Tamsin van Essen's Contamination cups are a little on the gruesome side - each appears to have been infected by a different bacteria type, bringing the microscopic to the macroscopic level.

Valerie Hegarty takes a counterintuitive approach to art - recreating and then destroying famous works of art - burning, ripping, shooting and otherwise destroying the work of her hands.

Sebastian Gronemeyer's Orchid Chair.

Fragile Lab is an apt name for this retail showroom by Import/Export Architecture. The facade appears tenuous with its off-kilter columns. Designboom has some great interior shots.

Hanna Nyman's 3-D wallpaper invites the user to peel off the outer layer to expose the design underneath.

Along the lines of post 13070, Designboom has a nice round up of some designer yachts. Above is Mael Oberkampf's Raven

The OBLO by Marko Pavlovic is a 3D puzzle for kids composed of spherical elements of various sizes, shapes and colors. The pieces must be twisted against a central axis in order to be disassembled or assembled. A Rubik's Cube for kids of sorts.

Kim Beck's A Field Guide to Weeds "masquerades as a 19th century pocket guide, but a guide in which the weeds themselves have taken over."

KDDI au recently unveiled the conceptual PLY Mobile Phone - a tabbed phone/printer/digital projector/game controller all-in-one. Each tabbed layer has its own distinct function.

Henrietta Swift's Letter Envelopes - a playful take on the traditional security envelope.

Hourglass salt and pepper shakers by Vitamin.

The Mighty Bearcats' Skin Series Bud Vase looks like porcelain but it's actually made of a soft and flexible plastic.

Takashi Sato's Tong lamp is influenced by kitchen tongs - a piece of bent aluminum sandwiches the light bulb enclosure.

The Joanopolis House by UNA Arquitetos, which uses local Brazilian materials and is beautifully integrated into its site.

Anna von Schewen's versatile Buss coat rack. Comes in birch/natural, stain or lacquer.

Four Korean university students designed the Muwi - an innovative lawn mower that makes mowing the grass fun. As the grass gets cut, the Muwi compresses the cuttings into either a ball or a cylindrical block. Perfect to play with or use to decorate your lawn.

Jean Nouvel's aquatic complex Les Bains des Docks, recently opened in Le Havre, France.

Julien Breton photographs incredible "light calligraphy" images. I wish I knew more about his process, because it boggles my mind as to how he does it.

Muji's Wall-Mounted CD Player is finally available for purchase in the US...

Mariana Tocornal created the Beecups Project as a way to investigate our emotional attachment to objects. By using an unconventional material with a conventional form, our understanding of the preciousness of the teacup is challenged.

A lovely Charcoal Water Pitcher that uses Japanese Iouseki stones and Binchotan charcoal to filter the water.

Mini Travel Towels at the Spoon Sisters - just add water and you have an 11" x 9” towelette!

Caroline Linder's 2x4 project (reminiscent of post 12760), which won DWR's Get Lit, competition. LEDS reveal patterns that fade in and out of the 2x4.

Luca Ionescu's Laser Etched Poster for Refill 7 (see also 3453 for their gorgeous laser cut skate decks).

Zoë Newsome interprets the natural into beautiful, wireframe jewelry.

Katrin Schacke's Stanley series of photographs - a lovely and odd collection of photos. I especially love the photographs with objects in motion.

The Pollen light by TwoCreate - check out their website for other gorgeous products...

Greenhouse by Jantze Brogård Asshoff - a sweet little trash can shaped like a house.

The Ivy Armchair by Paola Navone - an outdoor chair meant to be overgrown by ivy.

Litracon makes light transmitting concrete - I'm waiting for this to become a more common building material...

Anna Schmid's gorgeous wooden ring. I love the grain.

David Maisel's beautiful and haunting photos from his Library of Dust project (the book is coming out in a few months). Each corroding canister holds the cremated remains of patients from an American psychiatric hospital. BLDGBLOG has a great article on the project.

Studio Klink's Villa Peet. What strikes me as unusual about the house is the blank facade, with almost no windows facing the street at all. Images of the interior spaces show it to be super light and transparent, with views to the garden from everywhere in the house.

David Gardener's Paper Pulp Lamp - a lamp that is made entirely from the packaging used to transport the electronic components.

Kent Rogowski's turns ordinary stuffed bears inside out and re-stuffs them. The result is a collection of quirky little monsters.

Winnipeg had their second annual Steamroller Print Festival, where local artists create large linoleum carvings which are then inked and printed on large canvases with the aid of a steamroller.

Chueh Lee of Samsung China designed the Touch Sight - the first digital camera for the visually impaired. Features include 3 seconds of recorded sound as an image reference, and a flexible Braille display sheet that displays a 3D image.

Ryan Frank's Isabella stool, launching this September at the London Design Festival. Isabella is made out of Strawboard, a sustainable formaldehyde-free material made entirely from compressed straw.

Sascha Akkermann's Procontra shelving system - love the topographical nature of the shelves.

Macrame necklaces by Small Town.

Brittnybadger has a flickr set dedicated to disassembled appliances.

Timothy Schreiber posted a video of his Morphogenesis Chaise back in post 12331 - check out his updated website for more beautiful furniture.

Didac Catalán of Lowink Studio packages the last cigarette you'll ever have.

Waves - gorgeous letterpress print collaboration between Lena Corwin and Port2Port Press.

Peared is the work of recent Syracuse grad Conor Hagan. Gorgeous bottle form and brand design.

The Third Space - an incredible installation put together by 52 German design students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich who created a gorgeous space out of 1.3 million cable ties. The project took 16,870 hours to complete.