By Joel Moskowitz - Sep 13

Tools & Craft #64: Saying Goodbye to a Mid Century Modern Bookcase

Scandinavian Modern BI (Before Ikea)

My mother bought this bookcase sometime in the 1940's, I think. It was sitting in my parents living room for over 40 years before they downsized and gave it to me. I brought it to the shop because my apartment already has too much stuff but I liked having it

By Rain Noe - Sep 11

A Gyroscopic Barbecue Grill

Spits seem so two-dimensional in comparison

A fellow named Gualberto Elizondo recently attended the Grill Master Campeonato Nacional de Parrilladas (Grill Master National Barbecue Championship) in Monterrey, Mexico, spotted one entrant's crazy contraption and posted it to his Instagram: It's a pity that we're coming across this only now, when barbecuing season is about to end.

By Rain Noe - Sep 11

Design Terminology: What's the Difference Between a Bevel and a Bezel?

We designers often take for granted the terminology we use to describe parts of objects. But after seeing laypeople interchangeably use the words "bevel" and "bezel" in an online discussion about the forthcoming iPhone X, it's become clear that not everyone has our command of design and manufacturing vocabulary. Well,

By Steven Johnson - Sep 07

Steven M. Johnson's Bizarre Invention #21: The Always-Available Plunger

Steven M. Johnson's "Patent Depending" series of inventions range from social commentary to plain ol' bizarre, and they always give us a laugh. So we've contracted him to let us publish one every week.

By Rain Noe - Sep 07

Can the Scroll Make a Comeback, with Some Modern Updates?

The Rollgut: Onboard utensil storage, looseleaf capabilities with magnetic capture and more

Here's a quick, carefully-researched history of writing surfaces: 1. SandYou've finally learned written characters, leaving your Neanderthal relatives in the dust. You use a stick to scratch out an inspirational message in the sand outside your hut, but when you bring your friends by to show it to them, a

By Rain Noe - Sep 05

A Lifesaving Military Application for…Silly String

Talk about a clever use of materials

I just came across this bizarre story from over ten years ago. A New Jersey mother had amassed 1,000 cans of Silly String and was trying to ship them to her son, who was serving in Iraq at the time. U.S. soldiers from both the Army and the Marines

By Emily Engle - Sep 05

Aura and Jonathan Adler's Smart Picture Frame Collaboration

A smarter design for smart frames

Gone are the days of flipping through physical photo albums with your family, reminiscing on vacations, weddings and other shared experiences while leaning over a massive book. Now in the digital age, many of us have thousands of photos stored on our phones, many of which we take and never

By Rain Noe - Sep 04

How to Avoid Torn Bacon, and Other Household Hacks from 1957

In 60 years, bacon packaging has not improved

The Household Hacker got his hands on a 1957 publication called "1,001 How-to Ideas," i.e. hacks. He then picked out 16 of them and demonstrated them on video to see if they'd still be useful today. As with all "life hacks" roundups, a couple of these are just dumb,

By Rain Noe - Sep 04

How to Make a Leather Handle Wrap--Without Stitching

This craftsman's experimental technique looks pretty cool

Artist Cam Bergerman counts archery and leatherworking among his hobbies. Having learned how to craft leather handle wraps the traditional way, with stitching, he decided to experiment a bit: I had an idea a while back for a way to join a seam in leather without anything but the leather

By Rain Noe - Aug 31

A 16th-Century Multi-Tool, an Opium Pipe Holder and Other Fascinating Swiss Auction Finds

Here's a great example of a guy who turned his hobby into a business, and how not having enough money forced a creative decision that made the business take off. In 1958, Pierre Koller was a Swiss 34-year-old that had grown up in Lausanne and Zurich. Fond of collecting

By Core Jr - Aug 31

Our Favorite Products from NY Now

The massive trade show's greatest hits

If you've ever been to the Javits Center in New York City, you know how colossal the convention center is. But have you seen every single inch of the space completely filled with exhibitors? We hadn't before, until we took a trip to NY Now last week. Let's just

By Rain Noe - Aug 29

Does Your Camera Get Hot During Long Shoots? Here's How to Hack a Heat Sink to It

Making things can be time-consuming, and if you're recording your entire process on video, your camera can start to heat up as the minutes tick past. Industrial designer Eric Strebel found his Lumix GF7 getting so hot that it would shut itself off. Strebel's solution: Harvest an aluminum heat

By Rain Noe - Aug 28

Game of Thrones Recap: "The Dragon and the Wolf"

Spoilers!

By Rain Noe - Aug 28

Unbelievable Shots of the Flooding in Texas

…and how ants have bonded together to survive

Social media has been inundated with shots of the historic levels of flooding Hurricane Harvey has wrought on Texas. Here are some images that really drive home the insane levels the water has reached: Interestingly enough, ants have worked out an effective defense mechanism to survive:

By Emily Engle - Aug 22

Our Favorite Products from Today's HAY Kitchen Market Launch

Hold us back.

Earlier today, HAY design launched their exclusive Kitchen Market at the MoMA Design Store SoHo. We were overwhelmed and excited by the 250—yes, 250—piece collection designed by Mette Hay with items selected by Danish chef and restaurateur, Frederik Bille Brahe. The collection merges classic kitchen necessities with modern design, throwing

By Rain Noe - Aug 21

Game of Thrones Recap: "Beyond the Wall"

Soft hands, lazy management, ergonomic backpack improvements

SPOILERS!

By Rain Noe - Aug 16

You Have Less Than 3 Days Left to Get a Discounted Lifetime Membership to Public Goods

Middleman-free discounted household goods. (Some math required)

Public Goods is the tiny company hoping to make a huge impact on our personal finances. Entrepreneur Morgan Hirsh's mission is to manufacture common household consumables—shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, cleaning products, et cetera—and sell them directly to the consumer at cost. By eliminating middlemen and retailers they can sell,

By David Frane - Aug 11

Hand Block Printing Wallpaper

This Pathé film shows how high-end wallpaper was once made in the U.K.

I dislike wallpaper, but this 1963 film almost makes me like it. It's not the aesthetics that appeal to me but the artistry and craft that go into making the product. Except for reproductions of William Morris designs, I don't suppose much wallpaper is made this way anymore. I particularly

By David Frane - Aug 10

Behold the Wonder of the Wooden Wagon Wheel!

See modern-day wheelwrights fabricate this surprisingly sophisticated component of a 20-mule team wagon.

I'm a big fan of the desert and have been to Death Valley a number of times. At the ruins of the Harmony Borax Works, not far from the visitor center at Furnace Creek, are two of the original wagons used to haul borax to a railroad 165 miles away.

By Rain Noe - Aug 10

Don't Be Scammed By Fake, Harmful Eclipse-Viewing Sunglasses. Here's a List of Legit Brands & Sources

…including where you can get some for free!

On August 21st the U.S. will experience a rare phenomenon, a nationwide solar eclipse. Because this upcoming one can be seen from the east coast all the way to the west, millions of Americans will view it. Obviously you cannot stare directly into the sun, even during an eclipse, without

By Rain Noe - Aug 10

You Can Now Download 26,000 Rare Songs Digitized From Obsolete 78 RPM Records

...all for free, and with a lot more on the way

Vinyl-lovers know and play LPs and 45s, but few have the more obscure, earlier-generation 78 r.p.m. records. A lot of that is down to materials choices; while vinyl is reasonably durable, 78s were made from more brittle shellac and tend to shatter over time. For that reason, The Great 78

By David Frane - Aug 09

5 Ways to Hack Your Chucks

How do you reinvigorate a 100-year old sneaker design? You hack it and make it your own.

My friend Gary showed up at our book club wearing a pair of Chuck Taylors. Nothing unusual about that except that he's in his 70s and had no idea they were in style. He's been wearing Chucks since the 1950s—just the way they come out of the box. But

By Rain Noe - Aug 07

Game of Thrones Recap: "The Spoils of War"

Winterfell's advanced wheel design, Maester Qyburn proves to be a UI genius

[Spoilers ahead.] Last night's surprisingly good mid-season episode of "Game of Thrones" was primarily shot outdoors. Even still, there were dozens of scenes we had to freeze-frame and lighten to get a better look at things. The object that most interested us was Bran's wheelchair. Obviously this is not

By Rain Noe - Aug 07

Travel-Loving Dad Invents Car-Top Tent That Sets Up in 30 Seconds

The Skycamp provides King-size comfort, minus the set-up hassles

In 2009, roadtrip-loving Soon Park took his wife and two daughters on one heck of a camping journey: They drove all over America, racking up 58,000 miles over a span of three years. Park found himself dissatisfied with the UX of the conventional camping trailer they were towing, and upon

By Rain Noe - Aug 03

Yea or Nay? The Lensball, a Crystal Sphere Meant to Jazz Up Your Instagram

Bauble or keeper?

The folks over at Lensball are selling a physical photography accessory that will presumably appeal to the Instagram generation. The eponymous product is simply a sphere made out of scratch-resistant K9 crystal, in two sizes: 60mm ($25) and 80mm ($35). The lensball will of course flip the image upside down,

By Rain Noe - Jul 31

Game of Thrones: "The Queen's Justice" Recap

The objects, furniture and interiors you missed because the picture is so freaking dark

As per usual, last night's episode of "Game of Thrones" was so visually dark that you couldn't see how much work the set designers put in. An example: Here's another. It's so dark in this scene that you can't even tell there's a guard standing behind Jon Snow and Ser

By Core Jr - Jul 27

Convenient Desk Accessories That Will Make Your Life Easier

Soup up your workflow with these 9 office items and apps

A selection of items that will enhance your work experience rather than further clutter your desk space.

By Rain Noe - Jul 26

Four New Objects We Didn't Expect to See From Ikea

The new designs are moody and, dare we say it, stylish

Ikea's getting ready to release their 2018 catalog. While it won't be available until August, we got a look at a pre-release version, and went through it to see if anything jumped out at us. We found the new furniture offerings to be standard fare, but there are four new

By David Frane - Jul 26

The Baseball as Folk Art

You don't have to like the sport to love what George Sosnak did with baseballs.

Umpire George Sosnak was good at his chosen profession but he was better as a folk artist, chronicling the history of the sport by inking highly detailed drawings and text onto baseballs. George Sosnak (courtesy Chrysler Museum of Art)Baseball people knew and valued his art during his lifetime and