Haven’t done a coffee table/furniture post in a bit now. Check out some neat pieces of furniture made out of nothing more than plain old everyday corrugated cardboard! Some neat ideas here, and many can probably be reproduced inexpensively if you have a steady hand at trimming the pieces and a good deal of patience. Just don’t invite guests over to your place who will accidentally spill coffee and/or alcoholic beverages on them =)

“Conversation Table” by Leo Kempf Design

Cardboard Chair concept by Piotr Pacalowski at the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint-Etienne, 1998

How many cats WOULDN’T want to nap inside a cardboard Kittypod? Um, not sure how well this would hold up if it wasn’t declawed, but hey, it still looks pretty cool! 

“Wall Shelf” design by Leo Kemph, 2009 (this actually does look sturdy enough to hold a decent number of paperbacks)

The “Extension” cardboard chair, designed by Amy McCarty and Samantha Smith in 2006 and was the recipient of several innovation awards at the American Institute of Architecture and the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation. 

Tough day at the office? Me too…

I found these images accidentally earlier today while browsing through a few photography forums. Very impressive photo-montages here of what is most likely a Stalin-era Russia. Couldn’t find any information on who the photographer was or what techniques were used, but I’m guessing that the series of pics that were taken in the same spot were each developed then printed onto the same substrate, using front-end projection to ensure the registration on each one was perfectly aligned. This style was used in a number of Russian propaganda pieces in those times, however in this case it looks to be purely creative as there isn’t a crystal clear message here.

Awesome concept turntable designed and modeled earlier this year by Charles Pyott and Linos. The simplicity of this thing is startling and am honestly surprised that one this portable wasn’t designed 5-10 years ago!

The only portable turntables that exist right now include the Numark and Vestax “suitcase” models which are far larger and require a shit load of “D” sized batteries to run on, although they both provide decent sound quality, pitch control, RCA outs, small internal speakers and headphone jacks. On the other side we have the infamous Volkswagen Bus turntable. Basically a novelty, both you and your records would be better off relegating the Bus to “paperweight” status because of the fact they’re notorious for their needles damaging your records!

The Linos USB is probably the most practical one conceptualized yet; it stays in a fixed position (unlike the VW bus) so it would make a great sidekick when you’re digging through crates at a local record store that doesn’t have a table for you to preview records on. Great for keeping by the computer to digitize tracks as well. The only thing I’m not sure about is how this is powered: does it require a USB connection at all times to a computer/power source, or does it have a built-in internal battery? Because it’s designed to be sleek and convenient to use on the go, I’m assuming the latter of the two.

Still just a concept, I don’t envision these things being extremely difficult to engineer and mass produce. If priced reasonably and had an internal battery, I would probably have a new sidekick patient enough to deal with my crate digging/shop therapy!

Earlier this month, Thom Yorke released a brilliant 2-track EP which showcases the first two original tracks he has written since his 2006 LP “Eraser”. In his true nature, both tracks take on personalities of their own and feel a bit different than much of his other work, drawing some fans closer and alienating others. I’ve always liked his unpredictability, however, the focus of this post is to discuss the way he has decided to package and distribute this release.

Flipping through a stack of vinyl at a local Newbury Comics earlier today, the sleeve of the vinyl version of this EP begged for my attention. It’s absolutely stunning in appearance. Everything from the texture of the paper to the sheer minimalism of the design and the die-cut front cover, Yorke has balanced the emphasis on not just good music, but a good package as well. Each track on the 180-gram vinyl gets it’s own side, allowing each to be cut very loud with the grooves getting plenty of real estate for the best sound quality a vinyl record can achieve. 

Although not at all a new or fresh concept, what I’ve liked about Yorke’s approach to selling music is the fact that every channel is used; there are dozens of online shops this EP can be purchased from to make downloading as convenient as possible for the average listener. However he refuses to forget about the collector; the person who is welling to shell out extra money to get their hands on a limited-edition tangible product. Although very much a niche market, with digital at the forefront of musical content distribution it’s always interesting to see the record and it’s packaging being made available as an art form in and of itself, as opposed to just the music. 

It’s pretty clear that the music collection of designer Belen Hermosa is entirely digital these days; when he got his library transferred over to his computer, look at what he did with the leftover collection of CD’s. Imagine what he could make once he gets his cassette and vinyl collection digitized!

Guys, when you bring the ladies back to your pad, remember that there is no better way to show them your tech-savvyness then to show off your new chair made of recycled keyboards. Er, yeah, and it’s good for the environment too; each chair prevents a couple dozen of them from getting tossed to the junkyard. And a halfway decent conversation starter! Designed by Dante Bonuccelli.

Ok this almost looks a little too much like the chair that JP from Grandmas Boy sat in (god that guy was a douche)- each of those circular pads are just tables, but how cool would it be if someone jury rigged a MIDI drum kit to each of them somehow? Get some bass drum pedals on the metallic surface where you rest your feet and you’re pretty much golden. 

So this one is allegedly called “Rocking Chair 2.0”. Sorry, I’ll stick with version 1, I always thought it was more stable. Form follows function, always!

Bravo, A+, cue golf claps, etc.

I was flipping through some records at Newbury Comics today and caught wind of a nice package just released a few weeks ago on Stones Throw. This is a perfect compliment to hip hop DJ’s who have gone digital and are playing primarily with Serato (that’s probably about 99.5% of you haha). It’s a package consisting of two discs and two Stones Throw slipmats. The discs are clear and each feature 4 tracks each on one of the sides, and a Serato control surface on each of the other sides. Only 2000 of these have been pressed up and the tracks are exclusive to this release, so if you’re a fan of the label definitely hop on this. The price is $40, but Serato discs alone can easily cost up to 2/3s of the price of this whole package.

Here’s the tracklist:

Dam-Funk - Silver Sunsets
James Pants - Let’s Celebrate
Guilty Simpson - What To Do (Oh No Remix)
Mayer Hawthorne - Just Aint Gonna Work Out (Astronote Remix)
Peanut Butter Wolf feat. Baron Zen - Talk To Me
CX Kidtronik - Aint Even Playin’
J Rocc - Hot Feet
MED - Out of Control (Produced by Madlib) 

What a better way to follow up my post to Thunderdome’s 3D party this friday than to go off on an (almost) completely different topic of discussion: wallpaper. Inhabit has a line of 3D wallpaper that is easy to apply to the walls of any room. Ironically titled the Wall Flat series, this wallpaper adds a bit of life to any room, is made of bamboo pulp, is 100% biodegradable, can be shaped to fit any size room even if the walls are irregular, and come in 5 different patterns.

Each square is $10; for a couple hundred bucks you can add some amazing personality to any room…and I’m wondering how feasible these are as a poor-mans’s soundproofing room if you’re a budding studio producer! Oh wait, eggshell squares are probably a bit cheaper, nevermind…

Awesome one-of-a-kind 3D canvas paintings courtesy of Jetscapes.com! Jetscapes is the baby of Seattle artist Victoria Heuman. Through her work, Heuman has demonstrated mastery at being able to portray abstract and surreal scenery while simultaneously allowing the work to easily blend right within a modern family home environment. Her 3D work is probably the most notable, but she also has a solid resume of 2D work as well, and even has a line catered towards children. For those on a tight budget (myself included), she has prints available on her website of much of her 2D work as well. Regardless, the 3D cityscapes are stunning!

Great black and white architecture pictures by photographer Howard Monks. Howard does a nice job shooting all different kinds of subject matter, but I like his architecture work the best. He demonstrates mastery of composition, focus, and choice in interesting subject matter in all of his work. I especially like the amount of contrast he captures in his black and white work. Take a look at some of his other work on his Flickr account.

Nice illustration work by b., a visual artist from Athens, Greece. I really like the context in how he presents his art and his mastery of contrast by using just one or two primary colors in a lot of his work. The art juxtaposes very nicely against the monotony of much of the architecture he paints them on. Check out more of his work at www.behance.net/thisismybworld!