Cool Hunting
| 05 December 2006view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Wooden Food Toys
by Letizia Rossi
I never outgrew my childhood obsession with toy food. Somehow everyday edibles become magical when rendered in delicately painted wood and—unlike the real stuff, not to mention most other toys—these wooden objects are made to last for generations.
German toymakers Haba and Erzi offer the most extensive collections of wooden kitchen play toys. From great basic sets like the gift basket by Haba which includes an assortment of fruits and vegetables, bread, dairy and chocolate ($19 from Moolka) to more obscure items like Sugar Cubes ($6), Noodles ($4) and Canned Pineapple Rings ($28), Haba's intricate details are irresistible. The Cheese Roll Cutting set from Erzi ($15) is a child-sized cutting board, knife, cheese and roll with halves that velcro together to make that satisfying real-life sound when "cut."
American toy makers Melissa and Doug also make a variety of wooden kitchen play toys. I love the generic commercial innocence of the packaging design on this Deluxe Wooden Play Food Set (pictured below left ) available for $20 at Amazon. For children with more international tastes, the Wooden Sushi Set ($20 from Genius Jones) is a wooden bento box that comes complete with chopsticks, wasabi, ginger and soy sauce.
Pet Hypothesis Jewelry
by Ami Kealoha
Handmade from repurposed billboard vinyl, the debut line of Pet Hypothesis jewelry follows in the tradition of Freitag and other creative re-users by reinventing industrial materials as accessories. Designer Chelsa Robinson (also formerly ReadyMade's product manager) layers sterling silver chains over bits of colored vinyl that she sews with contrasting thread. We chose to feature Geopanic for its confetti-like abstraction of CMYK colors with red stitching, but you can see all her designs here. All pairs cost $75 and, true to the cause, $5 from every sale goes to the environmental organization, Conservation International.
K7 Klok Kit
by Watchismo
Made from vintage Nixie Tubes (old-school electronic displays) reclaimed after sitting for 30-60 years in Russian warehouses, the exquisite K7 Klok Kit will win over DIYers and design geeks alike. Industrial designer Mike Mayberry custom fabricates the limited edition, aircraft aluminum housing that he sells along with the tubes as a kit for home assembly. The beauty of the ten layered electrodes glowing orange with overlapping dimension can only be appreciated when it's right in front of you. See more info and a link to a video here.
The K7 starts at $129 and tops out at $295 for the largest size tubes and can be ordered through Klok Modern—supplies are limited, so act quickly!. A few more parts are required, which Mayberry provides links for here.
Waris Tears Pins
by Ami Kealoha
Jewelry designer and sometime actor Waris teamed up with French label A.P.C to create these Waris Tear Pins. Part of a new line he designed for the brand inspired by "love and heartbreak" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird," the all-silver pins make understated accessories and are an unconventional gift. They come two to a set for $77 from A.P.C.'s site.
Trees For the Future
by Wendy Dembo
Trees For the Future (TFF) works with local communities to help reforest degraded lands and teaching local people agroforestry—how to grow, plant and tend to trees. The trees minimize soil erosion, provide foliage for animals and fuel-wood for the people. TFF also creates income generating schemes by helping communities produce timber and non-timber forest products.
For a work associate, your crunchy environmentalist cousin, or to send a message to a friend who drives a big gas-guzzling car, get them a veritable grove of 1,000 trees for $100 (or 450 trees for $45). Not only will the trees help to offset the greenhouse gasses that we produce as a byproduct of driving, or flying, these trees will help developing communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Best of all, you don’t even have to plant them.
