A neighborhood bookshelf with no due date
Little Free Library shares books through small neighborhood boxes. Free access still depends on someone caring for the books and their shelter.
Lifestyle
A restaurant with room for mistaken orders
At Japan’s Restaurant of Mistaken Orders, people living with dementia serve guests. Menus and the level of assistance are adjusted so staff can take orders and hand over meals themselves.
Pour in cold water and the scholar’s face turns red
Tipsy figures from a Joseon-era banquet painting have moved onto small glasses. Cold drinks make them blush in MU:DS’s playful color-changing set.
A palm-sized notebook that can double as a wallet
The twentieth-anniversary TRAVELER’S notebook comes in a Card Size edition. Refills and pockets let its owner arrange it as a notepad, a small wallet, or a combination of the two.
Keep the shelf, return the drill: London’s Library of Things
London’s Library of Things lends drills, cleaners, and sewing machines. Occasional-use equipment can be borrowed and returned instead of bought and stored.
NICOBO responds with sounds and gestures instead of doing the housework
Panasonic’s NICOBO cannot move around on its own, but responds with expressions and movements when someone strokes or talks to it.
A five-year diary puts this date last year on the same page
The Hobonichi Five Year Diary collects five years of the same date on one page. The 2027 edition will run until 2031.
Patagonia’s Worn Wear takes used clothes back into circulation
Cleaning, inspection, grading, and repairs prepare clothes for resale. Worn Wear makes past use part of the product information.
HARIO Switch, a dripper that pauses the flow
A small metal ball below the dripper closes and opens the outlet. HARIO Switch gives the brewer control over the wait.
Freewrite Traveler, a device focused on drafting
Freewrite Traveler separates drafting from research and editing. Its appeal lies partly in the things it leaves out.
Casio, a small digital watch that fits on your finger
Casio CRW-001 is a digital watch reduced to the size of a ring. Instead of a smart ring that measures health information, a small watch is placed on the finger.
Sony's turntable for listening to LPs with wireless earphones
Sony’s PS-LX3BT combines choosing a record by hand with Bluetooth listening. Even within an analog hobby, people differ in which rituals they want to keep.