Ever sit around with your friends talking about how great the world would be if only someone would invent your supercool and totally useful widget? The community at quirky is based on the idea that everyone has a product idea. It's a social product development company. Would-be inventors submit ideas, the community works on them, voting, making suggestions, and so on, and one product each week is chosen to move onto development.
During the development phase, community members continue to exert their influence, and eventually products are offered for presale. When a product has a certain number of committed buyers, it's moved into production, credit cards are charged, and the product ships.
The latest community collaboration is the StashCan, a kitchen garbage bin with a built-in storage compartment that holds a supply of trash bags.
Step on the foot pedal to open the lid, and toss your trash. When the bag is full, remove it--along with the lightweight, plastic liner if necessary. Then--and this is the part you're paying the big bucks for--replace the bag from a spare located in the separate (but attached) trash bag compartment.
How much would you pay for such a bin? $8? $10? Well, if you order it from quirky, you can pay $54--and maybe the design will go into production and you'll actually get one. You won't be charged unless the product is built and shipped, but I think I'll just stick to my under-the-sink bag storage solution.
Fun for kids and parents alike.
(Credit: Williams-Sonoma)The leaves may be turning and the clocks fallen back, but that doesn't mean good frozen treats have to go away. Especially frozen pops that are homemade. When you make them yourself, you can control exactly what goes in there, allowing you to make them as healthy (or not) as you desire. All you need is a mold of some sort, your favorite juice, and a freezer. Except now, you don't even need a freezer.
OK, a freezer is still necessary to make frozen pops, but you don't need to make them in the freezer. The Zoku Quick Pop Maker is a handy little device that makes frozen treats right on the countertop. Without using electricity, ingredients freeze in the cast-aluminum molds, as a proprietary solution sealed inside the base does its magic. The contraption needs to be prechilled for about 24-hours to do its thing, but once put to use, it can make several rounds of frozen pops at a time.
The whole process is perfect for kids, especially those with a mad scientist streak in them. Parents should like that they have complete control over the ingredients. From juices to yogurt and even fruits, the homemade pops are a clever way to keep celebrating summer all year round.
A hallmark of smart kitchen design is a properly calibrated work triangle--that's your sink, your fridge, and your cooktop. The idea is to minimize the steps you need to take to move between these three areas to make you as efficient as possible.
In a small kitchen, creating an effective work triangle can be tricky. In my galley kitchen back in L.A., we couldn't open the fridge and the dishwasher at the same time, which is more of a problem than you'd think.
But what if you could move the legs of your triangle around? Why be locked into a cooktop that's fixed in one location? Why not give yourself the freedom and flexibility to cook right next to the sink one night, and near the open window the next?
Designers David Barry and Laurence Finnegan have come up with a concept design for Lotus, "a wireless cooking system that offers an elegant alternative to the conventional static hob." The various pieces in the set are designed for different cooking styles, such as grilling, wok-style sauteing, induction heating, and so on. Power comes from resonant induction via transmission coils in the counter tops and receiving coils in each piece. When the cooking is done, each piece can go straight to a sink full of water for simple cleanup.
The pieces are also cool to the touch, so you'll have far fewer kitchen safety issues than with a traditional hob. It's a cool concept, and one I'd like to see realized. According to designer David Barry, "the only new technology applied is the wireless power." Even though the system seems to be "powered by pixie dust...it is actually quite feasible," he says.
Stylish and timely.
(Credit: Barriviera)During this time of year, I'm never quite sure if I believe the various clocks scattered around my house. The alarm clock says one thing, the computer says another, the cell phone another, and the television can't agree with anything. It is of course, all part of this 'spring forward, fall back' messing with the clocks tradition we have, but at times, I just want one timepiece to stand up and assert itself. And then I saw this range hood.
The Ora from Barriviera is a kitchen range hood that Flavor Flav would be proud to call his own. Making up the bulk of the hood is an oversized clock face. The concept is so well executed that it may take a second glance to discern that it is a usable wall decoration. But usable it is; the range hood features a multispeed extraction fan, halogen lighting and push button control. Two washable metal grease filters round out the utility of the machine.
Kitchen range hoods may be easy to overlook, but with a strong design, there is no reason one cannot become an important part of your kitchen décor. While the Ora may feature a timely design, the Barriviera collection is stunning in its depth and diversity. Be sure to check out its Web site for additional range hoods to complement any aesthetic.
(Via Appliancist)
While there are some fancy wine bottles out there, decanting your wine into the right carafe can make a statement. The Rocking Carafe, made by Sagaform, definitely falls into that category: it's a hand-blown glass carafe that can rock back and forth while you appreciate you wine. As long as the carafe is set on its accompanying silicone stand, it won't tip over or roll away. There's a reason behind the style incorporating a unique, rounded base, rather than a flat base, though. The large base allows for maximum wine oxygenation, while the neck is designed to make pouring wine simple.
The Rocking Carafe can hold up to three wine bottles' worth of wine (more than half a gallon), making it a good option for a dinner with several friends or another get together. It doesn't hurt that the movement of the Rocking Carafe can make for an interesting discussion. Luckily, this carafe isn't so different from a Weeble Wobble: it will wobble, but it won't fall over. Your guests can safely pour their own drinks. The Rocking Carafe is available for around $35. It is available in a gift box and can make for a good present for a wine aficionado.
Can't decide? Have both.
(Credit: Sanyo)Indecision can be a wonderful thing. When choices present themselves, there are times when it seems impossible to make a decision. In the kitchen, sometimes this waffling creates inspiration. Craving for more than one type of food can lead to experimentation when the answer is simply to have both. Spectacular combinations can be formed out of this alliance, from peanut butter and chocolate to fried chicken and waffles.
The Sanyo Indoor Barbecue Grill and Griddle combines two great cooking appliances and merges them into one. With 200 square inches of cooktop real estate, the combination appliance has ample room to cook up new creations from your imagination. The 1,300-watt device has an adjustable temperature range from 200 degrees F to 425 degrees F. The grill features a grease channel, for fat and grease to drain away, while the griddle has a convenient integrated lid.
Perfect for all-in-one cooking, the cooktop makes it easy to plan complete meals with just one appliance. Classic combinations such as steak with eggs and burgers covered in melted cheese are easily made using the features of this gadget. And of course, the design encourages experimentation. It may not be capable of cooking fried chicken and waffles, but that doesn't mean you can't give steak and pancakes a try. Let your imagination run wild.
Between tailgating, entertaining and the rest of the get-togethers we go to, a bar on wheels can come in handy. The BarGoGo Transformer Portable Bar folds out of a suitcase about 31.5 inches by 23.25 inches by 13 inches and weighs about 62 pounds. In that package, you get a fold-out bar, complete with food-safe polypropylene storage containers and a speed rail so that you can mix up just about any drink request you get. It's sizable enough when open that you won't feel cramped behind the bar. The main body is fireproof MDF and the outer frame is aluminum alloy. It also has a pull-out handle which makes transportation much easier. You don't have to worry about carrying the bar around--you just have to wheel it.
The BarGoGo Transformer Portable Bar doesn't come stocked, unfortunately, but it does make it much easier to entertain if you want to take the party outside of your kitchen. It's also an option for those events that take place outside. If you want to tailgate with a better drinks menu, you can just pull out the BarGoGo Transformer Portable Bar and skip the same old beer. It's priced at approximately $970.
There are tons of different cheese slicers out there that all promise to cleanly cut pieces off that big brick of cheese in your fridge. But all you really need is a wire. The Cheese Wire is one of the simplest cheese slicers you'll ever see: it's a length of heavy-duty wire attached to two wooden handles, which protect your hands as you cut. To use, you just place the wire on your cheese and pull down. The Cheese Wire will glide through, leaving you with clean slices.
The Cheese Wire actually incorporates piano wire: it's food-grade, of course, but the thickness of a piano wire is ideal for cutting cheese. Cheese won't stick to a wire the way it can stick to a knife, and it doesn't crumble the way it can if you have to force a knife through it. The natural wood handles can make the Cheese Wire easier to use, as well. I've used wires meant for slicing cheese in the past that had little more than a ring at the end to pull with. The handles offer a much better grip. The Cheese Wire is also cheaper than the average cheese-slicing gadget, with a price tag of $4.95.
Yes, it's a toaster oven.
(Credit: Sanyo)Kitchen appliances tend to play "follow the leader." When somebody comes out with an innovative product or feature, other manufacturers soon follow suit. Think of it as a form of Darwinism: the good features multiply, and the ones that don't work are phased out. One result is kitchen appliances tend to always look the same. For example, toaster ovens are usually long and rectangular and so it always shall be. That was until Sanyo decided to make a toaster oven that stands up.
The Sanyo Space Saving Two Level Super Toasty Oven is taller than your average toaster oven. At first appearance it looks odd, but some kitchens would really benefit from the toaster-oven-on-a-toaster-oven design. Counter space is a premium in any kitchen, some more than others. However, I can see it posing a problem for certain foods; a slice of pizza may not feel too welcome in there.
Everything you would expect from a toaster oven is incorporated: a shade selector, slide-out racks, and a crumb tray. A selector switch allows control over which part of the oven to heat up: top, bottom, or both. A bagel setting toasts the cut side of a bagel, while warming the other side. A toaster that understands there are two different sides to a bagel is one that certainly has a feature worth keeping--no matter how strange it may look.
You just finished frying up your dinner, and now you have a pan full of cooking grease and oil. You could dump it down the drain, but that could clog your drain and the sewer line, plus it has the potential to add to waterway pollution. To encourage the environmentally responsible disposal of cooking grease and oil, and to prevent those pesky drain clogs, Archer Castle Investments came up with the dubiously named g-Spout.
This food grade silicone removable spout/strainer easily attaches to a skillet, double boiler, bowl, or can so that you can strain your grease into disposable containers. But wait, there's more! You can also use it to make cupcakes, muffins, and pancakes without drips or baked on batter. Drizzle chocolate from a double boiler, strain your soups, refill your saltshaker, or pour your paint back into bottles.
The g-Spout can withstand temperatures up to 450 degrees and is microwave- and dishwasher-safe. Priced at $13.
