Alexander Spencer

I Heart Lego!

2011-07-03T17:49:00.000+10:00

This is brilliant...

2011-04-23T19:45:00.000+10:00

Mark Twain once said "clothes make the man," this is a saying that definitely holds true for these timeless musos. Moxy Creative, through their great "Ensemble" illustrations capture the importance of fashion when creating a memorable character. Check out some of their other awesome pieces at moxycreative.com

Owls and Fawns and Bears Oh My!

2011-02-12T16:57:00.000+11:00

I'm always impressed when people come up with ideas to make already enjoyable experiences a little more fun and exciting. Kinda like when someone came up with the tradition of wedging a coin into a Christmas Pudding - giving the lucky recipient a tasty treat and a slightly fatter coin purse (often coming with a massive dental bill, but that is beside the point)!

Ange-line Tetrault's Hidden Animal Teacups are not as vicious an experience but the surprise of finding one her little friends at the bottom of your teacup after a hot cup of tea is equally fun and not nearly as expensive :-)

Check out these and other designs at www.retrotetro.com

Christmas grows on you

2010-11-28T17:13:00.000+11:00

I'm not ashamed to say that for the past week now my music playlists have consisted of nothing but Christmas carols...

Should I be?

I think the regular window slamming by my angry lesbian neighbours is a resounding yes. But they've got another thing coming if they think that'll stop me "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree!"

Maybe if I drop off the one of these awesome Christmas cards (from Post Carden)in their mailbox the Christmas spirit will "grow" on them.

Did you miss me?

2010-11-02T19:10:00.000+11:00

I'm back!...

I'd like to think that my devoted followers missed me, but I'm not really sure "missed" is the right word when those followers consist of my Mum and some guy who seems to have a whole stack of iPads to give away if my readers follow a link to his website ;-)

Anywho, now that I've climbed on top of the pile of work that has been building up on my desk, I've been able to spend some time hunting down cool little products, quirky designers and some great "I wish I'd thought of that" ideas.

One I stumbled upon the other day is New York designer Emily Rothschild. Below are a couple of my favourites from her website:

Magnetic Key Ring

Pinky Wings

USB Locket

A Matter(of)horn

2010-10-07T09:15:00.006+11:00

Being a proud Aussie I have tried to steer clear of anything related to New Zealand for most of my life. However, with some of my family defecting to the "dark side" and the intriguing things I'd heard about the windy city of Wellington, I swallowed my pride last Friday and jumped on a plane.

Kind of expecting it to be the Marmite to Australia's Vegemite, I was pleasantly surprised to find (in toast-spread terms) it was more like Nutella - similar but not quite like anything else, a little bit "nutty," and nobody knows for sure where it came from. Wellington seems to have strong influences from a range of different countries and cultures and is a visual patchwork architecture, art and design.

A great example of this is the institutionalised cafe/restaurant/bar - Matterhorn, which I tried out yesterday. Matterhorn landed on Wellington's Cuba street in the early 60s as the brainchild of two Swiss brothers. With a Frank Lloyd Wrightesque interior and kind of a ski chalet feel it gives you a great sense of being in a different place, in a bygone era, whilst being in a different country, in a different time-zone. With a couple of their in-house made Campari's under your belt, I'm sure nobody would fault you for suggesting a little day trip to France tomorrow to pickup a few wheels of brie and some wine.

Definitely worth a visit if you're ever passing through Wellington.

:-)

Freshly Squeezed

2010-09-25T09:52:00.000+10:00

Kinda like trying to find that last piece of sky in a puzzle box full of water pieces, trying to find those last kitchen accessories to accentuate a new kitchen is like looking for a needle in the proverbial haystack. Alessi, however has proven itself time and time again as designers of timeless pieces of kitchen artwork that look good in any environment. In fact, just the other day I spotted their Graves Kettle in an old episode of Star Trek. I know this makes me a nerd, but I say any design that can successfully fit into the 21st and 24th centuries is pretty impressive in anyone's eyes.

This year is the 20 year anniversary of the release of one of Alessi's most iconic products - The Juicy Salif by Philippe Starck. Rumoured to have been originally designed on a sauce stained napkin, it has been an icon of industrial design for the past two decades.

In celebration of this anniversary, next month Alessi will be releasing the 'Mysqueeze' juicer in conjunction with Mydeco. Designed as a competition entry by Roland Kreiter this juicer is a clear homage to Starck's and the perfect way to usher in a new generation of Alessi designers.

Of Mice and Men

2010-09-05T14:11:00.000+10:00

A large portion of my childhood was spent carefully balancing all of the components of my Mouse Trap game, before winding that crank that sets the whole 'domino effect' of catching the mouse into motion.

In my youthful exuberance it never occurred to me that catching a mouse in real life was a very different story. Somewhere along the line someone decided that using a boot, diving man and bathtub was an unnecessarily convoluted system - go figure! Instead a barbaric spring-loaded metal rod, attached to a piece of wood became the norm. A solution that most people have accepted and rarely questioned, until now...

Clever designer Aakash Dewan has come up with a beautifully simple and humane way of catching your pesky household rodents. This ingenius device is simply a balanced container that use the mouse's own weight against it, tipping up as soon as it scurries in to snatch the piece of cheese you've left inside.

Then all you have to do is find all you have to do is find a nice little forest to set it free on its merry way. :-)

Pony Power

2010-09-02T15:16:00.000+10:00

It's been a few days since I last posted, but this one was definitely worth the wait. Earlier tonight I came across possibly the greatest artist of all!!!

Combining every young girl's two favourite things - My Little Ponies and pop culture, Mari Kasurinen has, in my mind at least secured herself as one of the most awesome artists ever!

Mary Shelley eat your heart out :-)

Lady Gaga

Damien Hirst

Boba Fett

He-Man

Vivienne Westwood

Godzilla

Batman & Robin

Alien

Stone Cold

2010-08-25T17:31:00.000+10:00

This post is a little offbeat, but I stumbled across these the other day and thought to myself "what a great solution to an extremely niche problem."

Let me start by saying I'm by no means a whisky connoisseur, if you asked me if I preferred single or double malt I'd probably ask you which flavour of milkshake you were offering. And just so you know, I'll always go for the double malt caramel! However, you don't have to appreciate the balanced complexities of an aged whisky to understand the clever thinking and elegant design that has gone into these Whisky Stones by Teroforma.

Adapting the centuries old Scandinavian idea of cooled granite, Teroforma use milled cubes of soapstone that after a few hours in the freezer create a replacement for ice that will never melt and dilute the drink, won't scratch your expensive glass due to the soft nature of the soapstone, and won't impart either flavour or odour into the drink.

So, if you're looking for something a little more classy than those colourful, plastic fruit ice cubes to cool your whisky without tainting it check these out.

White Charcoal?

2010-08-25T12:31:00.002+10:00

I was introduced to white charcoal a couple of years ago by my boss's wife. I was a little sceptical when she explained to me that by just boiling this stick in a pot of water once a month it can be used to purify countless quantities of tap water by simply submersing the stick in a jug of drinking water before serving. Convinced that this was just another one of her crazy Danish cultural quirks I was expecting the water to taste something like of a wet piece of burnt toast. However, other than that horrible salt liquorice stuff, she had never steered me wrong, so I gave it a try. Much to my surprise the water really did taste better!

After further investigation I discovered that white charcoal (or Binchotan) is actually Japanese in origin, and acquires its purification properties by having a much higher concentration of pure charcoal than standard charcoal. This allows it to soak up chlorine and other unpleasant tastes from drinking water while releasing natural minerals into it. It also has an alkaline effect, softening the water and improving the overall taste.

If you want to give it a whirl you can pick up a 2kg bag online from Chef's Armoury for $45, and as this pack includes a number of sticks it actually becomes very good value for money.

Pantone - Top Ten!

2010-08-24T17:44:00.001+10:00

Lawrence Herbert is a name not known to many, in fact unless you are one of the few design students who actually paid attention during History of Design, instead of sleeping off your hangover, it's a name you'll probably never hear. However, as then creator of the Pantone Colour Matching System (PMS) he has more than likely had an significant influence the majority of the Western World's daily lives since the 1950's. Pantone colour matching is used everyday in fashion, advertising, product design, film and pretty much anything else you can think of that involves colour.

Pantones have been so influential that in recent years they have reached the iconic status of being used as the basis for the design of a number of products that glorify their existence. So, instead of making that Justin Bieber tote bag your next purchase, consider something that immortalises the colours that light up your life.

Here are my Top Ten Pantone Products:

Number 10

Pantone Spray Cans

by graffiti artist Nico189

Number 9

Pantone Pepper Mills

by Typhoon Housewares

Number 8

Pantone Mugs

by Pantone

Number 7

Pantone Notebook

By Pantone

Number 6

Pantone Juice

Concept by Danny Halvorson (via KingKoala)

Number 5

Pantone Folding Chair

by Seletti

Number 4

Pantone Flight Stool

by BarberOsgerby

Number 3

Pantone Hotel in Brussels

Number 2

Pantone Potato Chips

concept by Thoughtful

Number 1

Panettone Pantones

Promotional gift for Greenford Printing by Purpose

Fallen Princesses

2010-08-23T11:42:00.000+10:00

I just discovered Dina Goldstien's Fallen Princesses series. Dina juxtaposes Disney's perfect princesses with real world issues in a kind of "what if" point of view of what happens to them after the curtain falls.

Very clever :-)

Put a lid on it!

2010-08-20T22:25:00.000+10:00

Here is a young British designer that gets it!

Reducing you're environmental impact is not about replacing perfectly good products with those that are made out of recycled coffee cup lids, whose recycling process and transforming into new products is almost as damaging as buying the non"eco" versions straight off the production line. The key is in the reduction.

Jack Bresnahan has designed a series of lids that can be attached to standard tin cans, subsequently repurposing them into new and elegant products that wouldn't look out of place in your local designer homewares store. By doing so he has created a series of complete products that use far fewer new parts in their design, and repurposes your used cans with as little energy as it takes to peel off a label and whack on a lid.

Keep up the great work Jack!

Water, water everywhere...

2010-08-19T18:10:00.001+10:00

Gone are the days when a large animal skin rug (head still attached of course), spread across your drawing room floor commanded the respect and adoration of your visitors. Nowadays your home is respected for how energy-saving your lightbulbs are, or how few litres of water your dishwasher uses on its Eco-Cycle.

So, now that you're living a "green" life and all of your appliances have 4 star eco ratings, it's time to replace your soft furnishings with products that tell everyone of your concern for the environment. Not only that, now that your polar bear skin rug is rolled up in your hall cupboard for fear of it being attacked by red paint, you need something to take its place.

Sarcasm aside, this witty "Global Warming" rug from Mexican design group NEL is a fantastic option for those of us whom are not only concerned about the environment, but want our visitors to know it too!

A little bird told me...

2010-08-17T11:19:00.001+10:00

As the dominant species on the planet we are often overly arrogant about our standing within it. I'm sure that few people would argue that the human race is leading the way in the shift towards a sustainable planet. However this is just not so!

Our feathered friends are already streaks ahead of us. The majority of them are already vegans, they build their homes out of renewable resources and they have developed carbon-free methods of air travel. And now to rub salt in our CO2 filled wounds, our avian enemies (with a little help from OOOMS Designs) have developed solar technology that can completely light their homes with the use of a panel not much larger than a playing card!

So before you start counting your chickens, and thinking that just because you have a compost heap out the back you're doing your bit, take a birds-eye view of the world - The planet will thank you for it!

:-)

Queeny Tee

2010-08-16T14:01:00.001+10:00

If it ain't Aussie...

2010-08-13T11:19:00.000+10:00

Here are some brilliant ads I just found for an Australian fine dining restaurant in Denmark called REEF N' BEEF. With Penfolds ´Koounga Hill´ on the menu I think the definition of fine dining becomes a bit of an oxymoron, but these ads make up for this in spades!

Emeco(la)

2010-08-11T09:39:00.000+10:00

During World War II when the iconic Emeco 1006 chair was commissioned by the U.S. Navy the design world's focus was on the war effort. Emeco did their part by creating this virtually indestructible piece of furniture that would strike fear into the hearts of anyone who opposed the might of the USA!

Nowadays Emeco is still catering to the needs of the World's superpowers, but the war is now on environmental impact, and the Admirals at the helm are the board members of Coke.

The new "111 Navy Chair" (modelled on the design of the 1006) uses at least 111 recycled plastic Coke bottles in the creation of each chair and is estimated to repurpose more than 3 million PET bottles annually. It's a great concept, and I would proudly rehome a set of six 111s to accompany my dining room table, but let's not get too carried away with the eco-friendliness of this chair. Recycled bottles make up only 60% of the total chair, while the remainder is "a special combination of other materials including pigment and glass fiber for strength," which probably means you won't see these chairs ever being recycled again. However, to be completely honest, if I owned an Emeco chair you'd prying it from my cold dead bottom before you got a chance to try and recycle it.

It's a great concept and it's a step in the right direction for Coke!

Nine Lives

2010-08-11T08:14:00.000+10:00

This clever little lasercut keychain is Ben Klinger's take on the concept of cats having nine lives.

"Whenever you face and survive danger, take out one soul of a cat. the silhouette will serve as a reminder of past events".

It's a great idea, and will serve as a reminder to me to never get into a car with someone who only has one cat soul remaining on their keychain :-)

TONY WANTS YOU*

2010-08-10T09:24:00.000+10:00

With the next Aussie Federal Election just around the corner Tony Abbott wants you*

*But only if you are a wealthy, white, heterosexual, catholic man.

And God help you if you are a refugee!!!

;-)

Tshirts, hoodies & stickers available here

Bright Idea!

2010-08-09T22:08:00.000+10:00

This clever use of a simple 2 piece lasercut acrylic frame and an extension cord, by American designer Craighton Berman is a brilliant example of how the simplest solution can often be the most elegant.

Kickass Kokeshis!

2010-08-01T17:16:00.000+10:00

Every design store I seem to go into at the moment either has a glass cabinet or a "Do Not Touch" shelf full of Kokeshi dolls. The frustrating part is I always want to push down on their heads to see if they'll bobble, but judging by their price tags such a disrespectful act would probably bring down the wrath of Shinigami (the Japanese God of Death) on my own head!...

These cheaper versions from Temple7e are much more up my alley, plus they make my inner nerd smile :-)

Happiness...

2010-08-01T16:39:00.000+10:00

Happy sloths make me happy too :D

Available here

Printed Products

2010-07-30T19:10:00.011+10:00

I have to say I'm still not convinced by this whole 3D TV malarky. I already have three remotes that I seem to spend half my life looking for, and I'm just not prepared to throw a few sets of 3D glasses into the already complicated mix!

One type of 3D that does have me sold however is 3D printing!!! Picture this - You're one of the cool kids on the block who spends countless hours scouring the internet for unique products that exemplify your need to separate yourself from the crowd. You are no longer happy to spend a fortune on something at your local mall that is mass-produced and mass-consumed by you and thousands of other people. The type of stuff you're interested in is that perfect piece of jewellery carved from organic timber by a crazy little Finnish designer who now lives in the mountains of Nepal. You're happy to pay 3,000 Rupees (AUD$50) for it, but then you find out it's going to cost you another 3,000 Rupees to have it delivered to Australia, and because it needs to travel by yak to the nearest small town before it catches the next flight to Sydney, you're also going to have to wait until early next year for it to arrive!!! This is a barrier that a lot of us face when we're trying to buy products that aren't readily available on our southern shores. So imagine how great it would be if the time between ordering and receiving your purchase was a matter of hours, not weeks or months! This is what the not too distant future holds.

I was recently introduced to the a company called Shapeways by Duann Scott from Bits to Atoms. Duann is an Industrial Designer from Adelaide who designs awesome pieces of men's jewellery (pictured below) that are very unique in their method of production. Using Shapeways' 3D printing services Duann can generate 3D models of his designs here in Australia which can then be made to order out of your choice of a range of metals, plastics and even glasses. The production process takes place in the Netherlands using 3D printing technology that in basic terms builds a real world version of the product by printing very thin layers of your chosen material on top of each other. Then the finished product is sent direct to your door. The video below explains it very well.

So, I hear you say - "this doesn't solve my problem, it's supercool but it still needs to be sent to me from Europe" - and you'd be right. However, this technology is advancing at such an exponential rate that it won't be long until you'll own one of these nifty little printers yourself. Just 5 years ago 3D printing technology was prohibitively expensive and complex, and thus was only available to high-end product designers. Since then the price of both the printed products and the printers themselves has been rapidly dropping to the point where you can pick one up now for about half the price of a 3D TV. So it's safe to say that it won't be long before you'll be eagerly watching Philippe Stark's latest fruit bowl printing on your desktop only hours after it hits the shelves in Paris, and you won't even need to wear those stupid glasses to enjoy it!