Hasta La Ideas

East meets Wests meets rope in designer Rodrigo Almeida’s new foray into jewelry

Already known for colorful furniture and art pieces reflecting his homeland’s diverse culture, Brazilian industrial designer Rodrigo Almeida recently designed his first jewelry collection called “Caligrafia” for São Paulo jewelry shop Aria Joalheiros. The collection, consisting of seven one-of-a-kind bracelets and necklaces, explores the theme “East meets West,” as interpreted through a visual exploration of language.

Drawing on the calligraphy and brushstrokes of written Eastern languages, Almeida sets actual brushes against Western references, such as Latin letters. Although some of the references to language are abstract, all of them address the constant evolution of language. “They have the same meaning but are expressed in different ways,” said Kim. “It’s almost as if they had been written by the same designer on different days, under different moods. The letter/caligraphy changes daily.”

While the linguistic symbolism (inspired by Aria Joalheiros owner Leo Kim’s Korean-Brazilian heritage) is the focus, the designer’s aesthetic remains at the forefront.Yellow and red cords, a familiar theme in Almeida’s furniture design, lend a modern sporty feel—a look recently popularized by Proenza Schouler’s bracelets and necklaces that incorporate climbing rope.

Contact Aria Joalheiros directly for prices.

A new watch that won’t make heads turn

Known best for their creative and unusual timepieces, eccentric fashion accessory brand Nooka just released their newest watch, the 360. Looking past the subdued analog display and Italian leather wristband you’ll find what sets it apart is hidden in the details—or rather one large detail. The entire watch case rotates clockwise 360 degrees, giving the wearer and those around you unlimited angles from which to view the time. Driving your car? Adjust the watch to an optimal position a few clicks. The curious stranger next to you on the subway? Simply turn the dial to an angle that best suits them. Living up to Nooka’s ethos of universal language, the 360 does away with numbers and opts instead for simple dots.

The Nooka 360 comes in both black and mirror casings and is currently available for online for $285, and will hit store shelves by September 2011.

Photojojo’s SLR Lens Adapter turns your iPhone 4 into the ultimate mobile photo machine

It’s always intriguing to see what camera enhancing products the creative minds at Photojojo will come up with. Their latest, the iPhone SLR Mount, might seem a bit over the top but it strikes a cord with the camera geek inside. The adapter, which encompasses a case, extension tubes and some custom machined parts to link it all together, lets you attach any Nikon or Canon EOS lenses to the back of your iPhone 4 — giving the 5 megapixel sensor a whole new world of prime glass to interpret.

This accessory is designed for those who have pined to dominate mobile phone photography with glowing bokeh and the super soft backgrounds. Granted throwing a 300mm lens onto the back of an iPhone probably looks absurd enough to have people snapping shots of you, but it’s definitely a fun way to expand your mobile’s photography capabilities. Grab it from the Photojojo store for $190 and start bragging about your app free iPhone photo skills.

The concept of the “Vasepot” is based on the image of a planted flower pot.The added glass body allows to use the pot as a vase for cut flowers.

Il balenottero di legno è perfetto per la vostra scrivania e può aiutarvi a contenere tutta una serie di cose come penne, matite, notebook e mobile phone. In vendita su theutilitycollective. Design by Eric Pfeiffer.
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