
This is fun. Swedish designer Marie-Louise Gustafsson has this idea for easier and more fun mopping of your floors. Flipflops with cleaning cloth soles. Just dip your feet in the tub and skate around the place for a while.
More About: Pop , Back , Putting , Ping