As discerning editors at WGSN-homebuildlife, London-based Ali Morris and NYC-based Jean Lin are perpetually traversing the globe in search of new design talent. After a year of traveling around together, the two teamed up to form Lin Morris, an online initiative peddling a selection of what they call "quietly...

In sports they tell you that to become a better player, you have to practice against people more talented than you—demolishing your opponent each time will never lead to increased skills. This advice holds true in the creative realm as well, and one of the great graphic designers of...

Design fans in town for ICFF can take a slice of the festivities home with them this year, thanks to an exciting array of shops popping up around NYC this weekend in conjunction with the main furniture fair. Whether you're into the custom-crafted, meat-inspired balloons at Japan Premium Beef or...

Most artists are obsessed—their fixation serving as a driving force for creative action—but Tom Sachs takes his to new heights with his interest in space exploration. His newly launched NYC exhibition, "Space Program: Mars", is a love letter to NASA in his signature bricolage style, and not one detail...

Though new to the market as a clever way of thinking about canine supplements, K-10+ seems like a product that should already exist. The line of dog-friendly vitamins is the brainchild of NYC-based photographer Ryan Singer, who developed the range after realizing how difficult it is to get a...

Using little more than Muji gel ink pens Shanan Campanaro creates highly detailed drawings then degrades them with a dash of water to reveal unexpected patterns for her line of wallpaper, pillows and scarves, Eskayel. Her simple set of tools provides the foundation for an extensive process that involves...

Balance is the term that first comes to mind when describing Bliss Lau's approach to jewelry design. A soft-spoken Hawaiian with a New York sensibility, she embodies a certain duality that comes across in her work. The statement-making body accessories comprising Lau's line are at once elegant and provocative,...

The new self-titled book from Henrik Vibskov is a lot like his work—slightly haphazard yet cohesive; purposeful, but ultimately entertaining. Since graduating from London's Central St. Martins in 2001, the Danish designer has penetrated the regimented fashion industry with a distinct style that bucks conventionality and traditional seasons in...

Kickstarter helps get an array of independent endeavors off the ground every day. While many of these entrepreneurial projects revolve around the arts, we recently found two creative minds using the funding platform to up the underwear game. Each with a different motive, both JoeyBra and Flint and Tinder...

Created by London-based graphic designer Hannah Woodcock, The Common Pursuit is a new travel site designed to inspire your next holiday. The simple format currently features 72 accommodations varying in location and style, but all are centered around the comfortable aesthetics of "understated or alternative luxury," says Woodcock. The...

Whether you delight in watching others struggle blindly to hit their mark, or you enjoy giving a papier-mâché animal a hearty whack, piñatas offer instant revelry for party-goers of any age. Designer Matt Singer recently gave the age-old party game a new form with his Space Dog piñata, inspired...

Nearly 12,000 years ago the Neolithic Revolution altered the course of our survival from hunting and gathering to established agriculture. As the world's population concentrates into cities and realization dawns that our resources are limited, we're faced with a new and potentially as significant shift in how we feed ourselves....

Like Twitter without the pressure of pithy writing, Instagram allows you to share your current status to friends and followers by simply uploading a photo from your iPhone or Android. Created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the free photo-sharing app—which recently sold to Facebook for $1 billion—comes with...

Recently presented at Rhizome's annual Seven on Seven conference, Aaron Swartz and Taryn Simon's "Cultural Differences" application culls the top six photos from a Google image search for a specific word in 15 countries, displaying a visual comparison of its meaning among an array of different nations. The concept...

As motocross became an increasingly popular sport in 1960s Southern California, boys wanted to emulate their favorite riders, and began hacking together bicycle frames. Realizing this potential gap in the market, Schwinn created a bike that would answer their racing-specific needs. The Schwinn Sting Ray launched in 1963, giving...

While commuting by bike has long been a natural choice in countries like the Netherlands and China, other nations around the world are only just starting to consider it a serious mode of transportation. In South Africa bike culture is lacking—especially outside of major cities—but cyclists Stan Engelbrecht and...

The brainchild of two former I.D. Magazine editors, Sight Unseen began as a Kickstarter project in 2009, shortly after the celebrated print outlet published its final issue. Armed with years of industry experience, Jill Singer and Monica Khemsurov tackled the online world with a distinct site focused on the...

In their new book "Advertising for People Who Don't Like Advertising", the Amsterdam-based communications agency KesselsKramer details the creative side of an industry often considered devilish, making a valid claim that like sex, advertising is "only as warped as the people involved." Written in a cheeky, conversational tone, the...

Cradled by a striking 360-degree panorama of a horseshoe-shaped mountain range and the sparkling sea, Cape Town is one of the most gorgeous places on Earth. South Africa's Mother City has historically been a harbor destination, beginning with European merchants who would stop off on their way to the Indies...

Only a handful of components are necessary for making Reyka vodka: a grain spirit made from quality wheat and barley, water, geothermal energy, lava rock filtration and a custom-crafted, copper Carter-Head still. The incredibly smooth spirit is the upshot of Iceland's pristine environment, which affords the distillery an extremely...

Meeting Joshua White and Gary Panter is like stepping back in time. Not because White is responsible for creating the Joshua Light Show—the beautifully psychedelic backdrop that entertained thousands at Fillmore East concerts for Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, The Who and more in the 1960s—but because they continue designing...

Staka marks the first collection in an ongoing series between Icelandic product designers María Kristín Jónsdóttir and Bylgja Svansdóttir, comprising a curious mix of finely crafted unisex leather neck accessories. The aristocratic vibe of each piece stems from the design duo's concept for the range, which draws inspiration from...

From model Elettra Wiedemann's Goodness pop-up restaurant at Hotel Natura to the recently-developed products showcased around Reykjavik, new ways to work with food was at the forefront of Icelandic design at this year's DesignMarch fair. Young designers are tapping into their surreal natural environment, creating new cuisines or updating classic...

Acid Inc. may suggest an illicit obsession, but for sommelier David Weitzenhoffer and his partner Laura Supper, the name (professionally called A.I. Selections) relays their passion for wines higher in acidity—a key component for an exceptionally well-paired meal. "You can feel acidity in wine usually as that sort of...

Since exhibiting "Week-End"—her last solo show at NYC's Yancey Richardson Gallery in 2010—photographer Alex Prager has been busy at work, but mostly with projects outside her own personal endeavors. Whether shooting the 1960s-inspired Missoni for Target campaign, villainous celebrities for the New York Times' annual Hollywood issue, or lending...

From designer Anton Repponen's completely transparent silicon trainers concept to Cole Haan's LunarGrand hybrid wingtip kicks, the myriad of visions for Nike running shoes seems infinite, particularly when put in the hands of a few crafty artists. Highlighting the beauty of special edition sneaker culture is "Art & Sole",...

As a former speaker in both 2005 and 2010, renowned graphic designer and Pentagram partner Michael Bierut has also served as one of Design Indaba's masterful emcees for the past three years. Each day, wearing a shirt and tie matching his cheerful demeanor, he enthusiastically presents the impressive roster of...

Portland has developed quite a name for itself over the years as a hub for coffee innovation. Whether it boils down to exotic beans, an experienced roaster, the espresso machine or the whole package, each boutique that opens up has a fresh spin on coffee that goes beyond gimmicks...

Located about 40 miles outside Cape Town in the renowned wine region of Franschhoek, the lush 500-acre Babylonstoren feels more like a utopia than a farm. Originally cultivated by French Huguenot refugees in the late 1600s, today the former estate's historic grounds house a staggeringly beautiful maze of gardens...

Since launching last July, Grey Area has become a choice online destination for those seeking unique, artist-designed objects, from "Best Friends" skateboards to handmade headpieces. After opening pop-ups in Montauk last summer and then at the Bass Museum in Miami for the latest installment of Art Basel, co-founders Manish...

The cast of speakers who take the stage at Design Indaba each year always present a range of unique positions on creativity, but a natural theme tends to emerge from among their respective processes. This year the common idea on everyone's minds is that of the narrative—from food to scent...

With less than 1% of all fresh water on Earth safe for human consumption—a number that works out to around 200,000 km3 of water—the truth about the world's available supply is frightening. To draw attention to the urgency of water conservation, the not-for-profit Word Above The Street is working...

From water bottle filters to ch'i-balancing bracelets, the natural cleansing power of Binchotan charcoal takes on many forms, but Morihata's "black toothbrush" may be the most useful application yet. The nylon bristles on the polypropylene toothbrush are blended with high-quality Binchotan charcoal powder from Wakayama, Japan, which not only...

A self-taught woodworker, Jason Ross' foray into leather goods happened by chance. While working on a furniture project in a friend's woodshop, Ross noticed a band saw running on a leather belt and was so impressed it still worked that he "immediately contacted the company and bought scraps by...

Once used for model-making, Doug Johnston's nimble fingers have found a new medium in recent years. The trained architect creates vessels, sculptures and wearable masks by stitching together sewing thread and braided cotton cord on his industrial-strength, vintage Singer zig-zag sewing machine, which he then hand forms into the...

Now in its second issue, GARAGE magazine is the brainchild of Russia's most fashionable philanthropist and edgy art aficionado Dasha Zhukova. The industrious young entrepreneur perpetually proves that pushing the envelope doesn't have to take an in-your-face approach, and the magazine is the latest example of her ability to...

As soon as you enter Puerto Rican artist Angel Otero's Brooklyn work loft, the intense smell of paint nearly stops you at the door. Shelves housing copious tubes of oil paint and rows of Montana spray cans lining the back walls allude to the strong odor, but it's the...

Charles Dickens is like the Madonna of the literary world. Two centuries later, the progressive British novelist remains as relevant and legendary today as he was at the height of his career. Marking the bicentennial of his birth this year is a series of events around London, dubbed Dickens...

When Brooklyn-based artist Ian Sklarsky isn't directing music videos like Luciana's Betty White-inspired dance track "I'm Still Hot", he can be found staring peacefully at the subjects of his abstract blind contour drawings. Originally from Chicago, Sklarsky became interested in the traditional method during a high school art class....

The 2012 winner of the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation's coveted award in Sustainable Design, Brooklyn-based fashion designer Titania Inglis uses smartly sourced fabrics as the foundation for her thoughtful collections. Half Chinese, half Scottish, Inglis grew up in upstate New York before studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven—a school...

Plucked from the Great Lakes beaches of New York state, each of Kiel Mead's wall-mounted driftwood hooks marks a unique expression of his dedication to craft. Mead personally selects, bleaches and stains the hooks individually, telling Cool Hunting that because the approach is so extensive, every piece is like...

Artist Tofer Chin's signature stalagmites have taken many forms over the years—as massive installations popping off gallery walls and planted in parks, and as the geometric force breaking up mathematically-derived Op Art patterns in mind-bending paintings. But the LA-based artist's sharp expressions, on view in his current solo show...

Smoking fish, gun-toting octopuses, cupcake-eating lizards—these are just a few of the anthropomorphic animals portrayed in the intricate ink drawings by the eccentric British artist Rory Dobner. His ingenuous penchant for animals and maximalist approach to art come together in a series of wildly imaginative characters easily adored by...

Hand-built in Providence, RI, Snappy Tables provide a simple solution to compact living spaces. Founder Dean Robinson crafts each petite table from bamboo, plastic or or maple Europly, adding a convenient handle to the lightweight frame for a portable, easy-to-pack piece of furniture. The handle also serves as the...

The bicycle has seen numerous incarnations since rolling onto the scene well over a century ago, but the natural human desire to race them on the road and off has remained constant. In his new book "The Competition Bicycle", Bicycle Quarterly editor Jan Heine chronicles the evolution of the...

Over the past five years, the highly influential graphic designer Milton Glaser has designed rugs, sculptures, posters and interior spaces for a variety of independent projects. In the forthcoming book based on the 2010 AIGA exhibition of the same name, "In Search Of The Miraculous or One Thing Leads...

While we all like to tap into an artist's brain, find out exactly what goes on in their mind to make them create what they do, sometimes there isn't really more behind a work of art than simply a vision that a person is unable to explain through words....

In the new e-book "Design Voices," Dutch designer Maarten Baas points out that 20 years ago, "designing was quite anonymous as a profession." Now, not only has the importance of design become more visible outside of the creative industries, but designers themselves have also gained distinction as innovative problem-solvers....

The first in a series of artist-curated exhibitions at NYC's Joshua Liner Gallery, "Resolve" gathers together the peers and influencing figures of the highly skilled painter Tony Curanaj. Each of the 25 contemporary artists included in the group show is classically trained and collectively they demonstrate the diversity of...

A series that evolved out of two friends chatting online while on opposite sides of the world, Sandro Kopp's Skype paintings are a natural progression for the young portrait artist. As a half Kiwi, half German, Kopp—who currently lives in the Scottish Highlands—is no stranger to the nomadic lifestyle...