The Star Wars saga is built around a whole new universe that came directly from the minds behind the movies. This new, ultra-limited edition book contains the actual blueprints for everything from buildings to vehicles to renderings of characters like C-3PO and R2D2. Blending art and design with insightful commentary from the artists, this book takes you deep into the archives of Lucasfilm’s creative process. They’re printing only 5000 of this over-sized, hardbound volume, so don’t lag.
You shoot loads of video that nobody ever sees. Probably because you don’t want to deal with downloading, uploading, editing, and compressing it before you share it. Sony’s HDR-PJ50V fixes that. It records HD video straight to hard drive and features a built-in projector, allowing you to turn any wall into an instant movie theater. It projects an image up to 60” with no TV, no cables, no nada.
Taking cues from TransFormers and the ancient Japanese craft of Origami, the design duo behind Vienna’s HardGraft brand have created a pretty tricky bag. Depending on how you fold or unfold it, the 3Fold converts into a laptop case, overnight duffle, camera bag, attaché and so on. It’s handmade in Italy from vegetable tanned leather with wool felt detailing and all metal hardware.
The whole planet is polluted with used car tires. It’s cool this chair from green artist/inventor Peter Danko will keep a few out of the landfill. He uses chunks of tire to create a cushy, comfy suspension system for this task chair. The frame is made of tube steel and the seat is made from FSC-approved Ash veneers.
We’re always featuring new digital cameras. Mainly, because a new model comes out every other day and they’re all good for about one drop off the edge of the table. Replacement is inevitable. This updated Lumix GF3 is small yet powerful, bridging the gap between pocket-size convenience and pro SLR results. Just try not to drop it.
Leica cameras are known as the best in the world. The reason: image quality. Theirs is the best. It’s the glass in the lense, the internal geometries, crap you don’t even want to think about. Point is, Leicas take great shots and this new digital V-Lux 30 makes it even easier. Photos, video, whatever you want to shoot, it’s so easy with the V-Lux 30 it should be called Idiot Proof. People won’t even have a clue as to how clueless you are about photography. So don’t tell them and ruin it.
A British design collective led by artist Chris Duffy created a whole set of furniture in the theme of the Brothers Grimm. As you can see, these scary-fairy tales inspired unique designs. The Woodsman Axe coffee table features Hickory axe handle legs and an Oak or Walnut surface. This collection won the prestigious Peta Levi Memorial Bursary Award 2010.
The Lumix G3 is a complex camera. Rather than rattle off a list of tech specs, let us just say this thing will give even the most clueless shutterbug professional, high quality results. And like all the best digital cameras, this little beauty shoots crispy HD video, too. If you like a no-brainer, just snap the G3 on Intelligent Automatic mode and get great images without even pretending to think about it.
The ultimate war game now played with bullets. This handmade chess set is crafted from spent .233 bullet casings. One side uses brass, the other side uses metal and the board is made from a single slab of red oak. Each piece has been hand-shaped: cut, curled and burnt for a truly unique game set. If your chess games get heated, don’t worry, these bullets won’t shoot.
They look relatively simple and solid … understated. And that’s the point. Lum-Tec watches are handmade in small batches, right here in the U.S.A. Each model features a high visibility dial, using their MDV technology, so the numbers and hands glow super-bright in the dark. The new Combat B series models are available by pre-order only.
