Art and Design

Animal Footprint Beach Sandals Make Walkers Paws

by Steve Levenstein

These stealthy beach sandals from Kiko-Kids have really got sole: animal footprint soles to be exact. Now your kid can make tracks to the beach right through your living room and blame it on the family cat, monkey, owl, gecko or dinosaur.

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Golden Bus Adds Bling to Nanjing's Gritty City Streets

by China.new

Old and busted: Drab, ordinary public transit vehicles. Gold and bussed: A very expensive promotion by a jewelry store in China that saw a Nanjing city bus covered in sheets of gold leaf.

Schick Japan Animates Your Shave with a 'One Piece' Anime Action Figure

by Steve Levenstein

Schick Japan and anime publisher Shueisha have teamed up for the "One Piece" collaboration and campaign running from July 1st through September 30th. The highlight for anime luvvin' shavers is a collectible Schick Hydro razor stand featuring Monkey D Luffy, star of the immensely popular One Piece manga series.

Rifle Umbrella Keeps You Dry, Could Trigger Panic

by China.new

Stop or I'll bumbershoot! The Rifle Umbrella from Brando.com may not be the most well-thought-out gadget but at least it'll keep you dry when sudden storms strike.

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iPhone, iPod and iPad Custom Button Stickers Bling Up the Power

by Steve Levenstein

Before you push it, stick it on! Cute & colorful “Touch Me!” home button stickers from Japan help your iPhone, iPod or iPad stand out from the other Apples in the bushel.

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Block Sticky Notes Look Awfully Like A Tetris Party!

by Toby

If there's ever a game that sticks in your mind, it's the almost classic video game Tetris®. So, our friends at Suck UK, never too shy to honor a true classic, have commemorated the 10 year old game with a new design by Ben Ambrose: Block Notes. What cooler way to remind you of your 'to do's?'

Retro Brick iPhone Case Recalls Classic Clunky 80s Cellphones

by China.new

The ThumbsUp! iPhone case takes you and your smartphone back to the Cafe 80s when men were men, greed was good, and mobile phones were big black bricks.

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Wooden Bulb Casts Some Spooky Shadows

by Toby

Laser-cut wood creates some dazzling designs, especially when they're lit. The Wooden Bulb, created by Barend Hemmes, a South-African born, UK designer, is indeed dazzling. And when you switch it on, it creates a mood that might be eerie to some, but definitely suspenseful, especially if it's the only light in the room.

Bottle Cap Lamp is Ideal for Light Drinkers

by Steve Levenstein

The battery-powered Bottle Cap Lamp from Japan's Ideaco turns most any water or drink bottle into an eerily attractive lamp. Hmm, wonder if it'll turn a bottle of Budweiser into a Bud Light?

Helter Shelter: A Cheap Portable House made from Packing Materials

by China.new

The problem of temporarily housing refugees from natural disasters is being addressed by students from Nanjing Forestry University in Nanjing, China, who have created a cheap, lightweight house made from common packing materials.

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Superman's Cane Is Here In The Form Of 'The Aid'

by Boomer Babe

If Superman were ever permitted to have major surgery or to get old (heavens forbid), he would definitely own The Aid, by Lithuanian designer Egle Ugintaite. The neatest part about this walking cane is that it looks super futuristic, but it is achievable. The Aid recently won Fujitsu's grand prize design award for 2011, themed "A Life With Future Computing," designs for 2020.

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Part Boat, Part Car, All Awesome: The HydroCar

by Chris Weiss

The Dobbertin HydroCar is one of the coolest boat-cars/car-boats we've ever seen. But it still isn't quite greater than the sum of its parts.

Social Media Finds "F Word" Acceptable For Songs & Graphic Novel

by Ron Callari

From George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television," and Harry Nilsson's "You're Breaking My Heart" back in the 70's, it's taken almost 40 years for one of the most taboo of curse words to make it into every day discourse via social media channels such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Origami Phone Handset is Ideal for Very Light Conversations

by China.new

The Origami Handset is an edgy telephone receiver design concept by Chengyuan Wei that really cuts the classic landline handset down to size. If your calls were recorded before; they're about to be refolded as well.

Card Reader Frog Gobbles Up MicroSD & SD Cards, Won't Give You Warts

by Steve Levenstein

The model 303-F "Yomikaeru" microSD & SD Card Reader Frog from Japan Trust Technology (JTT) is one electronic data reading device that isn't afraid to toad the line.

Macau Makes Like Manhattan with a Spectacular Central Park

by China.new

Call it "Central Park East" if you like. Macau's exciting new Taipa Central Park will take a bite out of the Big Apple by providing city dwellers with an unexpected oasis of pastoral charm.

Honda Chopper Motorcycle Concept Sparked by Star Wars

by Steve Levenstein

“Sparked” as in electricity, that is, which provides the motive power for the futuristic Honda Chopper concept motorcycle inspired by Star Wars, Big Trak, and your fave mean manga machines.

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Wacky Fan Umbrella Combo Blow-Dries On the Go

by Steve Levenstein

Bad hair day? Get a Fanbrella! The unimaginatively named Fanbrella combines – you guessed it – a fan and an umbrella to keep Japanese commuters cool and dry during the hot, humid rainy season.

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Open iPhone or MP3 Player Earphone Jack? Plugy Plugs It!

Open iPhone or MP3 Player Earphone Jack? Plug it with a Plugy!

by Steve Levenstein

Plugy's are irresistible little earphone jack accessories that add a dash of Japanese “kawaii” cuteness to iPhones, iPods, MP3 music players or most any mobile electronic device.

Give This Wind-up Eco Flashlight a Spin to Let it Shine

by Steve Levenstein

The BunBun Eco Light from Japan works like clockwork: spinning it around like a dayglo plastic nunchuck juices up the rechargeable batteries with clean kinetic energy.

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