Cool Hunting
| 09 August 2006view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Spicy Caribbee Banana Ketchup
by Evan Orensten
Spicy Caribbee's Banana Ketchup is the perfect addition to your summer barbeque. I discovered this little gem in its native Puerto Rico, and said goodbye to my Heinz organic.
Think yellow ketchup, made with bananas instead of tomatoes. A little vinegar, a little heat, and you're good to go; no sugar necessary to sweeten this tangy condiment. Tasty with burgers, hot dogs, or as a marinade for anything you toss on the grill. Available online from Spicy Caribbee, $9 for a 16oz bottle. While you're at it check out their Spicy Red and Spicy Yellow Hot Sauces.
François Junod
by Evan Orensten
François Junod has been making robots the old-fashioned way for over 20 years. Using precise micro-mechanics, Junod works out of his studio in Sainte-Croix pursuing his goal of making movements smoother and more human. Though he works primarily on commissions, his Modigliani-like art pieces and studio shots are well-documented here and you can find a history of automata here (complete with satisfying flash animations).
Also on Cool Hunting: Jonathan Schipper
Electrolux Design Lab 2006
by Ami Kealoha
For the fourth year running, Electrolux presents their Design Lab Competition, an open call for submissions from students around the world to imagine the appliances of the future. This year's theme, "Healthy eating habits in 2016," tasks entrants with reinventing food preservation and preparation to inspire a more mindful approach to the way we eat. Judged by design luminaries (this year includes the Campana brothers and NASA space architect Constance Adams), nine semifinalists will travel to Barcelona where they'll participate in a hands-on design workshop with Electrolux's designers, winners will be announced, and cash prizes will be awarded to the top three. The deadline (18 August 2006) is mere days away, so idle design students on summer break better stop sleeping now.
Also on Cool Hunting: Imagine the Home in 2020 Design Competition
Leonardo Table and Chairs
by Leonora Oppenheim
We all know that beautiful furniture can be sexy in a shiny, sleek and sinuous sort of way, but two young French designers Bertrand Clerc and Olivier Gregoire have made their furniture sexy in a physical and psychological way with their Leonardo table and chairs.
What really makes furniture attractive is not just how it looks, but how we interact with it; the way a table or chair or table is designed can totally dictate our behaviour, posture and attitude. An uncomfortable chair makes us fidgety, while soft sofa relaxes us. It is not often, however, that we leave our feelings behind us when we get up and walk away. Maybe the scattered cushions or rumpled bedclothes hint at what went on, but they are only subtle clues.
Leonardo, which is still at prototype stage, not only clearly evokes a moment of human behaviour through form but also encourages future occupants to do the same. Imagine sitting at this table and not feeling just a little bit flirty. How can you resist? Bertrand Clerc tells us, “Leonardo finds itself between art and function…it is humanized by the fact that the material has received a human imprint. The object fossilizes a moment of intimacy, it submits itself to the imperceptible then the impalpable becomes tangible. And so form doesn't follow function, it follows the feelings. Leonardo is an ode to love.”
via Reluct
