Alite is from San Francisco and just want you to have “magical outdoor fun”. When you live in the city, you can have fun on a road trip or at the nearest park (since you don’t have a backyard).

Bear Can Picnic Pack

Monarch Chair - you only need two legs

Kung Fu Collar

Poler arrives from a surf and snow perspective, creating cheeky gear for cool kids who want some time to themselves in the deep woods…or maybe the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur while they wait for Bonnie Prince Billy to play.

Duffaluffagus

Napsack - unzip so you can use your iPad or walk around the campsite while staying warm

Finally, I couldn’t resist talking about Snow Peak. OK, they are serious gear purveyors (titanium straw, anyone?), but they are also Japanese-inspired (via Portland, OR), so the combo always proves interesting. If camping means pulling an all-nighter in your design agency office, you could do worse than to have some Snow Peak on hand.

The cot and table are nicer than my college dorm furniture for sure.

Hozuki Lantern

Akebi Fork

All photos from the manufacturers’ respective websites.

Todd Reed loves raw diamonds. A raw diamond does not resemble a cut diamond in the slightest. They are murky, colored, and lumpy – and I love them. I got an eternity band with small raw diamonds (the center ring in the stack pictured above) and it just suits me. The gold is likewise unpolished, a little rough, and toothy. Todd really pioneered this style 20 years ago. The natural stones are inherently less expensive, but also much more beautiful, to me.

All images from toddreed.com.

Tara and Jeff, who are Brooklyn-based artists/musicians/supercreatives The Friendly Falcons by day, make handcrafted body care items and candles at night as Meow Meow Tweet. The self-professed cat people are committed to encourage sustainable living by providing organic, vegan, and fabulously-scented items to their customers. I haven’t even talked about the charming illustrations on the packaging yet.

I actually see Meow Meow Tweet as an extension of Jeff and Tara’s art practice. Can you say that about your bar soap?

All photos by Meow Meow Tweet & Doug Johnston

As you can guess I like process-driven stuff. I’m not so much into the hardware (though well-executed hardware, custom hardware can be great) but I don’t mind decorative as long as it’s clever. Function and utility doesn’t have to look boring.

Image from hajduanett.com

Hello construction details! Hungarian Hajdu Anett, via Sophia Malik’s Pinterest

Image from baggubag.com

This is so simple yet incredibly satisfying in the hand. It’s biggish so it can fold over, if you like. By Baggu.

It’s dark grey. Sometimes that’s reason enough. By Rib and Hull.

The knot detail is the thing, and the wrinkles are the other thing. By Raramodo.

I can’t even figure out what’s going on here. That is strangely appealing to me. This is a laptop backpack from Cote&Ciel, via Rushfaster. YOU tell me how to wear it. Or open it.

I like entrepreneur stories. I like that this guy didn’t have to reinvent the wheel, but is making something he knows and just updating his production and marketing for today. These wafels sound like the ultimate munchie food are apparently all over Rhode Island (Rip went to Brown) but if you aren’t in Providence, you can order a box online here.

NIDO de suenos is a jewelry line by Brooklyn-based Cecilia Elguero. I love jewelry made with non-traditional materials so her porcelain and metallic rings and necklaces really appeal to me. They have a retro-spacey vibe, like the tiles at the Powell BART station in San Francisco, that I love too.

All images from nido.bigcartel.com

From their website: “Introducing: Visual Identities for Small Businesses (Gestalten) is a compilation of intelligent corporate designs for small, creative companies. The book showcases innovative work that captures the imagination with which their founders pursue and communicate their business concepts. The featured examples reflect the full spectrum of today’s most important design trends—from minimalism and classic modernism to styles that range from retro and letterpress-nostalgic to playful and surreal. All of the included work makes clear that intriguing visual concepts do not depend on a large budget. It is a testament to the fact that certain limitations can be beneficial to coming up with original and effectively executed creative ideas.”

In light of the conference I just attended, this looks incredible. To be released February 2012. All images from gestalten.com.

Image from hoibo.com

Sarra uses a proprietary Dry Wax textile that is is just lovely; it’s cotton canvas finished by hand with beeswax for a beautiful wear and feel. She also uses a Wet Wax fabric that is finished with waxes and oils. She combines these rugged fabrics with English saddle leather to create innovative designs that are extremely useful and process-driven. Her love of craft is evident in every detail.

Image from naibo.com

Image from nayella.com

Image from nayella.com

Image from hoibo.com

Magnus Pettersen of Norway is making elegant shapes in concrete to be used on your desk. Think of the contrast of this weighty tape dispenser on your vintage oak, or sleek lacquer-covered, or heavy glass desktop. I like it. He also has a lamp prototype that is on the right side of a 70s comeback with the tinted brown glass shade.

There’s a surprising amount of lighting that incorporates concrete. This lamp by Anna of Your Nest Inspired has a 3×3″ footprint. Anna balances a concrete base with a wood veneer shade, for a tall and slender sculpture that just happens to light up.

Chicago-based Plywood Office creates a tealight totem, where base and backdrop are one. A single tealight provides a surprisingly romantic glow on the rough surface.

Xiral Segard also plays with contrasts with her Vase Konkurïto. The bento-based design of three tubular units, 1 box and 1 lid means you can design the exact height of the vase and of the water level, making for inventive flower arrangements. Frilled and bright flowers look great against the range of monotones she uses.

Many Hands is a new online store based in London that is devoted to showcasing emerging illustrators and artists, their work and their products, too, in some cases. They are starting with a small but fine group including Rachel Lattimore, Sister Arrow and Ryan Todd.

Art by Lizzy Stewart

Art by Ciara Phelan

The site states “Everyone likes getting post, and the connection between you and our artists is vital to our unique ethos. When you buy a product through Many Hands, you receive it straight from the artist, who personally sends it to you.” This tangible connection to the artist is really going to be the dominant theme of 2012. It’s been building for a long while but it’s no longer a radical, lofty or unattainable notion for “the rest of us”.