Cool Hunting

Cardboard Rocket Play House
What child isn't fascinated with space? Luckily, Nigel's Eco Store, an online purveyor of fun, stylish and environmentally sound homewares, came up with this Cardboard Rocket Play House. Made of sturdy recycled cardboard it arrives plain and unpainted so that the kids can decorate it however they want. Made by a designer with over 20 years of experience in the packaging industry, the rocket...

Bholu Housewares and Toys
With a mission to help impoverished women in India, Australian designer Jodie Fried's line of designer housewares and children's toys has finally reached the United States. The whimsical designs are embroidered by underprivileged skilled artisans, keeping alive their traditional technique and simultaneously offering them a sustainable income. All of the handmade wool products are Fair Trade and range from kids toys to rugs. Fried's...

Skinny Vinny Bags
by Nicole Schlomann Product designer turned bag maker, Vincent Lai founded his line of stylish totes and messenger bags in 2007 and calls it "Skinny Vinny," a nickname that his friends tease him with. Lai crafts bags that use architectural and geometrical shapes along with little details like hidden pockets and contrasting trim colors. Handmade in Brooklyn, with each bag hand finished by Lai, the...

Tatebanko Paper Diorama Kit
Appealing to my weakness for dioramas and DIY paper projects, these kits also are a mini lesson on Tatebanko, the forgotten Edo-era Japanese art of creating perspectives from paper. They come in either a snowy scene representing a painting by the master Hiroshige or in a version of Hokusai's wave. Designed and printed in Japan by It's a Beautiful Day (the group leading the...

Strange Faces Origami
Originally called "oreore-nai," meaning "I can't fold properly," this easy origami kit comes with 15 square sheets of paper printed with photo images of cropped faces. When folded the sheets transform into bizarre kaleidoscopic versions of a face, as if a few people got together and went crazy with Apple's Photobooth effects. Designed by the Tokyo-based origami group Studio Cochae, Strange Faces Origami is...

Recycled Wood Tree House
If remembering the fun and simple learning experience from playing with Lincoln Logs as a kid brings back good memories, then the Recycled Wood Tree House—a modern update to those brown stacking pieces of our generation—will likely bring the same to any easily bored rugrat over age three in your life. This 22-inch-tall, recycled cherry and elder wood tree house made with removable parts...