When I first saw these I wasn't sure what I was looking at. It took me a second to realize I was looking at sculptures of pencils. Artist Jennifer Maestre created these intriguing sculptures in which her inspiration came from the shape and look of Sea Urchins.  I think she does a better job at describing her idea and the process; here are some words from the artist:

Paradox and surprise are integral in my choice of materials. Quantities of industrially manufactured objects are used to create flexible forms reminiscent of the organic shapes of animals and nature. Pencils are common objects, here; these anonymous objects become the structure. There is true a fragility to the sometimes brutal aspect of the sculptures, vulnerability that is belied by the fearsome texture. 

To make the pencil sculptures, I take hundreds of pencils, cut them into 1-inch sections, drill a hole in each section (to turn them into beads), sharpen them all and sew them together. The beading technique I rely on most is peyote stitch.

Source: Wanken

The Bluetooth touch-activated headset is a beauty when it comes to style.  I can only image that the sound quality would be just as much.  The Parrot Zik Headphones ($TBA) were designed by renowned Philippe Stark, and feature an elegant and simple design.  It also features active noise canceling, Bluetooth A2DP stereo, NFC support, proximity sensor to go into standby mode when not being used, a touch panel for remote control of your tunes, and lastly it has Digital Signal Processing for amazing sound.  They will be coming out later this year.

I stumbled upon this sweet shipping container home that was built by Poteet architecs. They did a great job of making this not only look sweet on the outside but cozy on the inside. I'm still not sure if this is the main home or a guest home, but either way I would spend a lot of time in this container. I even think that the roof garden was also a nice touch. Check out more of Poteet Architests, LP



Source: Jared Erickson

Scottish illustrator Matt Cowen uses basic math equations to explain how certain pop culture icons came to be. The use of simple illustrations gives us a look at the superhero or pop culture character in their simplest form. The use of different symbols and items gives us a clever way of looking at the characters origins. Some of them had me cracking up over here while writing this. I didn't post them all so if you want to see more check out his Deviant Art page.

The Mandeville Canyon home is located in Brentwood, California and was designed by Griffin Enright Architects. This modern home has an interior that makes the house feel warm with its choice of dark wood flooring and its welcoming light colored walls. Although, I think the best part about the house is the large sliding glass windows that open up the whole living area. It gives the home a beautiful view into its surroundings.



Source: Wanken

Jay Nelson a San Francisco based designer has created an electric camper car out of plywood, fiber glass and bicycle parts.  This 5ft tall camper is powered by an electric motor and can reach up to 20 mph and can drive around 10 miles on a single charge. It has all the comfort you need with a comfortable bed, kitchen, toilet, and integrated storage compartments. The controls are on the steering wheel and it even has a place for your iPhone. If you want to know more about this concept design, watch the video below.




Source: Toxel

I have always been a Logitech junkie and that's because I feel that their products serve a purpose and they work with ease. One area that I think will help serve a good purpose is the Logitech M600 Touch Mouse or what some would call the Magic Mouse of PC-centric users. This mouse has a large responsive touch surface, scrolling and swiping where ever your fingertips rest on the mouse. The scrolling with this mouse is as smooth as scrolling on a touch screen Smartphone. Its optical sensor provides plenty of accuracy, and its tiny receiver creates a solid 2.4 GHz wireless connection up to 5 other devices but it will run you about $70.00 dollars.

Italian illustrator Franco Brambilla who is devoted to sci-fi has created this series Invading the Vintage. He takes grandpa's old postcards and invades them with aliens from sci-fi movies and old tv shows. I'm sure this series will put a smile on a lot of Star Wars fans and those of the sci-fi community. I know it put a smile on my nerdy face. Franco does have prints available as well as calendars for sale here and you can check his flickr account here.