Anne Morgan Digital Safe-Keep

Anne Morgan sent over images a while back of her amazing jewelry line "Digital Safe-Keeps" - jewelry with integrated USB drives. She likens them to modern day lockets that allow the user to keep their dearest memories, photographs, songs and videos on them at all times. A very personal story motivated the jewelry line:

"The only thing I want to leave to my children is the memory of my first-born child. Lucia was born on September 6th, 2003, and died 8 days later. All the photographs we possess, and the songs written for her by her Dad, are on the USB memory stick, that is contained inside the ring. Our lives have moved on with another daughter born 15 months on. It is difficult to bring Lucia’s name into everyday life. This ring allows her life to be marked and celebrated. She will not be forgotten from one generation to the next."

Oxo Pop-Up Strainer

The Oxo Pop-Up Steamer looks like it should be a communication dish detached from a Mars probe. Instead, you put veggies in it. A pull on the handle expands the fins from storage position to create more cooking surface.

Sandra Backlund

Hello, hello! This is a special post for me, because it's my first day of self-employment! We decided it was time for me to move on from my architecture job in order to focus on Sub-Studio full time. We're very excited to see how things progress and are looking forward to spending some quality time on new projects!

Anyway, back to the blog: Sandra Backlund is a Swedish fashion designer whose work is more wearable art than every day fashion. I love Sandra's use of unusual materials (clothes pins?!) and the way that her knitted textiles are taken to the next level by becoming larger, rope-like pieces that are woven together to make the whole.

Itchy and Scratchy : "Presidential Politics"

If you have never seen McFarlane Toys, then you may not know that they are really more like small sculptures than toys. This one: Itchy and Scratchy: Presidential Politics" takes a scene from The Simpson's Movie and brings it to your desk. They look too nice to play with, but I might not be able to help myself from flinging them across the room at each other.

Nike Lava Dome CI

I love my pair of Lava Dome's and Nike recently released the Lava Dome CI with considered edition details and construction methods - recycled materials, local sourcing, etc.

Kechenyi Camille - Eco-Cook

The Eco-Cook is Kechenyi Camille's entry to Designboom's "Dining in 2015" competition. I like the simplicity of the design and the idea of using the same water to cook two different foods. I wonder, though, if the pasta tastes like string beans?

Via Notcot.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is not your typical graphic novel. There are no crazy action sequences, aliens, femme fatales, or any of the standard comic book fare. Instead the book has a genuine take on growing up asian-american with a twist of fate and history. The book weaves the stories of its three separate protagonists together in their fates and purposes. It was a great (albeit short) read and it has won a ton of awards. Teachers have even adopted it as a tool to help teach young adults about multiculturalism. I highly recommend it.

American Born Chinese at Amazon

Catherine Ryan

Catherine Ryan is an amazing young artist - I love the contrast between the charcoal and the acrylic in her work. There is an interesting dialog between the humans and the animals in her drawings - between who is dominant and who is submissive.

Via the Shiny Squirrel.

Tom Ferrero

Tom Ferrero is an old friend and jewelry designer/metalsmith. The set of New Zeland Journal Rings captures objects and narratives within the jewelry. Each piece contains the record of an item and its found location, but only through story-telling is the narrative of the individual piece and the collection revealed.

Artoyz - Elements Prologue Set

Artoyz sent over their latest toy line (to be released on June 26th) - the Elements Prologue Set. I love that it is just a simple shape and a color that clues us in to which element each toy is (Fire, Water, Air, Earth). My favorite is Fire.

Jaime Derringer

Jaime Derringer sent over the newest addition to her etsy shop this morning - Salmon Birds on Crystal Chandelier. The print is part of the Chandelier series.

Wall Wear

Janick of Creativadoration just posted about her new collection of home decor, called Wall Wear. She considers it essentially jewelry for your walls, and I love the idea! Janick uses great colors in her work, and I especially like the taxidermy pieces. There seems to be a lot of cross stitching popping up in the design world these days...

Klein and C-MON Scissors

The two pairs of scissors shown attest to the old saying that form follows function. Klein Cutlery makes the 548LR (left) for trimming nap on carpet and C-MON makes the Think Easy 3-Ring Styler (right) for control (and flare) when cutting hair. The shapes remind me of different bird species and how different animals have specialized features for their specific needs.

Scott Amron - Part Clock, Part BOM

Scott Amron sent over his latest project this morning - Part Clock, Part BOM (Bill of Materials). It's a digital clock display with its working parts (battery, controls, etc.) seemingly scattered on the wall around it. Technically, the LED display has everything needed to run and control the clock (in miniature form), but it is meant to be placed in context with potential clock components, in order to cause the viewer to question its functionality.

La Pisette

Spotted this lovely ring over at MocoLoco. This is the first from La Pisette's Form Collection. It's inspired by faceted, rough gemstones and is available in sterling silver or 14k gold. I wish the bezel weren't as visible, but I love the shape of the ring...

Renegade Craft Fair 2008

Sean and I made it to the Renegade Craft Fair this Sunday (after the crazy rain shower). We were very pleasantly surprised to almost immediately run into our friend Sumana of Imaginary Friends, who had come from California for the show. We got to meet Nick - Sumana's brother and business partner - who is obviously a silk-screen expert (check out the color gradients on their cards and shirts)!



I was also very excited to meet Amber Zezeck of Brookadelphia - I love her acrylic word necklaces (and that tie necklace - yes, please!).



We saw a lot of plush toys at the show...our favorites were from Cherry Box (above) and Longoland (below). Cherry Box makes sad little plush trophies, and Longoland makes crazy monster plushies (high quality, with really amazing detail).



Longoland plushies.



Sycamore Street Press was new to RCF this year. I loved their stationary lines! A lot of Eva's work has a vintage feel to it, although my favorite cards were her more modern illustrations. Our pictures don't really do her work justice - check out Grace's post for far superior photo coverage!



Finally, we were excited to meet Shauna and Stephen of Something's Hiding In Here. These two pay attention to the details, and the quality of their work is just so great. I loved their stamps and the "love until it hurts" hearts.

So there you have it - Sub-Studio's favorite picks from this years RCF.

Emerica Fall 2008

The new Fall 08 Emerica's are up on the web. They always make nice chillers like the Fat Laced (left) and the Ridgemont (right) in bright patterns. I'm looking forward to trying out the Reynolds Lights too.

Hanna Hedman

How amazing is Hanna Hedman's jewelry? It's ethereal. I wonder what it's made out of?

Publique Living

Publique Living was at the NSS this year with their PopMat Paper Mats - after browsing their website, it's clear that paper goods are but a small part of their business - they also make a bunch of home decor items. My favorite is the 2ply Veneer Tray - it reminds me of banana leaf for some reason.

Playing The Building - David Byrne

Playing The Building by David Byrne uses the elements of the old Battery Maritime Building downtown as part of an organ-based instrument. The organ connects to motors and mallets to cause vibrations through the building's elements. The installation is open to the public, so go down there and hit some keys on your way out to Governor's Island.

View a video of the installation from BoingBoing TV:

Dan Hiller

Jean posted the amazing work of Dan Hiller on Notcot...I love the feel of his illustrations - vintage with a twist.

Battle by Ken Wong

Battle by Ken Wong draws you into the spiraling image of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Available at Thumbtack Press, this print is worth picking up.

Pilo Pilo Mini Cushion Ring

I saw the pilo pilo mini cushion ring by Downstairs Studio over at Design*Sponge. It's a clever idea for a ring - I could use one at work sometimes!

Caixa Forum Madrid by HdeM

Caixa Forum Madrid, designed by Herzog & de Meuron showcases the firm's continued exploration of re-use and rigorous yet surreal design. Re-using the skin of the power plant, HdeM inserted the new museum program into the void as well as stacking it above and below. The image of the power plant remains pinned under the new steel upper levels and severed from the street by the removal of the base at the ground level. If you are in Madrid, be sure to visit.

Flickr: dirk huijssoon

Active Crystals by Philips and Swarovski

Philips and Swarovski combined their interests to create Active Crystals. The headphones and usb keys are super baller. It is nice to see technology that is not focused on an image of technology. The crystals are pretty crazy, but at least they don't look like a radar station poking out of your ear.

Animal Index

How cute are these Animal Indexes by Hiroshi Sasagawa? Not just great for kids, great for me, too!

Via black.white.bliss.

Heather Smith Jones

We are really pleased to welcome Heather Smith Jones as an advertiser this month - we first came across Heather in a gallery show we were part of at Artstream in New Hampshire last November. I was blown away by Heather's work - she had some amazing paintings in the show, as well as the great line drawings/watercolors that you can now find in her Etsy shop. Her work is still very affordable (so get it while you can!) - between $25 and $60 for an original drawing.

And...we finally switched out the Idea's Column! Here, for your viewing pleasure, are several well-designed USB memory sticks. If you know of one that's missing that you think we'll love, give us a holler!

Double Match

Paolo Ulian isn't the first to have come up with the double-sided match, but I love the way he's packaged it - with two drawers - one for fresh matches, and one for half-used matches.

Via Today and Tomorrow.

The Dragon by Coaster Dynamix

Coaster Dynamix produces and sells scale model kits to build fully functional roller coasters at home. At 1:48 scale, the Dragon is small enough to fit in your living room. The car has an electric geared lift and the whole thing works by gravity, like a real roller coaster. Each individual kit has unlimited expandability with extra parts. Check out the video overview and the ride cam of the smaller Scorpion kit.

Gregory Buntain

Check out this sexy set of salt and pepper shakers - Carbon by Gregory Buntain. Go here for a more in depth post on Notcot.

Spaceless by Sandy Lam

Spaceless, by Sandy Lam, is a solution for small outdoor spaces - the furniture is integrated and hidden in the deck floor.

Via Notcot.

Nick Dewar

Nick Dewar's illustrations exude a retro charm in their linework and blocks of color. The smoothness of the paintings gives them an almost dreamlike quality. Check out the portfolio page and prints available at Thumbtack Press.

Antony Joseph Folding Colander

Antony Joseph apparently went through 100 prototypes for the Folding Colander before perfecting the design you see here - so handy! It folds flat once you are done with it, making it the perfect colander for a New York city apartment (if you even have drawers to put it in, that is!).

Via BLTD.