Thanks to James for sharing these amazing long exposure photographs, which were shot in orbit. These were taken by astronaut Don Pettit, during Expedition 31 to the International Space Station. I thought they were rather Tron-meets-Prometheus in their style. Found via PetaPixel.
Jiah shared this beautiful example of Japanese craftsmanship. These tea caddies created by Kaikado have been hand made since 1875 and the design has become THE tea caddy, copied by many other companies, although nobody seems to have ever matched the quality. These are double walled, guaranteeing an air tight seal which keeps out humidity but maintains the tea’s scent. Made in copper, tin and brass, they change colour over the course of time, ageing beautifully (as shown above). More about Kaikado’s work and manufacturing process on Designboom.
The fabulous Hoxton Street Monster Supplies continues to launch bonkers products with great ideas behind them coupled with inspiring naming and copywriting. Their latest product, Salt Made From Tears, is a range of salts made from various human emotions. The range includes Salts Made From Tears Shed by Chopping Onions, Salt Made From Tears of Laughter, and Salt Made From Tears of Anger to name a few. We’ve mentioned the shop in previous posts, but thought it was worth harping on about again. Found on the We Made This blog – who worked on the design.
Thanks to Stephanie for sharing this: “Cartunia is a furniture line by Italian designer Mario Mazzocchi. The collection is characterised by simple and inventive design, combining lightness and practicality with recycled materials. I was inspired to purchase the bookcase TAYè (below) as my first piece of designer furniture at a show during the recent Clerkenwell Design Week. Not only is it exquisite in its straightforward use of line and materials, creating a unique display feature, it is crafted by the warmest and most charming Italian design collective: Made in Bergamo. For me, design is about investing in people and craftsmanship as well as the finished product.”
Nicolle found this rather lovely idea for mobile phone packaging, by Vitamins Design. The Samsung Tocco Lite comes inside a set of two books. The phone is inside the first book, which gives instructions about how to set up the phone, with clear navigation on what to do next. Then the phone is moved to the second book, where it is slotted in, and pages reveal clear guidelines on how to use the key functions.
Back on the outer space theme, Nicolle shared this great collaborative project between artist Tom Sachs and NIKE sportswear. Tom Sachs’ ‘space program: mars’ project is being shown at New York’s Park Avenue Armory space this weekend, and as part of it, he worked with NIKE to create the ‘NIKEcraft’ collection of outerwear and accessories. The products use materials from boat sails, space suits and airbags. More info and videos of Sachs’ work on Designboom.
