THE BEST Design

A pair of bookends made from two-thirds of a skateboard, complete with screws, trucks and wheels. You can also just get the tail. Available in four colors, but strangely, red isn’t currently an option.

A 3D-printed Rubik’s cube’s moves were made to correspond with lights on the Ars Eelectronica Center using an Arduino processor and Bluetooth modem to relay information to special software and allow passersby to try and solve the puzzle.

The Despacio is a 50,000w disco sound system by Jordan Acoustics, McIntosh, 2ManyDJs and James Murphy. Each of its 7 stacks has 4 15″ bass drivers, 4 12″ mid range drivers, 4 tweeters and 6 McIntosh amps. More here and here.

True Emporium sells entire room furnishings that fit in military style footlockers. There’s a living room, a dining room and a wine bar set. The furniture are handmade and built partly out of reclaimed wood and steel.

A wooden bulletin board with magnets embedded inside. It comes with a set of wooden accessories – a hook, a box, pegs and a shelf – that also have magnets inside them. You can also buy the board and the accessories separately.

Mercedes-Benz AMG made a remote-controlled 1:1 scale model of its Vision Gran Turismo, a virtual car that will be featured in Gran Turismo 6. More images here. In-game footage here. Skip to 3:38s in the video to see the model in action.

The Kawasaki J is a three-wheeled electric narrow track vehicle. It has two front wheels with a handle attached to each wheel. The front wheels can stay close for high speed maneuvering or set farther apart in cruise mode.

Korea’s Hobby:Design posted a guide about making “light bulbs” that don’t need electricity to work. Make a mold from an actual light bulb, then use it to make replica bulbs out of a mixture of silicone and luminous pigment.

If this groovy gnome doesn’t help you tend your garden, it should at least raise the morale of its fellow spirits. Designed by The Novogratz, each gnome has thousands of tiny mirrors on it, each applied by hand.

The folks behind the shape-replicating surface show off the full appearance of the device. The video also provides more possible applications of inFORM (beyond looking awesome). Find out more from MIT’s Tangible Media Group.

You can connect up to five of your USB 2.0 devices and defeat disorganization before it sinks you with this battleship-inspired USB hub from Kikkerland. If a ship in port is safe, what are five ports in ship?

This intriguing device uses small rods to imitate the size, shape and motion of objects placed under its sensor, all in real time. It was built by Professor Hiroshi Ishii and his students at the Tangible Media Group of the MIT Media Lab.

Marie-Elsa Batteux Flahault’s concept is the Bear Grylls of jackets. It has a built-in thermal blanket, flotation device, signaling devices, hidden blade, eye mask, gas mask, first aid supplies and a compartment for food and water.

Pull off undeadlifts with Onnit’s limited edition kettlebells. Zombie Bells are made from chip-resistant iron and are perfectly balanced, despite the grisly ghouls hand-sculpted on them. Available in four weights and sizes.

This working 1:4 scale model of a V8 engine was made by Home Model Engine Machinist forum member keith5700. It has an electronically-controlled fuel injector, a throttle position sensor and an ECU. It cost him about $2,200 to build.

The Proteq Starpath is a spray-on coating for hard surfaces such as concrete and tarmac. It absorbs UV light during the day and emits a gentle glow at night. A cost-effective and beautiful alternative to conventional lighting.

Designer Scott Jones made Bloc’d Sofa, a modular seat that you can easily change to adapt to your needs. Its cushions are small, firm blocks that you can easily remove and rearrange on the sofa’s steel and maple frame.

Fred & Friends wants its eggs done funny side up. Its silicone rubber mold lets you turn two eggs into one toothy skull. They’ll go well with your Pirate Pancakes. Fred & Friends also has an owl egg mold. Both drop 10/28/13.

The Tattooed Bakers made a cake that will either impress or depress you, depending on how much you love unicorns. The life-size unicorn cake has rainbow-colored layers and edible gold leaf-embossed hooves and horn.

Nathan Tobiason turns saving your spare change into a fun and creative activity. The Vertical Coin Bank turns your coins into a dynamic display, and it shows you how much you’ve saved at a glance. You can hang it or leave it freestanding.

Engineer Scott Peters invented a convenient new open-ended magnetic zipper that automatically aligns and locks itself into place. MagZip will be in Under Armour apparel starting in 2014. Skip to 1:08 in the video to skip the marketing spiel.

Yumaki makes unique toothbrushes in a variety of color combinations and handles made from various plastics and wood. There’s even a grip tape add-on for skateboard fans. They also offer yearly subscriptions and limited edition designs.

A one-off of the Leica M designed by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newsom. It has an aluminum body, a 35mm CMOS sensor and a 50mm f/2 lens. It will be auctioned off on 11/23/13 to raise funds for (RED) and its fight against AIDS, Malaria and TB.

Fiftythree partnered with Moleskine to allow users of the brilliant iPad sketching app Paper to order a printed version of their virtual journals from within the app. Each book costs $40 and will be delivered in 2 weeks. More here.

Enviro-Cool is working on a user-friendly “reverse microwave.” The V-Tex chiller can cool down a canned drink from room temperature to 5ºC in just 45s. The company plans to release both commercial and domestic variants.

Tiny replicas of alley dumpsters: monuments of urban life and canvases for the street artist. Measuring 11″x10″x8″, Dumpsty can be used as a document holder or – yep – a trash bin. You can customize them with stickers or lids.