We are so excited to feature the cast of experts and educators from Brooklyn’s 3rd Ward for this week’s newest edition to our Tool-focused summer gift guide!
With 30,000 square feet of working space, 3rd Ward is a true incubator for innovation. Besides a wood and metal workshop, jewelry studio, photography studio and co-working space, 3rd Ward offers a range of classes to help make your ideas real. From welding to arduino classes, upholstery 101 to skatedeck making, 3rd Ward has classes for all levels of DIYers and curious creatives.
3rd Ward instructors picked out their favorite tools for this week’s Ultimate Gift Guide selections. Pick up glow-in-the-dark ABS for your Makerbot and check out the most “thoughtful” upholstery hammer—if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by for a class or two! See their full selection here!
The Happy Tree Friend is based on the angle-poise task-light from 1933/34. I may have succeeded to give this object new aesthetic, emotional and intel..
Dezeen Wire: as the UK government reviews design technology’s status as a compulsory school subject, industrial designers Seymourpowell have released a movie featuring Paul Smith, James Dyson and others talking about the importance of design education.
Seymourpowell, in partnership with the Design & Technology Association and the James Dyson Foundation, have made this film to promote the importance of design education in Britain’s schools and universities, its contribution to successful business, and its fundamental role in supporting the UK Economy. The film features contributions from leading figures from across business and industry including Sir John Rose, Sir James Dyson, Sir Paul Smith and many more.
Business leaders unite to promote Design and Technology education as key to the future of Creative Britain.
Seymourpowell, in partnership with the Design & Technology Association and the James Dyson Foundation, are today launching a campaign film featuring contributions from leading figures from across business and industry. The film promotes the importance of Design and Technology (D&T) education in Britain’s schools and universities, its contribution to successful business, and its fundamental role in supporting the UK Economy.
Those taking part in the campaign film include:
Sir Paul Smith, Fashion Designer
Sir James Dyson, Founder, Dyson and James Dyson Foundation
Sir John Rose, Former Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce
Ian Callum, Design Director, Jaguar Land Rover
Richard Seymour, Co-founder, Seymourpowell
Dick Powell, Co-founder, Seymourpowell
Paul Jackson, Chief Executive, Engineering UK
David Kester, Chief Executive, Design Council
Deyan Sudjic, Director, Design Museum
The film launch follows a special event on the same subject, held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in Westminster. On a panel chaired by Design Museum Director Deyan Sudjic, speakers included Dame Ellen MacArthur, Dick Powell (Seymourpowell), Ajaz Ahmed (AKQA), Paul Jackson (Engineering UK) and the inventor and entrepreneur Mandy Haberman.
Key topic areas discussed by the panel included the National Curriculum review, currently being undertaken, and its potential impact on D&T teaching – many fear the subject could be threatened with being removed as a compulsory subject for all pupils from age 5 to 14. Another issue raised was the English Baccalaureate, and the view held by many in the creative and manufacturing industries that it’s already skewing the curriculum in many schools away from creative and technical subjects towards traditional, academic subjects. Also discussed by the panel was the impact of cuts in higher education for non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) subjects from across the creative sector.
Please visit www.data.org.uk from Monday 18 July to download an audio recording from the event.
Dick Powell, co-founder and design director at Seymourpowell commented, “The impact of design education in the UK – from school right through to higher education and beyond – has been immense. With this campaign we hope to highlight the far-reaching benefits and prosperity delivered to the UK by design education, and raise awareness of the subjects’ crucial role in helping maintain Britain’s position as an international innovation leader”.
Sir James Dyson adds, “Inventiveness helps the economy. Design and Technology is the only lesson where young people can apply science and maths in a practical way. If D&T is sidelined where will the next generation of engineers, designers and inventors get their inspiration from?”
Richard Green, Chief Executive, Design & Technology Association said, “Earlier this year, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne outlined his vision to drive the nation forward with the words ‘Made, Created, Designed and Invented in Britain’. We too share in this credo, but also strongly believe D&T education is fundamental in realising this goal. We believe this film demonstrates the importance of retaining a curriculum that contains creative and technical subjects to unpin the UK’s current and future success as a creative leader.”
For more information and details on how to support visit www.data.org.uk
L’agence Ogilvy Malaysia a eu l’excellente idée de penser cette série d’affiches publicitaires pour le jeu Pictionary. Autour du concept du “Quick Draw Wins”, les visuels montrent la supériorité de l’efficacité d’un dessin clair sur le style. Plus d’exemples à découvrir dans la suite.
UPDATE: Mystery half-solved; the bike is based on the BauBike, a 2009 design by Michael Ubbesen Jakobsen…
I recently came across images of this mysterious custom bicycle frame at Saint Cloud, an Australian fixed-gear shop. It’s something like De Stijl turned into a bike; Le Corbusier might call it a “machine for riding.” (In other words, it’s the opposite of these.)
The head tube appears to be the only non-right angle in the entire frame, such that the straight-bladed fork comes in at around 10°. (The chainstays, seatstays and fork also appear to be angled at the ends out of functional necessity.) Other notable features include zero bottom bracket drop, concealed bolts and fork ends, a rear rack and presumably a custom threaded headset… though the more I look at it, the more it seems like the whole thing is an optical illusion.
Still, perhaps the most incongruous aspect of the bike is what appears to be a vintage Brooks saddle—and the matching leather straps—though I imagine a steel rectangle would cause some gnarly saddle sores.
Besides wondering whether there is any advantage to using square tubes, I can’t quite discern the geometry (no pun intended)… and I’m just curious as to “Why?”
All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!
I have many super powers (e.g. I can grab poison ivy with my bare hands and not have a reaction), but my kryptonite are balloons. For starters, I’m allergic to latex, so touching them causes me to break out in a rash. Secondly, the squeaking sound they make when you rub your finger across them drives me batty. Thirdly, tying them off is tedious. And finally, the anticipation of someone about to pop a balloon makes me incredibly anxious.
Noting all of the reasons I hate balloons, you might think the Tie-Not would be something I’d use. It ties water balloons so you don’t have to fuss with them! But, you know what, even the Queen of Hating Balloons can tie a water balloon if she needs to. (She can also talk about herself in the third person.)
Unless you’re a professional water balloon maker, I’m not really sure the average person needs the Tie-Not. For those rare times you decide to throw a water balloon party (are there such things?), I’m certain you can handle the stress of tying the balloons. Also, having to tie all those balloons might give you pause to throwing a water balloon party in the future. Because, really, who enjoys being smacked with a water balloon? Sure, it’s fun to clobber other people, but getting hit by one is never a joy. Water balloon attacks always end with someone getting a pitcher of water and just pouring the water on their competitors — so why not start with those? Pitchers are also reusable. And don’t hurt. And don’t leave little balloon particles in your yard. And don’t cause rashes. And aren’t balloons.
To close, I feel the need to point out that the name of the product is “Tie-Not.” In my understanding of the English language, the word NOT implies the negative. In this case, it would mean that the device doesn’t tie. I think this is brilliantly absurd, and commend the makers of the Tie-Not for not false advertising (check out the 1-star reviews on Amazon for examples of the device not working).
Thanks to reader Steph for introducing us to this soggy, summer unitasker.
Felt and fabric accessories by HomakoAcross the aisle from our booth was Homako. Inspired by origami, braids, plaits and bows, Homako’s necklaces are very sweet, just like her.
Something that has always amazed me is that factories antedated electricity. Early machines could be made to run from steam power, but there was no such thing as electric lighting; the sole source of illumination came from outside, through big-ass windows and skylights.
The “Daylight” entry in the James Dyson Award competition submitted by an anonymous German architecture student recognizes that it’s not practical to widen existing windows, nor add skylights to the 30th story of a 42-story office building, but proposes a solution to better channel natural light into the office spaces of today. Carefully-shaped aluminum reflectors would be attached to the outside of existing windows, shunting light towards additional ceiling-mounted reflectors inside, providing a one-time cost for permanently-free magnified and adjustable daylight.
The inspiring colours of Henry RoadFabric bundles get me every time! I love getting precut quarters or remnants… they’re the promise of fun crafty times ahead without the commitment and expense of getting fabric cut off the bolt. I bought three bundles from various vendors at the SF and LA fairs. Not sure what they’ll become, but I don’t mind just looking at the colours and patterns for awhile.
The latest power-packed sound machine from wireless streaming experts Sonos
We’ve been rocking out with a variety of Sonos products in the Cool Hunting office for years, gaining a great appreciation for the functionality of the comprehensive wireless streaming products in the process. Debuting today is the next step forward for at-home or at-work networked music playing with the release of Sonos Play:3. The device, designed as an all-in-one unit, promises bigger sound quality in a compact package, perfect for any room in need of bumpin’ tunes
The Play:3 gets its name from its three integrated speakers, three dedicated class-D digital amplifiers and three drivers. With an overall goal to crank up the quality, each unit also has a passive rear-firing bass radiator to keep the sound rich. As with all Sonos products the Play: 3 will integrate seamlessly into an existing Sonos system and can be controlled with the Sonos desktop app, the multi-platform mobile app or a dedicated Sonos controller.
Another clever feature of the Play:3 is the option to use the speaker in a vertical or horizontal position. This makes it easier to fit the system exactly where you want it and internal motion sensors detect the speaker’s orientation, adjusting the output accordingly to deliver ideal sound distribution. With two Play:3 units you can experience “Stereo Pairing,” which allows you to dedicate one speaker to the left or right channel. But be warned: two Play:3s paired up for stereo enjoyment the office makes for an internal struggle to stay seated.
If, like us, your Sonos system was in need of an overall upgrade, we recommend the updated controller ($350); it’s compact, slick and has a intuitive touchscreen UI for super-easy navigation.
Head over to Sonos’ online store to grab one of the new versatile Play:3s, available today for $300.
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