What are you afraid of? Everyone fears something from serious (death, illness) to silly (bugs, hair in food.) Phobiaz highlights the fears and phobias we have in a lighthearted way with their art. "Phobiaz" are what these creatures are called. Keep some nearby and you won't fear the things that go 'bump' at night any longer.
There are also some fun plush creatures (after the jump...)
"From the day André was born, he got harassed by the wind, which resulted in a fear for it. He is forced to confront his fears, the moment his dog gets in trouble.
A wonderful animated short animation"
Director: Emiel Penders
When was the last time you paid attention to the bread tag on your sliced bread? The sticker on your fruit? The tag in your dry-cleaned shirt? These artifacts are at once familiar, yet hardly noticed. But even though these ephemera of life are so basic, each was designed by someone who actually thought about how that little object ought to look.
Abbey (from Aesthetic Outburst) collected these bread tags under a decorative glass cloche. By bringing together these bits of functional plastic, one can't help but notice the collective beauty of these mundane scraps. I notice colors - just four. Sizes - there are two. The little apple-shaped cutout that keeps the bags closed - there are slight differences. Wow. It really makes you think and notice.
Office Lendorff has teamed up with Kaywa to create a unique wearable bit of technology, the Lendorff.Kaywa limited-edition scarf. The scarf has a scannable QR code woven into it.
What's QR Code?
"A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by
Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from
"Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its
contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes are common in Japan
where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional
code." -Wikipedia
Simone Brewster has create this unique series of chinaware cups as part of 'The Warhol Philosophy Collection'. The porcelain knuckleduster shot glass somewhat stands out from the crowd. Bar room brawls and back alley fist fights come to mind. Whereas her other pieces, more like tea cups, tell a totally different story of tea parties and fables. With the knuckleduster tea cup (below), Simone bridges both worlds. I guess some tea parties can turn out nasty.
"Germans have developed a genius way of skipping around the country's new smoking ban.
Some restaurants have installed bizarre "Smoking Points" to allow smokers the chance to grab a burn.
Michael Windisch, chef of the restaurant "Malermeister Turm", now
sticks his head and hands through holes in the wall of his restaurant
as he smokes a small cigar."
Louis Rossetto, co-founder of Wired magazine, has turned tech into taste with his new start-up, TCHO Chocolate. One of the few companies in the US that make chocolate from the bean (not just remelt pre-made chocolate), TCHO is joining the ranks of true chocolate makers like Scharffen-Berger, Theo and old giants like Guittard.
We thought the subtle tech-references were cute - they call the first version of their bars 'Beta chocolate', and their 'latest release' is 'Beta Batch: C Ghana 0.1' - all references to software and tech-talk.
Still, the packaging is appealingly low-tech with simple print on unbleached recycled paper. I'm curious if the packaging is beta, too and will get 'upgraded' over time!