Cool Hunting
| 08 November 2006view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Bing Bang Jewelry
by Ami Kealoha
Bing Bang jewelry, comprised of founding designer Anna Sheffield and her brother, Kevin Kearney, have thus far created two highly successful women's collections but they have set their sights on a men's collection this time around. Building on the raw and elegant style of the past women's collections, the men's line of Bing Bang references the Gangs of New York-era by trying to achieve a simplicity and roughness rather than the polish and gloss of a lot of the men's jewelry already out there. This rough and tumble 19th-century era may not immediately bring images of jewelry to mind, but much of the inspiration comes from the spirit of the times. "It was an era when stylistic individuality in New York was imperative," says Kearney. The era is invoked in the hand-pounded and finished clovers, tusks, anchors, and knives all hewn from mostly sterling silver, a little copper, and some 18-karat vermeil that adorn the jewelry.
Type Selector
by Ami Kealoha
Like the essential Pantone color guide, Type Selector is a swatch-style tool for choosing type. Featuring 226 fonts divided into categories, each entry includes dummy text and examples in different weights and styles. In-house designers at CH HQ appreciated the handy form factor, that the publishers chose to pair down font choices so you don't have to look through every font and that you can hold the book up to the screen. But the format's also difficult to flip through and the list price of $50 may be a bit steep for a device with multiple free alternatives. Pick it up from Thames and Hudson or Amazon.
Popular Science Best of What's New 2006: Hurriquake
by Ami Kealoha
Popular Science's annual "Best of What's New," currently on display in New York's Grand Central Station through this Thursday, 9 November 2006, and will be bringing you the highlights over the next several days.
To kick things off, the winner of the magazine's first-ever top honor, "Innovation of the Year," the Hurriquake, is a tricked-out nail designed to protect homes against damage caused by hurricanes and earthquakes. Engineered to target the common problems of other fasteners that tear apart in high winds and pull through plywood during seismic stresses, the device reportedly provides up to twice the resistance to these natural disasters. Featuring a larger head (with easily identifiable markings for inspectors, homeowners and contractors), angled barbed rings at the bottom, a screw shank that fills voids created the rings, and "shear shank technology" that increases strength at primary stress point and an improved coating that allows nails to be more flush with wood, the increased cost in building an average-size house is a mere $15.
iRebel Preview
by Letizia Rossi
With Polartec high-tech fabric and iPod integration, Westcomb's new iRebel jackets and hoodies are perfect for active people, whether on the slopes or on the subway. Coming out January 2007, the iRebel features an interior iPod pocket, which connects to integrated soft switch controls on the sleeve. The Polartec Wind Pro Fabric makes the iRebel four times more wind resistant than traditional fleece and the water-repellant surface sheds water and snow—yet since the coating on the fabric is not a laminate, it remains breathable. The iRebel's slim profile makes them perfect for layering and zippered pockets, long sleeves with cut-out thumb holes and—unlike some of the other wearable technology outerwear we've come across—Westcomb women's sizes actually cut to fit a woman's smaller frame are all welcome details.
The iRebel Jacket ($225) and the iRebel Hoody ($235) and will be available in various colors at Boulder Mountaineering and Back Country.
