Rough Cut: Nike Sportswear x Maharam x Hella Jongerious 1 World AF1

by Tim Yu

We recently caught the unveiling of Nike Sportswear's new 1 World AF1, featuring Hella Jongerious-designed Maharam fabric, at design shop Moss in New York City. The interpretation of the AF1 introduces a sneaker constructed of 100% wool felt textile called "Layers." We caught up with Michael Maharam, Principal of Maharam, and Nike's Global Design Director Jesse Leyva to gather some insights and opinions on the shoe.

Igotanenvelope Project

by Bailee Wolfson

Igotanenvelope, is a new global art project in the vein of Postsecret, Namelessletter and a spate of others we've seen pop up recently. Participants in the project leave self addressed, stamped envelopes in random places with the idea that the finders will then create, write or place something personal inside and post it back to sender. The recipient's job is to take a picture of the contents and email it to Igotanenvelope where the results are posted. Even for uncreative types, the interactive art project is a fun way to get inspired and be spontaneous.

Le Whif Chocolate Inhaler

by Karen Day

Finally, chocolate is no longer a guilty pleasure. Le Whif, which just launched yesterday, combines chocolate and aerosol science with their zero calorie chocolate inhaler.

Beginning in the spring of 2008 as part of a culinary art experiment executed by Harvard professor David Edwards and his students, the innovative concept moves "eating habits to their logical conclusion." While we've yet to actually try the chocolate, we're sure this will spark a new culinary craze and lead to even more gastronomic experiments.

Le Whif is available online, and can be purchased by the box (24-count) for 40€.

Virus-Powered Car Batteries

by Bailee Wolfson

Responding to the growing need for high-functioning rechargeable batteries, scientists at MIT came up with virus-powered versions, a remarkable idea that may just be the next big thing in green tech. Using genetically engineered viruses that essentially build a cathode, the upshot is a battery that can be charged up to 100 times without losing any of its capacity (improvements are expected). What's more, the batteries hold as much energy and power as—and last much longer than—current batteries in hybrid vehicles on the market.

Cheap to produce, non-toxic, lightweight and capable of taking on any variety of shapes and spaces, there are several more upsides to the virus-powered battery as well. And, of course, MIT scientists assure that the viruses are not harmful to humans. Keep an eye out for this ground breaking technology in the next few years and in the meantime, learn more visit Fast Company.

Antenna Trade Digest

by Mike Giles

Sharing a love for '80s grids and layouts as well as a penchant for cool toys and gadgets, I tracked down Ben Wise, one of the guys behind the site Antenna Trade Digest. Proclaiming to catalog all “publicly available goods of significant substance,” I asked him about the project.

How did the idea for Antenna come about?
My inspiration for the site was finding an "Argos" (run-of-the-mill U.K. wholesale shop) catalog from 1984. (see image.) In the old days before web, this type of thing was the only source of information. I wanted to try and recreate that feel.

Who is involved in it’s production?
Me, my friends and a couple of droids.

How long have you been around and how long do you plan to be around?
Well it launched earlier this year. I had run other sites before, but this was a purely commercial spin-off project. I don't plan to delete it, particularly as it's more about other people's work than my own. Some other projects are gestating too.

What do you mean by "this was a purely commercial spin-off project"?
Well the Antenna started out as an arts project, The Antenna Project, and I'm hoping to do a printed research publication at some point, but the "Trade Digest'"centers around promotion and potentially it could generate some form of revenue in the future.

Why did you see the need for another website?
Hmm, good question. A lot of friends had projects coming out and had asked me where to publicize them. It's a very eclectic site with a most likely small demographic – it's not trying to emulate/compete with Cool Hunting or the big design sites. Hopefully, it will find it's own niche penumbra of malcontents.

Do you have day jobs?
I'm a web designer at Kleber, the U.K.'s best intrapipe plumbers, where I've had the good fortune to work for such luminaries as Matt Pyke and Mike Place.

Check out the Antenna for your dose of significant substance today.

theAnemix Home Collection

by Phuong-Cac Nguyen

A year after their spectacular window installations merging light with motion at Harrod's, Chilean 3-D lighting design company Luxia just announced their new theAnemix Home Collection for those who want the same tech effects to play with in domestic spaces. The spacey, futuristic furniture might look straight out of a Star Trek episode, but the pieces—a book case, CD rack, night stand, a lamp—are meant for the here and now.

Each item comes customizable, meaning it has four patterns and four mirror options for a total of 16 combinations of light and color possible. Want to show off the magic while entertaining house guests? The furniture is controlled via a wireless control system activated by a remote control, so you can make martinis for friends and put on a light show at the same time without leaving the kitchen.

Each piece varies between $1,120 and $2,000. The company's currently looking for distributors of the collection, so write to them via their site to find out how to get your mitts on the furniture when it's available.