Cool Hunting

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...

Mechanical Music Box
The Mechanical Music Box comes with paper strips and a hole punch for DIY music-making without a need for actual musical talent. The little devices presents endless possibilities for creating your own melodies, covering pop songs or to add a low-tech juvenile sounds to your next remix. It also comes with a pre-punched "Happy Birthday" strip if you're just looking for something gifty. It's...

Readymech Series 002
Collecting toys, like those made by Japanese company Medicom, can be pricey, so during a lean January you can instead have fun for free with the Readymech series. Put together by the industrious Portland-based design studio Fwis, who are also responsible for Squarewolf tees, the second series of paper Mechs have just gone up on the website. A printer, decent paper, double-sided tape and...

Wooden Food Toys
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...

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...

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...