“No Globes” is a snow globe containing a model coal power plant. When shaken, coal dust-like particles cloud the globe. The globe was created in 2009 by UK-based Dorothy Collective to highlight environmental concerns about coal power.

via Colossal & Play

In December 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that LEGO Friends was launched, a LEGO product line aimed to appeal to girls. The product line, which consisted of predominantly pastel-colored bricks and stereotypical themes, drew worldwide attention and controversy. Now, according to CNET, Adafruit Industries founder Limor “Ladyada” Fried (who has a Masters of Engineering from MIT) has worked with LEGO artist Bruce Lowell to create Ladyada’s Workshop, a LEGO version of Fried’s Adafruit workshop meant to inspire girls to pursue interests in engineering. The set has been submitted to LEGO Cuusoo, a site where LEGO set concepts can be voted on to become a real product. If Ladyada’s Workshop concept can get 10,000 votes, it will be made into a real LEGO set. “So now it’s up to you, if you want to celebrate art, design, science, engineering and open-source hardware place vote for ‘Ladyada’s Workshop’.”

Ladyada’s workshop is a place where you explore all the cool things you build and use when you’re an engineer! Computers, pick-and-place machine, laser cutter, soldering station and more! In Ladyada’s workshop you can run your own open-source hardware electronics company, complete with Mosfet the cat.

This is Ladyada’s desk, she uses a computer, a soldering iron, microscope and other tools to design electronics!

This is a pick-and-place machine. It uses cameras to pick up super-tiny parts to make the circuit boards you’d find in computers, cell phones, TVs and pretty much anything electronic!

via Geek Gestalt

photos & images by Bruce Lowell for Adafruit Industries

NoHo Design District commissioned Chicago-based design studio ODL (Object Design League) to create Balloon Factory, a meat balloon window installation for Japan Premium Beef in New York City. These balloons were handmade by Steven Haulenbeek, Caroline Linder, Michael Savona, and Lisa Smith. The installation was curated by Sight Unseen and was on display May 18 to 21, 2012. Randomly chosen meat balloons can be purchased online for a limited time. See the entire image gallery of the installation at ODL’s Flickr page.

A selection of uninflated steak balloons were displayed on butcher trays, framed by an installation of hanging sausage balloon links. This iteration extends the original Balloon Factory project and carries a strong reference to the intricate fake food prevalent in restaurant windows in Japan.

via designboom

photos by ODL

The Hold on Tight bookshelf features an integrated bookend that can be moved to accommodate different numbers of books. The bookshelf is a concept by Brooklyn-based designers Colleen & Eric. It is a finalist in the Dwell Live/Work Design Contest (you can vote for it here).

via The Awesomer, Bless this Stuff & Gadget Review

The Amphibious Red Couch is a “Bicycle-Pedal-Powered Paddlewheel Pontoon Couch” project created by Dawn Thomas and Robert Van de Walle that they will bring to aquatic events like Ephemerisle, Camp Tipsy, and the Rivertown Revival. It uses a fancy red velvet couch for seating. They recently started a small fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to finish its construction.

Harnessing the power of wing-nuts of unusual size The Red Couch shall become an aquatic conveyance of extraordinary utility and amusement!

Kelly Greenlief Sapp has designed Atticus Kitsch, a purple anthropomorphic gentleman octopus who wears a top hat and a monocle. She has started a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to bring Atticus Kitsch to market as an “octoplush”, a plush version of her original design.

The Censorship Towel by Carmichael Collective is a concept bath towel that cleverly pixelates your body in real life. Carmichael Collective is an ongoing art project by Minneapolis-based advertising agency Carmichael Lynch. We have posted projects by them previously, including Piñata Anatomy, Urban Plant Tags, and Bug Memorials.

Thanks for the Carmichael Collective for the tip!

Wicked Lasers makes LaserSabers, handheld light sabers designed for use in the real world. They are not affiliated with Lucasfilm but they dojedi have a Star Wars-like promotional video of dueling robed gentlemen.

Get ready to wield the world’s first and only LaserSaber! A radiant saber pulsing with laser powered energy. The LaserSaber is energized by the awesome light of the S3 Krypton & Arctic handheld WickedLaser.

Featuring an ultra smooth magnetic gravity system that can “power up” and “power down”, the LaserSaber is the next evolution in harnessing pure laser power.

via Thrillist

Huggies Supreme Hawaiian Diapers are a limited edition line of “tiki-themed” diapers (though I can’t spot any actual tikis) made by Huggies available until July 2012. According to Huggies, you can bring “Big island style to your little one.” They come in two designs and, yes, they have matching wipes.

HUGGIES Little Movers Hawaiian Diapers provide tropical style—without compromising on leakage protection.

…Two tiki designs in one pack lets you enjoy this spring season—and make your little one the coolest and cutest around

…Get the same tropical style—and a thick, thorough clean—with HUGGIES Limited Edition Hawaiian Wipes

via Tiki Talk

San Francisco-based Twinkie Chan made her own scratcher tickets based on a tutorial by Kaylah of The Dainty Squid. Twinkie calls her scratch-off tickets: Twinkie Chan’s $cratch-alicio$. You may remember Twinkie’s cute fingerless cheeseburger mitts that we posted about recently.

images via Twinkie Chan

To capture the attention of prospective clients, French creative agency Murmure designed these very clever concrete business cards.

via Freshome

The Animal Pocket Knife resembles a Swiss Army knife, but rather than concealing folding knives and tools, it conceals interchangeable animal parts. Animal Pocket Knife is a design concept by David Suhami.

via Yanko Design

Alex George spent two years mechanizing and animating this wonderful Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade using art miniatures created by Robert Olszewski. Here is a video of the tiny parade in motion and also George’s ‘making of’ video titled Mechanizing a Miniature Parade with Alex George.

via ImagineeringDisney.com

photos by Alex George for ImagineeringDisney.com

by Gary Taxali

The New York Times asked artists Gary Taxali, Art Spiegelman, Tomi Ungerer, Geoff McFetridge, Bob Staake, Marc Rosenthal and Jon Klassen to each create an original art piece as a tribute to the late Maurice Sendak. A slideshow of the art pieces and an opinion article, both titled Thanks, Maurice, is in today’s Sunday Review section.

image via Gary Taxali

Alexis Birkmeyer posted DIY instructions at Oh Happy Day on how to decorate plates that will encourage children to play with their food (even vegetables).

via Craft

photos by Alexis Birkmeyer via Oh Happy Day

Dutch artist Stefan Van Zoggel created this clever series of Star Wars-themed postage stamps.

via Wired

Manitoba’s oldest microbrewery Fort Garry Brewing is now making Kona Imperial Stout, a limited-edition craft beer that is brewed with 50 pounds of rich roasted coffee beans from Kona, Hawaii. It is described as “intense in-your-face goodness” by the brewery’s Matt Wolff. The stout’s retro-modern tiki packaging was designed by Atmosphere Design.

via Lovely Package

images via Atmosphere Design and Oh Beautiful Beer

UNIQUE SF is an independent design show and shopping event that will feature over 200 hand-selected designers and artists. It will take place June 30 and July 1, 2012 at The Concourse Exhibition Center’s East Hall in San Francisco, California. The event is hosted by UNIQUE who has also put on a UNIQUE LA event and plans to host UNIQUE NYC in the future. Tickets will be available to purchase online soon. 10% of all ticket sales go to 826 Valencia, a San Francisco-based tutoring center that helps children read and write.

The exciting two-day shopping event makes it easy for you to buy local, discover great design and deals, join in community, and have a blast. The products at the show are proudly made right here in the USA so you’re putting your dollars right back into our economy and local community. With DJs, free drinks/photo booth portraits/activities for kids, and a great cafe with delicious food and sweet treats, it’s a great time for all – plan to spend the weekend with us!

Here is a video of footage from the 2011 UNIQUE LA show:

We recently wrote about the Cryoscope, a touch feedback weather forecast device designed by Robb Godshow. At the time, the device was just a concept, but now Godhshow is developing Cryoscope for production. He’s raising funds for the project on Kickstarter.

Milan-based designer Andrea Maestri created the Fuck You! table lamp, a light fixture made of aluminium, leather, studs, polycarbonate, and plexiglass that shows an X-ray hand giving the bird. The lamp is part of Maestriland collection which is described by designboom as “provocative, symbolic and oneiric furniture.”

via designboom

image via designboom

Craig Robinson of Flip Flop Flyin’ has designed (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!), a poster where each dot represents one word of the Beastie Boys song of the same name and each color represents which band member is singing that word. At his site, he has posted a hi-rez version of the poster and asks people who download it to donate money to a cancer charity.

via I Love Charts and JHN BRSSNDN

The Instagram Socialmatic Camera is a design concept for a combination digital camera and photo printer for Instagram. The camera would include replaceable paper and ink cartridges, as well as 16 GB of memory. It would sync with Instagram and Facebook accounts. The concept is by ADR Studio in Italy.

We recently wrote about the Instagram Snap, a spoof camera concept by The Verge.

via PetaPixel

image by Susan Robb

photo via Seattle Center

“Parking Squid” by artist Susan Robb is a tentacular squid sculpture and bike rack. The squid is currently installed at the Seattle Center. In October it will be moved to a permanent home on a Seattle street.

via Dan Sneddon & Schneier on Security

“Where Things Come From” by German designer Hardy Seiler is an entertaining motion graphics commercial for an imagined educational show on curiosity and the origins of everyday things. Seiler created the animation as his bachelor project.

via Doobybrain.com

Now in its third year, Weapons of Mass Creation Fest is an art, design and music festival that features “20 speakers, 20 designers, and nearly 30 bands.” The festival happens June 8 through June 10, 2012 at the Gordon Square Arts District on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. Tickets are available to purchase now.

Weapons of Mass Creation is a young grassroots movement to inspire and enable the creative mind. We believe that good things happen when ideas and talents are shared within the community. This mentality manifests itself in the lifestyle of a Weapon of Mass Creation. A person who defies the hand they’re dealt and makes stuff happen.

Once a year, we have WMC Fest; the annual gathering of this community right here in Cleveland, OH. We celebrate and showcase the creative visionaries who embody this lifestyle. We bring the movement to the masses. Some have compared WMC Fest to SXSW, Brooklyn Beta, FITC, or the 99% Conference but with an indie/diy flavor. We aren’t exactly trying to be like them, but the comparison is flattering nonetheless. It’s part conference, part concert, part art show, and part festival. It’s simply WMC Fest!