Have you ever wondered why your best ideas come to at the times that they do? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to tap into that ‘magic formula’ a bit more often? Well—you can…kind of. The key to understanding why we have great ideas when we do is to first understand where ideas come from. Filmmaker Andrew Norton recently got behind the lens and interviewed a series of creatives about how great ideas can seemingly come from nowhere—but how they always also originate from somewhere. Check out the rest of Horton’s entertaining films over at his dotcom.

When it comes to coffee, hardcore aficionados take every step of the process seriously—from the origins of the bean, down to the milliseconds for brew time and method. And while making a solid cup of coffee at home can be done with the ultra-simplified pour over method, espresso machines have been another story—unless you’ve been willing to fork over hundreds of dollars for something decent. The Newton Espresso aims to change all that. Newton Espresso – How to Make a Coffee from Newton Espresso on Vimeo. When product designer Hayden Maunsell wanted to lower the financial and environmental cost of serving a great shot of espresso without compromising on design…

If a trusty Trusco toolbox just isn’t your thing, you’re not entirely out of options when it comes to reliable portable tool storage. In fact, even if it is, who doesn’t like having options? The Klein Tools 18-inch Canvas Tool Bag ranks up there among our favorites when it comes to box-less tool storage. Made from heavy-duty number 8 natural canvas, this rugged tool tote is also rivet-reinforced for durability and features a steel-frame mouth. Heck, the stitched and riveted leather handles make a nice touch, too. Founded in 1857, Klein Tools has been cranking out hand tools and accessories for over five generations of Klein descendants. Needless to say,…

We seem to be talking a lot about pencils lately. From a pencil holder/extender to a pencil/stylus, we do love to cover our notebooks in wood shavings and lead. But let’s give a tactical pen some love this time around. The GP 1945 bolt-action tactical pen isn’t your normal click pen. In fact it’s, quite surprisingly, the first design of its kind. Created by GPCA, a Jeep accessory maker, the pen is designed to write and, oh yeah, save your life in the wilderness while serving as that near indestructible writing instrument. The pen takes its name from the year 1945, the same year World War 2 ended – a message…

I know what you’re thinking. Those fist-size storage capsules would be painful to swallow. But don’t worry, while they’re too big to dose yourself with a month’s worth of Omega-3 and too small to put on a squirrel mask and crawl inside of, these storage capsule containers are PERFECT for storing all sorts of random bits and bobs. Creator of the capsule containers, Murray Clark, says they can be used for all sorts of things, “including medications, cables, parts, small toys, nuts and bolts, jewellery… and lots more. There is an endless array of things that could be stored in a Capsule… so reusable as well and will make a…

Too many of us are too busy to be bothered by life’s trivialities. When the world is moving at a breakneck speed, you don’t really have time to worry about things like paying bills, washing yourself or finding your keys (but seriously, you should take care of those bills). They gobble up those precious minutes you could be dismantling something or designing your next project. Jan Van Look, the self-taught craftsman behind Belgian design and maker studio Kabinet Van Look, had the same problem: finding his keys every morning. Instead of investing in a good key hanger, Jan did what any craftsman would do: he made one himself. Traktor is…