Xooming at CES

Motorola premiered their answer to the iPad at CES this year - Xoom, featuring Google Android. Well, all the names associated with the product are way cooler. Seems like the man's version of the iPad, inherently female. Let me know if it's awesome.

The Critic makes Stuff too...

If you need a little extra sparkle for your home this holiday season - check out my Etsy store at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/perrylyn

Delightful little ornaments made with clever materials - these flakes look delicate but they're made of shatterproof rubber. I love making products. Happy Holidays everyone!

10 Great Tools in Time for Christmas

You can get a special tool for anything these days - every small task has it's own glorified gadget - but with a good set of basics on hand you won't need 'em. With the work I do we have a lot of tools around, and here are some of my favorite, multitasking right-hand tools that are worth the storage space:

When it comes to a drill, don't waste your time with a lightweight. This is a tool to invest in, with a model like the DeWalt pictured, as a good one will last years and a cheap one most likely won't have the muscle you need. To accompany the drill - skip the infinite socket sets and extend your reach with a chuck extender like this one from Lee Valley:A handy Husky hex wrench set is the best stocking stuffer - never worry about keeping or better yet finding the many allen wrenches that enter our lives, and treat yourself to a nice round handle to hold onto at the same time. Measure twice, cut once - a speed square is still one of the most useful tools to have around - and it does double duty for arts and crafts.Any all-in-one tool kit will come with a basic wrench. That's a guaranteed way to loose some skin when you try to pry out an offending piece of hardware. Invest in a Vise Grip (this one's under $10)- you'll never use your old pliers again.

Downsize old worn-out screwdrivers (yes they do wear out!) with a multi-bit ratcheting screwdriver like this one from Stanley, and get yourself a good old-fashioned level. Laser levels are pretty, but they often don't fit your application. A standard level is an excellent straightedge as well for cuts and routing. Chisels may also seem like an antiquated suggestion, but you'd be amazed how often you just need to knock a little bit off something to make it fit. Without a power sander, jigsaw, or sawzaw that may take an eternity - simple handheld chisels can take out most of the obstacles you'll encounter.Spare your fingers from a bashing with simple quick-release clamps. Any surface can become a worktop, but it's hard to hold what you're working on in place without a clamp or two. Clamps make your dining table roughly equivalent to a full-fledged workbench.Finally, for the handy person who has it all - give them a great way to store it. Tools are only helpful if you can find them! I prefer a mobile wheeled cart with plenty of shallow drawers for easy sighting of the tool you seek. Happy building!

Get Ready for Earthv2.0

This is a little bit of a stretch for what I normally write about, but the news just too darn exciting! There's a "100%" chance that another planet out there can support life - no biggie, i know - but for the first time we know where it is! Now we just have to get there...maybe a minor in aerospace engineering is well warranted, ID students! "Design what people need" is a mantra I prescribe to - and the challenges of intersolar-system research and travel will be one of the most exciting and imperative challenges on the table for designers for centuries to come.

Read more here!

Mobi-Mats Take You There

Who isn't familiar with the hot-as-hell sand shuffle? Trying to walk quickly while your flops fling sand and fly off your feet, with the ten bags you're carrying cutting into your shoulders and your common sense screaming Get Off This Sand NOW!!!! Mobi-mats change this entire experience. Now you can stroll or roll(handicap friendly!) down to the cooler parts of the sand, with no damage to the beaches....LOVE IT!!For more on the beach mats in particular, check out their parks&recs site. The mats can also be found on mobile airstrips and anywhere else you need a walkway in a heartbeat. Check out the construction detail - how often have you thought about using woven solutions?

Brabantia Continues to Reinvigorate Basics

Some of you may be familiar with Brabantia trashcans, commonly found at BB&B. Williams Sonoma is now promoting a new ironing board by Brabantia, and I like what I see. They continue to reinvigorate products that many companies write off as low-margin or commodities. The design features on this ironing board make it a product worth owning.

After China, Where to?

This may not be news to companies already migrating out of China, but the momentum of change seems to be picking up...

Where once low-tech factories and scant wages were welcomed in a China eager to escape isolation and poverty, workers are now demanding a bigger share of the profits. The government, meanwhile, is pushing foreign companies to make investments in areas it believes will create greater wealth for China, like high technology.

Many companies are striving to stay profitable by shifting factories to cheaper areas farther inland or to other developing countries, and a few are even resuming production in the West.

"China is going to go through a very dramatic period. The big companies are starting to exit. We all see the writing on the wall," said Rick Goodwin, a China trade veteran of 22 years, whose company links foreign buyers with Chinese suppliers.

"I have 15 major clients. My job is to give the best advice I can give. I tell it like it is. I tell them, put your helmet on, it's going to get ugly," said Goodwin, who says dissatisfied workers and hard-to-predict exchange rates are his top worries.

Read the full article here, and consider that if the mainstream media is talking about the end of cheap China, the time was yesterday to look for newly affordable options Stateside.

Cardboard: not Just for Boxes Anymore

Designer greats have been making cool mod furniture out of cardboard for decades. Usually, it's a little pricey for cardboard - you're buying the design philosophy more than the item. But there are some cool things being made out of cardboard these days that are fun and affordable:
Studio David Grass produces some affordable and attractive furniture like this sweet stoolCardboard Design makes all manner of products, but my favorite are their kid's playhouses. My own little rocketeer has enjoyed his for years :)
You can also find lots of affordable kids items, like these adorable chairs & table on Orange Onions.

And then again, you can quite easily make your own stuff! Sites like TreeHugger and Instructables give you great links and step by step directions to put your pile of cardboard to good use - give it a second life as toys and furniture good for guilt-free wear and tear.

[Pictured above, Foldaway Bookshop featured on Fubiz]

Part Two: Tools that Help You ENJOY Cooking!

I hear you! You need an excuse to buy more stuff for your kitchen! I'm ready and able to enable...
Cookie scoops, like these classic stainless steel beauties from Norpro, will change your feelings about baking cookies. We all love cookies, but making 24-48 little balls is not the most gratifying task. The scoops keep your hands free, fill the sheet pan in 2 minutes, and perfectly portion the dough for even, round cookies.
Keeping with the stainless theme, shallow metal prep bowls like these by WINCO have more uses than you can imagine. They aren't deep like mixing bowls, but generously sized and shallow to make mixing pasta, salad, meatloaf, and everything else a breeze. Plus, they're a bargain from restaurant supply stores.If you've never tried keeping your spices in a drawer, it'll change your world. You can read all the labels at once and quickly find and replace what you're looking for. I'm still waiting for more stylish options to emerge, but for now these by Dial provide the best fit for existing drawers and bottles.
This is the best can opener I've ever used. And I've tested, cut up, and redesigned dozens of them over the years. This one locks in place for secure use and compact storage and it NEVER slips. Yet again, OXO transforms a frustrating task into a pleasurable one.Treat your self to an attractive oil cruet like this one from Mario Batali's line. Too often our counters are crowded with bulky oil bottles for cooking. Grab a couple of cruets, color coded or labeled, and transform your countertop into a sleek cook's station.

Catch up on Part One here!

Verdict: Water Bottle Buddies are...

If your dog craves crunching water bottles, these toys are for you. Water Bottle Buddies like those sold by Kyjen provide an adorable sleeve for your water bottle, protecting your dog from bottle shards. When the bottle's shot, toss it in the recycling bin.

The Good: I love anything that reuses the things we discard. Plus, you're eliminating stuffing from hitting the trash bin. Cuteness, economically priced under $10.

The Bad: These aren't as durable as they should be. Westminster Pet Products makes the sleeves you see below, which are extremely durable but could stand an infusion of cuteness.
The Verdict: Can someone please marry the two? Nylon sleeves should be able to achieve both cuteness and durability. Then this product would be truly excellent.