Category: WWWhat?

Posted in Fashion Sparks, Sparky gifts, WWWhat?

Geek Chic

Posted on by Cate

I first saw a version of these amazing Keyboard Slippers on the Inventor Spot site and thought they were pretty cool. Well, cool mightn’t be quite the right word. The original slippers are made by Kito in Thailand and you can get lots of different coloured foot straps: black, yellow, red, orange, brown or dark blue (depending on which of your geek chic outfits you want to match). Launched early last year, the Kito originals cost about $30 and are shipped worldwide from Thailand.

But, as with most good ideas, there is another version of keyboard sandals that are, no surprise, made in China (by a company with a very cool name: A-Yaya). They are priced at under $2 per pair. Which I guess might mean that the Enter key will stick and Ctrl-Alt-Delete won’t actually work. But I’m sure that you can still lose crumbs and eyelashes and cups of coffee between the keys, just like the real thing.

I don’t know your politics on global markets, so whether you want to check out the pricier (but original and brighter coloured) Kito shoes or the Chinese knock-offs, I’m sure that both types will massage your feet as you walk around. Which is more than you can say for your keyboard at work. If you are after the perfect gift for the nerd in your life (especially if that nerd is you), the Kito retailer is here.


Posted in Arty sparks, Home sparks, WWWhat?

Help! My Lounge is Mutating!

Posted on by Cate

I first saw these amazing pieces of furniturart (ok, so I just made that word up) on the fantastic My Modern Met website (and they had sourced them from the very cool peeps at Design Boom) under the heading Mutating Furniture Made of Bubbles. Yes please! You don’t get that at Ikea.

And I was not to be disappointed – like a Miss Teen USA contestant, these are at once beautiful and kinda creepy. I’m not sure how comfortable they would be, but as soon as you contemplate that thought, you know you’re not really worthy of the furniturart. Same goes for wondering how you’d keep them clean of dog fur and childrens’ handprints. Or how they’d look next to your teak coffee table. But we can still look, can’t we?

Belgian designer Maarten De Ceulaer’s Mutation Series will be presented this year during Milan Design Week. Each piece is unique, made from foam spheres covered in “a durable rubber or velvet-like finish”. According to My Modern Met, Maarten says “I want to use my work to tell stories, to stir people’s emotions, to tickle their imagination or to make them wonder.” The Willy Wonka of the furniture (furniturart) world, I guess.

And, like Mr Wonka before him, Maarten’s creativity knows no limits. Apparently he said, “Maybe one day we will be able to grow a piece of furniture like we breed or clone an animal, and manipulate it’s shape like a bonsai tree.” Yes, Maarten, maybe we will. I kinda like the idea of a naturally grown, fully furnished tree house. Add a glass elevator, chocolate river and an everlasting gobstopper and I’m sold!

More info in the My Modern Met post here.

Posted in Arty sparks, Sparky gifts, WWWhat?

Book ’em, Danno

Posted on by Cate

I love books. And when I saw a headline for ‘an eclectic collection of books’ by Melville House featured on Fab.com recently, my curiosity was piqued. An eclectic collection indeed. You can keep your alleged classics like War and Peace or Ulysses, I’ll take How to Sharpen Pencils by David Rees, a master in “the age-old art of manual pencil sharpening”. According to the hardcover of this 224 page book, it’s perfect for flange turners, anglesmiths and civil servants. I don’t know any of them folk, but I do know some contractors and apparently it’ll be right up their street too. (On another note, if you do know a flange turner or anglesmith, please let me know. And tell me what they do.)

Or maybe Drunk is more your thing. (No judgement.) Written by word nut Paul Dickson, it’s basically a list of 2,964 synonyms for ‘drunk’ (including such classics as roasted, whazood, whiskey frisky and Boris Yeltsinned). So now you know.

But the choice doesn’t end there – oh no. How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive or I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have To Be Destroyed By Me or the beautifully covered (yes, I know the old saying, but I’m shallow) Rotis – Roasts for every day of the week (including slightly off-putting pictures of cute animal faces).

So, whether you’re an avid reader, love a pretty bookshelf or you’re a flange turner looking for a helpful tome, this collection could be eclectic enough to suit!

Posted in Fashion Sparks, Sparks in the wild, WWWhat?

Foul Weather Friend

Posted on by Cate

I am lucky to work with Jo, a lovely lass who shares my interest in all things wacky. Last week, we were talking about the amazing Samurai Sword umbrella that I wrote about here recently. And Jo started reminiscing about a special sort of umbrella that she had seen somewhere. I listened politely, thinking that it surely couldn’t be as good as the Samurai Sword. Then Jo sent me a website link. And I was momentarily speechless. IT’S A HANDS FREE UMBRELLA.

Nubrella Inc. is a New York company that has patented this space-age looking ‘weather protection device’, which they claim takes over where the traditional umbrella stops! And there are more exclamations where that came from: Nubrella blocks windchill! A far safer and more reliable product! Can be used completely hands free! All supported by fantastic photos of the Nubrella in action – in the snow, in gale-force winds, in torrential rain: look ma, I can talk on my mobile phone AND wave to a passerby AND stay dry all at once!

Although we all know that nothing this great comes easily – there are tutorials on how to open your Nubrella and how to close your Nubrella. And the man in the photos does appear to be concentrating quite hard as he sorts out his weather protection device.

But once your Nubrella has popped open, you just drop it over your head and adjust the shoulder straps and supports. It’s transparent, so you can just walk straight away and see where you are walking all of the time. And according to a slightly bizarre comparison on the website: The result is an eye catching new aerodynamic design that many are saying is simply a better “mousetrap”.

A better mousetrap it may be, but I think it’s so much more. Wouldn’t the world be a better place – a funnier place, at the very least – if your neighbourhood was full of Nubrella People? At around $50 per device, it’s a bargain: umbrella, hat, stylish personal-space-preserving-bubble and mousetrap in one. If you’re tempted, the dream starts here at Nubrella HQ.

Posted in WWWhat?

Thanksgiving, every day

Posted on by Cate

“Leah Dieterich’s mother always told her to write thank you notes. So she does. To everything. thxthxthx is her daily exercise in gratitude.”

Leah collects the notes on her website, which is a nice place to look every now and again (or every day, if you’re so inclined) for reminders about the little things that are good.

The happiness / positive psychology experts say that gratitude is one of the keys to happiness, but I like that Leah’s website doesn’t get too deep or preachy about that. Hers is more of the quirky thank you – to the people, things, places that you mightn’t normally think about. Like using your toothbrush, three day weekends, coffee and Mariah Carey. Leah’s website is here if you want to have a look.