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Creative Factor: Lightweight and portable, the inflatable will offer you much convenience.

Designed by Malafor, the hailed ‘Blow Sofa’ is another innovative product from the imm cologne 2010. The concept is all about saving space and allowing you to use your furniture everywhere. Each set mainly includes two dunnage bags, a metal rack and several rubber straps. Just fill the dunnage bags with air, strap them onto the metal rack and you’ll then get a simple sofa for your guests! When not in use, the sofa could be easily thrown into your bag. [Read the rest of this entry...]

City DC26- a 3.5kg device that is small enough to sit on an A4 piece of paper- is the smallest vacuum cleaner from the UK company Dyson. Being smaller in size dose not hinder its effectiveness in sucking up dust and hairs. As advertised, DC26 has the similar power as other Dysons.

It will be available in UK soon for£249.99, but we’re not informed when it will hit the US market. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Creative Factor: Micro wind turbines allow each family to use electricity converted from wind.

After two years of research, French designer Philippe Starck and the Italian company Pramac have finally come up with the innovative Micro Wind Turbine for urban areas. Philippe Starck Micro Wind Turbines includes two different versions- the ‘revolutionair WT 400W’ is a quadrangular device with a power output of 400w and the ‘revolutionair WT 1KW’ is a helicoidal-shaped turbine that can generate power of 1kw when the wind blows at a speed of 14mps. The blades of both the two types are made of transparent plastic, which is invisible in the pictures. A family may need up to 3 turbines to meet their needs of electricity.

The quadrangular model is priced at about 2,500 euros and the helicoidal shaped form costs about 3,500 euros. Installation cost of each is around 1,000 – 2,000 euros. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Creative Factor: A simple but multifunctional gadget.

How do you like those pieces of furniture we’ve introduced these days? Most of them were showcased at imm Cologne 2010 and apparently they benefit a lot to the promotion of household products. If you love them, you’ll also be interested in the ‘Saucer’ designed by Eric Degenhardt for German manufacturer Schönbuch. Also launched at the imm Cologne 2010, the gadget is a coat hook that integrates a tray on its top for smaller items. Coated with matte powder, the metal hook is available in various colors. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Designed by Alexander Ignon, the Loft Wing Ceiling Fan has brought us back to those old days when we were using palm-leaf fans to cool ourselves. The dramatic ceiling fan is aimed at both small living rooms and other large public buildings where energy-saving and artistic products are rather welcomed. The high quality German geared motor not only makes the fan to work quietly, but needs only 15watts of electricity to cool out the room. To top off the great design, Loft Wing Ceiling Fan’s dimension and color can be made by request. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Luggage-shaped wardrobes? What a brilliant idea! So next time you go on a journey, just take the luggage down and you can then set off! [Read the rest of this entry...]

Citrus juicers, salad bowls, can openers, and potato ricers, all these conventional kitchen gadgets have been redesigned by Jonah Griffith and finally come with a new look and a more powerful function. For example, the ‘Fresh Force Citrus Juicer’ employs a gear and lever system to make juicing fruit more easily, and the ‘Arta Salad Bowl and Serveware’ also comes with two handles on both sides to hold the spoons. [Read the rest of this entry...]

These cute soaps are made just for fun! Though in the shape of peanuts, the soaps actually have a sweet scent of orange (but why not just the scent of peanuts?). For only $4, I’ve come across the best (and cheapest) gifts for my female buddies this year. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Shown at CES 2010 in Las Vegas, the portable solar charger allows you to charge your electronics anywhere. It is a foldable charger, measuring 83cm ×140cm×35cm when unfolded but measures as small as a wallet if you fold it up. So next time your laptops, cell phones, GPS, or mp3 players are out of power, you can easily charge them with the portable solar charger in a park or even on the road. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Do you need a notepad to write down your thoughts and messages, or to communicate with your friends when you’re enjoying the coffee? Here’s one that could not only record your mindless thoughts but convey them to others in quite an interesting way. And the product we’re to argue is the ‘Communicative Coffee Table’ by Di Wu. The table features eight slide boards for adorning the table and a chalkboard for you to write on. One of the slide boards also conceals a duster to clean the chalkboard. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Ezison 100 is a portable speaker especially designed for iPhone and iPod Touch. Claimed by the Japan-based Bird Electron, users could turn their iPhones into electric guitars by connecting those devices with the speaker through the headphone jack. Measuring 450 mm×150 mm×35mm, the unique speaker is mainly made from wood and acrylic fiber. It also features a 2W digital amplifier. [Read the rest of this entry...]

I just love the look of these vases. All hand-sculptured from white stoneware clay, the Narwhal Vase, Snail Vase, White Rabbit Vase and the Angel Kitty Vase have been fired twice up to 2232 degrees before they were brought to us. Though each piece functions as a vase, these cute gadgets still doubles as an eye-pleasing sculpture when not filled with flowers. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Excellent functions are not always the thing we’re searching for nowadays. On the contrary, it is the attitude behind each design that affects us to evaluate the products. Though the concept about the Stickpecker is simple, the innovative chopsticks are quite successful in calling on us to respect and protect the nature. Shaped like a woodpecker and wood, the chopsticks are secured together by a magnet. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Possibly it’s time to take the cold and rigid architectures to a new altitude- not merely adding them with refreshing ornaments, but completely changing their structures. And then, the architecture will look more like an art rather than a place for us to live in. Just as you’ve seen from the pictures, the VitraHaus by Herzog & de Meuron is just an example of the instinctive buildings we’re looking for.

”By stacking, extruding and pressing – mechanical procedures used in industrial production – simply shaped houses become complex configurations in space, where outside and inside merge.”-Architecture Lab

Check out more pictures after the jump and read more about it at Architecture Lab. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Now this would look good in any office or living rooms. Made from fabric and stainless steel, the Bookwave Hanging Storage is a modular unit that could be adjusted to any sizes to meet your different needs. Apart from the function of a bookcase you’ve seen from the pictures, the gadget could also be used as a curtain or a room divider. [Read the rest of this entry...]