If there is something that frustrates me in the morning when I am running out the door, is a flat mobile phone battery. Either I forgot to plug it in, or Miss 9 mths flicked the switch off at the wall.

This solar charger would be perfect and would live in my car or be charging my phone while on the top of the stroller. The P-Flip, by Dexim can be flipped vertically or horizontally for hands-free use and can extend your talk time up to eight hours, 15 hours for video or gaming and 60 hours of music.  The best part is you can buy it very soon and will be priced at about US$80.

[via]

This stuff rocks!  All those things around the house that need fixing and you can’t find stuff to fix it.  Well, SUGRU is silicone clay that you whip out of the packet, roll it in your hand to soften, mould into or onto what your ‘fixin’, then it starts to cure within 30 minutes, leaving it overnight to fully cure (or about 24hrs).  Click here for their website, to buy and to watch the video.

PS – this stuff is so popular it sold out…you may have to keep checking back for the next shipment.

I like the look of this glass benchtop, and even better, hot pots can be placed anywhere.

The Californian company behind these is Jockimo, and their ColorFuse™ products include color and air bubbles captured inside of the glass creating a three dimensional aspect to the panels. Texture, color, finish, laminating, edge polishing and back lighting are available.  Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a distributor or dealers for down-under installation.

‘Chop Stick’ is a clothes hanger designed by Andreas Saxer.  Inspired by the traditional methods of Japanese wood joinery, and of course, chop sticks.  Only four wooden sticks are loosely joined with a sleek aluminum pole and apparently this loose system becomes very stable with heavy clothing.  I like the idea that you can move it around your home, and if you are a flatter, then it’s the easiest thing to move with you.

Can’t seem to find it anywhere to purchase, but if you are handy with a skill-saw and sander, you may like to try your hand at making a set.

Grandma use to have her lovely old oak mantle clock above the fireplace.  It told us the time to leave and head back up the road from our piano or crochet lesson.  How times have changed when this is the mantle clock of the ‘noughties’.  The glass dome is such a beautiful touch and makes it easy to dust.  Designed by Cedric Ragot for innermost, you can get it down-under from Top3 starting at AUD$299 for black or white, or $392 for one of the metallic versions.  The gold or pewter versions look more grand than the others don’t you think?

What a great piece of simple furniture.  The Tschutschu designed by Dominik Lutz can perform as a bench, stage or table and the stage walls are painted with chalk paint. The base of the stage floor is painted as a railway system, but the ideas are endless depending on what your child is interested in. Because this is way over in Germany and is NZ$416 without shipping, I had thought it would make a great weekend DIY.   It’s made from Birch Plywood and measures: W 94 cm x D 47 x H 47, seat height 31.5 cm, table height 47 cm, height 20 cm.  Go get your tool belt on boys…or girls.

via [Ohdeedoh]

MMMG (Millimetre, Milligram) is cool, hip Korean stationery that is now available in Australia.  The cut-out cards are playful and remind me of cut-out people we use to make at school.  Notemaker have a large range, so go take a look here – these cards start at only AU$4.95 right now, and shipping is free if your order is over AU$59 or NZ$79.  They also ship worldwide.

Whoa, how about these kitchens to inspire a change on your reno.  My favourite is Duality – the silver version – it works well as a room separator and you can view the other room while ‘in’ the kitchen. And for those who use and have a load of cookbooks, the Library kitchen is perfect.  Phillippe Starck designed these for Warendorf (formerly Miele kitchens) in Europe.  No ideas yet when they will be available, but they WILL be available – at least in Europe.

via [Apartment Therapy]

While the sewing machine is at my sisters (hers gave up after 20 years!), I’ve decided to give this easy Martha Stewart DIY a go. As yet, all the bits and pieces are in a plastic bag for when I get the chance to try it.  Quite good to throw all the soft toys in, and you can hook the smaller ones on to it when taking it to friends homes.

1. Download and print 2 copies of each template section. (Template A and Template B)

2. Cut out rectangles, and tape together to form template for bag.

3. Lay a piece of Ultrasuede fabric slightly larger than the template on a cutting mat. Attach template to fabric with masking tape. Using a craft knife or a quilting wheel cutter, cut through template and fabric along marked broken lines, working inward; then cut along border to remove excess fabric.

Now, I myself love my laptop just as it is, but if anyone out there doesn’t, then this site has a great selection of laptop skins that are cool.  Should I ever tire of seeing the lovely apple, my fave is definitely Hokusai (the waves).  Just select if you own a mac or pc, what size or model and they start at only US$19 (NZ$25) and shipping overseas is only NZ$10.  You can also custom design with your own image or they cut and custom fit from the large range available.  If these don’t light up your life, they also do mobile phone skins and wall schtickers.   Go take a quick look at the Schtickers website for some inspiration.

As it’s warming up down-under, I had a look through Etro’s 2010 ready to wear collection and fell in love with these dresses. Can’t wait till it’s warm enough here to drag out my dresses – I really want that dress on the left, and can I just say [ahem] that it’s perfect for breastfeeding.

images [style.com]

I didn’t come home till 2am thismorning from the childrens hospital as Miss 5.5mths had an allergic reaction to her first taste of solids!  So I picked these two images to uplift and inspire.  The desk makes me want to DIY and the flowers I would love on my table right now.

via [Desire To Inspire] & [Design Sponge]

Remember I fell in love with these suspended fire places?  Well, now you can have a portable or hanging Cocoon Chiminea and better yet, you can get them down-under!  Designed by Frederico Otero it is fired by ethanol (meths) in a Strom Burner so there is no mess or clean up.  The flame can be adjusted and the chiminea has the options of being hung; or short, long or angled legs. The bummer is the price is up there at AUD$3950 – wow – but it is rather sexy isn’t it!  Get it from Top3 By Design online, or from the Bondi, Sydney store.

Once while in Manhattan I walked past a Sushi Restaurant and in the window there was a collection of people made from wire – I took photos but sadly cannot find them now.  Recently while over at Modish I found these and thought again how cool wire work is.  It makes me want to pop down to the hardware store for some and try my hand at it.  You can purchase them online right here for about NZ$15 each; they ship worldwide and take major credit cards and paypal.

Do you ever wonder who to go to for photographs that don’t look painfully posed?  After browsing through Sandii McDonald’s website I think I’ve found just the person.  Not only does she take fantastic photos for magazines, media and the like, but also does family portraits that don’t look like they should be put away in the bottom drawer – capturing spontaneous moments with your family and children that would look great on the wall.  And if you need some stock photography, she has a range of images over at Photo New Zealand.  Go take a look and give her a call for your next sitting.

image [Sandii McDonald]

After seeing this viking doll on a calendar I had to see more!  Sandra Monat from Herzensart is the lady behind these cool dolls and she has a vast selection of girl and boy versions plus many more fairytale characters.  To see the great range click here.  They cost about NZ$190 (ouch – but aren’t they so gorgeous) and are sold all over the world.  The gallery showcases even more fantastic designs and her blog shows you the time and energy that goes into making these 42cm beauties!  I would love a pair for Master Five and Miss 3mths old – textile art in all it’s colourful glory!

Ok, I got a little carried away looking at all the houses at Sagaponac and only because I wanted to show you this one. Now there are several I like that are totally cool….go take a look sometime.  This home is the Ban + Maltz Furniture House inspired by Mies Van der Rohe’s unbuilt Brick Country House.  It has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms over 3800 square feet.  What’s clever about it is the primary structure – the house is made of modular cabinet units providing loads of storage, supports the roof, and encloses heating and cooling systems. What I would give for that much storage!

via [Apartment Therapy]

While trying to get Miss 3mths old to sleep in the stroller, I found this great selection of stationery and more in the bookstore at Sylvia Park Mall.  The Australian Cristina Re range includes DIY, gifts, books and software – over 300 products that sell to over 1000 stores around Australia and New Zealand.  Take a look here at all the goodies available (paper, notepads, invitations, wrapping etc), and to find a stockist, click here.  Yet another writing pad made it home for the grocery list!

I have always been a fan of the Bullet Planters, but these are even better.  Pad in Los Angeles are behind these Pods Planters which were only unveiled at the Dwell On Design show in Los Angeles last month.   You can buy them here for NZ$238 each(ouch) and they ship internationally – just email for prices.  They come in six colours, with stands in two heights and can be used indoors or out as they are aluminium with an exterior grade powder-coated finish.  I would love a colourful set of five for herbs but the cost would blow my mind….will have to stick to the packaged supermarket herbs for now.

via [Apartment Therapy]

I love receiving circulars in the mail.  When we moved into our rental the first thing I did was remove the ‘No circulars’ sign on the mailbox.  While browsing through one I spied the company Cedarlands.  Based in Auckland, NZ, they make and distribute a great range of sheds, cabins, carports and even greenhouses. What caught my eye was the modern carport, as many NZ homes have little or no garaging. Wouldn’t these look great with a modern reno and keep all the Auckland rain off you!  The company does not have a website (what the…!!) but here is a link to contact them and browse through a few images of what they have available.