Space Saving Bike Storage

Everyone has been to a friends apartment, or even their own apartment, where they have to store their bikes inside. The bikes always take up a ton a space and we knock them over all the time. There never seems to be a good solution for storing your bike other than hanging it from the ceiling or putting in some nasty looking hangers from the hardware store. Finally there is a great looking solution from Public Bikes. The Michelangelo Two Bike Gravity Stand uses good old gravity and force to keep these bikes nice and neat. It simply leans against the wall and gravity does the rest. All for only 70 bucks.

Resource Furniture

Multifunctional Space Saving Furniture Design



Here is a video I found on Core77. During my furniture design internship I have always been looking for interesting furniture and innovative concepts. This video and company Resource Furniture has by far been the best example of both of those ideas. The intuitiveness of the furniture and the practicality of the space saving design is phenomenal, not to mention the great styling and materials used.

Coffee/Tea Press ToGo Mug

So this is a great idea for people who love a french press or a non-tea-bag cup of tea. I know when I am rushing off to work in the morning, I have to settle for a tea bag because I can't wait for my tea to brew and then strain it into a mug. This is a great way to eliminate that problem. Overall this is a very Nifty product. You can Find It Here

Watching Toast Toast

So I haven't written in a while because I haven't found anything innovative enough to write about. Sure, I could have talked about all the new Apple products that recently came out, but that would just white noise... (there is some pretty bad ass stuff though).
Anyhow, I finally found something that I think is Nifty. Even though this is just a concept, I think that there could be potential maybe someday in the future. Apparently it is supposed to work through heat conductive glass, but apparently the glass does not conduct enough heat yet to toast bread... I also see some other problems with people burning themselves. However with good design that can be avoided. Anyways, if you want to read more about it you can check it out at Cnet by clicking the link above.

The Future

So this is a quick post for me to share a link to an article by the NY Times. The article addresses how technology is changing the way users interact with products. The writer speculates what the not too distant future might look like in terms of Cars, Street Furniture, Lights, Newspapers/Magazines/Books, and Computers. All of these relate to huge potential growth for companies like Apple, ZipCar and others. Not to mention benefits for the environment! Click the post link to jump to the article. Enjoy

Honda's Segway Killer

So I realize that I have not been keeping up with my Blog, and for that I apologize. I am finally starting to get back into the swing of things, and what better way to do that then by featuring one of the coolest things I have seen. The Honda U3-X Electric Unicycle is amazing. Based on the technology discovered by Honda for their ASIMO robot, this unicycle keeps the user balanced and all they do is lean in the direction they want to move. The user can move forward, laterally, and any other way imaginable. The really cool thing is that it appears that you are floating above the ground. Check it out:



Honda says that mass scale production is a few years away and that use would be mainly in airports and around offices. I worry however that us Americans would use it like they do in Pixar's Wall-E, and we would all gain tons of weight...

Boxed Water...Of Course!

I know that this has been getting a lot of press lately, but this is one of those innovations where you say, "I wish I had thought of that!" I mean come on, the idea is simple, and it makes a lot of sense. How do we solve our landfill problem of plastic bottles from water? Well we use cartons of course! 90% of the container is made from renewable resources, the carbon footprint is reduced, and 20% of the profits are going back into natural resources i.e. water and trees. Not to mention that the box looks pretty cool, (not like one of those milk cartons with the missing child on one side, I always found that depressing...) good typeface.

Super Glasses

I love retro-style things and I have a fascination with some 80's things. Only the good things though, like some music and of course track suits. I especially enjoy this company and their awesome eye accessories. They update the retro-look for today and they do it very well by keeping the look simple, lots of colors and customization to you and your style. We all love that! So check out Super and get a pair of sweet shades for this coming summer.

Having fun while pumping water!

I found this to be a very innovative way to get clean water from wells in rural areas in 3rd world developing countries. This PlayPump, as it is so aptly called, uses the energy that kids have and utilizes it to pump water. When the kids run around playing with the merry-go-round it drives the pump, thereby supplying the water the village needs. Its a simple and great way for kids to help in their village and when their mom says to go fetch water it will be fun to.



To read more from Inhabitot click here.

Link to PlayPump International

Trickle Star

Here is a cool device that everyone should use with their electronics to help combat vampire power. Vampire power is the energy used by electronics like your TV, Playstation, etc. to keep the little LED light "on" when the device is off. Vampire power consumption can slowly take up a large amounts of energy and your electricity bill over time. This device from Trickle Star helps to monitor when you are not using your electronics and turns them completely off. This helps save energy consumption and most importantly, your money! Check out this video from Treehugger's trip to the 2009 CES convention.