Fort Standard make lovely, simple products. The Sprue Candelabras are simple and industrial, and I love the streamlined look of their lighting fixtures.

James Henry Austin recently launched Project Won, a furniture line geared around the London 2012 games:

All the furniture is made entirely of UK salvaged sports hall flooring. All the furniture is handmade in his Shropshire workshop using time tested traditional joinery techniques. The individual planks are hand sanded, leaving the original sports lines on display and then recoated with a natural wax oil. The furniture is handmade to order, one piece at a time and is built to last.

The range consists of a chair, table, bench, coffee table and coat rack.

The Paper Lamp by Milk Design is a light fixture inspired by origami and the desire to use less material and simple building techniques.

Inspired by origami, this simple geometric lamp shade is made by Bamboo paper, a sustainable and innovative paper from Conqueror, the shape is held by pins.

The wooden support is constructed without using any screw and glue, it is jointed by an interlocking structure. It is made by solid wood protected by a natural plant oil-wax to give a natural finishing.

The Art Speaker by Urban Fidelity is pretty awesome – a combination of artwork and speaker, featuring art by Liam Brazier, Craig Watkins, Daniel Teixeria, Hyein Lee, among others. The speakers are on the large side (13″ wide x 13″ deep x 41″ tall) – maybe a more petite version will be offered at a later date? The Art Speaker is available for pre-order on Kickstarter for $269 ($399 once the campaign is over).

This is the TECLA chair, by TECLA Studio, a chair with a lacquered white frame and a corkwood interior. I like the simplicity of the design, although I think I would like it even more if the seat and the back were a single width, like the legs.

Marin Dearie is a New Orleans based artist who created Shades of Change – an informational exhibition created to highlight the various color changes that occur in nature, popular culture, and elsewhere.

The FACE mirror by Kazuko Okamoto would be a fun accessory in a clothing store.

Arthur Liu went to architecture school with us and took a furniture class that asked students to create a light from a 2×4. He was given the same challenge many years later at MIT. I love the idea behind a simple object which appears to be one thing, but is actually another. On top of that, the solidness of the 2×4 is belied by the tiny switch that activates and illuminates the light.

A2arquitectos recently renovated the existing Hotel Castell dels Hams in Majorca, Spain. This looks like a beautiful hotel and spa – I would totally love to luxuriate here for a few days.

In 1967, a small hotel, Hotel Castell dels Hams, was established on the island of Majorca amid the Mediterranean vegetation. Over time, and through subtle improvements and extensions, it has become one of the most distinctive hotels on the eastern part of the island.

The last of the alterations, meant to celebrate the Mediterranean light and the location’s
idyllic bond with nature, turned the hotel into much more than just a holiday destination. The work centered on replacing the covering and enclosure of the existing heated pool and to create an adjacent spa to supplement it. During development, the project was split into two independent zones, each designed to suit its own specific purpose.

The main pool area is adorned with a series of square openings for windows in the roof that allow the light to flood into the area. The spa intended for skin treatments and relaxation is located to give the visitors the best views of the surrounding landscape and is also filled with light in all rooms where light is needed.

The existing pool has got new facades and a new green roof, which is dotted with a series of square openings. This interplay of window holes creates a beautiful dance of light reflections in the building.

In the spa area, the space is sculpted and colourful showers of light flow through the openings in the roof. This makes the building itself part of the treatment, offering the
feeling of well-being created by nature when it is introduced into the building, a feeling of total immersion for the visitor.

Not a lot of details on this, but I’m impressed that Bento Janz handmade this custom bike (with the help of his father, Raul Janz). It’s a beautiful bike, and the ultimate father/son project!