The 'Rocker' rocking horse designed by Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien is a great addition to the new collection of children’s furniture from Richard Lampert.

This plastic hourglass-shaped body rests simply on two wooden runners, providing hours of rocking fun, and, at the same time, producing a wonderful design object.

Many things of interest to young children are not figurative but simply everyday objects that are not intended for play! Children find their own imaginative purpose for any object already in the home. This observation prompted Doshi Levien to create a 'Rocker' that is like a found object, an improvised ride.

Doshi Levien is a London based design office, established in 2000.

Architectmade, a Danish firm, produces modern Danish classics that were first introduced in the 1950’s and 60’s. They were designed by great Danish architects such as Finn Juhl, Jørn Utzon, Poul Kjærholm and Kristian Vedel.

One of their latest additions are the Duck and Duckling. The pair has been designed by Hans Bølling in 1959 and is made out of teakwood.

The inspiration behind them was taken from a special famous spring day in Copenhagen in 1959 when a policeman found the time to stop the traffic to let a duck family pass. It was such an extraordinary event that the newspapers published a famous photograph of the ducks.

A palm-sized modular toy created by Kelly Harrigan, a fourth-year industrial design student in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, has been awarded a design patent. The toy, named Ferra, won first place last year from Swiss Toymaker Naef Speilzeug. Naef asked for game or design objects appropriate for ages 3 to 99, made primarily of wood. There were 107 entries in the company's inaugural toy competition.

Harrigan layered the wooden shapes of her toy with magnets "because people are fascinated by them at any age," she said.

"I wanted to design a toy that makes you want to experiment and learn about the capabilities of magnetism."
The name, Ferra, came from the type of magnet she used -- a ceramic magnet called ferrite.
"The curvy modular design allows for smooth movement between pieces and the opportunity to create several configurations," added Harrigan. "And it feels good in your palm."

Via Dexigner

The world in which children grow up today is far different compared to decades of the past. Nevertheless, the vast number of products on the market has not kept up with this shift. 'Play All Day' introduces a new and unconventional approach to design for children and presents stimulating and engaging design products and concepts for smart children and smart parents.

It presents examples of innovative and well-designed toys, playgrounds, play environments, room decorations, wall coverings, furniture and kindergarten architecture. In addition to these products, it also presents illustration and photography as well as out-of-the-box ideas and solutions for parents to play with their kids that encourage imagination, hands-on interaction and more active play that talented designers and creative parents are designing for and with their kids.

Book: Play All Day: Design for Children By R. Klanten, S. Ehmann Die Gestalten Verlag

A smile for this thanksgiving day.

When we received the info about this product our first reaction was "how silly and useless this is!". 
But after having visited their site, we thought that this is not the worst sculpture we have seen and at least this one made us smile.
Laikingland is a creative collaboration based in both the UK and The Netherlands. They design and manufacture well crafted kinetic objects that engage, and evoke a sense of play and nostalgia. Their first product, the Applause Machine, is designed by British artist Martin Smith. Just press the button and the Applause Machine enthusiastically claps its hands for you.

If you are interested in kinetic sculpture you will probably enjoy the visit of Martin Smith's website where one can see more of his works. 

A football table designed by GRO design and developed by TIM model makers.

'11' is a collaboration of 2 companies - GRO design and Tim modelmakers – each contributing their specialist skills to this showcase project.
With their shared values of creativity, quality and experience, the two companies have worked together for over fifteen years on projects ranging from consumer electronics and domestic appliances to lighting and furniture.

Table football is great fun to play – it’s social, active and physical, and it offers a welcome alternative to the solitary activity of computer gaming. As an object, however, it has become less desirable as its often cost-driven appearance no longer fits in with the designed landscape of modern interiors – be it a café, bar or airport lounge.
 
When thinking about a project for the Milan Design Fair, GRO looked for an object that they believed they could enhance through design, and that had lacked serious design attention in recent years.
 
After considering a number of starting points, they felt that the football table would have the right elements involved to show their commitment to the highest level of quality in design and model making. Discussing “11” together, they knew it would be a challenge to take on. 

"Many new football stadiums built in recent years have a strong architectural and sculptural beauty, becoming city landmarks in their own right and enhancing the visual landscape of the local environment.
 
We wanted the design of our football table to be equally spectacular and memorable, enriching the interior space where it will be placed.

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