Cool Hunting

The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1985
Long the domain of obscurists and NYC musicologists, Bob Blank's Blank Tapes recording studio's long overdue retrospective (due out 2 February 2010) comes thanks to Strut Records. "The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1985" looks at the cult producer's work, which tapped into Gotham's burgeoning underground music and art scene of the '70s and '80s, engineering some of disco's most innovative classics. The 13-track...

Federico Solmi: From the Uterus to the Grave with No Happy Ending
Combining luridly hand-drawn animations, paintings, mechanical sculptures and more, 2009 Guggenheim Video Art Fellow Federico Solmi continues to explore his controversial interests in sociopolitical affairs—last year his native Italy charged him with obscenity, blasphemy and offense to religion—in his second solo exhibition "From Uterus to Grave With No Happy Ending," which opens tomorrow at NYC's LMAK gallery. The entrance to the show, marked with...

Betsy & Iya Jewelery
by Adrienne So Betsy Cross, a Portland-based jewelry designer working under the label Betsy & Iya, creates shamelessly sentimental necklaces and earrings, kept boldly of-the-moment with techniques like upcycling curtain rings and repurposing vintage materials. Boutique shops nationwide carry the line (named after herself and her older sister-slash-muse), yet she continues to handmake each item—from small details such as her signature earring hooks, hand-formed from...

Rat Table
Honing in on a rat's fine ability to gnaw, 25-year-old Londoner Jeeves Basu makes use of the efficient carpenters by keeping them hard at work crafting a piece of furniture. “It is an experiment to see if something beautiful can come from destruction,” Basu explains, while declining to reveal how exactly he coerces the rodents into organized eating. After experimenting with smaller models, Basu...

Silver Tool for Skateboards
An update to the classic skate key, Silver Tool offers the complete package for skateboard maintenance and assembly. Not only does it adjust the nuts on wheels, but it also allows skaters to tinker with hardware that attaches the trucks to the deck with its reversible ratchet and a removable Phillips and Allen-head screwdrivers. Also included, a medium-grade precision file trims excess grip tape...

Intaglio Fine Paper
by Zeva Bellel A couture paper company based in Paris, Intaglio turns the rare art of foil stamping—an inkless printing process that presses pigment into paper using weight and heat—into utterly stylish and sophisticated stationery. “Our designs are really influenced by the technique,” says co-owner Stephan Le Sauter, who learned the tricks of the trade while working at a printing press in San Francisco after...

Rodarte Men's Sweaters
by Richard Prime Releasing its first items for men this month, Californian fashion label Rodarte introduces their fairytale-grunge deconstructed knits to a new audience. The four-piece collection sees the sisterly duo apply a slightly more masculine approach to their light touch on fabrics with a line of cardigans and crewneck sweaters that integrate well with today's popular layered look. The loose, light knits (already hugely...

Seafood Watch Pocket and iPhone Guides
California's Monterey Bay Aquarium created several simple ways to keep track of which fish are in short supply with their newly updated pocket guides and iPhone application. Ideal for chefs or anyone with a conscientious mind, the geographically-organized maps help users source local fish and provide great alternatives to fish that should be avoided. They've also included a useful sushi guide, which like the...

Stoppy Ultimate Door and Window Stop
A flexible and handy little device, wedging a comma-shaped Stoppy under or between any door or window keeps them in place. Made of weatherproof materials, the stopper works indoors or out and grips almost every type of surface. Available in a variety of colors, Stoppy sells in the U.S. from Bed Bath & Beyond for $8 and online from Under The Roof Decorating, which...

Ogata Soft Furniture
Spied recently at the popular Brooklyn Flea Market in New York, veteran Japanese interior designer Kin ichi Ogata impresses audiences around the globe with his handmade "soft" wood furniture. Together with his younger brother Hisashi, they create the pieces from oak and pine, assembling individual pieces into flexible grids. Set atop iron bases, the sturdy design makes for seating that adapts to the individual's...

Case Mate "I Make My Case" iPhone Cases
Case Mate's new online design tool I Make My Case enables iPhone users to create custom cases by simply reworking illustrations already designed by renowned graphic artists such as Joshua Davis, Anthony Yankovic, Hannah Stouffer and others. Launching today, the service is similar in concept to Uncommon Cases' recent application, but focuses more on utilizing their artists' templates rather than uploading your own design...

Scott Daniel Ellison: The Birthday Party
Scott Daniel Ellison's latest solo show—his second in NYC—expands on his fascination with ragged animal life, horror film characters and the artists' recurrent fears, all in his trademark faux-naïve style. The Beacon, NY-based photographer and painter sticks to the latter medium in "The Birthday Party," a series of small, acrylic images that he could have as easily taken from "Friday the 13th" as from...

Lexus HS Hybrid 10
A recent stay in Miami for Art Basel afforded us the opportunity to test out the new Lexus HS Hybrid 10. The ventilated seats kept us cool as we cruised around for the week, and the extra highway and city mileage meant we rarely had to pause for a fill-up, but what we loved most about the car was its smart technology. Because it...

Belly Love
With a shape inspired by coral and covered in glowing tentacles that move, Florence Jaffrain's "Belly Love" looks more like a prop from Burning Man than a piece of furniture. Prioritizing a more sensual experience, the Paris-based designer lined the womb-like structure with a new photo-luminescent textile comprised of thousands of tiny soft bristles with essential oil-diffusing microcapsules. The fabric cover "breathes" as well,...

Alex Prager: Week-End
Photographer Alex Prager completes her trilogy of intriguingly unnerving photographs—awkwardly posing her doll-like subjects in vintage-inspired panoramas—with her upcoming exhibition "Week-End" at NYC's Yancey Richardson Gallery. The source of a lot of buzz at the recent 2009 Pulse Fair in Miami, Prager's highly-saturated heroines and oft-startling scenes speak to her fondness for David Lynch and Hitchcock films, as well as her belief that deep...

Eight Thank You Cards
Expressing appreciation for those who celebrated the season of giving makes a great way to begin the new year. We highlighted some of our favorite ways to say thanks here. From affectionate to witty, each card channels sincere sentiments of gratitude. Applying trendy catchphrases to letterpress cards, NYC-based Greenwich Letterpress offers "Mad Props" on recycled paper while L.A.-based Richie Designs lets that someone special...

Magimix Vision Toaster
The result of 15 years of research and design, Magimix's new Vision Toaster uses revolutionary long-lasting quartz heating elements to perfectly toast bread and let you get a peek at the action through a window. Tucked away in the corners of the French appliance brand's toaster, the hidden quartz parts replace the traditional metal components not only getting them out of the way for...

Cool Hunting Video Presents: Nike Flagship, Harajuku, Tokyo
by Gregory Mitnick This video visits Nike's new store in the heart of Tokyo's Harajuku district, interviewing interior designer Masamichi Katayama about how he came up with a way to suit the brand and its locale. Also check out the original story that we wrote about the store opening in November—all courtesy of Nike....

Interview with Stonehill & Taylor Architects
by Tamara Warren Opening its doors in 1963, Stonehill & Taylor built its prestigious reputation sculpting the face of large scale hospitals and universities. In recent years, the New York-based architecture and design firm moved toward more contemporary settings putting their signature on the Ace Hotel and The Crosby Street Hotel, as well as shaping the aesthetic of the Manhattan nightclub Quo (pictured bottom). Mike...

Around the World With the Bodoni Family
Written by graphic designer Teresa Monachino and printed by The Society of Revisionist Typographers, the 60-page limited edition book "Around The World With The Bodoni Family" cleverly takes a look at the centuries-old font by associating letters with places. Using the Bodoni typeface, Monachino illustrates a geographic location with each letter of the alphabet—such as the letter A designed to represent the Alps (pictured...

Transit Authority Figures Posters
by Noah Armstrong Massachusetts-based Rob & Damia Design's Transit Authority Figures imagine fictional subway maps for real places, pointing out the lack of public transportation options. A side project for the firm, each map outlines specific stops and color coded rail lines through quaint islands and vacations spots. Currently, posters focus on the Eastern Seaboard with destinations such as Cape Cod, Fire Island, the Hamptons,...

Izo Cleanze
Delivering specially formulated juices to doorsteps nationwide daily, Izo Cleanze's program makes it easier to undergo the purifying gauntlet of a juice fast. To start the decade off right and to do a little post-merrymaking damage control, one of their three- or five-day cleanses comes highly recommended. While debates over the health benefits continue, my recent experience trying a five-day Izo Cleanze convinced me...