Half baked: Mix tapes

These lamps by Ooomydesign have been making the green blog rounds lately. Each time we update the platform (vinyl, 8-track*, cassette, CD, mp3, next?), we make the old format obsolete. I don't see cassettes getting the same kind of retro love that DJs bestow on vinyl, so what happened to all those cassettes? Most have been tossed, but some are finding a second life.

What would you design with a pile of vintage cassettes? Would it make a difference if they were special in some way, like a mix tape obsessively put together by one of your teen-aged friends? Process 376 gang, what do you think of maybe looking at this for our next project? Here's some inspiration to get you spinning:

Cassette iPod cases from Etsy seller Hello Earthling


Tape and yarn necklace from Etsy seller esea


Artwork made from cassette tape. Part of iri5's "Ghost in the Machine" project

And finally, my absolute favorite, by SF design group, Transparent House. These are made from answering machine tapes. Note how all the tapes are set up at the same point in the recording. The designers varied this from lamp to lamp.

Transparent House's End of Message lamp

* The 8-track may not be quite dead yet: In a blast of retro glory (a.k.a. shameless PR stunt), Cheap Trick just released their latest album on 8-track.

Images from Ooomydesign (via Inhabitat), Esty sellers hellow Earthling and esea, artist iri5 (via Gizmodo), and Transparent House (via Apartment Therapy),