Cool Hunting

Reminder: Popdeck x Cool Hunting Skateboard Design Contest
We're about halfway through the Popdeck x Cool Hunting Skateboard Design Contest and we've already seem some fit designs. I've got a few decks in mind that I'd like to roll around on, but I'll keep that to myself for now. A $200 cash prize along with a free deck is up for grabs so head on over to Popdeck to submit your design...

Popdeck x Cool Hunting Skateboard Design Contest
It's time we tap into the CH talent pool again (that means you!), this time for a skateboard design contest with our new friends over at Popdeck. The Threadless of skateboard design, Popdeck is a website that allows users submit and vote on designs with the winner getting a cash prize and their entry made into a limited-edition board. Since we're a bit obsessive...

Li Xi Year of the Rat Gift Envelopes
The year of the rat is steadily approaching and Portland-based design team Design Night are prepared with the latest version of their signature Li Xi envelopes. Inspired by ancient Chinese papercuts the laser cut envelopes feature the 2008 zodiac animal, a sign of leadership, charisma and order. Li Xi envelopes are also a perfect way to dress up a cash gift for weddings, birthdays...

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...

Li Xi Gift Envelopes
Those of us who still haven't started our holiday shopping can take comfort in knowing that we are still in time to celebrate Chinese New Year in style. These Li Xi Gift Envelopes are a beautiful way to usher in the Year of the Pig. The laser cut envelopes, traditionally used to give gifts of "lucky money" to family and friends, are inspired by...