Hasta La Ideas The Adventures of Star Wars Figurines in Nature Archives

Sep 12

Distil Union’s Wally Case Review

We’re a big fan of Distil Union’s products and the Wally Case is no exception. Though it’s a Kickstarter project, I have no doubt they’ll reach their funding goals because this case is gorgeous. Made from premium leather attached to a thin plastic case for that shiny new iPhone 5s. The idea is to simplify your wallet. Slim that bad boy down to just three cards – your I.D., a debit card, and a public transit card. There’s enough tension to prevent your goodies from slipping out. There’s an integrated pull-tab to release the cards from their pocket. DO WANT!

Designer: Distil Union, Kickstarter page $40

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(Distil Union’s Wally Case Review was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Sep 11

Best Bluetooth Speaker Under $70?

Posted in: soundfreaq

Is this the best bluetooth speaker for under $70? I’ve tried many portable speakers and man, they’ve come a long away. They’re loud, bassy, and generally distortion free. The good ones all cost $100+ so when Soundfreaq sent me the Sound Spot to try out, I was a little skeptical. However, I am familiar with the company as I’ve tried their original Sound Platform speaker before and came away quite impressed. So what do I look for in small, compact bluetooth speaker? It has to look good, sound good, and painless to pair. Hit the jump for my review.

The first thing you notice about the Sound Spot is the design. It’s got mid-century modern mojo to it. Most competitors opt for a techno look but the Sound Spot is meant to look right at home, in your home – an accessory on your shelf when not in use. The front panel is made from wood while the main body is high quality textured plastic. The face is pretty much devoid of any branding save for a tiny logo mark in the center of the speaker grill. On top, you’ll find touch controls for basic navigation. Behind are standard line in/out inputs, a toggle that functions like a basic equalizer, and the ability to charge your phone via USB.

It sounds great! The Sound Spot is just barely taller than a standing iPhone 5 yet cranks out enough sound to fill a full 400 sqft living room. I did notice a little distortion with the volume turned up, but nobody in their right mind is going to blast their music that loud. The toggle switch in the rear lets you augment the speaker with 3 presets – flat, warm, bright. I’ve found with almost all the music I tested from classical to hip-hop to dance, warm provided the right amount of balance. Flat and bright seem better suited for spoken word and audio podcasts.

My only complaint about the Sound Spot is how long it takes to charge. The power button blinks to indicate charging status and I swear it took forever and a day to get it fully juiced up. Once it’s charged, expect about 6 hours of non-stop music with the volume set somewhere in the middle. Curiously Soundfreaq purposely left out a built-in microphone. Most competitors allow you to use their speakers as a speakerphone of sorts with varying degrees of success so I’m not particular peeved at the omission from the Sound Spot.

I totally recommend the Sound Spot to anyone on a budget looking for a portable speaker with good sound and great looks. A comparable $70 speaker I picked up from a department store was equally audibly gifted but looked more like a desktop computer peripheral than a designed audio device. I’m actually thinking about including it in our annual holiday gift guide. Comes in black or white. Get you some!

Designer: Soundfreaq, Buy it here

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(Best Bluetooth Speaker Under $70? was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Sep 02

321 Water Filtering Bottle Review

Posted in: 321water, General Gifts

Some months ago I was sent a 321 Water bottle with a note from one of YD’s staff – “this was in the Hunger Games movie!” And it’s true. The bottle was featured in the control room scene of said movie so I thought hey, if it’s good enough for those dystopian dictators with amazing fashion sense, then it’s good enough for me. Hit the jump for the review.

The 321 Water bottle has two unique things working for it – both are design related. One – the bottle design itself looks other worldly. Founder and designer Gretha Oost hit the nail on the head when she created an object that makes people scratch their heads and ask “what is it?” That happened on many occasions as passersby peeked into my office after catching a glimpse of this 9″ tall bottle that almost optically glows blue when filled with water. “It’s a water bottle with a built-in filter” I would answer.

How does it work? Here’s the second unique thing. Think of a coffee press. You fill the bottle with tap water, then slowly press the filtering stem down into the water. It’s a tight fit but any resistance is key to understanding that questionable tap water is being forced through the hydropal activated carbon impregnated polymer filter. The result is tasteless and odorless filtered tap water that all but took 20 seconds to fill and filter – not to mention how utterly cool it looks.

Although there are other filtering water bottles on the market, this is the first one I’ve seen where you proactively filter the water first before drinking it (not including water jugs). Most others filter as you drink. I’m not saying one is better than the other but if you prefer to drink normally as opposed to sucking the water through a filter, then you’ll want the 321 Water bottle.

The bottle itself is made from BPA free plastic and holds 17 oz of water. It comes with one filtering tablet that’ll last you 100 refills. So if you’re drinking the recommended amount of water per day, you’re probably going to need two filtering tablets per month. The tablets come in packs of six at $40 USD. That comes out to about $6.67 per tablet which breaks down to each bottle of water costing you $0.06.

Would I recommend it? Yes. Aside from the costs, the design more than delivered on its promise. It was hard to remember when 100 refills were up but the general rule is to change the tablet every 2.5 weeks. Water always tasted great and 6 months later, people still ask me about the design. Overall it’s more than enough to justify the initial $35 USD investment. It’s extremely easy to clean and in case you’re wondering, fits perfectly in cup holders. Go get you one!

Designer: Gretha Oost, Buy it here

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(321 Water Filtering Bottle Review was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Aug 29

Knife block with integrated stand for iPad (or any other tablet)

Posted in: Uncategorized

As someone who frequently uses an iPad in the kitchen to manage recipes, this knife block from Victorinox seems like a great solution to the problem of where to safely rest a tablet while cooking:

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Aug 27

Obsessed with the Philips Sonicare Airfloss

Posted in: Airfloss, Sonicare

Let me put it on out there. I hate flossing. Winding a piece of string and forcing it through the most sensitive regions between my teeth seems incredibly archaic. It may be effective, but very crude. I don’t care how many dentists tell me it’s “normal” to experience some bleeding. I’m sorry, it is NOT normal to bleed. And that brings me to one of my favorite gadgets this year, a new way to floss using nothing but air and a bit of liquid. I’m totally obsessed!

So let’s rewind back to February 2013. Totally fed up with floss, I reached out to Philips inquiring about their new fangled device called the Airfloss. From my initial rudimentary understanding, I pegged the Airfloss as a modern waterpick or oral irrigator. God that just sounds dirty! I digress – the Airfloss is way more.

The device is deceptively simple. An ergonomically designed handle contains a tiny chamber you fill with water or mouthwash. You place the head, which has a beak-like apparatus, between your teeth and with a press of a button, liquid comes shooting out in a short, yet powerful burst of pressurized cleaning power! POW! Literally, it makes a kind-of “POW” sound. Philips calls this Microburst Technology but I prefer to call it POW.

What it won’t do is remove layers of plaque already built up from neglect. You’ll have to see a dentist for that. The Airfloss is meant to compliment brushing. It removes fresh food particles or any foreign debris between your teeth, just like old school floss.

No bleeding, no numb fingers from lack of circulation, and no nasty string covered in mouthy nastiness to deal with. I’ve always been an avid brusher – no less than 3x a day. I’ve had one too many bad experiences at the dentist to know the best way to avoid them is to take care of my teeth. However, every time I come in for a checkup, I hear that same thing. “You need to floss more often.” Cut to me sitting in the chair with my mouth wide open and Mr. Dentist using metal tools to literally scrape my teeth clean. I was determined not to experience that again.

Cut to August 2013. I went in for my 6 month checkup yesterday and guess what? GUESS WHAT?!?! The dentist actually said, and these are his words I swear, “your teeth are in pretty good shape, just a little plaque build-up, no cavities.” It’s totally silly of me to feel so victorious about dental hygiene but it’s amazing to know that by sticking to a routine regime of brushing and air flossing, I walked away with healthy teeth and gums and you know what? It’s freakin’ easy! I still carry a little pod of floss around just in case but for the most part, once in the morning and once in the evening, I Airfloss.

So what’s it cost? At $89.99, it’s definitely more expensive than old school floss. I mean, you still need that stringy floss for some things but I consider this an investment. This is not a frivolous purchase that serves no purpose other than boosting my ego. This is about health and as cliché as that sounds, I made it a point at the beginning of 2013 to take better care of myself. I highly recommend the Philips Sonicare Airfloss to anyone looking to supplement their dental regime with technology that’ll make a huge difference in that smile. People spend tons of money on making the surface of their teeth white when it’s the spaces in between where the rot and funk starts and that ain’t cute.

Designer: Philips ,$89.99 Sonicare Airfloss

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(Obsessed with the Philips Sonicare Airfloss was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Jun 28

Organizing paperwork with Staples’ Better Binders

Posted in: Uncategorized

The following is a sponsored post from Staples about a product we believe in. For the past month, I’ve been aggressively testing this product and the review is based on my first-hand experiences. We agreed to work with Staples because they sell so many different products in their stores, and our arrangement with them allows us to review products we use and have no hesitation recommending to our readers. Again, these infrequent sponsored posts help us continue to provide quality content to our audience.

When I travel (for work or pleasure) or have special projects, I almost always organize the corresponding paperwork in a three-ring binder. I like to have all of my necessary information in one storage system so I can grab it and go. I also usually have a scanned backup of the same data in Evernote or on Dropbox, but I see these digital copies as being useful only if something happens to my original binder. Usually I need physical copies of the papers I’m keeping, especially with projects, when the papers may be something I’m giving to clients or need to file with a legal entity.

Earlier this year, I was introduced to Staples’ new Better Binder system, and I’ve been using them ever since. I’ve taken them to a conference, on vacation, and am currently using one to store all the paperwork for our second adoption. When finished using the binder for one purpose, I’ve removed the FileRings and dropped them into my filing cabinet. They could also be useful for keeping yearly family or tax information or anything project where you’ll be actively using the paperwork for a period of time and then need to archive it when you’re finished with it.

In short, it is a three-ring binder whose FileRings spine pops out and allows you to file the contents of the binder directly into your filing cabinet. The binders themselves are reusable and additional removable FileRings are available for purchase. (They are currently in the $4 range for the replacement FileRings.)

Removing the FileRings is incredibly simple, especially after you see it done. Pull on the plastic pieces at the top and bottom of the FileRings spine to pop it out. You then push in the top and bottom plastic pieces to hang the FileRings in your filing cabinet. Inserting the FileRings is also simple — set them in place and then push in the top and bottom of the FileRings spine to secure them into the binder.

They also have available Better Dividers, which I really like. The tabs can be inserted on the top or the side of the divider, making them extremely versatile. There are times when having the tab at the top of my binder is helpful, especially when I only have a need for two or three divided sections.

The binder comes with a blank spine label you can tear off and easily slide into place, so you don’t have to cut up a sheet of paper to make one from scratch. The front panel of the binder also allows you to slip in a cover sheet of your own design.

Better Binders come in the traditional size (11” x 11-3/4”) for 8-12″ x 11″ sheets of paper. They’re available in 1″ (275 sheets of paper) for roughly $8, 1-1/2″ (400 sheets) for $9, 2″ (540 sheets) for $11, and 3″ (600 sheets) widths for $14. The binder comes with one removable FileRings spine, but additional FileRings must be purchased separately. Current colors are white, red, black, pink, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, purple, dark teal, fuchsia, plum, olive, and multi-color combinations of some of these colors. I use the different binder colors to make it even more obvious which binder I need to take with me, in addition to the labeling I use on the binder.

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Jun 27

Perfect Workspace: simplehuman

Posted in: Uncategorized

In early January, we embarked on a ambitious project to remake an entire office into an environment conducive to collaboration, brain storming, and most importantly fun. Every aspect was considered and with a tiny budget, started planning with the one item often disregarded until the last minute. I’m talking the trash bin. Do you know how hard it is to find a good trash bin? In its simplest form, a trash bin is just a bucket in all shapes and sizes but we were looking for an engineered solution and who better than simplehuman.

simplehuman’s ethos is to create simple tools for efficient living. Every desk, every room, and every common area has a trash bin. For an object to occupy nearly every corner of the office, we needed a bin that could hide rubbish yet add to the overal architecture of the interior space. We looked at many bins but found they either veered too far on utilitarianism, or too deficient on utility, relying solely on marketing and big designer names.

We settled on the simplehuman 10 litre profile open can. At on $29.99 a piece, this compact stainless steel can is modern, sculptural, and minimalistic. The can itself is made up of three components – the shell, a lid, and a removeable/washable plastic liner bin. The liner bin is what you wrap your disposable bags around. The lid cleverly hides everything so the shell maintains its clean look.

Their appearance provides just enough contrast against the stark white walls accented by dark walnut shelves and doors. After months of use, the bins have held up well to the everyday rigors of office life. Every can still gleaming, lids neatly hiding liner bags, and not a single dent in any of them. Although most people don’t think of a trash bin as an integral part of decorating, I hope this a reminder that even the little things can add up to a more organized and efficient workspace. The less time you have to think about trash, the more you can spend on working and having fun.

I want to personally thank simplehuman, and David Lai for helping us procure these bins on such short notice.

Designer: simplehuman, $29.99

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(Perfect Workspace: simplehuman was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Jun 19

Electrolux Design Lab 20 Semi Finalists 2013

Posted in: 2013, Electrolux-Design-Lab, Semi Finalists

It is always a pleasure to chat with Electrolux Design Director and Head of Jury, Thomas Johansson and this Monday our conversation on Google Hangout was exceptional. Besides discussing the obvious – this years phenomenal entries to the Electrolux Design Lab, we got talking about the typical use of appliances in an Indian household. He was surprised to know that a majority don’t use dishwashers and we still prefer hand-washed clothes to the washing-machined ones! In any case, without further ado, let me announce the Electrolux Design Lab 20 Semi Finalists For 2013.

2D Kitchen by Ermi van Oers

The wall mounted 2D Smart Kitchen with a full set of kitchen appliances automatically prepares your meals. It gives you more space, more time for each other and makes you a perfect cooked dinner.

3F by Germain Verbrackel

The name of this appliance 3F stands for Form Follows Function. This is an appropriate name, since the physical body of this vacuum cleaner can change form and expand to suit the task required.

Air Drop by Jillian Tackaberry

The Air Drop is an air cleaner, which uses plant purification for harmful gasses and filter purification for dust and other particles.

Atem by Małgorzata Blachnicka

Atem is a breathing window panel, which opens your space to the outside world. It provides constant air circulation by letting in only clean air, balancing the air temperature according to your needs and creating an ambiance to your home.

Atomium by Luiza Silva

Atomium is a 3D printer that uses molecular ingredients to construct food layer by layer.

Breathing Wall by Jeabyun Yeon

Breathing Wall is a wall integrated air-cleaning concept for people who live in urban areas and want to relax and rest in a home with fresh air.

Cellular Pillow by Qing Ji

The Cellular Pillow is an air cleaning system and a pillow, which refreshes the air around us during our sleep, just like we would be sleeping in the forest.

Coco by Kristīne Bula

COCO is an air cleaner, which is inspired by nature as it creates an atmosphere of meadow freshness at your urban house without consuming electrical energy.

Global Chef by Dawid Dawod

Global Chef is a kitchen appliance that brings people together all across the world by using laser hologram technology and is thus also a strong visual experience for cooking.

Hand Tree by Alexandr Kostin

Hand tree is a personal air purifier concept, which is cleaning and filtering the air around us with a wearable appliance accessory.

Harvest Matching by Ke chang-han

Harvest Matching it is an easy and fun way to monitor how your plants are growing and becoming ripe as well as inviting friends to cook together.

Jell Balls by Juan Lee

Jell Balls is a cleaning appliance to hoover up dust using jell surface tension principle for eight jell surfaced balls which roll around a space which is to be cleaned.

Kitchen Hub by Francisco Barboza Grasa

Kitchen Hub is a device designed to help the family eat better, healthier and to reduce food waste. The food stock app controlling information of the ingredients you have at home is the core of it and the rest of apps are a logical consequence.

Mab by Adrian Perez Zapata

Mab is an automated cleaning system consisting of hundreds of flying mini-robots, which will clean all surfaces giving magic to daily activities. Mab will scan and clean up the house using the flight of the mini-robots, will also determine the areas in which the house is divided to run custom cleanings.

Music Yue by Jiawei Huang

Music Yue is a noise converter, solving the stressful noise pollution problem in urban areas.

Nutrima by Janne Palovuori

Nutrima is an appliance which calculates the nutritional values, possible toxins and freshness of your food and ingredients.

Ohita by Jorge Alberto Treviño Blanco

Ohita is an air cleaner with a modular kinetic sculpture structure. The appliance modules can be placed to your home and decorate the environment, but they are also wearable accessories you can take with you as you leave your home and carry around you in the city to protect you from breathing bad air.

Orbita by Natalia Aguado

Orbita is a cleaning appliance making use of the energy created by body movement as energy source of the appliance.

OZ-1 by Wei Kiat Law

OZ-1 is a portable air purifier and stress reliever all integrated in a fashion piece. While showing their fashion style, the user can choose to personalize the device with different cover design to match their clothing.

SEAbreeze by Fanni Csernátony

SEAbreeze is an indoor air quality control system works with seawater and provides clean, salty air, drinking water and a mild breeze in the room.

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(Electrolux Design Lab 20 Semi Finalists 2013 was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Jun 17

SOMM: Director Jason Wise offers a glimpse into the most grueling test in wine

Posted in: jasonwise, knowledge, masters, somm, sommelier

How much do you know about wine? That’s essentially the question that a few select candidates are asked each year at the Master Sommelier Exam. But the manner of questioning is far from straightforward, instead taking…

Continue Reading…

Jun 14

In Talks With François Quentin – Designer Of The 4N Watch

Posted in: 4N Watch, François Quentin, presents, TouchOfModern

4N is a French watch brand that creates timepieces, which are resolutely masculine and unapologetically cutting-edge. While they have an exclusive Limited Edition timepiece (last one of 16) up on TouchOf Modern, for a members-only price, we got the chance of catching up with designer François Quentin for a quick round of questions.

YD – What According To You is the authentic definition of Haute Horlogerie. Can you name a FEW timepieces as example?

FQ – Difficult question! I could use the definition of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie who says in his manifesto:

“The’ Fine Watchmaking’ denomination embraces a centuries-old, living history, a rich and Specific Culture, professional ethic, the enduring expertise of the craftsman, and a burning passion.

In a word, Fine Watchmaking is a cultivation of knowledge and know-how. While Fine Watchmaking is heir to a long tradition, it nonetheless firmly looks to the future. Its values are research, innovation, development and training new generations.”

I would add to this definition, a point that seems to be missed: artistic dimension. Haute Horlogerie, beyond the simple functional dimension, addresses sense emotions and the intellect, and like art is pure gratuity and infinite freedom.

YD – What are your favorite complications in a watch?

FQ – The alarm, even if it is not very complicated in fact.

YD – What is the MOST difficult complications in a watch?

FQ – One that does not exist – I myself have worked for three years to work out my complication, and two more years to develop with Renaud & Papi.

YD – If You Were to invent a new complication or innovative aspects to a watch, What Will that be?

FQ – 24h digital display with a very large display.

YD – For Those Who do not know you … you are ……

FQ – Eclectic, curious, crazy of noir novels, mechanical, art, extreme sports, cooking, watches, science, and human relationships ….

YD – In the upcoming years, how do you see design language and technology changing the way we wear time?

FQ – I look forward to the Mac iwatch …

YD – Tell us a secret That no one knows yet … maybe a hidden passion?

FQ – I wish to be a doctor.

YD – What watch are you wearing Currently?

FQ – mine, and Suunto for scuba diving

YD – What is your favorite watch brand?

FQ – Ressence for beautiful contemporary pieces and especially for its great founder Benoit Mintiens the greatest watchmaker in Belgium. (well, on the other hand it is the only ….)

The 4N-MVT01/D01 Model is the last one of 16 ever created, sold exclusively on TouchOfModern. Be the final person in the world to ever own one. The MSRP is $235,000 but mention they have a special members-only pricing.

François Quentin will fly from France to meet with you, per your request, to illuminate the intricacies of this timepiece.

It’s embodied in a mouvement of manufacture, defined by a mechanical complication with manual assembly and a 12-hour digital display. It is based on an intelligent configuration of intermittent rotating discs. Three subgroups of discs, , kept in cage structures, light up to reveal the time according to a jumping display as the minutes pass (4 discs for the hour, 5 for the minutes, and 1 for the ten minutes). The device uses a system of jump by constant force guaranteeing a minimum expenditure of energy whatever the degree of movement.

Technical Specifications

Jumping minutes and hours
Digital display by discs
Double barrel with simultaneous transmission stop-work
Screw balance: 9.12mm
Breguet spiral
Rhythm: 21 000 Alt/hour
514 components
78 rubies
237-hour power reserve (10 days)
Finish: all parts are hand-decorated

Available At: TouchOfModern

–
Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(In Talks With François Quentin – Designer Of The 4N Watch was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Hasta La Ideas

Distil Union’s Wally Case Review

Best Bluetooth Speaker Under $70?

321 Water Filtering Bottle Review

Knife block with integrated stand for iPad (or any other tablet)

Obsessed with the Philips Sonicare Airfloss

Organizing paperwork with Staples’ Better Binders

Perfect Workspace: simplehuman

Electrolux Design Lab 20 Semi Finalists 2013

SOMM: Director Jason Wise offers a glimpse into the most grueling test in wine

In Talks With François Quentin – Designer Of The 4N Watch

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