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A group of MIT scientists have created a new material that can be both a mirror and a window, and no it's not a one-way mirror.

This new material can filter light depending on the direction of the light beams. In the image above light that hits from one angle goes straight through (white beam) but light that hits the material at different angle is reflected back (red beam). For designers it might make for interesting new tricks for walls or new forms of windows.

To filter light one must alter either it's frequency or polarization. In terms of frequency, stained glass windows are a good example, where the glass lets specific wavelengths pass through.

Polarized glasses, like the 3D glasses you wear at the movies, are able to let light through that oscillates in a specific way. But the idea of filtering light based on the direction it comes from has always been tough.

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A Core77 reader wrote in to ask about the provenance of this enormous horse made from wood cut-offs, which we spotted at Holz-Handwerk.

Called the "Workhorse of Peace and Hope," it was made by Italian furniture outfit Riva to symbolize the dedication and perseverance of Italian craftsmanship.

And speaking of wooden animals, here's something I never expected to see being sold by Restoration Hardware: A line of Hand-Carved Game Trophies made out of basswood.

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Photography accessory company Photojojo might consist of "a small and passionate team" of designers (who are hiring, by the way), but despite their dimunitive size, the SF-based outfit distributes a staggering array of product. And what they've got in the pipeline is bound to draw some attention: "We're working on some stuff to make drone photography easier for anyone to get into," the company writes. Specifically, they may be helping to usher in a new category of photography: The drone selfie.

What's a drone selfie? Well jeez, whaddaya think it is?

That one was shot by Amit Gupta, the SF-based entrepreneur who runs Photojojo. No word yet on what the physical products they'll be releasing are.

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In this four-part look at different toolbox designs, finally we come to Parat, which has one of the larger tool storage catalogs of any company we've seen. Like Tanos, the company's desire is to produce storage for every single thing any tradesperson could possibly carry; but unlike Tanos, Parat has foregone any notion of connectivity and modularity--perhaps due to legacy issues--and instead produces a bewildering array of form factors, giving the end user a wide variety of options.

Their Paratool line is a unique-looking sort of wheeled briefcase, which can be rolled or carried depending on the load and terrain. The interesting design feature is that it's meant to serve as a mobile tool platform; with the telescoping handles extended, the box can be opened and set at a particular height to allow access to the tools.

Their Parapro line will be familiar to anyone who's used Pelican cases, often the mobile storage unit of choice for photographers and military outfits. Like the Pelicans, the Parapros are 100% waterproof, dustproof and airtight, and molded from nearly indestructible polypropylene.

Their Evolution line looks something like a wall-mounted cabinet that has been adapted to ride on wheels.

Their Top-Line category seems an odd choice of materials, being made from embossed leather bound at the corners by aluminum angles, in the manner of a flight case. One interesting touch are the rows of bristles within that are meant to hold hand tools in place regardless of their shape. They also offer a variant loaded up with drawers.

On the soft-materials front, they also offer a series of tool rolls, wallets, belt pouches, binders, and a backpack.

Parat's latest product line, the Paracurv series, was on show at Holz-Handwerk. Parat is billing the line as the "classic case of the future," referencing their materials departure: The Paracurvs are made from a flexible, sturdy and lightweight weave of thermoplastic bands that are melted onto the surface of an ABS structure.

At press time the Paracurv line wasn't yet up on their website, but here's the teaser vid:

This is just a fraction of what's on offer from Parat, but should give you an idea of how broad their range is. You can check out the rest here.

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If you haven't heard yet, Intel is looking for visionaries to enter the MAKE IT WEARABLE global challenge. All it takes to enter is for you to upload a one-minute video on your vision of the future of wearables. Five winners will receive $5,000 and a free trip for two to the award ceremony in San Francisco to take place in November of this year. For complete rules and to enter check out the competition website.

For those of you who want to develop a complete wearable product, we will be launching the Development Track of the challenge in the summer of 2014 with a grand prize of $500,000. You will be able to enter by submitting a proposal and pitch video of an innovative and creative product concept. Submissions will be judged on a balance of creativity, feasibility and market potential.

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While there are many designs out there that look to replicate the iconic style of the Eames Chair, I'd bet that there aren't many doing it quite like Bora Hong. Her work always has some sort of cultural connection, and her recent design series, "Cosmetic Surgery Kingdom" is no exception. The cultural spin? Hong explores the aesthetic surgery trend in South Korea by recreating the classic Eames chair using parts of outdated chair designs. She showcases her design process in two videos, where she dons doctor's scrubs and a hospital mask for added effect:

The project is meant to draw a correlation between the goal of creating a younger and more beautiful self by means of cosmetic surgery and the way in which designers are also always trying to create "good design." Check out her second video, titled "Surgery for an Eames Chair":

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Polypropylene is one of your go-to plastics for injection molding, and being both flexible and tough, you can do sexy things like making living hinges out of the stuff. But you are of course limited to what you can produce in a mold.

Stratasys is hoping to remove this barrier with Endur, a simulated polypropylene material that can be 3D-printed in their PolyJet machines.

Just like the name implies, Endur is tough. The polypropylene-like material offers both high impact resistance and superior elongation at break. Endur has a heat-deflection temperature up to 129°F/ 54°C, excellent dimensional stability and comes in a bright white color. It also features an excellent surface finish to make it easier to achieve a smooth look and feel.

These properties make Endur attractive for 3D printing prototypes that need the flexibility, appearance and toughness of polypropylene for a wide range of form, fit and assembly applications. This includes moving parts, snap-fit components, and small cases and containers with lids. The white tone and smooth surface finish make it ideal for consumer goods, electronics and household appliances, lab equipment and automotive parts.

Take a look at the stuff in this amusingly stilted video:

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Spring is a time for sprucing up, inside and out! For the Hand-Eye Supply Spring Quarterly we spent a day on job with Joshua DeParrie of Eco-Plumber. Joshua is a professional pipe whisperer and Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Between troubleshooting plumbing problems he schooled us on conceptions of balance and flow, discussed his take on Tao, and reviewed the Spring Collection.

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This is the latest installment of our Core77 Questionnaire. Previously, we talked to Inga Sempé.

Name: Eric Trine

Occupation: Artist and designer

Location: Long Beach, California

Current projects: Right now I'm gearing up for New York Design Week. I'm doing a new version of my Rod+Weave chair with a brass-plated frame and dyed-blue leather—it will be like an Yves Klein blue, super-vibrant. And then I'm working on a collaboration with a fashion designer and illustrator named Ellen Van Dusen; she's making the fabric for a new chair that's in the works.

Mission: Taking the pretentiousness away from high design and making it more accessible to a broader audience. And also just being in people's homes with the work that I do—the mission is not to be in a design gallery or the MoMA gift shop but to actually get into people's living spaces.

Above right: Octahedron Pedestals in a spectrum of colors. Top image: a detail view of Trine's Rod+Weave chair

A lounge chair and leather-sling side table from Staycation, a recent collection by Trine and Will Bryant

When did you decide that you wanted to be a designer? When I started transitioning out of a fine-arts, sculptural practice and started making things for myself. About five and a half years ago, my wife and I got married and moved into our first place. I've always had "maker's chops," so I taught myself how to weld and I started making all the furniture for our place. That turned into making stuff for friends, and then it was friends of friends of friends. It just kept snowballing. And I recognized that there was something in me that was activated through more of a design practice than a fine-arts practice. But I'm still realizing that I want to be a designer; I'm still figuring it out.

Education: I got a B.F.A. in interdisciplinary art, and my thesis was sculptural—I made this house on hinges and wheels that could fold into 434 different positions. So even in undergrad I was talking about themes of the home.

Then for graduate school I went to the Pacific Northwest College of Art, in Portland. The program was called Applied Craft and Design. I was looking at schools that were in between industrial design and a traditional M.F.A.. I know I don't want to be a craftsman, and I don't want to be a fine artist. Design is somehow hovering in between those spaces; it can pull from each of those traditions, but it has, I think, a clearer set of criteria.

First design job: Upon leaving graduate school last year, I've been doing my own thing. So my first design job was basically running my own business as a designer.

Who is your design hero? Russel Wright. I discovered him completely by accident. I found a set of four folding chairs that he did for Sears in the 1940s or '50s. I got them for $15 each and I posted them on my blog, and someone was like, "Where did you find those Russel Wright chairs?" And I was like, "Who the heck is Russel Wright?"

So I looked him up and then continued to study his work. He's my hero because he had a strong connection to the consumer culture and broader culture of his time. The dinnerware that he designed in 1937 is still the best-selling dinnerware set in American history. It's called American Modern. Nailing that design and making it so amazing and successful and accessible that it was literally in every home in America—I love that.

He also wrote this book with his wife called A Guide to Easier Living, talking about the benefits of modern design in an almost theoretical or conceptual way. One whole page is dedicated to a quicker way to making your bed. So design for him was really connected to improving your life, and not improving it in a status kind of way but actually improving the way that you interact with your space.

Inside Trine's studio in Long Beach

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Our readers are likely well aware that Core77's Allan Chochinov has been primarily focused on his duties as co-founder and chair of the School of Visual Arts MFA Products of Design program for the past few years now, and he is pleased to announce that they will be graduating their inaugural class next month. It has by all accounts been a major learning experience for all parties involved, from Allan and his faculty to the students themselves (who, of course, were joined by a second class, of 2015, last semester).

On Thursday, May 8, the 15 intrepid students who first set foot in the department back in 2012 will be presenting their year-long thesis work (names and projects listed below). The event at the SVA Theater on West 23rd St will take place from 1:00–6:30pm, starting with a few opening remarks from Allan and a keynote presentation by author and social theorist Douglas Rushkoff, whose latest book, Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now was published last year, followed by formal presentations by each student.

Richard Clarkson - "Super. Moments of Remarkable"
Emi Yasaka - "Upward: Fostering Human Mobility in a Sedentary World"
Clay Kippen - "Lucid: Seeing as a Tool for Learning
Kathryn McElroy - "Presence: How to Use Digital Technology to Live a More Analog Life"
Mansi Gupta - "BETTER: The Prejudices and Practices of Mass Production"
Damon Ahola - "The Benefits of Harvesting Ambient Energy"
Gaïa Orain - "the goods"
Samantha Moore - "Around: Drawing Out Relief and Engagement in the Urban Environment"
Rona Binay - "Coexist: Mixing with Wildlife in an Urban Environment"
Cassandra Michel - "Five+: An Exploration of Mindful Experience Through the Lens of Sense"
Joseph Weissgold - "The Teacher's Lounge: Re-Empowering Teachers Through Design Offerings"
Willy Chan - "Alive: Comforting Your Food"
Zena Pesta - "State of the Art Project: Transforming Local Businesses Into Learning Laboratories"
Charlotte Hellichius - "Whateverest. Exploring the Landscape of Apathy and Agency"
Matt Barber - "The End."

It seems like just yesterday that we saw the fresh faces of the inaugural class of SVA PoD roaming the floor of WantedDesign for their 2013 NY Design Week project "ALSO!" Congrats to Allan and all of the students!

Seating is limited, so RSVP is required.

About the Masters Thesis
The http://productsofdesign.sva.eduMFA Products of Design Masters Thesis is a unique, year-long design pursuit that investigates, iterates, and articulates around a given subject matter or territory. Using a series of progressive lenses—from speculative objects to social interventions—student work is instantiated along a continuum from product to service to system to platform. Integrating brand, business, and environmental and social stewardship, the thesis stands as a testament that the "products of design" must span multiple modalities in order to provide effective, holistic offerings.

About the MFA Products of Design Program
The MFA in Products of Design is an immersive, two-year graduate program that creates exceptional leaders for the shifting terrain of design. We educate heads, hearts and hands to reinvent systems and catalyze positive change. Graduates emerge with methods, confidence, and the strong professional networks necessary to excel at top design firms and progressive organizations, to create ingenious enterprises of their own, and to become lifelong advocates for the power of design.

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