2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Portland, OR Soap Box Derby

Every year since 2001, The Portland Adult Soap Box Derby hits the streets of Mt. Tabor with all sorts of cool, slick and off the wall box cars racing for the finish line. It's a good time had by all!

"It is our drive towards success of our ongoing experiment to stay young, yet not so young. Practicing safety with speed, ingenuity with science and creative tenacity in art of building and racing Adult Soapbox Cars. With a bit of luck, hard work and communication with all parties we will persevere. "We thank our beloved Volcano for allowing us to tickle her back."

This year's Winner for Best Engineering was Twin Barrels Burning by Charley Wheelock. Although not that fastest box on the road, it sure was creative!

"we put disc brakes on wine barrels with a '57 Ford F100 drop axle for a frame and rode them down a mountain."

Mr. Wheelock also runs Kapow Design, specializing in modern contract furniture design, tradeshow booths, children's furniture, environments, design/manufacturing consultation, and of course, any interesting projects.

You can see more pictures of the The Twins here

New from Wishbone!

New from Wishbone! Unlike any other running bikes, the Wishbone Bike evolves with a child's different stages of development. It starts at age 1 as a trike, converts to a running bike as the child grows, and by four to five years old, the 'wishbone' frame is flipped, making the Wishbone Bike one of the largest running bikes on the market. With its environmentally sustainable design and innovative 3-bikes-in-1 feature, the Wishbone bike really is the ultimate pre-bike.

Urban Cycle Round Up

Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.  ~Grant Petersen

From simple to complex, a plethora of bewitching bikes are popping up these days, marketing themselves towards ...well...everyone! Whether you prefer to sweep the streets in a Tron-bike look-alike or ride easy with "ninja-quality quietness", you are going to eventually stumble across a modern model that fits your style. A few finds are posted below.

Teague Urban Bike Concept

Aside from resembling something out of the movie Tron, this bike features electric turn signals, a luminescent frame, and counterweighted foot pedals!

 

For more information, hop on over to their online booklet.

The District by Trek

The District is simplicity at its best. Complete with a "worry-free, lube-rejecting, lighter-than-any-chain-you’ve-ever-owned belt" you can coast freely with just a few pedals. Jaw dropping good looks have some calling it the Rolls Royce of cycles. The "chain" is actually a carbon composite belt made by the same Denver-base company that creates Harley Davidson drive belts. 

The Folder

"A bike that folds rather than a folding bike was the inital aim" according to Dominic Hargreaves, the designer of this seemingly effortless cycle. I hope you click on over to his webpage and check out the video that demonstrates the ease with which this bike actually folds in on itself to the width of its wheels!

UO Bike Shop

If you need just a little more control over your choice of two-wheeled transportation, Urban Outfitters may have just the thing. They recently teamed up with Republic Bike to offer custom purchases through their website. Boasting 100,000 combinations between components and color, these beauties come in at just under $400 and offer a mere 7-day wait time. 

One last thing...
The final piece of bicycle heaven that I am going to let you explore all on your own...
Biomega's Copenhagen. No chain and no belt. Love. Not to mention Beatrice Santiccioli is responsible for the color palette (She has worked with the Apple Design team on the IMac and Ipod colorways!)

Have a great weekend!

Shape Up or ship out.

The Shape Up! alarm clock is perfect for folks like me who go into autopilot when reaching for the snooze button 15 times before actually getting up. With this clever little alarm clock, now I'll have get up quick and crank out 30 curls to make the alarm shut off. Pretty cool idea.

via

--sdotg--

An special type of door

If you love ping-pong, then you will love this door.  A design by Tobias Franzel.  When you want a regular door, you got it... and if you feel a little sportive, you can switch the door and get this amazing ping-pong table. 

Is not a concept project, by the way, it is real... Enjoy it, if you want it ;)

Via TechEBlog.

Fusion Tables for "Fun"ctional Dining Rooms

We know two different couples whom, in the interest of lifestyle, have placed pool tables in their formal dining rooms. Great idea for casual California living, but on the few occasions they actually need the dining space their guests are, of course, left with sticks instead of forks. Voila! The new multi-functional fusion table offers recreation or dining with the flip of a cover.....make that a streamlined contemporary veneered cover that comes in five finishes. The table originates from Belgium, designed and manufactured by Aramith-Armand Billiards, a group who's been in the business since 1923. This one definitely goes into the"why didn't I think of that" category!