Bryanna Marie réalise des tableaux minutieux sur des pennies. En 2014, elle s’est retrouvée à peindre une toile de 3 par 3 pouces pour un événement caritatif, et est rapidement tombée amoureuse du défi de transmettre de grandes idées artistiques sur de petites toiles. Ce qu’elle fait ici, sur des pièces colorées. Portraits ou paysages sont créés avec précision. Pour les réaliser, l’artiste puise son inspiration dans « la beauté quotidienne dans le monde naturel qui nous entoure » et « les choses qui ont tendance à s’effacer dans l’arrière-plan de l’agitation quotidienne, en mettant leur beauté en évidence dans ses peintures miniatures », comme elle l’explique.
If you don’t always measure ingredients in the kitchen, you might want to get a scale that doesn’t take up space or even needs batteries when it comes time to use it.
There are many things we take for granted until we realize we need them, and they are nowhere to be found. That goes for pens, blank sheets of paper, working batteries, or kitchen scales. Of course, these are also easy to purchase and keep, but you might not always need them all the time. One kitchen scale is designed to stay out of the way when you don’t need it and just work when you do, without having to worry whether it still has a battery inside when you need it the most.
Kitchen scales come in all shapes, sizes, and designs, both the analog kind as well as more modern digital ones. In almost all cases, they take the same rectangular or circular plates that can take up precious shelf space. Digital scales, of course, also require power to function, mostly from batteries.
CASO’s Kitchen Ecostyle throws all that down the drain, so to speak. You might not even recognize it as a kitchen scale because of its unconventional design. It looks almost like a fat rectangular compass or protractor, with one leg that fans out to the side. This creates a gap where you can securely place a bowl that is too big to balance on the scale’s closed form safely.
Moving that leg also serves another purpose, though. It generates kinetic energy that is used to power the digital scale, at least for a short period. Not only will you no longer have to worry about batteries, but you also won’t have to be afraid of the batteries corroding over time when not in use. You can simply use the scale and then stow it away in a drawer or on some shelf without having to worry about a potential fire or chemical hazard in your kitchen.
The odd shape might need a bit of getting used to, but the benefits outweigh that brief learning curve. The CASO Kitchen Ecostyle’s unique form takes up less space than most other kitchen scales while also providing the power needed to use it. Along with its stainless steel construction, this makes it one of the most sustainable and environment-friendly kitchen scales you’d find in the market.
Greek studio KRAK Architects has conceptualised an angular underground house on the south coast of Crete with semi-open living spaces and an infinity pool that looks out to the Libyan sea.
Described by KRAK Architects as a “unique leisure residence”, the conceptual house named Casa Katana was designed to form part of the coastal setting on the Greek island.
KRAK Architects has imagined an underground house on the coast of Crete
Casa Katana’s angular form is intended to mimic surrounding rock formations and resemble a “cut from a Katana” – a type of Japanese sword after which the house is named.
Meanwhile, its position underground would help to minimise its visual impact on the site and passively heat and cool its living spaces through thermal mass.
The conceptual house would be built from concrete
“One of the main concerns was for the residence to be fully integrated into the landscape, leaving untouched the beauty of the plot,” said KRAK Architects’ founder Konstantinos Stathopoulos.
“The idea was inspired by the unique morphology of the plot and the particular characteristics of the site, the rock formations, its orientation and views,” Stathopoulos told Dezeen.
Its living spaces open up to the outside
Embedding houses underground to reduce their visual impact has become a popular architecture trend in recent years.
Commenting on the trend, Stathopoulos said that subterranean houses are popular because they provide people with “an escape from the urban landscape”.
“The underground residences seem to fulfil the need for integration to the natural surroundings in a much better way,” he explained.
Concrete walls would be left exposed
KRAK Architects envisages that Casa Katana would be constructed from concrete to achieve a monolithic and cave-like aesthetic.
The concrete would be made with an earthy-coloured pigment and treated externally with a bush-hammered effect to blend in with the rugged landscape.
Inside, the proposal comprises an open plan living-dining area and four large bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, alongside a large office, parking and storage spaces.
KRAK Architects imagines these rooms as a sequence of spaces fronted by floor-to-ceiling glass doors that slide open, encouraging seamless indoor-outdoor living.
A large open-plan living room features inside
Casa Katana’s concrete structure would be exposed throughout the interior, paired with large floor tiles, wooden detailing and minimal furniture pieces.
The residence would be complete with a long infinity pool that stretches and folds across its facade overlooking the sea.
The concrete finishes would be teamed with minimal furnishings
Casa Katana was commissioned by a local developer to design the underground house for the site. Though there are no current plans in place to build it, KRAK Architects said it is open for sale.
Shanghai studio AIM Architecture has transformed the second floor of a business park in Hangzhou, China, into a store that resembles a 1970s office for cosmetics brand Harmay.
The studio reimagined the space as a retro-looking office complete with desk chairs, phoney bookshelves for makeup items and boardroom tables for other cosmetic products.
AIM Architecture wanted the Hangzhou cosmetics store to look like an office
AIM Architecture (AIM) chose a colour palette of muted yellows, oranges and browns that were popular during the 1970s for the 1,382 square-metre space.
This retro colour scheme is paired with a woollen carpet by German brand Findeisen, frosted-glass sliding “meeting room” doors and contrasting lime green shelving.
1970s browns, yellows and oranges make the store feel retro
Other office touches throughout the two-floor store include bookshelves, cushioned stools and industrial structural columns.
Rows of yellow desks similar to ones you might find in an office from the time period have been used to display the brand‘s cosmetics, including perfumes and make-up. Extra stock has been stored inside the desk drawers.
Porthole windows give customers a glimpse of the internal transit warehouse that is also housed in the building complex, while mirrored walls in the store’s centre are designed to transport customers away from reality.
The studio wanted the shop to be a tribute to working life and to help customers realise the benefit of in-store shopping experiences versus purchasing online.
“We really wanted to use this concept to celebrate daily life and see the beauty in it,” AIM founder Wendy Saunders told Dezeen.
“Here in China, the reality is that people shop online for everything, anywhere, anytime,” she said. “As physical shopping is just for fun, we wanted to create a colourful version of it.”
Cosmetic products are displayed on pretend bookshelves
As well as paying homage to the specific decade, the studio wanted the store to echo the surrounding offices within the mixed-use business park.
The store is located in the recently opened OōEli complex, a large-scale urban development project designed by Pritzker-winning Italian architect Renzo Piano.
A mirrored walkway runs through the store’s centre
“Sometimes the building dominates and inspires the site you get to work in: it sets the mood,” explained Saunders. “This site was one of those.”
“Creating an ‘old fashioned’ physical retail experience in an actual office space just seemed a fun way to translate this duality of space and time,” she added.
Company profiles are researched and written by our in-house editorial team according to Dezeen’s house style.
They feature a logo alongside a short summary detailing the company’s history, founders, location and team, as well as the sectors the company operates in and types of projects they complete.
Company profiles can also feature a banner image to display a project that represents your work, such as the image of the Apple Visitor Center in San Jose, California above that illustrates the work of Foster + Partners’.
Additionally, if Dezeen has written stories about the company, these appear at the bottom of the company profile page.
Jobseekers can browse company profiles before applying
Company profiles provide an introduction to a company’s work directly alongside their vacancies, helping to hire informed jobseekers. They also create strong SEO around the company’s job ads, helping more applicants find them.
Company profiles can be used as a jump-off point for jobseekers to further research a prospective employer and their work.
Amorphous windows illuminate the cavernous interior of this pilates gym, which designer Wanmu Shazi has created in the Chinese port city of Xiamen.
The interior of TT Pilates, which is set inside a high-rise office building, was designed to distance visitors from the hustle and bustle of their urban surroundings.
The TT Pilates studio has cave-like interiors
“Pilates is a unique exercise that enables people to focus on themselves,” Shazi explained.
“Through physical and mental training, people are able to enter another state of consciousness completely different from daily life and recharge their batteries. Such exercise needs an immersive, introverted space.”
Natural light streams in through amorphous windows
With this aim, the designer focused on using soft colours and materials to mimic textures found in nature.
A mixture of micro cement and beige paint was used to form a rough, stone-like layer over the studio’s walls and ceilings.
This fake rock finish also covers most of the studio’s expansive steel-framed windows, leaving only a few organically-shaped openings so that visitors can catch glimpses of the skyline beyond.
Wooden stools are meant to look like pebbles
“Standing in the tranquil space and looking down at the bustling outside world through window openings evokes a transcendental experience,” said Shazi.
These openings, along with those made in the ceiling to accommodate spotlights, cast bright patches of light onto the wooden floors.
Rocky surfaces also appear in the bathroom with its huge trough-style sink, which rises up from the ground like a boulder.
And in the entrance area, wooden stools shaped to resemble pebbles allow visitors to sit down while changing their shoes.
A trough-style sink in the bathroom resembles a boulder
“Many people said the studio looks like a cave but actually, at the beginning of the design, no particular style or form popped into my mind,” Shazi explained.
“Instead, I just hoped to create a pure space that reveals a natural, immersive and serene vibe.”
Just beyond the studio is an outdoor courtyard
Just beyond the studio’s two main classrooms is a drinks bar where visitors can relax on plump white beanbag chairs.
One of the room’s walls is punctuated with arched windows looking through to an outdoor courtyard, which features an exotic tree surrounded by a shallow pool of water.
A thick ledge running around the perimeter of the pool allows visitors to sit and submerge their feet on warmer days.
A shallow pool surrounds a tree at the courtyard’s centre
Wanmu Shazi isn’t the only designer to create cave-like interiors in recent months.
Looking quite like the Terminator with parts of his skin pulled off, Khyzyl Saleem’s McLaren 570s begs to ask the question – how essential is bodywork on an automobile? Saleem’s 570s concept sports a semi-bare design with parts of the bodywork removed for more rugged emphasis. To be honest, while the idea of removing a car’s bodywork does feel like desecrating its design, there’s also a case to be made that a car’s underlying chassis can sometimes be just as beautiful as its body panels. Just take a look at this wild stripped-apart Lamborghini Huracan from last year.
The McLaren’s design comes from the mind of Khyzyl Saleem, a Surrey-based self-taught concept artist and car-design-virtuoso. Saleem’s works tread the fine line between being absolute fantasies and rooted in some semblance of reality. Saleem isn’t scared of tapping into his wild side, and that’s a characteristic that shows in his cars too. The 570s seems like a hobby project for now, although I’d pay top dollar to see someone actually custom-build one. Saleem’s design, aptly named the 570s Unhinged, sports a few significant modifications. The front and rear look nothing like the original, with an exposed, modified chassis (with a few reinforcements) that allows for monstrously wide wheels, redesigned headlights + taillights (I really like Saleem’s continuous taillight detail), and even a modded exhaust system. If a regular 570s is Bucky Barnes, the Unhinged concept feels like the Winter Soldier in a blind fit of sheer unbridled fury. The fact that the car isn’t shy to showcase its chrome details (those rims look absolutely bonkers), much like Winter Soldier’s shiny vibranium arm.
The year 2022 marks 45 years since Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope appeared on the silver screen, and nearly half a century since George Lucas introduced us to two of the most beloved robots to ever grace pop culture. To celebrate that momentous occasion (along with the 40th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back), Corkcicle debuted an entire collection of Star Wars-inspired barware that’s sure to geek up your kitchen! While the collection spans all of Star Wars’ memorable characters, our eyes instantly fell in love with the C3PO canteen and the R2D2 stainless steel travel cup – two pieces of drinkware that don’t just go together functionally, but they even honor their references in size and proportion!
Both the C3PO canteen and R2D2 travel mug are made from triple-insulated stainless steel, making them perfect to carry hot or cold beverages in and travel with. The insulated design even means you can comfortably hold onto the outer surface without the internal heat or coldness radiating to your skin.
Both the 16oz canteen and 12oz travel mug come with caps that seal your drink shut, keeping them warm or cold for hours at an end. They’re BPA-free, and even sport silicone-lined bases to ensure they don’t slip around or scratch tabletop surfaces by accident. As for the drinkware themselves, they’re made from durable stainless steel with shatterproof lids and finishes/paint-coatings that are scratch-resistant and dishwasher safe… and I know what you’re thinking – No, they’re probably not lightsaber-proof.
There’s a beauty in the Pilea Lamp’s lack of a definite structure. The leaves are haphazardly arranged, with a soft LED bulb just sitting between the stems like a piece of treasure on the forest floor. The way the bulb’s light weaves through the Pilea Lamp’s organic design feels a lot like watching sunlight creep through the tree branches in a forest. The lamp’s organic design has an undeniable sense of warmth and challenges the structured, engineered approach of standard light fixtures and lamp designs.
The Pilea Lamp’s design takes direct inspiration from the Chinese money plant, also known as the Pilea plant – an indoor plant often seen in contemporary Asian homes, native to the Sichuan and Yunnan regions of China. It rests on a wooden base, with dowel-style wooden stems sprouting from within. At the end of the stems are the lamp’s leaves, fashioned from diffusion filters pulled from TV screens. These filters help evenly distribute or scatter the light, making them perfect for the lamp’s purpose. Unlike most lamp designs that are centered around the bulb, which fits in a specific place, the Pilea Lamp switches things up, by focusing on a nature-inspired design, while the bulb basically tucks anywhere between the individual stems, secured in its place by them!
In the past couple of years, the number of employees leaving their jobs for new ones has only increased—and statistics show that this trend will likely not go away any time soon. According to Upwork, freelancers have contributed $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy in annual earnings in 2021, up $100 million from the prior year.
One thing most freelancers know: a typical work day, week, or month is unpredictable. Cushion is set up to help freelancers navigate their schedule, predict their fluctuating monthly income levels, track time working, and much more.
2. Harvest
Do you have many different projects going at once and have a hard time tracking them all, along with the money you’re owed? Harvest is a website that makes it easy to track both time and invoices.
3. Asana
Mostly known for its user-friendly software that makes team projects and collaboration easier, Asana can also be used for project management and creating to-do lists. They have more than 200 integrations so you can easily sync up your tasks and have them live in one place
4. Proposify
Working for yourself means carving out time to do things like creating proposals for your clients on top of your day-to-day work. If you’re looking to cut down that time spent, Proposify provides you with templates and allows you to send proposals through its platform. It also lets you know if the proposal has been viewed (or not).
4. Mediabistro
Last but certainly not least, our Freelance Connect portal allows you to create your own profile and connect with editors to pitch to, along with access to a freelance job portal. Our Unlimited membership also includes guides on how and when to pitch.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
