The flatpack furniture producers of the world would have you believe that you can add a beautiful piece of affordable furniture to your home simply by following a few simple instructions. They think that you will be so pleased by the saving produced by not having to pay a factory to assemble your new bed,…
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Traveling can be a stress-induced nightmare. Delayed and cancelled flights, lost luggage, missed connections, seatmate who sits cross-legged barefoot (*cringes*)? I’ve been through it all. What makes traveling easier–besides never checking in luggage unless you absolutely have to!–are the things you bring with you on the trip. Below are some items that will hopefully make all parts of traveling a little more enjoyable, from packing to being in transit to landing at your destination.
17oz Water Bottle by S’well \\\ $35
I never travel without a water bottle but I hate luke-warm water. I always carry my white S’well bottle with me because it makes ice water last for 24 hours (often times longer!). My husband carries the larger 25oz size ($45) with him and although he initially balked at the price, he no longer goes anywhere without it.
Natural Beauty – Cognac Toiletries Kit by Stephen Kenn \\\ $325
I recently discovered Stephen Kenn when I spent the night at the OURS Home No.001 (he designed that amazing sofa). When I looked into him more, I discovered he created a completely splurge-worthy leather dopp kit filled with lots of natural toiletries. I’m hoping my husband sees this and gets it for me for Christmas…
Crumpled City Maps by Pizzolorusso \\\ $13
There’s something about an actual, in-your-hands map that makes traveling so nostalgic. It promotes the art of getting lost and discovering a city, don’t you think? These maps aren’t so precious that you need to fold it neatly back to its original form (because who has the time for that?) but are still legible after you’ve crumpled it for the 18th time trying to get to the main street.
Field Guides by Wildsam \\\ $18
These travel guides uncover the soul of a city, documenting lesser known history as well as a curated list of recommendations that you would get from a friend who just visited.
Mini Jambox by Jawbone \\\ (on sale!) $45
While most modern hotels have some sort of small system that plays music and charges your phones, bringing one of these portable bluetooth speaker means that you can relax with your favorite tunes, especially if you’re going somewhere tropical.
Experiences by Airbnb \\\ Varies
Have you heard? Airbnb recently launched Experiences, a way for you to book excursions, classes, and more by the locals in your city. You’ll need to download the free app to book the experiences. With a variety of categories (sports, nature, social impact, entertainment, food, and arts), this new feature ensures that you’ll have a most memorable vacation doing things like mending pottery with a Kintsugi master or creating music with an electronic producer.
Chill Pill Charger by Whimsical Shop \\\ $30
It’s a standard now: never travel without a portable charger with you. This Chill Pill version made me laugh because it’s true, there is no chill when you’re at 1% and your gate just changed.
SLR Camera Strap by Tanner Goods \\\ $125
I purchased a new camera a few months ago and have been trying to find the right camera strap to carry it. This leather one looks very sturdy and also has very minimal metal hardware that might scratch it (a must when investing in a new camera!).
Watch Roll by Convoy \\\ $75
Packing your most favorite timepieces is easy with this watch roll that can also be doubled by using it to store your jewelry.
Herman Big Bag by Herman Studio \\\ $71
Finally, this bag can be used to trek your belongings across the city for a weekend’s stay when it’s not being used as a grocery bag or a shopping bag (multi-purpose products for the win!).
And in case you missed it, the Design Milk team shared more travel accessories and gear (the ones we own and always bring) in this roundup here!
If you’re a fan of architecture and design, you might know the work of Stefano Boeri, first by his time as editor of Domus, the Italian architectural magazine started by Gio Ponti in 1928, and where he spent three years before moving on to four years as editor of Abitare, one of the world’s best known design magazines. In his post-editor life, Stefano has turned his full attention to his own architectural projects. As part of an effort to revitalize Milan’s historic city center, he recently completed a design for two sustainable residential towers. Called Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) the apartments, are inspired by a need to create urban biodiversity, and will have more than 900 trees on 96,000 feet of terraces.
So that brings us to the Milan Design Week in April of this year, when the 3M Design team collaborated with Stefano Boeri Architetti to create “Urban Tree Lounge”. It’s more than a little nod to the importance that trees have played in Boeri’s work, with a decidedly urban edge. The “trees” are created using 3M films, nonwovens, and adhesives, which created a kaleidoscope of dancing light. At the base of the tree is space for visitors to rest weary feet (and as any design exhibition attendee knows, that’s no small thing!). The reflective light created by the leaves was intended to inspire visitors to “reflect” on their experiences in Milan and hopefully, the unexpected combination of materials and architecture would provide some inspiration fodder.
“Thanks to an energizing exchange of ideas, we were able to achieve the goal of creating a conceptual tree that, like an organic one, absorbs, filters and mirrors the sunlight to create a shadow to reflect and recharge. It’s my hope that this prototype can influence creative approach to design in public spaces,” said Stefano.
Stefano Boeri and 3M Chief Design Officer Eric Quint
We managed to snag some of Stefano’s limited free time, and talk with 3M Chief Design Officer Eric Quint to ask a few questions about inspiration, the importance of light in design, organizational hacks and more!
Where do you tend to find your inspiration as an architect?
SB: I find inspiration in day to day life, fueled by constant interpersonal exchanges with the people that come to our studio, lectures I go to, and guests I invite to my classes in the Polytechnic University of Milan and in the Tongji University.
Many of your projects have a “green” or sustainable aspect to them. What is the importance of sustainability in architecture and design?
SB: I believe in an evolution of the term sustainability. Usually it has been associated with a mere technical approach based on energy regulations and material efficiency. Sustainability has a more complex reality where three spheres are intertwined. First, the urban sphere with the human space, the natural sphere – spaces of minimal human intervention – and the rural sphere – the natural productive environment. A new concept of sustainability puts man in the center of this encounter, and by placing ourselves here it is necessary to ponder the relationship with all other species.
EQ: For 3M, sustainability is about achieving balance across economic, environmental and social factors while addressing global challenges with one common goal: to improve every life. Design plays a critical role throughout every phase of development and commercialization and it is about bringing sustainability, design and materials together to create solutions that have long-lasting impact.
How do you balance your creative involvement in projects versus your studio management related activities?
SB: Our studio has a unique work environment. The concept is of a social space where energies emerge. It’s a space of constant exchange of ideas and where all are invited to participate on different projects – from architecture to research, from industrial design to society.
It has become increasingly complex to manage the process of creativity and business and the many variables that impact priorities. Now we are involved in several pro-bono projects, such as a rebuild for the city of Amatrice (heavily damaged after a recent earthquake) and a public installation for a charity center in Milan, Italy.
What was the inspiration for the Milan Design Week installation and can you tell us more about the “Urban Tree Lounge”?
SB: One of the main inspirations was an advertisment from the 60’s for an Italian liquor called Cynar. They had a slogan “Bevere Cynar, il aperitivo fatto di carciofo contro il logorio della vita moderna” which means: Drink Cynar, the aperitivo made of different plants and herbs against the strains of modern life. The ad that was continuously present on television featured the actor Ernesto Calindri who was quietly sitting at a table in the middle of a street full cars, having a drink. His peaceful state is somehow a reminder of the search for calm in the current chaos in which we are all inserted.
How important was creative collaboration for you in this project?
SB: It was really really important. The constant exchange of information and knowledge with such an “avant-garde” and innovative material company as 3M was substantial for the project. Their research and evolution of materials, and their contribution was without a doubt an essential part of the project.
EQ: Our design teams worked together with shared values uniting quality with purpose to create design solutions that are beautiful, functional, and impactful. We thrive on collaboration, so it was a privilege to work with a partner like Stefano Boeri whose architectural influence, urban sensibility and sustainable mindset bring ideas to life.
The installation utilized materials traditionally used in very different ways, such as 3M Dichroic Film, typically used for architectural application on windows. How do you draw inspiration from unique materials to find new creative and imaginative ways to use them?
SB: The incredible thing about a material like 3M Dichroic Film is that it plays with basic elements like light. For this project, we were interested in exploring the current state of public spaces, and how they can entangle the notion of contemplation and relaxation (historical behaviors in Italian piazzas) with the current behavior of information exchange and constant communication that have occupied our daily life – there is practically a physiological need of recharging our gadgets that can also be applied to our bodies.
The Urban Tree Lounge was created to be a space for people to recharge their minds, as well as their electronic devices. What is the overall message you wanted visitors to take away from their experience?
SB: The Urban Tree Lounge was indeed a space for recharge, people and mobile devices, but also a prototype of intimiate public space that aims to generate spaces for exchange but also for the decompression of time. We wanted to create an opportunity for people to experience magic moments of inspiration and reflection combining materials and architecture in new and creative ways. A place to recharge the body and soul, creating a unique experience.
It is necessary to connect the current condition of virtual exchange that we have developed with the internet and new media, with the physical world, with the movement of our bodies and with the tangibility of contact.
Light and the use of reflective 3M materials were a key aspect of this project. What was the inspiration behind this? Why is light such an important part of architecture?
SB: Light has always been a matter of interest for architecture, from the classic architecture of gothic churches, passing through the modern architecture of Le Corbusier and arriving to the most corporate examples of contemporary skyscrapers. Light is the medium on which we relate body with the outside, passing through the physical constructions. Thanks to the materials of 3M, we could explore the possibilities of variation of light passing through a thin film, also the capacity to bounce and thus reflecting images.
What were your biggest takeaways from 2016 Milan Design Week and did the Urban Tree Lounge meet expectations?
SB: Milan Design Week has managed to once again become a center of creativity, and a place where energy and innovation have the opportunity to become physical. The Urban Tree Lounge executed in collaboration with 3M is evidence of how energy is transformed into processes that later have an outcome, that are not left behind archived in a virtual world – it is evidence of how a multitude of inputs manage to overcome distance, language, budgets, timelines to become tactile realities.
EQ: The conversation began with an interest in designing an experience that integrated 3M materials with collaborative creativity to welcome visitors and encourage reflection on new opportunities to design thoughtful solutions for tomorrow, and the Urban Tree Lounge provided that. A place for people to reflect and recharge.
See more of Stefano’s work here and learn more about 3M’s Dichroic Film here.
Nook Sleep is a Southern California-based company that’s focused on creating organic, eco-friendly home pieces that are designed for the whole family. Both modern and colorful, this collection of furniture is ideal for parents and children alike.
The Pebble Pouf is a cushy, multifunctional ottoman made from non-toxic foam, organic cotton, and Nook’s signature eucaplyptus Pebble Wrap (thus, its name). Even better, the Pouf is stain and liquid resistant, and the cover is washable.
Similar to the Pouf, the Pebble Lounger is the pouf, stepped up a level. It has a perfect arch for lounging for kids aged 18-months and up. It’s an ideal alternative to hard folding chairs and great for outdoor seating as well. Like the Pouf, the Lounger comes in six different colors to match any space.
The Microsoft Surface Studio desktop computer has garnered praise aplenty for its wow-factor tilting 28″ display design, a stunning transformative computer that will undoubtedly prove to be popular with artists and designers alike. The upcoming desktop system ships with a new set of matching gray peripherals – keyboard and mouse, with an optional rotary dial for wireless input duty. But those suffering from chronic wrist and hand pain will want something more ergonomic than a flat-laying keyboard. Cue in the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard.
Powered by 2 AAA batteries, the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard is a refinement of the company’s popular Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, softening the Sculpt’s manta ray industrial design into something more soft, sensuous, and luxurious, while retaining the angled-in design to help mitigate pain related to repetitive use. Besides the removal of the center exclamation cutout, the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard’s double-cushioned palm rest is covered in a pleasing two-tone grey mélange Alcantara, a stain-resistant material composed of 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane that mimics the feel of suede, and normally found in automotive and plane interiors.
The switch to Bluetooth 4.0/4.1 LE means this keyboard does not require a dongle, and the two AAA batteries should last for up to a year.
Ergonomic keyboards by the nature of their split keyboard layout can be divisive aesthetically, but Microsoft has done an excellent job of negating the inherent weird factor of split keyboards by redirecting emphasis toward its texture to complement the accessory’s gentle wave form factor.
Where the Sculpt is curved like the hard carapace of an arachnid, the combination of the Surface’s muted grey finish with the Alcantara palm rest presents a softer and more welcome tactile promise. As a whole, the keyboard looks like a gently formed piece of luxurious fabric instead of a hard piece of plastic (an effect also attributed to the use of the magnesium alloy for the body, same as found with the Surface tablets).
At $129.99, the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard is one of the more expensive computer accessories in its category, but everything about this device is premium in look, feel, and feature, warranting its higher price tag. And because it uses Bluetooth, the keyboard can be used for both Windows and macOS machines, making this model ideal for anyone suffering from hurting wrists – and ugly keyboards – regardless of operating system.
When you’re out shopping for gifts, it’s easy to get carried away wanting to buy the best of the best for your family and loved ones but it’s also just as easy to feel defeated once you add up all the costs on your “To Gift” list. Fortunately, modern design is accessible at all price points (I should know, I find a lot of them on @designmilkeveryday!). If you’re on a budget like I am, check out my round up of gifts that are under $50. I promise they’re not all $49.99.
Pizza Cutter – Riviera by Doiy \\\ $19
This Pizza Cutter is a quirky cool gift for the pizza lover in your life with its bike design in colors inspired by the French Riviera.
Custom Keytags by Various Projects \\\ $20
Make the ubiquitous key tag not as ubiquitous by creating custom ones based on the person you’re gifting! Warning: it’s slightly addictive. I just created these six and want to buy them all!
Untitled 4 Print by Jaime Derringer \\\ $44
Scout’s honor: Jaime didn’t put me up to adding this to my list. Ever since I saw this living room designed by Emily Henderson, I’ve been trying to figure out where I want to add this print in my own home.
Golden Ratio Temporary Tattoo by Josh Smith for Tattly \\\ $5 (for a set of 2)
I love and have gifted Tattly’s temporary tattoos before. They make great stocking stuffers and they’re a fun gift to receive. I especially love this for its simplicity and perfect proportions. ;)
Torrent Tumblr or Large Vase by btwceramics \\\ $44
Beautiful ceramics are, at least for me, one of those gifts that I would hesitate to buy for myself (“I don’t neeeeeed it…”) but wouldn’t think twice for gifting to someone. If you know someone like me, these tumblers/vases would be a pleasant present!
Makers Playing Cards by Art of Play \\ $15
If you’re like me and you have friends who are obsessed with board games, add this playing cards set to their arsenal of fun.
Crest Bottle Opener 4 (far right) by Fort Standard \\\ $48
While a bottle of wine is always a good gift for the hostess with the mostest, adding a bottle opener would be the cherry grape on top.
Brass Pencil by Restoration Hardware \\\ (on sale!) $17
Crafted in Tokyo, this writing instrument will make the average pencil look like a vintage heirloom, especially after the brass develops a patina over time.
Best Tee by Covert Subvert \\\ $29
This tee with its motivational message would be a great gift for the go-getter in your life.
Drink Rocks by Areaware \\\ $35
What are holidays if they don’t include some spirits? These Drink Rocks look cool while keeping your drinks cool and, most importantly, undiluted.
Cards by Punkpost \\\ starts at $6 (but your first card is free!)
And finally, if you’re really on a budget this year, don’t forget. Cards go a really long way. Send one using Punkpost, an app-based card-sending service that we’ve raved about before. The company sends cool, hand-written cards with extras like photos and confetti so that you can remind your favorite people just how awesome they are.
