Spotted these gorgeous pencil sharpeners by Torsten Neeland over at Omami.ru. Love the simplicity of the shape and the height of the sharpener.

Torsten has some pretty nice product designs in his portfolio, including gorgeous walnut veneer salad cutlery for Donna Karan Home (below) – another exercise in simplicity of form. The thinness of the veneer reinforces the sculptural form of the cutlery.

Finally, hello funky rug (below), which actually looks more like a plaster relief, but in reality was fabricated with some special weaving technique that allows for a 3D surface.

We’re excited to have designed our first-ever calendar! Our 2010 pocket calendar takes traditional fortune cookie proverbs and updates them with a modern design. There are 24 different proverbs (okay, some of them are more like random sayings) to help guide you through the next year:

Don’t panic.
Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
The smallest deed is better than the biggest intention.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
The only reason you die is because you live.
Take the chance while you still have the choice.
The only thing you truly own is your time.
Be brave enough to live creatively.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools.
Keep true to the dreams of your youth.
The beginning of wisdom is to desire it.
Always begin with an end in mind.
The eyes believe themselves; the ears believe other people.
Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become.
Pick a path with heart.
Take a chance in the near future.
Change your luck today.
Rest is a good thing, but boredom is its brother.
Let the spirit of adventure set the tone.
Dare to dream, hope, believe, seek, feel, find, and love.
Be mischievous and you will not be lonesome.
Originality overcomes everything.
Good luck is the result of good planning.

If you’re feeling lucky, let us pick one out of a hat for you, and see what arrives in the mail. Or, if you want to make your own luck, you can choose your own proverb. We recommend the hat, it’s a lucky hat.

Each calendar is 2.25″ wide and 3.75″ tall, and will fit inside your wallet, moleskine, purse or pocket – making it easy to carry around for whenever you need it. The calendars have been laminated for durability. Only $4 when we choose for you, $5 when you choose your own.

I’m not one to get excited about office chairs, but I really do like the SP Task Chair by ITOKI Design. I really dig the transparent back rest, which is made of thermoplastic urethane – the same material used on the inner wall of car tires. It flexes, but retains its shape. Pretty…It recently won NeoCon’s Innovation Award.

Love these simple, well-designed office products by ANYTHING – a collaboration between Michael Sodeau and Suikosha. While the products have standard functions, the detailing is anything but standard.

Via Kitsune Noir.

Thanks to John for pointing out these Field Notes books, designed by Draplin Design Company of Portland, OR. Other well-designed products include calendars, pens and pencils, all looking like they are from a retro shipping warehouse or perhaps the island from LOST.

If you actually want to take some notes in the field, the old Rite-in-the-Rain company makes some nice kits for all sorts of scientific, military and hunting uses. Below is the Field Book Kit and the Upland Bird Journal Kit. Both include cordura covers and all-weather pens for serious work.

The MagTack from OXO lets you tack things up without puncturing them by using two halves with magnets. A neat concept and one that actually works better than pinning right above the photo and denting the paper. Though I wonder where they got their inspiration for that logo.

Though slightly macabre, the Crime Scene Template from Bear-Aide recalls the green templates we all used as kids but for a much more serious purpose. The template includes scaled typical furniture and measurements for sketching the layouts of crime scenes. Bear-Aide makes a bunch of different templates worth checking out including traffic, railroad, boat and sniper templates.

The Swingline Saddle Stapler solves the basic problem of stapling a large booklet or zine. If you have ever tried to put one together, finding a stapler that will work is a big problem. The long arm staplers do work, but this little Swingline makes it very hard to mess up the spine placement.