In the UK, where drinking warm beer was a thing, pint glasses were an appropriate vessel for centuries. In 20th century Germany, a new type of beer vessel evolved along with the technology of refrigeration: The stange, which translates to "pole" or "rod," as that's what the narrow-but-tall vessel resembled. Stangen are used to serve Cologne's Kölsch style of beer, which is best imbibed cold; thus the glasses hold just 100-200mL (3.4 – 6.8 oz), allowing you to get it down your gullet before the room warms it up. The narrow design exposes a minimal amount of beer to the ambient air, and also al ..read more

This object might baffle Westerners visiting Japan: To give you some context, you'd find it in a traditional noodle shop. It's an old-school spice vessel, invented prior to blowmolding. They often hold shichimi (a spice blend) and are easily made with local materials. The body is simply a bamboo stalk. The cork is a piece of wood that's been tapered, and the plug is a smaller piece of bamboo. Modern versions are machine-made and jointed like woodwork, but still made of bamboo. These newer versions obviously require a lot more manufacturing steps, and don't make sense versus t ..read more

At first glance, wearable speakers are a strange bit of kit. When Bose released their Soundwear Companion in 2017, I couldn't see the use case. But as I age it becomes more obvious. I frequently use captions while watching shows or movies, as I have a difficult time making out the dialogue, particularly if it's sci-fi with technical language. There are also times when I'm doing multi-room tasks, would like to listen to a podcast, but cannot wear headphones as I need to keep an ear out for animal care reasons. With full hands, carrying a Bluetooth speaker becomes inconvenient. There must not h ..read more

These stunning furniture pieces are by Australian furniture designer/builder Brodie Neill (who did that ReCoil table we looked at earlier). First off, this Bonsai shelving unit was commissioned by a client. It's made of bronze and hollow: The Atmos desk is "formed from a single surface of infinitely recyclable stainless steel," and was produced in a batch of eight units: The E-Turn bench is also made of stainless steel: As for more humble materials, Neill's Latitude bench is made of pine dowels: If you're wondering about the sharp materials departure for the last piece, it was ..read more

Korean artist/designer Oneseo Choi must have a steady supply of castoff aluminum extrusions. His "Pattern of Industry" series uses them to make furniture: Because Choi is branded both an artist and designer, it's a little trickier to evaluate the work. If it's art, it's essentially beyond reproach from this blog. If it's design, from a cost perspective the material choice doesn't make sense, unless the extrusions are surplus (or unless it targets the luxury market, where nothing is meant to make sense). In any case, the series has proved to be wildly popular. As seen below, Choi has won ..read more

London-based Scott Richler's design background is atypical: He's worked as both an architect and a jewelry designer. Both disciplines have clearly informed his Harlow Chandelier: The shades are mold-blown glass, available in white or smoked grey. The structures are available in finishes of brass, nickel, copper, bronze or black steel. The Harlow Chandeliers are made to order in Montreal by Gabriel Scott, the furniture and lighting brand Richler founded ..read more

Italian industrial designer Bruno Munari designed this radical Cubo posacenere ("Cube ashtray") around 1954: Image: Di Albertozanardo - CC BY-SA 4.0 Placing the butts inside the box was completely outside-the-box; up until that point, anything we'd call an ashtray was an open dish, with the crushed butts and ash clearly visible. Image: Di Albertozanardo - CC BY-SA 4.0 Munari explained his thinking: "I thought I'd do something that would hide the mess, because when we're at the table and there's someone smoking we have a plate of food and a plate of butts in front of us, which isn't very nice ..read more

Designer and manufacturer unknown, but this chair hails from 1970s Norway, according to reseller Møbelhøker. It demonstrates mastery of steam bending and, surprisingly, it's listed as a folding chair. You can guess where the pivot point is, though the hardware is unseen. The armrests must have been fiendishly difficult to make. Using a shaper or router to remove the material to create the armrest lip would've been straightforward, but the bend angle is crazy, particularly for a piece that thick. If anyone knows who the designer is, do tell ..read more

This article was written by Scott Jenson and Michael DiTullo A few recent tech writers have leaked that the new AirPods case will likely have a touch screen. Other earbud makers have tried this as well but it's Apple, so people will naturally have strong opinions, and we're no different. Designers always see what could be, and the two of us having worked with brands like Apple, Google, Motorola, and Nike had some thoughts on what it takes to make a beautiful and intuitive tactile experience in an increasingly digital world. While Apple may or may not decide to put a screen on the AirPod case ..read more

Interior design magazine RUM posted these shots of an NYC apartment renovation: While the newer furniture pieces are credited, this vernacular chair in the second shot is not: Image: Piet Albert Goethals The seatback flows downward to become the front leg, of which there are only three, to handle uneven flooring. It is a fascinating piece of furniture, and one I've never seen before. I am dying to inspect it up close to see how it was joined. Using Google's image search turns up some vintage French and African chairs that bear some similarity to the design, structurally speaking… …but none ..read more