The Design Crack Guide to Black
Cities Wall Decoration Collection by Granada Design
Granada Design has created a collection of inexpensive wall art that give props to your favorite internationally loved cities. Of course, my city by the bay, San Francisco, has not made the initial collection which is not doing much for me. But outside of personal prejudices, this simple wall art is striking, fun, [...]
Blow Lounge Chair by Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen
The first time I saw the Blow Lounge Chair by Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen for HAY, I thought they called it the Blow Lounge Chair because this chair was so sexy that brothels would be ordering this for certain lude acts implied in the name. Of course, my dirty mind completely overlooked that this chair, in [...]
Rugs from The Nought Collective
I’ve falen in love with these rugs. They accomplish two things that I hold sacred in well designed housewares: First, their designs are abstract to the point of challenging the owner but not so obtuse as to detract from the other furniture in the room. Second, these rugs are made with honest, hard [...]
Bomb USB Storage
The Bomb USB Storage by Joel Escalona is a clever take on those bombs you only see in old cartoons. The metaphor of the bomb is kind of funny.Although a USB cord vaguely resembles a fuse, bomb is about the last thing that I would want my computer to do. In fact, didn’t [...]
Cityplates by not Neutral
Cityplates by NotNeutral are old news in the hyper acute world of cool trends being exploded into the blog ether at a mile a minute. But I haven’t written about them and maybe that’s what matters most to me, art least. The graphic nature of the map is so eye popping as to attract every [...]
Stool Wraps by Arik Levy: An idea for the space challenged magazine readers
Arik Levy has created a design that takes recycling to new levels while also creating an opportunity for those magazine hoarders out there to remain fashionably clutter free and still keep their magazines. We all know these people. Usually they are older single people who have saved every magazine for the past forty years because [...]
The Smile Chair by Andreu World Might be the Most Elegant Stackable Chair Made
A week or so ago, I made reference to the Mosquito chair being the best stackable chair of all time, but since then I’ve changed my mind. That title goes to the Smile Chair by Andreu World. Andreu World is a well established contemporary furniture maker based in Spain who has been making fine tables [...]
Tempura LED spotlight by Zumtobel
What would you look for in the perfect museum spotlight? Well, first the color rendering would be impeccable. In fact, it would be nice if a museum curator could dial in his or her ideal color for the light. The light would also be quite small and inconspicuous while looking beautiful. The light would not [...]
Gorenje Refrigerator With Swarovski Crystals: The Agelina Jolie of Kitchen Appliances
This may be one of the flashiest, most insanely gorgeous, and at the same time functional gadgets I have ever seen. A Few minutes after I spent time with this refrigerator, I immediately thought of Angelina Jolie. When I think of Angelina, (we’re on a first name basis, you know) I think of beauty, I [...]
Bell & Ross Watches’ Subtle Boxiness Wows
This past weekend, The New York Times had an advertising supplemental that was a slick magazine devoted to the watch, a dying breed of product design. Probably my favorite of the watches was the Bell & Ross BR01-97. It is, quite frankly, one of the ugliest watches I have ever seen, but there is no [...]
Carafe Jacket by Eva Solo
It’s very rare that I look at a product and just say to myself “Awwww, you are so cute!”, but I must admit that I did this when I saw the carafe and jacket by Eva Solo. The object is a simple glass carafe that is quite wide at the base and tapers up. Surrounding [...]
G-STAR RAW: Denim as Couture
I included G-STAR RAW to the Crack List simply because I’ve never seen denim treated so expertly. Where I live in San Francisco there are only two ways recognized as fashionable for denim: there is the teenage hip-hop style of wearing jeans around your ankles (how can you run from police with your jeans like [...]
Dior rekindles a Japanese flair with their Samourai 1947 handbag
This bag is soooo old news. However, The Dior Samourai 1947 handbag is still one of my favorites even though Dior has probably gone on to market bigger and better pieces. This handmade gem by Dior is nothing less than a work of art. The handbag comes in a variety of colors, but I like [...]
The P’9521 Mobile Phone from Porsche Design
I have not tried this phone out, so I cannot speak of the P’9521 by Porsche Design’s usability just yet, but I can say that they have some seriously stiff competition from the iPhone. What I can say that makes this phone unique is the designers’ decision to carve the phone out of a single [...]
The Flamenco Chair
Here is an item that I think breached a curatorial focus in me, and I’ve decided to show it anyway. It does not seem terribly innovative. It’s not particularly clever. It doesn’t use materials in a striking and unexpected way. Really, the only reason I have shown this chair, the Flamenco Chair, is because I [...]
In the Market for a Yacht? Look No Further than the Wally Power 118
I’ve been trying to spend more and more time looking at things that are in the unattainable category simply because its so damn fun to imagine me and all my friends and family enjoying whatever the incredibly expensive item is, and basking in the glory of its opulence. Quite frankly, nothing has piqued my imagination [...]