TRENDWATCHING.COM: Taking it one step further is US-based eMachineshop.com, which lets ordinary consumers download free, easy-to-use software which they can use to design objects like car parts, door knobs, in metal or plastic. They can then get a quote, order the product online and eMachineshop will forward the design to a ‘real world’ machine shop for manufacturing. Suddenly, MINIPRENEURS have […]

Iconoculture: Shiny, colorful, and, oh yeah, bugged out. Still, Weevil Bangles boast a certain creature charm. The Lucite bracelets feature real bugs as design elements. Maxilla and Mandible specializes in gruesome “museum specimen” delights, like skull beads, candy crickets, and curious rocks and fossils (Frommer’s New York Guide 2005). But its Weevil Bangles are attracting fashion lab rats (Lucky 9.05). […]

Yenra: The new iBra from Wacoal is a completely stitchless, seamless, and tagless contour bra. Sleek, sexy, and sophisticated, the iBra is designed with the most technologically-advanced fabrics and manufacturing techniques so nothing ever gets in the way of comfort. The innovative design of the iBra approaches comfort from the inside out, focusing on every point-of-contact that a bra makes […]

The Spoof!: The latest invention from down under has just rolled off the production line! Car shoes, yes you read right. And Car Shoes are proving to be more than just a ‘fad’. The shoes developed by Australian inventor Ima Tinkerer has suddenly become big business. According to Ima the shoes can get up to sixty kilometres per litre on […]

We Make Money Not Art: Ben Pell’s Walldrobe Wearpaper is a series of thin leather panels that you hang on your wall as you would artwork. When you’re ready to get dressed, you take down your chosen pieces, affix a set of nickel-finished wire snaps to them, and you’re dressed! The system can produce a blouse, a shirt, a skirt, […]

Cool Hunting: We got a sneak peek of the hot new Legacy kicks that will launch the footwear label, Run Athletics next month. Designed by Kevin Saer (Slanty Asian Eyed Rebel), the Legacy combines a vintage feel with modern materials. Subtle more high-end details include leather wrapping on the mid-sole and the rather unique suede front toe guard (click on […]

Iconoculture: Need another sign of kid-driven design? The Museum of Modern Art – a.k.a. design central – has created an in-house kids’ line of backpacks, lunch totes, and accessories called Modern Kids. The brightly colored goods are constructed of soft, textured materials and come with collectible cards, each profiling one of five “Modern Kids” who has a specific creative interest. […]

Cool Hunting: The latest from New York label Yoko Devereaux’s Blue Boy Etiquette line uses meta-design to critique the Targetization of our lives. Subversive styles include “Wall Art” (pictured here), a black on white splattered H&Mass Market, and a repeating blue Kmart logo with beige paint drips that comment on the ways designers like Isaac Mizrahi, Todd Oldham, and Karl […]

We Make Money Not Art: Peter D’Alessandro’s Magnetic Mixer is a concept for a kitchen work surface and mixer. The work surface is embedded with magnets and a heating element, when the magnetic mixer is placed on top a revolving magnetic field is created. The result is that the hands free device starts to stir and/or heat food seemingly unaided. […]

Independentcollegian.com: A new accessory has wrapped its way around the waists of New York City’s trendsetters. Scrolling LED belt buckles in vibrant colors allow hipsters to display personalized messages in rhinestone-studded frames. The battery-powered buckles hold six programmable messages of up to 512 characters, according to Alex Ressi, an online scrolling buckle distributor in Manhattan. Some distributors sell entire packages, […]