Sisyphus - The Kinetic Art Table

As a fan of staring in to space for elongated periods of time, this kinetic art table - Sisyphus - is the perfect way for me to escape reality. 

Sisyphus is the clever table designed by Bruce Shapiro that incorporates sleek electronic movement with art as well as home comforts. The Sisyphus tables that are offered as rewards in Bruce Shapiro's Kickstarter campaign are modern and artistic and perfect as main living room pieces, coffee tables and spellbinding end tables. 

You can really see the tables namesake in the design; "In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned to roll a boulder up a mountain for all of eternity" which you can see clearly in the way that the metal ball forever rolls in the sand to create hypnotic, ever-changing patterns. 

The Sisyphus sculptural table is made of a metal frame, and a layer of tempered glass put over the top of the kinetic movement that makes it a fully functional yet elegant looking piece.

Now I'm not going to spoil the magic of it, but if you head on over to the Kickstarter campaign page you can check out all the production and manufacture processes that go in to making Sisyphus.

Wooden Things

Cross-stitch isn't normally something you'd instantly think of as modern or certainly not 'fashionable' which is why I am so grateful to the designers at GravGrav who have chosen to revolutionise the use of cross-stitch by vamping it up and using it in their wooden bags and clutch collection.

GravGrav take the classic and elegant style of a cross stitch pattern (the birds and flowers you're used to seeing embroidered on table clothes and vintage clothing) and impose them on to these striking wooden bags, giving society a graceful yet minimalist injection of cross-stitch. The variety of clutches, back packs and purses from GravGrav are handmade using only the most premium of woods, suede leather inserts and colourful yarn to give it a luxury feel.

But style has its price and GravGrav wooden cross-stitch bags range in price anywhere between $205-$880.

Although, despite the price these bags are genuinely gorgeous, hand made in every way and inspired by nature which is evident in the choice of materials and the themes of flowers, fruits and birds which influence the cross-stitch patterns. A definite piece of pure beauty that may very well make you reminisce about a different time.

GirlGreyBeauty

After watching the numerous body art tutorials of Youtuber 'Madeyewlook' I got really in to body art as a whole and started to appreciate the artistry of make-up. And Andrea Reed, the hands, face and brains behind GirlGreyBeauty, is now hands down one of my favourite creative beauty guru's. I first stumbled upon her Instagram, where I was rendered awestruck by her array of both perfect make-up applications and totally abstract uses of make-up.

GirlGreyBeauty is an artists who dabbles in a variety of different beauty aspects, such as hair, lips and face, whilst also reviewing cosmetic and beauty products. But it's her creative make-up looks that appeal to me the most; specifically her fancy lip art and facial art series like the 'work in progress' collection ( 'paint by numbers' as seen to the left).

Within her 'work in progress' series there are four different styles that truly are fantastic artistry's to behold, especially when you think they've been drawn on the face using make up and by the artist themselves, and it is hands down worth you checking out the rest. GirlGreyBeauty is a truly amazing make-up artist and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her zany work.

Dinara Kasko: So Good

It's funny to watch when singers try their hand at acting, because more often than not it's a great flop. Some people should stick to what their good at. But in the case of architect Dinara Kasko, experimenting with baking was probably the best thing to happen to the culinary world.

Ever creative Dinara Kasko started out her career in architecture and design and worked as so for several years before discovering baking; which she now does as more than a hobby, taking masterclasses over Europe to share her passion and delicate hand with many the avid baker.

It's insane to think that these delicious looking edibles are the handy work of a home taught pastry chef, but her eye for detail and the minimalist (courtesy of her background in architecture and design) is definitely a key factor that benefits her food experimenting. In true architect style Dinara Kasko utilises an appreciation of texture, shape, composition and form to create her delicious desserts that appease the eye in the way that a stunning structure would. Angles are perfect, lines are straight and the finish is more than stellar. Maybe more architects should try their hand at baking and patisserie.

If you'd like to read more - or most definitely see more - of Dinara Kasko's gorgeous edibles than her new concept 'Geometry' features in #16 of SoGoodMagazine where you can find her recipes to try your hand at, or even just to appreciate the effort that goes in to making these flawless masterpieces.

A Toast... to Toasteroid

I'm a sucker for a good Kickstarter project (hell, I've backed more than my fair share of stuff that's totally awesome but totally unnecessary too) and this new project from Toasteroid is no exception. 

This nifty kitchen appliance makes mums post-it note lunch doodles seem feeble in comparison, as it gives you the ability to turn breakfast time in to a fun doodling work shop. The Toasteroid is a smart toaster that allows you to print any drawn design on to your bread. Using the Toasteroid app you create your design and send it wirelessly over to your toaster, whenever you want! You can customize your image, unlike other printing toasters that have stencil slots... meaning the possibilities really are endless. And it's not just a pretty creative bit of kit, the Toasteroid is durable; made out of die cast aluminium this thing will stand the test of time and blend seamlessly in to your smart kitchen. 

The Toasteroid not only thinks about enjoyment, it also raises the game of the average toaster, removing all those aspects of the normal toaster that you loathe so much. Such as removing crumbs, the Toasteroid has a crumb removal tray. And fitting long and thick slices of bread in to your toaster is an easy task thanks to Toasteroid's ingeniously wide slots. (Seriously, why don't more toasters do this stuff?!?)

Why not wake your other half up with a weather alert printed on their toast using the Toasteroid's Weather Forecast Synchronization technology (I'm not joking, this is a thing!)? Or get the kids to draw funny cartoons on their toast to make meal times a little bit easier and a lot less hectic. 

The Toasteroid is a timeless design that I sincerely doubt you'll run out of uses for and it comes in to sizes. The first being the Toasteroid Mini which browns two slices of toast whilst only singing your design on to a single slice; this is offered as a reward on Kickstarter for $65. Or the regular Toasteroid which cooks two slices of toast with your creation printed on both slices. This comes in at $85; practically a steal for what they're offering. 

Great concept, great use of interactivity, can't wait to see how the world is going to utilize this product. 

Famous OTO

Tomorrow morning kids all over the world will be waking up eager to rip in to layers upon layers of wrapping paper, and if you've got 'em one of these bad boys you better be careful they don't tear clean through the cardboard. 

Famous OTO are a small, New York based toy company who aim to bring enjoyment to kids with nothing more than illustrated cardboard. These cardboard playhouses for kids offer unlimited hours of play with their top quality prints and easy assembly and storage capabilities. So now those hooligans you love to hate can sell ice-creams and taco's galore with these awesome playhouses. 

Each truck comes with a fold-down window for kids to serve food from and they are plenty spacious so your little one's can set up shop and play for real. And if you want to get your hands on an OTO Taco Truck or OTO Ice Cream Truck then all you need is £40. And if you're not a kid person and cats are more your bag, then they even do a smaller sized OTO Ice Cream Truck for your cats to burrow away in. 

One a Penny

Skateboard fanatics and designers alike will be glad to know that you can very easily make your own personalized version of the penny board now thanks to these free downloadable files from MyMiniFactory courtesy of designer Simone Fontana, who shows a perfect tutorial of how to print and assemble you're very own replica Penny Board. 

Of course because of the limited printing capacity of the 3D printer, this means that Fontana's download comes in five pieces that need to be put together using steel bars to give the board a bit of stability, but other than that it's pretty much a simple process that's a lot cheaper and more original than you going out and buying yourself a brand new board.

You can mix and match your Penny Board by picking your own wheels and printing each section in different colours etc; go mad with it because this is an awesome free download for the creative boarders out there. And whilst you're over at MMF don't forget to tip the designer, give back to the amazing creators out there. 

Deliciously Morbid

I have no idea what on earth possess these two men to melt the faces off of these cute chocolate bunnies but whatever the reason the effect is oddly breathtaking. These two artists and filmmakers, Lernet & Sander have collaborated on many a project, but this video by far takes the chocolate... There's something almost artistic in their horrifying act of melting chocolate bunnies to nothing more than a puddle of dilapidated chocolate. In fact, it's actually quite amusing to watch irons, hair dryer's and space heaters slowly melt the life out of the bunnies eyes. 

Lernet & Sander use humor and wit to create this fantastic film, and if you're left wanting for more then you can always purchase a print of the bunny in pre-melt stage as he stares his fate straight in the heating element. This film is fun and sadistic and everything you need to traumatize Easter for the neighborhood kids. 

Clampersand

Why would you use a simple c-clamp when you can fix that shelf together using a clampersand? This pun intended product started life out as nothing more than the doodling of Tony Ruth, but eventually morphed in to a physical product which is typographically superior to the c-clamp in every way. 

The Adjustable Clampersand is a genius little tool that's both functional and aesthetic. You needn't worry about keeping your Clampersand hidden away from sight because you'd be proud to use this as a bookend or a note keeper, eager to share the pun with your equally artistic friends. 

And for $55 you could be the proud owner of a fresh Clampersand that'll give your projects a stylish edge all coutesy of the mad doodlings of an illustrator and the clever tinking of mechanical designer Tim Haley.

Blood Sport

It's so easy to get lost in a video game, and with the way the news has been reporting how games like GTA and COD are making our younger generations more violent its about time someone revolutionizes the way in which we game for the better. 

And Taran Chadha and Jamie Umpherson are just the guys to do it with their new gaming system Blood Sport. Blood Sport is essentially a fun and entertaining way to donate blood in which what happens in the video game has consequences in real life; i.e. every time you're shot or take damage in the game a proportionate amount of blood is taken. Apparently you'll be so immersed in the game you won't even realise the blood is being taken in a slow trickle compared to the butchers job you usually get when you go to give a couple of quartz at the hospital. 

It's all a pretty easy and harmless process; a medical professional inserts the cannula and the machine that takes the blood is hooked up to an Arduino board which can monitor blood flow safely and has your height, weight, age and other conditions preset so that you can be assured you're playing and donating responsibly.  

The creators of Blood Sport say they're developing the technology to get gamers thinking about more important issues whilst still doing what they love. For some reason (perhaps the many ethical issues) the Kickstarter campaign was taken down, but the concept is so amazing that hopefully Blood Sport can become a reality and will change the way people think of gaming as addictive and violent to productive and beneficial. 

I just had a vision

Everyone loves a good old nostalgic moment and with Projecteo you can keep your happy memories close at hand in the form of a miniature slide projector that with the click of a button will display your favourite Instagram pics for a personal slideshow. 

How does it work? Well, you sign in with Instagram and pick nine of your favourite Instagram pictures, which then gets developed on to a single cell of 35mm slide film and is inserted in to a small black wheel. Then all you have to do is wait for your Projecteo and wheel of images to arrive in the post. It is that simple. And once you've got your Projecteo you can project your photos on to any surface as a homage to the retro days of projecting. 

And there's endless possibilities as to what you can use a Projecteo for; its not just a way for you to keep your photos in a nostalgic way, Projecteo would make an awesome and very personal gift for a friend or family member. You could give Projecteo as a wedding keepsake or a customized valentines or birthday gift. Projecteo is so small and cute you could keep it in a pocket, on a desk or even on a necklace. 

Projecteo costs £23 for the mini projector itself and the wheel of nine images and comes with free worldwide delivery, and for roughly £6 for each new wheel of nine images you can have as many old memories as you want. 

P.S. if you're interested in getting your hands on the tiny Instagram picture then look online for people's 'friends codes' so that you can get $5 off the total. 

Oh SNAP!

Freedom to create is probably the best gift out there, and with SNAP you have the freedom to turn anything in to a coffee table, auxiliary table, desk or side table all with a simple assembly system that allows you to design your own furniture and change any space in to what you want it to be.

SNAP allows you to turn boards and surfaces in to tables that are portable, versatile and easy to create. There's no need to drill holes or make table legs, all you do is pull down the flexible portion of SNAP to fit around your desired table surface, then tighten the cable until your SNAP is securely in place. And voila!

SNAP is set up in seconds and you've got a sturdy table at the ready. That surfboard that gets in the way a little bit? Now it's a funky coffee table. An old chessboard sitting in the cupboard unused? Now a quirky side table to compliment your room.

SNAP has endless possibilities and easy set-up so that you can personalize your living space in a few, simple steps. And you don't have to use the conventional four SNAP's in making your table, you can use three for a more conventional feel, or two if you plan to rest your surface against the wall. You don't have to worry about it falling apart because it is literally fall proof. Prices start on Kickstarter from $60 for two SNAP's, to $80 for three and $110 for four, depending on what you want to do with your living space.

Lego be gone! Pinblock's are upon us!!!

Now I know this'll be hard to come to terms with but sadly Lego isn't the 'It' thing any longer. You know all those times you got a chunky yellow brick stuck in your foot? And you got aggravated with the basic 90 degree joints on all your models? Well with Pinblock's your feet are safe and you can now make your models around six rotation points!!! There's nothing better than rotation points. 

Pinblock started as a Kickstarter project aiming to re-imagine the building block, to bring these tiny, flexible pieces of plastic to market so that every creator and dreamer out there can surpass the limitation of conventional construction.

These bad boys are amazing in that you no longer have to search through the box for the right piece; because all the pieces are the same size, dimension, width; what I'm basically saying is that every brick is identical! And no longer are your models stiff and lifeless, they're flexible and able to curve; no more restrictions in your buildings and creations.

Pinblock's aren't just for creators, they're also for designers, they provide the perfect, slim material to create pixelated images with. These Pinblock's are so clever yet so uncomplicated! There's really no end to what you can do with them; build watches, make portraits, construct the Empire State Building!!! Whatever you want to do you can do it.

I happened to make a loose interpretation of Mickey Mouse in my first go at Pinblock's, proving that even the simplest of minds can get carried away with this awesome new toy.

What's even better is the variety of boxes available. Pinblock offer a choice of freestyle colour schemes, as well as kit boxes which give you a step by step guide to building rockets, ships and jets. The genius minds behind Pinblock's - great mates Vlad and Jun who decided to change engineering for the better - are really on to something here and I hope to see Pinblock's go global; encouraging kids and adults alike to get their build on.

At the end of Pinblock's Kickstarter campaign they launched The Manual Challenge, which was a race among pledgers to share pages and collect all fifty two pages of the Silver Falcon Model Manual for the chance to win a box of each of the Pinblock sets (seven boxes in total) for absolutely nothing! Pinblock's sent different pages out to each person and it was a battle on Facebook, Twitter and Kickstarter to send pages to each other and share their own in order to gather all the pages of the manual. Of course by sheer determination and brazen annoyance, yours truly managed to wrangle together all 52 pages first and nabbed herself the awesome prize.

And this week the box turned up all large and full of tinkling brick noise and I practically wet myself in excitement, eager to get my build on. And build I did; cathedral's, characters and other cute critters! I did my best to test the durability and flexibility of these Pinblock bricks and am utterly astounded by the versatility in one tiny 1 cm wide brick!

Well done Pinblock; live long and prosper.

I can be a creep of every day of every week

All faint hearted look away now because you're about to see some of the grossest yet yummiest cakes and treats all created at the hands of the slightly disturbed Conjurer's Kitchen. Consider yourself warned... 

Presenting the gruesome edible art of Annabel de Vetten, the master sculptor and artist behind Conjurer's Kitchen, who produces cake treats that'll make you say "that's edible?!?" 

Annabel de Vetten performs culinary sorcery on her cakes, using a medley of horrifying shapes and finishes to create anything from organs to bones to innards that are bound to make you throw up and salivate all in one instance. 

The cakes at Conjurer's Kitchen start at £100 and go up and up depending on your budget; though they promise to give you what you pay for. And for artistry like this you'll definitely get what you want and more. Just one example of their commissioned cakes is the Dexter cake made especially for Fox; featuring a life sized version of Dexter on the morgue slab, ready to be cut up in to a million delicious pieces! 

And if you can't commit to a cake because you're too afraid you'll lose your lunch, then head on over to the Conjurer's Kitchen Chocolate Shop where you can buy animal and human chocolate remains for roughly £15 which will make you question whether they're real or not. A great treat for the gory hunter out there!

These chocolates and cakes are demonically delicious and totally something you'll want to get your teeth stuck in to after you've gotten over the fact that they're a little creepy. They do cakes for every occasion and for every theme you could possibly create; such as their haunting wedding cakes covered in chocolate skulls and flesh detailed icing, ready to test the stomachs of all in attendance. 

Paper Fairytale

If you think you're journal is a one of a kind then you really need to get a load of these Polymer Clay Journals that really bring a whole new meaning to the word 'ethereal'. 

These Polymer Clay Journals are amazing feats of art that combine realistic 3D form with magical characters to create journals that are truly one of a kind and thought provoking. They're the work of Etsy shop owner Mandarin Duck who is a London based designer that specializes in Polymer clay artistry with anything from journals to jewelry to tutorials for you to experiment yourself. 

The life like creatures featured on the skins of these journals are gorgeous and so greatly detailed in they're layers, surrounded in the complimentary scenery, bound to make your writing more exciting and adventurous. And if you'd like a Polymer Clay Journal then it'll cost you around £300 for a bespoke journal, or roughly £15 if you'd prefer to follow a tutorial and try your hands at one of these unique pieces. 

Get Passive Aggressive!

I've left a few post it note rants in my time that end up spanning three separate notes - double sided might I add - which is when the Post-It Note Roller would have come in handy. The Post-It Note Roller lets you get your notes down without having to cram it all on one sheet, allowing you to roll out as much as you need all in one pretty pink go. 

No more restricted telling offs in the office, no more post-it notes losing their stick and fluttering around the place; with the Post-It Roller you can literally paste your notes on any surface as if laying down wallpaper. 

The Post-It Note Roller is spunky and fun, letting you be creative with your notes; making a great gift for the 'passive aggressive' post-it note culprit in your dorm room. And at roughly £8 it's a nice filler present. 

Show off

You've got precious items that need showing off but you don't want to leave them in a cabinet when the only time the eye is draw to them is when they get dusty? Then you should definitely store your trinket in a Showcase Mirror. 

The Showcase Mirror is your conventional glass mirror except for it has a plexiglass bubble formed over the middle center which provides a reasonably sized space for you to store your prized possessions and showpieces in a way that's a little more creative and unique than putting it on a shelf. The bubble makes it appear as if your souvenir is floating; genius! 

There really is no limit as to the stuff you can store behind the bubble of a Showcase mirror; be it your flowers, a necklace, a delicate piece of china or even some kids toys to spruce up their room a bit. Whatever you have that you want showed off to the world, you can put it in a Showcase Mirror. There's something almost poetic about the display of floating art. 

Designers Studio Thier&VanDaalen created their own machine which allows them to form plexiglass panels in organic curved shapes which make all of their Showcase Cabinets look as breath taking and magical as they are. And if your article is too big for the Showcase Mirror then maybe the line of Curator Cabinets is for you; with an all over plexiglass bubble to display larger items. 

Like a VIP

It's game day and you're in your comfy chair with a beer in your hand and the television remote well and truly under your control, no one is taking the game away from you and if they step in front of the TV during play time they risk ultimate death. 

But there's something not quite right. You're wishing you could be there, wishing you could smell that fresh tennis ball scent and feel the sweat running off your brow as they debate whether it was a penalty or not. Well if you had yourself a Sportstyle chair from Paolo Lillus then you'd feel so immersed in the game you'd struggle to remember you're not LeBron. 

Paolo Lillus' Sportstyle chairs are awesome feats of design; made to look like practically every iconic sports ball you could think of; be it the tennis ball, the basketball, the football, the golf ball, the baseball or the old pig's bladder they used to kick around back in the day. Each of the Sportstyle chairs are made with intricate and immaculate detail, completed to a high standard using an aluminum base, leather skin and tennis felt. You can chose to have a 4 spoke base on your seat and stool or a rotating circular base; making the seat suitable for any environment. 

These lounge room Sportsyle chairs would be perfect for sports fans and teenagers alike, and wouldn't look too foolish in a games room either. Imagine having one of each of these chairs seated around the dining table; bringing great craftsmanship and entertainment to dinner. 

Wave after wave

There's something almost tranquil about looking out to the ocean or staring down at your reflection in the water of a lake, and artist Gaetano Pesce seems to have captured the movement and beauty of the water in his aqua inspired table series. 

Using a range of plastic materials; like rigid Polyurethane foam, PVC, epoxy resin and soft urethane resin; Gaetano Pesce creates these beautifully artistic tables with blue and green hues so true to life that you'll have to look twice to make sure the table isn't liquid. He seems to get the surface of the water - with its ripples, flows and reflections - just right, also giving the pool of water a neighbor in the form of shrubbery and sea defense walls. 

These tables would make amazing statement pieces be it either for decorative use or for functionality as an actual table; they're true to life and deep blue, with natural forms and landscapes to make them appear more tangible. In the collection there is the; Lagoon Table, Lake Table, Ocean Table, Pond Table, Puddle Table and the River Table, all offering unique coloring's and styles that'll make you wonder and want to wander. 

If I had a fin for a day

To be a unicorn, knight or a mermaid is probably the dream of most little kids out there. And with a Mahina MerFin you can make at least one of these dreams come true. (You can probably guess which dream I'm referring to). The MerFin is a unique mermaid mono-fin that plays on the conventional swimmers fin by mimicking the ethereal style of a mermaid's tail with dreamy colours and a curved shape. 

MerFin's are made from recycled rubber - helping to endorse a sustainable attitude towards our ocean friends - and are soft and flexible, therefore perfectly functional as well as fascinating, allowing you to feel like your fish kin as you slice through the ocean currents. It's a great pool toy and can make snorkeling more fun with a simple flick of the ankles and knees to get you swimming like the mer-folk. 

And if the fin isn't enough for you to feel submersed in the mer-folk-iness (?) then you can also get yourself some scales with the MerSwim suit which consists of a pair of opalescent swim tights and Bikini top; perfect for perfecting that Mermaid look. 

Mahina Mermaid do both adult and Kid sized fins and suits to get the whole mer-family involved. The adult sized MerFins are $109 and the children's MerFins are $99. The woman behind it all is Mahina (commonly known as Mahina Mermaid) renowned for her modelling career as the rare marvel that is the mermaid; its this equity that made her want to inspire the hearts, imagination and dreams of children in promoting the art of 'mermaiding' and bringing the fin in to popular beach and pool culture. 

All I know is that they're super cool and otherworldly and that if I could swim I would have a pair on my feet at this very moment.