1. John Baldessari Narrated by Tom Waits, this cleverly edited video breaks down John Baldessari's life in a mere six minutes for a brief history lesson on the artist dubbed a "surrealist for the digital age". With over 200 solo shows and a handful of significant awards comprising his...

From 10-year-old Katherine Dewar's winning design for the national emblem to Sir Paul Smith's tribute crown for Harrod's, creative displays of respect for Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne have reached a fever pitch both in the UK and abroad. Her Royal Highness truly embodies majesty, and...

1. Sound Quality The first exhibition at NYC showroom and shop Grey Area, "Sound Quality" is nearly over but their clever take on the classic merch table continues online, tempting music fans with things like artist-curated CDs, Kent Henricksen's skull necklaces, Andrea Mary Marshall's one-off "Marlboro Mary" boxes and...

1. Maurice Sendak Book lovers the world over mourned the passing of Maurice Sendak, author of such childhood classics as "Where the Wild Things Are" and "In the Night Kitchen." Remembering him, we've been looking back to a particularly memorable and hilarious interview with Stephen Colbert, in which the...

1. RIP MCAAdam "MCA" Yauch—founding member of the Beastie Boys—passed away at the age of 47 this Friday following a prolonged bout with cancer. The influential music icon took his group from a garage band in Brooklyn to superstardom alongside Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Adrock" Horovitz. In...

Based on the Thomas Edison quote that "genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration", we founded the 99% Conference with Behance four years ago to help inspire idea execution. As day two of this year's conference is underway, we just heard a bit of entrepreneurial insight from Jonathan Adler...

"I think of our fair as a discovery fair," explains Frieze co-founder Amanda Sharp. For the first US edition of Frieze Art Fair, Sharp and partner Matthew Slotover have taken over Randall's Island, a sprawling piece of land at the confluence of NYC's East and Harlem rivers. What began...

As we've found out the hard way in NYC, spring can often be an unwelcoming start to summer. Sunny one minute and raining the next, the juggling of temperatures can really drag down any premature warm weather celebrations. So while you're still deciding on when to pack up your...

Today marks the first day of this year's 99% Conference, our annual ideas-focused event we co-founded with Behance four years ago. For the 2012 conference we're looking forward to hearing from inspirational speakers like design legend James Victore, co-founder of Warby Parker Neil Blumenthal and StumbleUpon founder Garrett Camp,...

by Graham Hiemstra and Evan Orensten Milan Design Week is always full of surprises and this year's fair was no exception. We found a strong presence of innovative furnishings mixing modern production techniques with the classic aesthetic of raw materials. From "melting" wood to laser cut marble and a...

Mother's Day is just around the corner in the US, and while everyone's relationship with their mom is completely unique, here are a handful of ideas culled from our Cool Hunting Gift Guide that are sure to brighten up any mother's day, any time of year. Women Are Heroes What...

1. Cutty Sark The world's last surviving tea clipper is once again open to visitors. Severely damaged in a 2006 fire, the Cutty Sark has been restored by London architects Grimshaw and is now open to the public in the Greenwich World Heritage Site. 2. A due Colori For...

1. AquadomThe world's largest cylindrical aquarium is one of many amenities at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin, where 260,000 gallons of water house 1,500 fish. Scuba diving in the Aquadom isn't an option for hotel guests, although there are plenty of vantage points to marvel at the engineering...

by Kelly O'Reilly and Greg Stefano With the emergence of a flourishing urban farming movement in recent years, the need for certain tools to maximize more limited natural resources has also arisen. As they lead the charge to shorten the distance from the farm to the table, commercial groups and...

More than half the world's population now lives in cities, but when it comes to feeding them, trucking in the necessary amount of food isn't a sustainable process for any metropolis. Growing out of the need for better solutions, urban farming is becoming an increasingly common approach, whether resourceful groups...

Bottega Veneta joined the personalization club today with the launch of their Initials line at a five day pop up shop within their Milan showroom during the city's busy design fair, and online through a specialized Initials site. Their trademark intrecciato (woven) pattern has become synonymous with subtle luxury...

While the Huffington Post blazed the way for new media winning a Pulitzer Prize on Monday, the literary world was stunned by the board's refusal to name a Fiction winner for the first time since 1977. They did, however, reveal the three finalists—a posthumously completed novel by David Foster Wallace,...

1. Caine's Arcade Caine's Arcade tells the heartwarming story of a creative young boy in East LA who made a DIY arcade using cardboard boxes from his father's auto parts store. Discovered by an encouraging young filmmaker, Caine has what he calls the "best day of his whole life"...

Channeling the flavors of childhood without the sugary side effects, natural sodas keep the fizz while eliminating harmful preservatives. Instead, these sustainably sourced drinks call upon organically grown ingredients for the freshest in flavor. The following is a selection of six sodas that combine light sweetness with a bit of...

A bright blue interactive installation has taken over the walls of Issey Miyake's Tribeca storefront. Composed of grids of hexagonal pads or "voxels", Symbiosis0: Voxel responds to body heat or "artifacts" left by users who touch its textile surface. Accompanying the physical responsiveness of the piece is a mobile...

1. Joinery in Jewels Inspired by the intricate craftsmanship of ancient woodworkers, Chinese designer Octavia Xiaozi Yang created a series of beautifully curious necklaces using wood, silver, gold and modern materials molded by laser cutting and 3D printing. The basic structure design allows each modular piece to be redesigned...

1. Terminal In his latest throwback music video Com Truise taps into the classic OS we all (well the older ones) know and lovingly remember. Terminal utilizes the environment and imagery from DOS, so anyone who misses blue system settings screens and elegant ASCII art is sure to get...

1. Acid DropsThe short film from animator Matt Box combines art and skateboarding with tricks from pro skater Dylan Rieder. The name refers both to both the film's trippy styling and the introductory skate trick. 2. SkullethystThis supremely mesmerizing skull is carved from a well-marbled amethyst to intricate detail....

1. Born with Three MouthsA performance art piece by Alva Bernadine features Hellen (aka Traumata) and her split tongue. Overlaying her eyes with additional mouths in Adobe After Effects, the artist creates a three-mouthed persona whose respective gobs move independently of one another for a fantastically creepy result. 2....

With Spring dawning in half the world—including at CH HQ in NYC—we've been inspired to brighten up our warmer weather attire to the match the early blossoms. After searching for Spring-ready neckwear, we have gathered together a selection of ties and bow ties that best convey the renewed energy of...

Sponsored content: Small Apartments focuses in on the small lives lived inside of a run-down Los Angeles apartment complex on the wrong side of the tracks. Little Britain's Matt Lucas is both creepy and sympathetic in his stellar performance as the eccentric Franklin Franklin, an underwear-clad Swiss alphorn-playing weirdo who...

Sponsored content: If you're coming to Austin, you got to eat yourself some barbecue and there's some terrific 'cue available throughout the city. Since the first day Franklin's Barbecue opened its doors on E 11th street, barbecue fans have been praising it to the high heavens, and Bon Appetit magazine...

Sponsored content: We're bringing you exclusive content from Austin and bringing a little bit of the city to you courtesy of MasterCard PayPass®. You're familiar with the Cool Hunting motto "Always More", so it's no surprise that one party isn't enough. That's why we're throwing five parties. At the same...

1. History of the GIF This mini documentary about the love-it-or-hate-it GIF file format surveys everything from the early years of video games to the file's recent revival in internet memes. 2. Six Point Resin With the latest addition to their tasty line of delicious brews Sixpoint gives a...

1. Global Rainbow As the clock winds down on the 2012 Olympics, artist Yvette Mattern's Global Rainbow shines over Northern England, symbolizing hope in the years to come and referencing the five colors of the olympic rings. Mattern's lasers will go live on 4 March 2012 in North Tyneside,...

Now in its 17th year, the world-class conference, Design Indaba explores how to better the world through creativity and design innovation. For three days, the annual Cape Town-based summit brings together an international collective of visionary leaders to share ideas and new ways of thinking. The conference showcases South...

1. Bike Planters Using a 3D printer, Atlanta-based designer Colleen Jordan creates small planters that you can wear around your neck or strap to your bike, allowing you to take your favorite succulent on a little adventure. 2. Shawn Stussy's S/Double Studio Seth Epstein spends a day filming Shawn...

1. Isabelle Azais Just when we thought we couldn't take another feather bauble, Belgian designer Isabelle Azais wins us over once again with hers, done in fur. Her whimsical and decadent earrings, brooches and other accessories offer a rich little puff of embellishment. 2. 78 Boxers Nicolai Howalts photographs...

1. Trash BeetleIndian artist Haribaabu Naatesan promotes VW's eco-awareness campaign by reconstructing the iconic Beetle entirely from salvaged refuse. The "Think Blue Beetle" is created from 2,805 bits of detritus collected by VW in various cleanup drives. 2. DIY Beef Jerky Underwear Throw those gag edible undies aside and...

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, it's time to get in the mood for buying your beloved something good. To save you from showing up with just a generic box of chocolates, we've added 30 items to the CH Gift Guide to spread the love. From balloons to jewelry, below are...

1. David Lynch Coffee Last year famed director David Lynch created his own line of coffee beans, and in traditional Lynch style he released a bizarre and entertaining advertisement to promote his new brand. Check out his latest spot, which unsurprisingly offers up a creepy flash of the filmmaker's...

1. Fifty Dollar Follow Focus This Kickstarter promises to do a solid for independent filmmakers everywhere. Anyone shooting on a DSLR system knows the importance of a follow focus system, and is aware of the dent it can make in your pocket. This simple, straightforward piece of mechanics promises...

As winter sputters along in New York, we're finding plenty of reasons to be homebodies —an activity that calls for the appropriate soundtrack. Like Atlas Sounds' opener "The Shakes," some of the best music for the season seems engineered for playing on vinyl, a choice that helps conjure warmth...

1. Cousteau Collection Connoisseurs of the work of the pioneering sea scientist will delight in the new iPhone and iPad app that reveals a significant portion of Cousteau's archive for the first time. Users can track exhibitions, meet members of the crew and learn more from pictures and video...

Data analysis is no longer just a practice for economists or statistics-hungry infographic designers. Thanks to technology at large, anyone can easily track every aspect of their existence to create a personalized numerical evaluation—a quantified self. Psychology has shown that in general, people are motivated by having data—it's just...

1. Diego Gravinese In a series of richly hued oil on canvas and acrylic paintings, Argentine artist Diego Gravinese depicts people in an oft-bizarre setting with photo realistic detail. Among the intimate scenes is a girl mock-eating bait from a fishing line and a failed attempt to drink milk...

1. Skittish Tree Bringing dynamic visual evidence of the impact of the sounds we make, the sound-reactive projection, Skittish Tree, offers a multi-sensory experience in the storefront of JS55 on Clinton Street in New York City. While soft sounds caused the tree to sway languidly side-by-side, loud noises—like, as...

When the bleak winter months really hit full swing, a scarf becomes an essential element for staying warm. Rather than walk around with your eyes poking out of a massive knitted muffler, we've found wrapping a silk scarf around your neck before zipping up your parka provides an elegant base...

The digital era isn't stopping writers with a clear purpose for a printed publication, and readers are just as eager to get their hands on a bit of paper that will stimulate their mind and sit well on their shelves for another read another day. Below are the top five...

After yet another year of seemingly endless adventure, we look back on our favorite trips of 2011 and the items we bring when we take to the road. With the right gear and the right destination, a last-minute red-eye becomes a welcome surprise. Hôtel Americano and GoToob We loved the...

From ICFF to Art Basel, 2011 delivered a flurry of design objects for the home that while highly creative and concept-driven, didn't compromise their utilitarian duties. From recycled plastic chairs to roman numeral inspired book shelves, the following are five of our favorite pieces of sculptural design that could...

All week we'll be looking back on the past year of CH to resurface our favorite stories and moments. For starters, it was a great year of Cool Hunting Videos—we made some new friends in our native New York and around the globe—trekking long and far to produce our mini-documentaries...

1. The War Against Christmas Scrooge would delight in the brilliant violence of this series of stills by photographer Alan Sailer. Working out of his garage, Sailer shot Christmas ornaments with a high-speed pellet rifle, capturing the results on film with a flash unit he built himself. Each ornament...

1. Photon Photos Researches at MIT's Media Lab recently broke out a specialized camera that shoots 1 trillion frames per second. This isn't your standard slow motion machine, and it doesn't produce standard results. The camera is capable of snapping pictures of photons moving through a specialized system, letting...

The time has come to track another year's course. Some predict this may be the last, so make it a good one with a standout calendar that speaks to your personal vibes. Below are 12 calendars we think would make a great addition to your 2012. The 12 Months of...