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(via: designboom)

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Making tea has always been a soothing ritual, whether you use tea that comes in bags or loose-leaf teas that you load into an infuser. The Dreaming Whale tea infuser from Gongdreen is a sweet take on plain, boring tea infusers.

Meant to look like a whale in the middle of a pleasant dream, the Dreaming Whale opens its mouth to hold your loose-leaf tea. Close the mouth and dip the whale into a mug of hot water and you’re minutes away from your comforting beverage.

Water enters and exits through small holes in the whale’s body, gently joining tea leaves and hot water in a happy infusion of the restorative drink enjoyed around the world.

The whale’s cute water spout is used to swish around the infuser as the tea is being made. But it can also be detached and used as a stirrer or decoration for your beverage of choice. This would definitely make a cute gift for the tea lover in your life, and it only costs $13. Get it at Gongdreen, where you can find other tea-related items and loose tea as well.

“Do you know the sperm whale? The oil of the sperm whale is known to be one of Earth’s best natural elixirs. The motif of this product is a sperm whale dreaming a peaceful dream somewhere in the deep sea. It’s like drinking Earth’s best natural elixir!”

“Slow down your day with a Dreaming Whale tea break. You can enjoy the tea time when your tea is gently brewed through the Dreaming Whale’s tummy.”

“Open the cap of the whale’s belly under the whale’s body and add the tea. 
If you use the “stream of water” to put the whale in hot water, you can pump it conveniently.  You can see the water coming up. If you want to stir tea, just use the ‘stream of water.'”

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Brooklyn-based designer Jake Wright was surrounded by military-related objects from the time he was a child. Born to an Air Force Pilot and a military defense contractor, Wright was naturally drawn toward these materials in his design work. Known collectively as Stockpile Designs, Wright’s line of furniture and home objects is based on obsolete and decommissioned military equipment.

“This lamp is made with the tail fins of a 100-lb bomb from the Korean War. Paint and corrosion are removed to expose gleaming steel, interrupted by rough machinists marks from the factory. Finished with a nickel socket, elegant cloth-wrapped cord, and a natural linen shade. Included is a card outlining the piece’s history and care instructions.”

“Base is 29″ from table to harp (where the shade attaches), and approx 7.5″ in diameter; shade is 17″ in diameter and 12″ tall. Made to order, ships approximately four weeks from order date.”

The guts of these Korean War-era bombs have been scooped out and replaced with lamp wiring. Stockpile Designs also offers replica bomb lamps for those who like the look of the unique fixtures but aren’t comfortable with having a disabled weapon in their home.

“Cluster bombs are deployed as huge cylinders packed with explosive bomblets. At a pre-defined altitude the casing of a cluster bomb opens, spilling the bomblets across a wide area. First deployed during WWII, they were most widely used during the Vietnam War. American forces dropped hundreds of millions of anti-personnel cluster bomblets over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Nearly a third failed to detonate on impact, and are still responsible for hundreds of injuries and deaths every year.”

One of the most striking designs from the collection is the Bomblet Pendant. It’s made from a “lazy dog” bomb that was never explosive, but could be incredibly destructive when dropped from airplanes – kind of like vertical bullets. Wearing one around your neck as an adornment might seem strange to some, but perhaps it can be seen as an expression of non-violence.

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Is there any adult who didn’t enjoy making and watching shadow puppets as a kid? The “Bird in Hand” lamp from designer J.P. Meulendijks brings back memories of shadow birds, bunnies and all of the other creative manipulations we used to love making with nothing more than our hands and a light.

A flock of statue-still hands is situated in a circle around a hanging light in this intriguing fixture. The shadows they cast on the walls and floor closely resemble the creatures that kids all over the world create with their own shadows.

Moving around to different positions in the room and looking at the shadows from different perspectives would change the objects you see in the abstract shady shapes.

These outstretched, interlocked hands seem to resemble more than just a novel way to surround a light. Their interconnectedness is reminiscent of the way parents and children join hands when playing. Perhaps the overlapping hands also represent the many, many generations that have enjoyed making shadow puppets since long before electric lights made it easier.

The hands are made from a material created by the artist himself. ECOLOTEK is a fully compostable material made of hemp fibers, minerals and binder. The Bird in Hand lamp is available for €1066 (around $1400 US).

“This big eye-catcher is based on, and tribute to the universal art of hand shadows; making shadows on the wall using your hands to create birds, rabbits, and other figures. Playing with light and hand shadows is a centuries old past time long before electric light was invented. ‘ BIRD IN HAND’ plays with this concept: All of the hands are positioned to look like a flock of birds, flying out in circles. The shadows cast on the wall looks like birds. This results in a very expressive, dynamic and striking looking lamp , with layers of humor and poetry hidden in the design.”

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Displaying trophies of taxidermied animal heads on your wall is passé – and pretty gross. Designer Andreas Scheiger has completely transformed the idea of wall trophies with his series of functional bike part wall hangings. Using old bike saddles and handlebars, he creates a fun but useful piece of art that bears a striking resemblance (shape-wise, anyway) to the far less friendly traditional wall trophy.

Each faux taxidermy “head” consists of a bike seat with handlebars mounted just above that, both on a wooden plaque. No two are alike as the designer uses found parts to make each trophy unique. From parts that look almost new with their funky colors and patterns to the grizzled, falling-apart, well-loved pieces, each wall art item easily reflects the personality of its owner.

The series, called Upcycle Fetish, also has a practical purpose as hanging storage. The handlebars on each piece hold everything from bikes to hats to umbrellas – whatever you need to keep up and off of the ground. Seeing the “trophies” in use makes them even more appealing since they are not only cruelty-free, but upcycled and useful. It makes for the perfect combination and a rather rad line of products.

“Drawing and painting, handicraft working and sculpting always has been his passion. Already in his early years his teachers asked him to illustrate the school´s newspaper. Later he was the leading illustrator of Austria´s biggest students´magazine, which in turn led to various assignments. Andreas Scheiger cultivated his technical skills when he worked as a graphic designer and later as an art director in advertising. Inspired by pop art, bauhaus and modernism and the inherent idea of combining graphic design with free art, he passionately experiments with materials and styles. In all his works he aspires to create a visual impact by simplifying a complex concept.”

“Andreas Scheiger´s primary works celebrate the craft of etching, engraving and letter design with a nod to both science and the graphic design of the Victorian era. The work of his “Graphic Laboratory” is surreal and yet steeped in craftmanship, rendered with the same care Victorian scientists once lavished on their instruments and instrument boxes. His ongoing project “Evolution of Type” is inspired by The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering, a book by the pioneering and vastly prolific American type designer Frederic W. Goudy. Goudy laid great stress on the revolutionary impact of the alphabetic system of writing. He believed that letters were themselves a record of man’s history and development, and that each possessed an essential and organic form. Inspired by these ideas, Andreas Scheiger has created typographic sculptures and instructional posters: letters preserved in amber like prehistoric insects, suspended in specimen tanks like budding embryos, or with their casings incised and retracted. Andreas Scheiger interpretes letters as organisms and typefaces as species, all classified similar to biological taxonomy. Each letter displays the anatomical features and evolutionary characteristics shared by so many living creatures.”

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Snails and turtles are so lucky, carrying their homes with them everywhere they go. You can recreate the experience with a huge mobile home, but it isn’t quite the same. This rolling Snail Shell System, designed by N55, is more like the smaller shelters borne by snails: light, tiny and infinitely portable. With just enough room inside for one person, the shelter can be rolled just about anywhere.

Walking behind the wheel as it rolls is one way to move it from here to there, but it can also be turned into a small boat for traversing soggy locales. A resident can move it hamster wheel-style by walking inside, or it can be hitched to a vehicle and towed. Several Snail Shells can be networked to form a temporary community, or a single unit can be stashed in a regular parking space. For particularly hairy situations, the tiny dwelling can even be buried in the ground with only the entrance hatch exposed.

Inside, a gear box holds essentials like water containers, plastic bags, a flashlight, alcohol burner and kettle. A second container functions as a toilet when lined with a plastic bag, though presumably one would only want to use this in an emergency. The Snail Shell emergency shelter system is obviously not meant to be a long-term housing solution, but could be invaluable in the event of a natural disaster that forces quick evacuation.

“The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM is a low cost system that enables persons to move around, change their whereabouts and live in various environments. One unit supplies space for one person. It is mobile both on land and water. One person can move it slowly, either by pushing it like a wheel, walking inside it or on top of it On water it can be rowed, moved by a kite or hooked up to a vessel, for example, a ferry. The unit rests on one flat side and can be anchored in lakes, rivers, harbours or at sea. On land, it can be placed in city spaces, fields, forests etc The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM takes up very little space and can easily be placed in a discreet way. It can be buried in the ground, exposing only the entrance. It can also function as a comfortable space inside existing buildings Several units can meet up and form temporary communities The unit can be hooked up onto existing infrastructure like telecommunication lines and electricity cables (for example, by connecting it to street lamps). “

“If special devices are added, the unit can supply its own energy The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM can also be used for transporting different items and it can provide protection for persons when they participate in situations like demonstrations.”

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Color and playfulness define this interior intervention in a children’s space located within Kalorias Health Club in Portugal. The space is meant to provide a place for children to play, learn, and simply be kids. Ultimately, the deisigners, Estudio Amatam, wanted to give kids a space in which to use their imaginations and make the place their own.

Previously a space used to host corporate events, the Kalorias Children’s Space needed to be updated with children’s needs in mind. A bright but soothing shade of blue leads into the space, accompanied by playful alphabet wallpaper. Each arch in the corridor leads to a different room, each with its own defined function.

The colorful Play Room is defined by its grass carpet which continues onto a wall. The glossy bright stripes above contrast with the grass-like floor and enhance the room’s visual stimulation.

The reading room gives kids a slightly calmer environment in which to read, study, and watch movies. The black walls are actually blackboards that children can write and draw on, and the walls can become a screen for movies or cartoons.

The visual arts room features bright lights against a soft blue ceiling, resembling a starry night. The various portals, cubby holes and hiding spots inspire creative play and allow kids to explore and simply be kids.

The Open Play room is the most versatile space of all, giving kids a space to play sports, socialize, and explore. A mountain of Tetris-like blocks against one wall can be used as seating or as a fun climbing playground for kids. A small stage in the room also allows for fun theatrics.

“Designing this space for children led us to a journey through time and space in search of that restlessness that exists in the background of all beings , the imagery that makes us dream and we always seek whenever we need our most childish and creative essence.”

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