Iconoculture: Architects Mitchell Joachim and Javier Arbona teamed up with environmental engineer Lara Greden to dream up the ultimate tree house — a two-story, water-recycling, solar-powered, living crib. They’re testing techniques for growing a weave of vines and trees that will form a lattice-like outer structure. Inside walls will be packed with clay and plastered. The team is experimenting with […]
Treehouse
Self-repairing Plastic
Futurewire: Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have developed a nanotechnology polymer that can “heal” itself by filling in cracks and tears automatically. Although self-healing plastic is not an entirely new concept, the UIUC material is different because it can repair itself multiple times without any intervention. The material could have important uses where making repairs is […]
Moving On
Iconoculture: With this ring, I thee shed — in a miniature casket suitable for display. Wedding Ring Coffins, created by divorce survivor Jill Testa, help the recently unhitched bury dead marriages in style. The tiny mahogany coffins look just like the real thing, complete with brass handles and a black velvet lining that sets the ring off nicely if the […]
Healing Waters
Iconoculture: While Coca-Cola is busy trying to come up with the perfect mix of pure and healthy for the anti-corn-syrup crowd, the folks at Aqua Tan think they’ve stumbled on the cure for what ails Coke, and just about everyone else on the planet. The healing water comes from the cave of Massabielle, where a young girl claimed she saw […]
Reactee
Springwise: T-shirts have long been conversation starters, letting their wearers express bold political views, support their favourite artist or display their quirky sense of humour. Reactee takes the interaction to another level by harnessing the power of text messaging, creating t-shirts that “text back”. How it works? A customer picks a personal slogan and a unique keyword, which Reactee prints […]
Reaching Her
SheSpeaks: Do you know women control over $5 trillion in spending nationwide and are responsible for 83% of all consumer purchases? This makes women the world’s largest economy. And you are a part of it. That means your opinion counts and can have a direct—and very—real impact. We invite you to join SheSpeaks, a national network of smart and insightful […]
Boys to Men
Boys to Men Gifts: The male gender is always the hardest to find gifts for, this is why we started Boys to Men Gifts. We are here to help you find creative solutions to the problem of what to buy for all ages of the male gender. Boys To Men Gifts has a unique selection of carefully chosen gifts from […]
Nature’s Design
Cool Hunting: Eschewing chemical-based fabrics for Japanese organic cotton and Italian linen, Paris-based designers Kaito Hori and Iku Furudate of Commuun believe that “environmental issues can not be ignored when considering the future of fashion and society as a whole.” Each collection is inspired by natural landscape and “the balance and tension in nature.” While the pieces are fastidiously crafted […]
Plastic Business
TriplePundit: NPR has a great little piece today about the destiny of the (cue Carl Sagan) billions and billions of plastic water bottles that we go though every year, the majority of which end up in a landfill. About 23% however, do wind up being recycled into various uses, typically carpeting or other downcycled products. Interestingly the majority of this […]
Organic Care
The Cool Hunter: Organic isn’t just a trendy buzzword anymore, savvy consumers demand it, whether we’re talking about apples, chicken, cotton bed sheets and even skincare. Melbourne duo Myke Christoffel and Lara Deutsch have capitalized on the growing market for the latter with their boutique organic skincare range Stem Organics. Sales for natural and organic personal care have doubled between […]