“Nar” is a new approach to the traditional use of a coffee table and a bookshelf. It brings together their functions to create a practical method of using both.

“Nar” can hold as many books as a conventional book shelf while adding the comfort of not loosing the page read.

Rows of thin metal sheet that line across the table are the ribs that form the structure of the table. These metal ribs carry the books as the books are hung from their bindings. They can also be used as bookmarks.

Metal plates which easily slide above these ribs and books protects the books from dust and brings forward the function of the coffee table.

The design and the materials have been kept simple so that the table becomes almost invisible when filled with books, therefore making its aesthetics more unique and personal.

With Back to the Roots, a company that supplies Whole Foods with gourmet mushrooms grown in spent coffee grinds, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez figured out how to turn other people’s garbage into money. For the entrepreneurial duo’s next effort they’ve got a more product-design based offering, but one that still neatly fits their passion for growing your own food.

The Aquaponics Garden is a small-scale, low-hassle food growing system—or a fishtank that cleans itself, depending on how you look at it. The fish poop that fouls ordinary tanks is pumped up to the plants above, which are growing in nothing more than little pails full of pebbles; the fish excretion provides the nutrients. As a result, the user gets fresh spinach, baby greens, oregano, beans, basil, mint, parsley, thyme et cetera, no green thumb necessary.

Order yours at BackTotheRoots.com.

You may also want to check out a TED talk the two gave, where they tell the fascinating story behind their successful mushroom venture, and how that came to be:

RIMA is a superb desk lamp by German luminary design studio Dreipuls. With its slim design, this light bar has no traditional switch but rather four rings which can easily be shifted manually like a curtain to turn on/off and adjust light. Price tag: 1840€ ($2360). See it in action in the video below. Enjoy!

Flat Time by designer Finn Magee is a poster of a digital alarm clock that is actually a functioning clock. See if you’re late, by checking the poster. Image of an alarm clock that uses a 7-segment LED display to tell the time. Flat Time is hand made in the UK in an edition of 50. It is joined by the Wood Effect version, also an edition of 50. available for pre-order at AREAWARE.

Check out the rest of the Flat Life Series.

Chicago-based jeweler Justin Gershenson-Gates recently grew a bit tired of creating jewelry after a show this summer and while experimenting with some watch part anatomy he decided to try his hand at spider and insect legs. One thing led to another a new series of small sculptural arthropods and insects was born. Justin tells that each piece takes several hours to make and being unable to leave things unfinished he generally makes an entire new creature in one sitting, a monumental feat considering the scorpions can take an entire 12-hour work session as the watch springs, stems, gears and straps are assembled and soldered together (nothing is glued). I love the idea of the tiny light bulb for the spider abdomens.

Flat Sound is the latest addition to the Flat Life series. It is an image of a speaker that delivers a crisp, clear sound. The poster was developed in collaboration with Warwick Audio and at less than 4mm depth it is the thinnest speaker commercially available.

Photography
Eoghan Hanrahan

A small subset of the world’s industrial designers seem to be focusing their efforts on creating new and innovative ways for an intimate dining table to transform into a place for a large dinner party. This latest design is courtesy of Julien Vidame, and it uses a series of rolling boards that lay flat or stand up to change the length of the table.

Like a mercifully silent accordion the table can grow from a cosy 31 inches to 62 inches in length, doubling in size and boosting the number of diners that can gather around. Unfortunately there’s no pricing or availability info just yet, but Julien claims a working prototype does exist and is ready to go into production just as soon as a savvy investor realises how awesome the design really is.