Author Archives: Ida Torres

Baking Vegan Slippers can be created with biodegradable materials in your kitchen

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There are a lot of things that you can do in your kitchen including cooking all kinds of recipes of course. But did you think that you can actually create shoes just from using household items and combining them with other biodegradable ingredients. That’s what a designer and educator is trying to teach us through a series of YouTube videos and if you’re the type that likes to experiment, then this would be right up your alley.

Designer: Giestas

The Baking Vegan Slippers are just exactly what the name implies. These are slippers that are made from vegan bioplastics and are put together and baked in an oven. If you have all the ingredients suggested in the YouTube video and you can follow the instructions, then you’ll be able to create your own footwear from the comfort of your kitchen.

The top of the shoe uses alginate which is actually a thickener taken from algae while the sole is made from ground cork and bound with something called agar which is an algae-based gelatin substitute. You can also use things like saffron or black tea to color your slippers. Using these food grade, vegan, and biodegradable materials means we can eventually reduce our reliance on things like plastics and fossil fuels.

Design-wise, the options are still a bit limited although we see some different options for the tops. The designer himself says that when it comes to the long term durability of the Baking Vegan Slippers, it still remains to be seen.

The post Baking Vegan Slippers can be created with biodegradable materials in your kitchen first appeared on Yanko Design.

Baking Vegan Slippers can be created with biodegradable materials in your kitchen

Posted on by

There are a lot of things that you can do in your kitchen including cooking all kinds of recipes of course. But did you think that you can actually create shoes just from using household items and combining them with other biodegradable ingredients. That’s what a designer and educator is trying to teach us through a series of YouTube videos and if you’re the type that likes to experiment, then this would be right up your alley.

Designer: Giestas

The Baking Vegan Slippers are just exactly what the name implies. These are slippers that are made from vegan bioplastics and are put together and baked in an oven. If you have all the ingredients suggested in the YouTube video and you can follow the instructions, then you’ll be able to create your own footwear from the comfort of your kitchen.

The top of the shoe uses alginate which is actually a thickener taken from algae while the sole is made from ground cork and bound with something called agar which is an algae-based gelatin substitute. You can also use things like saffron or black tea to color your slippers. Using these food grade, vegan, and biodegradable materials means we can eventually reduce our reliance on things like plastics and fossil fuels.

Design-wise, the options are still a bit limited although we see some different options for the tops. The designer himself says that when it comes to the long term durability of the Baking Vegan Slippers, it still remains to be seen.

The post Baking Vegan Slippers can be created with biodegradable materials in your kitchen first appeared on Yanko Design.

Bodega creates “jacket” for Crocs’ All-Terrain Clog

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I am not the biggest fan of Crocs footwear for many design-related reasons, including its hole-y look. A lot of people find it comfortable to wear, hence its popularity but if you’re hiking or climbing in some weird weather conditions, it’s not the best choice. However, streetwear boutique Bodega is adding an accessory to the Crocs Classic Clog that can turn it into an off-road kind of footwear.

Designer: Bodega

The Bodega x Crocs “NICT-TECH” All-Terrain Clog 2.0 features a removable hood that you can outfit your Crocs with to protect it against the elements that can make its way through the holes. Basically it’s a jacket for your Crocs so you’ll be able to wear it even if it’s rainy, sandy, or whatever other weather condition makes it uncomfortable and unsafe to have a clog with holes.

The footwear comes in a woodland bark camo print while the detachable elements have a matching brown color. The “jacket” itself of course has a weatherproof outer layer. There is also a tiny ripstop bag attached to it where you can put some stuff, providing they’re small and can fit in it without making you feel uncomfortable.

Probably another thing that people find attractive with Crocs footwear is that a lot of things can be attached to it to turn it into something else aside from a hole-y clog. This latest outdoorsey one from Bodega will be available starting September 27 on their website and costs just around $90.

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Worx’ portable work table is sturdy enough for your handy projects

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If you’re the type of person that likes to do handy projects every once in a while and outside your home or workstation, then a portable work table is probably a necessity. Not all tables or surfaces can be sturdy enough to do some sawing, hammering, or other tool-related activities. Not all work tables though are easy to assemble or to carry around or those that are portable may not be that strong to handle all the activities you need to do.

Designer: Worx

Tool brand Worx has come up with the Sidekick Work Bench, a “handy, compact, portable worktable”. When not assembled, it’s a weird-looking, toolbox-like contraption that a handyman carries around but once unfolded, it’s actually a 2-foot-square table. The collapsible design but easy to assemble tool gives the user maximum portability and versatility as well.

The table has metal legs that can withstand soft ground but also not slip on hard or smooth surfaces. The worksurface has different sections that can be used for whatever project it is that you’re working on, whether it’s indoors or outdoors. At the corners, you’ll see things that look like the infinity symbol but are connectors that you can use to connect to other Sidekicks in case you need a bigger work area or to other Worx products that can be connected.

Reviews say that this seemingly DIY-looking contraption is actually very stable and sturdy, perfect for whatever project you’re working on that needs a work table. The fact that it’s also pretty easy to set up adds to the good feedback from users.

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Helmet helps mitigate hair loss for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

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One of the most common side effects on patients undergoing chemotherapy is the loss of hair. It may seem like not a big deal anymore these days because people are more “accepting” of baldness, but there is still of course an effect on self-esteem and self-image of the patient. They say that hair loss is one of the most traumatic parts for them when it comes to their cancer treatment. A new product that will help them prevent this chemotherapy side effect will soon be available for commercial purchase.

Designer: Luminate

Lily is a helmet created by cancer treatment tech startup Luminate. The basic idea for the device is that when worn during chemotherapy sessions, the helmet applies pressure across the scalp that stops the chemicals from getting into the patient’s hair follicles. The helmet is also made from soft materials so it’s still comfortable when worn and will not add to the common discomfort patients experience when having their chemotherapy session. Just think of the helmet as a compression garment for the head.

The wearable device looks like your typical helmet but with additional paddings on the cheek and under the chin. The way it’s built and designed is to bock off the capillaries to prevent the toxic chemo cocktail from affecting the patient’s hair. In their initial trials, 75% of the participants retained their hair while undergoing chemotherapy while wearing the Lily helmet. There will be another trial this November involving 85 patients across the U.S.

Luminate is also developing a glove and boot set called Lilac that will help prevent neuropathy, another side effect of chemotherapy. The company’s goal is to make cancer treatments more comfortable for patients by creating products that will address the side effects.

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Sustainable refrigerator concept turns it into a “Food Station”

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For people like me who live alone and who has no time to really cook or prep meals, the refrigerator can sometimes be either an empty vessel or a wasteland of unused ingredients and leftover food. Some product designers probably had me in mind (even if I’m not Gen Z) when they came up with the concept for turning the refrigerator into a sustainable food station.

Designers: Hyungwoo Lee, Hyerhyn Park, Seokoo Yeo, Haeri Ryoo, Seryeong Hong

The OneTwo Food Station is a concept for a refrigerator for Generation Z that has a separate compartment for Meal Prep dishes. This means that the brand is also connected to a Meal Prep service and the OneTwo is merely a food storage for the dishes before you cook them or consume them. This prevents the unnecessary waste of ingredients that you don’t really need therefore helping you practice sustainable eating.

So basically the main difference of this ref is that almost half of the space is meant for these meal prep containers. Of course there’s still a regular compartment for other items that you still would want to store and there’s also a freezer compartment although this one is located at the bottom. Instead of the regular ref door handle, you have strap handles on the front for a more “appealing” interaction. It also has double-sided doors so you can easily reach the items whether they’re at the front or back.

The Meal Prep component on the OneTwo app is pretty customizable and also has some sharing and social components since we all love sharing what we eat, especially if it’s visually appealing. There was no mention of what material the Food Station is made from but in keeping with its sustainable branding, it should also be more eco-friendly than the regular refrigerators.

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Juicy Booth lets you have a cathartic, multi-sensory confessional session

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One of the hardest emotions for people to deal with is shame. We are afraid to admit it, confront it, and figure out a way to live with it. The healthiest way would be to talk to someone especially professionals. But if you’re not yet ready to take that step and you’re in London until December, there’s a pretty interesting art installation that may help you have a cathartic experience with your secret shame.

Designer: Annie Frost Nicholson

The Juicy Booth is an installation at the Coal Drops Yard as part of London Design Week which lets people have a 10-minute multi-media confessional session. Created in collaboration with K67 Berlin (a company that restores historical K67 booths) and The Loss Project (a social enterprise that creates spaces for communities to deal with grief and loss), artist Annie Frost Nicholson wanted to have a space for people to release their shame and have a quick healing session through colour, light, and music.

When you enter the booth, a refurbished K67 booth, you’ll see a retro 80’s keyboard where you can type out the thing that you’re currently ashamed of. Your confession will be spelled out on an LED monitor for your eyes only of course (unless you brought someone in with you there). Based on what particular emotion you’re dealing with, the system maps it out with their “carefully conceived colour spectrum”. You then get a light and sound show that will hopefully take you on a cathartic journey.

The whole experience will take you just 10 minutes but hopefully that is enough to start you on a journey to healing. You will also get to scan and access additional resources that can support you after your Juicy Booth session. The installation will be there until December 9 so if you have the chance to visit it and have a mini-confessional session, go ahead and do it.

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Starbucks Japan lets you put a barista apron on customizable tumblers

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Whenever I see the latest Starbucks merch that drops in Japan, I kind of regret not living there so I can get easy access to these cute collectibles. Eventually they become available in various online stores in my country but they’re more expensive of course, even for a semi-collector like me. The Starbucks Japan online store is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and they released a customizable tumbler that you can customize and make look like a cute inanimate barista.

Designer: Starbucks

The My Custom Stainless Steel Bottle Barista is an online store exclusive product that you can customize and order with a possible 343 combinations. When you take a look at the basic tumbler, it just looks like any other regular tumbler but the joy comes in creating one according to your color preference and then dressing it up with other accessories to make it more like you. This is supposedly like how you would customize your drink if you’re that kind of Starbucks drinker.

When you place your order online, you can choose what color your cap, drinking rim, and bottle will be. There are seven color options – black, white, light green, green, pink, blue, and gradated pink-yellow. But the cutest customization here is that you can dress up the tumbler in a barista apron in its iconic green color. The apron is not just decorative but also functional as it can help you hold your drink if it’s too warm or too cold. There’s also a pocket where you can place notes, cards, or the beverage ticket that comes with your online order that lets you enjoy a free refill when you go to your Starbucks.

They also want you to add even more personalized touches to your tumbler like ribbons, patches, pins, and stickers, although they don’t seem to be selling things like that. Maybe they’ll do so eventually, like how Crocs sells things like Jibbitz charms. I’m still hoping someone from Japan will send me one of these cool steel bottles, no matter what the color combinations are.

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Folder-shaped hard drive concept is a more organized way to store files

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When your desktop or laptop or tablet does not have a large storage or your work involves a lot of large files, external hard drives are life savers. However sometimes they’re just too bulky and heavy to carry around, especially if you work outside or move around a lot. Also, if you’re like me, most likely all the files are just dumped there and you rely on the search button to look for what you need. But you probably don’t need most of the files that are stored there and yet you’re still constantly carrying that big hard drive around.

Designer: Junho Han

The idea for the Folder external hard disk is to have something that is not just all about storage but a more efficient way to carry around your files. It is meant to not have all your files in just one bulky device but to separate them into projects or folders so you can be more efficient in finding and storing your files especially if you’re working on several projects at once. Not much details are indicated in the concept page but you can see in some of the product renders that there’s a 1TB marking although I’m not sure if a tiny item like that can hold that much storage.

The hard drive itself is shaped like a tiny folder that you can hold in the palm of your hand. That’s why it’s hard to imagine how 1TB can fit into that in real life. But the design is pretty cute and if you have several folders hard drives, it’s like you also have several non-digital folders to organize everything into projects. The hard drive circuit board is inserted in a slot under the folder and there’s a USB-C port also so you can connect it to your device.

As a concept, it’s interesting and nice-looking. It’s like carrying around a USB-drive only bigger than the flash disk but definitely smaller than the bulky hard drives. Let’s see if can actually work as an actual product.

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Yamaha’s concept for an outdoor heater gives off a flaming hot look

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I live in a tropical country so the need for outdoor (or even indoor) heaters is practically non-existent. But when I first experienced how cold it is outside when I traveled to places that have winter, I understood how important it was to have something to warm you up especially when you’re doing outdoor activities. Most of what I’ve seen are not necessarily aesthetic so there’s always room for well-designed heaters.

Designer: Yamaha Design Laboratory

Yamaha has been experimenting a lot lately with designs for various products that are not necessarily connected to Yamaha Motor or their other businesses. This includes creating design concepts for outdoor tools and one of those projects is for something called Bon-Flame, an outdoor heater attachment tool that combines the brand’s expertise in both mobility and their main product of musical instruments.

Basically this heater uses a bimetallic sheet that is made up of two metals that are glued together. The different metals have varying expansion rates so the sheet is able to change shape when heat is applied. There’s a small ball-shaped bimetal at the base which rotates when heated and then eventually opens up like a flower. The ending look is that of a large flame shape that gives you a pretty looking heater.

The concept also converts the flame of a single burner into far-infrared heat which is better for the environment as it has a lower carbon footprint. It’s still a design concept for now but it would be a great companion for outdoor activities especially if you’re going for an aesthetic look.

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