typewriters

Junk-metal Nikes only a geek could love

Humans have a nasty habit of producing and accumulating garbage, but Gabriel Dishaw, a junk-metal genius from Carmel, Ind., turns trash into artwork. His most recent pieces were inspired by his love of Nike shoes, as he fashioned five different kicks, including dunks and high tops.

Dishaw's shoes are collages of otherwise potentially useless hardware salvaged from computers, typewriters, and metal scraps. His work is meticulous, as it takes him up to several weeks to complete one pair of shoes and an accompanying carrying case for storage.

Though the sculptures are aesthetic replicas of real Nike shoes, they are … Read more

Go ahead, cover your keyboard in syrup

In the spirit of breathing new life into old gadgets, as well as creating the nerdiest breakfast tool ever, designer Chris Dimino managed to make a typewriter into a waffle maker.

The Corona-Matic Waffle maker (which is currently only a prototype) not only produces an extremely large, rectangular, and potentially delicious waffle. Since it's made from an old Corona typewriter, it imprints a keyboard shape into your breakfast food.

The product was spurred by a challenge from Dimino's art school, the School of Visual Arts in New York, to take a "useless product" and make it … Read more

Gaming keyboard meets manual typewriter

Hard-core gamers are always looking for gear that will survive the most merciless abuse under their sweaty palms. So needless to say, tough keyboards are frequently at the top of the list.

But it isn't often that a new version borrows a technology from the distant past. The first gaming keyboard in OCZ's new "Alchemy" series features keys made from "100 percent rubber-coating for no-slip comfort," according to PClaunches. And in doing so, the "Elixir" is taking a tack used by old Royal and Underwood manual typerwriters, which occasionally sported rubber caps … Read more

Designer Ettore Sottsass dies at 90

The design world lost a giant on Monday: Ettore Sottsass died at age 90. You may not be that familiar with his work, but I can bet you that he has influenced just about every designer who makes the stuff you buy today.

As is typical of Italian designers, where the fields of architecture and product design are not separated educationally or professionally, Sotssas worked across the domains of office products, ceramics, furniture, tableware, glass, sculpture, and interiors. He was one of the founders of the avant garde Milan-based design group Memphis, who's work still startles twenty years later. … Read more

Keyboard waffles

Want to celebrate the predictable tragedy that your life has become by eating waffles shaped like the very instrument that invisibly shackles you to your desk? Artist Chris Dimino has modified an old typewriter to produce keyboard-shaped waffles, perfect for honing those typing skills before you get to work. The waffle maker is just a one-off, but hopefully some geek-minded, breakfast-loving entrepreneur will get cracking on a retail version soon (make a pirate toaster while you're at it).

(via TreeHugger)