Rolu is a minimal design created by Osaka-based designer Chiaki Murata of hers for Metaphys. Rolu functions as an on-the-go memo holder with a single brass bar holding down the paper. There are perforated edges along the length of the paper in increments of 10cm each, perfect for taking down directions, to-do lists, or grocery lists. The design is influenced by Metaphys’ popular Corda pen, and uses the same material and production process. The design comes in white, black, and orange.

I’m the type of person who still likes to use pen and paper for taking notes and checking off to-do lists. Rolu is an efficient and elegant solution to scribble down ideas and musings. Functionality aside, the design is beautifully minimal, yet uniquely sophisticated and mysterious. At first glance, it takes a second to figure out how Rolu functions, and then it all makes perfect sense.

A pen case that blossoms like a flower into the shape of a heart. With beautiful contrast stitching and an elastic band to keep everything in its proper place, hold up to three of your favorite pens in this clever leather case.

With its sharp point concealed when not in use, this silicone-capped drawing pin guards against pin pricks and scratches, and feels like a pebble in your hands.

The inspiration for this drawing pin struck the designer when he was studying his cat’s paws. A cat’s sharp claws are extended and exposed only in times of need. When retracted, the claws are sheathed by fur and the paw pads. The designer mimicked this mechanism when designing the Biomimicry drawing pin.

The sharp pin is sheathed by a hollow pad (or bubble) of malleable silicone. The pin is revealed only when the drawing pin is pressed into the pin-up surface and the silicon undergoes compression. It regains its former shape (and sheaths the pin) when the drawing pin is pulled out. The ‘push’ side is composed of solid silicon that covers the drawing pin’s plastic handle.

Amidst the financiapocalypse, Cleveland, Ohio, has 13,000 homes and other structures in such disrepair that they need to be torn down. It’s a $4 billion job. And at least one designer is trying to find the bright side.

Daniel Cuffaro, department chair at the Cleveland Institute of Art and founder of Abeo Design, has created a modular workspace called the Hive Workstation. It’s similar to the premium corporate furnishings offered by companies like Steelcase, but there’s a key difference: Hive is built from the failed housing projects of Cleveland itself. Every piece has a secondary purpose, to “literally create value from the rubble of economic collapse.”

“From a design perspective, the biggest challenge is creating something that does not look like an old wood shed!” Cuffaro tells Co.Design. And his greatest asset in this task may be local groups A Piece of Cleveland andBenchmark Craftsmen. Together, they reclaim materials from old buildings, and cost-effectively de-nail and refinish them, transforming otherwise junked wood into the stuff of premium furniture.

Made by Tan Mavitan this unique, modern design puts a spin on the simple, square notebook and twists it into a more compact and artistic design. Stand out from the rest, and make people second glance the transformation of the triangular shape into a square as you begin to write.

French firm Orée recently launched a new keyboard made entirely from a single piece of maple or walnut. Every keyboard is made to order and is crafted, polished, oil-finished and assembled by hand in their workshop in southern France. Via their website:

The keyboard is bluetooth enabled and retails for about $163 (€125.00). On their website you can customize Mac/Windows options, US/UK/Canadian keyboard layouts, options for keyboard fonts, and even a special message.

In the past few years we’ve seen a number of companies, most notably Makerbot, try to bring 3D printing mainstream with inexpensive desktop printers. Now, a new company called Formlabs is trying to bridge the gap between the affordability of low-cost extruded plastic (FDM) printers and the quality of professional devices with a printer called the Form 1.

So far, the consumer-grade 3D printers we’ve seen have all used more or less the same principle — feed a plastic filament through a heated extruder, laying down layer upon layer of hot plastic until the part is complete. Formlabs is taking a different tack with the Form 1, using stereolithography to make much more precise prints using a liquid photopolymer resin. It relies on the same principle used for dental fillings — the malleable (in this case, liquid) material hardens rapidly when exposed to light of a certain wavelength. In stereolithography printing, a laser draws a single printed layer on the surface of a vat of liquid resin, then the part is hoisted up as the next layer gets drawn; in the Form 1′s case up to a maximum size of 4.9 x 4.9 x 6.5 inches.

Unlike printers that use a plastic filament, parts are built downward instead of upward.

Formlabs says its device is precise enough to build layers 25 microns (about 1/10,000th of an inch) tall; a considerable lead over MakerBot’s new Replicator 2, which is capable of 100 micron layers. The company is pushing the Form 1  as a pro quality alternative to other inexpensive 3D printers; one that’s good enough for MIT engineers.

The company has already reached more than four times its Kickstarter goal of $100,000, which means it will be fully funded at the end of October, but the team points out a number of risks and challenges, including supplier contracts that haven’t been finalized. Judging from the video, the Form 1 looks much more complete than other Kickstarter projects we’ve seen (Formlabs says it’s the seventh generation prototype), and with such a low goal (the price of 40 printers), if you’re interested in being one of the first to own a Form 1 it will cost you a cool $2,699; the $2,499 tier is already sold out. At least you’ll be at the front of the line for delivery.

Take the subway to an otherwise undistinguished part of Third Avenue in Brooklyn. Knock on the door. Wait for some stylishly disheveled young man to open it and let you in. You’ve arrived at the BotCave—the place where 125 factory workers are creating the future of manufacturing.

The BotCave is home to MakerBot, a company that for nearly four years has been bringing affordable 3-D printers to the masses. But nothing MakerBot has ever built looks like the new printer these workers are currently constructing. The Replicator 2 isn’t a kit; it doesn’t require a weekend of wrestling with software that makes Linux look easy. Instead, it’s driven by a simple desktop application, and it will allow you to turn CAD files into physical things as easily as printing a photo. The entry-level Replicator 2, priced at $2,199, is for generating objects up to 11 by 6 inches in an ecofriendly material; the higher-end Replicator 2X, which costs $2,799, can produce only smaller items, up to 9 by 6 inches, but it has dual heads that let it print more sophisticated objects. With these two machines, MakerBot is putting down a multimillion-dollar wager that 3-D printing has hit its mainstream moment.

Unlike the jerry-built contraptions of the past, the Replicator 2s are sleek, metal, and stylish: MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis likens the design to “Darth Vader driving Knight Rider’s KITT car while being airlifted by a Nighthawk spy plane.” There is also the lighting. Oh, the lighting. “LEDs are part of our core values as a company,” Pettis jokes. The new machine will glow in any hue—”to match the color of your couch,” he says, “or like something in the movie Tron.”

You’ve heard of 3-D printers, but you probably don’t own one yet. Pettis thinks the Replicator 2 will change that. The aim with the Replicator 2 is to take something new to the masses: desktop manufacturing.

The Replicator 2 could change the way people design and create jewelry, it could open a new way of imagine toy design where the kids create their own toys and of course it will allow designers to manufacture their own products; but the replicator 2 aims to be bigger and to touch things spaces like a tooth implant. Read the full interview at Wired.com.