*notcot - 08.31.10 , 21:45 -

Oakley B-1B Guidance System BMX Grips

b1b-0.jpg Retro designs keep coming back lately! And remember the fun fact that Oakley started in 1975 with BIKE GRIPS? Well, their initial product was made of a special material, Unobtainium ~ and this also crossed over into their eventual eyewear lines, but it started first with the B-1B ~ and they’ve brought the design back in an extremely limited edition run, with an updated newer, softer rubber compound - and a 2010 stamp is embossed on the ends of the grips ~ they will be available in 5 colors, here’s a peek at blue and white and the black and grey… and more to come! In fact they even used fun retro inspired packaging! They gifted me a few pairs when i popped by their HQ today ~ and it was such a gorgeous day out, and we were joking around that “B-1B Guidance System” sounded like it could be for missiles… so naturally, had to take some pics of them in front of their huge missile before i left! See closeups of the packaging, the grips, and a peek at vintage models on the next page!

p.s. UPDATE! Check out the super limited edition NOTCOT black and white grips here.

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*leo - 08.12.10 , 22:20 -

Areaware Animal Boxes by Karl Zahn

*notcot - 08.02.10 , 13:14 -

The Inception Top Totem

inception_top0.jpg Have you been as mesmerized with the Spinning Top Totem in Inception as i have? Separate the object from any meaning the movie may have added to it… and don’t think about the plot frustrations (though the movie was incredibly stunning!)… bottom line, its a gorgeous object! Incredibly iconic ~ and beautiful! (Ok, so in the recent year, i’ve also been a bit spinning top obsessed - see here and here) So in a little random research burst ~ i was surprised (though in retrospect it’s SO obvious) ~ to find so many replica tops popping up on the internet/ebay, that the cast and crew all received special ones, keychains, totem kits, shirts, animated gif icons, and more are all popping up all over… even guesses that future DVD releases may include one… And then of course, there’s also the college humor video mocking the top spinning finale… see it all on the next page!

p.s. So curious who actually designed this… any ideas?

p.p.s. looking at all the images together ~ it looks like the one in the film is the prettiest ~ with a nice sleek, slimmer top and better proportions? ~ all the replicas look… bloated?

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*notcot - 07.29.10 , 17:00 -

Intimidator Puzzle Pistol

thepuzzle.jpg Fascinated by this since i saw it on Gizmodo… The INTIMIDATOR PUZZLE PISTOL is is a single shot 45 caliber muzzle loading pistol. Hidden disassembled in a 125 piece puzzle which can be put together to form a 8”x4”x5” brick of a sculpture weighing in at 40 lbs… designed by GarE Maxton. It’s incredible and took him a year to build! See more pictures of the stunning puzzle on the next page, as well as a video of it being taken apart ~ and even seeing it SHOOT!

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*notcot - 07.22.10 , 10:00 -

Fred XYZ Blocks

fredblocks.jpg Some people have ABC Blocks for kids… not Fred. Fred of course has XYZ Blocks… wooden and covered with illustrations by Christian Northeast… with everything from waffles and graffiti to trailers and vinyl to corn dogs and heroes to quicksand and jackalopes… what kid (or creative desk space) doesn’t need these?!?!?! Peek at more pics on the next page…

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*leo - 07.17.10 , 09:00 -

Troika’s Restless Bats

troika-pinpong-bat-paddles.jpg A fun and original (hopefully inspiring) use of diverse materials and packaging. These playful designs by the talented Troika studio are perfect for gifting! Troika was invited by the Barbican Gallery to create an event to celebrate Ron Arad’s retrospective ‘Ron Arad: Restless’ at the Barbican Art Gallery. Building on Arad’s long standing association with table tennis, Troika created a ping pong tournament with a twist, for which they designed 5 sets of custom bats, more or less playable and inspired by Ron’s classic designs. Amazing pieces forcing you to shift perspectives on the game! See lots of pics of all the fun details on the next page!

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*notcot - 06.23.10 , 23:08 -

Reactor-88 VP-T Celsius

reactor88-1.jpg Some toys just stop you in your tracks. Like this brand new VP-T Celsius Toy Reactor-88 made for the upcoming Rotobox Ganmettal Celsius Custom Show coming up at the Toy Art Gallery in LA on July 10th, 2010! When i saw the sneek peek over at Vinyl Pulse, couldn’t resist begging for more pictures of this adorable little guy ~ so, if you’re ready, take a look at more details, even a look at his jetpack (ok, it might just be a backpack or the contraption that holds his wings on, though a guy with wings might still be able to use an extra boost) and more on the next page!

p.s. Love seeing the native american art influences in Reactor-88’s work ~ such a fun combination with custom toys!

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*notcot - 06.15.10 , 14:30 -

Best Made Co Axe Sling

axeit1.jpg Firstly, i’m a little confused/amazed i found out about the new Best Made Co Axe Sling on Gilt Groupe first. (Amazingly cool that Gilt Groupe even sells axes now though!) Secondly, Best Made Co AXE SLING! I never knew i needed/lusted/craved an axe in my life till Best Made Co started taunting me… they are just so beautiful! With the colored handles, and the stunning wood boxes they come in. And now they’ve taken it one step further, with the Axe Sling which… dare i say it… makes the Axe the new manly accessory du jour? This is not the axe of the axe murderer cliches of the past… perhaps it’s time for a new Axe wielding super hero ~ he walks into a bar ~ throws off his long black trench dramatically… only to turn and pull out an… AXE? How Paul Bunyan… Take a peek at the details on the next page…

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*notcot - 05.31.10 , 11:05 -

Tiger Balm Wood Prototypes

woodtiger1.jpg Feeling a bit nostalgic today, cleaning up old pictures and posts that fell through the cracks, wanted to share these little Tiger Balm toy/marketing prototypes my grandfather made that surfaced last time i was in Singapore. So adorable and made of wood, couldn’t help snapping a bunch of pics to remember them by! So sad one of them lost an ear! And some of the springs got a bit wonky… and check out the super cute blue toes! More details on the next page…

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*notcot - 05.30.10 , 15:15 -

Wooden Knight/Horse

horse1.jpg While trying to kill time in TriBeCa between meetings, i followed a recommendation to check out Playing Mantis for some fun wooden kids toys… and found the most amazing chess set of hungarian hand carved little knights… as well as these knights on horses. As you can imagine, it took a while to pick the perfect one, and i settled on this guy, because i simply had to get some close up pics to share with you!

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*notcot - 05.17.10 , 02:40 -

Core77 Photopaddles

core77-glasses0.jpg Firstly, Glen! THANK YOU. For being so incredibly kind and generous and giving me your photopaddles on the street. Once we all parted ways, the paddles and i found a face in just about everything i saw… so here’s a selection of them!

I’ve been hearing rumors about these paddles, and seeing supposed pics using them the last few days on iphones at parties and such… but until Glen actually put some in my hands, i didn’t understand quite how addictive these Photopaddles are. Geniuses over at Core77 gave the first 200 guests limited-edition “Instant Designer Glasses” Photopaddles designed by Steven Haulenbeek. Lots of the pics are showing up in their flickr feed… and see a selection of my ridiculous ones on the next page!

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*notcot - 05.16.10 , 09:55 -

#OBJECTHUNT in the Wild!

objecthuntnewMAIN.jpg It’s been so much fun watching people find the #OBJECTHUNT stickers throughout the city ~ as well as letting a few special people who find editors from Sub-Studio, Apartment Therapy, Design Milk, Moco Loco, The World’s Best Ever, Cool Hunting, Design Glut, or me - help with the sticker hiding in plain sight!

Here are a few peeks of sticker pics that have been popping up… hints? Don’t miss Duravit’s black bathroom goods… CITE is such an incredible show… ACE/Obey seems to have found one… Future Perfect and Areaware are def worth a stop… Uncomfortable Conversations and Sounds Like, DWR and of course the Standard NY in Meatpacking are must sees… a few are surfacing throughout ICFF… keep your eyes peeled at parties and throughout the city, even i don’t know where these might pop up anymore!

… and did you hear? Cool Hunting is going to pick another winner to win an iPad and one of their limited edition cases! Yes, in ADDITION to our other prize including a standard stay and dwell tix and a puppy… So spot a sticker, tweet a pic with #OBJECTHUNT and you’re in the running! (Object Hunt details here!)

p.s. hints will be tweeted by all of us through the weekend!

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*notcot - 05.08.10 , 16:35 -

Shin Tanaka’s Baggies

baggies1.jpg Shin Tanaka is indisputably one of the paper toy design masters of our generation… and his Baggies are adorable! And just in times for mother’s day for those kids out there looking for a fun way to customize a cute little something to spruce up your gift, how about making one of these your 3D gift card dancing upon the gift box? See some examples on the next page… and print one of his 3 patterns or the blank to customize yourself here!

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*notcot - 05.06.10 , 10:10 -

Oakley x Mambo Antix Up Close

oakleymambo0.jpg When i visited the Oakley HQ a few months back, one of the things i quickly became obsessed with was this artist edition Antix Oakley collaboration with Mambo. Yes, its from fall 2009 ~ but how did i never notice? And how did no one tell me about 1) how amazing the concept is and 2) how cool the packaging is~ particularly in how it opens! It’s fun enough i even had to make a little video for you on the next page so you can understand what i’m talking about! But first, back to 1 ~ the concept! Why do i not have more toys that serve a higher purpose… like holding my sunglasses on my desk and looking pretty cool while doing it? With details down to certain toes being lifted up, thumbs to hold it in place, a little red tongue… It’s a stunning toy. And a mind blowing glasses holder. And we haven’t even gotten to the beautiful art work adorning all sides of the box, the sunglass’ sleeve, and the sides of the glasses themselves. See more of Flavien Demarigny, franco-hungarian artist, born in Santiago, aka Mambo’s work here. As for the details i can’t stop gushing about on this stunning Oakley artist collaboration… see the pics and video on the next page!

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*notcot - 04.12.10 , 02:30 -

German Spinning Tops - Kreisel

germantops1.jpg While in Stuttgart, i had a field day going to toy stores! Germans seem to have far more fun toys ~ particularly wooden ones and i adore their amazing puzzles and stunning miniatures! After falling for the bowl of Japanese Wooden Tops (which i can’t seem to give any away so far, they live on my table and are far too fun!) ~ i think a fascination with unique tops is growing! Quickly! So when i encountered 1000 Schoen in Stuttgart, it was hard to resist buying up the pile you see above! The incredible wooden ones are made by Mader Kreiselmanufaktur, and their site even shows them being made by hand! Absolutely fascinating! The other type i fell in love with are these metal and metal/wooden tops that initially look like gears! For the wooden ones with metal tips and a bent metal rod included, you basically insert the rod into two holes in the top, twist to wind it up, and when you let go, the tension gives you incredible spin! The flowery gear you hold between two fingers and blow to get it spinning super fast, and drop it and watch it go! The man at the store mentioned it’s great to use a straw to keep blowing on it to keep it spinning. Take a peek to see them all close up on the next page, as well as a video of some in action!

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