Der Die Das D.I.Y.

Today I've found some German awesomeness and DIY inspiration. Max Qwertz and Yanik Balzer make furniture and other goods from re-purposed axes, toolboxes, and watering cans. Their designs have a shiny Home Depot (Haus Depot?) newness about them, and that slick look is part of their appeal. Do you think it would work as well with vintage objects and a weathered patina?

The whole collection is interesting, but I’m especially charmed by the toolbox table and the watering can coat rack. That table is toddler safe, right?


Via NOTCOT

Sit on this

At $190, this adorable add-your-own-magazines stool isn't crazy expensive, but you crafty types could surely DIY one for less $ and more time. Let this one serve as your inspiration. I think it's charming, and would be a much better solution for those back issues of _________ (insert favorite magazine weakness here) than my current approach of a box under the bed.

Images from NJU Studio. Via Apartment Therapy.

Papercuts

 

Papercuts + fingers = ouch awesome! The picture says it all. Laser-cut paper rings by Tithi Kutchamuch. There are 12, modeled on the flowers for each month.

Images from Tithi Kutchamuch. Via Paper Crave.

Picnic in eco-style

I've been researching materials lately, and I ran across Verterra. Hard to believe, but these eco-friendly dishes are made from fallen leaves and water. That's all--no plastics, binders, adhesives, lacquers, or other chemicals. The resulting product is porous, so it isn't recommended for reuse, but probably would hold up to multiple washings if you're careful. In photos, they're lovely. 

We usually party with either real plates or basic Chinet (also compostable in our industrial city system), but the first really good excuse I have to use these, I'm placing an order*. So pretty!

*If I ever see these in person, I'll update this post.

Images from Verterra. Discovery via Lunar's materials guide.

Eco-lemonade

"Any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood," -Newt Gingrich

 

With the vitriol our politicians (and citizens) spew toward each other, I’m already dreading the upcoming election season. On top of the toxic conversation, campaigning and all its associated signs, paper, stickers, etc. also contribute substantially to landfills. This designer found a way to make lemonade out of corrugated plastic lemons. 

Bonus, who doesn't admire a clever DIY pendant light? 

Via Core77. Photos from Andrew Thomson.

Bear Market

Cute product and cute branding. The story is that Mr. Jermyn’s shirts were “shrinking” so Mrs. Jermyn repurposed them into teddy bears. I always love alternative uses of menswear, and the collar detail on these is especially charming.

 

Get your own here.
Photos from Mrs. Jermyn. Via ecouterre

Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink

I’ve been doing crowd-sourcing research for my 9-5, and I ran across this. I’m passionate about the whole bottled water challenge. I understand the issues; I’ve seen Tapped; I carry my Sigg bottles almost everywhere. On the flip side, I think it’s good and healthy for people to drink water, and bottled water is a modern convenience that seems potentially vital in this age of sugary sodas and obesity.

I keep thinking back to “the good ol’ days” when people didn’t buy water or carry it around with them like pack mules. What did they do? They drank from water fountains. Just try to find a public water fountain these days--It’s challenging. Peter Gleick (aka this week's lab crush) and Google to the rescue! The WeTap project uses crowd-sourcing to map public drinking fountains. 

They are looking for volunteers to help with the project in the SF Bay Area and in LA. All you need is an Android-based smart phone and a gmail account. Oh, and a willingness to seek out, test, and post public drinking fountains. If you’re not on the volunteer side, you can still check out the resulting map. The program is in Beta now. I'm not crazy about the current interface, but I'm sure it will get slicker as the project evolves.


SF Gate via Treehugger. Photo by flickr user TPapi (CC license).