Small Designs Mag

Small Designs Mag

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

8 Weird Car Designs


Beautiful or not so pretty, but interesting. Zeding.com made a top weird car designs that make you stare like you do to an accident. See here if you like them or not.


weird car design Hondo PuyoThis is the Honda Puyo, a concept car which runs on hydrogen fuel.  The Puyo boasts "no sharp edges" and is covered in soft silicone so that it can absorb light collisions. You use a joystick instead of a steering wheel. 









weird car design Mercedes-Benz Count Trossi SSKNicknamed after the "aristocratic" Italian race-car driver Count Carlo Felice Trossi, here's the Mercedes-Benz "Count Trossi" SSK.










weird car design GMC PAD
The Diesel-Electric hybrid GMC PAD. Not exactly a car but an entire home, really. Its fuel and water supplies last for weeks or even months. Its photo-voltaic cells collect sun rays during the day as the energy source. 




weird car design Peugeot Honey-B

Peugeot Honey-B, like bees, it is aerodynamic and it is an SUV powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Boasts seats with techno-cool hydraulic arms that help various preset adjustments - meaning they retract automatically to your preferred position once you're seated!






weird car design Nissan Moon Buggy
Created by Robert Hoffman and designed for an auto magazine, this Nissan Moon Buggy vehicle is the direct inspiration from the Lunar Modules. The oversize rear wheels are supposed to provide more efficiency in maneuverability. Not only that, when it reaches high speeds, Ailerons are deployed for increased aerodynamics, Ailerons are commonly found on fixed-wing aircraft!






weird car design Bombardier Embrio
The Bombardier Embrio is a powered hydrogen fuel cells, with infrared night vision and an active suspension that adjusts to road conditions, thanks to a computerized network of sensors and gyroscopes. To drive it, there's an accelerator trigger on the left handlebar, to stop it, simply use a brake trigger on the right handlebar. The Embrio is made of lightweight materials like aluminum, magnesium and nylon - weighing only 360 pounds!





weird car design Nissan Pivo 2
Nissan Pivo 2 is powered by advanced Compact Lithium-ion Batteries and featuring a unique rotating cabin, which means no reverse gear required. Each of the four wheels are powered by electric motors and can turn through 90 degrees to allow Pivo 2 to drive sideways as well as forward. 








weird car design Peugeot Moovie
Peugeot Moovie isdesigned by Portuguese designer, André Costa. The rear wheels are actually part of the doors, and have multiple functions: allowing access to the cabin and also reducing energy consumption because of its such huge set of tires.










Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Old books and vinils turned into pieces of art

Audrey Ruby is a great artist that turns old books and vinils into unique pieces of art and sell them on RetroGrandma Etsy shop.
I talked to her and she told me how she does it:

Handmade objects always have a story. They have a real character and charm over mass-produced items.

I've been crafting for years and loved every minute of it - it's my relaxation time. Some of the crafting I've done in the past involves sewing, ceramics, crocheting, knitting, plastic canvas.....and now I love to make unique items out of books and records:  book purses, IPhone docking stations, hollow book shelves, invisible bookshelves, book lamps, record clocks, book tablet device covers, record handbags, record bowls and containers, and record bookends. 


My favorite are the book purses.  I have made a large number of them over the years and never got tired of making them, as each one is unique.  How cool is it to walk down the street with one of these and see heads turn in amazement! 

I love searching for treasures at garage sales and thrift stores and this is where I pick up all my gently used records and books.

All of my unique items will spark conversation!  I’ve been creating these items for 8 years now and have had an Etsy store to share my creations since then.  I’ve done many custom orders for customers as they send me their special books to create one of my items for them – mainly book purses.   

My shop name tells you I'm a Grandma and I also love retro. I have a vintage shop also on Etsy:  http://www.retroclassics.etsy.com - which is a Blast From the Past!







Friday, January 16, 2015

3D car printed in front of customers at Detroit Motor Show

Detroit Motor Show came with a premiere this year: the first car to be printed right in front of the customers. Arizona-based start-up Local Motors brought this invention to the show and people could also ride the car.

The Strati, as it’s called, is a two-seated that can go up to 40 kilometers per hour and is meant for short, urban trips. It can be manufactured in just over a day. Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, the car’s manufacturer said that he hopes to be able to build this vehicle closer to 24 hours, by the end of the year.


The car’s frame and panels are printed out of carbon fibre-infused plastic, on a machine that could fit in a single-car garage. Made up of more than 200 layers, it weighs some 800 kilos – that’s more than half the weight of an average car in the US.

The car's expectancy is to be at least half a decade. Jay Rogers explains that "if you left it outside in the harshest of elements, you’d have probably five to six years of use. If you garage it and you use it like you would use a normal car, then it will last for much longer".

Also, the car is recyclable. "If it gets cracked or hurt or other things like that, you can take the components off that are not recyclable and recycle the material, get a credit for the cost of the material, and have a new vehicle,” said Jay Rogers.


The Strati will be available this year at a cost of between 15.000 and 25.000 euros.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Psychedelic art made out of drops of paint

Bruce Riley is a Chicago-based artist who creates beautifull, interesting and unique paintings. The abstract organic forms are made from layer after layer of dripped paint and poured resin.

Riley works using a number of experimental techniques, frequently incorporating mistakes and unexpected occurrences into the thick paintings.


You can see more of his paintings on http://www.bruce-riley.com/




Friday, December 12, 2014

Flopy Disk paintings by Nick Gentry

A man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. If you stil have flopy disks at home don’t thow them away. Artist Nick Gentry can make beautiful pieces of art out of them.

He is a British artist from London. He states that through this process "contributor, artist and viewer come closer together".


His art is influenced by the development of consumerism, technology, identity and cyberculture in society, with a distinctive focus on obsolete media.


His works have been featured in galleries in the UK, USA and in cities throughout the world.



See more of Nick Gentry's works at http://www.nickgentry.com/




Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Grotto Sauna for winter cold days

 In these cold days of summer, a hot place is a must.


The Grotto Sauna perched at the north-west edge of a private island in Toronto, Canada is not only a cool place to relax, but also has a beautiful smooth design. The 800-square-foot freestanding sauna carefully sits on the island's prehistoric rock formations.


The builders are the PARTISANS.  They’ve selected a concept of solid, simple presence on the exterior, while the interior followed dynamic air movements in curvature forms.

To minimize disturbance of the age-old rock, PARTISANS used a Leica 3D scanner to create a site model before working on the freestanding sauna design.

See more on PARTISANS site: http://www.partisanprojects.com/



Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Amazing carvings in New Mexico caves

For the last 10 years, artist Ra Paulette carved a sandstone cave in New Mexico’s desert.

Paulette created different designs and styles for every cavern, giving each one very specific qualities and textures. He carved over  14 different caves in the desert outside of San Jose.
No two of Paulette's caves are alike. Some feature under-size doors or skylights that let the sun in, while other include benches carved into the wall. The walls are also decorated with designs from flowers to abstract formes.


The purpose of this gigantic artwork is to create an environment that would inspire “spiritual renewal and personal well being.” It will also serve as a venue for artistic events once it’s finished.

See the documentary of Ra Paulette's carvings: http://cavediggerdocumentary.com/





Monday, November 10, 2014

Things you may not know about Monet, Van Gogh, Dali and Picasso

An artist creates his painting, through his work, people can take a glimpse into the painter’s soul. But what about his life? What are the artists unusual habits? Are there any skeletons in his closet?
It is said that the great geniuses of the world were not good at school.Claude Monet is an artist who did not like to study at all. In the short biography published in 1900, the artist said: “School always seemed to me as a prison and I could never convince myself that it was better to stay there, more so as it was four hours a day, when the sea was calm, and I had such a craving mood to stay in open-air.” Few people know that from this boredom appeared Monet’s first passion. During classes, he used to draw on the border of the book’s portraits of his teachers and other personalities in the city. Thus, at 15 years old he was known throughout Le Havre as a cartoonist. His fame earned him quite a few orders from friends and colleagues. He said: „In one month, my sponsors have doubled. I could ask for twenty francs without decreasing the number of orders. If I would have continued drawing caricatures today I would have been a billionaire.” 
Painting was not Vincent Van Gogh’s first love. The artist had in his youth a special inclination towards religion. He studied theology at the University of Amsterdam, but not for long. Because he did not understand the utility of learning Latin and ancient Greek, he dropped out of school. He later tried to follow a course of a preacher in Brussels, but failed to promote the final exam. After several attempts, the preacher stage ends, and Van Gogh is preparing to pursue his final vocation, that of an artist.
Nevertheless, one of the most eccentric artists is Salvador Dali. Convinced that he is a genius, he decides to write his memoirs in the book called „Dairy of a Genius, Salvador Dali.” Dali even makes the difference between him an ordinary person: „From the French Revolution has developed the vicious tendency to believe that geniuses are human beings more or less similar to the rest of the world. Not so true. And if this is false for me, who I am a spiritual genius, it is false for the Renaissance geniuses, like Raphael, who is an almost divine genius. This book will show you that the daily life of a genius, his sleep, digestion, ecstasy, his fingernails, coldness, blood, life and death are different from ordinary people.”
Pablo Picasso is another artist who besides painting had the passion for writing. In fact, when he had been lacking inspiration in drawing, he dedicated his time to poetry. The lyrics are written spontaneously, and the association of words and images is left to run free. The texts are written in a surreal manner, often without punctuation.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The Digital Tattoo – connects with your phone through your arm

For those of you who lose their phones we have some good news.

 Jim Mielke invented a device that is implanted into your skin. He made it to enter the Greener Gadgets Design Competition in 2008.

The implant is inserted into the arm through a small incision, and lies beneath the skin just above the muscle.

After it is inserted, tubes from the device are attached to a vein and an artery.

This allows blood to flow into and out of a small battery on the back of the device.


Thus your blood components, glucose (sugar) and oxygen are converted into energy.

The Tattoo interacts with your other devices such as your cell phone. A touch display appears on your arm allowing you to enter a phone number. 

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Pinza't - graffiti on bags and bikes

Pinza't brings a fresh, sort-of-rock-punk spanish design for bags. Plus, Pinza't only works with recycled good quality materials. Each item is handmade, handsewn and handpainted. Sam, a member of Pinza't told me how it all begun:

The beginnings of Pinza't are back in the new born XXI century, 14 years ago.  Samuel Nualart and Dolça Teruel, both sculptors, started the Pinza't adventure in a workshop in Barceloneta with a totally new business idea: combine recycled materials (the boom of the recycling bags will start a year later) with original art paintings. 

The Pinza't concept is inspired by the graffiti scene in NYC back in the '70 when the trains and subways where the common support for the street artist to develop their creations. So you have original art passing through the city, as our bags: unique art pieces wondering around different landscapes. Very important too is the relation we live with bikes: the bags are adapted to the bikes and we have specific products for the bikes (pedal straps, u-lock carries, bike seats, …) Biking is how we move!

We work as a collective, Sam and Dolça paint and saw all the products and other artists collaborate in the project by painting. At the beginning we were 4 artists, and now, the family has grown up to a  35 allover the world artist, mostly based in Barcelona. Five years ago we move from Barceloneta to Born, a neighborhood base of artisans since the Roman times. 

As we are 35, we have 35 different styles and influences, most of the artist are graffiti artists and some others illustrators. So, you will find icons of the street art scene in Barcelona and abroad like Ibie, Uyu, Alberto de Blobs, Lolo y Sosaku, Ovni, Morcky, Otica... and very tallented painters Minerva Capdevila, Javier Siquier, Emilio Cerezo... From the abstract to the figurative, there is a vast and rich exhibition. Our shop/workshop is a lively art gallery with new bags and creations every day.

We believe in recycling but in a way that the recycled material doesn't fell apart in months. So we choose always strong and tough materials such as truck canvas (3 layered pvc), seatbelts -if they can protect your live, they can carry your stuff- and also the buckles, just for fun. One of our achievements: our waterproof ink. It is the result of two years of research and it is really stable, also washable and doesn't fade away. We want our art to stay!
For our technic line, backpacks, hippouchs and messengers, we use cordura, ballistic and waterproof zippers to give the products a really long life.
 
Top item seller: bike straps, backpacks and laptop size bags

Not anyone can become a Pinza't artist, we are very accurate in choosing the artist we work with, and we like to keep an heterogeneous style. Normally, one artist introduces another.