With a unique name like ‘ A question of eagles ‘ and amazing handmade products like these… how could we have not heard about them sooner! Melissa and Jonathan makes all the beautiful items they sell in their store, which are inspired by their travels through the American landscape.
We are especially captivated by their collection of ceramic pieces. There is so much character in every individual piece and it would be a pleasure to have them around the house. Other than ceramics, A question of eagles also stocks quilts and other handmade goodness..
Taiwan design studio Drilling Lab has created a selection of aluminium vessels that look like they’re made from sections of industrial water pipes (+ slideshow).
Drilling Lab founder Lu-Wei Chen designed a series of cast-aluminium parts based on pieces that could form a system of pipes for transporting water.
“I created new objects based upon the concept of industrial water pipe system, by casting an aluminium alloy and lathe working,” Chen told Dezeen.
The set of parts can be fixed together in different combinations to form pitchers, bottles and containers.
“I wanted to create something that is flexible and fun to be assembled,” said Chen. “Users could bring their imagination and creativity into full play, and at the same time, the object could be kept long because of their multi applications.”
Pan-like bases pair with funnel-shaped tops that narrow to thinner tubes, into which cork stoppers fit to seal the vessels.
Sections are joined with nuts and bolts around wide lips, which can also be used as a surface for attaching handles.
“Each has its own compositions as well as functions respectively, while both could be deconstructed and reassembled,” Chen said. “Therefore they are very open to users’ creativity.”
He hopes users will come up with their own applications for the parts, which could include ice buckets or watering cans.
The Water Pipe Series is currently at prototype stage.
The extension to this refurbished house in Australia includes a covered outdoor space built around the trunk of a large lemon-scented tree (+ slideshow).
Melbourne architecture firm B.E. Architecture was asked to refurbish an existing period home in the Sydney suburb of Valcluse, adding a two-storey extension at the rear as well as a covered outdoor dining space.
Rather than remove an existing tree on the site on Hopetoun Avenue, the architects chose to plan their design around it.
The original family house on the site was built using sandstone, so B.E. Architecture wanted to create a new addition with a less solid appearance that would act as a contrast and keep the tree as a key feature of the design.
“With sensitivity to the site’s inherent strengths, the design embraces the preservation and integration of the established tree allowing it to remain the dominant feature on the property,” said the architects.
“Offering an intentional point of difference to the solidity of the existing sandstone house, the new addition is a gentle intervention.”
Erected on a sloping site, the majority of the structure – which includes a new underground garage – was created using thin concrete.
Strips around the edges of the building were left exposed to create a contrast with the white render used to finish the rest of the concrete surfaces.
Dark timber cladding wraps the structural columns on the facade, breaking up the floor-to-ceiling glazing used on both levels, and is also used to clad portions of wall.
At ground floor level, an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area takes up the entirety of the indoor portion of the extension. Concrete flooring continues outside to form steps down to a square lawn.
An outdoor dining space leads out from the end of the kitchen on a platform suspended above the ground, with columns to preserve the roots of the tree.
Pale timber decking was used for the floor, with a hole created to accommodate the trunk of the gum tree. The branches rise up through a rectangular indent in the flat concrete roof.
A concrete swimming pool and seating area beyond the covered dining platform are also constructed on a suspended platform, with cubic planters created out of white-rendered concrete to match the rest of the project.
“Preservation of the tree required the structure to be physically light. The suspended platform also provides a generous planted area creating obscured views of the house,” said the architects.
Alterations to the ground floor also include a new tiled entrance area with a glass front door, placed on one side of the back of the original building.
The space within the existing building is taken up by two more living rooms, a utility room and a bathroom.
A curved staircase at the end of the entrance hall leads up to the first floor, where a master bedroom with walk-in storage and an en-suite bathroom, and a covered balcony, occupy most of the new addition.
“The upper level of the extension sits in the branches of the tree floating above the bottom structure to provide a unique treetop setting overlooking views to the Sydney Harbour,” said the architects.
The remainder of this level is occupied by another bedroom with an en-suite, three more rooms and a shared bathroom.
The basement, containing the garage and a small washroom plus storage spaces, is accessed via a staircase to one side of the garden.
San Francisco start-up Crave has launched a stainless-steel vibrator that can be worn as a necklace and charged via a USB port on a computer (+ slideshow).
Co-founded by entrepreneur Michael Topolovac and Royal College of Art graduate Ti Chang, Crave created the Vesper vibrator as a design-focused stimulator rather than a novelty item.
“For lack of a better term, the ‘sex toy’ category has historically been overrun by novelty products,” Chang told Dezeen.
“Being free of that legacy, we are able to approach the design of our products like one might approach other modern products, and use materials and design thinking to support a rich experience for the user.”
The 9.65-centimetre-long vibrator can be worn on a chain around the neck as a metallic pendant, or removed from the chain and kept in a drawer a home.
“In the case of Vesper, I was intrigued to explore, in a fun way, the tension between that what is private and public,” said Chang.
“Not everyone is going to want to wear this out – some women love it as a piece of jewellery with a naughty secret, for others it is a symbol of sexual empowerment to wear their pleasure openly.”
“At the same time we recognise that it is a totally personal decision, so the design of the necklace is intended to be removable,” Chang added.
Designed for external use only, its minimal case includes just one button to turn the device on, change between the three speed options and a pulse setting, and turn it off.
The body and tip of the slim vial-shaped device are made from polished stainless steel, shaped using computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining.
The chain and cap are also made of stainless steel and finished with a choice of silver, rose gold, or 24-karat gold nickel-free plating. An all gold-plated version is also available.
Inside, a small circuit board controls custom-machined and silicone-moulded parts.
The decision to make Vesper USB rechargeable was driven by environmental and convenience considerations.
“It is simply much better for the environment and for the user experience, removing the hassle of replacing batteries,” Chang explained. “USB recharge-ability also makes the product travel friendly – users no longer have to think about packing chargers, adapters etc.”
Vesper is in production and will be ready to ship in early September. It is currently available to pre-order with optional free engraving – quoting Charles Eames, the example given is: “Take your pleasure seriously”.
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