Skateboard benches

This is cool, it is a bench made from 100% reclaimed broken skateboards. They use the skateboard deck for the seating area and to connect it together they used the trucks of the skate board, i think this is brilliant. Its like a piece of art and each bench would tell a different story a person would be able to tell you where this had been broken, how it had been broken and if they had any injuries. I know i could, i have broke several decks in the past and i can remember how they have happened, where, what i was doing and if i was injured, because most times i was. These benches are based upon how easily skateboards break during use. Every one of the benches that are brought, money goes to local skatepark funds. Being involved with the local scene in my area i know how hard it is for people to get recognised and how hard it is for us to get money to improve the skatepark or to get it fixed. They maybe on the best things to look at but they are definitely cool and i would have one in my house.

Is it a city?

This took my eye straight away because it is like a city within itself. a Japanese outdoor equipment company have created this its called the decagon tent. it is a serious of structures the can be used separately or linked together to create a larger and more complex space. They can be arranged to create a wide variety of environments and sizes. There is 4 main aspects the first is the decagon link which is the major structure the largest one. the link scree which is the middle section. the link dome these can be placed anywhere and then finally there is the car joint tarp which is basically a car port and allows cars to be reversed so easy access can be gained to the boot. This would be in ideal product in many circumstances especially music festivals where you have large groups of friends wanting to stay together for safety and social reasons. They work as a normal tent do so they are easy to assemble and easily linked but with this you can great a small village.

Pocket light

This is one of the best designs i have seen in a long time. It is a pocket light that is the same size as a credit card so it fits in your wallet. There is so many uses for this design but the main one i thought of would be finding the keyhole to your house or the car door, instead of fumbling around for ages in the cold or rain. I just think this is a really useful product to have especially because it doesn't take up much space but it provides a lot of functionality.

Concept Coca Cola

 Harc Lee a designer from New York has designed an Eco friendly coke can, it is 100% recyclable. The convex logo substitutes the colourfully sprayed can. It will help to reduce air and water pollution which occurs in the colouring process, it will also reduce energy and effort which it takes to separate toxic paint from aluminium when recycling.
The one problem with this is that coco cola will lose a major part of their brand image being a red can, or silver with red writing. It is what stands out when the product is on the shelf, if they do not have this then the coke can will just blend in to the background which i believe will reduce sales. Although this can looks very clean it is not the recognised image of coca cola.

Sleep on a bed of dreams

This concept is known as the leaf bed, it is made from locally sourced recycled materials so already it is helping the environment but also what else it does it give the user the capability to use this pretty much anywhere, it is made from cardboard and can be easily folded out. It is known for being an innovative relief product in places such as Haiti where there is global tragedies such as Tsunami's. It was the winner for innovation in humanitarian emergency situations and you can understand why, often after this terrible natural disasters people are left homeless for months and months but with this they can feel a small amount of comfort, it helps to shine a glimmer of hope in bad situations, it is horrible sleeping on the floor at the best of times, this can eliminate this problem. It can be flat packed so it is easily transported so large numbers of this can be take to the place of disaster at a time. it is also multi-functional, due to it being made of 4 parts it can also be used as a set of chairs or a table and chairs.

The ultimate re-usable christmas tree

A giant christmas tree has been unveiled in London's St Pancras station for this years holiday season. It is created from hundreds of thousands of lego pieces. It is 10 metres tall and uses 600,000 LEGO bricks to create 172 branches. There were 1200 Christmas Decorations involved all made from LEGO. It is the worlds most diverse and reusable tree, it can be disassembled and made into many different shapes, it is the definition of Recyclable. The question on my lips is how many hours did it take to complete this. whenever i used to play with LEGO when i was younger nothing i made ever turned out like that and it spent hours to create something stupid like a simple house. The people who have done this have patience, but it has turned out amazing and is more like a piece of art.

Coca Cola, changing the way we see christmas

People see santa clause as a jolly man with a red suit and a beard, but he hasn't always been that way, the main colour associated with christmas used to be green. Coca cola's advertising started in 1931 and this shaped Santa Clause as we know him now. Through the centuries Santa had been seen in many forms, some of which being a tall gaunt man or an elf. In the 1920'a people thought of coca cola as a refreshing summers drink but the company wanted to change this perception therefore they created Santa Clause as we know him now. They used the slogan "thirst knows no season". People enjoyed Coca cola's interpretation that much that when anything changed from the original, letters of disappointment were sent to the company. Coca Cola have built up a loyal fan base over there 125 years in business, it shows that people love and respect Coke's brand image enough to listen to most things what they say. In my personal opinion when i hear the coca cola christmas advert then it starts to feel like christmas and also when they start to put Mr clause on their cans then you can start to get excited.

The ultimate frape!

Volkswagen the netherlands will produce a one-off edition of the T1 based around Facebook this is sacrilege and just damn right wrong. It will be called the 'Fanwagen'.

Some features of the car offer uniquely Facebook-related functionality. On its dashboard it features a feed-o-matic, a built in device that prints the last ten posts of a users news feed at the push of a button. The number plate will show the persons relationship status and will have a map marked with the locations of their Facebook friends. It will be a one off and volkswagen enthusiasts around the world have a chance to win it, but if they had the sense would they really want to. They are destroying a class, iconic vehicle. The horn is replaced by the 'poke' button and there is a wall within in the vehicle to post live messages and also photos which can be taken on the instant camera. This will undoubtedly be the most social vehicle on the road.

Shopping made easier

We couldn't live without the internet nowadays we are reliant on it. When christmas starts to dawn on people the first thing they do is hit the internet wether it is to get gift ideas, to price things up or to do all their shopping from the comfort of their own home. This year i have done most of my shopping around local shopping hotspots, i have been to manchester Trafford centre, derby Westfield centre and the potteries centre in Hanley. Some how it feels more christmassy when shopping out and about rather than stuck behind a computer screen, because soon the novelty of shops will disappear, shops are finding it hard to stay open in this unstable climate that's why they are trying all the promotional offers they can think off. It will come to a time when we won't need to go to shops but you won't get the touchy feel aspect of shopping you do now. When you order of the internet it can be unclear what your gonna get. Will it be the right size? Shops solve all these problems you can try items on and if you don't like them you can see there and then rather than running the risk of not being able to send them back.

Using local shopping areas gives you a day out swell, especially if you've been stuck behind a desk all week it helps just to get out to see whats happening. The main reason i enjoy going to these different places is the christmas decorations, i love christmas and as soon as you see them decorations go up then it starts to feel like christmas. Basic thing you use the shops or you lose them.

Vans off the wall

Probably the best skateboarding name in the world started out doing custom shoes. A pair of shoes were ordered in the morning and they were ready to collect that same day, whereas now they are selling millions of units a year. Thats a trend, mass production. Also authentic classics are coming back. Vans used to be mainly for skateboarders with thick soles to stop impact and to not wear so easily. They are now pretty much worn by anyone. The authentic style were designed by Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta, these were early names on the vans skateboarding team.

These guy started out skating empty swimming pools now he is one of the most famous names in skateboarding.

London used to be a place i would avoid like the plague

Concrete jungle

Bob Marley wasn't wrong when he described cities as concrete jungles. This is what i thought when i was about 15 the first time i went to london was with my family and to be quite honest it terrified me. The amount of people and the shear scale of everything is unreal. I am a country boy i aren't used to this i am used to seeing at least one field on my travels. Its like a different ball game down there it's so fast paced and no-one has the time of day to say thank you. It might of just been the amount of shopping my mum made me do which scared me but i will say its city life. Anyway i said i would try and avoid it as much as possible.

Change of heart


When hugh mentioned that we were having the chance to go to london i thought yeah i may as well it will give me chance to get know people better. The amount of exploring that we did down there was unreal i really enjoyed it and i will try and go more often. Maybe just for M&M world that was insane. I enjoyed every aspect of the trip bar my feet nearly falling off and sleeping in the middle bed with two people who snore there heads of either side of me. But the top two pictures were my capturing point. London at night is so much better.

It will have to do for the time being

Being an 19 year old male student i can't really afford a great deal but on a budget i have made this my own. I would of had something a lot different if the insurance wasn't such a killer. I have had this car since march now and i thought wow i have landed on a bargain here it was £950. I drove it home it drove pretty well, went out in it the next day and bam my clutch bracket snapped so i read up on it, its one of the polo's common faults but easily fixed "apparently" so me and my dad looked at it but to get to it we had to take all of the steering rack out and with him working 7 days a week till late we didn't have much time to work on it so i was off the road for about three weeks. After it being fixed i fitted coil overs to it and lowered it 70mm all round. it looked good if i do say so myself went out and within a week of having this coil overs fitted i spun off a roundabout on some diesel i thought oh god my parents are gonna kill me but that wasn't that worrying the fact that there was a police car about 3 cars behind me was. I got out the car the first thing they said was don't worry you weren't speeding 6 cars have slid of here today (thats madness) i was relieved then. They checked round my car and by this point the passenger side front wheel was bent into the arch. I thought an easy fix maybe just a wishbone. I rang my dad and said i need towing home and he got in big red (ford transit) and come and saved me. I was off the road for about 2 months. It wasn't just the wishbone. It was the subframe, the hub, track rod ends, the spring was bent, the wheel had a chunk missing so i couldn't use it in case of a blow out. It was a nightmare. Its back on the road now for good, touch wood. It has been lowered a tiny bit more its 80mm all round, handles like a dream well flat roads anyway. Take me somewhere with speed bumps and i quite literally have to get out and push the car over them. But i am enjoying the car especially because its on a budget. Theres only so much young drivers can do to make a car look tasteful i am just glad i haven't been drawn in by body kits and lexus lights.

They don't make them like they used to

Rat look

I was lucky to go to a VW camper show a few weekends back. I have been interested in cars for a while now from when i started working on cars with my dad. The picture shown is one of my favourites its from the rat look scene it just looks so beat up but you can't help but think how cool is that. He told me that when he was younger he had two Type 2 vans he had a split screen 1967 and also a bay window which is ace because these are classics worth a lot nowadays. I am disappointed that he hasn't still got them but they were too expensive to keep and store which is ashame. In the future i hope to own a Type 2 bus of my own or at least a beetle. If not a beetle a mk1 golf or a caddy. I'm not fussy really.