Five Mile Radius (Australian Design Studio) - Upcycled Stools
Diggin’ what these guys & gals at Five Mile Radius are making. These stools are made from old power-line poles. See more of their work here.
Lockset
This came off of an old door in our house (circa 1905). I like the way things used to be made.
Cake (Kalk AP) ebike
I like the direction electric motorcycles are going. These dirt bikes out of Sweden go about 40mph and can run for about 3hrs on a full charge. More here.
Anti-Poaching (AP) bikes allow for stealthy enforcement
Bee Bricks
Fun idea. I’d really like to design or see a whole structure made of these. Next…a way to access the honeycomb (maybe on the inside?). More here.
Flip Furniture by Mina Industrial Design
Love this furniture/toy exploration by Mina Kasirifar (student) at San Francisco State University. More on her site here.
Graphic Art (Prague)
“We created the logo of Kunsthalle Praha, this new art institution at Klárov, five years before its opening, and the Kunst font became the basis and an integral part of the future visual style of the orientation system and exhibitions. This font, designed by Mark Pistora, is based on a sketch by German typographer Jan Tschichold from 1930, the same time when the building of the former Zenger Transformer Substation was built.”
-Studio Najbrt
I love how backwards and cyclical this whole project seems - it’s a bit punk rock. Check out more by these impressive designers here.
Dekay’s Craft
Impressive kinetic storage systems that have satisfying clicks, swooshes and mmP! sounds when things are opened and closed. Here are plenty of examples - if you like this sort of thing.
Sunglasses made from bone, antler and wood (Inuit)
I ran across these on Core77 (Industrial Design site) which lead me to The Canadian Museum of History. Love the simplicity and can imagine the process which lead to the carving of these. Protect your eyes.
Research & Development
This is one of my favorite parts of the design process.
Flip 90
Interesting take on the camper. More here.
Quick Bend Design - Kelton Osborn (Artist/Architect)
Good friend, Kelton Osborn, was commissioned to enlarge one of his wall sculptures and asked if I could help-out with fabrication. I got started today on the body and Hayden is slated to work with me Friday to weld the truss and top-middle panel out of steel. I’ll include more process pics as we push fwd. Until then, here’s more about Kelton and QuickBend.
Oru Kayaks (foldable boats)
Ok, full disclosure, the closest we’ve gotten to taking one of these out so far is, we’ve set one up (7mins.) in our friends’ living room and took turns sitting in it. Super smart design, ultra light weight and easily transportable. We’re hoping to get one in the near future. Read more about these cool origami boats here.
Instruments and other Retro Devices by LOVE HULTÉN
Knobs, toggle switches and dials, Love Hultén successfully pays lots of homage to Dieter Rams minimalist industrial designs of the 50s-80s.
Tom Sachs - Always Be Knolling
I’ve been doing a version of this since I was a kid. Tom Sachs put this together a while ago, it’s very Wes Anderson watch video.
Bionic Limbs - MIT
These prothetics use magnets and sensors to pick-up on the slightest cues from muscle tissues to manipulate artificial limbs. Read more and/or watch the 2 min. animated video showing how this could work with feet, hands and spinal injuries.
Milking Stool
Out of context these seats look ridiculous, but in the realm of a dairy farm, a hyper-practical and simple solution. Notice the strap that secures the stool to the seat of the pants. The milker sits or stands without having to put the buckets down and grab the stool, also, one-legged saved on weight. This insight was pointed out:
“….a farmer told us that a seat like this was great in case the cow fell over or started walking sideways onto the milker. All they had to do was spin on the one point and could quickly stand up and move away, taking the seat with them (w/o hands), possibly avoiding injury from the cow tipping over, or stomping on them, as well as leaving the ground clear for the cow's safety."
Pedaling through California’s Redwoods - Rail Bikes
This seems like a fun way to re-use abandoned train lines, get a little exercise in a low impact way and absorb a little nature. Also feels a touch science-fictiony. Read more.
Microlino
The Swiss Microlino is a tiny electric car that’s just gone into production. It gets up to 200 miles on a full charge and is expected to sell for around $14K US. A fleet of these in the right place would be very fun, especially on an island full of clowns.
OzAutogate - Australia
Very smart idea. Check out how it works here.
