Pinnacle Base Camper
Camping can be quite challenging especially when you have to resort to eating half-hearted meals on a stick. Maximize your culinary skills in the field with Pinnacle’s Base Camper ($110). It features a smooth, non-stick Teflon coating with Radiance technology, a formulated top coat engineered to enhance heat dispersion and eliminate hot spots, and convenient double bay handles for ease of use. [source]
Wooden surfboards by Peter Walker
Making Waves, an exhibition of 12 wooden surfboards opens on 8 February at the Gallery of Australian Design.
Finless Double-ender by Peter Walker, Western Red Cedar and multiple timbers
First shown at the Jam Factory in Adelaide in 2010, the exhibition has travelled to a less coastal destination – Canberra, Australia’s capital.
The show highlights 12 hollow wooden surfboards hand crafted by Peter Walker. Walker has used a multitude of techniques to construct and finish the boards – including timber joinery and laminating; bending, shaping, inlay, flaming, laser cutting, painting, and the more recent favourite – fibre glassing.
The boards are fully functional, and are designed to draw on the evolution of surfboard design history – from Tom Blake‘s design of the hollow board in 1929, to the birth of the fin in 1936, and Bob Simmons’ hydro-dynamic flow theories in the 1940s.
Walker collaborated with ceramic artist Gerry Wedd; industrial designer Quentin Gore and painter Phil Hayes for three of boards.
The Finless Double-ender (above) was an experimental design inspired by the rediscovery of ancient Hawaiian finless Alaia boards. "The 'mutated' aquatic forms relate to the mutated design of the board," says Walker.
One True Religion surfboard by Peter Walker
various timber boards by Peter Walker
The exhibition runs from 8 February to 12 March at the Gallery of Australian Design.
School chair by Konstantin Grcic and Flötotto
Designed with function in mind, the PRO chair collection by designer Konstantin Grcic and Flötotto, has been designed for active school students.
The chair has a cleverly designed s-shaped backrest. This s-shape supports the ‘active sitting’ needs of students in primary and secondary schools.
The lower curve of the ‘s’ in the backrest gives freedom of movement, easing pressure on a child’s lower back and pelvis. It supports dynamic, freedom of movement and the multitude of sitting positions that school students need to help them stay focused in the classroom.
The rounded seat is designed to not force the body forwards, and the slim profile of the backrest means the upper body can move sideways.
The moulded polypropylene seat design is inherently strong, without the use of fibreglass reinforcement, which means the recycling options for these chairs are greater.
The chairs come with a matching table, and are also suitable for use in commercial interiors.
The Pro chair for schools, photography by Oliviero Toscani
The Taga Transforms from a Bike to a Stroller in 20 Seconds Flat!
Cycling mamas and papas usually have to give up their two-wheelers when their first bundle arrives, but the Taga could change all that – it’s a a bike that doubles as a stroller! The multitasking bike can be easily switched from a bicycle to a stroller in 20 seconds flat. Designed so that the child is placed in front of you, in between your arms – rather than behind or to your side – the Taga offers an increased level of control and safety for green parents who want to keep their carbon footprint low.
Slab Chair
While not new, this completely-amazingly-designed-angular-modern-lovely chair by Tom Dixon is still something to talk about. Might I mention that it is also stackable? It’s made from solid lacquered oak deeply brushed to expose the grain. Also available in natural.
Designer: Tom Dixon
Dimensions: 25.25″W x 29.5″H x 18.5″D
Weamo Kids Furniture
Weamo is a UK-based children’s furniture company whose products are made with FSC-certified wood and colorfully painted. I especially love the little desk.
Mobi Electric Folding Wheelchair by Jack Martinich
The Mobi electric folding wheelchair is a powered mobility device designed to meet the lifestyle requirements of our aging population. Mobi reflects the future of products for an aging population. Stylish and convenient, it offers urban mobility alternative to bulky, generic electric scooters.
For added versatility, the design of the wheelchair features an innovative folding mechanism that allows it to be folded up and stored and transported in a vehicle without any need for disassembly. To encourage user independence and promote the user to be physically active, Mobi electric folding wheelchair is controlled similarly to a traditional manual wheelchair; the user pushes on the hand rims. However, force sensors in the hand rims detect the user’s physical exertion and add additional power to the wheels. This means Mobi makes physical movement easier in a similar fashion to power steering in a car.
Designer : Jack Martinich (Monash Uni, Caulfield)
This electric wheelchair incorporates self-balancing Segway-inspired technology that positions that keeps the user in the centre of gravity while balancing on two wheels. The elimination of the need for castor wheels leads to more compact and manoeuvrable vehicle. Rechargeable lithium ion batteries power the electric servo motors located in the base of each of the hubless wheels, giving Mobi a range of approx. 20km with one charge.
Mobi electric folding wheelchair features other notable design innovations intended to make assisted movement a more pleasurable and confident experience. The wheelchair features bigger, 26” tyres for improved comfort. Integrated handrest/wheel guards protect the users’s clothing from tyres. Wider ergonomic pushrims also allow an easier grip. To improve user confidence and safety automatic kickstands deploy when footrests are shifted upwards while standing out of or sitting into the seat.
Dimensions: 700x700x500mm.
Specified Materials: Aluminium Chassis, Polyurathane, ABS plastic.
Model Materials: MDF wood, acrylic paint.
Click above image to get bigger view
Mobi Electric Folding Wheelchair by Jack Martinich is a post from: Tuvie
International Home + Housewares Show 2012 Preview: Student Design Competition Winners
In its 19th year, the Student Design Competition sponsored by the International Home and Housewares Show announced this year's winning product designs from students representing institutions from around the country. The design competition's annual challenge to students is to redesign a current housewares product to meet the needs of the future or to create a concept for a new product. Winning projects are selected for their innovation, understanding of production and marketing principles and quality of entry materials.
Winning first place in this year's competition is Samuel Chen (Junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) for his "Cyclone" kitchen fire extinguisher and Mariel Piña (Senior at the University of Houston) for her "Ambos" grater/colander.
Chen's "Cyclone" is a first response product that helps put out kitchen fires utilizing a homemade solution of vinegar and baking soda. The design is stainless steel—elegant enough to sit in a tool tub on the kitchen counter or hang from a hook. Twisting the utensil's valve mixes the solution to spray a carbon dioxide foam. Because common kitchen ingredients are used, the tool can be used repeatedly unlike typical single-use products filled with hazardous propellants. "My product was sparked from the personal experience of a fire in my kitchen," Chen said. "Recognizing the panic and stress involved, I researched fires and designed an extinguisher to eliminate them in the most time and cost efficient way, keeping in mind an aesthetic and pragmatic design."
Piña's "Ambos" merges the function of a cheese/food grater and a colander into one product. Safe and ergonomic, her design is convenient for storage and reduces kitchen clutter. The lower center of gravity for the grater makes the "Ambos" more comfortable and stable. "My goal is to reconnect the user with the pleasures of simple living," Piña said. "Making an experience like grating cheese easy and enjoyable brings us back to basics. I also want to reduce the clutter in the home that prevents us from encountering life fully and wholeheartedly, so we can focus on simple tasks like cooking our own food."
(more...)Hoof Tables by Samuel Wilkinson
UK-based designer Samuel Wilkinson launched his Hoof tables at the Stockholm Furniture Fair this week. The tables are named Hoof because of the design of the feet, which resemble hooves (or also sharpened pencils).
Samuel explains, “I have always loved painted wooden chairs that have the end of the legs left as natural wood so that the paint doesn’t chip off from being either kicked or knocked when cleaning. The leg ends of the table are sharpened at the foot – like a horse’s hoof is trimmed before it is shod. This detail is emerged from continuous exploration and development of production techniques.”
The new table is presented in five colors: grey, black, natural, white-pigmented oil and light blue.
Quintessential Quadricycle
The StroM Bouqetin is unlike any other quadricycle design in that it’s optimized for serious trail riding and touring. The rear-wheel drive, single-rider cycle features full independent suspension, dual shock rifles, a variable ball-gear drive, four disc brakes and a lightweight aluminum and carbon fiber body. Add some physical strength and you’re ready to attack the off-road.
Designer: Martin Strohmeier
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Yanko Design