Tonight at Hand-Eye Supply's Curiosity Club, Alison Jean Cole will rock our world with the talk "Rocks, Minerals, and Lapidary Craft in the Pacific Northwest." 6pm at the Hand-Eye Supply store, or streaming online on the Curiosity Club homepage!

The Pacific Northwest is home to some of the most famous gem-quality agates and jaspers on Earth. It is also home to a strange creature, not unlike a sasquatch, called a rockhound. Rockhounds are avid explorers in seach of fossils, rocks, and minerals in their native environment. No forest road or desert wash is too treacherous for a rockhound to dig—dynamite usually fixes most problems.

In this talk we'll explore the stunning variety of psychedelic rocks and minerals that hail from the Pacific Northwest and how they're formed. We'll also cover lapidary traditions, tools of the trade and how newcomers (like myself) are changing the perspectives of an old-school craft, such as making diamonds in the microwave.

In sixth grade I brought my rock and mineral collection in for show and tell and no one cared. I felt a 12-year-olds version of grave despondence and gave up the hobby for over a decade. A series of serendipitous events over the past five years has drawn me back into the hobby, which is now my profession! I am now an active rockhound, lapidary artist, and teacher in the Portland area and couldn't be more thrilled to be reunited with things I love most on/in Earth.

If you're a modernist that eats walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts, what to do? You don't want the standard nutcracking tool we all know, with its I-wear-my-function-on-my-sleeve serrated jaws, ergonomically knurled handles for grip and exposed pivot, do you?

No, you don't. What you want is to step up to the Nusskubus, a hammer-and-anvil-type nutcracking solution made of two beech cubes. Semi-spherical hollows of three different sizes populate different faces of the anvil half, each sized to accept one of the aforementioned nut types.

You pick up the "hammer" cube—okay, so it doesn't fit in your hand perfectly, stop whining—and bring it down onto the nut cradled into the other cube with a therapeutic smash. It is a metaphor for life: You want to join these two cubes together perfectly, but while you may come close you cannot, because there is a nut in the way.

The Nusskubus was designed by Berlin-based Adam + Harbroth Design as part of their Siebensachen line, which roughly translates to "belongings" or "paraphernalia," and will set you back 25 Euros.

In his quest to "break through the limits of RC drifting techniques," Japan-based RC expert Drift44 was searching for a new challenge. He found it not in winning races, but in a more pedestrian event: Parking. (Warning, turn your volume down.)

That's not the strangest thing you'll find RC enthusiasts doing online. The YouTube channel RC Live Action stages accidents, disasters and vehicular trouble; they have a video of a truck stuck in mud that has 25 million views. In this one below, they take the trouble to send a tanker filled with flammable liquid over the side of a bridge, causing it to burst into flames. Why? So they can drive RC fire trucks with working hoses over there to put it out. (Be warned that this is worth a scan, not a full watch.)

As many of our readers know, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (f.k.a. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum) will host its grand re-opening next month, following the three-year renovation of the historic Andrew Carnegie Mansion on New York City's Museum Mile. Although museum director Caroline Baumann hinted at many of the elements of the institution-wide refresh last fall, when she was a guest on our Afterschool podcast, she gladly elaborated on several of these initiatives in a recent conversation with our own Allan Chochinov. With the mansion at 2 East 91st St set to open in just ten days, we're all ears as Baumann gives us a taste of what to expect.

Allan Chochinov: Let's start at the very beginning Caroline. We've been (impatiently!) waiting for the museum to reopen for a couple of years now, but tell us how the project began, what precipitated the renovation, and what the original wishes for a newly imagined museum were?

Caroline Baumann: The seeds of the project were actually sown over a decade ago. Back in 2000–2001, we began to forge a new strategic plan, one that would transform Cooper Hewitt from a design museum housed in a 19th-century mansion, to a dynamic, interactive, 21st-century museum experience. From 2004–2006, we began outlining our master plan with Beyer, Blinder, Belle Architects & Planners, creating a vision for Cooper Hewitt as a design destination. At this time, there was tremendous interest in what we were doing, with long lines for our exhibitions and standing-room only for our educational programs. It was the perfect time to build on that momentum and ideate on how to expand our reach, how to grow our audience and impact.

A reconditioned space would be the foundation of our reinvention and, in 2006, the Smithsonian and our Board of Trustees approved the renovation plan, green lighting the capital campaign that made all of this possible. From 2006 to 2007, we travelled the world reviewing various design architects' works, evaluating who could best bring our vision to life; schematics and design development took place from 2007 to 2008, and by 2009, Phase 1 was off and running, with the collection being transferred to offsite conservation and storage.

In terms of our original wishes, we wanted our newly imagined museum to allow for a completely reinvigorated visitor experience, one that could break out of the restrictions imposed by the mansion's Georgian architecture. This is particularly evident in our third-floor renovation—previously a research library—which will now house 6,000 square feet of gallery space. We needed to create uninterrupted space to exhibit contemporary design without having to build false walls, and we've done just that. When we reopen on December 12, visitors will be able to experience our collections like never before in the history of Cooper Hewitt.

ID History caps on: Is that the work of the Eameses? Arne Jacobsen? Eero Saarinen?

Nope, these chairs are all by modern-day designer Thomas Pedersen, whose quest to create comfortable, multi-positional seating has led him towards the flowing lines favored by the aforementioned giants. Yet Denmark-based Pedersen still manages to inject original flair while channeling mid-century modern.

That's been his quest since 2002, when Pedersen was a senior at the Aarhus School of Architecture. For his final project he came up with the StingRay chair. "I wanted to make a swivel chair with lots of different sitting positions," he writes. "The stingray-like shape came into being as a result of the functionality." Pedersen crafted it out of fiberglass in the school's parking lot (they lacked facilities/shop space for working with fiberglass) and eventually went with a rocking base.

In the years since, the StingRay has gone into production, won a Red Dot Design Award and Pedersen has set up his own firm in Denmark called Spark.

His follow-up Concord chair is a more sober version of the StingRay, done up in leather or fabric. It was reportedly inspired by the supersonic passenger jet of the same name. It's also a bit more mechanically sophisticated than the StingRay, as it both swivels and tilts.

Underneath the pies and tinsel, the holidays are simple: We set this time aside to celebrate joy, gratitude, love and kindness. Whether we stay on point may vary (pie charitability can be challenging), but starting with essentially beautiful and functional gifts is easy! The Hand-Eye Supply Holiday Collection of simple and inspiring gifts is carefully curated and vetted for excellence. These goodies are guaranteed to bring delight to your loved ones' workshop, studio or kitchen, and show your appreciation for their creative spirit. Check it out!

The brilliance of the paternoster system shown below is that it's always moving, conveyor-belt-style. Assuming a manageable flow of bodies, the "feed rate" could be continuous.

The modus operandi of a paternoster points to a very basic limitation with elevators that most people don't consider: With the latter, you can only fit one car per "line." Which is to say, you can't have cars stacked one on top of the other. And this, reckons German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp, is ridiculous. "The present use of one cabin per elevator shaft," the company writes, "[is like] using an entire railway line between two cites to operate a single train—clearly a waste of resources."

What are you doing on Wednesday, December 10th, at 7pm Eastern? Nothing? Good! That means you won't miss the live streaming of the fourth installment of the Designing Innovation panel discussion series. This panel event, brought to us by Ford Motor Company and IDSA NY, will focus on the ways designers can innovate right now, and in the near future, to fortify the relationships between a brands' products and the consumers who enjoy them.

This is a valuable discussion that all designers will enjoy thanks to the line up featuring moderator Rama Chorpash, Director of MFA Industrial Design at Parsons, New School of Design; Craig Metros, Exterior Design Director of the Americas at Ford Motor Company; Ingrid Fetell, Design Director at IDEO; Steve Schlaffman, Principal at RRE Ventures; and our very own Allan Chochinov, Chair of MFA Products of Design at SVA.

We'll be live tweeting from the event at the lovely Cooper Union in New York City, so make sure you post your comments and questions using hashtag #DesigningInnovation. Your question could become part of the conversation, so don't miss the live stream!

Spare a thought for the poor shrimp of Japan. If local restaurant goers aren't going to be boiling you alive in a Shabu-Shabu broth (video) at their table (with it seems a fair amount of enjoyment!) then you might as well face the equally terrifying prospect of being sliced and diced alive to be served up as Ikezukuri sashimi (video), your spasming remains prodded at with chopsticks for entertainment.

In a new development in shrimp suffering, such freshly departed souls are now being afforded the final, posthumous insult of being dragged into the advertising of Japanese mobile provider DoCoMo. To the accompaniment of pounding death metal, the cooked creatures are being shot through the air, lightly tempura-ed through jets of flour and egg mix and undergoing partial cremation in a ball of flames before smashing head long into a crash mat and coming to rest (RIP little fellas) on a plate—all in a tenuous attempt to imply the great speeds of associated brands services.

Whilst DoCoMo can no doubt rely on a healthy number of views thanks to such pyrotechnics (8.2 million and counting), we may have to call bullshit on this machine doing anything other than turning some prawns into a sloppy lukewarm mess. We do, of course, also have to come out in condemnation of such violence against our shellfish friends. Have some respect for the dead DoCoMo.

Uncovering human trafficking rings, containing the spread of infectious diseases, combatting fraud, stopping cyber attacks, protecting privacy and civil liberties, prosecuting complex financial crimes, providing relief to victims of natural disasters, and more. These are the issues and problems Palantir combats with their world leading data analysis products. With your Motion Design skills, you'll help Palantir accomplish all this.

If you are the right person for this role, you'll produce work that tells the complex stories behind their analysis, doing anything from concept to writing, shooting, animation, editing, and final delivery. Excellent communication skills and a highly iterative creative process are needed to succeed here, along with a mastery of tools, both digital and good ol' fashioned pencil and paper. Want to work for Palantir in Palo Alto, CA? Apply Now.

German design firm Take2 Designagentur produces that brilliant breed of unapologetically over-designed solutions for common problems that I'm most accustomed to seeing come out of Japan. First off, if frustrated modernists crack their nuts using these, then Take2's Naomi nutcracker is what a physics geek would use:

I love that the spring more or less contains the shattered nutshells.

Have you ever corked a bottle of wine at a party while trying to open it, drawing the disdain of a nearby oenophile? Well, if you're willing to carry this John Wine piece of stainless steel in your pocket, problem solved:

For that fine foodie in your life, FINEX has finally unveiled the ideal mid-sized skillet. This distinctive 8" pan features exceptionally high quality casting and immaculate machining, which provide an unusually smooth cook surface and perfect, even heating. They're oven safe, with an ergonomic heat-shedding handle, and a stylish shape that makes plating and pouring easy. Fits breakfast eggs, grilled sandwiches, steaks, and tasteful dishes no one has invented yet. There's even cool design detailing by Aaron Draplin hidden on the bottom. Get them while they're hot - $125 at Hand-Eye Supply.

It's unlikely that 2014 will be fondly recalled as the year that saw the experience of buffering truly enter popular culture consciousness—but perhaps it should? In April, we saw Swedish broadband provider Ume.net hack an Oculus Rift headset to show what life would be like if we lived with the lag we experience online in our offline lives (with quite entertaining results). Over here in the UK, actor Kevin Bacon advertises network provider EE's 'superfast' 4G with spots warning of the perils of 'buffer-face'.

Now Brooklyn-based THINGMADE are paying tribute to the gods of digital loading sequences with this mesmerizing neon light sculpture in the image of the on-screen icon—as the website explains taking this "symbol of anticipation, frustration and promise and [extending] it indefinitely."

In my early ID days, I rendered a hell of a lot of toothbrush designs while working for an oralcare company. Some of them played with the angle of the head, the neck and the bristles, but one thing we never thought to do was rotate the entire head 90 degrees. Now a company called More-T is doing just that.

The company claims that "the traditional straight-end toothbrush...was designed to resemble the straight-edge razor. In fact, the straight-end toothbrush has not changed its design since its invention in 1498," which I found somewhat strange, as I could've swore that straight-edge razors with handles came about later than that, during the Industrial Revolution, and had never heard that toothbrushes were meant to mimic razor forms. I also thought the form factor of a toothbrush, including the alignment of the head, was pretty form-follows-function.

More-T, however, say that their orientation and the soft bristles they use "[provide] for deep cleaning" with less effort. They also cite that their product "promotes up & down brushing" and is "better at cleaning [the] tongue," and I can't argue the latter point.

My previous oralcare experience makes me biased, and I want to hear what you think: Do you see the benefits of this new design, or do you think it's an "if it ain't broke..." type of situation?

...But not especially spicy. Don't get confused! Pantone's featured color for the new year is 18-1438 "Marsala", a softened terra cotta based on the red fortified wine from Italy. It is not based on "masala" the fantastic spice blend popular throughout South Asia. That said, the color does have nice depth to it. Most of the editorial photos featuring the new color draw on sensuality, apparent love triangles and food. As the color giant points out, the color has rich and earthy elements that would feel at home in intimate spaces and on inviting, tactile materials. Like an old brick thrown gently through a dining room window.

We've talked about using ceiling storage in a garage—but storage products that hang from the ceiling can also be useful in bedrooms, entryways (in both homes and offices), kitchens and other rooms.

Some of the most interesting products are designed largely for hanging clothes. They're great if closet space is lacking; they also work well in that they're easier to use than hangers. This is the Wardrope from Authentics, designed by Veronica Wildgruber and Susanne Stofer. It's a polyamide rope with four porcelain hooks; it hangs from a ceiling hook and has a metal weight at the bottom. Those four hooks can be positioned wherever the user wants them—low so that children can reach them, high so that children can't reach them, etc.

The rope is 300 cm (9.8 feet) long; it's not clear if the rope length is adjustable, allowing the Wardrope to work well in homes with 8-foot ceilings. Given the variation in ceiling heights, adjustability is a key design factor.

La Cima3 from Opinion Ciatti is made from nautical rope. It has dual-sided hooks, which seems like a nice idea for providing more storage while still keeping things from overlapping too much. However, given that it's 350 cm (11.4 feet) and uses a special ceiling attachment that doesn't provide any height adjustments, it's only suited to rooms with higher ceilings.

Despite The Onion's shock report earlier this year that the world does indeed have enough chairs for the time being ('We Can Just Keep Using The Chairs We Have,' Say Experts), the clamor for yet more novel seating solutions seems to continue apace—the biggest chair-fest of them all, Salone del Mobile, already revving up the engines ahead of next year's celebrations, holding press conferences across a number European capitals last week.

Lithuanian designer Marija Puipaite has created three such novelties—large stools, one made each from plywood, plaster and felt over MDF as part of her graduation project. Professing to be an exploration of "the designer's relation with [their] works and [their] presence in them" the form of the seats is taken from the rotational extrusion of the contours of her own legs. The stools are accompanied by this mysterious (and slightly NSFW) video examination of Marija's legs and body—the form giving 'tools' spinning like a lathe on which the chairs were (metaphorically) turned.

Scandinavia is famously cycling-friendly. Norway, with a population of just five million people, is home to some three million bicycles. But even for seasoned cyclists accustomed to commuting on two wheels, there are some obstacles that no one looks forward to tackling daily. One example is Trondheim's Brubakken Hill, a 130-meter uphill stretch of road with an incline ranging from ten to eighteen degrees.

The Brubakken was part of cyclist Jarle Wanvik's daily commute, and in 1992, he was sick of arriving at work each morning covered in sweat and with sore legs. He came up with the idea for the Trampe, a sort of in-ground ski lift for bicycles, and actually managed to get city backing for his company, Design Management AS, to build it the following year.

I just spotted these two unusual objects from Levenger, a Florida-based company that designs and sells their own desktop items for folks who still use actual paper. The first is this nifty, dimunitive single-sheet paper cutter:

While I smiled at how quaint the intended usage of this object is, I really do like the design. The tiny ceramic blade is just deep enough to slice through one sheet of a newspaper, for the old-school conspiracy theorist that still slices articles out of print rags, or perhaps for the physical coupon cutter. I also like the little striated disc that provides grip.

When choosing materials for a side table, squishy and compressible polyether foam might not be at the top of your list. The porous material is fantastic for packaging fragile goods and for use as a tolerable mattress pad, but as a side table meant to support other objects—particularly a slab of marble? Not so much. Yet it's exactly those features that led Dutch designer Pieteke Korte to use the material for a series of side tables appropriately dubbed Stone & Foam.

A recent graduate of the Man and Identity program at Design Academy Eindhoven, Korte developed the Stone & Foam series during one of her studio courses. The brief, titled "Carry," tasked students with capturing the expression of weight in a design. Korte had focused on textiles, materials and art direction during her time at school, so she naturally began with material research and experimentation, playing with structure, weights and color. She didn't get very far into testing foam samples before stumbling upon the magical pairing of stone and foam, quickly moving to scale models and full-scale prototypes. "The foam and the stone create a really nice dialectic—soft and hard, light and heavy, cheap and upscale," Korte says. "It just made sense. I know it sounds like the idea was there from the beginning, but it took a while to get there."

Full-scale prototypes were where Korte ran into the most trouble. "There were plenty of failures after moving to full scale—split blocks of foam, wasted resins and urethane," she says. "There isn't a lot of information out there on the particular properties of foam." At full scale, Korte found that the foam was put under more stress, changing its degree of flexibility compared to her smaller mockups. This was particularly problematic with her folded table, which required that Korte find a more ductile foam for the full-scale version. The designer also explored working with resin and urethane as a way of sealing the foam and securing its shape, but was disappointed with the results. "It yellowed, it couldn't be used to create the kind of membranes I wanted," she says. "It was a week of experimentation that I quickly learned wasn't worth continuing."

Foam and marble, plus trial and error