I hope everyone has a great 4th of July tomorrow. Let us know what you have planned in the comments below.

When I was a little kid, every time my grandfather would come to visit me he would buy me a balsa wood airplane. I loved everything about them, from putting them together to getting to watch them fly, and eventually breaking them to pieces through a series of intense crash landings. As fond as my memories of those planes are, I can tell you none of them looked as good as these colorwings. These beauties are 20″ long and have a 6.5″ wingspan and under perfect conditions can fly as far as 300 yards. According to A+R “These planes are much, much more fun than anything we experienced growing up!”. We’ll see about that.

Available from A+R for $12.

Looking for a little somethin’ somethin’ to brighten your walls? Consider one of these posters from Blue Art Studio. Created by the same Joel Pirela of Blue Ant Studio fame, these posters would look great in any modern home. Already have all the artwork you need at home? Buy a few for your office and bring a little inspiration into the daily grind.

Modern Posters from Blue Art Studio: $35

I saw these Chikuno cubes a while back and thought that they were one of the coolest things I had seen in a long time. Amazing design for what is usually an everyday product. Each 2″ cube is made from Bamboo charcoal and has a micro honeycomb structure that gives it a surface area equivalent to four football fields. It acts as a natural deodorant sucking up nasty smells from small spaces like refrigerators or closets. I’d love to have one in my fridge just because it looks so good.

Has anyone actually bought one of these? I’d love to hear some feedback.

Available from Charles and Marie today only for $28, or from Delight for the same price.

Photo via

Chalk this one up in the trendy column. The new Tissue Box from Essey brings back the award-winning crumple of its predecessor, Bin Bin. Designed by the same John Brauer, Tissue takes its queue from the contents within. Bauer says about the object: “The idea came to me when I passed a tissue box in Japan and noticed the crumpled paper sticking out. In that particular case, the box cover did not reflect the content. I wanted to have balance between the cover and content to give the product a relevant identity.” I want to know, did this tissue box passing commence before or after the creation of Bin Bin? Just curious!

Tissue Box available from Unica Home: $30

When I first ran across Tracy Melton’s Tree Ring paintings, I was instantly drawn to their beautiful colors and, of course, unusual ‘canvases’. The wood comes from dead Elm trees which Tracy cuts down himself with a chainsaw. The pieces are then sanded and clear coated three times to accentuate the wood. Using acrylic, Tracy then paints the bold, colored rings, followed by another clear coat. Each painting is hollowed out from behind for easy hanging and signed and dated by the artist. Available in sets of 3.

Can you just imagine an entire wall covered with these?? What a conversation piece THAT would be! Definitely gives me some ideas…

Tree Ring Paintings | Set of 3: $35 - $55.

So charming! A great gift for the IKEA-phile in your life. “I Wish we had IKEA” pattern by Heather Moore of Skinny Laminx. Available as a tea towel or pillow cover.

About the design:
We don’t have IKEA stores in South Africa (poor us!), so all that great design at good prices is frustratingly inaccessible. Last year, someone kindly sent a 2009 IKEA catalogue for me to drool over, and I’ve made some sketches of the things I liked best.

I thought it would be fun to share my IKEA wishlist on a tea towel, and I’ve called it “I Wish we had IKEA”. So as you dry the dishes, you can think about your own IKEA shopping list, the next time you’re lucky enough to visit!


“I Wish we had IKEA” from Skinny Laminx: $12 - $25.

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I saw these ridiculously awesome fire extinguishers on Plastolux (have I mentioned how much I love that blog?) and I felt compelled by the uncontrollable forces of badass design to share them with you. This is such a brilliant idea, I can’t believe no one thought of it sooner. I wish there were more things like this - mundane items given the royal-design treatment. It would certainly make life a little more happy.

Tons of images after the jump!

Fire extinguishers by Fire Design.
(The site is in French. Since I don’t speak French, I was unable to gather any purchasing info. If any of you speak the language, let us know what you find out!)

Images via Plastolux

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I am in love with these quirky wooden toys from TARU Design! Choose from 3 designs available in bocotte, cocobolo, wenge, zebrawood, or wild cherry.  

About:
TARU is a small Montreal workshop that designs, conceives and builds wooden art toys. Each toy is unique and hand-made from different wood essences. I am especially attentive to the materials and fabrication of my toys, in order to offer refined and quality objects. The sensual aspect of my figurines is evoked by rounded angles and silky texture. Their aesthetic simplicity and kind faces charm children and adults alike.

After fifteen years of work in the field of illustration and cartooning/graphic novels, I only recently started to create small sculptures/art toys. My love for wood – a living, tactile material - as well as the birth of my first child motivated me to go from drawing to the making of tri-dimensional wooden figurines. Toys have always inspired me; they are precious tools that help us build our imagination.

Handmade wooden art toys from TARU Design: $30 - $45.

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What do you get when you have a name like Bernadette Sipkes, you live in Aukland New Zealand and you get your hands on a Gocco? The answer is an amazing portfolio of mid-century inspired prints. Bernadette says she draws her inspiration from “mid-century kitchenware, furniture and textile prints; vintage wallpaper; Scandinavian design; Florence Broadhurst; Lotta Jansdotter; Marimekko and; Lefor-Openo” It shows in her work too. She has a lovely collection of prints available on her Etsy shop, with extremely affordable prices starting at $15 a print. Shipping isn’t even too big of a deal with most prints costing just over $4 to ship to the continental US.

Available from the Sugarloop Etsy shop starting at $15.