Fail Harder, created with thumbtacks (over 100,000!) by Wieden + Kennedy 12. (via)

Lipstick sofa by Sandbirch. (via chairwhore)

Orson Lounge seat by Jake Phipps (via)

Markéta Richterová (via Design Milk)

From monsters with solid brass mouths to three headed shark-man-bunny creatures, the handmade creations of Blamo mix elements of designer toys, art and craft. San Francisco-based designer Spencer Hansen, forms Blamo toys from cast solid brass, leather, hand carved solid sugar wood and hand-painted resin. (via)

Two new computer bags from Freitage, the F76 LEO and F77 BEN. (via)

“Skylark Davis” print by DAIN. Love the neon inks. Available at the Brooklynite Gallery. (via)

Readings of the Week

Here’s readings of the week from the first week of October… Still making my way up there.

1. How Arts Training Improves Attention and Cognition by Michael I. Posner, PhD, and Brenda Patoine
   Basically, my reaction when I read this was, “WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!” I was pretty excited. The article talks about how kids deeply engaging with an art actually improve their attention and cognition in other areas of their study, as well. It’s funny because this was something I found in Middle School and High School, even when I was skiing. I felt like the stuff I participated in outside of school not only made me feel better about myself in a way that allowed me to focus (I think this has to do with the whole brain-as-a-muscle thing), but it really drove my interests and curiosities within school. I’d see connections and become more interested in a lot of subjects I wouldn’t normally be interested in. Also, as a complement, are the always-incredible thoughts of Jonah Lehrer.
2. Vulnerability: The Defining Trait of Great Entrepreneurs by Anthony Tjan
   I love this description of entrepreneurs and the risks they take. What really caught my attention is the fact that a lot of times, if we don’t choose to make ourselves vulnerable in this active way, we often end up vulnerable in the passive way. 
   Tjan also published a piece on “Why Do Most Entrepreneurs Fail to Scale?” which is a great little dip into the subject. I’ve seen some of these problems in real life, and I’m glad I’m not just imagining these problems.
3. On the Tip of Creative Tongues: The Word ‘Curate’ No Longer Belongs to the Museum Crowd by Alex Williams
   Here’s an interesting piece on the new obsession with the word curation. I’ve actually been thinking about this for a couple years. It makes sense when we consider the fact that the internet is just a giant conglomeration of over-information. At some point people would figure out that they don’t have to find this information, if they just edit it down to the most interesting bits, they can become unique, interesting bloggers. Also, I love the idea of curation as a talent and an art form, almost.
4. Know Me/ Nudge Me (Patterns from IDEO) by Jenny Comiskey, Aradhana Goel, Simon King
   I actually really like the patterns series that IDEO does. I love the exposure to and exploration of all these different ideas around an area and a stab at what they mean. This is an interesting piece about using data effectively.
5. How Nonsense Sharpens the Intellect by Benedict Carey
   Speaking of pattern-seeking, here’s an article about how, when the brain is exposed to nonsense (things it can’t make sense of), it actually makes the brain more attuned to seeing patterns else where. I’d be curious to see how the research about how brains ascribe patterns to something when there isn’t one fits in here as well.
6. What Alters Our Genes by Sharon Begley
   I’m enthralled by the findings and pieces (epigenetics) about how our environment actually effects gene expression. Here’s a great little example of that. It’s cool to see a nonhuman context.
7. The Uneducated American by Paul Krugman; Nobel Prizes Remind Us Why Immigration Matters by Chris O’Brien
   These articles are basically linkbait for me. So there you go.
8. How the Real-Time Web Is Leaving Google Behind by Clive Thompson 
   An interesting article on the differences between real-time search and old, cataloguing search.
9. The Evolving Face of Social Networks by Laura Parker
   I only wish this article went a little more in depth, got a little more nitty-gritty.

“Broken Things” by Livia Marin (via)