Durable, environmentally friendly and cool looking. Those are the first three adjectives that come to mind when we think of Architec Housewares, one of Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite designers of cookware.
What Architec’s hot pads, cutting boards and mixing bowls are best known for, though, are their non-slip properties. For cooks who have suffered our share of burns, cuts and spills this is no small thing.
A look at our three favorite Architec items:
Continue →
When at water level, you can’t really see the bridge that crosses a moat to the 17th-century Fort de Roovere. View it from a bit of elevation, though, and the bridge isn’t only visible but looks rather puzzling. That’s because the bridge—near the coastal town of Halsteren, Holland—doesn’t span over the water. And it doesn’t skim along the surface of the water. Instead, the bridge goes through the water.
Continue →
If you could curate the ultimate art museum with an unlimited budget what works of art would you choose to display?
A team of over 100 editors, art historians and archeologists spent more than a decade tackling that very question. The result of their collective research is displayed in an epic volume titled, appropriately, The Art Museum.
Continue →
Spot Cool Stuff previously reviewed three unusual and creative cereal bowls for kids. The idea in that review was to feature bowls that were affordable, unbreakable and fun. Hidden Animal Bowls fell miserably short of that first criteria and failed to meet the second. But, oh, how they excel at the third. Each bowl has an animal shape that appears when filled with liquid. But if you find that the price tag puts you off—and it will—then check out some alternative Hidden Animal Tea Cups.
More on both, below:
Continue →
You don’t need to be an architect to love cool architecture. Urban planning and building design is an interdisciplinary passion, attracting the likes of art enthusiasts, engineers, history buffs, designers and travelers. Chances are that at least one person on your gift shopping is among those.
With that in mind, here’s our roundup of seven inexpensive—and one not-so-much—gifts for architecture enthusiasts. For this review we specifically excluded architecture magazines and books (of which there are a huge and excellent variety to choose from). We also nixed items used by working architects in their craft, like drafting tables or home design software.
Continue →