Crystal & Diamond-Encrusted Cooper Tires For 60th Anniversary Of Formula 3 Racing.

The press release:
Cooper Tire celebrated the diamond anniversary of Formula 3 racing in Britain by creating a set of jewel-encrusted tyres.



The tyres were made by London jeweller, Freddie Keeble at FK Diamonds, using both diamonds for the 60th anniversary, and Swarovski crystals.



The tyres were unveiled at Silverstone during the launch of the 2011 Cooper Tires British F3 International Series, where they were bolted on to the race car of Carlin driver, Rupert Svendsen–Cook.




The 2011 season is also the 30th consecutive year that Cooper Tire and its associate brand, Avon Tyres, have acted as sole supplier to the prestigious championship. In the last 60 years, the list of former British F3 competitors to progress to Grand Prix racing include such luminaries as Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Jenson Button, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Martin Brundle, Nelson Piquet, Johnny Herbert, Mika Hakkinen and Rubens Barrichello to name but a few.

Julian Baldwin, Managing Director of Cooper Tire Europe, said, “The Cooper and Avon brands have been involved in Formula 3 for half of the entire existence of the series in Britain. The diamond anniversary is huge landmark for Formula 3 and we are proud to continue our long-standing relationship with one of the most important single-seater championships in the world.”



Keeble, owner of FK Diamonds, said, “The process of setting the diamonds was certainly a little different from what we are used to doing.”



In order to set the crystals and diamonds, Keeble cut the Cooper logo out of metal and then set the stones within that to ensure they would be secure. The individual lettering was then attached to the tyre with a strong adhesive.


via autoblog

The tires go very nicely with these diamond encrusted racing helmets!

Graffiti Decorated Desktop Dumpsters By Steelplant.

Designer Ryan Christensen of Steelplant has come up with a very chic urban way to store books and desk accessories or as a container for live plants and other objects.




His Steelplant Edition One are a series of artist-decorated "Desktop Dumpsters." The graffiti-painted miniature steel dumpsters are each one of a kind and look just like the real thing. Dumpsters are cut, formed, and welded up from 14 gauge (1/16") 25-35% recycled steel. When empty, they weigh nine pounds. The lid tiles are milled from a wood/plastic composite material that is made from plastic bags and sawdust that would otherwise go to a dump somewhere.




Once built they are given to an artist, or multiple artists to be painted, inked, glued, printed, distressed, whatever. Each dumpster is unique in the first edition. The art and application methods will change with each release.







In Ryan's own words:
"Steelplant was born out of a massive year-long brainstorming session I had. Back in November of 2010 while working like mad on a catalog for a client, I got a serious overuse injury that crippled me for a year. During this time It occured (sic)to me how important it was to make objects with my hands. I also realized that I needed a creative outlet that wasn't limited by factors out of my control. When I was finally well enough to use my hands again I turned my thoughts into sketches, and my sketches into Steelplant."

Shop for them here

Drill Inc. Creates Xylophone, A Commercial For The Touch Wood Mobile Phone

A lovely and inventive three minute commercial, Xylophone, for a new wooden encased phone, the Touch Wood SH 08C from Docomo of Japan.




Japanese agency Drill Inc. (the same agency responsible for the website design of the Epos 100 artist Visa credit cards) and creative director Morihiro Harano hand crafted a giant wooden xylophone in the woods of Kyushu, Japan. As one little wooden ball rolls down the giant microphone, it plays Bach’s Cantata 147. The agency claims that no artificial music was used.



A joint project with Sharp, Olympus and Docomo, the phone is beautifully designed, as is the packaging

as well as the wooden charging unit by More Trees:


Be sure to see "the making of' the commercial here.

Here's a dedicated microsite for owners, the phone and accessories.

You can shop for the Touch wood Phone and the More trees charger here

A Talented Mom Designs An iPad App. Drum Roll Please....

Imani Powell-Razat, a designer/illustrator by trade (see Spye Design Studio) is also a mom who has designed and created an entertaining and informative application for the iPad that is a multicultural celebration of the world's drums.


above: Imani Powell-Razat of Spye Design and her son, Orion, playing with his iPad



Drum Circle Kids is a colorfully animated app that allows your child to engage in and create unique jam sessions by tapping five colorfully animated drummers that represent various types of drums found throughout the world.



The American Trap Set, Caribbean Steel Pan, Chinese Drum, Cuban Conga and the West African Djembe (with more drums to come) can be easily turned on and off with the tap of a finger and combined for dozens of possible musical and sound combinations.



Adding to the fun, is the possibility of discovering ambient sounds hidden in the scenery.



In the learn section, kids can swipe from one drum to the next and touch to play each drum while learning fun drum facts.


Intended for toddlers, age 18 month +
Buy it in the itunes store here

Funky Find Of The Week: The Mad Horse Table By Samuel Ben Shalom

The Mad Horse Table by Israeli architect and designer Samuel David Ben-Shalom.
Limited edition. Made to order. Available through Talents Design in Tel Aviv.


Contact them if you are interested in purchasing.

Kubrick Remasters: Graphic Art Posters Inspired By Stanley Kubrick.

It's a Stanley Kubrick day today on the blog. If you didn't read the post prior to this one on the amazing retrospective of the legendary director's work, please do. It's what inspired this post of the fabulous graphic artwork of Nick McLellan.

A companion to the exhibition at La Cinémathèque, Kubrick et le Web is a site which showcases the best of web creation on Kubrick, a contest in partnership with Dailymotion.

There are so many talented artists, designers, photographers and filmmakers out there that it is almost hard to believe. But one look at the numerous pieces of work inspired by Kubrick and his movies, you will have no doubt. One of the standouts on the site is the work of artist and designer Nick McLellan. His Kubrick Remasters Series is beautifully conceived of and executed.

Take a look:







See more of Nick's work here on Deviant Art