I wanted to support this Kickstarter effort by Design Unsanctioned of their Spencer Collection because it illustrates how modernity does not necessarily mean stark. Modernity is just a reflection of our aspirations of what we want the “now” to be. Any material can be used to articulate modernity. This collection of bottle openers and key straps uses heritage materials but through modern technology like laser cutting – gains a neoteric purpose. It’s not my style but I appreciate the beauty in its warm minimalism.
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. It’s been an incredibly busy month here at YD so I haven’t had much time to capture all the videos I wanted but I promise more product reviews are coming. In the meantime, enjoy episode 8. I’m talkin’ Booq Viper hard cases, the red dot winning Sol Republic RELAYS and see how my Click & Grow herb garden is doing.
TRANISM is a weekly vlog series on YouTube. Brought to you by your favorite editor!
- Yanko Design Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world! Shop CKIE - We are more than just concepts. See what's hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design! (TRANISM Episode 8! was originally posted on Yanko Design)
Acoustic bliss in an orgasmic sense. That’s the best way I can describe a speaker to you since you can’t hear it. Audio is totally subjective. My review is based on three basic points – how it looks, how it sounds, and how it compares. The Libratone Loop has already won almost every major design award in our industry so it stands to reason the accolades along with the $499 price tag means a really good speaker. Hit the jump for my review!
By far the Loop’s design is the most brazen. It looks handsome propped up with the included stand but was meant to be wall mounted. With a myriad of colors to choose from – seeing a wool covered circular object on a wall instantly changes any space into a modern setting. It’s not something you see everyday and visitors will probably mistake it for art or even an odd lamp before guessing it were a speaker. This is the epitome of Scandinavian design – minimalism with just a touch of warmth and any semblance of boldness usually comes from color.
The saucer shaped disk ingeniously hides components that generate sound belying its diminutive size. Libratone calls it Fullroom sound. In layman terms, that means sound spills out at nearly 360º. From one speaker, you can fill an entire room with hi-fi audio with a surprising amount of bass. OH GOD the bass! I love me some bass. Bass is one of the key markers of a good speaker. The Loop rumbles without rattling. The mids and highs are well balanced even with the volume cranked up. Once you get past the initial setup, you can stream via AirPlay, DNLA, or directly via USB.
It’s expensive but if you’re an audiophile – the price shouldn’t be a surprise. There are a few off-name brands that make pretty decent speakers at half the price, but for this level of engineering and quality, the only other company that competes is Bowers & Wilkins. I had a chance to play with the B&W A5 which also happens to be $499. It’s also Airplay enabled and sounds amazing. Setup on the A5 is a little more straight forward. You just download an app and push a couple of buttons and you’re done. The Libratone also has an app but requires you to mess with your wifi network. Fortunately once you set it up, you never have to touch the app again. B&W designed their speakers to optionally work as a group. You can buy multiple A5′s and control them all from one place. The Loop is meant to operate alone. Besides that one caveat, choosing between the two comes down to aesthetics. The Loop looks like modern art. The A5 looks like a very expensive piece of technology. Which would you choose?
What started as a successful Kickstarter campaign is finally shipping and I got my hands on one. In this episode I set up the Click and Grow Smart Herb Garden and discover it really is easy for anyone to grow their own herbs at home. Each Smart Herb Garden comes with cartridges for basil, thyme and lemon balm. Future cartridges will be available for chili pepper, mini tomato and I’m crossing my fingers for berries! Oh I also participate in #whaling. You won’t believe it!
Hey YD’ers! Episode 4 of my YouTube vlog series TRANISM is fresh off the cookie line and ready for consumption. In this week’s episode, I try out the Boskke Cube planter for myself and go big by choosing an orchid as a guinea pig. To celebrate my new channel, I’m giving one lucky YouTuber a chance to win a cube. Just hit up the video to find out how to enter.
Last chance to win a Boskke Cube Planter! If you didn’t win the first 4 days, here’s another chance. To enter, leave a comment telling me what you would plant in your Boskke cube. Open to all North Americans and Europeans. The Cube is brand new from our friends at Boskke. Hit the jump for more info!
The clear structure of the Boskke Cube is a large water reservoir which you can monitor visually. Water is gradually drawn up through Boskke’s unique Slo-Flo watering system to feed the plant, meaning you only need to water it once a month. Check out the video!
Ever wonder what the chief editor of Yanko Design is up to on the regular? I’ve always kept my privacy but I want you guys to know me, (even when my mouth is wide open lip syncing on a commute). I want you to know the people behind this beloved blog. Now you can see what my life is up close and personal. I ramble on about stuff, complain about the gym, tease coworkers, review products and dance at the end of every episode. Subscribe to my YouTube channel!
We’re giving a Boskke Cube Planter everyday this week until Sunday! Yes we’ve extended it til’ Sunday. If you didn’t win the first 3 days, here’s another chance. To enter, leave a comment telling me who your favorite designer is and why. Open to all North Americans and Europeans. The Cube is brand new from our friends at Boskke. Hit the jump for more info!
The clear structure of the Boskke Cube is a large water reservoir which you can monitor visually. Water is gradually drawn up through Boskke’s unique Slo-Flo watering system to feed the plant, meaning you only need to water it once a month. Check out the video!
If you didn’t win the first two days, don’t worry. Here’s another chance! We’re giving a Boskke Cube Planter everyday this week until Saturday! To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment telling me when you first started reading YD and how you came across us. Open to all North Americans and Europeans. The Cube is brand new from our friends at Boskke. Hit the jump for more info!
The clear structure of the Boskke Cube is a large water reservoir which you can monitor visually. Water is gradually drawn up through Boskke’s unique Slo-Flo watering system to feed the plant, meaning you only need to water it once a month. Check out the video!
Didn’t win yesterday’s giveaway? Here’s another chance! We’re giving a Boskke Cube Planter everyday this week until Saturday! To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment with your three favorite YD concepts. I need links people. Open to all North Americans and Europeans. The Cube is brand new from our friends at Boskke. Hit the jump for more info!
The clear structure of the Boskke Cube is a large water reservoir which you can monitor visually. Water is gradually drawn up through Boskke’s unique Slo-Flo watering system to feed the plant, meaning you only need to water it once a month. Check out the video!
