UK designer Anthony Dickens designed Tekio—a new modular lighting system that lit up Clerkenwell Design Week in London last week—to serve as what he calls "a simple tool for people to express themselves".

Dickens has been developing the concept for Tekio in his London design studio since returning from a visit to Japan in 2010. During his travels he was inspired by the beauty of the traditional Chōchin paper lanterns and resolved to adapt the craft of lantern-making into a contemporary modular product.

The result is an endlessly customizable lighting system—any number of lightweight elements can be connected to create a minimal but sculptural illuminated installation, and each paper section can be extended in a straight line or a curve. The more elements that are introduced, the more ambitious the form of the light can be. Straight, rectangular, triangular, circular, interlocking, spiral—the configurations, as Dickens says, are "limited only by your imagination".

The variety of forms is made possible by an internal aluminum frame with hinges that can be locked at any angle, from 90-180 degrees. On this frame sit either LED or CFL bulbs, with elements held neatly together by magnets to make them easy to adapt and reconfigure.

Dickens has said that the lighting project began as a way of showcasing the creativity of his design studio, and in pursuing this goal he's developed an ancient Japanese craft into a remarkable contemporary lighting system—appropriately enough, Tekio means "adaptation" in Japanese. Up until this point all the Tekio prototypes have been developed and made in Dicken's studio but now, Dickens is looking for a manufacturer who can take on the challenge of producing Tekio at scale.

by Maggie Roush Mead

The second-floor space at Gallery R'Pure has been transformed into a visual conversation about what America means today. "Love It or Leave It" explores notions of consumerism, patriotism, religion and the suburban dream through the critical eyes of 10 acclaimed New York-based designers.

The idea for the show was conceived during months of brainstorming by both the designers and gallery director Odile Hainaut, who described the process as "organic." Hainaut had previously worked with six of the participating designers on 2011's "Brokenoff Brokenoff," which honored the life and work of the late designer Tobias Wong. Each piece was created with the gallery space in mind and in dialogue with the other artists involved. "Even though the show is based around an idea or a concept," Hainaut says, "each design reflects the personal aesthetic of the designer." Here, three standouts from the remarkably diverse and well-balanced collection.

Positioned in the center of the gallery, a striking picket fence appears to be wilting. The fact that the sides of the fence in "The Dream"—which is made of a PVC composite material—are painted white and black suggests a division in the experience of the American suburban ideal. New Jersey-born artist Brad Ascalon says that the piece was born from his frustration with the consumerism and lack of personal responsibility that has come to define American society.

"The Tote Series" by Dutch designer Alissia Melka-Teichroew explores the tendency of American product design to value functionality over beauty. Each of her white leather bags features an increasing array of functional features until the fourth bag in the series, which is rendered ridiculous with its overabundance of pockets, zippers, and handles.

A deeply personal piece that draws from Frederick McSwain's childhood in rural North Carolina, "Cells" features 84 framed Polaroid photos taken by his bail bond agent mother, depicting the people she helped get out of jail. Presented in a large grid pattern like a large spreadsheet, the powerful images bring up questions about freedom and imprisonment, as well as our impulse to categorize the things and people around us.

"Love it or Leave it" opened during New York's 2012 Design Week and is on view through 1 June 2012 at Gallery R'Pure. Visitors must ring the doorbell to access the second-floor exhibition space.

by Adam Štěch

Nestled among the beautiful landscape of the Pálava hills near the border of the Czech Republic and Austria, Mikulov is a romantic town in the heart of Moravian wine country. Between 1-3 June 2012, the ancient chateau above the town will host the Křehký Festival of Art Design for the second time. The small festival maintains an intimate, convivial atmosphere where curators, artists, designers, collectors and gallerists can meet in the beautiful setting of the Baroque chateau, against the backdrop of spectacular landscape dotted with wine houses from one of the best vineyard regions in central Europe.

The event, organized by the Prague-based design gallery Křehký (Fragile), showcases presentations and curated exhibitions devoted to unique, under-the-radar design. Last year, the first iteration of the festival presented the best from Czech contemporary design, including the installation "Archive of Miracles" from the Czech pavilion at the Shanghai EXPO 2010, as well as works by Mikulov-based pottery-maker and designer Daniel Piršč.

This year Křehký presents new objects by Tomáš Král, Michaela Tomišková, and Tomáš Gabzdi Libertiny, alongside work from several other European design galleries including Paris-based S. Bensimon and Helmrinderknecht from Berlin. Sofie Lachaert from Tielrode will also exhibit along with the Art Design Project from Bratislava and the legendary Prague-based studio and label of Qubus.

The Křehký Festival of Art Design runs 1-3 June 2012 in Mikulov, Czech Republic. For more images of the work on display at this year's event, check out our slideshow.

Standing 80cm tall, Naolab's recently released Rack360 is a creatively arranged storage unit for small spaces. The 12 stacked drawers fan out like a spiral of steps that can rotate a full 360 degrees to accommodate any number of configurations. Described by Naolab as being "perfect for long things", the rack can hold a wide array of items from food and kitchen supplies to tools and utensils.

In keeping with Naolab's intuitive design ethos, the unit's 12 trough-like trays open in the front for access even when the unit is "closed". The unique adaptability marks the functional highlight of Rack360, and the streamlined design is the icing on the cake. The sophisticated form—even when splayed open—and crisp colors make the storage unit versatile enough to live in the middle of the garage or in a corner of the office.

The latest product from the Shanghai- and Hong Kong-based design studio is still in the prototyping stage, but we hope to see it in the Naolab online shop soon.

A good pickle is typically welcome any time of year, but as backyard barbecues heat up they become the essential summer accompaniment. Sure to add a zesty burst of flavor to your next veggie burger or Italian sausage is Gordy's, a Washington, DC-based pickling company started by friends Sarah Gordon and Sheila Fain late last year.

Gordy's currently stocks four types of pickled goods—Sweet Pepper Relish, Hot Chili Spears, Thai Basil Jalepeños and Sweet Chips—each jarred in equally refreshing packaging. Designed by graphic designer (and CH contributor) Noah Armstrong, the label speaks to Gordon and Fain's interest in championing the grandmotherly nature of pickling while still keeping a modern aesthetic.

We enjoyed all four of the small batch varieties, and found the flavors to be completely present without knocking you out. The spears have the ideal amount of spicy zing to eat on their own, the chips have a touch of ginger to keep them from tasting too sweet, the jalepeños are especially crisp and certainly deliver in kicking it up a notch, and the relish is not only the appropriate blend of savory and sweet, but is diced just the right size to keep from becoming mushy.

All of Gordy's ingredients are entirely organic. The jars sell online for $10 each or from an array of shops around the DC area.

Just one floor up from "Scale," Cool Hunting's curatorial contribution to Noho Design District at the Standard Hotel, the work of 12 West Coast designers was on view in the "Hotel California" exhibition. Among the group was Scout Regalia, a multidisciplinary design practice based in LA's Echo Park neighborhood. Co-founders and architects Benjamin Luddy and Makoto Mizutani have built a body of work spanning furniture, home goods and graphic design, as well as larger outdoor projects that range in scale from a home in the Hollywood Hills to urban planning for Red Hook, Brooklyn to trail registries in the Southern California desert. They're most proud of their work for the WPA 2.0 competition, which challenged designers to look at a new Works Progress Administration program. "We created a multivalent proposal that looked at changing the way people work, eat, live and link called the WELLness Campaign."

"Aesthetically and ethically, our furniture line is a good representation of how we want to work and the timeless style that we aspire to create," say the designers. "Working with local fabricators and makers is very important to us. Supporting local industries is vital in supporting a sustainable cycle of business and design. Our entire furniture line is made in LA with local fabricators and manufacturers. The SR Outdoor Table Sets use dimensional lumber with powder coated aluminum—the juxtaposition sums up our aesthetic in a lot of ways."

Expanding upon their already broad range, Scout Regalia now includes bicycles. The handbuilt prototypes for their bike line, decked out in handmade black ash baskets by Jamin Uticone, canvas panniers by Winter Session, leather Brooks saddles and wool camp blankets by Topo Designs grabbed our attention at Hotel California. We caught up with Luddy and Mizutani to ask them how the new bike line came about.

You've designed furniture, graphics and outdoor projects, but never a bike. How did the Scout Regalia Bike come about?

The Scout Regalia Bicycle is our vision for an American bicycle that combines performance with style, and design with craftsmanship. We've been working on the design of the frame for about a year and a half now. We've always been interested in the design challenges of a bicycle and Ben has been an avid cyclist his whole life. We wanted the Scout Regalia Bicycle to take its cues from three distinct bicycle typologies: the English/Dutch town bike, a cycle truck and a mountain bike—all with a distinctly American feel.

Most importantly, we wanted to work with an American bike frame builder. We were lucky to work with David Wilson out of Philadelphia who really brought our design to life. He's been a wonderful collaborator, and working with such a knowledgeable bike-maker was incredibly helpful in bringing the details of the frame to life. The Scout Regalia bicycle, more than any other piece of furniture or product we've ever designed, was truly a collaborative effort.

The challenge now is to see what parts we can machine and how we can cost-effectively create the frame. We're working with Wilson right now to see how we can streamline some of the fabrication. These prototypes were completely built by hand—even the dropouts were cut out by hand!

What components are you using?

The Scout Regalia Bicycle is based around our unisex "mixte"-style steel frame. Components include a nine-speed internally geared rear hub, a front dyno hub with light disc brakes, double-leg kickstand, Brooks saddle and 29-inch tires with fenders. The nine-gears make it easy to get up hills and the internal gearing makes for clean lines—both were really important to us. The rear rack is integrated into the frame and is strong enough to carry someone on the back. The front rack is attached to the frame/steering tube, not the fork/front wheel, so whatever you carry on the front rack stays straight even while you're turning. The two-tone, powder-coated finish emphasizes the front end of this American-made, American-inspired bicycle.

We worked with Winter Session in Chicago to design the rear saddlebags of the bicycle, which fold on to the rear frame and serve double-duty as a padded seat for picking up hitchhiking friends. The custom handwoven black ash basket was made by Swamp Road Baskets of Alpine, NY, and we also have the all-wool camp blanket & accessory straps from Topo Designs of Colorado on the front rack. The accessories will be sold separately from the bike itself.

What are you working on now?

We're currently collaborating with Reunion, a design office in NYC, on a bar and hotel opening in Snowmass, Colorado in late fall/early winter. The projects will incorporate some new furniture we're working on and will explore some fun concepts. We're also working on a public park space with landscape architect Mia Lehrer & Associates and the City of Los Angeles. The park will include seating that is inspired by our White Oak Table Sets. We also have about half a dozen furniture and product designs we're working on in addition to some custom casework.

Any fantasy projects you'd love to work on in the future?

We always talk about designing and building a small "vacation office" outside the city—that would definitely be our fantasy project. When we lived in New York, we designed (but never built) a small office in upstate New York. Now, we're fantasizing about a vacation office in the Eastern Sierras. We'd love to design a little vacation cabin near the Sierras that can be our rural Scout Regalia headquarters.

When we first discovered Cap-sac, our dork sides fell in love with their fanny pack hats decked out in retro neon hues. Since then, the company has branched out into hats for kids and actual fanny packs. Looking ahead to summer 2012, the company has introduced a new line of equally colorful and retro-fun visors featuring their signature zippered pockets, and a new app to match.

"We are huge fans of retro fashion. We long for the days of knee-high socks and short shorts on the tennis court. Visors are of this era and we miss them, so we decided to bring them back!" says founder Jessica Aceti. The visors especially harken back to the no-holds-barred fashion trends of the late '80s. "We think the '80s (and early '90s) were a really unique and irreverent time in fashion. Those that love the fashion and spirit from that era are super loyal to the Cap-Sac line."

Coinciding with the release of the visors, Cap-sac has created a delightfully zany iPhone app called "Cap-sac Laser Portraits". With a few taps, you can beam yourself back in time to a photo studio with throwback laser beam backgrounds, outfits, and, of course, Cap-sacs to create outrageous yearbook-style photos.

Aceti is also planning a busy future for the brand. "We want to put more gaming content on the site so that people have even more fun with Cap-sac! Product wise, we want to continue growing our kids line with some unique backpacks. We are also toying with the idea of Cap-sac winter wear."

Cap-sac visors are available online for $14. "Cap-sac Laser Portraits" is available on iTunes.

Images by Graham Hiemstra

The Black and Blanco Sandcastle cookies are so rich and buttery, it's hard to believe there's actually no butter in them. There's also no wheat, refined sugars, trans fat, dairy, cholesterol, preservatives, eggs or GMOs. They're inspired by the traditional Morroccan sandie—a simple cookie made from white flour, white sugar, vegetable oil and salt—that Steve Blanco, the company's president, grew up eating. When Blanco's girlfriend, Heidi Karlsen, tried one for the first time and, he says, "literally freaked out at the goodness of it," the two set out to create a healthier version that was more in line with their lifestyle, and could be enjoyed by people with various food allergies. The Black and Blanco version is made from a base of whole grain rye flour, virgin coconut oil and evaporated cane juice, all of which are organic. "We specifically love eating rye for its wealth of health benefits and low gluten content," says Blanco. "It's a wonderful old grain. Ours is milled in upstate NY."

The couple created the company after what Blanco describes as a low point in their lives. "Since our views and love of food were a big part of our connection we wanted to build something that would allow us to climb out of the dark times while contributing something nice to the world," says Blanco. Even though Karlsen has a background in baking and Blanco is a natural in the kitchen, they went through months of "rigorous R and D to arrive at the final Sandcastle," remembers Blanco. "Many months of trial and error and many thousands of cookies went into the trash. We've learned quite a bit along the way and I can say that baking with coconut oil is one hell of a challenge! The hardest part was getting a texture similar to the original, but sturdy enough to be a packaged cookie."

Black and Blanco currently sells three flavors, Maple Dusted Cardamom, Vanilla Black Sesame and Marzipan, and they have two more in the works—a dark chocolate variety and an absinthe and rosebud flavored homage to Citizen Kane. But before those come hot out of the oven we sat down to taste test the three flagship flavors with three very different cookie connoisseurs. Test Subject A is a health nut, B eats whatever tastes good without a thought to nutrition and C is somewhere in the middle.

Maple Dusted Cardamom

A: It has a good crunch and density. Subtle maple flavor with a nice whiff of cardamom and pumpkin undertones. It tastes like something my grandmother would bake.
B: Crunchy and really yummy. It has a flavor that sneaks up on you.
C:You smell the cardamom before you taste it and get a salty finish. It's an unusual flavor combination. I like the spicy, smokey flavor.

Vanilla Black Sesame

A: Nice saltiness and nutty flavor, but very subtle vanilla. The simplest of the bunch.
B: Crunchy again and a bit plain.
C: Because it's so plain it might be good with a spread, maybe honey or chocolate.

Marzipan

A: Wow! Amazing almond flavor. It really does taste like marzipan in cookie form.
B: It's like the crunchy version of an almond pastry. Really good.
C: You can smell it before you bite into it. It's more fragrant and flavorful than the rest.

The clear winner was the Marzipan flavor, with Maple Dusted Cardamom as a very close second. In general, the testers liked the cookies with coffee and tea, and also found that they pair nicely with red wine. They also noted that rather than tasting like a healthy—AKA less satisfying—version of a butter-rich cookie, these flavors seem just as decadent.

Sandcastles are available for purchase online or at selected stockists for $6 a box.

Drawing inspiration from photography and architecture, these four designers have adopted unique methods of applying their art to lightweight silk scarves, creating uniquely detailed accessories perfect for sweltering days that give way to chilly nights.

Sabina Les

This New York City-based designer creates scarves with original textile patterns, animal prints and strong geometric figures, guided by the belief that individuals can be both soft and strong. Her Downtown Circle scarf is covered in shapes representing the architectural forms of downtown Manhattan with a playful feel. The Profiles Galore scarf places a more modern take on the classic baroque style with a black and yellow print bordered by a bold gold frame. Les' USA-made collections are available for purchase online for $175 apiece.

Gemma Land

Also inspired by architecture, independent fashion accessory and print artist Gemma Land's Strawberry Hill collection of scarves was borne from photographs she took of Horace Walpole's house as it was undergoing restoration in South London. "The house has a deep history with gothic style and literature and I wanted the work to reflect this, creating a sense of the romantic and gothic, playing the structures to create hallucinogenic and impossible symmetrical patterns," she says. Land's range can be felt in her upcoming collection, which depicts the city's modernist housing developments and will be available soon as a limited edition. The current collection is available at Avenue 32 for $353.

Ilana Kohn

Designer Ilana Kohn's Brooklyn-made line of clothing, textiles and accessories sprang from a desire for classic and easy-to-wear clothing. In addition to starting her line this year, she is teaching an intensive marbling course at the Textile Arts Center in New York, sharing with aspiring crafty types the innovative by-hand technique she uses on her designs. Her collection is available online for $120-$160.

Simo Neri

Italian designer Simo Neri digitally prints her designs directly on silk crepe. The silk is treated to allow inks to penetrate the fabric, but her art can be printed on an array of materials. Initially stiff due to the printing process, the scarves soften over time with use. Neri experiments with fabrics and techniques but her favorite product continues to be the wrap-around silk scarves, which are printed in limited edition in Lyon, France. Each scarf is signed by Simo and come with an ID card. Scarves from the "Wearing cities", "Between the lines" and "Natural rhythms" collections are available for purchase online for $180.

Jon Burgerman is as easily distracted as he is a talented and obsessive doodler. Fortunately, his humorous ruminations recently made their way from his sketchbook to the printed page in a new self-published book called "My American Summer". The 92-page hardbound zine chronicles his move from Nottingham, England to NYC (by way of LA) through a cast of colorful cartoons, for a loose autobiography that charms readers with his honest observations and preoccupations—from the time he watched two girls on an airplane wash an apple in a plastic bag, to waiting in line at the post office (the place "where time goes to die").

Slightly bored with life back home in the UK, the illustrious illustrator decided to spend a summer stateside. Armed with his sketchbook and pens, Burgerman left the comforts of home in search of an adventure that he hoped would strip him of some unwanted baggage. The upshot is a detailed visual record of his journey told through his signature discombobulated drawing style, a manner that perfectly compliments the candidly pensive tale.

Transforming his black-and-white drawings into full color stories, the book is packed with music-filled parties in the park, zany encounters in Brooklyn bars and curious trips to the cinema—where he watches his first film in 3D and eats chocolates left by a previous movie-goer. In the end, he realizes that whether you're on the moon, in the UK or in the US, "your baggage almost always comes with you." A delightful peek inside the mind of an artist, "My American Summer" sells online and at Moves concept shop in Williamsburg for £12 a copy.

Those in NYC (where Burgerman has since elected to set up shop) can see his illustrations come to life through his performances with fellow artist Jim Avignon. Dubbed "Anxieteam", the duo ironically create a laid-back atmosphere where you dance to songs strummed on the ukelele about soya or being lonely in the digital world. While the stage is lined with their own artwork, they invite the audience to participate by drawing their performance or to dance around in cardstock masks sporting Anxieteam's illustrations.

Whether you put them on for pure musical escape or simply to tune out the daily grind, headphones are an essential accessory for all walks of life. We’ve sifted through the most recent releases to short list a handful of standouts from a wide variety of established and unknown names in the audio business. From high-tech and upscale to environmentally friendly to basic, the following five headphones are sure to improve any listening experience.

Marshall

Sporting a subtler look than the previously released Major, the new Pitch Black series gets murdered out for a much lower profile. Accented with a bit of raw black denim, the small single speakers sound crisp and clear even when cranked all the way up. Plus they fold up for travel, drawing inspiration from the nomadic life of most Marshall loyal musicians. Priced at $120, these road-ready headphones are now available from Marshall online.

Philips

With large leather and memory foam earpads and lightweight aluminum earshells for acoustic precision, the Fidelio L1 is the most comfortable over-ear headphone we've worn in some time. The tilted speakers work with the ear's natural angles for beautiful clarity and depth, making vocals and pitch unbelievably sharp. The bass hits plenty hard, and drivers seem sharply balanced to favor the calculated drawl and heavy beats of 2 Chainz and the cloudy acoustic voice of Spiritualized just as well. Visit Apple, where the Fidelio L1 sells for $299.

Outdoor Technology

These wireless on-ear headphones connect via bluetooth for an untethered experience in a fresh blue finish. The understated silhouette, comprehensive on-ear controls and rubber-coated exterior combine to make the DJ Slim a solid option for slightly higher-impact activities. While the headphones seamlessly connected to an iPhone, we found syncing with the computer a bit difficult. Priced at less than $70, however, the DJ Slim still offers much more than most at twice the price.

ThinkSound

Kevlar-reinforced, PVC-free cables, wood casings and recycled packaging place the ms01 earphones among the most environmentally friendly options on the market. Although the buds don't pack the biggest punch in the bass section, everything else sounds clean and clear—especially at a higher volume. The lightweight, high-definition earphones are available from ThinkSound for $100.

Etymotic

Described by one CH team member as the best sounding earbud he's ever heard, the hf5 has perfectly balanced bass and treble with the highest-documented noise isolation in the industry. Although the metal casings are a bit heavier, the increased durability and amplified drivers justify the extra weight. Plus they come with a variety of ear tips to ensure a comfortable fit. Order from Etymotic directly for $149.

Images by Graham Hiemstra

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 portofolio, the LACMA-commissioned video is a short rundown of how Baldessari became the 6'7 badass who boldly declared "I will not make boring art".

2. Season Carpet (soft thermometer)

Using three different colors of heat sensitive wool, Norwegian designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen has created a stunning rug that acts like a soft thermometer, changing its appearance depending on the environment.

3. J.Viewz "Rivers and Homes"

Breathing new life into the tired YouTube-stop-motion scene, this video from Brooklyn-based musician J.Viewz began with a traditional music video, from which 2000 individual frames were printed out and distributed to 300 fans while on tour in Israel. The result is an intricate, hypnotizing experience, achieved without any computer-generated effects.

4. Ms. Fitz + Bjarne Melgaarde

Australian stylist extraordinaire Ms. Fitz was tapped by Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaarde to create a set of tiger cub collars for "Ideal Pole", his current exhibition at NYC's Ramiken Crucible gallery. Known for her flamboyantly stylish aesthetic, Ms. Fitz's take on the collars only adds to the wildness of the show. Who doesn't want to see a tiger sporting a leopard-print cape?

5. Just Kids Soundtrack

For those who became enthralled with the world Patti Smith spun with her stunning prose in "Just Kids", Spotify user Beth Miller has created a pitch perfect playlist of all the songs mentioned throughout the book.

6. Sonos Sub

Announced at New York's design week, Sonos has designed Sub—a wireless subwoofer to add to the Sonos System. The sleek, portable design solves the problem of the large and oft-unattractive subwoofer, and can be placed anywhere without the disruption of sound from nearby furniture or walls. The Sub will be available 19 June for $699, followed by a matte version in October for $599.

7. DeLorean 2.0

With a body of stainless steel to match the legendary car for which it's named, The DeLorean Bicycle has been developed with the blessing of the defunct auto maker. Available in two models, the beautiful bikes gain a smooth, responsive ride unlike many others on the market.

8. Future Self

A beautiful piece of interactive LED art, Future Self is an enchanting work created by rAndom International for MADE gallery in Berlin. A combination of LEDs and custom software mimic and interpret motion, creating a captivating set of changing light patterns.

9. Museum

An 80-square-foot former freight elevator, NYC's newest museum is as curious as its super simple name—which is Museum. The current exhibition features an intriguing assortment of goods, like toothpaste from around the world and items found at the bottom of the sea, showing what curator Alex Kalman calls "beauty and magic in the everyday."

10. LiquiGlide

Get straight to eating at your local burger joint—Dave Smith and the Varanasi Research group of MIT have created LiquiGlide, a "structured liquid" that allows for easy dispense of condiments in glass and squeeze bottles. Before adding food product, the bottles are sprayed with the innovative product which comes from an anti-icing coating used to prevent clogs in oil and gas lines.

11. The Streets of NYC

The story of New York is told through 870,000 photographs taken from the mid-1800s to the present in a digital photo archive by the New York City Municipality. Glamorous stills are mixed with gritty candids in the vast database, which has been digitized for public use.

12. Wi-Fi Securing Wallpaper

For those concerned about the security of private networks, newly developed wallpaper from Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble may be the perfect solution. Coated in conductive silver ink, the wallpaper secures Wi-Fi networks while preserving access to radio and mobile phones. It's being manufactured by Finnish company Ahlstrom and should be out by 2013.

13. Giddyup!

Plenty of people can claim disdain for the overwhelming invite channels of Evite, Paperless Post, epic email chains and incessant text messages, so the new group-wrangling app GiddyUp! might offer a welcome simplification. The new service allows the user to make an event with as many optional details (time, location, etc) as they wish, then invite people in their contacts and manage RSVPs with a few taps.

14. One Hour Project

Graphic designer Zeynep Yildirim has spent the last two years taking on various projects that last exactly one hour in an effort to answer the question, "what is possible in an hour?" She is now seeking funding on Kickstarter to publish a book detailing her first 250 projects.

15. Real Time Farms

Described as a "Wikipedia for food", Real Time Farms is the result of husband-and-wife team Cara and Karl Roasen's effort to bring more transparency the source of food in the U.S. While the site has yet to reach its full potential, the groundwork has been laid to create a crowd-sourced database for locavore eating.

16. Ice Cream Lock

We first wrote about Ben and Jerry's Euphori-Lock in 2005, but it's reached a fever pitch on the Web this week. Meant to keep your valuable pints of ice cream safe while you're away, the combination lock slips right onto the ice cream casing with a messege to potential thieves, "I'm terribly sorry, but there is no 'u' in 'my pint'".

We recently had the chance to taste The Hakusku, a 12 year old single malt made by Suntory Whisky. In the process we became enamored with their use of a hand carved ice ball. To learn more we visited The Summit, a bar in New York's Alphabet City neighborhood to learn a little more about the process. In our video Gardner Dunn, Suntory's National Brand Ambassador, gave us the run down on the traditional production, purpose and use of the ice ball in Japanese whisky culture.

Driven by a strong American work ethic and an eye for perfectly minimalist machinery, Hammarhead Industries first drew attention for their vintage-inspired custom motorcycles soon after their 2010 launch. Now hot on the heels of the recently released Day Pack, the new collaboration with Dunderdon takes the Philidelphia-based grease monkeys further into the world of fashion without taking them away from their roots. At the center of the collection is the Swedish-made Welder's Jacket, a heavy-duty waxed suede jacket sturdy enough for the garage and the street.

The Welder's Jacket marks a slight departure for both companies, as one of Dunderdon's first forays into suede and the most substantial utilitarian garment by HHI yet. However experimental the product may be, the collaboration came naturally through a mutually shared attitude towards minimalist design and real functionality. Dunderdon founder Per-Ivan Hagberg took on the position of lead designer on this piece, with help from HHI creative director Matt Trigaux, who also helped hand-wax the garments. After trading patterns and preferences across continents, the two settled on a slimmer-fit jacket constructed of sturdy, Swedish-made 1.3 mm suede and hardware.

The heavyweight jacket harkens back to the welding jackets worn by HHI founder James Hammarhead in the 1970s, updated only with Kevlar threading and a more contemporary fit. As a proper welding jacket—not one just made to look like it—all pockets are internal to prevent rogue sparks from finding unwelcome homes. The collar features a double clasp so it can be worn folded up to protect the neck, and another set of double clasps at the wrists allow the sleeve to fit over thick work gloves. Plus, all stress-prone seams are secured with Swedish-made metal rivets. For those interested in the clean look of raw suede, the jacket is also available unwaxed.

In addition to the Welder's Jacket, the Dunderdon collaboration collection includes a work shirt, a pair of heavy-duty trousers—each in a black and custom HHI pewter blue colorway—leather riding gloves and a few smaller accessory items. The Welder's Jacket was created in an initial edition of 24 pieces, which are available directly from HHI online and exclusively at NYC's Dunderdon Workshop along with the rest of the collection. The waxed version sells for $499 while the unwaxed version goes for $399. For a closer look see the slideshow.

Images by Graham Hiemstra

Advertorial content:

Even fans of urbanization don't usually talk about the cacophony of crowded sidewalks and highly-trafficked thoroughfares. What if all you really want to do is sleep in the city that never sleeps? But we're always ready to obsess more about NYC, so when tiny car brand smart asked us to take a deep listen and record the results, we hit the streets.

Part of "The Superlative Journey" campaign for a collaboration with streetwear label WeSC, our audio-scape was one of several captured by a cast of international online publications under the banner of "The Sound of Your City." The results were presented at events and now live online on smart's Urban Stages website—which is where the pieces come together.

Positioned as a place for dialog about the future of cities, the question becomes, what will our future cities sound like? The implication of course is filled with the purr of smart engines, but you also have the choice to literally go by the beat of your own drummer with the WeSC headphones developed alongside the Brabus, their smart car customization.

The headphones sell for $80 from WeSC online or from one of their 28 stores worldwide.

A member of the niche bespoke community in NYC, men's store Lord Willy's recently upgraded to larger digs from their humble storefront in New York's NoLita neighborhood. As the shop shuffled next door to a 2,500 square foot space, proprietors Alex and Betty Wilcox decided to turn the old space into Little Willy's, a boys'-only retailer full of ready-to-wear options for stylish young lads. While it may sound odd to think of custom-quality childrenswear, the new boys' line bypasses pretension with playful detailing and smart looks.

Little Willy's aims for playtime sophistication in their line, which is targeted at boys between two and ten. Emblazoned on polos and knits is the Little Willy's logo, a cartoon figure in a bowler hat and glasses, the lens of one eye replaced by a colorful star. While the tailors at Lord Willy's keep their embellishments limited to off-color thread and zany lining, the children's line was a chance to get a bit more creative. The experience is meant to appeal to kids and parents alike, and you won't find any Saville Row snobbery in this fun-loving boutique.

Operating the storefront is Will Rojas, who is cleverly referred to as "Mr. Rojas" to avoid confusion with the store's mythic persona. Rojas' tattooed, urban look is in keeping with the store, which is all about promoting individual expression. A gold leaf emblem on the front door reads "Boys Only!", setting a tone for a place of pint-sized masculinity. While little girls have plenty of options when it comes to this kind of high end, specialty shopping, Little Willy's is one of the few boys-only spaces around.

Owners Alex and Betty Wilcox are a husband-and-wife team who—despite not having children themselves—share an affinity for boys clothing. While there is certainly a spirit of refinement in the line, it remains logo-driven. Alex, a trained graphic designer, created the mustachioed icon for the store, which he admits is in the same spirit as A Clockwork Orange, Gangs of New York and the Monopoly Man. Another thoughtful detail, portraits of famous men that decorate the store have been defaced with the Little Willy's star-shaped glasses. To ensure that the experience doesn't stop at the register, each purchase comes along with a sticker sheet and a pair of the signature shades.

"We really want the store to be fun and full of wearable clothing," says Alex of Little Willy's. "Grown men are only little boys with jobs." A bust of Tin Tin decorates the interior, a gift to Alex from his own father, harkening back to the theme of childhood. The statue is appropriate for the space as well, denoting a clientele of well-off, adventure-seeking boys. The "eccentric study" that is Little Willy's promises to pacify kids who dread the shopping experience, catering to the well-heeled gents of tomorrow.

Little Willy's
223 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Images by Josh Rubin

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 several designers have successfully captured the spirit of the Diamond Jubilee with concepts that are quintessentially British—at once elegantly regal and playfully tongue-in-cheek. Read on for our favorites.

Ma'amite

Love-it-or-hate-it yeast spread Marmite just got a bit more British with the limited edition release of "Ma'amite", a clever pun in honor of Queen Elizabeth II. Complete with a Union Jack and royal crown, the condiment is sure to make an appearance at many tables throughout England this Jubilee. "Ma'amite" is available through Sainsbury's for £2.50.

Heritage Heinz

An integral part of the full English breakfast, Heinz Baked Beans reached back into their vault to restore 60-year-old packaging in honor of the Queen's inaugural year. We dig the delightfully retro look of the 1952 can—assuming, of course, that the contents are are more up to date.

Drake's Handkerchief

This responsibly playful handkerchief from Drake's of London (£50) is printed on fine, lightweight silk. Motifs in the design include traffic-signaling bobbies, marching Beefeaters and a royal carriage parade.

Vivienne Westwood Red Carpet Collection

British fashion powerhouse Vivienne Westwood beckons the Diamond Jubilee with her Red Carpet Capsule Collection. Inspired by the Queen's own wardrobe, Westwood pulled back on her typically zany aesthetic to pay more demure homage to the woman who gave her a royal title with a line of dresses ranging from cocktail dresses to formal gowns.

Harrods' Diamond Jubilee Windows

A national institution itself thanks to a half century of Royal Warrants, Harrods has bedecked its Brompton Road windows with 31 commissioned crowns created specially for the jubilee by a range of designers like Sir Paul Smith, Lanvin, The Rug Company, Globetrotter, William Curley (whose crown is made of chocolate), Jo Malone and more. In addition to the one-off tributes, Harrods is also displaying Norman Hartnell's gorgeous satin gown created designed in 1953 for the Queen's coronation.

Bentley Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Edition

In honor of HRH, the legendary British motor company has created the ultra-regal Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Edition, a limited run of 60 cars—one for every year of the Queen's monarchy. Features build upon Bentley's already rich Executive Interior concept and include a gold royal carriage applied to the dashboard and embroidered on throw pillows and headrests, as well as polished treadplates with "Bentley Mulliner, England" and "Diamond Jubilee Edition" in script.

Ladurée Macarons

The delightfully irresistible macarons from Paris' Ladurée have been repackaged with a Union Jack in celebration of the anniversary. The macarons offer a sweet indulgence from Britain's neighbor and are the preferred sweet to have alongside high tea this Jubilee season. Find them in-store at Ladurée in London, Paris and New York.

East India Jubilee Tea

Pair your macarons with this rare tea made by the East India Company. Comprised exclusively of leaves plucked from a tree that Queen Elizabeth planted herself on a 1954 visit to Sri Lanka, the costly chai is given proper packaging in a handcrafted silver-plated caddy with a silver serving spoon.

Peter Gander Tea Towel

The tea towels have come out in droves this Jubilee season, and this design by Peter Gander is one of our favorites. Created to look like a playing card, the Queen's Corgis frame Her Highness's silhouette as playful banners carry the Diamond Jubilee announcement.

The Queen's Head 60

Anne-Narie Stijelja, faculty member at the Bedford Modern School, created a powerfully simple portrait of the Queen from vintage stamps. The image was included in a book called "The Jubilee Postcards", and is presently hanging in the Bedford Art Centre in Bedford, UK.

Lydia Leith Jelly Mould and Sick Bag

Whether the Jubilee celebrations make you work up an appetite or have you feeling a little nauseous, graphic designer Lydia Leith has you covered. Both made in England, her jelly mould and sick bag highlight the jovial side of the celebration with irreverent references to the Queen's reign.

Multi-disciplinary designer Karim Charlebois-Zariffa has worked extensively on projects for companies like AOL, The New York Times and Moment Factory, but a recent chance opportunity to try his hand at more traditional interior design tested him in new and refreshing ways.

As a fan of Charlebois-Zariffa's design work, the son of one of the owners of Accords—a Montreal wine bar and restaurant—suggested the designer as an interesting option to re-vamp the interior of the space. The unique opportunity to work on the restaurant came with the added challenge of a six week timeframe and limited budget.

The first-time interior designer set out with a team of excellent craftsmen to bring his vision to fruition. We caught up with Charlebois-Zariffa to learn more about his inaugural experience overseeing such a project.

Were you able to use your standard way of working with clients when it came to the restaurant re-design?

Well I am a multi-disciplinary designer, touching mainly graphic design and directing commercials, so in that sense it was totally different. But since I have always been freelance, and also producing most of my jobs, I knew how to take on a big project, so I just worked it like if I was producing a commercial with a big set design. The only difference was that it had to be solid and built for day-to-day use compared to my usual ephemeral installations.

What were your inspirations for the project?

I really wanted to do gradient stained wood furniture and—I had this idea for a long time—have chairs that appear to float over a wood floor. I wanted to create a warm atmosphere for fine dining, so filament bulbs and medical beakers accentuate that effect, along with old barn wood. I wanted to get more people and younger people in the place. In Brooklyn a lot of good restaurants have those big communal table, I loved it! It allows people to meet and regroup with other diners, so I changed half of the restaurant's small tables for two huge communal tables that fit 18 people each.

Some of the design—the bathroom in particular—looks like a set for a photo shoot, Was that planned?

Well I come from the world of photo shoots, so maybe there is a little bit of that but no, it was not planned. The idea with the bathroom is that I wanted to do something completely different from the rest of the restaurant. They're the only closed rooms, allowing for a departure from the main style. Mainly, I think that the bathroom is the only moment in a restaurant that you find yourself alone, opening yourself to the decor, to notice the visual surrounding you. I wanted people coming back to the table saying, "Man, have you seen the mirrors in the bathrooms?!"

Where did you source the materials, specifically the medical beakers and flasks you used for the lighting treatment?

With a restrained budget I had to be creative with materials. I am a collector and also connected to another collector name Micheline Poulin who has a huge medical collection. I knew that she had funky beakers in her garage so I asked her and she had two big boxes of old medical chemistry beakers, very intricate and hand-blown, and worth a ton of money if new. I also found a wood mannequin head at an old flea market, and old barn wood from eastern Canada.

What was the biggest lesson you learned on this project?

The people you work with are key. I decided to do this project for free, so passion and curiosity was driving me and in that state of mind, I needed a team of people who were having fun doing it.

Founded less than a year ago, Spain-based Lacambra hand-makes leather products with an emphasis on clean lines, simplistic design and customizable options. While the range of bags, backpacks and cases seems basic at first look, their thoughtful designs reveal a myriad of smart features upon closer inspection. Plus, each product is available in multiple colors with the option for mixing and matching both inside and out, or adding a custom monogram. We were particularly impressed by the iPad Cover for its range of utility packed within such a richly simple case.

On the outside of the sturdy leather folio you'll find a single pocket just deep enough for a single letter or thin packet of paper. On the inside are three card slots and one larger pocket for papers or cords, while the opposite side is reserved to snugly hold all generations of the iPad behind a slender leather flap and a leather-covered elastic band.

Taking a second to focus on the fine details one will notice matching stitching throughout and a few important technical features. The single leather strap hides magnets that connect the case's two sides to prop up your iPad at an angle for proper viewing. A strip of canvas tucked in an interior pocket rolls up into a pyramid similar to the Apple Smart Cover design, and can be placed underneath the iPad a few different ways to elevate the device for a more comfortable writing position.

While we must admit a tendency to shy away from anything bulkier than a Smart Cover alone, Lacambra's iPad Case makes a strong argument for some handsome extra packaging. With just enough room for the essentials and an elegant unisex design, this case may very well become a go-to for traveling.

The Lacambra iPad Cover sells online for $150. For a closer look at color options and sample customizations see the additional images in the slideshow.

Images by Graham Hiemstra

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 brilliant" design finds and exclusive designer collaborations. "Our taste is pretty much a reaction to the huge amount of trade shows that we visit and the amount of unnecessary objects we see—everything in the store is very pared back, handcrafted and sourced directly from the makers themselves," explains Morris.

In addition to the shop—which includes items like leather goods crafted in Wisconsin, cashmere blankets hand-woven in Scotland, Irish kettles, jewelry from Virginia and more—Lin and Morris run an equally compelling blog that highlights the designers behind the products as well as intriguing projects they come across in their work and travels. While they share a similar aesthetic, Morris explains they still keep a running discourse on design that benefits the site. "The fact that we are in different countries means a lot of Skype conversations but it also gives us a better perspective on the industry," she says.

The industrious duo are also working on a series of limited-edition pieces, created in response to a specific brief they give each designer. Rory Panagotopulos' Popsicle-inspired skateboard decks launched the set of exclusives, and this June will see the addition of a woven necklace by jewelry designer Eleanor Bolton, which is inspired by her hometown of Brighton.

"It's impossible not to be inspired by the stories behind the products and where they came from," says Morris. "We've met so many talented people throughout our travels and it's a great feeling to be able to work with them on another level for Lin Morris."

We first got to test the Aston Martin Vantage S last year at Ascari and it left quite an impression: The svelte, punchy coupe was both a perfect track companion and a delight cruising the picturesque Spanish countryside. It was whirlwind romance, but when we got back to the U.S. we were faced with a question: Would the car's charms hold up in the day-to-day driving in a city like New York?

We were presented with the opportunity to answer this very question recently when Aston loaned us a 2012 Vantage for an afternoon in our hometown. With limited time, we decided the best plan would be to do what many New Yorkers do when they have a friend suddenly drop in: Take them out for pizza.

The Mission

We have 8 hours to get a slice of pizza from the best spot in each of New York's 5 boroughs: Brooklyn, Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. We will drive the Vantage in a variety of challenging real-world settings, from rush-hour traffic on the infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to navigating the crowded surface streets. We'd put the Vantage to a true test to see if a British track star could conceivably be a daily driver in one of the worst places to drive in America.

Brooklyn

The 2012 Vantage sat waiting for us outside of our office, the tungsten silver paint already wet with rain. As soon as we get in, we hear it: the whisper of "Aston Martin" from every pedestrian over the idling V8 as they pass the car. New York is a city that probably contains every exotic car on the market at any given time, so you'd expect a certain level of automotive ambivalence from the general population. Not so with the Vantage—passers-by seemed eager to point out their recognition of the Aston with their friends. We start to get used to strangers taking our picture.

At first glance you'd be hard pressed to spot the aesthetic differences between the outgoing Vantage and this 2012 model. Aston's design changes happen at a pace so deliberate it makes Porsche's 911 updates look radical by comparison. Indeed, this is a common gripe from fans and detractors alike—that the average person can't tell a Vantage from a DB9 from a Virage. You get the sense that Aston is less about selling individual models as it is selling the Aston experience at varying, narrowly defined levels.

Upon closer inspection the changes begin to emerge: more heavily sculpted sides, a more defined and expressive front grille, a handsome carbon-fiber front splitter. The design tweaks are slight but add up to make the Vantage feel more premium, more muscular, and more evolved.

After picking up our co-pilot/eater in Bedford Stuyvesant (home of Notorious B.I.G and Jay-Z), your correspondents punch in our first destination into the GPS: L&B Spumoni Gardens, in southern Brooklyn. We head south on Nostrand Avenue, passing a group of kids playing basketball who stop mid-game to watch us pass. Nostrand is profusely potholed, and the Vantage's taught suspension and low stance tattoo every single bump directly into our spines.

Upon arrival, we chance into the rarest of New York phenomena: a parking spot right in front of the restaurant. Now, a note on parallel parking a car like the Vantage: It's nerve-wracking. Despite the tight turning radius, newly improved steering ratio, and radar-assisted parking—it still takes years off your life.

We park right in front of a brand new Mustang GT, which our co-pilot (not, it should be said, an automotive aficionado) remarks is vaguely similar to the Vantage. It's true—there's something in the DNA of the Vantage that shares lineal roots with great American muscle cars. Despite the fact that the Vantage costs nearly 4 times a base Mustang GT, they both are V8 powered, rear wheel drive sport coupes. Maybe that's what's drawn us to the Vantage in the first place: despite its modern technology and British heritage it's instantly familiar, harkening back to the sports cars of our youth. We understand this car, emotionally.

As we sit eating our slices, we notice a steady stream of cooks and waiters making their way to the window to check out the car. The counter guy catches our eye and says: "There's an Aston Martin right out front. What kind of sicko parks a car like that out on the street?"

Staten Island

As we head out of Brooklyn traffic suddenly thins just as we reach the onramp to the Verrazano Bridge, letting us open the Aston up a bit. Up until now the Vantage has been restrained—there's a palpable urgency at every stoplight as the car aches to open up. But now with the first open quarter-mile we've seen, we're able to accelerate with a confidence that could get us out of (or into) a sticky situation. At the toll booth, the attendant gives us a nod and a "Sick Aston" while the cop standing beside him asks us for a ride. Welcome to Staten Island.

This becomes a common refrain during our trip—not only is the Vantage the center of attention wherever we go, but we're amazed with how many people know the brand specifically. Aston Martin is essentially a niche brand; sales never top a fraction of the Porsche 911. Even still, people recognized the car; we didn't have a single person ask us if it was a Ferrari.

We grab a quick slice of thin-crust at Joe and Pat's, a neighborhood institution since 1960. Then back on the road, headed for the heart of the Big Apple.

Manhattan

We enter the address for Patsy's in East Harlem into the Vantage's GPS unit. We get to interface with the GPS a lot in our mission, which proves to be a double-edged sword: while the 2012 Vantage now sports the much-improved Garmin powered unit first seen in the Virage, it's still a far cry from competitors' offerings. Entering addressed with the joystick input is fiddly and time-consuming and had us yearning for a more streamlined experience. The visual interface is also identical to a stock Garmin GPS, cartoonish icons and all, so the overall design felt anachronistic and cheap compared to the rest of the Aston's polished interior. At the very least, couldn't we get a British accent for the voice?

This remains our key issue with Aston as a product: for a brand that came to notoriety and fame as a gadget-filled car for a super spy, the modern Aston still feels a generation behind when it comes to in-cabin technology. We recognize it must be difficult for a small brand to remain on the cutting edge of telemetrics; as we learned from Mercedes, it requires a staff of almost 100 full-time employees to develop custom interfaces for their vehicles. Still, if Aston is going to be considered alongside other premium exotics, it needs to compete on the technology front as well as performance. This is the space where Aston can differentiate and win—by being the choice of high design rather than cold numbers.

We circle the block in East Harlem a few times until a spot opens up. By now we're almost pros at the parallel parking game, trusting in the ever-increasing shriek of the Vantage's park assist to let us know when we're too close for comfort. We go into Patsy's only to discover they're not a slice-type place, they're a full-pie kind of place. Undeterred and committed to the mission, we order a full pie to go and eat a few pieces sitting on the hood, chatting with anyone and everyone about the car.

It was here we discover another flaw in the Vantage's design: There is absolutely nowhere in the cabin to put a standard-sized pizza box. We try setting it on the small shelf behind the seats to no avail. The small back decklid is also less than ideal—the box slides around as the Vantage bites into turns headed over the bridge into the Bronx. Asking our very nicely dressed co-pilot to hold the box is right out of the question. We eventually pull over and put the box in the trunk, lesson learned.

The Bronx

We leave Harlem and cruise up past Yankee Stadium toward Full Moon Pizzeria on historic Arthur Ave. Driving in New York in a car with this kind of power (420hp coming out of the base V8) can be a maddeningly frustrating experience. You just get the sense that the car wants to break out and run at every opening. The improved, 7 speed automatic Sportshift II transmission is eager to drop down a gear on heavy pedal, especially if you've switched the car into SPORT mode (and why would you ever not switch such a car into SPORT mode?). And the brakes are good, insanely good. But it's like I'll Have Another pulling a Central Park carriage—there's just never enough room.

We get to Full Moon just as they're closing and beg for their last slices. The great thing about pizza is that even when it's lukewarm and hours old, it's still pretty magical. We notice that Full Moon is denoted on the Aston's GPS as a cartoon slice of pizza, which seems just about right. We roll down the windows, put on some Jay-Z, and head south, for Queens.

Queens

With the hour approaching midnight and traffic sparse, the cruise from the Bronx to Queens is smooth. As we leave the tolls, a BMW M6 races to catch up with us. We're not interested in getting into a race, nor are we very interested in getting a ticket, so we slow to let them pass. As they do, the 4 guys stuffed inside all give us simultaneous thumbs up—8 thumbs in total. People really love this car.

And we love it too, though the ride, a combination of firm bucket seats and a tight sport suspension, is starting to take its toll. While we imagine this would be lessened by some smooth highway miles, a definite fatigue starts to set in.

We pull up to New Park Pizza only to find they've closed up for the night, their famous neon PIZZA sign gone dark. We feel an immediate sense of defeat: we've been driving for nearly 8 hours and we fell short of our goal to eat slices in every borough by less than 15 minutes. We lean against the car to sulk when we suddenly remember the box from Patsy's stashed safely in the trunk. We grab the last 2 slices and take almost ceremonial bites. It is accomplished.

Epilogue

Before dropping the Vantage off for the night, we decide to take it on one last victory lap through Manhattan. The other place you always begrudgingly end up taking out-of-town guests is Times Square, and this seems like the best place to end our drive. We do a few laps through the bath of neon and crush of tourists, driving especially slow to let them take their photos of this striking exotic vehicle. Stereo switched off, the low throaty rumble of the V8 through New York's concrete jungle is the only soundtrack we need.

Images by Ryan McManus

Having experimented quite a bit with our office MakerBot Thing-O-Matic 3D Printer, we're always on the lookout for ways that creative minds have applied 3D printing in their own line of work. A featured designer at Designboom's ICFF pop-up shop, Richard Elaver stood out as one of a few avant-garde makers currently using 3D printing to produce objects for sale. Coming from a metalworking background, Richard Elaver has developed several ingenius applications of the nascent tool.

The hollow spiral body of his "Torpedo" pen houses a replaceable Montblanc rollerball refill, for a design that's both clever and sustainable. Using the visualization and prototyping tools at his disposal, Elaver was able to write his network of hexagonal cells in real space, creating a lightweight, comfortable and durable writing implement. Along with "Torpedo" Elaver presented "Sprung", a colorful collection of pens designed to hold the gravity-defying Fisher Space Pen insert.

Beyond writing instruments, Elaver has also employed 3D printing to produce chic jewelry like "Drips", a result of his work with modular units. Using a number of teardrop-shaped connectors, Elaver fashioned a wearable sculpture that snaps together to take on a cascading form. In both "Cluster" and "Clasp", Elaver incorporates his printed SLS nylon designs into the clasp of a rubber necklace. Bridging style and function, the clasps double as fashionable pendants.

Works by Richard Elaver can be purchased through the Designer Craftsman online shop.

With the distinction of being the first watch to ship with Bluetooth 4.0 compatibility, Meta Watch represents the logical next step in digital timekeeping. The product leverages new Bluetooth capabilities—namely, more efficient energy usage—while incorporating familiar functions from other Bluetooth watches. This includes a variety of options for notifications, navigation and entertainment when sync'd with an Android or iOS mobile devices. What sets Meta Watch apart is its stark refusal of any kind of built-in functionality, leaving software considerations strictly in the hands of savvy developers and hardcore tinkerers.

The low-energy Bluetooth 4.0 promises to extend battery life between charges, and developers will have a field day with the six programable buttons, ambient light sensor, vibrating motor and 3-axis accelerometer that come installed. The LCD display may not have the flash of a colorful Nano or I'm Watch, but Meta Watch's remains appealing due to the the potential applications that are impossible on other, more restrictive platforms. Aesthetically, Meta Watch keeps a streamlined look with brushed steel and rounded corners, making this a wearable—if not fashionable—tech accessory.

The obvious applications for Meta Watch include notifications for messaging, weather and phone calls, although we'll be on the lookout out for a more extensive functionality once developers have some time to play with the API. The watch is available for $199 through Meta Watch.

While knowledge is commonly attributed to experience, fresh ideas often come from fresh minds. Taking this perspective to heart, veteran designer and educator Josh Owen developed Metaproject, an experimental industrial design course at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Now in its second year, the course is partnered with the Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) to challenge students to think in new ways about glass as a creative material. As Metaproject 02 came to a close, the course recently culminated with a showing of select works during this year's NYC Design Week.

"Glass is already playing a vital role in the future of industrial design as many 'futuristic' technologies are moving quickly towards mass-production," said Owen who also noted that besides innovations in architecture and mobile devices he's interested in the more immediate and rudimentary potential that glass holds. The course offeres a rare chance for his students to hunker down and design for two full terms, giving a glimpse into the professional world by seeing their designs grow iteratively from ideation to production. And by exploring with cast glass and recycled glass, many students showed a shared interest in designing for the future with a more immediate application in mind.

August Kawski's "The Receiver" tackles the issue of social disconnectivity by way of technology. Kawski sees the heavyweight cast glass object as creating "a physical, visual and auditory barrier—a return to personal communication by freeing oneself from the responsibilities and burdens of the cell phone." By referencing the iconic Dreyfus phone as the object's handle Owen feels it "cements the object's semiotics, making a completely new typology strangely familiar and therefore more intuitive." Also one to challenge the idea of objects as mood altering devices, Dan Ipp also went a similar route with the "Illuminated Side Table." Here the glass tubes diffuse the light to create an ambient mood that welcomes the user to relax.

For more information on the ever evolving Metaproject check the comprehensive RIT site—and keep an eye on Owen as well. To learn more about what the Corning Museum of Glass is up to in the near future swing by NYC's Governers Island this summer to visit the GlassLab, CMoG's glass design workshop and performance center.

Images by Elizabeth Lamark

Among the focused components of the 2012 WantedDesign event calendar, 12x12 stood out as an inspiring exhibition of upcycling and repurposing. The idea was simple—supply 12 designers with timber from 12 demolished New York City buildings to create a piece of furniture. While the work presented by a juried group of Big Apple-based designers made for an impressive collection, there were four that resonated strongly for us.

Water Tower Chair

As the name implies Bellboy's Water Tower Chair takes its shape from planks salvaged from a 10,000-gallon rooftop water tank that once stood atop a Park Avenue co-op. The 40-year-old California Redwood lends its beautiful color and rich grain perfectly. Each 8' plank has been chopped down and consecutively laid to accentuate the lounge chair's flowing, mid-century inspired silhouette.

Round & Round

Hailing from the Bronx, Louis Lim's reclaimed wood was originally erected as structural timber in the 1920s. After so many years of weight bearing the still-strong Heart Pine now finds itself in a significantly less conventional form. Commanding both attention and floor space, the Round & Round bench with drawer represents one of the most creative applications we saw.

Standing Desk

One part desk and two parts shelf, Daskam & Dworkis and Emily A. Martinez's collaborative Standing Desk project is comprised of century-old Heart Pine also originally used as structural timber. While the structure says modern, the spiraling grain and raw nail stains give the shelving structure a one-of-a-kind, worn-in look.

Coney Island Low Table

No stranger to the weight of wandering New Yorkers, Design Brigade's Coney Island Low Table is constructed of wood reclaimed from the legendary boardwalk built in 1947. Curiously enough the non-native hardwood was originally harvested from northern South American rainforests. After over half a century of abuse the weathered wood simply sits to show off its beautifully distinct, dark patina.

Each of the 12 pieces will be auctioned off to benefit Brooklyn Woods, a wood shop job training and education center in NYC. For more information head to 12x12 online.

Images by Josh Rubin

Today's laptops, tablets and smartphones have enabled workers to be more flexible in defining when, where and how they get their jobs done. While offices are still quite important for many, the way they're set-up is ripe for evolution. An increased emphasis on community and teamwork is also at play—potentially at the cost of privacy and concentration. To consider solutions for this conundrum Herman Miller recently asked students from the Cranbrook Academy of Art to find the proper balance between group interaction and personal space in the modern office.

"Rest and Concentration in the Workplace" is the result of sixteen Cranbrook students considering how to foster calmness and focus for individual workers while balancing group unity with personal space. Working closely with Herman Miller, whose product development teams offered critique, the two-semester collaboration resulted in the selection of six pieces for display at this year's ICFF. The pieces were constructed with the aid of Herman Miller's engineering team and local upholstery and fabrication vendors.

Pieces of note from the collection include the Integrated Workstation, which takes the basic components of a workstation and adds a daybed, and the Private Rocker, which uses high sides to give the chair an intimate, focused feel plus the added benefit of noise cancellation.

Although produced in close collaboration with Herman Miller, the students retain the rights to their own designs. We're hoping these get commercialized sometime soon.

While stopping by Cafe Intramuros at this year's Wanted Design, we stumbled across "Espress Yourself", a line of espresso cups fashioned by a collective of NYC designers. The group of five created their cups in a mere two months leading up to the show, using a combination of rapid prototyping, computer-aided design, 3D printing and CNC machining to help speed up the process. The porcelain beauties that they produced reflect a reverence for coffee and a fresh look at the morning ritual.

With no more than 100 pieces per design and a limited time frame, the designers didn't have the option to export labor. The pieces were made using an old yet efficient method of porcelain slip casting. While only Kenjiro Yamakawa had experience in the process, they were nevertheless able to hand-pour, sand and glaze their pieces in time. Erik Strom's "A Day in the Life" reminded us of Dror's Vase of Phases, and Marco Leone's "Sip" took a fresh look at the ubiquitous rim—turning it into a kind of sippy cup for grown-ups. The three-pronged "3 Senses" from Loren Kulesus made for a whimsical vessel while Yamakawa kept it old-school with a cask-inspired mug. As for William Kang, his traditional cup was cleverly contrasted with an asymmetrical geometric handle.

The cups are available individually and as a set in limited quantity from Espress Yourself. We're expecting five unique interpretations of other common housewares to come from the collective int he near future.

Images by Josh Rubin

After a well received debut last year, WantedDesign is back again at NYC's Design Week with an even more impactful exhibition showcasing both new and known international designers and architects. This was the break-out year for WantedDesign for its fine curation and product presentation, and while it was a strong show overall, here are five outstanding pieces of innovative and inspiring design.

Live Screen

Using hydroponics in a more stylish form than usual, the Live Screen from Brooklyn-based designer Danielle Trofe is a self-sustaining planter system for the indoors. With this elegant, modular design, urban gardeners can enjoy the fruits of their labor even without a rooftop. Although still a prototype, we anticipate production of the structure soon.

Ball Lamps

Feeling both retro and futuristic at the same time, Big Game's Ball Lamps take inspiration from the "Hang it all" racks by design legends Charles and Ray Eames. These bakelite spheres take on any number of colors and sizes in this form, giving both the designer and consumer a wide range of beautifully stylistic pieces. Look to Tamawa to learn more.

Fiber

The flat-pack oragami-like side table from Argentinean designer Heidi Jalkh was another highlight of the show. By using CNC-cut textiles to cover the wood's top surface, the foldable Fiber table retains its integrity and singularity, while the thread stitching adds a hint of craft to the industrial design. Still in the prototype phase as well, keep an eye on Jalkh for updates, or reach out directly to help bring the concept to fruition.

Folded Steel Side Table

The minimal folded steel side table from furniture designer Martin Konrad Gloeckle combines a book shelf, side table and magazine rack into one impressively well considered piece. Keep an eye on the Gloeckle office for design for more information on its upcoming release.

Baskets

In the Maori creation story, the gods gave mankind three baskets containing the knowledge to live well—knowledge of the natural world, the spiritual world and the rational world. Native New Zealander David Trubridge interprets this stuff of legend in three teardrop shaped lights. Using an energy efficient LED spot light and bamboo, polycarbonate and aluminum, the three hanging baskets create a beautiful mixed material light source. For more information and a list of retailers see Trubridge Design online.

Images by Josh Rubin

As smartphones and tablets become more ubiquitous, actual notebooks and memo pads are beginning to seem less and less necessary. Outdone in the realm of convenience, Peco Mart has taken a more entertaining and eccentric approach. Upon first glance, their Snack Memos look like ordinary bags of potato chips or Christmas cookies. However, the bags actually contain 88 small memo sheets. Adding to the illusion—and delightful weirdness—is an aroma packet included with each bag, ensuring that your notepaper not only looks like a potato chip, but also smells like it.

Snack Memos are available from Peco Mart and the MoMA Store.

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 our time, James Victore, is inviting a handful of budding designers to come play with him. Never one for convention, Victore began hosting a week-long workshop in his Williamsburg studio last October as a way of challenging up-and-comers to see design through his eyes while giving them a "set of wings" so they can continue to grow.

Victore calls the immersive experience "The Dinner Series", partly because each day ends by sharing a chef-prepared meal with a special guest like Stefan Sagmeister, Gary Hustwit or George Lois, and partly because Victore and his small team will stuff you full of valuable design fodder. Curious about the intimate training session, we recently spent a day observing—and learning from—Victore, who graciously allowed us into his studio on the fourth day for a hands-on review.

Over a healthy breakfast Victore and his group of five discussed the previous day's events, which included lunch in Manhattan with Esquire's design director David Curcurito and dinner with illustrator Jessica Hische. Victore doesn't hold back on introductions, and in addition to the dinner guests, throughout the week the group also received surprise visits from pioneering designer Josh Davis and the duo behind the industrious start-up Grady's Cold Brew. Victore surrounds the group with people who will enlighten, adding to the series' seemingly twofold programming: discussion and application.

His provocative style extends from his own work to how he encourages others. Although a professor for many years at NYC's School of Visual Arts, Victore doesn't claim to take an academic approach. "All I know how to do is spur thinking on," he says. "I don't teach design because I don't know how to." Referring to his role as a content generator over a graphic designer, Victore focuses more on the statement made than the aesthetics behind it. The exercises he challenges the group with revolve around this ideology, each tasking them to expand their thinking. "We want to stretch your brain and hope it doesn't return to its original shape," he explains.

For example, after a sage talk from Victore's sole graphic design assistant Chris Thompson—who advises participants to not "rush to a solution", and to play around with the idea like in improv acting because "if you're not moved by your work no one else is going to be"—Victore asked the group to tell a story in three pictures. This is what he calls "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", an assignment that draws from filmmaking, where the same story is told in different ways by mixing it up and making the audience see something new.

One of the clear advantages of learning in Victore's studio is his ability to be spontaneous. Before the students could finish their "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" projects he remembered Saul Steinberg's "Country Noises", a set of visual representations he made for The New Yorker in 1979. In minutes Victore has found the archive and passed around photocopies for everyone to consider. At another point in the afternoon he put on a Jack White song that exemplifies "barbed" writing—a Robert Frost term Victore stands by—later he pulls down a book by revered poster artist Henryk Tomaszewski to demonstrate a point. He pulls you into his world while encouraging you to be yourself.

Some people will take $6,000—the cost of attending the week-long salon—and go on a holiday to forget about client work, deadlines and demanding bosses. A handful of young designers have instead opted for learning from Victore, and they all tell us it is worth every penny. "He creates an atmosphere that is true," explains one student, adding, "it's coming through his heart".

The next Dinner Series takes place 16-20 July 2012, and there are still open seats. Those with more limited time can also sign up to attend "Take This Job Love It", a one-day event held in NYC this September that will focus on bucking the status quo, a favorite pastime for the rebellious designer. Information on these events and more can be found at the James Victore website, where you can also pick up a copy of his book "Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss".

Images by Karen Day.See more photos from The Dinner Series in the slideshow below.

Housed in a renovated factory building on the Williamsburg waterfront, the Wythe Hotel marks the long-due maturation of the booming Brooklyn neighborhood. The place embraces local flavor by blending grungy industrial looks with luxe hospitality, and there's plenty of buzz around the involvement of restaurateur Andrew Tarlow of Marlow & Sons and Diner fame. "It's a grown-up version of what's happening in Brooklyn," says Tarlow of the Wythe. At present, it stands as a beacon for the direction of Williamsburg, a place to stay and feel at home in one of the hippest corners of NYC.

The 100-year-old building represents what's left of an old cooperage that was renovated to suit the wants and needs of hotel guests. "We fell in love with the building on day one and just wanted to show it off as much as possible," explains Peter Lawrence, who along with Tarlow and Jed Walentas make up the trio of partners behind the Wythe Hotel. "We stripped everything down to the bare bones—the cast iron columns and the timbers and the exterior wall," says Lawrence.

Details like rusted ceiling tracks add to the flavor of the historic building, as does a floor-to-ceiling illustration depicting the history of Brooklyn in the lobby. While the skeleton of the original building remained relatively untouched, a three-story add-on by architect Morris Adjmi maximizes skyline-facing views and allows for an L-shaped rooftop terrace and cocktail bar.

If you're looking for Williamsburg in the Wythe hotel, you'll find it in the details. Marlow & Sons provides the mini-bar accoutrements, including a selection of small-batch ice cream. Marlow Goods supplies the bathroom towels and the soap is from Goldie's out of Rockaway, NY. Rather than incorporating a complicated tech systems, each room is equipped with a simple red audio jack connected to the room speakers. Each of the four styles of wallpaper for the hotel were custom-made by Flavor Paper, and are available from their online shop.

While the concrete floors may look industrial, heating elements ensure that your toes are cozy when walking around barefoot. Two-way mirrors in the bathrooms allow guests to enjoy the Manhattan skyline while freshening up. Commenting on the "white linen" approach of most hotels, Tarlow explains. "I don't think hospitality is about a fine cloth. It's more about you and I sitting down, me saying hello, holding the door for you and all these little interactions."

"Part of the excitement of being in this neighborhood is that it's a creative center—not just in New York these days but internationally," says Lawrence. "The level of talent that's available nearby was too exciting." Much of the furniture was made from wood salvaged during the renovation, with beds and desks repurposed by local craftsman Dave Hollier. Steve Powers, commonly known as "ESPO", decorated the adjacent building with vintage Brooklyn logos to give non-view rooms a piece of art to look out on.

One of the quirks of the hotel is their pair of adjoining "band rooms". Created on the recommendation of the the folks behind the Brooklyn Bowl music venue who needed a place to put up traveling music groups for the night, the bunk bed filled rooms hold six and four guests, respectively.

When it came to food, Tarlow wanted to keep up the "New American" style of his other restaurants, adding a commitment to whole beast butchering and open flame cooking. "We purchase all of our animals in whole form. A cow came in here on Monday and we've been going through it for the entire week—so how we move through it will inform the menu." An on-site butcher and localvore sourcing may not be the most convenient methods for a hotel, but Tarlow wanted "Reynard's" to stand out as a destination restaurant for locals as well as guests. For drinks, the rooftop cocktail bar provides brilliant city views under the building's marquis lights.

A few weeks following its opening, the hotel has already garnered a strong local following. Part of their success comes from the fact that the attraction remains Williamsburg rather than just the Wythe: spa treatments and swimming pools are sacrificed in favor of a sense of place. The hotel promises to become part of the urban fabric, joining the Brooklyn Bowl and the Brooklyn Brewery as an area landmark. Rooms at the Wythe Hotel start at $179.

Wythe Hotel
80 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11249

One of our favorite cult bike brands, tokyobike, just threw a housewarming party and customized-bike exhibit to inaugurate its new outpost in London's Shoreditch neighborhood. Londoners can now buy these lightweight, 22lb bikes directly from the Japanese bike-maker in a variety of frame colors and models. The simple, all-white 1,700-square-foot interior of the shop, designed by Glass Hill, also stocks hard-to-find accessories and lifestyle pieces such as Japanese bags and housewares, and houses a bike workshop space in the basement. We asked the team at the London location to give us more insight into the new shop, which is the latest in a string of recent openings that includes Berlin, Sydney and Singapore, with Paris and New York coming soon.

The design of the store incorporates elevated platforms for the bikes. Can you explain the concept behind these?

Joe Nunn, Glass Hill: The elevated platforms are more a shared approach that sees that different functions should take place in different spaces. Separating the circulation area from the product display area seems appropriate in the same way as a genkan is right for outdoor shoes and not indoor slippers. We are showing the bicycles as new and pristine, and the slight separation in height and material not only says that visually but also practically.

What is the significance of the hanging cedar ball and how does it fit into the space?

Yuki Sugahara, store manager of tokyobike Melbourne: The cedar ball, made by Japanese craftsman, is traditionally used at the sake breweries as a sign to tell the locals that the fresh sake is ready. We wanted to have a symbolic piece that makes our customers feel something about Japan, where tokyobike originally came from. It is a beautiful and happy element that stands out in a simple white space and will hopefully start a conversation.

What elements did you bring to this store to give it a London personality?

Neil Davis, tokyobike: tokyobike comes from a traditional suburb of Tokyo with a lot of craftspeople and designer/makers still working. The Yanaka store displays and sells a lot of this work, and the London store will be similar in that respect, showcasing local products and designs alongside books and maps and a carefully curated range of bicycle accessories. Gropes is a good example.

What are your plans for the store and brand in the UK?

Davis: The store is a beautiful, clean space designed to show off the bikes and their many colors, but this makes it ideal for events and exhibitions. We have just collaborated with six artists to produce six pieces of bike art which will be displayed at the store before being auctioned. In the future look out for more exhibitions and product launches.

What is the fixie bike culture like in London?

Yu Fujiwara, store manager of tokyobike London: Compared with Tokyo, London's bike culture is more centered around DIY and vintage. People fix up their old bikes or ride 1950s and '60s bicycles; the growing popularity of the Tweed Run typifies this culture. Tokyo's fixie culture is more rooted in pop/youth culture, which mixes colorful components with fashion.

What did you learn about the UK market after you did the pop-up shop last year that you took into account for this permanent location?

Davis: Pop-ups are fun but we always intended to have a permanent store. Not least because we want to look after our customers' bikes. Location was important too—staying in Shoreditch, close to our existing customer base and in an area where there is still a lot of creativity. Space was also important. We wanted to give people coming to the store an experience as well as have enough room to show the entire range and house a workshop to build/service the bikes.

If you're in London during Clerkenwell Design Week from 22-25 May 2012, tokyobike will be offering its famous bike tours. Send an email to cdw@tokyobike.co.uk to reserve a spot.

Photos by Andrea DiCenzo. See more images in the slideshow below.

Perfumer Heather Sielaff hand-blends idiosyncratic, mostly masculine scents for her label OLO Fragrance in her apartment in north Portland. "I'm not really girly," she admits, and her perfumes tend to be intriguing rather than sweetly attractive. For example, Forêt's notes of pine and vetiver recall the scent of earth and damp northwestern trees, while Victory Wolf's birch tar, cedar and tobacco evoke nights spent camping beside an open fire.

Sielaff recently had a commission to create the smell of diesel fuel, which succeeded but had some unexpected consequences: "[The client] turned out to be allergic," she says.

"Years of practical use allowed me to get to know the individual essential oils quite intimately," says Sielaff, who trained as a neuromuscular therapist and studied aromatherapy on the side. "The thought finally occurred to me that making perfume would give me the opportunity to utilize my knowledge in a more creative way. It was initially just a hobby and I'm still a little surprised OLO took off the way it did," she says.

Undoubtedly one of the most significant elements to OLO's appeal is Sielaff's sense of humor. Diesel-based perfumes aren't the only unconventional product that she's attempted—the limited edition Make Deux room spray—interpret the pun in order to deduce its intended usage—asks the would-be customer, with tongue firmly in cheek, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a smell?"

Sielaff's intimate knowledge of scents keeps her perfumes multi-layered, personal and complex. Many of her projects stay local and never make it out of Portland."Some perfumes are limited edition or created for special events," she says. One such side project was a fragrance created for the Portland-based band YACHT, called Shangri-La, that blends more than a half-dozen scents into one moody, floral concoction. She also created a limited edition art bottle and box series with Portland glass artist Andy Paiko and Portland woodworker Jason Rens.

OLO fragrances are available online or at selected retailers. For more information on Sielaff's upcoming projects, check her blog.

Since we discovered Sweet Marcel's over-the-knee socks in 2010, the Texas-based designer has expanded into knee-highs, anklets and Wee Marcel for toddlers." Anklet socks are the hottest thing in Japan now and selling like crazy," Sweet Marcel's founder and designer Amy Anderson told Cool Hunting.

Sweet Marcel's knee-highs are produced in the traditional textile heartland of North Carolina with yarn from locally milled cotton. The over-the-knee socks and children's line come from a family-owned textile mill in central Turkey where Anderson travels frequently to oversee production. Each hand-drawn design is named after an influential figure, like Wee Lucienne, which takes its name from Lucienne Day, the 20th-century British fabric designer.

Sweet Marcel's expanded product line is available in about a selection of U.S. boutiques and online from the site; each pair comes packaged with a vintage safety pin "too cool to not keep". Prices range from $10-$20.

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 more.

2. Banana Trucker Hats

Artist Brock Davis, in an effort to appease his kids, deftly re-shaped the end of a banana peel into a miniature trucker hat. Finally giving bananas a look they deserve, these tropical hats bear a striking resemblance to Supreme's recently released "Panama" hat, a 5-panel corduroy cap.

3. Penis Pants

From a distance these Lycra leggings appear like any other patterned pants, but a closer look at Bas Kosters Studio's "Is that a cock on your leg?" leggings reveals a motif that is sure to turn some heads.

4. FatFonts

Re-thinking the Arabic numeral set, a trio of professors at the University of Calgary developed FatFonts, which represents numerals with a pixel count corresponding to their value. Slender 1s and beefy 9s bookend the font, which has been applied in a variety of examples to represent quantitative data in a visually appealing way.

5. United Bamboo Cat Calendar Open Call

If your cat is as hip as you, it's time to get it ready for a close-up. United Bamboo is casting the 2013 lineup of felines for its irresistible annual cat calendar. The photo shoot is scheduled for 9 June 2012 in NYC. Meow!

6. Bon Appétit Trois

South African blogger Miss Moss asks "who wouldn't want to look like a cream puff?", and her display of food-fashion mashups in conjunction with Bon Apetit make you understand why. Miss Moss provides uncannily accurate and aesthetically delightful parallels between outfits and snacks, from a glass bowl of ceviche set against a polka-dotted sundress to the aforementioned pastry likened to a ladylike set of elbow gloves.

7. The Skatorialist

In a clever riff on Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist, London skate photographer Sam Ashley has created The Skatorialist. Ashley's street style snaps highlight the dapper side of skateboarding, showing how casual ensembles can be just as striking as a three-piece suit.

8. Dogs In Cars

There is something very moving about a dog left in a car, looking tragic and melancholy with the window rolled down just a crack. Photographer Martin Usborne spent two years putting together a collection of forty images of dogs gazing out of car windows, and is now seeking funding through Kickstarter to turn the collection into a beautifully dark fine-art book.

9. John Peel Archive

Eight years after the death of beloved BBC radio DJ John Peel, the BBC and England's Arts Council have started to make his legendary record collection available to the public. Ranging from the obscure to ABBA, the sheer size and breadth of the collection is both intimidating and inspiring for any music lover.

10. Opening Ceremony Magazine

Trendy boutique retailer Opening Ceremony is jumping into the publishing game with an annual magazine set to launch August 2012. A well-honed curatorial eye and an appreciation for beautiful things is likely to dominate the fashion and culture-focused 30,000 print run.

11. World's Largest Chocolate Sculpture

The remarkable recreation of an ancient Mayan temple is more spectacular than you thought—constructed by Qzina Specialty Foods, the six-foot model is made of chocolate, making it the world's largest in that medium. The 18,239 pounds of chocolate pay homage to the Mayans' role in the origins of the sweet and will be on display 4 June through 21 December 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar year.

12. Parrot DIA

While we're justifiably taken by a see-through digital photo frame, the real head-turning feature of the Parrot DIA is the ability to flick photos from an iOS device onto the display via a proximity sensor. The hefty price tag may match that of a fully-functional iPad, but the nifty device marks a precursor to the future of digital displays.

by Joanna Prisco

For the last six months, New Yorkers have been hotly anticipating The Great GoogaMooga, a free food and music festival to take place in Brooklyn's Prospect Park this weekend, 19-20 May. Created by Superfly Presents—founders of Bonnaroo and Outside Lands—the GoogaMooga has sparked much dialogue among summer concertgoers for shifting the spotlight from the stage to the concessions. While food lies at the heart of the inaugural fest there's a focus on design that sets it apart from its ubiquitous predecessors.

Superfly tapped the Rockwell Group to craft the aesthetic of the grounds, marrying a carnival atmosphere with 1960s-era spirit from which the festival takes its name. But at a handful of exclusive gatherings being held inside the Extra Mooga paid-ticketed area, guests will be transported even further back in time to a roaring, golden age.

"There will be four parties inside of the Boathouse," explains Superfly co-founder Jonathan Mayers. "And they will all have a 1920s vibe, with each hosting chefs such as Marcus Samuelsson, The John Dory Oyster Bar, Fedora or Monkey Bar pairing food and drinks to that time period."

To further infuse the ambience with '20s flair, Mayers commissioned Paris-based illustrator Rick Tulka to create posters featuring New Yorker-esque caricatures of the events.

"I was introduced to Rick a few years ago by a mutual friend and I'm a huge fan of illustrations," said Mayers. "So we sent him a bunch of images of Marcus, Gabe Stulman and imagery from the Monkey Bar and let him kind of run with it." Having spent the past 36 years illustrating for publications ranging from MAD Magazine to The Wall Street Journal, Tulka's creative process was uninhibited by the fact that his subjects were across the Atlantic.

"Since I am a humorous illustrator, it really helps when the client has a good sense of humor too," said Tulka. "For me, the 1920s theme added a really nice touch to the feel of the images." In keeping with the look of that decade, Tulka suggested the idea to print the posters in sepia. And since the illustrations were all caricatures with a main subject, he kept the backgrounds more line and less tone.

"I wanted the subjects to pop out," said Tulka, who sprinkled various food-focused details throughout the posters with piles of shucked oysters on the floor here and knife-and-fork cufflinks there. The result is both charming and appetizing. "When the illustrator and the client are on the same page and work well together, it makes for a fun job," said Tulka. "Oh, and listening to 1920s jazz while working didn't hurt either!"

While biking vets are likely to know a gear set like the back of their hand, others are probably flummoxed when it comes to simple maintenance issues like a punctured tire or a stretched brake cable. "The Bike-Owner's Handbook" is a cleverly designed, travel-sized folio that guides bikers through the most common operations they will encounter on the road. Simple illustrations and anatomical breakdowns serve to familiarize the uninitiated in processes like tire replacement, chain tension adjustment and bar tape wrapping.

Peter Drinkell wrote the book with empathy for the neophyte. While he is a fairly accomplished tinkerer, he notes the "finickiness" of bicycles as something that often perplexes riders. The goal of the pocket companion is not so much to make you a two-wheeled savant as it is to improve the riding experience: "Once you get in tune with your bike, it will change the way you cycle. You'll be able to treat it with kindness—checking tire pressure, brakes and chain regularly, keeping it running smoothly, and rewarding you with a much more enjoyable ride. You might also find yourself noting your environment a little more closely—keeping an eye out for glass or grit on the roads, carefully avoiding potholes and rocky surfaces."

Drinkell's recommendations expose the essential tools of a bike owner, ensuring that readers will have a patch and sandpaper on hand the next time they run a flat. The book also saves valuable time, replacing trips to the repair shop with do-it-yourself chain lubrication and brake pad replacement. Drinkell's simple advice and the book's straightforward layout make this a real boon as dusty wheels come out of winter storage.

The Bike-Owner's Handbook is available from Cicada and on Amazon. See more images of the book in our slideshow.

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 want the latest from your favorite designer at The Future Perfect, there will be no shortage of intriguing goods to choose from.

iGet.it at Wanted Design

Montreal-based member's only design site iGet.it will make their US debut with a brick-and-mortar shop at Wanted Design. The store will sell a variety of items culled from their online offerings, as well as exclusive products commissioned specially for the iGet.it at Wanted Design pop-up like the Sleepy Lamp by Busso and Shonquis Moreno's Fabrik Silk Scarf.
Located at 269 11th Avenue.

The $99 Store

Rising experimental design duo Chen Chen and Kai Williams return home from their "Factory" installation in Brazil with a brilliant take on the classic dollar shop. The $99 Store will stock an assortment of their signature resin works in addition to their new plastic block necklaces.
Located at 22 Bond Street.

The Future Perfect Manhattan Satellite

NYC's revered design shop The Future Perfect has so much up their sleeve they've created a second Manhattan location during Design Week. The temporary location will house a nationally exclusive range of furniture from Piet Hein Eek, a host of affordable items selected by The Art Institute of Chicago and new works from Matthew Hilton, Lindsay Adelman and Donna Wilson for SCP.
Located at 2 Cooper Square.

Fab + FLOR

Members only design site Fab tapped Belgian designers Quinze & Milan to fill FLOR with a colorful burst of over items for its first physical shop. Expect to see everything from bright red piggybanks from Ladies & Gentlemen Studio to shiny orange Hideo Wakamatsu suitcases in this vast array of covetable goods.
Located at 142 Wooster Street.

All City All Stars

Online design magazine Core77 has created an ode to NYC with All City All Stars, a pop up offering creative wares from 35 designers across the city's five boroughs. The enticing lineup includes Rich Brilliant Willing, Uhuru Design, Kiel Mead, Talitha James, Harry Allen and more.
350 Bowery at Great Jones Street

Balloon Factory at Japan Premium Beef

Popping up at Great Jones butcher shop Japan Premium Beef is Chicago-based Balloon Factory, who will be handmaking beef-inspired latex balloons in shapes like various cuts of meat. Pick up a porterhouse, flank, filet mignon, t-bone or variously sized sausages and see how the crafty team constructs such an intriguing take on the ubiquitous balloon.
Located at 57 Great Jones Street.

50-million-year-old shark teeth and thousands of turkey, pheasant and coque feathers are just a few of the materials comprising the work of UK artist Louise Greenfield. "I've always been into making and designing things. Even when I was a little girl I was creating little outfits and packaging boxes. I loved the construction, pattern and color elements equally and was occupied for hours as a child," laughs Greenfied in her North London studio. "I'd drive my maths teachers crazy day-dreaming about things I could make!"

This love affair with construction and design led London-born Greenfield to complete a 1st Class BA (Hons.) in Applied Art before being offered a chance to work with the jewelry team at Vivienne Westwood. "I'd always admired the incredible theatrical, flamboyant nature of her work," says Greenfield. During her time there she felt fortunate to work with Wendy Ramshaw, CBE, the queen of British jewelry design. Inspired by what she calls the "execution and finish on her work which is always so incredibly precise and intricate," Greenfield soaked up everything she could learn about materials—"be it precious metals, jewels, plastics, leather and fabrics"—and used the results to create large-scale installations as well as jewelry and art.

In 2010, Greenfield launched her own range, Targets—intricate and highly detailed wall art utilizing hundreds of pheasant, coque, turkey feathers—at London's Origin and 100% Design festivals. The positive feedback led to global editorial coverage and the opportunity to collaborate with some of the UK's top interior designers.

The following year, while visiting New York, Greenfield stumbled upon a 50-million-year-old shark's tooth, an encounter that eventually led to her latest animal-inspired collection, Dancing Teeth. "I found the my first tooth at an amazing shop called Evolution, an artist's treasure trove full of preserved butterflies, beetles, snake skeletons and spiders. I found it fascinating to imagine the history behind these items that were so old. The tooth inspired this alternative fairy-tale narrative; I simply wanted to make playful, bright, fresh objects with a static energy," she says.

Attention to detail and an obsession with structure are at the core of everything Greenfield creates, resulting in breathtaking quality. For Targets and Flight, Greenfield first decides on colors and types of feather before measuring and drawing out the design onto blank canvas. Next, each feather is positioned onto steel pins and Greenfield drills into the board to affix them. "I guess the hardest part is making sure the size, color and patternation on the feathers works with the structural shape," she explains. "When I'm producing a new piece, it's very much about working with the design as the shape evolves so timescales vary hugely. Yes, it can be frustrating but also quite therapeutic too!" In Dancing Teeth—a collection Greenfield is currently evolving—each tooth is individually cast before being carefully built into the sculpture.

Despite the effort involved, Greenfield is overwhelmingly positive about her future. "When you're working for yourself, the possibilities are endless and I think ultimately you get out what you put in. It's exciting not knowing what's coming next or what the next commission will involve. There's nothing better than doing something you love and I'm excited to be indulging in my own creativity."

Even from a few feet away, you can see the bold strokes that Sao Paulo artist Roberto Lautert applies to his portraits of iconic art figures, but step closer and you'll notice that brush lines are strangely missing. That's because there were no brushes—these works are enlarged versions of the portraits Lautert "paints" by fingertip on his iPhone 3G, using the Finger Draw app. The pieces are currently on display at Loja do Bispo in Sao Paulo in his first-ever solo show.

Lautert, an art and creative director at his own agency, has always loved doing portraits of friends and family, which in the past were made by pencil, acrylic or watercolor. So when Lautert discovered the Finger Draw app in 2009, he knew that his first stab would be a portrait. He painted his wife, who later gave him the idea of doing a six-image series of the artists he admired most—David Hockney, Lucien Freud, Avigdor Arikha, Alex Katz and Elizabeth Peyton.

Painting on such a small screen as the iPhone is challenging in itself, but Lautert finds putting in the details to draw the eyes and the shape of the face the most difficult to achieve. "Every new portrait becomes a drama because it seems like it's not going to turn out right," he said. "You suffer until the results start to excite you. But even so, every time you hit save and return hours afterward, you see there's so much still left to do."

Because the digital size of the Finger Draw portraits are so small, the images had to be put through a vector process to enlarge them before they're printed on canvas. "What's beautiful about Finger Draw on the iPhone is that you can put in your pocket, as if it were a Moleskine," says Lautert.

Lautert is looking to bring his pieces to other major cities in Brazil, and the current show runs through 25 May 2012.

In the lead-up to the Olympic games in London this summer, a superlatively comprehensive guide to the best of the city's food has just landed. Eat London 2 revamps the original 2007 edition with a new and updated array, taking the reader through the most toothsome digs in 15 London neighborhoods. The mouthwatering arrangement is the product of restaurateurs Peter Prescott and Terence Conran, who present the book as their personal guide to restaurants of the British capital.

While the recent economic climate may have lead to mass penny-pinching, the recession has not dimmed the vibrancy of the UK's cafe, food and restaurant revolution. With foodie havens opening their doors daily, the streets of London have never been more plentiful. Cheap eats and Michelin stars fill the city, and with all the options around, a guide like this is indispensable to residents and tourists alike. The fold-out maps guide you through London's labyrinthine streets, giving direction without the stigma of a traditional guidebook.

Whether you're into food carts, gastropubs or fine French cuisine, the collection's range has something for everyone in each neighborhood. To augment the directory, quotations from notable chefs and recipes for signature dishes are plated up alongside restaurant descriptions. Those who can't make it to London will be sated by preparing a homemade dish of cuttlefish with broad beans and mint from Moro or Dover sole with Beurre Maître d'Hôtel from Lutyens.

Insider details for city eats are also given by notable local chefs. According to Chris Galvin of Galvin La Chapelle, "London is the greatest melting pot of ethnic cuisine in the world today and finally, we are blessed with lots of 'young guns' cooking and serving daring dishes and concepts."

Eat London 2 is available from Octopus Books and on Amazon.

Images by Graham Hiemstra

If you've ever wondered what it's like to shoot down bomber planes, race a Ferrari in a Volvo or fly a space ship while on acid, POP might offer the insight you need. The mind-bending experimental video game consists of what it calls "a series of erratic minigames" set to a steady stream of panic-inducing music. Designed by independent developer Rob Lach as an exploration in conventional game development, the purposefully disjointed experience was designed by creating the music first then running with the first game concept that came to mind. The lo-fi result feels at once nostalgic and unsettling.

Using various controls—mouse clicks, arrows keys, Z and X buttons—the player navigates through seven "interactive vignettes" of hand-drawn pixel art, often with little to no instructions. This purposeful lack of declared objectives leaves all understanding and interpretation up to the individual, a task only made more fun by intense tunes and floods of strobing colors. As a result "Launch" ends up looking like a reenactment of the Challenger disaster, while the more manageable "Air Raid"—curiously reminiscent of one of the more memorable Full Metal Jacket scenes—only became clear after multiple inflictions of keyboard abuse.

In "Highway" the player races a red Volvo wagon down a never-ending road in some nameless city. Coaxed on by a pounding beat, the faux chase scene feels like a lo-fi Cruising USA with a cheeky sense of juvenile design. Subsequently in "Gunner" the operator shoots down bombers with the click of a mouse as equally suspenseful beats play in the background. To add to the perfectly retro aesthetic, each "minigame" is flanked by pixelated snapshots and distorted movie clips from a bygone era.

Lach's POP game is available through a pay-what-you-want (minimum $1) platform. For a better idea of what you'll be getting yourself into check the teaser video or head directly over to POP online.

For this year's Noho Design District, part of New York's Design Week, we've teamed up with our friends at Architizer and Dwell to present SCALE, a collection of objects and prototypes that explore the relationship of furniture and architecture.

Architects have been known to use furniture as a prototyping method for their creations and with this as our starting point we've collected works from architects and designers—some at the top of their game, others just starting out—including Snarkitecture, Bec Brittain, Katie Stout, Seth Keller, Studio DROR, Kiel Mead, Thaddeus Wolfe and more. From Jason Payne's "Disco Ball" for Hirsuta to the process-driven "Sprue" candelabras by Fort Standard, we think the final collection captures some of the most interesting intersections of architecture and design today.

SCALE
Friday 18 - Sunday 21 May 2012
12 Noon to 7:00 p.m. daily
The Standard East Village

And don't forget to stop by the accompanying Sonos Listening Library while you're there.

Taking inspiration in the distinctly Nordic heritage and unforgiving climate of the Orkney Islands where the celebrated Highland Park distillery stands, the recently launched Thor single malt scotch whisky is as powerful as the Norse god for which it's named. As the first release from the much anticipated Valhalla Collection, the 16 year single malt is characterized by a "forceful" nose dominated by "an explosion of aromatic smoke". Once past these initial notes of gingerbread, cinnamon and vanilla, the dry flavors give way to a sweet body that settles nicely on the palette, making Thor one of the more memorable spirits we've sipped recently.

Bottled at 52.1% abv—nearly 9% stronger than the highly sought-after Highland Park 18—the concentrated Thor is unabashedly flavorful when enjoyed neat and responds well to a splash of water, mellowing the peaty bite to a more mortal level. While some purists may scoff at the idea, Thor has the integrity to withstand a bit of dilution while remaining strong enough to put a bit of hair on your chest.

The truly elemental spirit is an absolutely delicious departure for Highland Park, and with only 1,500 bottles being released Stateside—23,000 worldwide—it's sure to create quite a stir. Visit Highland Park online to purchase directly for $200 a bottle.

Images by Graham Hiemstra

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 of the mission's extensive flight plan has been spared the Tom Sachs treatment. From a golf cart turned into a Mars Excursion Roving Vehicle (MERV) to the "interlocking system of systems" comprising the Landing Excursion Module (LEM), Sachs has created a charmingly kitschy and impressively thorough rendition of a mission to Mars.

Opening night visitors to Sachs' massive tongue-in-cheek Park Avenue Armory installation sipped on "Vader Piss" and "Astronaut Sunrise" cocktails as they made their way from an upgraded Mission Control (stocked with Stoli vodka and an "expanded musical selection") at the entrance to the Indoctrination Station on the opposite end of the 55,000-square-foot space.

Berms made from plywood—one of Sachs’ favorite materials—make up the terrain of the Mars Yard, where astronauts secure samples from Mars' surface in a process called "The Dig". Using discarded objects like a boombox, solar cells, an umbrella, a broom and more, Sachs created a set of tools to help with the scientific analysis, which include a Phonkey, an Indoctrination Fridge, a MILF Fridge, a Floor Raper, The Sun, a poppy-producing Biolab, a Hand Tool Carrier (HTC) and the MERV.

Sachs focuses on a seemingly insane number of details with ingenuity to match, simultaneously proving his prowess as both a leading contemporary artist and NASA expert. The world he has created at the Armory is one that children will relish in exploring, and adults will wish they had had as a learning tool while growing up. While his Mars exhibition presents space travel in an easily digestible and ultra entertaining form, his intention is more serious and far-reaching. The project's official description explains that with the end of the space shuttle program last year, Sachs aims to provoke "reflection on the haves and have-nots, utopian follies and dystopian realities, while asking barbed questions of modern creativity that relate to conception, production, consumption, and circulation".

Sachs and his 13-person team will be in residency during the month-long exhibition giving artist talks and demonstrations. While the show is undoubtedly one to see in person, those outside of NYC (or who missed the 2007 "Space Program" show at the Gagosian in LA) can still get in on the action—200 Space Program Zines are available in the online gift shop, and fans can pick up his extensive book (to which Buzz Aldrin contributed) or wear one of the items from Sachs' capsule collection that he developed with Nike.

"Space Program: Mars" runs through 17 June 2012 at the Park Avenue Armory.

From their Victorian-era genesis to waves of popularity in the '70s and in recent years, terrariums have taken on a variety of mossy forms. Leading their most recent charge was the uniquely charming, Brooklyn-based Twig Terrariums, whose uncanny ability to build miniature worlds complete with perfectly manicured landscapes and quirky characters breathed new life into the household standby. Twig creators Michelle Inciarrano and Katy Maslow have recently released Tiny World Terrariums, sharing step-by-step instructions on creating your own verdant paradise.

With revealing photography of little dioramic worlds depicting every situation imaginable—from graffiti writers in Manhattan to backpacking adventures in the desert—the DIY manual teaches the average crafter how to transform their own glass jar from a simple dish to an enchanting landscape. The book is filled with dictionary-like descriptions and even suggestions of proper tools for harvesting moss from the wild, making this little book an ideal guide for the novice "terrarer".

Tiny World Terrariums is now available from Amazon for about $25. The book may also be purchased directly from Twig Terrariums, which also has more information, terrarium inspiration and a list of suggested NYC-based retailers for terrarium essentials.

Images by Graham Hiemstra

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Best known for her hand-blown glass and sculptural brass lighting fixtures, Lindsey Adelman is no stranger to exploring the limits of industrial design. Driven by this pionering spirit, Adelman's studio, in collaboration with Kiel Mead of the AmDC, teamed up with Sonos to create the "Soundalier", a centerpiece for the Sonos Listening Library being held at The Standard East Village at Noho Design District during NYC Design Week 2012. This gorgeously inventive speaker fixture embodies Adelman's bold design while showcasing the supreme quality and adaptability of the wireless Play: 3 speaker from Sonos.

Inspired by Mead's initial idea and starting from a photoshopped collage, Adelman repurposed an existing BB.05.01 lighting fixture by replacing the globes with speakers, customizing it to create a piece that demands attention. "It's new. I love that the form has integrity but is also quirky. The way the speakers are so massive next to the skinny brass arms, you wouldn't think the frame couldn't hold their weight. It's really unexpected and fun," says Adelman.

The raw brass frame has been given a dark bronze patina to play off the clean aesthetic of the Sonos Play: 3 speakers, making for a beautiful juxtaposition that nicely compliments the other designers showcased in the Listening Library. The Soundalier will be suspended above the custom-designed room holding a collection of design pieces by the likes of Pete Oyler, Evan Dublin and The Future Perfect to create a truly unique listening experience.

The exclusively designed Soundalier and its accompanying collection of designs curated by Kiel Mead will be shown in the Sonos Listening Library at The Standard East Village as part of the Noho Design District. Exhibit hours are Friday 18 - Monday 21 May 2012 from 12 Noon to 7:00 p.m.

For anyone working in the area of fine art photography, Bill Hunt is a familiar name. The self-described "champion of photography" has demonstrated an unrivaled passion for the medium as a curator, dealer and collector for almost 40 years. Hunt's photography collection is nearly as infamous within the field as the man himself. Ranging from anonymous images from the 19th century to modern masterpieces by the likes of Lee Friedlander, Diane Arbus and Richard Avedon, the pictures all share one thing in common–as Hunt says, they are "magical, heart-stopping images of people in which the eyes cannot be seen."

Earlier this year, highlights from Hunt's collection appeared in a beautiful and quite hefty book called "The Unseen Eye", with thoughtful commentary alongside the images. We got the chance to talk to Hunt about his collection, pulling inspiring fodder from the book to spur the conversation.

"Photography is revelatory, both as revelation and as something to revel in." What drew you to start collecting photography, especially at a time when photography didn't have a lot of clout as an art form?

On some level I have always been a gatherer of stuff—shells, books, musicals—so that gene was there. But I didn't start out to collect; I just bought a photograph, and then another, and then another until one day I asked, "Holy shit, what's happening?" Then you give yourself permission to proceed. I thought it was funny that it was art too. Go figure.

"I like bliss, epiphany and escape. I am enthralled by the possibility of transcendence and subscribe to the belief that a large part of life is a search for meaning, or at least feeling. Sometimes this takes me to the darker side, to images that provoke a visceral response that is intoxicating and frightening." What is it about a picture that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up?

That makes your heart boom? That makes you stop in your tracks? It must be some sort of "Road to Damascus" divine moment of clarity. Look for those moments that say, "Pay attention to this because it will give your life meaning, or at least some resonance." Un coup du foudre. Thunderbolt. Orgasm. Somehow in the midst of banality you find a moment of real sensation. It is not about beauty—although it can be. It is alarmingly like drug addiction, but real collecting is completely spiritual. Hallelujah! It is like listening to the tumblers in a lock when you try to open it. When they are lined up, you can hear it—you recognize that sound—before the door actually opens. You know you have made it in.

"Many collectors look only at so-called 'art photography', which is considered and aestheticized and finely printed. There is an implicit elitism here. Then there are some souls who are truly responsive to the image first and foremost. I am in this group." I am in this group too. Can you talk about the thrill of discovering an amazing picture that may have been taken by an anonymous photographer 100 years ago?

With photographs there are so many great, crazy questions. Why did a picture get saved if it doesn't have informational value (Who is this?) or if it has condition issues? Your trash, my treasure. Great pictures operate in a special way. You are part of some equation. The way in which a completely peculiar piece speaks to you uniquely and powerfully depends on your being a collaborator. It means something to you. Very often it is the suggestion of something that brings you in—the enigma attracts. It's as if as you finish a puzzle you didn't know you were working on.

In my book there is a tintype portrait of a little girl. It is sweet but what makes it chillingly grand is its condition: the silvering has fallen off or oxidized, so it looks ghostly. She is a specter. Also what's cool is that my sister spotted it at some antique fair and she snagged it because she knew it was a good one. That's fun when you've got other people out there looking too.

"Collectors are obsessed, ravenous for this one and then the next one. People who do not collect, won't. They don't connect with this intense, obsessive force." I know you have moved on from collecting these images of hidden eyes, but a collector never stops collecting. Where is the focus of your passion now?

I really don't collect now. It's not the same. The covetous part of collecting has passed, I think. I was shocked once to answer the question "Why did I have to own them?" by saying, after some hesitation, "Because then they were MINE."

But I still want to look and have that thrill of engagement and then I want to write and to talk about it. That interests me intensely. That's what I collect. I want others to look too. I am still a proselytizer but without as much stuff. Collecting is a way of creating order and insulating from chaos. I don't need it or, more to the point, want it now. I want to be lighter in my feet, ready to move. It's different. But wow, what a thrilling experience. As I say in the book, photography changed my life, it gave me a life.

For many Somali‬ refugees, the film Black Hawk Down serves as one of their only memories of the civil war that has ravaged their country for the last two decades. This Thursday, 17 May 2012, thousands of expats—along with the rest of the world—will see their nation again in a live broadcast of TEDxMogadishu, an impromptu conference bravely taking place in Somalia's capital city.

Documenting the event are filmmakers Sebastian Lindstrom and Alicia Sully, a progressive duo who recently shot a feature film highlighting the various ways people use camel milk. After filming the TEDx summit in Doha, Lindstrom and Sully joined fellow organizers in Somalia to finalize plans for TEDxMogadishu and make the underground announcement about the nation-shaping symposium.

With a war on the periphery and pirates on the beaches why risk venturing to Mogadishu when the whole conference will be streamed online via satellite? Well, for the first time in years, Mogadishu is being spared active fighting, and people are coming back and opening businesses. There are success stories to share, like that of participant and supporter Liban Egal, who is the founder of the brand new First Somali Bank.

The goal for TEDxMogadishu is to create a space in which to spread ideas for positive change in Somalia. Lindstrom points out that the group empowering the independently organized event isn't the first to see a change taking place in Somalia (he helpfully sent over links to The New York Times, Newsweek, Voice of America and Foreign Policy). In some ways, Mogadishu is a model forum for the TEDx conference as it stands on the forefront of something hugely important–the rebirth of a nation.

If you tune in to the satellite stream of the conference on Thursday, you will witness a powerful movement happening in Mogadishu. Along with the short lead time on the announcement of the event, safety precautions are being put into place to protect the attendees and speakers, which Lindstrom says includes "a chef and restauranteur, a real estate developer, the founder of a university, the founder of the first Somali bank, a camel farmer, healthcare specialist, a Somali journalist and more."

To find out how to attend the three-hour conference you can call or email the organizers. Those tuning in digitally can catch the live feed at 2pm in Mogadishu (12pm London, 7am New York).

by Katharina Galla

The portrait photographer Christian Witkin is best known for his advertising and editorial work for major publications like New York Times Magazine, Harpers Bazaar, Vogue and many more. Entering what he calls "the second half of this life", he is now shifting his professional career to return to his roots in fine art, the foundation of his personal photographic work.

"I've been very fortunate that most of the advertising work I do is what I love doing," says Witkin. "But the commercial world is only important to me in that it allows me a particular lifestyle and to be in this space, and it allows me to photograph whatever the hell I want." According to Witkin, he knew he was meant to be a portrait photographer when he was 17 years old, after years of nourishing himself with art imagery and photography in books given to him from his father, a painter himself. It wasn't until later that he realized that a book by Diane Arbus had greatly impacted his work, along with the works of August Sander and, to some extent, Richard Avedon. "I've always been drawn to faces, but the motive goes beyond that in the peeling back for honest moments and truth," he reflects. "You can read people's faces, you can see how they treat themselves, what kind of lives they live, it's all in the exterior."

When it comes to the commercial world of portraiture, says Witkin, "you are not working with subjects but you are working with celebrities or professional models, but the sensibility remains the same." While shooting the Olsen twins, for example, he relies on engagement, waiting for the moment in which the two women connect and it feels right to them. For him, the beauty lies in this intimate moment.

In the 1990s Witkin took his medium format camera out on the streets in his NYC neighborhood around 14th Street to snap curious New Yorkers in order to build both his portfolio and his confidence to win over people. Ever since, Witkin relishes daylight and working with strangers, always using film for his personal work. When he travels, he uses a smaller hand camera and a 4 x 5 Linhof Technika, which he mastered to operate quickly, because the ability to "act fast", he points out, is crucial. On the other hand, "Composition is part of the talent you are born with, but it has to be refined," says Witkin. "And that can only be done by exposing yourself to these situations. I developed a very keen sense of composition when I actually processed the film and printed my own black and white prints. I rarely crop my photographs, they're just shot the way I want them to be."

Witkin's curiosity for people's attractive and repulsive elements led to numerous journeys to India and purposeful encounters with the fascinating faces and dark stories of dowry victims, diseases like neurofibromatosis, and the discoveries of subcultures like the Hijra in India or the lady boys of Thailand. By way of explanation, he simply says, "I like to be overwhelmed." Through a deep encounter with individuals who fully embody the culture they live in, Witkin managed to document the intensity of certain Indian cultures.

Whether a commercial image or the most intimate nude shot, his portraits likewise demand an engagement from the viewer by exposing layers of communication and manifesting the nuances of the story in the details of the physical body of his subjects. In his practice as a photographer Witkin explores the tension between himself and the subject, the subject and the lens, and inevitably the social framework which insinuates a sense of self-presentation. At times, the viewer is compelled to pause and ponder on the ethical pitfalls of human hypocrisies.

Following the paths of vulnerability and intimate tension, Witkin strips down his subjects. "The more you do it, the more you get into it, literally," he says. A monograph he's working on entitled Ordinary Beauty comprises nude shots and fragments of the female body as a reflection on intimacy and one of many steps he is taking towards what one may or may not want to call fine art photography. His current project in this direction is a composition of four groups of portraits on display this week's New York Photo Festival (NYPHO) opening on Wednesday, 16 May at various locations in DUMBO. Together with Irmelie Krekin and Evangelia Kranioti, his work is going to be shown in one of the four main exhibition segments curated by Claude Grunitzky titled "The Curse and the Gift".

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 dog to eat a pill. The single-serving powder formulas are "basically like Emergen-C for dogs", he tells us.

Depending on the dog's weight, you simply drop the contents of one packet into its water bowl or mix it into its food for a quick and seamless immunity boost. Currently K-10+ makes calcium, glucosamine, omega 3 and multi-vitamin formulas, and each are concocted with human-grade ingredients and designed to be odorless and tasteless.

Each box—designed by Paul Darragh of Manhattan Born—contains 28 packets for a month's worth of daily nutrition doses for your pup. Pick them up online for $35 a box.

by Adam Štěch

Exploring the formation of the jewel as a natural process and celebrating it as a performance, the latest collection of distinct jewelry from the conceptual Prague-based designers Daniel Pošta and Zdeněk Vacek of Zorya fuses dynamic drama with simple beauty.

The Virus collection, the most experimental project to date from this creative pair, launched last October at Designblok 2011 Prague design week. Their previous jewelry includes strangely organic creations of raw beauty in which biomorphological inspiration meets precise technical execution with materials such as gold, silver and stainless steel, as well as textiles, pearls and plastics—as exemplified in the pendants and earrings resembling flowers and beetles in the Bye Bye Birdie collection.

Discovering new possibilities of the performative qualities of contemporary design, the Virus collection marks a new chapter in the work of Pošta and Vacek. Inspired by the natural processes and substance of every virus and their ability to take hold of their victims and spread, they have created process-based jewelry using simple chemical reactions. Their instrument was the crystallization of alum, which was grown on raw ropes to create natural crystal structures. The upshot is an unorthodox connection of materials with natural and creative art processes.

The elegant collection, which was awarded the main prize at the annual Czech Grand Design Awards, is characterized by a beauty that seems both brutal and fragile.

Zorya's collections range between $400-$1,000USD and are available at selected retailers in the Czech Republic, as well as at Charon Kransen Arts in NYC.

Using the same tab-and-slot construction technique as classic balsa wood airplanes, Kinetic Creatures start as flat-packed, laser-cut cardboard and transform into the impressive mechanical Rory the Rhino, Geno the Giraffe or Elly the Elephant. The DIY animals were conceived by Portland, Oregon-based visual arts teacher Alyssa Hamel and industrial designer Lucas Ainsworth, who were interested in encouraging youth to "be builders, thinkers and inventors". After four years of research and design, the duo are launching a Kickstarter campaign today with the goal of raising enough funds to make the project possible while keeping the production local and sustainable.

As a project with educational roots, Kinetic Creatures require hand assembly and move by either a hand-cranked wire handle or an optional electric gear kit. The intuitively-assembled kit consists of little more than laser-cut wooden gears and a battery-operated on/off switch that fits in the open back of each animal, showing off all the moving parts for a basic lesson in mechanics.

To learn more about the project or to support this clever blend of art and science head to the Kinetic Creatures' Kickstarter. At this point donations are the only route to getting your own animal, so for $30 you can score your own Elly the Elephant or Rory the Rhino, while $40 buys Geno the Giraffe and $90 or more gets you all three critters for your own moving menagerie.

Initially catching our eye at the recent NADA NYC fair, Michael Bauer has made an impression in the European art market for years with his energetically moody compositions. The German artist recently set up shop in New York, and in celebration of his move from Berlin to NYC he is holding his first solo show at Lisa Cooley Gallery, dubbed "H.S.O.P. - 1973".

Bauer spent much of 2012 experimenting with collage and drawing, a practice that has invigorated his new paintings with what the gallery calls an "openness, dynamism, lightness and mischievous humor" not seen in his previous work. Still, certain elements from his early career remain, most notably his small, meticulous markings and his predilection for highlighting and obscuring physical deformity. According to the Saatchi Gallery, "Bauer uses the qualities of abstract painting as a deviation of representational portraiture, allowing the media to replicate the characteristics of physical matter."

Even as his compositions become tighter and more centralized, Bauer seems consumed with making figurative elements from the marking of his medium. He describes the work in "H.S.O.P - 1973" as "portraits of gangs, families, music bands, collectives, or mobs—a grouping of characters revealed through the occasional eye or profile emerging from shadowy abstraction. Flat, crisp, bright, patterns usually provide the structure from which these organic nebulas originate."

The title for the exhibition is a little obscure, and Bauer calls "H.S.O.P." an "arbitrary reference" to the Hudson River School of painting, and because there's a foot or foot-like shape in each painting, the accompanying numbers indicate European shoe sizes. The other elements aren't quite so random. Bauer adds circular shapes to the corners to make them more like playing cards, with each painting like a "character in an unfolding cast, a mad tea party of sorts."

”H.S.O.P. - 1973” is on view at Lisa Cooley Gallery through 17 June 2012.

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 painting and then digital manipulating her analog work. We recently caught up with the self-proclaimed neat freak at her Williamsburg studio to learn more about her latest collection, and the surprising way in which she creates such whimsically structured motifs.

Campanaro starts by drawing, usually working small. She uses the water-soluble Muji pens (or sometimes Higgins inks) to paint primarily pictures of animals, and then distorts the lines by flicking water onto the paper to make the ink bleed. "I like to work on a couple pieces of paper on top of each other so that it sinks through, and then I'll draw the same thing a couple of times," she explains. While she prefers pens over brushes for cleaner lines, she then counteracts that precision with a loose application of water. Campanaro demonstrated her method for us on a painting of a rooster she is doing for an upcoming exhibition called "Rare Birds". Although "everything comes from a painting", at the end of the day "everything has to be done on the computer".

While she says she always paints stuff "not for wallpaper", this medium is often at the back of her mind. While painting, Campanaro tends to notice an element that might look good as wallpaper so she'll stop and photograph the work at that point because, she explains, "for the painting to have more contrast and depth and look good as a painting, you kind of have to ruin the part that was good as wallpaper."

The creation of the pattern marks the beginning of the digital aspect of the process. After scanning in a photograph of her painting, she begins to inspect it in Photoshop, looking for interesting areas where the ink has bled. This begins a lengthy trial-and-error process where Campanaro zooms in on and crops a fraction of the painting, copies it, multiplies it and decides if it makes a harmonious pattern. As we saw on our visit, this part of the operation relies heavily on Campanaro's trained artistic eye and experience as a designer.

The Central St. Martins grad is mostly inspired by travel, and she enjoys bohemian settings in places like Indonesia, Mexico or Capri. These destinations tend to show up as the themes for her collections, although her latest, "Poolside", draws from time spent back home at her parents' house in San Diego. The collection includes eight different patterns, and spans bold geometric designs in "Solitaire" to the abstract motif of "Splash".

Campanaro—who’s also an unexpected sneaker freak—likes working in the commercial realm of art. After receiving her degree in fine art, she began looking for jobs at streetwear labels and ended up making T-shirts in London with two friends from school. This actually marked the beginning of Eskayel, whose name is a phonetic combination of their initials, S, K and L. The company is now a solo act with a different purpose, but Campanaro still collaborates frequently, and she co-founded the charitable arts organization FOOLSGOLD with her friend Maria Kozak, where many of her wildlife paintings end up on display.

The industrious designer never stops thinking of ways to expand her talents. Whether experimenting with different types of paper, creating custom textiles for furniture upholstery or adding new products to her shop—last year she threw woven baskets into the mix of wares comprising her online shop—Campanaro continues to successfully combine fine art with commercial sensibility. Keep an eye out for her at the Javits Center during the upcoming ICFF in NYC, and for her next collection, "Akimbo", debuting July 2012.

Images by Karen Day. See more in the slideshow below.