Loon Outdoors makes a handy tool called the Nip N Sip that I know Anna’s Grandpa Doug would love to use. Designed for fly fishing, it’s a nipper for trimming lines and a bottle cap opener for drinking beer of course. Nice detail with the wide perforated grip so wet fingers aren’t an issue. Definitely a step way beyond the standard set of nail clippers.

Fashioned By is a beautiful and quiet line of home accessories designed by Farrah Sit and Dana D’Amico. Old-school modern that’s deliberate, simple, and clean.

Porcelain hanging containers feature a vegetable tan leather strap and an antique brass fastener. Perfect for a hanging herb garden , or used as a decorative catch-all for all of your little notions. Each shape is hand sanded smooth bisque exterior and a gloss glaze interior.

The collection of desk accessories is playful, understated, and well crafted. Celebrating natural materials that age well, the collection combines solid wood, brass, porcelain, and vegetable tan leather. These pieces focus on functionality while creating a pleasing landscape for your workspace.

The leather blotter features a hidden compartment for pencils and business cards. The writing surface is made of a dense vegetable tan leather that ages gracefully.

With a design nod to the old-school straw dispenser, the pencil cup stows away clutter with a fun sliding mechanism that also magnetically locks in place in the open position.

The catch-all features post-its nested in place and a sanded bisque porcelain cup to enclose little notions.

Keep it bright on the trail with the Arcteryx Cierzo 25. Fun fact – if you invert the colors on the image, the orange becomes the blue and vice versa.

The Napsack is a convertible/wearable sleeping bag and/or poncho for kids from Poler.

I watched an episode of BBC’s Birds of Paradise this weekend and witnessed some of the most amazing plumage. You couldn’t even create how these birds look and dance in your wildest dreams.

More photos at Nat Geo

A subdued day pack from Topo Designs. It looks pretty cool, but I have a few questions about it – lined for waterproofness but are the zippers waterproof also? And what’s up with the ice axe loop without the corresponding accessory tab at the top center? I guess it’s just for a bike light since not many people really have a need for ice axes. Nice form though.

For those who like design to permeate all aspects of your home, here’s a hose reel for you – The Hexy (above) and the Razor (below), by Blade. Your garden hose will never look the same (but be warned, neither will your wallet).

Incredible time lapse project Yosemite HD by Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty showcases the wonder of the sights/sites at Yosemite National Park. Wish we could to the way-out-there more often.

via Notcot

Nice bold graphic bottom sheet on the Custom X boards from Burton.

Last week we wandered over to Brooklyn Bridge Park to attend the opening of Jane’s Carousel, which is now housed in a brand new pavilion designed by Jean Nouvel. The carousel is almost 100 years old, and was originally built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1922.

The Jean Nouvel designed 72 x 72 foot acrylic building is not only a protective shelter for the carousel, but a jewel box that provides framed views of the bridges as well as the Manhattan skyline. The East and West facades are fixed and completely transparent, while the other two facades open via a series of folding steel and acrylic doors. The operable facades each have 18 doors split into two groups of 9, opening from the center outwards. The doors rest on tracks recessed on the floor and programmed to open in four different positions, while the skylight, inspired by the structure of the carousel, is made of insulated glass units.

The pavilion was nice – a glass box that encases the carousel and allows it and the views of the city to be the center of attention. They didn’t do this at the opening, but apparently at sunset the shadows of the three rows of horses will be projected onto four 70′ by 25′ screens. Sounds like fun – we’ll have to go back to check it out!

The carousel lights reflected in the glass and onto the bridge beyond.

A beautiful embedded sign for the carousel.

A rendering of the light projections at night. And finally, a series of photos of the installation process taken by Julienne Schaer.