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#FYI: Canvas Furniture and other cool shit…

one small seed — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:53:52 +0000

At one small seed we believe in the power of unique ideas and novel concepts. Ranging from technology, design, art and music, we’ve compiled a collection of crazy, fascinating, funny and bizarre findings that we think would be of interest to you. Here are some of our favourite finds this past week. Stay tuned for weekly material…

Coca-Cola ® Remix Bottle

Image: dailybri.com

Image: mumbrella.asia.com

Advertising extraordinaire OgilvyAction has teamed up with Coca-Cola and Japanese DJ-inventor Jun Fujiwara on a social music project to bring Coca-Cola’s ‘Open Happiness’ message to life. The campaign revolves around capturing everyday sounds from a particular time and place, and mixing them into a creative track that can be shared with people to spread happiness. The recordings are available as ringtones and music videos on Youtube.

The project began in Tokyo and locals have been thrilled at the mixes that have been taped from their ordinary sounds. The Coca-Cola ® Remix Bottle campaign is a clever way to position Coca-Cola as a social brand for everyone.

Obake Elastic Touchscreen

Obake: interactions with a 2.5D elastic display from Dhairya Dand on Vimeo.

Image: news.discovery.com

Image: facebook.com

Creatives at MIT’s Media Lab have invented an interactive screen that can be stretched, poked, and pinched. Designed by Dhairya Dand and Rob Hemsley, the display is built from flexible rubber sheets that rest on a set of actuators (a motor variation that can move and control mechanisms and systems). Laid over all of this tech is a camera that projects images onto the display sheet, measures how far the screen is stretched and how deep it is poked.

Dand and Hemsley have named their attention-grabbing design Obake, and have explained the display aims to create a truly 3D experience. The 3D movie-goers see in cinema theatres is an optical illusion, whereas Obake is a tangible display that allows users to have an actual sensory experience through touch and interaction. If the project is available for sale, then maybe the next time you see something annoying on your screen you can poke it, or better yet – pinch it.

Volkswagen iBeetle

Image: digtaltrends.com

Apple fans have excitedly whispered about an iCar for a while now, and although Beetles are an unlikely choice, Apple has collaborated with the German car-makers to produce a motor vehicle that is fully compatible with the iPhone. The car includes an iPhone docking port that syncs wirelessly with its dashboard unlock various features via the iBeetle app. This means that when the iPhone is connected to the car Facebook and SMS messages can be read aloud, and iTunes can be synced to blast some of your favourite tunes. Spotify users will be pleased to know that the app also allows drivers to switch channels between Spotify and iTunes.

Volkswagen and Apple will release the iBeetle Coupe and the iBeetle Convertible. Both cars are designed with Apple’s modern tones and simplistic motif. The exterior and interior are shaded in greys, silvers, and charcoals, but the leather sport seats of the car add a neat flair with tailored cream seams. The iBeetle will be ready to zoom through streets in 2014.

Canvas Furniture

Image: thisiscolossal.com

Canvas furniture is the perfect option for people who struggle to fit furniture into their cramped quarters. Designed by spatial designer Naoki Ono, co-founder of Tokyo-based YOY design studio, Canvas is a collection of two-dimensional furniture that is made from wood, aluminum and stretched elastic canvas that can be hung flat on a wall. Launched at Milan Design Week 2013, each canvas is printed with an image of the furniture it represents so you can add some décor to any bland walls. When you’re in need of an extra chair just take it down from its perch, prop it against the wall and you’ll have a new chair. The chairs won’t last for long periods of time, but if you’re in need of a temporary solution to a spatial dilemma, these clever pieces can give some help.

Animals Carved from Crayons and Other Miniature Pencil Works by Diem Chau

Image: thisiscolossal.com

Artists use various tools and media to create their works, but Diem Chau has re-created her tools into works of art. The Seattle-based artist carves detailed portraits of animals and people from crayon and graphite pencil leads in spectacularly miniature works. Chau is Vietnamese by origin but her family arrived in America s refugees escaping from Vietnam in 1986. She has since exhibited her work in Miami, LA, New York, Seattle and Chicago. You can see more of her tiny works on her blog.

Bloom Bookshelf

Image: dezeen.com

Image: psfk.com

Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay – co-founders of UK-based design brand Raw Edges – have created a bookshelf inspired by a weaving loom called Bloom. The simple design is crafted from a wooden border that frames a series of red threads. Each thread is clipped with a black stopper that can be moved up and down to position books at different heights. The bookcase was commissioned by the British Council and debuted at Milan Design Week 2013. The unique interior piece draws attraction to both the inventiveness of the structure as well as the books it showcases. With electronics gaining interest and pace, it’s easy for books to be lost in the fray, but this bookshelf helps to put book back into the spotlight.

Hublot x Ferrari Watch

Image: highsnobiety.com

Hublot has paid homage to Ferrari’s new supercar ‘LaFerrari’ with a watch dedicated to one of the champions of the motor industry. The MP-05 ‘LaFerrari’ was unveiled at Baselworld and the futuristic design is a definite nod to Ferrari with the watch being modeled to replicate a Ferrari engine. The wrist-piece is not just a cool accessory, it is also a historical record setter with its 50-day power reserve. The interface might seem complicated to look at in terms of practically tell the time, but there’s no doubt that the conceptual design will turn heads.

Underground Rail Public Park

Image: telegraph.co.uk

Derelict revival projects are the new rage with designers increasingly attempting to renew forgotten corners of cities and transform them into social spaces. Pop Down park is an attempt to re-create London’s abandoned network of tunnels into a public green space. People can access the park via street level entries and exists to the underground rail. A mushroom garden will also be planted along the tunnel pathways with sunlight being filtered through sculptural glass-fiber mushrooms located at street level. The mushrooms will create an agricultural space for the green concept and will also be used as food in pop-up restaurants and cafes called ‘Funghi’ that will appear at the entrance of the installation.

McDonalds French Fries Holder

Image: ufunk.com

The modern world is a busy rush where almost everything we do is on the go. Finding time to eat in between hurrying to get to places often leads people to munch their food while driving. Eating while driving can be a messy experience and showing up to a meeting or party with grease on your clothing is not the best start to your planned event. Luckily for the Japanese, McDonald’s Japan has created a French fries holder that prevents your chips from falling into your lap. The handy little cup fits snugly into the cup holder of a car or the water bottle grip of a bicycle, so that cyclists and drivers can enjoy their snack with no hassle.

The useful holder is available in Japan and comes free with any meal that is ordered with a large serving of crispy, salty potato goodness. Let’s see if McDonald’s will expand their nifty fast-food gadget beyond Japanese borders.

YAKKAY Bike Helmets

Image: lostateminor.com

Bike helmets aren’t the most attractive accessory, but YAKKAY has designed a helmet that is both stylish and safe. The hat is a helmet in disguise, and while it appears to be another headwear piece to spruce up your look, the helmet has been tested according to international safety regulations. The cool designs come in an array of colours with various textures and patterns to meet your style needs. Thanks to YAKKAY being safe no longer has to pose a hazard to your wardrobe.

Images: thisiscolossal.com, psfk.com, ufunk.com, news.discovery.com, telegraph.co.uk, highsnobiety.com, digtaltrends.com, facebook.com, dailybri.com, mumbrella.asia.com, digitaltrends.com, highsnobiety.com, lostateminor.com

#FYI: Cat monsters and other cool shit…

one small seed — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:15:09 +0000

Stealth Wear By Adam Harvey

Image: milcentric.com

America has been making waves with its policy to implement unmanned aerial vehicles – more commonly known as ‘drones’ – in an effort to gain as much information as possible to protect their borders from security threats. Privacy activists have protested the strategy, claiming drones are an invasion of privacy.

Image: primitivelondon.co.uk

Adam Harvey has joined the fight with his innovative range of ‘anti-drone’ garments. The pieces are designed with a metal-based fabric that protects wearers against thermal imaging surveillance – a technology widely used by UAVs/drones. The enhanced garments are lightweight, breathable, and safe to wear. Human heat signatures are protected from surveillance by the garment’s metal fibers which reflect the heat generated by wearers.

Depeche Mode x Hublot Watch

Image: hypebeast.com

Britain’s renowned alternative rockers Depeche Mode have collaborated with celebrated Swiss watchmaker Hublot to create a special edition timepiece called ‘Big Bang’ for charity: water. 250 models of the watch have been produced in an effort to raise funds to help charity: water provide 800 million people with clean drinking water. The watch is designed with a black chronograph with stud detailing around the bezel, and finished with a matching leather band.

LCD Soundsystem: Shut Up and Play the Hits

Trailer from Pulse Films on Vimeo.

Image: facebook.com

After 10 years of rocking the world, LCD Soundsytem dismantled their illustrious band in 2011. Their final concert took place in New York’s finest, Madison Square Garden, and was hailed as a ‘marvel of pure craft’. Shut Up and Play the Hits, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, is a film that captures the show, the emotions leading up to the final moment, and what it means to imagine the end of an era.

Menacing Cat Monsters

Image: lostateminor.com

Cats have been viral material on the Internet since the dawn of the word ‘meme’. Generally, the fluffy animals make their way into inboxes, instant messages or Facebook ‘walls’ when they flush toilets, change tv channels or microwave food. Cute may be synonymous with the online cat, but the menacing cat monster is a new way of looking at the loving pets.

Nosaj Thing – ‘Eclipse/Blue’

Image: Screenshot

Against a darkened backdrop, Nosaj Thing spins out his tunes in a magical light display. The eclipsed background does nothing to dim the electric wash of light that creates a glowing gymnastic dance piece, while tracing a kaleidoscope of hypnotic patterns. Nosaj Thing is a Los Angeles-based producer who has tapped out beats for artists like Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, and Trinidad James to name a few.

Shwood 2013 Stone Collection

The Stone Collection by Shwood from Shwood Eyewear on Vimeo.

Image: hypebeast.com

Shwood is well-known for their sophisticated wooden eyewear frames, but the notable frame designers have evolved their craft. Their 2013 Stone Collection sees Shwood delving deeper into naturally produced eye fashions by using millimeter-thick slices of slate stone to build their latest frames. The label collaborated with a German engineering firm to enhance the precision and execution of their designs. Each pair of frames is hand-crafted in Shwood’s home, Portland, Oregan, and is accompanied by 100% UVA/UVB protection Carl Zeiss lenses imported from Italy.

Images: lostateminor.com, milcentric.com, primitivelondon.co.uk, hypebeast.com, facebook.com

Words: Ra’eesa Pather