This series of three digital prints from Atmostheory, celebrating often used Mac commands, can be had for just $12.

via Swissmiss

Posted by Megan

I'm drawn to this set of ambivalent coasters by Canadian illustrator Ray Fenwick.

Posted by Megan

Today Umbra announced the release of Artala, a line of three trash cans decorated with the designes of Joshua Davis. The cans are available in red, kiwi and ocean and are made from biodegradable plastic.

Posted by Megan

We're about to be inundated with entries in HOW's Promotion Design Awards (judging starts tomorrow), so I've got clever promos on the brain. I was delighted by San Francisco-based Coco-luxe Confections, which makes gourmet truffles that can be customized with logo or text. The yummy candies would make a delicious, memorable client gift.

Posted by Megan

On the first day of the SXSW Interactive Conference, I noticed one corner of the convention center being taken over by interlocking cardboard shapes. The display morphed and grew over the four days as attendees played between sessions. Turns out, these "toys" are called Bloxes and were designed to build movable walls to dampan sound in offices and just build cool things. A case of 20 Bloxes in white or brown costs $59.95 and each Blox measures 9.5 inches square when assembled.

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This strikes me as being simply brilliant: chalkboard napking rings. At MoMA. Via swissmiss.

If you like Shepard Fairy's Obama Hope Poster that's been buzzing around the blogosphere, now you can get the design on a t-shirt from Upper Playground for $25.

Posted by Megan

Design*Sponge today points to a line of cute office supplies from Galison that features the designs of William Morris. What's really cool is that the Clover pattern supplies recently won a merit award in the HOW In-HOWse Design Awards. The pattern was reproduced from a wallpaper sample in the Brooklyn Museum of Art and can be found on file folders, journals, notepads and  more.

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A few years ago, during a drip to Madison, WI, I came across a set of adorable mugs with catchy word/image pairings. I chose one that paired the word "big" with a cute drawing of a wedge of cheese. But when I got home, the mug was broken (due to some bag packing on my part). So I was excited today to see a post about Jane Jenni on the Drawn! blog. I thought her style looked familiar so I checked out her site and there it was: big cheese (plus a bunch of other designs that I like even more.)

Posted by Megan

I just came across some great book covers turned into posters at UrbanOutfitters.com. Classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye are captured in all their vintage glory.

Posted by Megan

If you're tired of boring canvas shopping bags, BlueQ has a line of bags that are as stylish as they are sensible, including this one illustrated by mixed-media artist Charles Wilkin.

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via Core77

We love chocolate. We love Scrabble. We love Chocolate Scrabble, by designers Mary & Matt.

New Jonathan Adler mug with love on one side and hate on the other. It seems like a steal at $24.

Posted by Megan

If you were lucky enough to get an iPhone for Christmas, Veer has a treat for you: a selection of design and type-inspired wallpapers for your shiny new gadget.

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If you love Amy Butler's fabric patterns (like me) but aren't into sewing (like me), she recently launched a new line of paper products through K&Company. Plus she's posted directions for some great paper projects on her site.







via Fly

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With Christmas shopping in full swing, you just might need some help figuring out (fortunately, I just finished checking people off my list yesterday!). So, here's a really cool watch from NOOKA that has a neat display (12 dots light up to reflect the hour of day) and comes in a variety of colors (gold being only the obvious choice).

I don't don't know how most people in Sweden celebrate Christmas, but I think the designers of the Pipparkakan cookie cutters will be having a merry time, indeed. This would be just the thing to liven up a bake sale or cookie swap!


via NotCot

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Designer Josh Jakus's Wine Pocket is constructed of industrial wool felt collected from factory excess. It's both eco-friendly and stylish and now it's on sale at DWR for $29 with free shipping.

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From our favorite OFFICE supply store in Portland comes news of an upcoming exhibit and a few cool new products:

They're featuring 10 nationally recognized female letterpress artists in a show called (natch) LET HER PRESS, which opens November 29 and runs through January 19. Creative gals from Hammerpress, YeeHaw, Egg Press (all of whom have been featured in HOW) and others are participating; each artist has produced 5 prints, which will be for sale during the show.

During opening weekend (November 29 to December 1), OFFICE is offering discounts on letterpress cards and papergoods in its shop. Also new to the store: These cute (almost sexy, in a schoolgirl-fantasy sort of way) Japanese book bags.

I've got the holidays on my mind today so I poked around the web a bit to find some fresh wrapping paper that will look great under the tree. Here are some of my faves:


Snow & Graham from Kate's Paperie



Marimekko from Crate & Barrel



Paper Source



Pop Ink from CSA Design and French Paper



Whimsy Press

Posted by Megan

All the designers I know seem to have at least one (or two or three) notebooks going at the same time. They may take client notes in one with lines and save sketches in an unlined version. However, they're used, pretty notebooks make a perfect gift for the creatives in your life. Design*Sponge just posted a great roundup of gorgeous journals, notebooks and planners. From $7 to $73, you're sure to find something for everyone on your list.

Posted by Megan

The Savannah College of Art and Design has a great online store full of gifts for the designers in your life. One of my faves is a series of melamine plates, designed by the school's Working Class Studio, that are great for parties or outdoor dining.

Posted by Megan

Poking around the P22 site today, I came across these two very inviting welcome mats. Designed by Dard Hunter Studios the mats sell for $39.95 each.

Posted by Megan

Almost like snowflakes, car rims come in huge variety of patterns. And, as it turns out, the shapes are gorgeous when screen printed onto round cards. The Memowheel game, created by German designer Jakob Straub, lets you match 32 pairs of rims to test your visual memory.

Posted by Megan

  
HOW Books editor Amy Schell just passed along a link to a super fun gift idea from the Lomographic Society: a White Stripes edition of the Holga and Diana cameras.

Each camera set is packaged within a custom gift box and contains a treasure-trove of accessories. Pricing is $180 and 150 EUR per set. Purchases are limited to 1 JACK Holga set and 1 MEG Diana+ set per customer.

Posted by Megan

I admit it, I never get tired of looking at lovely letterpress cards, but when most of our communication is by email, wouldn't it be special to send a note on one of these monogram notecards from Anthropologie? Grab a set of 6 for $16.

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The designers in the HOW Forum are a crafty bunch. They recently started a thread about creative pursuits outside of work that yielded some great gift ideas. Check out the post for links to everything from photos and illustrations to notecards and journals. Here are three of my faves:

Gorgeous cut-paper illustrations from A Little Hut.



Letterpress cards from Sunlit Media.



A journal from Jane Hancock Papers.

Posted by Megan

I'm not sure I understand the connection between vintage cereal graphics and laptops but I dig this series of laptop sleeves from Target.


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I just came across this fun tape dispenser from Fred Flare and thought it was the perfect thing to perk up a Monday.

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Speaking of speech bubbles (see Photoshop Logo post below), I just ran across this Word Bubble Laptop Bag on swissmiss, a design blog Bryn just told me about the other day. The bubble motif is also available on a really lovely shoulder bag. All the bags, and other fun products, are made by hand by Michelle Kline of Portland-based SNAP Design.

Posted by Megan

The gang at House Industries has released their spring 2008 clothing collection (hmm ... what to call it? Street wear? Skate wear?): T-shirts, retro-punky golf attire (to be worn with a certain degree of irony while on the links), hoodies and pullovers.

A bathroom scale, that tells you how much you weigh in celebrities instead of pounds (from Baby Jesus to King Kong), is just one of the humerous offerings of Angry Retail, a Dublin, Ireland-based company founded by two graphic designers. The web store also sells T-shirts, posters, bags and buttons.

Posted by Megan

Here's a perfect office accessory if your coworkers are constantly borrowing things from your desk. Created by Australian product-design firm MOZI, these "borrowing checks" will help you keep track of your wandering CDs, books and office supplies.

Posted by Megan

Designers Andy Mueller, Jennifer Pitt and Kevin Fernley of The Quiet Life (a little creative side project for the trio) have teamed up with Lakai Limited Footwear on a sweet limited-edition collection of skateboard-y shoes.