We love to find the normally mundane items transformed into interesting and unusual pieces so its no surprise these raven coat hangers caught our eye. Designed by Ingibjörg Hanna Bjarnadottir and available online through Icelandic Market, which sells clothing, accessories and homeware from various Icelandic brands and designers. These coat hangers come in a range of colours but we like the black one best for its dramatic impact.
We think artistic bike racks tick a lot of boxes. They bring cool street art to cities, offer a functional purpose and since they are often commissioned by district Councils they pay artists a tidy little some to create them. Many people attribute Talking Head's frontman David Byrne for spearheading art bike racks or at least giving them more exposure. Having been asked to judge a competition for bike racks in NYC he created a few himself which are now found throughout the city. Other bike rack artists include Jack Gibney, Creative Metal Works, Tom Crimboli and Kaylyn and Kyle Bancroft.
The Blimpus was born out of the creative minds of designers Mike Serafin and Tony Ruth from Chicago. Used to designing for flat surfaces the duo wanted to turn their attention to round, bulbous shapes and came up with the Blimpus. Standing at two feet tall, with stubby legs and made from an ink-receptive PVC vinyl, pretty much any type of character can be created.
The guys decided to use the popular crowdfunding site, Kickstarter to raise finance to make these little guys and with a target of $7,500 they have successfully reached their goal, having raised $8,140 already with 11 days still to go.
In exchange backers can receive their own Blimpus. For $20 donors will receive a "naked" Blimpus which donors can customise themselves, for $50 donors donors will receive their choice from 4 cool characters - Owl, Yeti, Cyclops and Ninja. For $300 backers can even have a Blimpus named after them.
What we like about the Blimpus is the wide appeal these cool little guys have, as well as the opportunity for the company to create tons of cool characters beyond the 4 they have designed already. Customers also have the option to totally customise their own too. We can see these being used as sports mascots, characters for kids bedrooms and children's playgroups as well as a personalised gift for someone.
For more information or to get your hands on a Blimpus visit:
Up until a few months ago it would have been impossible to transfer computer designs straight to metal form for Dublin based goldsmiths Da Capo, but not anymore. This innovative company has always pushed the boundaries, using latest technologies to create completely customised pieces for their clients. Using rapid prototyping processes and new machinery the company can now produce their detailed and highly decorative computer CAD designs directly onto titanium, with this stunning Gaia ring an example of what they can do. Traditionally an interim material would have been used to create a mould first, which restricted the design process. With this new expertise there are endless possibilities of what this company can achieve and sets the bar pretty high within the industry.
These dance shoes are a clever take on the popular "dance on Dad's shoes" that kids often love to do. By Company, a Finnish design business these felt shoes come in a range of size combination for both the little feet and the big feet - very cute!
