Surface : A design blog

August is quiet all around...with nearly everyone on vacation, it's hard to get much work done these days.

Yet somehow, it also seems to be the season of great Top __ Lists. (Insert any number in that blank. I was going to go with 10, but they seem to vary a bit.). So this week I'll be featuring some of my favorite Top __ Lists from blogs that inspire me every day. Let's start with the Sci Fi Tech blog and its "Top 10 Toys for the Filthy Rich." With a title like that, you already know you're dying to have them all. Here's a preview: $1,150 Ultimate Ear headphones that you can use with your $7,500 Vertu phone or $19,000 gold-plate iPod Shuffle. What products would you put on your own "Top Tech Toys for the Filthy Rich" list? If you had all the money in the world? I think I'd definitely add the sold-out Porsche Design Series 1 Cayman S...and that incredible 007-esque case of designer goodies that comes with it.… Read more

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So everyone's on the BYOB Bandwagon these days ~ not exactly a NEW concept...(oh, and that's Bring Your Own Bag to the supermarket, etc.). But let's step back and look at this...odds are most people are using those just to put them into their cars and drive them home. So sure we're saving the use of plastic bags, but they are still DRIVING.

What about those who walk? There are old-school options far more practical than just the usual bags...I think of the little old ladies when I was living in Milan, Italy, who … Read more

Did you grow up hearing that fish will grow as big as their bowl (or pond or ocean)? So that if you keep that carnival feeder fish in a tiny bowl it will stay tiny, but if you put it in the pond it'd get even larger? Well what about letting the FISH choose? With these nested "Russian Dolls" tanks, suddenly it is in the fish to choose whether they want to get bigger...and bigger...and it looks like at a certain point there is no turning back! (Although it can still see where it came from at all times.) Really, it is all a metaphor for life as we know it...cleanly and gorgeously abstracted to the world in the fish bowl

Roger Arquer's latest project, entitled Fish Bowls, presents 15 variations of the standard fishbowl... As Dezeen's article says, "Each piece examines a topic or suggests a solution to an issue," says Arquer. "'Dear Neighbour' (above), for example, tells us about the delicate relationships we have with our close neighbours, 'Suicidal Tendencies' prevents your fish from committing suicide, and 'Russian Dolls' (below) gives your fish a chance to decide how big it wants to be. I once read that a fish grows according to the space it has, that's what inspired me in this case." A few more bowls to get you started below...… Read more

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Tetramine Day! All Tetris lovers should get over to Bologna Italy for this giant meetup September 30. The catch? All you have to do is bring a tetramino made out of 60x60x60-centimeter squares, like the one you see here to the left. Designers, i think this means you can get creative on it, and decorate your tetramino as you wish... Still baffled as to how to make a giant tetris piece? Check out the video!

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Latest from Knomo is the Slim. For anyone that has been looking for a sleek new way to tote your laptop around, this is pretty slick, and still simple enough to slot into a tote, backpack, large purse, you name it. "This ultra light and Slim pocket is handcrafted from full hide leather and nylon twill quilting to protect your laptop from any knocks or bumps. The retractable padded handle makes it comfortable to carry and easy to fit into your bag." I've been very anti-zippers on laptops for a while ever since my constant use of my iBook in and out of a neoprene sleeve with zips around the side left pretty deep scratches on both sides... so its been all velcro for me, until now perhaps. This sleeve has a unique zipper which goes around, so it looks like it would be pretty easy to lift the laptop in and out of top loading bags! … Read more