Set your table setting apart with PARTY, a uniquely designed titanium-infused crystal glass with a rounded base that makes it tilt back-and-forth and “dance” on your table without ever tipping over. Whether it is water, juice, wine, or even hors d’oevres and desserts, anything served in this versatile glass is sure to make your whole ...
Lovingly created Transparent Specimens of young reptiles and aquatic creatures are now available at Tokyu Hands. The work of Tomita Iori, these beautifully luminous and eerie creatures encased in jars have stirred plenty of interest—and controversy, with questions posed by some about the humanity of the enterprise. Though schools and aquariums have used the specimens ...
Basashi ice cream, an ice cream mixed with minced horsemeat, is just one of over a hundred bizarre ice cream flavors made by Fugetsudo, a 120-year-old Japanese sweets manufacturer and sales company in Miyagi prefecture. Other curious flavors include natto or fermented soybean, abalone, shark fin ramen, mana musume (“Adorable Daughter,” a brand of rice), ...
Been having sadistic urges towards your breakfast banana? Based on the concept that human beings are not the only possible targets for a bit of S&M-style bondage, Hirotsugu Itsuji has tied up an impressive range of 300 different subjects for your perverted pleasure—including bananas, jellyfish, pairs of high-heels and a great deal more. Why? To ...
If hitting the half-pipes at the skate park just makes you feel in need of a sit-down nowadays, help is at hand. Produced by a skateboarding workshop in Aichi Prefecture, the “Rolling Foot” lets you sit and skate. Billed as a way for board-phobes to deal with their anxiety, this skateboard-cum-seating device clocks in at ...
If you are a fan of self-proclaimed “obsessive artist” Yayoi Kusama—who holds the record for most expensive work sold by a living female artist (US$5.1 million)—now you can snap up some trinkets for your home gallery. Designed with her trademark bright colors and repetitive patterns, the conceptual artist’s range of goods includes the floating action ...
Hot on the trail of last year’s punchily-named Exilim X Miffy Camera, Casio are releasing another photo-snapping contraption themed with everyone’s favorite minimalist Dutch floppy-eared rodent. Apparently they were really pleased with the 300 they sold last year. This year’s point-and-shooter—the Exilim EX Z800—contains added features such as a kawaii Miffy frame you can add ...
Kigurumi, or fur suit mascots, are a “growing pastime and successful marketing tool,” according to Edward and John Harrison, the creators of Fuzz & Fur, a new 144-page hardcover book available from Amazon. The former Harrison brother was involved with the design of viral sensation #quakebook, created to aid the victims of March 11. This ...
Once you’ve popped your cork, there’s no turning back: in only a matter of days, a delicious bottle of fine wine can transform into unpalatable vinegary swill. The consensus seems to be that, when stored in a fridge, resealed wine will last around three days before becoming undrinkable. For those who can’t remember that far ...
Gah, don’t you hate it when that teabag tab takes a nosedive into your cup? It’s not like it’s going to ruin your day or anything, but it would be nice if you could smooth out these little irritants that ruffle the Zen like tranquility of an otherwise super slick teatime routine. Designer George Lee’s ...
This little device will let you breathe easy when you pucker up for a romantic smooch. The petite, discreet Kiss Me Meter detects gasses in your breath and stomach and indicates whether your breath is going to delight or dismay a new lover. A green heart gives the go ahead to engage in a lusty ...
The appeal of multipurpose kitchenware doesn’t really become obvious until you’re trying to whip up dinner in a space no larger than the plate you plan to eat it off. Such was the thinking that led industrial designer Komin Yamada to create his original all-in-one cooking pot in 1978, answering all your warming, boiling and ...
It’s got the glossy finish of a grand piano, and the sound isn’t too bad either. Swiss audio wizards Geneva Lab describe themselves as “the inventors of high fidelity for iPod,” and their sleek hi-fi packs an impressive punch—not to mention a whimper-inducing price tag. Available in four sizes, and color schemes including a delicious ...
Most people’s vocal stylings tend not to go down too well beyond the soundproofed confines of a karaoke booth—and when it comes to annoying your neighbors, home karaoke machines are on a par with owning a yap-happy Chihuahua. But what’s a girl to do when she comes home liquored-up and with an urgent need to ...
Metropolis gets deluged with press releases, but few of them have socked us between the eyes like the one that we received last month from the makers of the Airquin. This, after all, is no ordinary product: it’s “the one-and-only, epoch-making inflatable BODY SHAPE OBJECT (or people say Mannequin conventionally).” The Airquin range of brightly ...
Forget texting while driving: Princeton’s new iPhone 4 holder lets you fire off tweets while you’re riding your bike. Okay, that’s probably not what the company had in mind here—they’re touting their handlebar mount as a way for cyclists to use the iPhone’s navigation system and capture video while on the go. But just think ...
Of all the cutesy audio gear coming out these days—mini Doraemon speakers that hang from your keitai strap, anyone?—this may take the cake in terms of cuddliness. Plug the Dancing Hello Kitty Speaker into your music player of choice, and this plush feline will start blasting sounds from her belly. Squeeze her hand, and she’ll ...
Painted in blues and greens with a distinctive peacock-eye pattern, Boleslawiec ceramics are all the rage in the US, but they’ve taken a little longer to catch on in Japan. If you want to get your Polish pottery fix here, though, don’t despair. Online store Machitoki has got you covered with a range of cups, ...
You could say it with flowers, but sometimes a cut-out paper figure does the job best. Architect and designer Naoki Terada’s limited edition cards promise to do all the legwork for you in a variety of potentially tricky situations. The “I’m Sorry!” version can execute a humble apology to a disgruntled friend with more simplicity ...
\(^_^)/ for Ginghami, who have taken the Asian art of emoticons and transferred it to the printed page. From sadness (;_;) to shock (O_O), the Kaoiru stamp can express a wide range of cute and cuddly Kaomoji feelings, lending added depth to your handwritten prose. Or something like that. Given the ever-quickening speed of digital communication, ...
Knitwear label Tou aims to “try to redefine what clothes are”—and its latest effort rises to the task. The Slender Arrow scarf would make a bold addition to any winter wardrobe, but we’re more impressed by its potential alternative uses. After all, there aren’t many neck warmers on the market that can also be employed ...
Lego’s fiddlier Japanese cousin, Nanoblocks, fit together with a satisfying snap that’ll give you a rush of childish pleasure. In an inspired (not to mention totally impractical) tie-up, manufacturers Kawada have joined forces with Pentax to let immature photographers create playful bling on the front of their cameras. The 14-megapixel Optio NB1000 comes with a ...
“Hey, nice watch!” “Thanks. I made it myself.” Conversations such as this are commonplace in the world of “cross-stitch designer” Makoto Ozu, the brains behind the disarmingly cute Ke-Shock. “Not shock and water resistant!” declares the instruction pamphlet for these woolen-faced watches, lest you get them mixed up with Casio’s sturdier timepieces. Hey, it might ...
We honestly wouldn’t complain if we never had to listen to John Lennon’s played-to-death peace anthem again, but it’s far harder to sneer at the good work that’s being done in its name. WhyHunger, an NPO that works with grassroots partners to root out the causes of hunger and poverty around the world, adopted the ...
It would take a lot more space than we have here to pick apart the claim that Japan’s food self-sufficiency woes can be alleviated by… rice. So let’s not go there: let’s just salute the Gopan. Sanyo have always had their finger on the pulse when it comes to consumer electronics with a comforting aura ...
There was a time when raiding your savings involved a simple equation of hammer and ceramic pig. Things are more fiddly with the Rubik’s Cube Bank, released to mark the 30th anniversary of the oh-so-’80s brain-bender. This oversized replica of the original Cube has space for up to a hundred ¥500 coins inside, and it ...
Kewpie is tied up in knots, but it’s clear this rough treatment isn’t going to get to him. As usual, everyone’s favorite naked baby is wearing an adorable expression—or could it be that he’s got a fetish for ropes? This cellphone strap is just the thing for the bondage enthusiast with a well developed sense ...
Liven up your web chats with this 3D webcam, which comes housed in a dinky desk-bot. Forget Avatar-style trickery: this is a strictly old-school affair, filming simultaneously with two cameras to create a stereoscopic image that can be enjoyed through a pair of retro red-and-green specs. You can also get some nifty results with the ...
Think of it as the Reader’s Digest of notepads. As the mere act of writing memos on bits of paper threatens to become a laughable anachronism, Tokyo-based design firm Rezon has struck back. Their Multi Notebook takes six staples of Japanese stationery—from sticky notes to flash cards—and crams them all between two covers. Each sheet ...
There was a time when being hooked on the instant gratification of Polaroid photographs meant going broke on film. Enter Fujifilm’s range of Instax cameras, which allow users to indulge in instant images without driving themselves to destitution—the company’s instant film costs a trifling ¥750 per pack, as opposed to the ¥1,980 charged by Polaroid. ...
Super cute with a sinister twist—that’s the specialty of artist Yoshitomo Nara, whose alternately charming and creepy creations expose violent undercurrents in Japan’s kidult pop culture. Take Soran-chan, for instance: though a little lighter than Nara’s usual fare, she still manages to balance the bitter with the sweet. Simply lift up her blue hair to ...
Okay, office supplies aren’t usually known for having mouth-watering properties. Yet these sushi-themed memo pads—brought to you by the creative minds at Tokyo’s Mr. Design Inc.—are realistic enough to whet the appetites of kawaii stationery freaks and foodies alike. Each pack offers four delicious options: tamago, maguro, salmon and toro. Line them up on your ...
For the devoted pet-owner who suffers from separation anxiety, Shin’s Spinner offers a fashion-forward remedy: literal hair of the dog. Via the company’s website, passionate pet owners can custom-order linen stoles and organic cotton lap blankets adorned with the fur of their beloved pooch—or, to coin a term from Shin’s, anata no paatonaa. Parts of the website ...
The press release for Idea International’s latest brand, Untrod, talks a lot about questioning “existing product typologies” and challenging the status quo. We don’t know about all that, but we’d sure feel spiffy if we hit the town with one of these little numbers strapped to our wrist. The Sol, created by interior designer Shin ...
Geta get bang up to date with this stylish reworking of the traditional Japanese clog. It’s the work of Mamechiyo Modern, a small brand that specializes in putting a 21st-century sheen on traditional clothing. The edgy blue grid design and striped strap combine to make a bold style statement, but the modern makeover isn’t just ...
It’s the stuff of horror movies: you’re out camping in the wilds and hear a rustling in the bushes, but when you whip out your flashlight to investigate the source of the noise, you discover that the battery has gone dead. Campers who invest in a Bun Bun Eco Light can spare themselves such nighttime ...
There’s a word for that obsessive breed of pet owner who deems it necessary to clad their precious little bundle of joy in cutesy costumes, and it isn’t a particularly nice one. We’ll make an exception for people who kit their critters out with the Hieru One, though, in that we suspect some animals will ...
Design outfit Yuento’s website is always good for a giggle, not least for the tongue-in-cheek ways in which it convinces potential buyers of its products’ appeal. The Magic Umbrella, which we wrote about a few months back, was described as good for “stowage fetishists”; the Ele-Fan, by contrast, is likely to appeal to “duct maniacs.” ...
When you’re reduced to going out wearing a cap with a solar-powered fan incorporated into the visor, it’s probably time to think about heading to somewhere like, ooh, Antarctica for the duration of the summer. The Solar Cap (¥979) is just one of the alternately brilliant and batty gadgets sold at Atsusa Taisaku (literally, Heat ...
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