The success of the recently Kickstarted Wolffepack, a backpack that can rotate from the wearer's back to front, proves some consumers want a rotateable, wearable storage system. Along similar lines, firefighter and photographer Chris Landano realized that tradespeople could use a rotateable system for gear. But he didn't get the idea from seeing the Wolffepack—he got the idea after a near-death experience several years ago.

While working as a forensic photographer for the FDNY, Landano was trying to escape from a collapsed building when he became stuck in a narrow space. His photography belt had caught on a piece of debris, and Landano was only able to extricate himself by fiddling with his belt to undo it and squeezing through. He escaped and suffered little more than damaged gear, but you can imagine how disastrous the results would have been had their been, say, a beam about to fall on him while he was attempting to unbuckle the belt. "It was in that moment of panic," Landano writes, "that the idea for TrakBelt360 was born."

Landano has invented a clever belt system that can take any kind of pouch, holster or toolbag, have it clip on, and allow it to rotate completely around the user's waist. Aside from the safety benefits of someone stuck in the situation described above, it's likely to be a boon to contractors and repairfolk; while they need to wear bulky toolbelts, one job might see them lying on their side to repair an appliance, another might have them crawling under a house on their belly, a third might have them scaling a steep ladder. To be able to quickly get whatever's hanging off of the belt rotated out of the way is far more appealing than having to remove the entire thing (and not have the tools required at hand).

LEDs are the wave of the future, but plenty of folks aren't ready to give up Edison-style filament bulbs for their classic aesthetic. What's a manufacturer to do? in the case of Australia-based Edison Light Globes, the answer is to make both.

For those that need to see a burning wire, they make classically-shaped bulbs like this E26/27 Edison:

If globes are more your thing, they've got you covered:

Not feeling the spiral? No problem, they've got tungsten "squirrel cage" filaments as well:

Not to mention less typical bulb shapes:

Winter is coming. Between blustery winds and slushy streets, sometimes it can be a challenge to decide whether you need an umbrella, an overcoat, a trash bag or all of the above. Enter the Häring Poncho, a lightweight, multifunctional solution from The Arrivals, a New York City-based clothing company focused specifically on American-made outerwear.

The Arrivals' creative team is made up of architects, designers and engineers, championed by creative director Jeff Johnson, who originally hails from Amsterdam. "Living in Amsterdam, the weather is unpredictable, likely resulting in a soaking wet afternoon," Johnson says. "I wanted to design something light, packable and functional." Taking its name from the German architect Hugo Häring, known for his obsession with place and condition, the Häring Poncho is a "wearable, waterproof shelter" constructed of weatherproof poly-spandex and rubberized twill.

"Our fabrics for all of our garments are chosen for their performance properties," Johnson says. In the case of the Häring Poncho, that means an Italian twill undergoes a rubberizing process where an impermeable layer of matte rubberized film is laminated onto a portion of the material. This creates a double-face effect to the fabric, resulting in a water-resistant and windproof coating. For the body of the poncho, the designers fused a breathable yet water-repellent Korean Din-Tex micro-knit mesh to the rest of the shell.

Today, Londoners were treated to a dual celebration of the highest order: The historic Borough market on the south bank of the Thames marking its 1,000th year (nope, not an not an extra zero added in error) in business AND the observance of Apple Day (a technically international festivity marked mainly by Brits). Having clearly anticipated this momentous concurrence for some time, the market commissioned London based agencies TinMan and Teatime to create an installation befitting of such an occasion—and what better way to celebrate this humble fruit than pay homage to the brand that has usurped its image.

The installation parodying the tech giant's distinctive retail spaces—mildly amusing but also fairly brave considering Apple's recent nailing down of the rights to 'own' the design of their spaces—featured 1000 apples of all manner of varieties displayed en masse on walls and individually laid out on clear acrylic pedestals on counters with accompanying specs, of course.

Whilst of course mainly nonsense, it is a rare occasion that we're given such an education and moment of quiet contemplation of the incredible nutritious creations of mother Earth in all their fascinating sorts—I refer you to the charmingly named "Knobby Russett" below. Perhaps our relationship with fruits and vegetables would be very different if we gave them such forums more regularly, and afforded these wonders of the natural world the reverence we reserve for our electronics.

L: The Fluidigm Juno, designed by fuseproject; R: Quirky+GE's "Tripper" sensor

As an editor at Core77, I often find myself attempting to explain what industrial design is, and I'm sure those of you who are actually practicing designers often find yourselves in find yourselves in the same position. It's regrettable that ID is a widely unsung (if not outright overlooked) force in the world, to the effect that it falls on a precious few star designers such as Karim Rashid and Jony Ive to speak for the profession. The latter made a rare public appearance at the Design Museum this week in a conversation with museum director Deyan Sudjic, making a strong case for design-led business model (perhaps RE: suggestions to the contrary), hands-on education, and maintained that failure is part of the design process.

If Apple represents the paragon of industrial design in the post-industrial age—hardware that is as much a vessel/vehicle for digital UX (i.e. a screen) as it is a beautiful artifact—so too are we always curious to see new developments in other the frontiers of design. A colleague mentioned offhand that insofar as space exploration is constrained by the logistics of astrophysics itself, there isn't exactly a 'design angle' to the Philae lander that, um, rocketed into headlines this week. (That said, we have reported on design at NASA, where problem-solving is paramount... whether you call it design thinking or not.)

Which brings us to fuseproject's recent work for fellow SFers Fluidigm, a B2B life sciences company that called on Yves Béhar—a star designer in his own right—for a complete design overhaul in a traditionally un-(or at least under-)designed category. From the now-dynamic logo to the genre-busting form factor, the entrepreneurial design firm has risen to the challenge of expressing the genuine technological innovation behind the Juno "single-cell genomic testing machine" with equally revolutionary design.

The shape is sculptural and practical; a delicate balance between a futuristic piece of machinery and something more familiar. The aluminum enclosure is machined at high speed and the rough cuts visible and used as finished surfaces, which is a cost saving. The resultant ridges run along the exterior in a fluid, yet pronounced way, and resemble the miniature functional traces on the cell sample cartridge that enable single cell manipulations.

As beautiful as Edison Light Globes' bulbs are, it is their lamp designs that really shine, if you'll pardon the pun. The company's deep line-up of fixtures are heavy on brass and exposed hardware, yielding steampunkish pieces like this Multi Bulb Heavy Table Lamp with adjustable neck:

You've seen lamps made with plumbing fixtures before--we showed you some here and here--but you've never seen any quite like ELG's Plumbing Pipe Wall Lamp:

Another wall lamp of theirs that it's hard not to love is this
Bronze Medium Bulb Cage Upright Wall Lamp:

SmartLab Toys makes educational toys with a book component for kids ages 4 - 12. They believe that kids learn best through hands-on exploration, so they offer that experience wrapped up in a fun toy and a cool book. This is your chance to unleash some serious fun with SmartLab as an Industrial Designer on their Bellevue, WA Product Development team. Your experience with full-cycle consumer product design will come in handy when you become responsible for developing outstanding products for SmartLab Toys.

If you are right for this role, you'll conceptualize new educational toys, executing the product design, prototyping, and refining the product in preparation for production. It takes 3-5 years of product design experience in toys/consumer goods, managing multiple projects (10+) at any given time. Don't let someone else snap up with great opportunity. Apply Now.

Forgive me, actual bike mechanics of the world, for what I am about to share. But if you, the common bike fancier, have ever thought bamboo bikes looked really cool, or read about their enjoyable ride qualities, or dreamed of someday making your own, check this out. Bamboobee is a DIY bamboo bike building kit. Pony up for the kit in the next nine days, and you'll receive seven precut and mitered pieces of bamboo, the necessary frame hardware (aluminum headset and bottom bracket sleeves, cable guides, dropouts...), a couple simple tools, and an interesting flat-pack snap together frame jig. Just supply the epoxy for wrapping joints, the basic ability to follow directions, and virtually every component, and you could be zipping around town and country on a distinctive stiff-yet-compliant bamboo bike of your own making. The campaign was created by a seemingly experienced bamboo builder and it's already 300% funded, so you're at risk for very little except impatience.

If we are to believe the 'Ad-land' hype, the border between design and advertising are blurring—Cannes Lions 'creative communications' awards now featuring of course a 'Product Design' category amongst their accolades and marketing in some organizations finding increasing foothold in the innovation processes (something we heard a stark warning about recently).

If this unholy alliance is the destiny of design and designers—I'm imagining all manner of manufactured demand horrors—what are we to make of the videos coming out of advertising agencies in recent weeks? Firstly, at the end of last month, Toronto-based John St. (already well known for their Catvertising stunt, below, from a couple of years back) released a hilarious, if all too believably dystopian mock marketing (mock-eting?) video announcing a 'new agency model'—Reactveritsing™. Then only a day later, local competitor 'lit up' social media with a similarly self-deprecating video celebrating the agency's supposed "Employee Appreciation Day"—showing weary creatives being released momentarily from the desks to be reunited with long-forgotten families.

Many, many designers have experienced creative breakthrough by taking something apart and putting it back together. Over this past weekend, thinkers, makers, hackers, know-it-alls and novices around the world threw down on The Deconstruction. The premise is simple, but the outcome is not: make... something. Strictly open-ended, The Deconstruction is somehow both a creation competition and a collaboration-focused conference while having no set theme or topic. This vague but fun event kicked off on Friday, as teams livestreamed and documented their projects through the weekend.

Projects can be physical, digital, mechanical, social, multimedia... Regardless of the mode, the only criteria is to "create something that did not exist 48 hours before" and to highlight interesting problem-solving. Fun interviews and updates will be happening at their HQ "inside the internet", and prizes will be given for teams' summary videos, problem-solving, and outstanding student contributions.

We all know what Oprah's Book Club has done for authors. Can Martha Stewart do the same for MakerBot?

Apparently that's the hope. Today MakerBot and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced that they've launched an exclusive partnership, whereby not only will there be co-branded PLA filaments available for sale—forget yellow, blue and green, shortly you'll be printing in "Lemon Drop," "Robin's Egg" and "Jadeite"—but Martha's team of designers will also be producing downloadable designs for consumer purchase.

It's easy for the hardened ID'er to snicker, but this actually signifies a potentially massive shift, or at least the start of one, for 3D printing to go seriously mainstream. If Martha Stewart's gigantic audience can be wooed into paying 99 cents to download a design they can print as many times as they want, it's entirely possible MakerBot will start seeing some sales spikes.

For anyone who knows the serenity of woodworking, this video hailing from northern Japan of mastercraftsman Yasuo Ozakazaki at work in his shop, could be the most relaxing thing you're likely to see today.

Kokeshi dolls are a traditional of Japanese handcraft—a simple limbless doll made from two pieces of wood, and apparently the inspiration behind the design of 'Mii' characters for the Nintendo Wii. (The figures have also risen to prominence in the global design world in recent weeks with the news that the Boureullec brothers have reinterpreted the doll's design as part of an initiative to get local craftspeople back on their feet, following the devastation caused by the Fukushima disaster.)

Japanese mastercraftsmanship at its finest, Yasuo Okazaki, now in his sixities, has been making the dolls for decades having learnt the technique from his father after graduating from high school. Set to a delightful classical melody, the video is a beautiful documentation of the process of producing one doll, complete with some mouthwatering close-ups of the skillful on-lathe painting (1:22) and the joining of head and body with some lathe-powered friction (1:42).

WTI's global experience, accompanied by its partner firms, has taken indoor and outdoor water park development to new heights by integrating the latest technology in design, engineering and construction. When it comes to making water parks that are environmentally friendly, sterilized using the latest practices and technologically advanced centers of entertainment, WTI is a leader in the field. If you possess architectural, 3D modeling and presentation skills better than most and want to work in Brandon, WI, this is the perfect job for you.

Just make sure your resume and portfolio demonstrate your ability to masterplan both indoor and outdoor water parks, create architectural renderings, diagrams and imagery by hand or digital means and create water park theming sketches, renderings & 3D models. Apply Now.

There's no affordable space left in New York, which is why we're never getting a big-ass communal makerspace like a TechShop. The reportedly substandard 3rd Ward closed last year and no would-be makerspace launcher has since stepped up.

But there's plenty of room in cities like Columbus, Ohio. Which is how it came to be that an old, empty, 65,000-square-foot shoe factory in the Franklinton neighborhood was recently being used by a local motorcyle dealer as a storage area. Today, however, the space is occupied by something to make an ID'er drool: The Columbus Idea Foundry, fully stocked with woodworking machinery, metalworking equipment, welding rigs, CNC routers, laser cutters, 3D printers, glassworking facilities, photography studios and even an area for metal casting and blacksmithing. There's an area to learn coding, an Arduino room, a youth incubator, a leather stitchery, and equipment for making soap, for chrissakes.

It is reckoned to be the largest makerspace in the world, which makes the monthly membership cost all the more shocking to this New Yorker: A mere $35 a month, which is literally less than two cocktails here in Gotham. The thought that one could have access to all of that machinery instead of quaffing two Dark & Stormies is enough to cause a round of sullen reflection at the bar.

Paul Hatch, at top right, with fellow founders Susan Estes and Pam Daniels, and the student team from Chicago Studio

By Paul Hatch, Founder/President, TEAMS Design USA; Co-Founder, DesignHouse, LLC.

Like many products of design, DesignHouse originated with a problem. I visited a small metalshop around the corner from the TEAMS Design office because I needed a metal prototype made and wondered if they would be able to help. Their response was that they only make hinges and wouldn't be able to do it. But I had a look in their shop and saw that they had all the right machinery and certainly had the talent, so I pushed some more. "But it would be expensive," they said. "It could be $100 or more," to which I replied that I would pay $500, which would already save me money. Baffled, they made the part and it was perfect in every detail.

They closed six months later. Their 60 years of hinge-making experience had not prevented their clients from sourcing cheaper products from China.



So the idea of DesignHouse was to bring the power of design to small companies like this, so that they can utilize existing talent and machinery for other purposes and diversify their product range, so if their hinge business falls away, they still have other streams of income to keep them afloat without huge investment or retraining. In February 2013, I met Susan Estes who had similar ideas, and together with Pam Daniels we formulated our mission and founded the non-profit organization DesignHouse LLC.

Usually, when someone designs a product, he or she starts with the idea and then tries to find a vendor to make it affordably. Despite all intentions to the contrary, this method often leads people to source from China. So to keep it local, we created a unique working method that starts with a vendor and then we ideate around their particular skills. This way we could even create ideas for latent capabilities, that cool old machine in the corner, thus clearly adding to their workload rather than replacing it.

The problem, at left: From idea to sourcing and ultimately outsourcing production. Starting with a local manufacturer and designing based on its capabilities ensures that the product is made locally.

In a previous post, Paul Hatch shared the origin story and mission behind DesignHouse, LLC.: to bring the power of design to small manufacturers. We spoke to him about the "Reveal," the non-profit organization's first product, which launched last week on Kickstarter. We had a chance to talk to Hatch about the product itself.

Core77: Why did you choose to launch "Reveal" on Kickstarter?

Paul Hatch: Kickstarter is the perfect medium for us to get the word out about what DesignHouse is doing. The product itself is great, but its true worth is that it represents the backers' intent to support local industry as a whole. It's giving us a gauge on how important this is to people. The feedback we've had has been tremendous, and we are creating a network of contacts across the country of people who want to help. Seeing the groundswell from the Design Jam, I think we're launching at just the right time. I hope we can inspire others to join us and do the same in their area.

Tonight at Hand-Eye Supply we'll learn about the history and future of stenography. Don't know anything about stenography? That's fine but it won't last. Joshua Lifton will put you right with his talk "The Open Steno Project and Stenosaurus: Evolving an anachronism to replace keyboards."

6 pm PST at the new Hand-Eye Supply, or streaming online on the Curiosity Club homepage.
427 NW Broadway
Portland, OR 97209

Stenography is the fastest and most accurate text entry method currently available, and more ergonomic than standard computer keyboards, yet almost nobody uses it, and for good reason—the necessary equipment has traditionally been incredibly expensive and difficult to learn to use. The Stenosaurus is the latest effort by the Open Steno Project to change that. Come hear about the confluence of reviving a 100-year-old+ technology, open source hardware and software, crowdfunding, and what could replace the dominant human-computer interface.

Josh is a founding member of the Open Steno Project, the original author of the world's first open source stenography software (Plover), creator of the Stenosaurus. He co-founded Crowd Supply, a Portland-based crowdfunding platform for hardware and manufactured products, in order to bring projects like the Stenosaurus to light.

Last time we checked in with Case Studyo, the Belgian limited-edition art purveyor, we took note of Grotesk's "6FT - 6IN" lamp. Now, just in time for the holidays, sometime Core-llaborator Andy Rementer is pleased to present "People Blocks 2," an artist sculpture series comprising four winsome characters. From cyclopic Jaques (cardsharks might pick up on the pun) to bow-legged beagle Pierre, there's no denying that these modular sculptures have a broad appeal amongst art and design collectors alike.

The limited series features four new wooden characters entirely made and painted by hand. The individual pieces are interchangeable, allowing them to be re-assembled and stacked to create custom characters or abstract sculptures.

This new series continues in the spirit of the first edition with bold new shapes, colors and striking patterns. While their feet are planted firmly on the ground, the cast of characters also share a share a sense of unease and mystery, distinguishing features of Rementer's work.

You can show up at your gym drinkless and buy overpriced beverages there, or you can save a few bucks (and the environment) and carry your own refillable bottle. As someone in the latter camp, I haven't been able to find a bottle I can easily clean the inside of, and nothing is more gross than the little black specks that eventually form inside on the radii, completely impervious to the bristles of a bottle brush.

Hence the brilliant Alex bottle design. The stainless steel vessel unscrews at its equator, so you can actually get a sponge down into the thing and scrape the corners as clean as you like:

Earlier this year, Norway's Norges Bank held a design competition for the country's future currency. Entrants were asked to stick with the theme "The Sea," but other than that, were given free reign.

Eight designers and firms made it to the final round, and submissions from two different design firms were chosen for further development. As seen below, the "Norwegian Living Space" concept by The Metric System was chosen for the face of the 100 Kroner note, and the abstract, designey "Beauty of Boundaries" concept by Snøhetta Design chosen for the back:

As we've previously reported, it was interesting that Norges Bank decided to split the victory (overruling the jury in the process), choosing one more traditional design and one very modern design to share the same note. But even more fascinatingly, there was a designer in the competition who also had the idea to sharply contrast the fronts and backs (or obverse and reverse, in monetary parlance). Designer and illustrator Aslak Gurholt Rønsen, co-founder of design collective Yokoland, had this novel idea (loosely translated from Norwegian):