Cool Hunting

The Meaning of Tingo
The Meaning of Tingo is Adam Jacot de Boinod's new book surveying words around the world that are seldom found in other languages. The book is packed with little gems, such as the longest known palindrome in any language, the Finnish word saippuakivikauppias, the 27 Albanian words for moustaches and eyebrows, the Hawaiian word for walking away without listening to directions 'akihi among them....

Burton Snowboard Clipboard
Last week we had the pleasure of visiting Burton's New York showroom where we got a sneak peek at the forthcoming 2009 collection, which had plenty of exciting new additions. The most consistent theme throughout the new line seeming to be green engineering. Making a concerted effort to lower their environmental impact, Burton's efforts can be seen in the many recycled materials going into...

The Architect's Bird Feeder
Designed by architect Doug Patt (he's also one half of bi-coastal firm Rootphi), the Architect's Birdfeeder is made of eight interlocking polycarbonate (think bulletproof glass) pieces. Like Rootphi's Flat Pack housing, the structural elements ship flat and require no tools or fasteners for assembly. The upshot is product that's fun to put together, easy to refill and clean and eco-friendly. It also looks like a...

Pattern Body Washes
Since Pattern Body Washes appeared in my bathroom, each shower is a new aromatic experience. The all-natural body washes are made from the finest essential oils and plant extracts without parabens, artificial colors or dyes and are available in four scents, Cucumber, Citrus, Eucalyptus and (my favorite) Black Pepper. The spicy scent is made from herbal extracts and essential oils of black pepper, ylang-ylang...

Help Remedies
Richard Fine, one of the founders behind the new Help Remedies that you may have noticed around recently, stopped by our office this morning to give us some of the first samples of his reinvented bandages and acetaminophen. The well-designed, eco-packages look as good in person as they do in photos and the un-boxing was a delight, with text and design accents revealing themselves...

Laundry Dropps
For city-dwellers too lazy to haul jugs of detergent, the environmentally-minded and/or those just sick of drips and spills, Laundry Dropps are convenient little dissolving detergent pods that cut down waste and clean duds naturally. About the size of a C battery, each "dropp" contains super-concentrated detergent without any of the extra junk found in other detergents. In addition to being phosphate (bad for...