Monster, Beast & Bear Rugs - Oh My!

Monster rugs, rugs with teeth, and bearskin rugs made of anything but bearskin, seem to be all the rage these days. So, I thought I'd share some with you.

First, a design and blog favorite, Joshua Longo's Monster Skin Rug, about which I was one of the first to write in a previous blog post:




above: made of Felted Cashmere, Wool, Polymer Clay, Stuffing
Visit Longoland, Joshua's store to see other cute monsters and furniture.


Monster Workshop's Monster Rug:


above: Monster's Workshop rug.
They also makes adorable plush monsters for purchase.

Adopt them here.

Beast Rug from Punga and Smith

Introduced at the 2009 Milan Furniture Fair, the felted wool rug has a brass skull


Punga and Smith

Eelko Moorer's Rubber Urethane Bearskin Rugs:
The brown, black and white rugs are specifically hand cast and made to order. Other colors are available upon request.







The original model has been executed by hand in clay. From this, a silicone mold has been made for the subsequent rugs. The rugs are all numbered and have a signature cast in the back:




buy it here.

The Blanket Statement by Lise Lefebvre:



The artists' own description: Blanket statement is a contemporary bearskin rug handmade from reclaimed traditional Dutch blankets. These one of a kind rugs showcase the intricate patterns and thick sturdy construction while hinting at another traditional décor style.

I don't know if the artwork below was inspired by some of the above rugs or not, but they would be a fun compliment.

Megan Burns painting:

above: Monster Rug, 2006, oil, 60 x w: 38 in / h: 152.4 x w: 96.5 cm
Contact The Proposition gallery for price (212) 242-0035

Benjamin Hall illustration for Blue Sky Comics:


The Road Kill Carpet from Ooms:



Edible Gummy Bear Rug
And of course, the Gummy Bear Rug, made entirely of gummy bears by sculptor Ya Ya Chou:


above: "Simon," 2006, 7"X32"X30", gummi bears, faux nailtops on wire armature and canvas (Retired)

So, given the trend, I guess it's time to get the monsters out from under the bed and place them square in the living room.


The Chrissy Skin Rug by Chrissy Conant.
Addendum: A reader mentioned being surprised there were no "humans as animal rugs", which reminded me of one of my favorite artists' pieces, which I simply had to add.  Thanks for the reminder Amy!





above: The Chrissy Rug by Chrissy Conant (image courtesy of Saatchi gallery)

To see tons of really cool rugs, check out my Fancy Flooring and Radical Rugs list on This Next.

Craftsquatch Geeky Pillows & My Suite Stuff Adobe CS Pillows

A place to rest your nerdy head.
The ultimate throw pillows for the tech-set, social networker or web designer!! Cute and well made as well as reasonably priced, these 12" square soft fleece pillows use the icons that represent many of the popular social networks such as; Twitter, the Twitter Fail Whale, DIGG, Facebook Friendfeed, Facebook, Tumblr, Myspace, Flickr, the RSS feed icon, Reddit and more.



And for your design-y friends the Adobe icons from their Creative suite are also available:


You can buy sets, like this "twitter" set too:


According to Craftsquatch's shop on Etsy, the pillows are 100% handmade and you need to allow 7-10 days for your item to be shipped because they're made to order. He will even ship internationally.

He (Justin) will also make a custom order with your Icon or Logo, for more info about custom orders, contact him directly through his etsy store here.


buy Craftsquatch pilows here.

Craftsquatch is not the only one making Adobe Creative suite pillows, My Suite Stuff also offers 12" square fleece pillows based on the Adobe program icons, only the lettering is white:




buy My Suite Stuff pillows here

Hot New Hi-Tech Jewelry: The O.R.B.; A Wireless Earpiece You Wear As A Ring

UPDATE: Despite winning an innovation award for this product in 2010, and the fact that they still list this product as in development, it has yet to come to market as of August 2012. Sadly, I don't know if it will ever see the light. If It does, you'll be the first to know.

As of July 2013, the O.R.B. is yet to be produced and solicits possible partners/investors via their site, but no new information has been dispersed since this post was originally written in 2009.

The Orbital Ring Bluetooth
The most recent piece of hi-tech jewelry to be developed is a wireless earpiece and ring in one.




The ORB(TM) wireless earpiece finger ring was developed by Hybra Advance Technology, Inc. in partnership with AbsolutelyNew’s Science + Technology Division. It's a finger-worn ring that twists open to become a comfortable, secure and sophisticated Bluetooth headset for hands-free calling.



above: The deluxe edition features a FOLED (Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen to keep caller ID and calendar reminders quite literally on-hand. It also offers voice-to-text for effortless communication without taking the ring off the finger. The base model has no screen or display.


above: Harnesses bone conducting technology to deliver high-quality sound without the discomfort of placing a device inside the ear.

All models deliver class 2 Bluetooth (~30-ft range) in multiple ring sizes.

Hybra plans to start selling its first ORBs in the U.S., Asia, and Europe as early as January 2010, at approximately $129 USD for the base model with premium aluminum housing. The Deluxe edition Orbs with displays will launch as early as April 2010, at approximately $175 USD.



The designers are also planning limited edition models in April 2010 featuring decorative gemstones, to be priced based on the value of the gemstones.

UPDATE: Despite winning an innovation award for this product in 2010, and the fact that they still list this product as in development, it has yet to come to market as of August 2012. As of June 2013, the O.R.B. is yet to be produced and solicits possible partners/investors via their site, but no new information has been dispersed since this post was originally written in 2009. 


About AbsolutelyNew, Inc.
AbsolutelyNew is the consumer goods company that partners with inventors (plus manufacturers and retailers) to launch breakthrough products. The company’s Science + Technology Division also helps innovators launch new devices and technologies into businesses. Products in AbsolutelyNew’s portfolio span a range of categories and can be purchased in stores and catalogs, online and on TV. Headquartered in San Francisco, AbsolutelyNew is privately held with venture capital backing from Artiman Ventures. For more information, visit www.absolutelynew.com.


About Hybra Advance Technology, Inc.
Hybra Advance Technology is a Traverse City, MI product design company that marries and morphs emerging technologies to create consumer electronics for everyday life. Founders Joseph Thiel and Ryan Wells, who remain its principals today, strive to challenge the status quo by leveraging technology to simplify activities and eliminate inefficiencies. For more information, visit www.hybratech.com.

composited images by If It's Hip, It's Here. Original images and info courtesy of AbsolutelyNew and Hybra Advance Technology