Getting More From Your Kicks. Nat-2's Transformable Shoes

Talk about fashion innovation! Nat-2 makes shoes that transform into a second pair with the simple unzipping of a sole. From a loafer, quilted sneaker, canvas hi-top or other type of kicks to a flat slip-on sandal in one swift move. The tops are interchangeable as well so you can have multiple looks if you own several pairs.



But that's not all. They've also recently introduced the STACK (4 in 1), a pair of kicks that can transform into 4 different options, creating endless possibilities if you own multiple styles.



The Nat-2:


Made for men or women, the styles are varied, as are the materials. You can go 'flashy' with gold or silver leathers, semi-transparent styles or crazy colors. Or more understated, with black, denim, khaki or ivory canvas and a more simple silhouette.

A German-based company, Nat-2 has patented their 2 in 1 zipper function.

Part of their present collection:







And exciting new upcoming styles:






If 2 shoes in 1 aren't impressive enough, they've recently introduced 4 in 1! A shoe that comes with added pieces to give you four complete pairs in one.

The Nat-2 STACK:






See the video:
Nat-2 Official site
Headquarters:
Chiemingerstrasse 7, D-83339 Chieming-Stöttham, Germany
Tel:+49 8664 1782 Fax +49 8664 1728 Skype: sebthies
thies@kt-shoes.com

+ + + + + + +

Munich Showroom & Office
K&T GmbH c/o Charisma Trading GmbH
Zeppelinstrasse 11, D-85478 Garching-Hochbrück, Germany
Tel:+49 89 32443 67 Fax: +49 89 32443 68
Skype: sebthies
thies@kt-shoes.com

The Universal Toilet: Beautifully Designed Bathroom To Accomodate Anyone

The Universal Toilet designed by Changduk Kim and Youngki Hong:
The concept is a curving, graceful toilet that allows wheelchair users and everyone else to slide forward directly onto a toilet. A separate chest board to lean against adds stability. It removes the social stigma while improving one's lifestyle.



In the designer's words:

Taking the “Dis” Out of Disabled: the Universal Toilet
By Changduk Kim and Youngki Hong

Although various public amenities for disabled people are available, they are not always helpful. For instance, some disabled toilets are hard to use for those in a wheelchair even though the toilets are within the law’s guidelines. The Universal Toilet aims to make public environments more accessible and more inclusive. It incorporates universal design principles in a way that creates a toilet equally useable by all members of society and prevents people from feeling singled out for their disability.

The Universal Toilet considers all requirements for a toilet, such as target users, space and facility expenses. The design also incorporates a sink. Its major feature is its adaptability to both the disabled and non-disabled through the dual-function backboard and chest board. It also offers considerable space efficiencies, requiring only a quarter of the space of a standard disabled toilet. In addition, it conserves water by recycling the water used in the attached sink.



One for All
Disabled people don’t want dedicated facilities. What they really want is to live seamlessly with everyone. The Universal Toilet is a flexible toilet design concept that prevents the disabled and the aged from being self-conscious about their limitations. It eliminates the need for public facilities to have both handicapped-dedicated and standard toilets—a significant step that would go a long way in better integrating all people in to society.

While the current requirements for handicapped-accessible toilets are an improvement over past conditions, these facilities can alienate the people they are trying to help. For instance, the signage on these toilets showing a person in wheelchair may lead to feelings of rejection. Disabled people who are not in a wheelchair may feel that the facility is useable by wheelchair-users only, leaving them to struggle with a standard toilet. Such signs also earmark users as separate from mainstream society.

The requirement that public places need to have facilities for the disabled is a narrow interpretation of the law that has negative undertones, suggesting that concessions are being made. A broader, more inclusive interpretation would classify handicapped facilities as ones that the disabled may use without any discomfort—a more eloquent solution.

The designs of most toilets for the disabled have been concerned with functional and mechanical considerations, but none of them address the emotional components of a disability. By creating a toilet that is equally useable by everyone, there is no longer a need for special signage or for disabled people to feel singled out by dedicated facilities.

The Universal Toilet delivers innovation by accommodating the needs of the disabled and able-bodied in one design. We envisioned a toilet that extends beyond a simple concept to meet everyone’s needs—and in the process brings harmony to all.

The form of the Universal Toilet is similar enough to a standard toilet that able-bodied people feel comfortable using it. And because the design doesn’t scream “disabled,” disabled people don’t feel embarrassed to use it.

With the Universal Toilet, wheelchair users don’t need to turn or twist but can simply slide forward off the wheelchair directly onto the toilet. There is a chest board they can lean against for added stability and comfort. Handles on the chest board can also be helpful when standing or transferring to and from the wheelchair. For people that have limited dexterity or strength and the able-bodied, the chest board becomes a backboard to lean against.

The places where the wheelchair would come in contact with the toilet are wrapped in steel to prevent damage to the toilet’s finish. And the surfaces on the toilet that come in contact with the human body are treated with a special coating to mitigate coldness.

Offering Potential
The market penetration potential of the Universal Toilet is increasing. With the rise in the number of elderly people, many companies are pursuing business ideas targeted to this group. The Universal Toilet would be ideal for this demographic. In Japan, where a low birth rate is coupled with the rapidly rising age of the population, the size of the senior citizen market was estimated to be 40 trillion yen in 2001, and it is expected to grow to 100 trillion yen by 2015. As a result, many Japanese companies are working hard to establish strategies to embrace this group.

In addition to their direct financial potential, integrated toilets like the Universal Toilet enable more efficient use of space as well as water savings, helping companies to reduce costs and to provide better services to their customers. Any device that helps people feel more a part of society is sure to win hearts.

[출처] Universal Toilet|작성자 ethendesign



For more information, go to the Mimuun site.

Porsche Designs Releases Their Newest Mobile Phone: The P'9522

I blogged about Porsche Design's gorgeous mobile phone, the P'9521, a year ago and now the second generation has emerged.

Say hello to the P´9522

The P´9522 from Porsche Design achieves the familiar goal of setting new standards when it comes to combining technology and design.



Carved from a solid block of aluminum, the phone comes with a 2.8-inch OLED touchscreen display covered with a single sheet of scratch proof mineral glass. It has a fingerprint reader, 5.0-megapixel camera with video function, MP3 player, WiFi capabilities and GPS complete the package, with room for a micro-SD card to expand capacity. The purist design of the P´9522 complements its sophisticated technology.



Wireless LAN for unrestricted internet access. The highlight inside: an intelligent GPS navigation for reliable orientation.

Available from the beginning of 2009.

Functioning on quad-band GSM, this phone packs functionality and style into a simple and sleek package. The P’9522 will be available exclusively at selected Porsche Design boutiques, Harrods and Selfridges, and is expected to be priced upwards of £600.

Click here to reserve it in europe.

The FCC just approved it for the US, so it should be coming to the states soon! I'll keep you posted.

Don't forget all these other fabulous products from the Porsche Design Studio!

Majestic Gemstone Is Jewelry For Your Home: Semi-precious Surfaces and More

 



Want to add a little organic luxury to your home? Consider counter tops and more made from meticulously crafted semi precious stones and fossils.





Majestic Gemstone specializes in manufacturing, through a unique process, surfaces and end products made of inlaid semi-precious stones and fossils. Materials include blue agate, white quartz, petrified wood, amethyst, carnelian, tiger eye and more. Applications range from a line of vanities and mirrors, to illuminated bathtubs, bars, kitchen islands, showers, fireplaces and more.

For the bathroom:






 




For the kitchen:





Contact info:
Industrial Zone Ad-Halom
P.O.Box 12452
77600 Ashdod Israel
Toll Free: 1-866-796-4939
Tel: 972-8-8655996l
Fax: 972-8-8663697
majesticgemstone@gmail.com
www.majestic-gemstone.com

Jason Clay Lewis: Drop Dead Gorgeous And Ammo As Art

Like many artists, Jason Clay Lewis seems to have a fascination with death. The majority of his unique sculptures and original art are either made from rat poison, include skulls or reappropriate religious icons like Buddha and the Virgin Mary in fur and foam. His collections have names like The Black Death, The God Of War and Devour... you get the picture. Despite the glut of macabre art on the market, I do find his pieces alluring and bet you will too.

He recently had an exhibition at the 31Grand in New York (the gallery is now closed) called Drop Dead Gorgeous that featured the highly bloggable D-Con Mary and Poison Christ shown below.

D-Con Mary:



Poison Christ:


But I also wanted to share with you his engraved bullets.

His engraved bullets were created back in 2002, but if you haven't seen them, they are very interesting pieces. By simply engraving words and or images on real rifle and colt 45 bullets, they take on a personal narrative and become either mementos or, in some cases, wishful harbingers of death. Take a look.

Celebrities: Justin Timberlake and Pamela Anderson


Power Players: George W Bush and Donald Rumsfeld


Tragedies And Assassinations: April 14th, 1912 and December 7th, 1941


Pin Up Girls:


The Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony and Anger (technically, Wrath)


Zapruder Memento: The asassination of John F. Kennedy


And in 2004, as part of his Devour collection, he created 12 Shunga bullets (erotic japanese art)


A quote from the artist:

“As an artist, my approach has always been, intentionally, to confound and challenge attempts to make things fit into what we already know and think. I strive to question perceived beauty, passion, life, death, and creation. I have an urgent conviction that art is a passionate and essential affair, a matter of life and death, where one senses the only response to death is art. Without glossing over the violence of the natural world I ask questions about man’s suicidal folly, the one we call progress, a merger into a religion of commerce and profit, of false facades, and using a strategy to make us reconsider our world of visual imagery. I tinker with these visual explanations, trying to give them purpose, direction, and meaning. Always perfectly aware that knowing this constant probing does not have a sequence to a perfect solution. Atypical and fascinating, as an adventurer blending expression, analysis, and experience, I use every means and media available to explore the love of knowledge and depict limits, while trying to push those limits even farther. My interest in unique materials helps to develop my ideas of attraction verses repulsion allowing my work to have both a strong visceral feeling while maintaining a direct cerebral presence.”

Jason currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
See all his interesting work here.