Knock Knock is a playful calculator made for children by designer Khalil Klouche. The interactive wooden box lets you “knock” out math problems by using the standard arithmetic symbols displayed on the device. Using an Arduino board, contact microphones, and solenoids, you “knock” the math problem and it sounds the answer back to you.

Watch how:

For example, say you want to subtract two from a number, you knock the ‘minus’ symbol two times and it will then give you the answer in a knocking sound.

VELO—2nd Gear is a new book published by Gestalten that celebrates international bicycle culture.

The editors wanted to explore the double meaning of the bicycle. Used daily by many, it can be viewed as both a practical object and a literal and figurative vehicle for self-expression. Word.

In the book, bikers from New York all the way to Berlin express themselves through their carefully-made machines.

Riding a bike is something that – once you learn how to do it – you won’t forget it. I, for one, can go years without riding a bike, but every time I hop on one, riding becomes a natural thing! It’s almost like I pick up where I left off.

Whether you’re a fan of old-fashioned bikes, high-tech machinery, beach cruisers, or mountain bikes you’ll definitely find a little piece of yourself in VELO—2nd Gear. You might just learn interesting facts about other kinds of bikes and lifestyles too!

Human Bike by Jan Gunneweg

The book shows the connection between lifestyle, culture, function, and machine in a modern and visually stimulating way. All of these ideas combined, communicate what we really use bicycles for. They can help us express who we are and why we are.

Your old plastic bottles no longer are useless when they’re being made into the felt that forms the Torbuschka family of bags by Kaaita. Each Torbuschka comes with two slightly smaller bags fitted into the largest one giving you a trio of totes handmade exclusively in Slovenia.

The durable bags aren’t just for carrying around, you can use them as storage around your crib for things like toys, firewood, newspapers, linens, etc. It’s available in three versions – Torbuschka L (wearable edition), Torbuschka L (furniture edition), and Torbuschka XL (king size furniture edition).

Little attractive details make all the difference when you’re trying to keep things organized. For instance, I’ve been thinking how great it would be to color-code my keys in a more distinctive way than your typical slide-on key covers offer. Having a few plain colors was nice, but I needed another way to show further distinctions among those colors (I have a shameful number of keys).

Then I remembered rubberizer! You should make sure you’re in a well-ventilated area if you’re using it, but it’s a ton of fun to play with. You’ll end up wanting to rubberize everything you own. Plasti Dip makes a Create Your Color Kit, so I decided to make my own tops using little wooden letters and toys.

You’ll need:

Supplies:
- keys
- Performix Plasti Dip Create Your Color
- Super Glue
- miniature figures or letters (I found a good selection of these at AC Moore and my local Artist & Craftsman)
- glass mixing containers (a note on that below)
- a pack of toothpicks, coffee stirrers, or small paint brushes
- a craft knife

An anecdote on storage: If you’re mixing colors in plastic instead of glass or metal, don’t let them sit overnight. I left my project out to finish the final coat the next morning, and when I came back, all of the plastic cups I’d mixed in had dissolved the cups into gooey blobs.

Fortunately nothing was damaged, and the cups held up fine while working on the project, but I obviously wasn’t able to do much with them the next day. According to Maynard G the Mix Master, a resealable glass container will work just fine.

Step 1: Figure out how you want your miniatures set on the key, and glue them on. Be careful and quick when you’re placing them – the glue dries fast and strong, so you won’t get too much of a chance to reposition anything. When considering placement, make sure you leave space for a key hole if you intend to use a key ring.

Step 2: Mix your colors – the tints are VERY heavily pigmented, so a little goes a long way. Keep in mind that less is more, and only mix a drop or two at a time. For example, I made a pretty aqua using about 2 drops of blue, 1 drop of yellow (pictured), and a drop of white. You really don’t need much. Start small and add slowly as you need.

Step 3: Here’s where the Plasti “Dip” was a little misleading. Since you’re using miniatures, you don’t actually want to dip the keys. Rubberizer is really goopy and fills in holes, so if you dip, you could end up with little blobs instead of figures or letters. Instead, use a brush or – what I ended up using – a toothpick to carefully apply the colors. If you apply too much or it hides detail around the edges, you can use a craft knife to trace around your miniature for more detail before you put on a second or third coat. It’ll look a little weird at first, but just pull off any little nubs you don’t want and it’ll work itself out after a couple more coats.

Step 4: Let the Plasti Dip dry for at least 24 hours before using, and you’re set!

The little alligator on my bike key is probably my favorite of the bunch – I like how his tail wrapped around the key loop!

Attaching a much larger item would make a really useful “bathroom key” to offer customers at a coffee shop or similar place of business. And if you want to go super-custom, you can always make your own shapes and tops out of Sculpey and then dip away!

We’ve all had our fair share of heartbreaks throughout our lives and there’s nothing better than those tried-and-true items we take comfort in during those painful times. Melanie Chernock set out to make a first aid kit that combined all the things to help mend a broken heart and she calls it Love Hurts.

The kit definitely brings in a bit of humor because frankly, we all need to laugh through the pain, am I right? The essentials included are: dark chocolate, vodka, a candle with matches, bubble bath, candy hearts with choice words, a mix CD, and if all else fails, a pack of tissues.

All the items come neatly contained in a compact kit.

I know tattoos and body art aren’t everyone’s jam but I’m pretty sure you can appreciate the artistic element that goes into the designs themselves, as well as the skill it takes to practice the art form itself. When it comes to tattoo artists like the Brooklyn-based Amanda Wachob, there’s no denying this girl has mad skills when it comes to her modern, abstract designs that are truly unforgettable.

She makes it plain to see that anything, including skin, can be a canvas, especially with her signature, painterly style that definitely pushes the boundaries past the everyday, often seen tattoos.

Beautiful design mixed with a good cause gets mad love in my book and that’s just what New Orleans-based do-good designer Tippy Tippens brings with MATTER INC, an industrial design and consulting studio that is all about “Design for Social Change.” One of their designs, called BirdProject, is a minimal, bird-shaped soap that benefits the cleanup efforts related to BP’s oil spill disaster.

The black birdie is made of glycerin soap that’s meant to be cradled in your hand, representing the mass amount of creatures affected by the spill. As you use the soap and it disappears, a white ceramic bird reveals itself as a keepsake and memory of the project.

The best part of the project is that 50% of the profits go to Gulf Restoration Network and International Bird Rescue to help with BP’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster. So far they’ve been able to donate $18,000 to the cause!

The soaps are made by Sweet Olive Soap Works using locally sourced ingredients and the handmade ceramic bird is made from Louisiana clay.

They’ve just released a Lovebirds Edition of the soap in which the ceramic birdie sports a red heart on its tail that was created by two fingerprints.

Twin Within is a collaboration between two sisters, one that resides in Iceland and the other in Seattle, that joins unconventional materials to form bold necklaces called City Collection. The line brings heavily textured sailing and climbing ropes and rubber tubes into the wearable realm assembling them into eye-catching statement pieces for your neck.

Rio

The duo layers the various colored and patterned ropes into graphic neckpieces and names them after cities that each piece was inspired by.

Rome

Moscow

Cairo

Paris

Madrid

Helsinki

Berlin 1

Berlin 2

Berlin 3

Berlin 4

I can safely assume that most of us as children had that dream that we could fly, even for just a moment. And while technology hasn’t made it that easy for us dreamers, perhaps, the Tessel Jet Pack Backpack from Tessel Supply could bring a little wonder to our everyday lives, while at the same time being a practical bag to tote around our daily necessities.

The black backpack was inspired by geometric building blocks and stealth fighters which are reflected in the faceted triangular design of the fabric.

The backpack features two zippered compartments, one of which has a faux fur laptop sleeve and places for your pens and pencils, and even your iPad or sketchbook.

Korean-born designer Yegang Yoo found her way to Brooklyn and began a new line of three-dimensional accessories called Imago-A. Slightly sculptural with geometric lines, the Prism collection includes totes, clutches, and mini handbags in neutral and some super fun colors like Avocado and Scarlet Orange.

The bags are available for purchase at Shop des Créateurs.

I’ve been bookmarking lots of great art as I’ve been browsing Society6 lately for our Design Milk Dairy picks. Here are a few of my favorites from late, not in any special order and certainly not any specific theme, unless “abstract orange and pink directional pugs” is a theme.

Above: Compass pillow by Zach Terrell

Pug Love by Kelly Puissegur

color story – sprinkles iPhone case by Amanda Millner McAdoo

Asking for Directions pillow by Emily Rickard

In an ongoing effort to support independent artists from around the world, Design Milk is proud to partner with Society6 to offer The Design Milk Dairy, a special collection of Society6 artists’ work curated by Design Milk and our readers. Proceeds from the The Design Milk Dairy help us bring Design Milk to you every day.

The team at Sputnik Zurich aim to keep bikers and pedestrians both visible and fashionable when they’re out in the urban world with their high visibility bags.

Taking inspiration from the streets for its material and production, the company’s aim was to help bring safety to the complex and intertwining transportation system that left individuals in risky situations. Their solution: bags to hold your stuff while at the same time alerting traffic to your position on the streets. The concept and design seems fitting since the bags are made from safety vests you see joggers wearing at night or construction workers on site.

Their idea is to use building containers on construction sites around the city as production locations, bringing a locally produced product to the people in those locations as a way to help shine attention on urban development.