Innovative light fixtures from Kyouei Design – the Balloon Lamp is exactly what the name indicates – a lamp made from balloons and LEDs. The Honeycomb lamp is made from denguri paper. It seems like this honeycomb paper technique has jumped from bad party decorations to product design – think Molo Design’s Soft line, these paper vases…Can anyone think of other products made in this way?

The London Games organizing committee released the new London 2012 logo/brand to much awaited … weeping and gnashing of teeth. An immediate source of great controversy, the logo/brand is drawing fire from almost everyone. Opponents started an online petition on Monday to revise the logo, which as of this afternoon was 48,000 signatures long.

Citing an inspiration from graffiti artists and youth culture, the bag-of-bones running Wolff Olins is probably about 20 years overdue. Looking at the 2012 logo, Mark Gonzales’s iconic board for Vision, by Andy Takakjian, comes to mind. The catch is that Vision released the Gonz board 20 years ago.

What do you think?

I like the rough and playful aesthetic of the Spot Jamming chairs by Emiliano Godoy and Alejandro Castro.

Emiliano’s Sangre table was fabricated for a fundraising event held by Lacoste in Mexico City. Forty artists were invited to participate by producing pieces that were put up for auction. I love how the crocodile skin texture appears when the table is illuminated.

The Pick Chair by Studio Dror has two functions – it can be hung up and displayed on your wall as art, or it can be folded into a chair. Living in a small apartment, having some additional seating would be great and I love the idea of not having to hide it away when it’s not in use.

Via PadStyle.

The Flash UL pack by REI is a neat little pack built around a minimalist attitude. Stuff-sack simplicity with a few perks like the daisy chain, tool loop, hydration compartment and internal slots for the ten essentials.

Simone from the QUT Art Museum emailed us about their latest exhibition, Freestyle. Curated by Brian Parkes, Freestyle exhibits the work of forty of Australia’s best contemporary designers spanning across the fields of furniture, lighting, textiles, homewares, fashion, jewelry and accessories. The exhibit has been travelling around Australia since October of 2006 and is currently at the QUT Art Museum from May 31 to July 22. The exhibit will be heading overseas at the end of the year.

From left to right:
Cero chairs by Brian Steendyk, jewelry by Dinosaur Designs and furniture by Alexander Lotersztain.

This isn’t normally my style, but there is something about Art With Function’s furniture that I like. The pieces remind me of an illustration in a children’s book – very playful and imaginative. Better yet, the furniture is made of discarded pieces of raw material.

In light of the huge rainstorm that soaked the city last night and today, I thought I would share a few nice umbrellas by Marimekko. Be sure you have a nice one before the next big storm, it may brighten your day a little bit. Left to Right: Unikko, Kiku, Ruusupuu.

I love it when people rethink the way an object is used, especially when that use gives the object a second life. Michelle Brand has created a ‘fabric’ made of the bases of plastic bottles. Each bottle is cut, sanded, and assembled into the tapestry. Beautiful!

To celebrate having almost sold out our first edition of Abyssal prints, Sean and I printed up a limited edition in a new colorway – magenta and tangerine. It’s currently only available at our Etsy shop, but will also be for sale at our booth at the Renegade Craft Fair on June 16-17 (booth 81! Hope all you new yorkers will stop by!).

Also, we started a blog that is dedicated to our design work and the things that inspire it, called submerge. We hope you will check it out!