Art and Design

Caged birds and tanked fish rarely have opportunity to visit each other, and the mere fact that these pets are contained makes them more vulnerable to boredom. French designer Constance Guisset has designed a new world for pet fish and fowl, one where the air and water world can interact a bit.

Hate your small bathroom? Vertebrae® is a new vertical bathroom design by Design Odyssey Ltd. that will give you your space!

Don't you sometimes wish that you could tell your guests to leave? Maybe it's not that they bore you, you're just not in the mood for company. Well, come in and see this crazy doormat....

It's taken a few years from design to realization, but the Museum of Arts And Design (MAD) will finally re-open in its new dazzling diggs on September 27, 2008. Its new address: 2 Columbus Circle, right at the southwest corner of Central Park, and right at the heart of New York City's world stage for theatre, ballet, orchestra, opera, and now arts and design.

Wow! The finalists in the 2008 Electrolux Design Lab competition sure are some tough competition for their more seasoned colleagues. These undergraduate and graduate students in industrial design programs have created some awesome designs for the techie kitchen. I don't know how the judges will pick a winner this year. See if you have a favorite.

Is it a bat? A plane? It's neither yet. Instead, it's the Army's bat-shaped innovative spy plane concept. The idea is to create a miniature spy plane resembling a bat and its use of echolocation. The spy plane would run off a lithium battery recharged by wind, solar power and even vibrations.

There's been a world-wide banana shortage since early 2008, and some have even predicted that the banana, as we know it, may become extinct. While you still can, you may want to create a memorial to the tasty, nutrient-rich banana, with this DIY project from Dutch designer Anneke Jakobs... The Chiquita Chandelier!

What if plastic wasn't made from oil or natural gas? What if it was made from Bacteria? Would it be safer for the environment? Would it be safer for us? What if the bacteria were genetically engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli)?

British lighting design company, Abraxus, has been providing festive commercial lighting for 15 years. Antares, its "star" constellation LED lighting design, is very popular in retail and hospitality settings, but this year, at London's 100% Design, Abraxus has introduced a line of more colorful and user-friendly Antares designs that can be used to create your own fireworks at home.

MORE pet ads? Yes, 10 more crazy, funny, clever, right on pet advertisements, just waiting in the wings for the laughter and applause to subside from the first ten of Lady Bee's Hilarious International Pet Ads last week. This time we are heavily weighted with canine ads -- eight dog product advertisements, one cat food ad, and one bird food ad - again playfully taking jabs at man and pet.

Japan's relentless drive to merge terminal cuteness with ultimate technology has taken a turn for the worse, as illustrated (emphasis on "ill") by the Hello Kitty branded Roomba robot vacuum.

Stephanie Alice Rogers makes one of a kind dolls mostly made out of items such as: paperclay, polymer clay, paint, wood, fabric, wool, human hair and found objects.

No, there is no typo here. We are talking about enemas, but this one is made of bronze and was inspired by well.. inspired. It is meant for human appreciation rather than application. Read on and resist the temptation to “say it isn’t so.”

The constellations and their stars, the sweet light of snow on the trees, falling leaves in autumn, waves in the ocean... Visuals from your latest relaxation tape? Or something more tangible, like furniture and lighting inspired by those visions?

Did you ever think of enlisting your cat in the Army or the Air Force? If I were you I'd give a Cat Playhouse some serious consideration, because your cat may have heroic ambitions one day, and not know where to turn. Our kids play at being soldiers and firemen. Why not our cats?

Ever think about what it would be like to see the world from inside a Jell-O mold? Looking like a Jell-O mold, but calling itself the Jelly Box, this new workspace is now on display at the Truman Brewery during London 2008 Design Week. This clever design by architect David Hingamp of the London firm of Archic, has just been named runner up in the 2008 Urbantine Project.

Trompe l'oeil is French for "trick of the eye." Trompe l'oeil was first mastered by Greek painters and the style became popular again among European painters during the Renaissance. It is a style of three dimensional art that is so close to the likeness of the object it represents, that it can make you believe it is the object! Here are 15 trompe l'oiel wall stickers for your home decor...

Artist Sharon Mount creates cool buildings out of business cards, packaging and other forms of paper.

An octopus could easily handle my grocery bags, but one would certainly cause concern in my local market. Octopuses are terrible cleptomanics. But thanks to the Hook and Go people in San Francisco, I'm going to can the octopus.