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 ...
How’s this for simple: Daisaku Shoji’s Magicool is a neck scarf that requires nothing more than a quick soak in water to keep you fresh for hours. This is thanks to an absorbent polymer concealed inside that swells up when rinsed, providing a cooling effect as the water evaporates—which, lest we forget, is the function ...
People in Japan have been using kairo portable body warmers for centuries to brave the winter cold, but it’s taken a while for someone to come up with a viable summer equivalent. The Ice Ruck does, well, exactly what you’d expect something with a name like that to do. This compact backpack, available in three ...
It didn’t take us long to establish that Japanese deodorant does a rotten job of concealing our natural odor (sorry, that’s probably not an image you wanted), but here’s a spray that might actually come in handy this summer. When the heat gets too oppressive, just apply a few squirts of Hinyari (“cool and refreshing”) ...
While the young salarymen of yesteryear used to dine out in style on the rich platter (ahem) available at convenience stores, today’s single fellas prepare their own food. Welcome to the era of what the Japanese media have dubbed bento danshi (“packed-lunch boys”). Fledgling cooks afraid that such behavior will affect their status as red-blooded ...
After a lifetime of hard experience, we feel comfortably resigned to the inevitable: action and reaction, what goes up must come down, and so on. However, Japan’s Green House Co. insists that what can’t be controlled through divine intervention can be tamed by power cords and computer ports. With the flick of a switch, their ...
The searing temperatures don’t seem to have had much effect on the trend for chunky headphones, at least on the stylish streets of Shibuya. Well, if fashionistas could handle wooly hats a few summers ago, an oversized bit of headgear like this should be a breeze. Part of Sony’s summer range, the MDR-PQ2 comes in ...
The Noughties saw underground stencil artists like Banksy take over the streets with irreverent anarcho-punk graffiti that they hoped would topple the whole stinking system. If you’d like to follow in Banksy’s footsteps but don’t fancy nicking your fingers while using a Stanley knife (hey, stenciling isn’t only dangerous when you’re out on the streets), ...
Takara Tomy’s Choro-Q—those squat toy cars known to Americans of a certain age as Penny Racers—have been immortalized in countless video games in the past. Quid pro quo, the latest addition to the range looks to Nintendo World for inspiration. The “Choro-Q Hybrid! Mario Kart Wii Series” features dinky renditions of Mario, Yoshi, Luigi et ...
Remember that scene in A Beautiful Mind when Russell Crowe traced ducks and umbrellas out of the night sky to make Jennifer Connelly fall in love with him? Well, that was the ’50s, when you could still see stars from a courtyard in a big city and, um, there were such things as courtyards. But times move ...
The humble nail clipper gets an ultra modern and thoroughly practical makeover from Tripod designer Satoshi Nakagawa. Easy to grip and clip, this simple clamshell number won a well-deserved place in the most recent JIDA Design Museum Selection, an annual round-up curated by the Japan Industrial Designers’ Association. Those afraid of losing their grip can ...
Whatever you feel about the merits of Japan’s new prime minister, there’s no denying that his name is eminently—nay, deliciously—punnable. Kudos to “original graphic item online shop” ClubT for taking the gag that most of us were too embarrassed to make ourselves and turning it into an eye-catching garment. Their “Yes We Kan” T-shirt is ...
We’ve been known to spend literally days dithering over which gifts to send home to our more discerning family members (the dullard uncle gets socks every time, natch). But even the pickiest relative should be won over by the wares at Yuzya, an online shop that specializes in traditional Japanese handicrafts including ceramics, furoshiki and ...
Call us snobs, but we don’t usually feel much compunction to write about clothes pegs in this column. We’ll make an exception, though, for the Clever Peg, which promises to change the face of washing line-related technology forever. Developed by Aussie company Rimm Industries, this innovative double-action clip can be picked up at either end, ...
Proving that the kidult generation can grow up without growing out of their former passions, this accessory brings an injection of class to the lucrative otaku market. To celebrate 30 years of dot munching, Namco Bandai Games Inc. has released a special commemorative Pac-Man Wallet. Fashioned from leather and available in black, red or blue, ...
The rainy season is upon us, which means a good few weeks of soggy trains, frizzy hair and shoes that never dry. With this oval gizmo on your side, though, there’s no excuse for letting your books and clothes go moldy in the dampness of your home. The Shikke-tori no Tamago (Egg Dehumidifier) has a ...
On a scale of 1 to 10, we’d rate our enthusiasm for novelty musical instruments at, like, about 11 zillion or something. So, yeah, we were pretty taken by Korg’s latest offering. The Monotron promises classic analogue sounds on the cheap, with a ribbon controller and the same kind of filter used in the original ...
At the last hipster gathering we went to, we were slightly disconcerted to note that only one person in the room had a traditional, clamshell-type Japanese keitai. Such is the ubiquity of the iPhone that it takes more than a few novelty apps to stand out from the (well-dressed and -coiffured) crowd—something like, say, cladding ...
There’s a certain predictability to our experience with umbrellas: first we lose the case, then we lose the brolly itself. Yuen’to Design has removed the first of these worries by combining the two together: their Magic Umbrella pops out of a durable plastic case which then serves as a handle as you brave the elements. ...
The guys at Tokyo Flash must watch a lot of sci-fi movies. How else to explain the Escape C—the kind of all-in-one communication dongle you’ve probably seen in ’70s vision-of-the-future flicks but never imagined might actually exist in real life? This sleek black pendant can connect to pretty much any Bluetooth-enabled device, be it your ...
“Tokyo definitely doesn’t need another select shop,” pronounced Monocle editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé last month, in an interview which our MP3 player conveniently decided not to record. Brûlé was in town for the opening of the new Aoyama Francfranc store, a warehouse-like emporium of designer furnishings that also provides a home to Tokyo’s very own branch ...
When they first combined shampoo and conditioner in the same bottle, it felt pretty earth-shaking to us, but that’s nothing compared to some of the multitasking tricks that household appliances are managing these days. The 20cm x 10cm Vion is a compact ionizer-slash-air-cleaner-slash-deodorizer with the muscle to keep a 10-mat room fresh and fragrant. It’s ...
The internet worked itself into a lather when Kotobukiya first unveiled these babies back in January, a full five months before they were due to go on sale. Heads up: you can actually buy them now. Following up on the success of its Lightsaber Chopsticks, the company this time around looked closer to home for ...
Earlier in the year, we introduced the first in Phat Company’s Dokidoki Doubutsu Series, a line of PVC figurines that celebrates unsung members of the animal kingdom. If you’ve already bought their alpaca doll, now you can complement it with the newest additions to the range: the shoebill and capybara. (Yes, we had to Google ...
As any Japanese parent can tell you, otete and anyo are the commonly accepted terms for a baby’s handy-wandies and tootsies. And as those same parents will also confirm, babies don’t stay babies for long. Rezon, the product wing of Tokyo design firm Kawano Hideo Activity Inc, has hit on a neat way to commemorate ...
Fifty years after his death, Frank Lloyd Wright continues to hog shelf space in even the most fashionable of boutiques. These days, fans of the architect’s distinctive work can find all manner of stationery, accessories and furniture that incorporate his signature motifs. We were particularly taken by Acme’s most recent “Pen of the Month,” which ...
Mankind has been using soap since the days of Ancient Babylon, but there have always been certain practical limitations—try carrying a bar around in your pocket on a rainy day and you’ll see what we mean. Hats off to Dreams Inc, who’ve made soap genuinely pocketable, taking the kind of streamlined plastic packet normally used ...
With hay fever season behind us, we can now look forward to a glorious summer of smog, dust and all those other irritants that turn a long-suffering section of the population into sniffling wrecks. Okay, it probably would’ve been more helpful if we’d written about Bio International’s Nose Mask Pit (tagline: “99% is shut out ...
As novelty instruments go, the Keromin takes some beating. This puppet frog contains a Theremin-esque synthesizer whose pitch is controlled by opening and closing the mouth. Totally inspired (and bonkers), the original model also came with a prohibitively high price tag attached. Fret not: it’s since had a baby, which does most of the same ...
The Japanese penchant for making meals from a selection of small dishes has never been fully reconciled with the minute size of most apartment kitchens. Belle Maison’s Tamago Hitotsu de Tamagoyaki Furaipan (literally “Frying Pan That Makes Tamagoyaki With One Egg”) goes some way towards solving that issue. This compartmentalized skillet allows you to prepare ...
Sure, you can get all kinds of fancy iPhone apps that’ll wake you up just before the train arrives at your stop, but we’ve yet to come across anything that stops you dozing off in the first place. The Nap Vieeb Plus II (really rolls off the tongue, that one) promises to keep you awake ...
Normally, when we realize that our desk needs a clean, we just shrug and get on with whatever it was that we were doing. More diligent (or less slovenly) readers might appreciate this gizmo, a handy automatic sweeper with a passing resemblance to everybody’s favorite aphid-eating beetle. The Desk Cleaner Ladybug contains a small motor ...
Speaking from experience, we’ve missed some of the most important phone calls of our lives just because we had our keitai on “manner mode” and didn’t notice it going off. Princeton’s new vibrating Bluetooth bracelet makes such episodes a thing of the past: strap one of these to your wrist and it’ll buzz you every ...
E-money is big business in Japan. But despite the advances in coverage over the past few years, users are still confronted by an eternal problem: knowing how much money is actually left on their card. Or, er, cards. The Relet guarantees that you’ll never be caught short at the cash register again: simply slip your ...
In Do the Right Thing, Radio Raheem needed 20 batteries to keep his ghetto blaster juiced. Today, he’d ask for nothing more than a spot of sunshine. The Solar Sound is an eco-friendly stereo rig that’s tailor-made for lazy afternoons in the park: just let it soak up some rays, plug your iPod in, and ...
As girths expand worldwide, the technology to keep us fit is getting ever more ingenious. The Adidas miCoach must be one of the most high-tech offerings to date, helping runners of all abilities to improve their fitness and finish times. In a nutshell, it uses a dinky heart rate monitor to advise you when to ...
Foreign observers are apt to mock the reverence with which Japanese people treat business cards, but if our meishi looked at nice as these, we’d expect them to get a bit of damn respect. Stationer par excellence Winged Wheel makes personalized meishi with handmade cotton paper, using floral designs inspired by Meiji-era woodblock prints. In ...
Kasper Rønn and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen are versatile chaps. When they aren’t lending chic interior design to luxury penthouses, they’re decking them out with products like this. The Chill Serving Platter incorporates a removable cooling pad that can be stashed in the freezer. Stick it under the porcelain plate before serving, and your sushi will stay ...
Butuzou World is niche in the nicest sense of the word. Hey, sometimes you just need a Buddhist statue, and discerning devotees take their business here. We got a bit obsessed delving through this online shop’s wares: how about Ucchusma, the fire god and, um, guardian of the bathroom, sculpted from boxwood with gold trim—a ...
When a product only comes in pink and beige versions, it gives you a pretty good idea of the target audience. Such is the case with the Tolton, a massage device that’s aimed squarely at the lucrative “exhausted housewife” demographic. Now there’s no need to beg your hubby for one of his inept shoulder rubs: ...
Cereal was never this much fun when we were younger. Never mind the infinite varieties of Marshmallow Mega-Charm Puffs out there—just check out the dishes kids get to eat them from. The Spilt Milk Bowl looks like an accident, but is designed in such a way as to withstand one itself: its flexible silicone material ...
Even if you can’t stand the music, MTV Japan’s worth watching just for the cartoons. None more so than Usavich, a series of CG animated shorts that follows a pair of bunny convicts—the tough-as-nails, sneaker-obsessed Kireneko and dopey, affable Putin—as they do time in a Soviet prison, then make a break for freedom. Be warned: ...
Make no mistake: Japanese kids love their creepy-crawlies. If the wide-eyed tyke in your life has already got the pet stag beetle, Mushi King trading cards, video games and figurines, this one’s probably next on his (or her) wish list. Gummix is a sort of culinary chemistry set that, with a spot of liquid, sugar ...
We wouldn’t mind scoring one of these, if only because the umbrella rack at the Metropolis office is reserved for visitors only. Go figure that one out. The Stand Umbrella is, as its name suggests, a brolly that’s able to support itself unaided, thanks to a tripod at its tip that—mercifully—is small enough to ensure ...
Hot on the heels of last year’s Jelly Belly headphones comes another load of cutesy kit for candy addicts, courtesy of MoreBest. The company’s Jelly Belly netbook and camera cases are tailor-made for the kawaii crowd (just look for the people with more than one strap on their keitai). They’re also on the small size: ...
As dreams of a paperless office come closer to fruition, old-school desk accessories are increasingly turning into fetish objects. This must be one of the most scrumptious we’ve come across to date: a gleaming bird statue sculpted from chrome-plated zamak (yeah, we just had to Google that one too), which serves the prosaic function of ...
The traditional shoe of choice for construction workers and ninja impersonators, rubber-soled split-toe jika tabi have been making inroads into trendier circles over the past few years. Recently launched brand Japonista Sole aims to introduce overseas audiences to the phenomenon, and—here’s the clincher—actually has tabi that will fit your clunky foreign feet. Get the practical, ...
With its compact curves and sleek tempered glass surface, the Withings is a scale for the iPhone generation—complete with iPhone app. After measuring your weight and calculating your BMI, fat and lean mass, the unit transmits the results via WiFi and charts them up in an online application, which is also viewable on your keitai. ...
Guaranteed to deliver a warm, fuzzy feeling all winter long, these are the ultimate accessory for the music-loving female: ear muff headphones. Seriously, we’ve no idea why somebody didn’t think of this before. Not only do they lend the wearer an adorable Eskimo chic, they also allow you to bop around town wrapped up in ...
Forget dragging a generator with you when you go out busking. The Eneloop Music Booster, which goes on sale here at the start of next month, is tailor-made for itinerant musicians and guerrilla giggers. This rechargeable 9V battery pack comes with a couple of outputs that can be used to power effects pedals, amps and ...
“Dammit, where did I leave my keys?” are words that you never need utter again when you’ve got yourself a Loc8tor Lite. Attach a dinky homing tag to your easily waylaid item of choice, and the next time you lose it you’ll be able to search it out using the credit card-sized handset. The Loc8tor ...
Everybody knows that the camera on the iPhone is rubbish, but this might be taking things a bit too far. Princeton’s iZoom promises to transform your keitai into the kind of high-tech camera rig used by ornithologists and perverts. Slip the phone into the enclosed case, stick the 8x zoom lens over the regular camera, ...
One day, it’ll probably seem quaint to think that snowboarders once had to describe the amazing run they just rode, rather than just showing their mates the movie. The GoPro Motorsports Hero is a high-definition video camera designed specifically with extreme sports types in mind: just strap one to your board or helmet and you ...
There’s been a lot of media buzz around the Tenohilight, though you’d probably have to be Japanese to understand it. The dinky torch turns everyone into a fortune teller by projecting a palm-reading chart onto your victim’s hand; different versions let you assess whether someone is going to be lucky in business, love, or absolutely ...
This column doesn’t normally stray into the realm of high-end products—we tried once, but the guy on the door told us not to come back until we’d had a proper haircut. Still, we’ll make an exception for these wireless speakers from prolific French product designer Philippe Starck, which make the Bose Wave look like a ...
If you find that you spend more time undoing the knots in your headphone cords than you do actually listening to music, this one’s for you. Looking like Pac-Man might after taking a swim in a tub of toxic waste, the Tetran is tailor-made for keeping earbud headphones in line. Just pop your ’phones into ...
Remember when you were little and you used to flip out pretending to be a ninja turtle? OK, maybe that was just us. Today’s kids haven’t lost their appetite for mock swordplay, but the toys have got smarter. Happinet’s Samurai Katana promises all the cut and thrust your juvenile mind can handle, but slashes (ha!) ...
Is it a bird? No, it’s a paperclip. Stationery maker Midori excels at putting a cute spin on drearily functional products, whether it’s their Baby Penguin stapler, animal-shaped flashcard books, or dinky car that cleans your desk for you. The company has scored a genuine hit with the D-Clips range: paperclips shaped like animals, ranging ...
Alpacas hold a peculiar fascination in Japan. K Company’s Alopaca (sic) range turned the llama-like critter into a popular cuddly toy, while we’re still trying to straighten our brains out after watching those Kuraray commercials in which Riko Narumi is rescued from danger by a giant alpaca. Phat Company has chosen the shaggy camelid to ...
Life just became a little easier for the university students and culinary clodpates of this world. The Cupmen are there to help you through those torturous three minutes that stand between you and instant noodle perfection: the silicon figurines cling to the top of your noodle cup, keeping the lid in place while the contents ...
If you haven’t yet experienced the imbecilic pleasures of The World of Golden Eggs, you should really stay in more. Originally aired on MTV Japan, the show has been one of the more bizarre success stories of the past few years, topping the anime DVD charts, appearing in ads for Nissan and C.C. Lemon, and ...
Do you find that it normally takes you until Easter to start writing your Christmas thank-you letters? Yeah, that makes the two of us. Stop pontificating and get yourself some purdy paper from Winged Wheel, one of the finest stationers in the whole of Tokyo. New lines include #331—think traditional washi decked out in kimono ...
If Christmas and New Year’s have left you feeling about ten years worse for wear, these drinks might help set you back on the straight and narrow. Hailing from the UK, Firefly Tonics use natural ingredients—fruit, herbs, teas and whatnot—rather than “dodgy chemicals” (their words), providing a welcome alternative to Red Bull and suspicious genki ...
When you’ve spent the whole day huddled under the kotatsu, slurping piping-hot nabe, the last thing you want is to slip into a bed that feels like it’s been pulled straight out of a meat locker. We’ve never understood why hot water bottles (yutanpo) aren’t more popular in Japan—what with flimsy insulation and no central ...
There are few more efficient time-wasters than the humble jigsaw. In Japan, the undisputed daddy of puzzle purveyors is Tokyo-based toy maker Epoch, whose sets run the gamut from picture-postcard landscapes and classic works of art to anime characters and cute kittens. If the latter are too tacky for your tastes, try one of these ...
The grinning Bokun Habanero pepper is synonymous with dangerously spicy snacks, but we were surprised to see it gracing a packet of bath salts. Miraculously, this blend of chili and tomato extract is supposed to be good for moisturizing skin, though we’re a bit too scared to try it ourselves. For a less freaky option, ...
As the label says, “this pouch has many functions.” A square of colorful absorbent material with a zipper running along three sides, the Dotto Pouch can comfortably house a 500ml PET bottle and makes a mean pencil case. You could also use it to hold cosmetics, or discreetly slip some sanitary towels in there as ...
Uniqlo’s UT T-shirt line lost some of its luster when the chain started selling the previously limited edition garments nationwide, but your friends and relatives overseas need never know that even grannies in Gunma are wearing the same tee as them. If you’d like something Japan-specific, the current line-up includes some ace designs featuring artwork ...
You don’t have to look hard in Tokyo’s toy stores to find games that encourage kids to play with their (fake) food. We were particularly taken by these two. In Sushi Panic, players gingerly place plastic morsels on a geta tray that flips over when pressed in a certain spot. Think of it as a ...
Populated by a cast of yakuza, hostesses and cops who know the clubs of Kabukicho a little too well, Jake Adelstein’s account of his days as a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun is one of the best things we’ve read since Robert Whiting’s Tokyo Underworld (and if you haven’t already foisted that on one ...
Muji has assembled a small but pleasingly formed range of Christmas gifts for the festive season, of which this one caught our eye. Tokyo in a Bag recreates the capital as a load of minimal wooden blocks, complete with buildings, torii gates and even a few cars and buses. People who’ve visited the city might ...
While the media has been busy salivating over the cheap and cheerful pleasures of “fast fashion,” a smaller but more encouraging trend is emerging. Head to the grungy streets of Shimokitazawa or Koenji and you’ll find examples of Tokyo’s “remake” (rimeiku) scene, where intrepid style hounds refashion unwanted clothes into new garments and accessories. It’s ...
We’ve all heard stories about Japan’s sodai gomi halcyon days, when perfectly good appliances would be thrown out with the trash simply because the owners had upgraded to newer models. These days, that discarded hi-fi set probably is broken—but who’s to say it isn’t salvageable? Fixing things can be a fantastic money-saver, but it’s also ...
“It’s not rental, it’s not recycling, it’s not an auction,” reads the explanatory text on Japanese website ShareMo (www.shmo.jp), an online community that introduces users to the magical world of sharing stuff with complete strangers. Pretty much every need is catered for here, from books, DVDs and video games to clothing, consumer electronics and, er, ...
We all know about giving carrier bags a second lease of life, but did you ever think to use that empty yogurt container in lieu of Tupperware, or turn that orphaned sock into a case for your iPod? The now-mothballed Nihonhacks.com recommends such pearls as making candles from used cooking oil or turning empty plastic ...
You’ve shared, reused and tweaked to your heart’s content—now you just want to get rid of stuff. Rather than simply toss it away, though, why not see if someone else out there is prepared to take it off your hands—and pay you for it? The Tokyo area plays host to a welter of flea markets, ...
Celebrate Buy Nothing Day on November 28 in time-honored fashion: by behaving like a complete idiot. Since the early ’90s, this international grassroots event has been poking good-natured fun at consumerism, and anybody’s free to join in. The Adbusters website recommends “pranks, shenanigans, credit card cut-ups, bicycle swarms, mall invasions and all manner of culture ...
We almost fell off our stools when we first read about the Chimney Hybrid S, a humidifier that “combines heating and ultrasonic waves.” Is it just us, or does that sound more like the kind of secret weapon that Ernest Blofeld might concoct? On closer inspection, it turns out that the ultrasonic bit refers to ...
Bluetooth headphones used to coast on “look mum, no wires!” novelty alone, but these days consumers can afford to be a bit more discerning. Princeton’s latest contribution to this burgeoning market is unlikely to win over hardened audiophiles, but you’ve got to admit that these puppies look pretty darn cute. Available in ultra-girly cherry pink, ...
If you find that your Jamie Oliver ambitions shrivel to the size of a Happy Meal as soon as you take stock of the limitations of your kitchen, fret not. Lekue’s Steam Case may look like a glorified bit of Tupperware, but it’s actually a smart bit of culinary kit that’s sure to appeal to ...
Knitwear maestro Tomoji Matsui has been responsible for some of MoMA Design Store’s most popular products. His Gunma-based company, Matsui Knitting Crafts, uses old-school Raschel machines that work slowly and at low tensions, making them ideal for the softly-softly art of rib knitting. Trust us when we say that these scarves have that elusive “mmmm” ...
Ladies and gentlemen, the 8-bit generation has finally come of (middle) age. Avid videogame geeks who are forced to spend their working hours clad in dreary suits rather than their favorite Zelda T-shirts now have an alternative means of flashing their otaku cred. Banpresto’s new meishi holder is styled after the original dark red Nintendo ...
Experience has taught us that it’s the most irritating things—what science wonks would call negative stimuli—that get us out of bed fastest in the morning. And make no mistake: there’s some dark genius at work with the Banclock, a seemingly innocuous plastic cube whose alarm can only be shut off by feeding a coin into ...
The combined efforts of portly German tourists and Weird “Al” Yankovic may have confined the fanny pack/bum bag to the dustbin of fashion history, but we still occasionally find ourselves (guiltily) hankering for their convenience. And wouldn’t you know it: the fanny pack is back, albeit in a form so sleek and chic, you’d barely ...
They say: “[the] shape makes it appear as if the bookmark is melting.” We say: dude, is your book bleeding? Kyouei Design’s liquid bookmark is just the thing for Halloween season. Slap one of these babies on your tome of choice, pull it out while riding the train, and just watch your fellow passengers’ eyebrows ...
We know it’s unfair to judge a film that hasn’t even been released yet, but based on precedent, we’re at least fairly confident that the upcoming movie adaptation of video game Tekken will be… well, utter rubbish. On the plus side, it’s going to feature some good watches. Yup: Heihachi and Kazuya will be seen ...
Skiers and snowboarders no longer have any excuse for freezing their asses off on the slopes this winter. Forget about those old-fashioned scarves and mufflers. The future is bright and toasty: the future is the Eneloop Neck Warmer. This one-size-fits-all garment looks snug enough as it is, but that’s before you consider the handy-dandy heating ...
After watching a YouTube video of Novmichi Tosa demonstrating his latest invention, we were sorely tempted to devote this entire column to it (and then maybe ditch our jobs, run away from home and join the circus). Tosa is the creative brains behind Maywa Denki, an art collective that specializes in so-called “nonsense machines.” The ...
Sanyo’s Eneloop range is like the Duracell Bunny it’s cool to like. We first heard about this hybrid lamp/flashlight a few months ago, but it wasn’t until we actually got our paws on one the other weekend that we realized how good it really was. On the one hand, it’s a scrumptiously sleek vase-shaped light ...
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 ...