Whether you’re a fan of coolers with integrated Bluetooth speakers and a blender or not, the story of the Coolest Cooler isn’t about an insulated beverage container – it’s about what happens when a product sells tens of thousands of units literally overnight in the age of crowdfunding. After famously raising over $13.25M from over 62,000 individuals for his Coolest Cooler Kickstarter campaign in the summer of 2014, inventor Ryan Grepper certainly had his fulfillment work cut out for him. The Portland, Oregon-based, self-decribed “visionary, mad scientist and passionate supporter of the DIY revolution” had previously promised to deliver the Coolest Cooler to backers by February of 2015 – which…

If you’ve been paying any attention to Japan’s Olympic stadium woes in preparation for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 games, then you’ll know that the situation has become a complete mess. The original design of the $2 billion stadium by Zaha Hadid was met with fury by many of the country’s own architects who said it looked like a bicycle helmet and would be disproportionately large to the surrounding environment. Now, as the country goes “back to the drawing board”, they’re also having to face a $50 million bill for the scrapped stadium plans. Oh, and they also destroyed the historic stadium from the 1964 Olympic Games. Fortunately, thanks to Japanese…

Despite the various conveniences that modern laptops, tablets and smartphones provide us throughout any given day, there’s no denying that the devices constantly remind us of a fast-paced world that’s obsessed with shiny new gadgetry and rapid obsolescence caused by poor build quality. But what if we could embed just a little bit of ‘lasting warmth’ into these digital experience for a small part of the day – the kind of warmth that one receives after working with timeless artisanal tools and natural materials? Such is the goal of French design group Orée, who have ingeniously developed a line of desktop accessories and computer peripherals out of – you guessed…

Since debuting in 1917, the Chuck Taylor All Star has since become one of the world’s top-selling and most celebrated sneakers. Worn by everybody from punk rockers such as the Ramones to casual Hamptons weekenders, no shoe can claim as wide of a market nor as many stories as the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star has. At their headquarters in Boston this morning, Converse debuted their all-new Converse Chuck Taylor All Star II, a contemporary adaptation of the classic Chuck Taylor All Star with updated shoe technologies based off of parent company Nike’s Lunarlon foot support for a more comfortable fit. While the silhouette and various exterior details including the…

While there are plenty of upcycled designs that can be made from discarded skateboard decks, a custom handmade guitar isn’t necessarily the first possibility that comes to mind. Yet for 22 year old self-taught woodworker and industrial design student Nick Pourfard, combining his passions for both music and skateboarding was a no-brainer. Based out of San Franscisco, the talented student entrepreneur builds all of the guitars under his Prisma Guitars brand by hand using nothing but used and abused skate decks that he combines and stacks to create a workable, multi-colored medium. Because of the nature of the product, each and every guitar is unique and custom built with prices…

With so many cool things coming out each week, it can be hard to wade through all the rock-awesomeness. With ‘Cool Tools’, we’ve done the hard work for you. This week we saw everything from an ingenious take on an Apple Watch dock, a clock that forces you to use your math skills in order to tell the time, a handy update to the Wikipedia app that’s sure to make you sound like a genius wherever you are and more… Ready? Let’s go! This week we look at: DESIGN WATCHme “WATCHme is a charging stand that will turn your smartwatch into a cute little monster.” Albert Digital Clock “The Albert…