Don your favorite bathrobe, cream that coffee and get comfortable with this week’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. The Weekend Reader features a handful of the most interesting articles featured on the ‘Smack over the past week ranging from tips and tricks to inspirational designs, processes, and more. So lay back, relax and take a load off while reading the top ten stories on SolidSmack this past week. Oh and uh…don’t forget to shed some much-needed sunlight on your face, too. The Real Winner of Yesterday’s Apple Event Was Their New Recycling Robot “Forget a smaller iPhone or iPad Pro, the real winner of yesterday’s Apple keynote was something that most people…
Tendrils stretch between the slender thicket, lining the path, worn through over the centuries. The smell was like oranges, but slightly rancid. That when we saw it sitting there. Large, half-blind of years without light, thumbing an Outdoor Living magazine, and gnawing on these links. Antonis Karidis – Incredible set of aircraft–real, conceptual and spacebound–with tanks, copters, and cars as well. Nik – This is huge. Google’s Nik Collections, with a load of amazing photo editing magic, is now free. Thanks Rod! The Letter Kit – Letter and typography inspiration in this wonderful Pinterest collection from designer Zack Davenport. Drone vs Dune Buggy – I don’t know which is more…
In what is likely going to be a more commonplace business strategy for some hardware developers, Valve, creators of the popular Steam gaming platform, have released the mechanical CAD geometry for their popular $49.99 Steam Controller. Under Creative Commons licensing, the geometry for all of the externally visible parts is free to download in a variety of CAD file formats for users to mod the controller or create custom accessories. Included in the ZIP are files in the most common CAD formats as well as STL files for users to 3D print their own custom housings. Says Valve: “The archive contains several eDrawings viewer files: from Creo Express and…
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve likely seen a lifetime’s worth of ‘Maker’ videos since the movement took off as a choice of narrative for both independent filmmakers and marketing teams alike nearly a half-decade ago. Unsurprisingly, the movement has been met with a fair share of parodies over the past few years – but a recent one from Seattle-based filmmaker Patrick Kehoe just might take the cake. Says Kehoe: “This is the simple story of one man’s enduring passion. We hope you can take a couple minutes to watch it and if you’re feeling particularly generous, to share it with friends. But more than anything, we hope it inspires…
During the late 1920s – just before The Great Depression – those who were fortunate enough to own an automobile preferred the bright highlight of a whitewall tire to contrast against the increasingly gloomy and dark surroundings. Ironically, because blackwall tires required less effort to maintain after curb scuffs due to a greater amount of carbon black, they were in fact considered to be the more premium tire – despite the growing popularity of whitewall tires in the luxury market. The earliest of these tires – which can be traced back to a small tire company in Chicago called the Vogue Tyre and Rubber Co – were made for horse-drawn…
Why does modern furniture have to either be expensive or low-quality? Such is the pressing question that a team of 9 designers from California-based online home goods brand SWENYO recently asked themselves. Aiming to bring premium products that embrace a balance of form and function to today’s average consumer, the design team turned their attention to developing a versatile custom furniture collection that lets nomadic millennials and dollar-sensitive design geeks create ‘usable’ furniture with little more than some 2x4s that can be picked up with the neighborhood Zipcar van. The result is the UX4 steel bracket furniture kit. Says SWENYO: “Well-designed furniture usually comes with a hefty price tag. We…