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),

Half-baked: Business cards

In a meeting Monday, a very nice sales rep handed me his business card. He sheepishly explained that he had a new cell number and didn't have new cards yet. He inked out the old number and wrote in his new one. This got me thinking about all the obsolete business cards out there. In many companies, every time something changes--promotion, layoffs, new corporate logo--the printer is called, and a shiny new box of cards appears.

So, what to do with the old cards? I had a quirky friend in Dallas who used to get a huge kick out of using other people's cards to assume a secret identity for a day. That's handy if you're a superhero (or evil mastermind), but not particularly useful in our context. The trusty interweb was pretty light on great DIY ideas. Other than clever origami and some wonderfully obsessive construction projects, nothing really inspired me.

However, our focus at SF Green Labs this month is lighting, so here's my half-baked* idea for today: Is there a way to use these as a basis for a lamp shade or base, or will this always end-up looking like it's made of business cards? Here are my first two ideas:

1. Perforate them to let light through (our cards are particularly thick), then assemble them into a shade or lantern.
   
2. Shred them and then weave them into a fabric, with the openings in the weave allowing the light to come through.

Designers, what do you think?

*Half-baked: If you have your own half-baked idea in need a little more love and nourishment, send it in: workingglassgal (at) gmail (dot) com.

Image from hiddedevries photostream on flickr