Untranslatable Words

Here’s an article that caught my attention: 20 Awesomely Untranslatable Words from Around the World. Being a Swiss-German in NYC there are a few instances where I wish I could use certain Swiss-German words when speaking English and vice versa. Here are a few of the untranslatable words that caught my eye in the article.

Torschlusspanik
German – Translated literally, this word means “gate-closing panic,” but its contextual meaning refers to “the fear of diminishing opportunities as one ages.”

Tartle
Scottish – The act of hestitating while introducing someone because you’ve forgotten their name.

Prozvonit
Czech – This word means to call a mobile phone and let it ring once so that the other person will call back, saving the first caller money. In Spanish, the phrase for this is “Dar un toque,” or, “To give a touch.”

Dépaysement
French – The feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country.

Can you think of any expressions to add?

(via Sy)

Christmas Tree Alternative

Here’s a very stylish Christmas Tree Alternative: The recycled wooden (x-mas) trees are approximate 43/45 cm high and are made out of 6 different planks. There’s a small piece of string attached to the back so you can hang it on a wall. You can screw small hooks in the planks so that you can decorate the tree.

(via apartmentdiet)

Demand To See Santa

… the number of Santas available and a parent’s desire to have their children see St. Nick in a timely manner, loosely determines the potential sketchiness of Santas in your area. As demand (D) increases, you can expect a corresponding increase in quantity (Q) or available Santas and the sketchiness (S) of any given Santa.

(via Chart Porn)

Camioncyclette

So you think a serious food shopping trip for a family of 4 is impossible without a car? Think again. Christopher Machet brings you the Camioncyclette. It can carry loads up to 150kg.

Camion + Bicyclette = Camioncyclette
Truck + Bicycle = Truckcycle

(Thank you Veerle!)

Traffic Sheep

Please tell me that these traffic sheep made you smile! Right? Designed by Christoph Machet.

The Animal Print Shop



I just had another peek at Sharon Montrose’s Animal Print Shop. It never fails to make me smile. My favorites are the Baby Procupine, the Bunny and the white goose.
I noticed that Sharon currently has a sale going on which ends Friday. If you’re in the market for an animal print, this is the time!

(On a personal note: I had the pleasure to meet Sharon two months ago when I kicked off the Los Angeles chapter for CreativeMornings. Sharon is just what I expected: Warm, bubbly and delightful.)

Luma

I had the pleasure to welcome Dan Rubin and Naomi Atkinson at the studio yesterday. As Dan walked in I noticed the supercool loop that was connected to his SLR camera. It’s called Luma Loop and unfortunately they are out of stock. Booo hoo!

Robots

I see a new swissmiss obsession: ROBOTS!

Robot Pillows!


Wood Stacking Robots


Matryoshka Madness Robot

Alphabet Tape

House Industrie’s Alphabet tape gets my thumbs up. Take an ordinary object, put type on it and magically a smile appears on my face.

Ugly Sweater T-Shirts

Last week I got a surprise visit at the studio by a young gentleman (insert name here) that dropped off some pretty cool Ugly Sweater T-Shirts. Perfect timing as we had an ugly sweater studiomates beerfriday planned.

What do you think of our studiomates models sporting them? From left to right: Jason, Rob, Chris and Jeremiah.

The picture was taken by wonderful Erin Sparlin. You can see all of the Ugly Sweater Portraits here.

And make sure to read Jessi’s fantastic recap of the night.

Oh, and the The Ugly Sweater T-Shirts can be bought over at Vardagen.

Designing Media

In a recent post Khoi points us to a new book called Designing Media by Bill Moggridge.

Moggridge is a renowned interaction designer and the director of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. The book features interviews with thirty-seven people who have made significant creative contributions to the design and development of media, ranging from the publisher of the New York Times to the founder of Twitter. Read more about the book here.

You can watch videos of interviews here. And download 6 chapters as a PDF here.

Watch the interview with Ira Glass below. Ira explains how he has perfected the art of narrative, hooking the listeners with an idea and keeping them engaged by the flow of events.

(I finally know what Ira Glass looks like! Yay!)

And below is an interview with Chris Anderson in which he expresses his confidence that the magazine format is here to stay, as long as it makes the most of the unique attributes of magazine design, energetically pursuing luscious images, diagrams, and illustrations, with dramatic layout and rich production values.

Through a Hole

This clever music video for Atlanta based band, Vortex Park made me smile. Created by Alex Wolf. (Too bad for the ending though. They should have kept it in the browser window.)

(Thank you Matthew)

Fast Motion in Slow Motion

Graeme Taylor captures the world using a high-speed video camera on a fast-moving train. I agree with Capn Design, the results are really striking.

Cumulus Christmas Ball

Frequent readers of my blog know about my cloud obsession. So, this Cumulus Christmas Ball is of course making my heart jump. It’s mouth blown glass and oh-so-pretty!

(thank you Tina!)

Slow Down App

The free Slow Down App by Lucky Frame let’s you listen to your favourite music while driving but will alert you if you drive too fast or too slow. The magic happens with GPS. The app uses GPS to work out your driving speed. (Apparently continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.) Watch the video below:

The Slow Down App from OVK on Vimeo.

App Website
iTunes Link

Keyboard Music

While I am not crazy about the design of this Keyboard Experiment, I must say, it’s fairly therapeutic. And yes, my kids will love this.

(thank you Jennifer)

Aristotle on Excellence

“We are repeatedly what we do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

— Aristotle

(via The Happiness Project)

20×200: Dice

Love this Dice print by (Lisa Congdon over at 20×200. On January 1, 2010, Lisa began a project that would span exactly one year, until December 31, 2010. For every day, she photographed or drew (and occasionally painted) one collection.)

Magic Holiday Elves


I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked into the studio this morning. Some magic holiday elves came and decorated the studio! I was welcomed by a white christmas tree with red and white decorations. (White crosses on red background everywhere! Wheeee!) I also discovered garlands and custom made stockings (!) for every studiomate.

It didn’t take long to find out who was behind this lovely surprise. The elves are called Skylar, Josh and Aymie, our fellow studiomates. They sent me the photos of the making of and photos of all the individual stockings. I guess it’s pretty easy to guess which one is mine.

(One of our studiomates doesn’t really embrace this whole holiday extravaganza, so the elves hung this christmas ornament over his computer. Made me laugh.)

Skylar, Aymie, Josh, you are amazing. Consider this a big giant thank you hug. You all deserve a medal for your efforts. You have made my holiday season a really good one.

And yes, this has been the BEST monday morning surprise ever!

Matthew The Horse

There’s something wonderfully abstract and intruiging about this T-Shirt by Matthew The Horse.

LEGO Storage Box

Hands-down the coolest toy storage box I have seen so far: The Ogle Toy Box in the shape of a LEGO.

Pick And Mix String Lights

These String Lights had me look. Choose the colors you’d like from the palatte of 35 shown on the ‘color grid’ and make your own design. These look great around mirrors, on tables, in vases, redundant fireplaces or in a child’s bedroom as a gentle nightlight and they look as good lit as they do unlit.

Also check cableandcotton.uk

Boot Topper Kit

Here’s to all of you knitting fairies out there: A Boot Topper Kit. What a cool gift for a crafty-rainboot-loving-person.

(Wish I could make myself one in bright red, but I left my knitting knowledge in Switzerland, it seems.)

Swedish Raincoat

Arholma Svart and Arholma Vit are an updated version of the traditional raincoat worn by generations of Swedish fishermen. The coats have seams which are sealed to prevent any leaks and buttons of matte copper. Do I want one? YES, I DO!

Available here.

(via Gesa)