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It’s a cardboard picnic box. Might be just the thing for all your picnic outings this summer, as it has enough room to store your food plus the fully compostable utensils, plates, cups, containers and napkins that come with whichever Boxal you choose.

There’s also some suggestions of items and containers that go inside a Boxal, which is especially handy if you’re the type that appreciates a perfect fit; see their blog post Pack that in your Boxal & eat it.

Available designs: Urban Picnic, Today’s Date, and Office Escape (shown below)
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Lacie continues its partnership with reknowned product designer Sam Hecht for a line of simple and stylish netbook cases. The Formoa and Coat both feature neoprene rubber protection, accessory pockets, and suede interior linings. Based on its size, it sounds like it’d be a good fit for an iPad or Kindle DX as well.

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Shwood is a designer and manufacturer of wooden framed sunglasses. Each pair is handcrafted in-house at their Portland-based workshop. Currently two styles are available: Canby and Govy, available in Maple, East Indian Rosewood (my favorite) or Zebrawood.  Each pair comes equipped with your choice of imported Carl Zeiss or polarized lenses. All their wood is sourced from authorized sustainably-harvested plantations.

At this point I’m sure you’re expecting some ridiculous prices for all these features, but they start at only $95. Very reasonable considering the quality and craftsmanship you’ll be receiving.

This makes me wants to wear contact lenses again just so I get a pair of these. Maybe I can put in prescription lenses? Hmm….

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Here’s another option for cable management. These clips by Bluelounge seem easy enough to wrap your cords around, allowing for a tidy desktop or transport.

Available in either small, medium, or large packages.

As exciting as it is to come across new products and conceptual designs, more often that not it’s traditional and storied products that strike a chord with me. In this case, this bicycle bell was created by the Tokyo San-Esu Co in 1974 and is still in production today. When a product is so simple in function and perfect to begin with, it’s probably best to leave it alone. The brass bell and metal couplers have a level of timelessness and sophistication over today’s plasticky and cheap-feeling bicycle acessories. I may just have to pick one of these up at the Cooper Hewitt store while I’m still in New York this week…

If you need a heavy duty bag, check out this carbon fiber bag. It’s super light (under 3 lbs) but very sturdy, and, as an extra plus has that undercover/cool look about it. The briefcase (below) is also worth considering.

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Designer Faris Elmasu couldn’t be more straightforward in his reasoning for creating the Bent Basket: “I was sick with what the market had to offer and thought that people deserve a better design”. I personally am in complete agreement with him. Bicycle accessories that are highly functional that are also stylish definitely are few and far in between. Anyways, the Bent Basket is a molded wood veneer bicycle basket/rack designed for 700c road bikes, and looks seriously cool. The carrying area measures 16 x 12.5”  and integrated nylon straps locks down your stuff during transport. No official price yet, contact the designer for purchasing info.

Material:
Handmade bent wood, aluminum frame, nylon straps.

Carrying Area:
16”L x 12.5W

Maximum weight:
“12 pack of beer”

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I recently came across these awesome bags at the Moma Design Store in New York, but for some reason they’re not available at their online store. Luckily you can buy them directly from the designer. Anyways, the La.Ga is a Tyvek bag available in various custom prints. Tyvek feels like paper but is waterproof, tear-resistant, and because it’s plastic, recycleable. The large size of the bag and colourful graphics certainly make a bold statement. Be sure to check out their store to see the other styles.

Shown La.Ga Bags: NYC, Marilyn, Letraset

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If a colorful umbrella won’t cheer you up on a rainy day, I don’t know what will. 24 panels (instead of the traditional eight) compose the rainbow of colors.

Made of 100% nylon
Size: 40″ span

High technology meets high fashion in this new line of iPhone cases. The intricate and stylish surface patterns are formed through the use of 3d printing (selective laser sintering to be exact), which also helps absorb shock and increase grip. Additionally, the air channels enable your iPhone to stay cool. Four models are available: Weave, Double Mesh, Maille, and Plaid Armour.

Designer: Janne Kyttänen 2009
Material: Laser Sintered Polyamide
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Just pull the cord with one hand and watch as the camera spins around 360° in the other, recording your complete surroundings in a split second. Who says film is dead?

Film Type: 35mm

Also available from Lomography for €125.00.

Still searching for an appropriate lunch container? This box/bowl seems to have everything you’d need, a ‘glass like’ lid, sauce pot and dipping area, and inner dish for splitting food. Maybe perfect for salad and/or heating up food, perhaps. A fork/knife completes the package.

Made from polypropylene and copolyester (BPA free).
Dishwasher safe.

It’s about time this happened. I must have spent a good hour or so searching for a good kindle case/cover, only to settle on the OCTOVO Kindle Sleeve for lack of a better option*. If this had been available, I would have snapped it up in a second. A suede lining and double-stitched corner elastic straps to keep Kindle in place, and for notes, there’s a Moleskine reporter-style notebook.

Fits 6″ Latest Generation Kindle.

*I do like the Octovo sleeve, by the way. It’s super slim and the Kindle slips in nice and snug. There’s also no worries about screen damage as it’s a sleeve instead of a book-style cover.

100% wool felt with protective bumps makes these colorful sleeves handy for e-readers or laptops, and the fact that they’re by MIO makes them even better (because they’re nice guys).

Designed by Jaime Salm and Brian Kelly, manufactured by MIO

That’s right, Moleskine has added quite a few United States cities to its collection of city notebooks. The city map is invaluable, and there’s tons of room for making notes on shops and restaurants to revisit (or avoid). I fully recommend getting whichever one for exploring whatever city you’re visiting, as I’ve found mine extremely handy to have.

3.5 x 5.5 inches