JacksonPollock.org

I think JacksonPollock.org is my favorite website to visit when I'm feeling a little uninspired. It's a flash program created by Miltos Manetas, a London-based painter who believes "Our websites are the Art of our days", that lets you create digital Jackson Pollack look alikes just by moving your mouse. Click once to change colors and press any key to "sign" your painting. Kids will probably really get a kick out of this, and parents will love the easy clean-up (which entails hitting the space bar). My JacksonPollock.org masterpieces might not be "Autumn Rhythm: No. 30" by any means, but yours might be, check it out here.
(via PriscillaWoolworth.com)

Maptotes

When I travel I always throw a few empty totes in my suitcase, and they always get use, whether for it's to schlep tennis balls, dirty shoes, picnic blankets or cameras. Some of my favorites are these from MapTote ($15-$40). They have a great selection of cities, styles and colors—and I think they make an excellent gift too.

Globe-Trotter luggage

While I've been putting together a DESIGNwatcher traveler's guide, I realized that Globe-Trotter Ltd., the British hand-made luxury luggage line, needed its own post. Globe-Trotter has been around since 1897 and has barely changed its original design (although I more than approve of the addition of wheels!). Today the brand is witnessing something of a revival as it has designed limited editions for J. Crew and Vivre. Of course if I had suitcases full of money I would use them to buy a bespoke suitcase (to better carry the money with, obviously) which are available to order at Burlington Arcade store in London.


If that wasn't enough, (see I told you it needed its own post) Globe-Trotter commemorated their 110th anniversary this year by issuing the first-ever "next generation" travel bag, a fiber/Kevlar-weave travel bag that they are calling "stronger than steel, lighter than air, black like coal, and as innovative as tomorrow." Globe-Trotter called on Ross Lovegrove to design the iconic case hoping he would encapsulate the core values of Globe-Trotter's 110 years of luggage-making, while maintaining an aesthetic that would stand the test of time and become a collectible modern classic. The 110 Air Cabin case ($3,525) is available at Moss, Vulcanize in Tokyo and Selfridges Superbrands in London.

Paper AK-47 kit

About a year ago I wrote a post tracking the gun trend in design called When design gets deadly. I recently noticed a new addition to that trend with London-based Martin Postler's paper AK-47 kit ($42) from A+R. The idea is to "take away its original functional intent by rendering this death machine in paper, and the focus shifts to the power of form, and all that’s implied with it." Expert crafters over 18 only!

There's Good Bags and then there's Blue Bags

I can not express the frustration that I have with the City of Chicago right now and it has nothing to do with the fact that it is negative four degrees outside. I just really do not understand why, when the Mayor is saying things like, "Chicago will be the greenest city in the nation", that I can't recycle. I could go on and on with reasons why Chicago's Blue Bag recycling program is the biggest joke (and it's not just me: The Chicago Tribune states, "If Daley is serious about going green, he should stop finding excuses to stick with the blue." The Chicago Sun Times states, "The city needs to deliver a recycling program that makes sense. It's not rocket science. "), but instead, per my New Year's resolution, I'm going to focus on the positive.
[insert throat clearing noise and fake smile].
Progressive cities like San Francisco and countries like Ireland are outlawing plastic bags in grocery stores, so it's no surprise that reusable tote bags have become more and more awesome, like the above Eero Aarino tote from the Bags Of Goodwill ($15) series which has raised over $10,000 to The Fairtrade Foundation. Red Flag Design, a Vancouver-based company, also makes a variety of great totes as well as heavy-duty luggage from recycled boat sails like the photo below.

P.S. For the record, I'm not asking for Gavin Newsom or for anything spectacular here, just the ability to recycle without having to drive to a drop-off center that's miles away—maybe that's why the Chicago recycling catch phrase is: "It Starts with You".

Honesty Stamp

This stamp by London-based designer Dominic Wilcox, formerly of Mosley Meets Wilcox, pretty much says it all for me. I can't even walk into a Bath & Body Works without having a seizure from all the fruity smells, especially during the holidays, ick. Get the above honesty stamp here ($24) and check out some others in the series, like "You're right, the key to a strong relationship is communication." here ($29).

*Above stamp reads: "No socks, underpants or smelly soap will be accepted this Christmas"

Tom Dixon gets Punchy

Bad Boy British designer Tom Dixon has a new lighting series out called Punch, this includes the above polished stainless steel pendant lights, as well as table lights and wall lights. I love the line even more than his widely popular 2005 Copper Shade Pendant lamps I think. At first Punch suprised me a little as it didn't seem all that Dixonian to me. If fact, I thought it looked like a metallic Kartell collection. (Below is the 2005 polycarbonate Ge suspension lamp by Ferruccio Laviani for Kartell that I immediately thought of). The more I looked at it though, the more I liked it and was taken aback by the delicate yet bold metal work. I can't wait to see it in person and really take a good look. The Punch table lamp is available for purchase here for $435, I will keep you updated on other purchasing locales once the collection is more readily available.

Tim Fishlock Typeseat Poster

I found this limited edition silkscreen "Typeseat" poster on the twentytwentyone website this morning, which I LOVE! It's genius. I was actually planning to feature one of the London-based store's other hot items, Bags of Good Will, which is getting a lot of ink (Wallpaper, Cool Hunting). So, even though those bags are cool, the above Tim Fishlock Typeseat poster is a tad cooler, and it makes a great gift for a design-addict. It will look great anywhere—I think especially in a home office. twentytwentyone is one of London's premier design shops, and if I'm not mistaken, they ship pretty much anywhere in the world. The above poster is about $73 or £35 (yeah that hurts!).

black + blum

I am loving this London-based company, black + blum, for their very practical products for the home. I am especially a fan of the above "Time Square" ($78) blackboard/clock/magnet board. I have always wanted a chalk board in my kitchen to play around with, and this seems like a great one as it is a 3-in-1 type deal. Below is their "heavy-weight" ($50) tape dispenser that I am fiercely a fan of. Never in my life had I had the pleasure of owning or working with a solid functional tape dispenser. Almost always they would rip the tape into little strings and then the edge disappears and gets impossible to use. I'm getting frustrated just writing about it! @$#*!! This one is cast in zinc alloy, weighing in at a solid 3 lbs. and boasts a forged stainless steel blade. Thank you black + blum.

Labour and Wait

I have been lurking around the website of this London store, Labour and Wait for days now, because I can't get over how genius it is. The store is chock-full of simply designed items you need to live. Kitchen scissors, bottle openers, measuring cups, twine. It's like it never occured to these people that there was an invention after the year 1952 and I love it. The store reminds me of a coffee table book called Quintessence, first published in 1983. Check it out for your self right here!

Mason Pearson

This weekend I used Matt's brush, a white nylon Mason Pearson, and the rubber from the inside snapped off. Of course this happens the one time I use it. When I told him the bad news he was sort of horrified. It turns out he's had the brush since 1993 (when he was 12?), which was a little touching, but mostly creepy. But, to Matt's defense, if you're going to get attached to a hairbrush, it best be a Mason Pearson, the classic British brushes that have been around since 1885. In fact, Mason Pearson's rubber-cushion hairbrush hasn't really changed since then (besides minor improvements in the early 1920s). Good design apparently doesn't go out of style. The olde-timey names are still exactly as they were too: Large Extra, Small Extra, Popular and Junior. And, I love the boxes that don't look like they've changed much either. I looked around the interweb to see if his exact brush was replaceable, and thankfully they are still very easy to find. Matt you can get your old one from Amazon right here for $70. Hopefully it will last you another 14 years.

Cycloc

This would have been the perfect birthday present for my brother, Brett, who just turned 27 and is a cycling maniac. The Cycloc is an award-winning, well-designed solution for bike storage and display, which is a reality for pro bikers with limited space. I like it because if you are storing your bike indoors it doesn't look like a couple of hooks in the wall when the bike isn't there. There are three colors: Popsicle (red), Icicle (white), Verticle (green), and Recycle (100% recycled black plastic)— hey you're already using your bike for transportation, may as well get the recycled one too. Cycloc is a London-based company, each one sells for £60 which is about $119. Go to the Cycloc website for more info and purchasing details.

Orla Kiely

Orla Kiely is a brand with a philosophy I can get behind: "good design is not over designed and functionality is king." I love her designs also because they are colorful, graphic, and down-to-earth. Above is Scribble Stem Print Cushion ($109) and Colourful Vinyl Small Weekend Bag ($317) that you can get right here.

Dover Street Market

My friend Alexis, who I swear is living in a new city every time I speak to her (Rome, London, Paris—and now she's in beautiful Providence, RI), turned me on to London's Dover Street Market which I'm sure is much better in person, but has a pretty great e-shop as well—heavy on the Comme de Garçons line. I found the two above wallets that I really like just browsing around this morning. The one on the left is from their gold stamp collection which I really like because it's great for a guy who wants something more than the standard plain wallet but doesn't want something too "colorful" (£96) and the wallet on the right is a designy graphic faux fur hounds tooth print wallet (£116). Check out all the other goodies on the website.

Student + Art=Stuart

My well-informed friend Zoya, a fantastic painter studying at The Illinois Institute of Art, recently let me know about this really cool thing that The Saatchi Gallery in London is doing; it's one part online networking for student artists and one part forum to present your work to the world—they call it Stuart, and you can get to it by clicking right here. I was just browsing around for a few minutes and found the work (inspired by Pop/Warhol it seems) of James Derek Sapienza of Brooklyn College. The above print with repeating profiles of Lee Harvey Oswald (I think it's a print) is called "Wild Youth". Harrison has been trying to dig a hole in the couch for about 10 minutes now, so I gotta run. Oh, and more from Zoya in the near future...stay tuned.

Cut A Rug

I didn't realize how important rugs can be to a room until I actually put one in my living room. Great rugs, though, are really hard to find. That's why THE RUG COMPANY is on my personal list of top ten British Invasions (Rod Stewart is in the top 3). Their rugs are so cool and they have fashion designers like Lulu Guiness, PAUL SMITH, and DIANE von FURSTENBERG designing some great rugs for them. Matt is partial to the Paul Smith stripes, but I love the above "Durbar Hall" rug by Designers Guild.

Tom Dixon

"The Bad Boy of British Design" is the nickname TOM DIXON has received from the press—probably because he is a former welder who never went to art school. He has tons of fun products to check out, but my personal choice would be this groovy copper pendant shade. It's $375 and available at one of my neighborhood faves, TWENTIETH. I think it would look great over your breakfast table or a line of them over your bar.