Wood Jungle Wall Clocks By Nir Meiri. Walrus, Giraffe, Bear & Deer.

A series of four wooden wall clocks designed by industrial designer Nir Meiri. Each is shaped like the head of a different animal. $89 USD each.

Deer:

H 60 W 48 D 4.5 cm.

Bear:

H 39 W 28 D 4.5 cm.

Walrus:

H 36 W 26 D 4.5 cm.

Giraffe:

H 45 W 38 D 4.5 cm.

Buy them here

The Domino Wall Clock From The Carbon Design Group.

from the press release:
We live in a hectic world. Alerts, alarms, and reminders prod us through our days with unforgiving precision. Challenging this pressure-filled environment, the Domino Clock™ takes a simple, iconic object and transforms it into a new way to tell time. The concept is simple. Three larger-than-life dominoes are equipped with articulating dots that flip back-and-forth between black and white to keep time. They hang on the wall or stand free, communicating wirelessly as they quietly mark the passing hours and minutes. By subtly abstracting the idea of time, Carbon’s Domino Clock creates a more relaxing experience.



Challenging Expectations. While the idea itself is pretty straight forward, it challenges the assumptions we make about familiar objects. "People have a lot of immediate associations with everyday things, especially iconic ones," says Joe Sullivan, industrial designer at Carbon Design Group, a Seattle-based product development consultancy. "It’s interesting to play with these expectations. In this case, we’re taking a well-known object out of its normal context and giving it new capabilities, allowing it to function as something completely different."




"The numbering scheme on dominoes and dice developed as a way to represent numbers that’s immediately recognizable, so in a lot of ways it makes perfect sense to use it as a time piece," explains Sullivan. "Everyone gets it, but the fact that we’re not used to seeing it in this context makes it unexpected at the same time. It’s this shift in context that gives the concept a twist."



Fueling the Passion. The Domino Clock was one of a number of ideas bubbling up in the Carbon studio when it was selected to be a Carbon Passion Project. Similar to Google’s 20% Time, Carbon’s Passion Projects are designed to fuel the creative spark. "They’re a way to push the boundaries… to try something new, to take a break from the constraints of client projects and play a little," explains Dan Blase, President of Carbon Design Group. "These projects foster Carbon’s culture of learning and play, and, at the same time, give our team the variety they thrive on."

Making it Real. Simple ideas often require a good deal of work to keep them simple. "Form-wise, it’s a very literal reference to a domino, so 95% of the up-front heavy-lifting from an aesthetic standpoint is defined from the get-go," says Sullivan. Once the form is set, the conversation moves quickly to feel and function. The reference to real dominoes plays heavily here as well. From their playful falling motion, to the weight of the ceramic materials in your hand, dominoes have very specific physical qualities inherent to them. "The clock wants to communicate these same qualities, from the materials down to the precise motion of the dots."



"If you imagine a domino scaled up to a foot tall, it would be quite heavy and have considerable inertia. The mechanism that creates the motion needs a sense of gravity to it to give the flip the feel of falling," says Sullivan. It was up to Eric Davis, one of Carbon’s mechanical engineers, to solve the challenge of creating a small mechanism that generated this slow movement, yet was very quiet. The additional challenge of powering thousands of transitions a day without burning through batteries meant Davis would need to design a custom actuator. Ultimately, he developed a mechanism that runs off a small, electromagnetic coil. "You might call it a ‘single-poled motor,’" says Davis. "The magnet and the iron move around the coil… opposite the way motors are usually designed." The device can be fine-tuned to get just the desired flip speed. And, best of all, power is only required to initiate the movement, and not while the device is in either the black or white resting state. A more detailed explanation and video demonstration of the Domino Clock proof of concept prototype is available on Carbon’s site.

Bionic Skulls Series by Roberto + Colleen Crivello For Botanist

Over two years ago, I introduced my readers to the Designer Series of Botanist Benches in a post titled Botanist Designer Series: Benches That Give Back. Each designed by a different internationally renowned designer and whose proceeds benefited various charities.

Since then the company has increased their collection by adding clocks, lanterns and trays by various designers and again, part of the proceeds go to various charitable organizations.

One of the collections, the Bionic Skulls Series by Roberto + Colleen Crivello, benefits the Scleroderma Society of Ontario and features graphic skulls and line art similar to classic pinstriping.



Bionic Clocks (16L x 16W in) :




Bionic Lanterns, available in small, medium or large:


Bionic Trays (available in small or large):



The objects are made of powder coated steel and the trays and lanterns both have clear silicone feet to protect surfaces. Each item also features the authentic signature medallion.


More information about the Bionic Skulls for Botanist as well as many other collections can be found here.

Aspiral Clocks From London. Telling Time With A Twist.

Custom made in London, these unusual wall clocks slowly rotate so that the ball sits on the ledge of the spiral. As the clock reaches 12:00, the ball drops into the hole, only to reappear and start again.

The clocks are available in various colors and patterns and can be shipped worldwide.




Some of the available colors and patterns:

Price is £350 or $540.00 USD buy them here.

Never Heard Of Biegert & Funk? Then It's Time.

Biegert & Funk make one of the most beautifully designed clocks I have seen in awhile (and a cool matching iPhone app, too!).



The 45 squared (also called the QLOCKTWO) is a unique clock designed and handmade in Germany by Biegert & Funk, who also offer another clock, the Qlock 3.14, which you'll see later in this post.

The clock is marketed under two different names (the 45 squared at the London store fci and the QLOCKTWO at Biegert & Funk), but whatever you want to call it, it's a great looking timepiece.

Available as a wall mounted or tabletop version, without hands or numbers, the clock reveals the time, every 5 seconds, through glowing words that are selectively revealed by the cover placed upon it. The cover is not only available in five colors, as well as the newly released stainless steel version, but also in six different languages as well, allowing those all over the world the chance to own this extraordinarily designed clock.

(click on image to enlarge)


The front surface of the clock is made of polished synthetic glass and is supported by eight magnets, so the front surface can be replaced without visible attachments. When the clock is switched on, the chronometer adjusts itself to the split second and adapts the brightness of the characters to the ambient light.

Their newest addition is a Stainless Steel version:

Lime Green in Dutch:

Vanilla Sugar in Italian:

Cherry Cake Red in Spanish:

Black Ice Tea in German:

Frozen Blackberry in English:

Tabletop version in Russian:


All five colors (black, red, silvery-white, purple and lime green) and the stainless steel version are available in English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Russian and Italian.

The front cover replacements can be purchased separately, so you can have multiple colors or languages:

covers cost €95.00 EUR.

Even the cable extensions are thoughtful in their design, as they come in various colors:

clock cables cost €34.50.

How to read the clock:

No matter what color or what room, the clock looks fabulous in almost any interior:



technical specs:
* typographic time format in 5 minute intervals combined with four-minute dots
* Front: Acrylic glass polished edges, Body: Wood, four layers of lack
* DCF-77 time-signal receiver for to the second accurate time-telling without manual setting
* Automatic summer/winter daylight-savings time
* Light sensor for automatic adjustment to ambient light
* manual brightness control
* including wall brackets for mounting
* including massive acrylic glass holders for stand version
* Dimensions 450 x 450 x 20 mm, Weight approx. 4 kg
* International electricity supply 110V/220V, very low energy consumption (LED)
* handmade in Germany


And yes, there's an iPhone app too (English and German only):


get the iphone app at the itunes store.

QLOCKTWO is officially awarded the FORM#09 design award by German Crafts Association for its innovative design and functionality

At €900 EUR, it's not cheap, (stainless steel version is €1099.00 EUR) but then again, you're investing in a piece of art that functions as a clock. The clock is available from both the upscale and unique furniture and interior design company, fci and from the Biegert & Funk online store.

Qlock 3.14


Qlock 3.14 by Beigert & Funk is a much less expensive (€179.00 EUR) and less unique option, but is also available in various colors and languages. The round clock (love the name beause it is Pi and 'pie' is round) is battery operated and has a synthetic glass cover with metal hands.




Buy the Qlock 3.14 here.


Biegert & Funk GmbH & Co. KG
Goethestraße 29
73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd
Phone: +49 7171 104999 0
Fax: +49 7171 104999 22

Cuckoo for Cuckoo Clocks: Many Modern Versions Of The Traditional

What is a Cuckoo Clock?
A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum driven, that strikes the hours using small bellows and pipes that imitate the call of the Common Cuckoo in addition to striking a wire gong. The mechanism to produce the cuckoo call was installed in almost every kind of cuckoo clock since the middle of the eighteenth century and has remained almost without variation until the present.