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Tokyo studio Nervous System applied generative design algorithms to neckwear and came out with 3D-printed bowties that look like they were pulled from a mathematical equation. Each one is unique, and each one sits at the exact intersection of jewelry, sculpture, and the thing you wear to a dinner where people ask you where you got your bowtie.

3D printed bow tie by monocircus

3D printed bow tie by monocircus

Japanese design studioΒ monocircusΒ creates the geek fashion accessory of the year, the 3D printed bowtie. With the onslaught of 3D-printed stuff in the last few months, the trend of wearable printed items seems to be speeding up. Via DesignBoom:

Low-poly art had a moment in the early 2010s before fading into background noise β€” a victim of overexposure. Timothy J. Reynolds is one of the artists who elevated it beyond a passing style into something with genuine staying power. His faceted animals aren’t geometric exercises; they have personality and warmth that most flat design never quite manages. Years later, these pieces hold up in a way that a lot of era-defining digital art simply doesn’t.

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Loving these geometric, faceted creatures (and scenes) by artistΒ Timothy J. Reynolds. His work is for sale on Society6 as prints, pillows, phone cases and more. Can’t get enough of that Woolly Mammoth!
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Michal Krasnopolski stripped famous movie posters down to their absolute geometric minimum: just the shapes and colors that remain when you remove every recognizable element. What’s interesting is how many of them still work as posters. Design theory in action, whether he intended it that way or not.

There have been some clever redesigned versions of movie posters floating around the web in the last few years, but none as simple and minimal as Michal Krasnopolski’s. It’s as if the posters have been simmered on the stove until they are just the essence of the concept. They make me grin. Via FastCo Design:

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from the artist: 

The basic concept was to create a very modernist, minimalist poster series for movie enthusiasts.The idea is based on a very simple grid: a circle and two diagonals inscribed in a square. It surprised me how many posters I could create based on this very simple approach; the possibilities are theoretically unlimited.

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When Hurricane Sandy hit the northeastern United States in 2012, it left behind not just devastation but an enormous amount of debris β€” wood and timber washed ashore across miles of coastline. The Drift Relief project turned some of that wreckage into something beautiful: painted driftwood pieces sold to raise money for those who lost everything. One of the most honest examples of art as genuine community response we’ve seen β€” not symbolic, not performative, but actually useful.

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A unique charity and beautiful art project, Drift Relief finds driftwood left behind from Hurricane Sandy, and paints the wood in lovely patterns and colors. The unique pieces are sold, and the proceeds go to benefit those who “lost it all” in the storm.

I’ve always loved painted driftwood, and even grew up with driftwood ‘snakes’ scattered throughout my home. But these pieces tell a story, and their cause is worth your dollars.

Via Drift Relief:Β Each piece of driftwood or broken boardwalk was collected in the aftermath of Sandy and is hand painted and labeled with the name of the beach where it was found.

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Felix Sala photographs coral the way most people photograph landscapes: from inside it, looking out. His close-up work captures a world that most divers swim right past without really seeing. The shapes, textures, and colors here are genuinely alien, and they’re sitting about ten feet underwater at reefs all over the world.

Vibrant Macro Photographs of Coral by Felix Salazar underwater nature macro coral animals

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Vibrant Macro Photographs of Coral by Felix Salazar underwater nature macro coral animals

Vibrant Macro Photographs of Coral by Felix Salazar underwater nature macro coral animals

Vibrant Macro Photographs of Coral by Felix Salazar underwater nature macro coral animals

Vibrant Macro Photographs of Coral by Felix Salazar underwater nature macro coral animals

Vibrant Macro Photographs of Coral by Felix Salazar underwater nature macro coral animals

Vibrant Macro Photographs of Coral by Felix Salazar underwater nature macro coral animals

Vibrant Macro Photographs of Coral by Felix Salazar underwater nature macro coral animals

I’ve always found coral to be spectacularly interesting, from a visual perspective. I was to do some snorkeling on the islands of Hawaii recently, and the diversity of form, color and size is staggering. Felix Salazar has some really nice shots from his own personal aquarium.

Via Colossal:

LA-based photographer and composerΒ Felix SalazarΒ recently captured someΒ wonderful macro photosΒ of several inhabitants in his salt water aquariums. The shocking variety of color makes the coral look like digital renderings, but Salazar assures me each is a unique photo selected from hundreds of attempts to get just the right shot as he experimented with focus and light. You can see many more on hisΒ website. (viaΒ my modern met)

Most furniture asks you to forget it’s there. This credenza does the opposite. Italian designer Giorgio Bonaguro had a limited run of 24 made, each one printed with a photorealistic full moon that seems to glow from inside the wood. The kind of object that stops a room conversation dead.

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In case your room needs a touch of outer space.
A striking credenza with a photorealistic luminous image of the moon printed on its surface, in a limited edition of 24.

Coated with ELI (Eco Light Inside β€” an eco-friendly material developed by designer Sotirios Papadopoulos) which creates a realistic glowing effect when the lights go out.

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Whether you’re shopping for yourself or others, it’s always nice to feel good about your purchases, and not just blindly buy more stuff.

Cool Hunting has a comprehensive collection of gifts that all have a charitable or give-back aspect to them. From hot sauce to jewelry to toilet paper to clothing, the list covers a big range of gifts and products, and you can feel good about them donating some of their sales to charity, or providing clothing or meals to those in need. Score!

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Instead of Christmas gifts, how ’bout some clever Christmas GIFs? They’re funny and charming and have just theΒ pizzazzΒ you need to power you through the pre-holiday week. Via FastCo Design:

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Some really nice shapes for this Borghese sofa, the ‘tree’ forms were inspired by the pine trees of Villa Borghese, the largest public park in Rome.

Via Fast Co. Design:

When Richard Schultz designed his now-classic Petal table (PDF) for Florence Knoll in 1960, he went the extra mile, creating piece that was not only beautiful from the top but from the bottom: Schultz modeled the structure supporting the petals on Queen’s Anne lace, a common weed on his farmhouse property.

More than 50 years later, NoΓ© Duchaufour Lawrance has pulled a similar trick. On his new Borghese sofa, a network of branches rises up the back to hold up three cushions in place. And like Schultz, the Frenchman found inspiration in nature, specifically the pine trees of Villa Borghese, the largest public park in Rome. The couch is an abstract landscape that can only be appreciated with a 360-degree view, making it one of those pieces of furniture that shouldn’t be arrested–i.e., shoved against a wall. In fact, doing so might constitute a crime.

Borghese is part of the inaugural collection of La Chance, a brand-new French company headed by an architect and a financier with fine design sensibilities and a combined age of 55. It’s available in two color combinations: a carbon-black frame with charcoal upholstery, or a white frame with cushions in various shades of green.

What if? What if we had been driving flying cars all along? Renaud Marion has a series of images that show vintage cars in ‘float mode’, parked casually on the streets. His series shows a classic collection of cars, all lovingly photoshopped to remove the wheels. A floating future would be sexy, indeed.
β€œOur dreams of today are the reality of tomorrow,” says Marion.


Pop-up shops usually appear in existing retail locations, or clever spots in cities near major shopping districts. But the Cliffside Shop in Colorado’s Eldorado Canyon sets new records for both location and difficulty of access. Selling sweatshirts and socks, the Cliffside Shop manages to be both incredibly illusive and amazingly present. Via DesignBoom:

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the store has been dubbed β€˜Β the world’s most remote pop-up store’

courageous climbers making their way to the mountain’s summit can be seen β€” in the video above β€” stopping at the β€˜cliffside shop’ to pick up some gear before continuing on their way.Β creative agency workinprogress was responsible for the thinking behind the event, working with 37.5 technology on creating not only an engaging marketing initiative, but a campaigning one, as well. donations were made to the access fund and american alpine club to support their mission of providing access to public lands for climbing, and $100 was donated to the action committee for eldorado for every climber that visited the shop or signed up for a membership to either organization.

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extreme climbers at colorado’s eldorado canyon encountered a very surprising scene

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the β€˜cliffside shop’ was hoisted to the face of the famous bastille site

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a single staff member handed out sweatshirts and socks to climbers passing by

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the stunt was organized by materials company 37.5 technology

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climbers were given gear to keep them cool and dry

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the products helpedΒ climbers in battling the area’s sometimes harsh climate and conditions

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creative agency workinprogress was responsible for the thinking behind the event

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donations were made to support a mission of providing access to public lands for climbing

We probably all had that teddy bear from childhood that we loved to within an inch of its life. Some of us might still have that bear or other aged, stuffed creature. FastCo Design has an endearing look at Much Loved, a book of photos by Mark Nixon.

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Artist Mark Dorf creates a strange and interesting dichotomy between nature and technology in his series of images entitled //_path. Via DesignBoom:
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Via Society6, some really nice patterns and hues by Schatzi Brown.

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This lamp is designed so that the light within projects sinewy branches and organic forms on everything it touches. A bit spooky and ominous, but would look great for a themed party.Β Via HildenDiaz, thanks to Hunter M for the tip:

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Etsy sure has some oddities for sale, such as this Body Anatomy Science Teacher shirt. Sadly, it’s already sold out.

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