COOL HUNTING

For World Music, International beats and electronica, there’s no better place online to find what you’re looking for than Dusty Groove. This is the place to turn to for hard-to-find, one-of-a-kind recordings that places like Tower and Virgin never carry. The one problem is that you generally can’t preview tracks, but each CD or LP has a great description and review so you’re not...

Thrift Deluxe is a contemporary and non-commercial DIY online resource that provides simple directions for inexpensive projects to make your own lamps, vases, bowls, belts, and more. I wish they had more projects, but a few of the ones they do have are very good. They've got a little key ranking projects by cost, time, and difficulty....

It was a pleasure to look through intoto's line of innovative and creatively designed products. A NYC based husband and wife team working under the philosophy that "everything communicates". They do furniture, accessories, dinnerware, and have a strong background in graphic design. Joe Doucet, the designer, has done illustrations for Samsung, and worked on the Olympic campaign, among other things. The products are all...

This one hit my sick sense of humor right in the sweet spot. Cast in ABS, its morbid brilliance is the creation of Raffaele Iannello at the Italian firm Viceversa. I can't yet find any information on where to get one, so if you know please share. Thanks, Rachel!...

Serum vs Venom is the newly launched modern luxury brand from the KDU (the same hot collective where you'll find JB Classics). SVSV combines a focus on luscious materials with edgy street styling. Featuring items like an $8000, custom tailored, pure Vicuna wool hoodie (middle), SVSV might bring to street wear what Jacob the Jeweler brought to jewelry. Most items will range from $800...

k adorable was born in the spring of 2001 when two design worlds collided with a mutual interest in sneakers, jeans and the search for the perfect t-shirt. Those two worlds are Paul Marlow's fashion and Matthew Sandager's graphics, and the result is a subscription t-shirt service that delivers hand made, limited run, original designs. The latest issue is this rockin' golfer (click to...

Stylish package + individually wrapped cream-filled cookies = this Argentinian delight from the Havanna company. I found these in a coffee shop in Miami and haven't stopped talking about them (and eating them) all week. The best of the five flavors are the Dulce de Leche, which are coated in meringue. The textures and flavors create an uncommonly complex experience. These cookies are big...

Elliot Golden is an East Village, NYC based illustrator with great work and international recognition. He sees illustration as a balance between concept and aesthetic. His illustrations begin as acrylic painting and then he finishes them digitally to give a unique look....

The American Package Museum has and extensive collection of package design from the early decades of the 20th century. Chewing gum, shaving cream, cereal boxes, and more-- there is a lot to check out there. Although the collection is just an online exhibit, there are 3D views of many of the objects so you can get a closer look. It's really fascinating and amusing...

Josh Rubin, the Soho-based designer behind the Web site Josh Rubin: Cool Hunting, said that Pattern Recognition didn’t so much change his behavior or buying habits as it provided a "label" for his madness. Mr. Rubin said he experiences a "gut response" to logos. "I’ll be razor-blading off a label and think, ‘That’s so Cayce Pollard,’" he said. "Like the other day, I cut...

Ludwika Ogorzelec's latest installation of the "Space Crystallization" cycle is up for a few more days at the Nancy Margolis Gallery in New York. This lattice of stretchy plastic is meticulously woven inside and outside the gallery to create a beautiful bio-technical form. Jutting out from the side of the building, it's impossible to miss when walking by or driving down the street. You're...

I've worn the Lacoste polos for as long as I can remember and have been wondering why they haven't brought back the classic 3 button, slimmer fit, long tail style that I've always preferred. The wait is over-- the more mod style comes back for Spring in more than a dozen colors (navy, white, pink and black are the best). The shirts are noticeably...

In May the International Contemporary Furniture Fair will come to New York. While the show is focused on pieces for mass production, Living Spaces promises to be the show's most cutting edge off-site event. Set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this year’s show will be curated by Dave Alhadeff, owner and founder of The Future Perfect, and designer Jason Miller. Do you have something you want...

I'm that guy that has a new cell phone every couple months-- constantly trying to find one that I love from top to bottom, and I'm hard to please. I just swapped from a Treo600 to a Blackberry 7100t after an enticing set of deals. My first impressions-- I'm so used to a touch screen from the Treo that I find myself tapping the...

I don't know much about the project entitled Their Circular Life, other than that it's an exploration of human behavior with the help of a beautiful flash interface, deep sounds and interesting images. They used some technology to film a full day and nights action at a few locations-- and then built an interface where the user can view and observe the day, navigating...

Late last summer, Rubin covered the t-shirt company Imperfectionist. Those wonderful chaps in London have created a new line of t-shirts, Wallpaper Squared. They've described it as consumerism gone mad. Using everyday objects like lamps, sunglasses, and sneakers, they've created interesting patterns that embrace the vibe of consumer fetishism at its fullest. Hurrah for stuff!...

Attach this little yellow doo-dad to your remote control and whenever you whistle it will light up and make noises so you can find it. And it's not just for remotes, you can attach it to anything-- annoy your cat, find your keys, play high tech Marco Polo, whatever. $18.90 at Compact Impact...

From the creators of the pristine Big magazine comes a new b&w oversized newsprint FREE fashion magazine hitting NYC on April 1, 2005. From what I can tell some ex Vice magazine staffers are responsible for this new-feeling paper and looks like it could be interesting. I hope. Check out somethinginthewaymag.com...

As the quest to consolidate wallet contents in to the mobile phone continues, we still look to Japan as the technological innovator. Next month trials will begin to test the use of mobile phones for subway fare payment. No worries about dialing up the right screen or sending off a text message, the entire transaction will be handled by a small chip manufactured by...

I haven't had the pleasure of traveling to Japan yet, but very soon I'll be going on a cool hunting adventure there-- and I don't know if I'll ever return! One place I must stop as I'm on tour around Japan is The Chichu Art Museum. It's only accessible by boat, and Tadao Ando designed it to be completely built into the ground and...

It was only a matter of time until this happened, and my guess is the iPod shuffle customization era is just getting into gear. ShuffleArt has Vinyl Sticker art you can easily apply on your iPod Shuffles, for sale, or the DIY method, download a template from this site and design your own....

Medium, the footwear designers who follow the simple modernist philosophy "less is more," have introduced a new sneaker model with that in mind once again. They teamed up with Dwell Magazine to bring us this limited edition sneaker the Dwell Minimalist-- hand painted on a mixture of italian leathers to give a very crafty appeal. Available in two styles, the one shown here (Ray)...

San Francisco based Disfigure Design is on to some really great stuff. This is one of their lines of furniture that contrasts antique 1910-1930 Louis XV furniture with modern and attractive Stephen Sprouse or Paul Smith fabrics. They're currently available in stores--SF at Swallow Tail and NYC at The Future Perfect....

The Independent Gaming Source is having a contest for the "Sexiest Indie Gamer of All Time." For those of you who are unsure as to what indie games are... just think of those standardized test comparisons—Indie Games are to the Gaming Industry as Indie Films are to the Movie Industry. The contest is for both guys and gals. So no one gets left out,...

This unique work is line on glass layered over a collage by Peter Mitchell. Peter was born in Bracebridge Ontario Canada in 1978, a town famous for its skidoo and Vermouth parties. He was raised by sober parents, and hugely influenced by the stories of Roald Dahl. Peter started drawing late at 18 and went on to complete the Sheridan College illustration program near...

Apparently released in Japan today, the Penck was designed by Makoto Saito and Kumiko Hitomi. It's quite elegant in its simplicity and from what I can gather looking at the pictures on the site, it has all the latest features you'd expect in a phone. Thanks to Fumi for translating the site! English version after the jump....

Grace over at Design Sponge is having a DIY Design Contest. If you're an independent designer who makes furniture, product, jewelry, graphics or anything else for that matter, send your stuff to Grace sometime in the next week. She'll be publishing the work of the winners on Monday 28 November. Details here....

The Zoomer is one of oki-ni's latest products--a 50cc scooter collaboration with Honda. Very limited edition, only 15 Zoomers will be available and oki-ni will be selling 5 of them each month for the next 3 months. It's available in 3 colors, plasma yellow, black, and camouflage green (shown). Each Zoomer comes with a limited edition numbered key ring and an invitation to a...

Those bizarre quirky babies above were created by Grivina, in Russia. The site cuts to the chase. Not much description other than the categories, which is fine since I don't know a lick of Russian. But the work speaks for itself with their hands in illustration, 3D, package, and product design. There's also a livejournal as well. Not something you see everyday on a...

Colorado native Evan Hecox never ceases to amaze me with his design skills and his brilliant screen prints. He has done t-shirts and skateboard designs for skate companies like Chocolate and Girl. I keep seeing his work pop up all over--once even I spotted his work behind glass in the Denver Airport on my way home. This one is a limited edition print for...

It’s always been amazing to me how British music fans can completely and wholly rally around an artist, like Robbie Williams or Kylie and America just doesn’t pay any attention. Such is the case with Ian Brown. Many of you likely know him as the frontman for the Stone Roses – ah, the Stone Roses, where dance music seamlessly meshed with rock. For without...

Having upgraded to a Treo 650, I can now use a Bluetooth headset again. With so many new ones out there to choose from I consulted Joel over at Gizmodo for his opinion. The immediate answer-- Bluespoon. The little bugger arrived yesterday and I'm thrilled. It's simple, tiny and light. But the most genius element is that little mouse-tail-looking-thing. It's a soft rubber extension...

This is the Windcheetah, the world's most advanced recumbent tricycle ever. It still remains the only trike to have set six significant speed and endurance records as well as having the honor of being exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim museum. This Hypersport model starts at $5350, other models start at $3588 respectively-- but they don't have the extensive bad...

Though they don't call it a reality TV show, that seems to be just what Artstar is. In the next couple weeks they will be having open calls for artists who are interested in participating in an unscripted television series about trying to make it big in the New York art world. Eight artists will be selected to put on a group show, and...

Stucon, over at core77, points out that Vodafone's latest handset in Japan will have tilt and acceleration sensors. While the intended application is gaming, there will be support for navigating the phone (with a cursor?!?) and launching applications. Wouldn't it be great if natural gestures could be scripted in to it? Imagine: your phone is on the table and it rings; you don't want...

Google Fight creates a duel between two search queries with a cute little flash interface. It measures Google results for any two words or phrases--such as God vs. Satan. Who do you think has more google results? Luke Skywalker of Darth Vader, Josh Rubin or Tony Soprano? Find out for yourself if you're bored and want a laugh. It has no affiliation with Google,...

After seeing the Tempo Time Tag on Apartment Therapy, I had to see what other great designs Vessel thought up. And whaddaya know – they shocked the hell out of me with simplicity. The Tissue Ring, a stainless steel hoop that lies atop a stack of Kleenex eliminating the need for a tacky box or a generic package with flowers or angels on it....

Check out the new designs at Sawaya & Moroni. The dragged out suicide ashtray on the left is designed by Cherif Morsi. And the bulbous, coral like seating in red was designed by Jakob and Mac Farlane....

fi5e is a graffiti artist in New York City. Using both computers and hands-on skill, fi5e creates artwork that is aesthetically appealing, while also engaging the viewer through form and content. His All City Council Project has been viewed the most-- In response to the sticker law passed by the New York City Council last year, which stated that those with idenification on any...

You may already be familiar with the Swiss company, Freitag. They're known for their trendy-yet-individual bags made from old truck tarps. A couple of things you may not know are: the bags were first tested for durability on the back of a bike messenger out in San Francisco and that they outsource production to a factory that employs people with disabilities. Now that you're...

Grime is a form of music that has stemmed out from UK Garage in the underground music scene in the UK. The quickly fired lyrics are overlaid on top of some intense beats. Most of the this music can't even be played on the radio due to the explicit lyrical content. Club nights featuring Grime are popping up in New York City and Philadelphia....

Someone raided the dumpsters for old broken keyboards and found a good use for them. This custom made keyboard jewelry is made from classic original keyboard and typewriter parts. The designer has made rings, earrings, buttons, and there is even a neat bracelet made of the +'s keys of what looks like an old type writer. Techie-retro flare. via Ektopia...

NY photographer Cheryl Dunn is having an opening for a book based on her short film "Bicycle Gangs of New York." The film is a fun high energy piece with an original score, and the cast is a mix of real and fictional bicycle gangs - see if you can pick out who's who. In her words, "pictures of crazy characters of the nyc...

The Name Voyager, from Baby Name Wizard, is a fascinating visualization of the US Social Security Administration's historical database of names. Enter part or all of any name and this little Java application will dynamically plot how many babies were given that name during each decade, instantly giving you a sense of when (if ever) that name was popular. I already knew Josh was...

Capacitor Design Network has done some seriously impressive work. They're responsible for designs for folks like Burton Snowboards, Om Records, Disney, Coca Cola, oh, and did I mention they designed the Microsoft X-Box logo with Portland based Cinco Design. They get my most under rated designers of the week nod. Killer stuff capacitor, keep it up....

Too many hours of my day yesterday were lost to making acquaintance with my new Treo 650 (GSM Unlocked). The most obvious new features are certainly a huge improvement-- Bluetooth, high resolution display and a better button layout. Even more exciting than that, however, are the small yet potent improvements to the user interface. The basic phone applications are finally up to par with...

Entrepreneur and submarine buff Bruce Jones has forked over $40 million dollars toward the underwater concept hotel called the Poseidon. Rooms will be submerged 50 feet under the sea off Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. $1500 a night gets you a room at the bottom of the ocean, each room will be equipped with spotlights and control to release fish food to keep things...

Beatport is Napster or iTunes exclusively for the electronic music world. As its tagline says: Log on. Get Down. That's exactly what you do on Beatport. It is the digital download network. Electronic music enthusiasts will find thousands of tracks from hundreds of labels and DJs in a dozen umbrella categories including House, Trance, Drum & Bass, Chill Out and more. It doesn't have...

Setup: Mark Ecko, founder of Ecko Unlimited, worked with Atari and The Collective to produce the urban culture game, Getting Up, where the central theme is graffiti art. The console game is for PS2, set for release later this year in the fall. Gamespot has just reported that Ecko, Atari, and Sorrent will be producing a mobile version of the game. Although I have...

Saturday night was the opening reception for the Sisters Shock Rock the House! gallery show. It was an all female artists display of urban expression through a multitude of mixed media such as paint, film, and sculpture. The artist shown here is CC McGurr. And yes, those are octopi, which she catches herself while scuba diving, photographs them, and then eats them. Yum. The...

The German based online art and design magazine Destructed has some very limited edition and top notch looking screen printed t-shirts for sale. Each issue of the magazine is downloadable, and a dozen or more artists collaborate to show their work together in each issue. It's a place of interaction for artists of all genres and capacities to get their work seen by the...

This past weekend, the Japan Society in New York City launched a series of events entitled Cool Japan: Otaku Strikes!, which run through the Spring. In the U.S., an Otaku is someone who is considered to be somewhat of a die-hard fan of manga or anime. However in Japan, an Otaku can also be related to music, cooking, video games—-- you get the picture....

Like the Tamagotchi, Archimedes is a little friend from Japan brought to you as a way to care for and consider the meaning of life. Unlike the Tamagotchi, which was digital, Archimedes is analog. You get a little guy in a glass vial with some seeds. Over the course of about a month the habitat will sprout, bloom, flourish, die, and decay. Little Archimedes...

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the rock venue the Towers of London take the stage. Just when rock was getting good again, we’re sideswiped with something out of left field that makes you take a step back and scratch your head. But when you listen to the music, it’s not all bad. With their straight-forward fierce guitar and...

Sick of hearing me talk about anime and not know what I'm talking about specifically? Curious about which new series I think are hot? Well, get ready to kill the cat. On NPR's Day to Day, Charles Solomon, an animation critic, did a review on three new dvd releases, Full Metal Alchemist, Samurai Champloo, and Paranoia Agent. It's a nice synopsis piece on each...

Studio 804 is a design and building program offered at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Design. They're focused on what they call community based architecture. Essentially the students are designing and building low income and affordable housing, while challenging the status quo of architecture. They build every aspect of the house minus electric, plumbing, heating and air. All design and...

237 is an urban art project that started in Malaga, Spain. They supposedly have a website coming soon. Other than being incredibly cute, the little guys featured above are a direct reference to Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Princess Mononoke, where they're the tree spirits known as Kodama. From the looks of it, it seems they've left the forest and headed for Spain. I can't...

The best online photo management and sharing solution just got a hell of a lot better thanks to Marcos Weskamp and his application Flickr Graph. It produces instant online graphing of any Flickr relationships and allows you to explore all these social connections by username or e-mail. A classic attraction-repulsion algorithm is used for the graphs. Double click the names to see their photos,...

7500 steel gates with nylon flags, 16 feet tall, 23 miles long, 26 years in the making, $20 million, on view for 16 days. My first glimpse of The Gates, Jeanne-Claude and Christo's Central Park installation that opened today in New York was from the top of an apartment building on the South-East side of the park. The orange flags looked like dominoes lining...

About 6 years ago I had the chance to tour a certain technology company's research and development lab. Among the more refined demos was a TV console and video camera set up that immersed the viewer in an artificial environment where they could interact with things floating on the screen. This week, Hasbro announced its foray into the educational gaming market with the ION...

Originally conceived in 1999 for a college assignment, Faesthetic Magazine has evolved from a photocopied zine to a high quality publication. They've just released their 4th issue which maintains a bit of the photocopy feel (it's still all black and white) and features work from over 90 illustrators, photographers, designers and street artists. You can get a vibe on the style of work the...

Hip and Zen is a new shop offering socially responsible, modern products. This handmade and fairly traded paper vase isn't the colorful wonder that recycled magazine vase was, but the geometric shape and warm tone are still quite pleasing....

Who could bring back cocaine-filled art rock better than two former prep school girls? Spalding Rockwell delivers druggy electro-funk reminiscent of searing ‘80s guitar-driven attitude chick rock. They’ve been a staple on the New York scene for a little while and haven’t really broken out – but they should. Mary Louise (ML) Platt and Nicole (Nikki) Lombardi are tough, gritty, sexy and domineering. They...

Stereohype is a london based online boutique offering limited edition designer products--like buttons, t-shirts, and even artwork. They gain a lot of their designer talent through varius competitions. They're frequently updated so all the designs stay fresh. I'm loving these two shirts-- The stereohype.com introductory shirt and butterflies in my stomach, but designed by Agathe Jacquillat and Tomi Vollauschek from London-based design studio FL@33....

Rosemary Honey Goat's Milk. Lemon Opal Basil Sorbetto. Carambola con Limon Verde. Intrigued yet? Stephanie Reitano was so inspired by trips to gelaterias in her husband's native Italy that she created her own in Philadelphia. Produced EVERY morning in small batches using only the freshest (and mostly local, seasonal and organic) ingredients. Stephanie's more than 250 flavors will intrigue, beguile and seduce you. Let's...

My friend who screened “Galang” for me one hot summer day said one thing before we watched the video: “She is so FLY.” Well, a mountain of music press later, with her full-length album on the horizon for its US release (February 22), I must say. I. Agree. M.I.A. has returned me to the realm of obsessive teenage excitement with her exuberant fuck it...

Sydney based Sticky are candy artisans and performers. They make all sorts of hard candies in their shop, while open for business, for all their customers to see first hand. Their attention to detail is pretty amazing; I can only assume the candy tastes great, too. The best thing is that they will accommodate custom orders-- specify colors, flavors, shapes, pictures and even text....

The Denver Art Museum is getting quite the grand and futuristic expansion--They're calling it the Frederic C. Hamilton building. It's going to be an impressive geometric shaped explosion made of glass and over 230,000 square feet of titanium all designed by Daniel Libeskind. Libeskind designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin in '99, and in '03 he was selected to design the World Trade Center...

Those of you lucky enough to be in or visiting London have the opportunity to see this inspiring exhibition at the Tate until 17 April. The esteemed British sculptor is 80 this year, and this massive retrospective spans the last 50 years of his work. Can't make it? Check out his new book....

From the people that brought you Threadless, I present to you OMG Clothing. Building upon the participatory nature of Threadless, OMG Clothing allows consumers to submit and vote for their favorite slogans. The winners get their slogan designed and printed. They also receive $100, plus $100 gift certificate to OMG Clothing just for being so gosh darn clever. The shirt here says "My Mom...

This might be the most impressive interactive light installation I have ever seen--hands down winner. Project Blinklights has made it possible for mobile users to play games like Tetris, Pong or Pacman by displaying and manipulating the lights on buildings, using their mobile phones. If you find yourself standing in front of the Biliothéque Nationale de France, dial +33 (1) 44 24 73 50...

Santa Monica based visual effects studio Method has a new adidas advertisement up. They have done work for Audi, Microsoft, Direct TV and some other impressive clients. This advertisement is entitled "Perfection" and is totally brilliant and worth a watch or two....

In April, Puma and Vexed Generation will be releasing the second season of their collaboration, Urban Mobility. The line is designed to target the needs of the urban rider by delivering adaptable performance-wear that fuses cutting edge styling with highly technical designs. Yeah, it does that very well-- having the opportunity to sport a couple samples around town, I have to say the pieces...

In case you missed it, all the buzz in the Blogsphere is Google's hot new mapping service. Google Maps brings all the simplicity, convenience and elegance we've come to expect from their products. The pan and zoom interface redraws quickly and the different search methods are task oriented and logical. Here's a product tour if you'd prefer to learn more before jumping in....

Calling all top secret pleasure agents... The Le Lynx Titanium Vibrator comes with 3 different attachments. Each has a different speed and texture to combat the most difficult foes. It comes in a chrome case with a velvet lining and a key to lock up! Oh, and it's also waterproof and dishwasher safe! via game girl advance...

Artist Chris Beckman has moved from the canvas to denim in a new series of work for Polo Jeans Co. A limited edition of 600 hand painted jeans, inspired by Chris's work, will be sold to help promote the denim company's GIVE (Get Involved. Volunteer. Exceed.) program to encourage community service. I was skeptical of how good these would look, but given the opportunity...

With lush, sexy vocals, ambient and down-tempo beats and multi-lingual songs, Brazilian Girls are turning the dance music world on its head. Fronted by the sultry Sabina Scuibba, Brazilian Girls sounds like Shirley Bassey, Grace Jones and Los Amigos Invisibles at an outdoor reggae fest. While their name suggests Rio, the group actually hails from Brooklyn. Scuibba, born in Italy and raised in Nice...

Shaken, stirred, gin, vodka...enjoy your martini (or a bloody mary) even more with these pickled green pear tomatoes from Froehlich's, a small store in Three Oaks Michigan. Most everything they make is from their own gardens, and if you happen to be in the 'hood stop by for some of the best bread around....

Designer furniture and naked people. What more could you ask for? The Modernist has a growing collection of bare women paired with modern furniture. Soft-core porn for the modern furniture enthusiast. I swear I look at these just for the great collection of Eames furniture featured in every shot! The series is ongoing, and they're taking submissions....

The box doodle project rules are simple-- Rearrange a box to make any kind of figure or object--make the most of the least. A really simple concept with some really great work by independent artists just like you and I. They have a few pages of fun submissions, as well as a cute flash based box doodle tool where you can create your own...

What could be a better Valentine's day gift than a little Ryan McGinness Love Icon? A variety of images ensure there's one for you and your beloved....

Starting Feb. 12, Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art hosts Universal Experience: Art, Life, and the Tourist’s Eye. The four month, building-wide exhibit will showcase large scale installations as well as smaller pieces, like videos and photographs, featuring artists’ experiences while traveling and residing among foreign cultures. Universal Experience will include pieces by Andy Warhol, Max Becher, Doug Aitken, Ilya and Emilia Kabako and many...

Want to do something special for Hallmark's most rosy of holidays? Check this from our friends at Chicago's world famous T-shirt Deli: Greetings, you lovestruck soul! We know all about it - from the moment you saw her, your HEART started pounding. You wanted to sweep her away, to capture everything in the world worth giving to her, and to wrap your arms forever...

They’re being credited for saving rock, have seven Grammy nods under their belt for “American Idiot” and may surprise many at this year’s ceremony. And now they’re going on tour. Is this a great time for Green Day fans or what? Pre-sale for the now-grown-up Berkeley punks’ U.S. shows become available this Friday at the band’s website. They’re currently on tour in the UK...

Marisa Rey is the designer behind Ecoist bags. Inspired by her journeys in Mexico and concern for the environment, Ecoist uses candy wrappers, food packages, and soft drink labels that have been discarded by manufacturers. They create a variety of bags that are simultaneously eye-catching and environmentally sound. Every bag is unique. And for each bag sold they plant a tree....

Feeling adventurous? If you find yourself in the small village of Jukkasj‰rvi in Northern Sweden between the months of December and April treat yourself to an unusual night or two at the Ice Hotel. The rest of the year the hotel is slowly melting and waiting to be rebuilt come next icy season, pulling blocks of ice from the Torneålven River. The hotel has...

A furniture designer and lightening designer teamed up at a Los Angeles based design company, Orange22 to bring us this Acrylic "Pixcell" lit LED cocktail table. They call it Aurora, and it looks pretty snappy. You can change the hue, brightness or "animation" on a touch pad on the lower lip of the table, or for a couple hundred dollars more from a wireless...

My girl Grace gave me this amazing necklace (after a whole evening of begging and flattery, but it was worth it). Although there's no actual markings that would affiliate the accessory with Nintendo out right, it's pretty obvious none the less. It says "Play Me" above the A and B buttons and it's made by a company called White Trash Charms. If you live...

In the last 24 hours I've hoofed all over most of downtown Vancouver looking for hot retail and interesting products. This is a great little city with lots to see and do, but being the turbo consumer that I am, my focus was clear. Results after the jump....

Yesterday I checked out Vancouver's premier sneaker store, Livestock. They had all the stuff you'd expect to see-- Adidas 35th Anniversary Superstars, BAPEs, various Nike Quickstrikes, Ice Creams and more. They did introduce me to a few new things, though. Mad, for example, is a Japanese brand that has been around for awhile. This pair, called the Mad Professor, is covered in 3M Scotchlite...

Volvo's coupe concept car, the 3CC, pushes the safety envelope in addition to having an adorable Trekkie style. What makes this thing unique is that the entire floor of the car will shift to absorb the force of impact in a head on collision. The dash and seats move, too. Check out this b-roll to see how it all works....

From the Spice Girls to Ab Fab and now to a successful solo career. Donít kill me but I have to say I actually like the former Baby Spice, who now simply goes by Emma. Yes, itís pure pop, a guilty pleasure. But her single, ìFree Me,î which is already huge in the UK, is catchy. It has hooks and built-in dance moves. Sure the...

When it comes to fashion, are you ever on time? Or always ahead of schedule? Now you can track it. Vessel created the teeny-weeny Tempo Time Tag – a sleek chronometer that doubles as a fashion accessory. This wee digital timepiece is the size of your fingertip and clips anywhere: use it as a tie tack, a collar brooch, a “pocket watch” or simply...

Australian artist Ashley Wood weaves an interesting stream of thought story of sex, technology, and revenge in book 2 of Popbot. His style has the lyrical line quality of Dave McKean's work Cages. The richness of color is also similar to some of McKean's other works, but also has some of the looseness of David Mack's earlier Kabuki work. Although I draw similarities, this...

What is it about cute things being naughty? I'm in love with these Kozik bunnies. Okay, so the one on the left is the Kozik Smoking Bunny, which is available at Toy Tokyo for about $60. If you're unwilling to throw down that amount of money, check out the Smorkin Labbits (right) at Kidrobot. I think I'm gonna build a small army....

At one time the words portable and audio probably sounded akward in a sentence together. Today, that's much different-- nearly everyone I know has some kind of portable audio device, or at-least is lusting after one. CBC Arts Online has a great photo essay about the evolution of portable audio written by Matthew McKinnon called Bring the Noise. He takes us through the history...

Yep, Pepsi is back giving away free iTunes songs, and yep--the hack introduced by Macmerc.com during last year's contest still works like a charm. I don't drink Pepsi, but if you do please help yourself to a winning bottle and a free song ahead of the competition on me. Pepsi says 1 in 3 is a winner, which is great odds but wouldn't you...

The 1 Second Film is a nonprofit animated collaborative work. The central concept of this work is the idea of the perfect moment, since such moments of perfection are often few and fleeting. There are 12 giant frames. Each are painted with its own director and at an all night long event. The 12 frames are filmed twice to create a 24 framed 1...

The Via Ruf Betten Cinema Bed takes this home multimedia craze to another level. For $20,000 you get a complete home theater system at the foot of your bed that is remote controlled and collapsible right into the footboard. A shelf for the projector behind your head, and compartments for all your components. Very retro in design and execution, very german. A plasma or...

Here in New York (and probably beyond) we're eagerly awaiting the unveiling of Jeanne-Claude and Christo's Central Park installation, The Gates. To honor the work and compliment its color, several local restaurants will be serving dishes with Saffron. On the list is: Bolo (23 E. 22nd St., 212/228-2200, www.bolorestaurant.com), Django (480 Lexington Ave., 212/871-6171), Josephs (1240 Avenue of the Americas, 212/332-1515, www.citarella.com), La Prima...

Although I’ve got no doubt that P-Rod’s got skills, but if his upcoming kicks aren’t your thing, check out the ones done by Jim Houser. He’s an artist and skater in Philadelphia. Although the sneaks don’t bear his name, Houser completely designed the shoe. The colors were of his choosing and the bird image in the back is something he uses frequently in his...

Itís been some time since weíve been treated to good Southern Fried Rock ñ so we welcome, with open arms, the Kings of Leon. Like the Allmans and Lynyrd Skynyrd before them, the Kings of Leon stick to family: the band comprises the three Followill brothers and their first cousin, who all hail from Nashville (also home to one of my favorite singer/songwriters Josh Rouse...

Dadawan has this new t-shirt by EastEric entitled Flying Fortress. The black, silver, and white screenprinted t-shirt comes in a menacing polyester bomb. The page says "toy for adult ;)." What better way to say "I love you, but hate you" than should said "toy" be gingerly tossed at potential rival-loved one. As the saying goes... "there's a thin line.."--you can finish that one....

Rising out of the rubble of the former Washburn A Mill is the Mill City Museum, one of downtown Minneapolis's latest architectural achievements. Rather than completely erase the existence of the former flour-processing plant that was destroyed by fire in 1991, the new museum was constructed within the remaining outer walls, now jagged and ragged but still intact. The Mill City Museum, designed by local...

Nike Skateboarding is releasing a new signature shoe-- the P-Rod is named for their crazy frontside flipping wonder-boy, Paul Rodriguez. Available in 3 colorways, baroque brown, all black, and black and white, they all have a funky texture that looks inspired by JB. If you hit the Nike SB site, be sure to check out the interview with P-Rod, plus a video of his...

I've always believed that the kitchen is the heart of the home, and a well designed kitchen is a must for a healthy home. Design Boom held a competition a little while back for kitchen designs, and this book celebrates the most outstanding entries from the contest. The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home features 85 separately designed and invented outstanding kitchen projects....

Ohayo Gozaimasu! Good Morning! You know that feeling you get when you know you're on to something? Or better yet, just plain right? It rules. Well, avid readers may recall that I attended the eNerGy Anime and Game Festival last Fall. In the last part of my review, I talked about the rise in popularity of Anime in U.S. culture and how Anime should...

Stop pulling your hair out trying to find background on your favorite musicians. Now in its 10th year (15th if you count the books that pre-date the Internet), AllMusic covers every single solitary genre of music, has information on the most popular bands and the most obscure. I’'ve used it religiously since 1997. If you need to find the date an album came out,...

Without a description of these pictures you might think I spotted a UFO, but this is actually a house by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. The Futuro House is in San Diego, and is one of 20 that were ever built. Suuronen designed them in 1968 as ski-cabins or holiday homes, they were completely furnished and were made to accommodate 8 people. The owner of...

Brokendomer is a Brooklyn underground hip-hop group. Music-wise I'll let you be the judge. What I'm interested in is the site. It's designed by Mark Forscher. Here's a sweet implementation of Flash Action Scripting to produce a layout that's aware of browser size. Play around with it and you'll notice if you change the window size the background gradation will re-adjust itself after you...

Remember the artist doing live painting at the Sneaker Pimps event in NYC back in September? That was Dave White, a huge talent. Dave White was an early art bloomer, he went to art school at the age of 16. Three years, and a degree later he was exhibiting his work alongside Picasso and Hockney in London at international art fairs. His love of...

We already mentioned the art-rock duo's forthcoming album, Odyssey-- well Yahoo! Launch has the video for the first single, Just Let Go. I can't comment on it because Yahoo! Launch doesn't seem to be compatible with Safari or Firefox (shame on Yahoo!), but maybe it will work for you. via Arjan Writes...

The Wurst Gallery has an new online exhibition called Vintage Vandals. They asked artists to find a framed piece of artwork at their local thrift shop and turn it into something of their own. It's an interesting mix of work. The piece displayed here is loosely titled "hug more trees" and was created by Andy Sargent. via Wooster Collective...

Casey Weldon creates provocative work. Some are serene; others are somewhat chilling (in a way that poses questions like "who are you? and would you like a hug?"). Casey you are a wonder... at least till you get your about page up. All his work is rather intense and some need no explanation whatsoever. For example, the piece to the left, entitled "McNipple"--need I...

Basel Switzerland based Yummy Industries is armed and ready with their sewing machines. They have a bunch of interesting products like t-shirts, bags, keyties and belts. This woven belt is made of drawings stitched right onto it. All of the designs have a rugged yet appealing aesthetic to them. It's all available in their online shop....

First off, Tokyoplastic is a slick site. Cute vector design, dramatic sound, carnivorous plants, and robotic segues-- what more could you ask for? I'll tell you what, that the stuff they sell wasn't sold out! They had these vinyl figures of the girl seen above sans drum equipment, but still very rad. And they also had these prints of gore drizzled robots. Alas my...

Archinect is the website that has definitively connected designers and architects from around the globe. They have covered a zillion different architectural topics, and now they are offering a few wearable souveniers. These T-Shirts are all by different designers. Sometimes architecture does suck, and they've made a t-shirt for those times. The robots designs are constructed from parts of old cathedral floor-plans, very neat....

Looking for new music based on your current tastes? MusicPlasma lets you search on any band or artist and it returns a family tree-like display with other bands or musicians closely related to the original search term. For instance, put in Coldplay and artists like Radiohead, Travis, White Stripes and the Strokes pop up. Enter Madonna and the obvious come up: J.Lo, Britney, Justin,...

The Drama Store has a really nice collection of designer books, magazines, clothing, toys and accessories. They all are from independent designers, like this Salt Tooth Press shirt, which is a collaborative illustration between Max Hubenthal and Travis Robertson. Aside from all the wearables they have a bunch of really great limited edition screen prints and painted canvases for sale....

Hey all, I got a peek at the new Vitra at Home Collection on Monday morning. This collection is supposed to present an eclectic mix of fresh and classic design to the home furnishing market in the U.S. The image presented above is entitled Zip Rug and it's by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The material is thick wool felt. It comes in the colors...

For the rocker or badass in us all. The ring is designed by TaroShooten. As a lover of all things kawaii (japanese for cute), this ring, with its simple, yet elegant design, appeals to both the sensibilities of grace and deviance. The Japanese cataolgue for TaroShooten has three versions (one with blue eyes, which is my favorite color! So if you're in Japan... hook...

Two members of Antipop Consortium are back. Well, that’s not exactly true because they never left—, they just took a small vacation from music stardom. Ex-members High Priest and M.Sayyid have teamed up, leaving old Antipop member Beans behind to bring what they had done once before to a much, much higher level. They call their new group Airborn Audio. Blasting through all stereoptypes...