Toideloi Stackhouse - Modular Birch Plywood Dollhouses & Buildings.

Designed by Martijn van Tilburg for Toideloi, the Stackhouse is a series of modular building sets that can provide children with hours of play. Castles, Chalet, Villages and Skyscrapers can be easily built and rearranged from the various pieces which are all made from clear lacquered Eastern European Birch plywood. The rooms are large and spacious, measuring 14" x 14" (width and depth) and are 9.5" high. The house works great with 1:12 scale furniture.

Chalet:


Castle:

Village and Skyscraper:


Kids or parents can change the house by arranging and stacking the rooms, balconies and roofs into many unique structures. The Stackhouse is expandable; kids can bring along their rooms on play dates and build a mansion or build up a collection of rooms and roofs over time.







The stackhouses require no screws and have easy assembly. The walls of the rooms simply slide together. No tools required. Once put together the components are very stable. For longer term storage, the rooms can be disassembled in the same way.



Dutch Design. Made in the USA.



Toideloi is a small company specialized in well-crafted original toys. The Toideloi Stackhouse is designed by Dutch designer Martijn van Tilburg. Toideloi follows a philosophy of local manufacturing. The Stackhouse is manufactured in Kirkland, WA.

Build and buy your stackhouse here.

The Official Etch A Sketch iPad Case From Headcase.

Headcase™, in partnership with The Ohio Art Company, has just introduced the first and only officially licensed Etch A Sketch® iPad case! Now, the world’s most popular drawing toy provides a fun backdrop for the most revolutionary device ever conceived by Apple.

Etch A Sketch® is celebrating its 50th year and over 150 million units sold. The iPad sold over 3 million units in its first 80 days, prompting the USA Today front-page article: “Etch A Sketch: The 1960’s iPad”.



Daniel Deutsch, CEO of Headcase explains, “Etch A Sketch® has been one of the most recognized and iconic toys for generations. The iPad, like the Etch A Sketch®, is also instantly recognizable and has defined an entirely new category of technology. It has been a thrill to work with Ohio Art to bring the look and the feel of the world’s most popular drawing toy to Apple’s latest opus. It is the perfect accessory for those of us who never really grew up.”

While the Etch A Sketch® iPad case looks like America’s favorite toy, there has been equal attention placed on making it a high quality protective case. Made of impact resistant ABS plastic, the Etch A Sketch® iPad case will help protect your iPad. Rubber feet and a felt backing gently cradle your iPad inside the Etch A Sketch® iPad case.



Strategically placed windows throughout the Etch A Sketch® iPad case allow for easy use of all your iPad switches, ports, and buttons.




A retractable kick stand allowS you to either lay your iPad flat, or angle it for easy use of the keyboard.



The Etch a Sketch® iPad case is available for purchase for $39.00 USD here

FAQ

I’ve heard horror stories about some iPad cases overheating iPads. Will that happen with my Etch A Sketch® iPad case?
No. Unlike many silicone or leather iPad cases, the Etch A Sketch® iPad case is designed to let your iPad have the proper ventilation for cooling.

Will I be able to easily access my switches, ports, and buttons?
Yes. The Etch A Sketch® iPad case was designed specifically for the iPad – it may look like an Etch A Sketch®, but no corners were cut in making it the highest quality iPad case possible.

Is Headcase the only maker of the Etch A Sketch® iPad case?
Yes, Headcase™ has an exclusive agreement with Ohio Art, the makers of Etch A Sketch®. The Etch A Sketch® iPad case is the only officially licensed iPad product available anywhere.

Will the Etch A Sketch® iPad case help protect my iPad?
Of course. While no iPad case can make any specific guarantees, the Etch A Sketch® iPad case is made of impact resistant plastic. We are proud of the Etch A Sketch® iPad case’s durability.

Buy it now.

Headcase™ is a division of Real Simple Ideas LLC, an Orlando, FL based product development company. With in-house design and prototyping capabilities, ideas go from conception to distribution in record time. Headcase™ is a trademark of Real Simple Ideas, LLC. Etch A Sketch® is a trademark of The Ohio Art Company iPad™ is a trademark of Apple®, inc.

Saluting Design: An Army Of Military-Inspired Products & Modern Art.

above: American Flag by Dave Cole, made up of thousands of plastic Toy Soldiers and acrylic paint.

In honor of Memorial Day, here's a collection of modern art and fun furniture, jewelry and home decor that incorporate military related icons such as soldiers, tanks, bombs, missiles and more.


above: Memorial Flag of Toy Soldiers by Dave Cole (photo courtesy of the artist)

above: Memorial Flag of Toy Soldiers by Dave Cole (detail) (photo courtesy of the artist)

above: Artist Dave Cole with his American Flag (photo courtesy of the artist)


above: the Army Men Alphabet was created by student Oliver Munday for instuctors Nolen Stals and Bruce Willen at the Maryland Institute College of Art (photography by Jay Zukerkorn)


above: Six thousand Parts by artist Valerie Leonard is made 6,000 melted toy soldiers (photo courtesy of the artist)

above: Six thousand Parts by artist Valerie Leonard (detail) (photo courtesy of the artist)

above: Globe made of melted toy soldiers by artist Valerie Leonard (photo courtesy of the artist)


above: Jason Baalman glued 1,500 toy Army men to a camouflaged board to create a portrait of a soldier when viewed from above (photos courtesy of the artist)


above: The Peace Collection designed by Biaugust is comprised of a ceramic bomb vase, a ceramic grenade bank and a ceramic helmet bowl.

Just click on any of the above images for information, images and links to purchase.

Designers, artists and jewelers for items shown include:
Frank Kozik
Pharrell Williams
Chris Collicott
Daniel Loves Objects!
Mosley Meets Wilcox
La Tete au Cube
Stanislav Katz
Art Lebedev
Melanie Favreau
Peas, Corn & Tomato Sauce
Reiko Kaneko
Dave Cole
Christopher Deris
28 Biaugust
Atlason
Valerie Leonard
Jason Baalman
Brad Sherwood for Joy Charbonneau
Joel Escalona

Happy Memorial Day!

Took Long Enough! A High Tech Lite Brite From Bandai: Luminodot

The japanese company Bandai has come out with a high tech HD led version of Hasbro's Lite Brite. The toy that lets you add clear colored pegs to a light box backing to create glowing pictures.


above: the original Lite Brite toy

Lite brite was one of my favorite toys as a kid and believe it or not, I still have my original. However, this new one by Bandai, the Luminodot, is sorely tempting me to purchase it. With 1600 colored pegs and a sleek screen, it retails for $179.00 USD.

Like the original, you can use templates to place on the light box under the perforated screen to follow as a guide or randomly create your own designs.






They have Disney licensed templates too:



a few examples of some of their downloadable templates.


They have several templates to choose from. see their downloadable templates here.

Features (as described by audio cubes):
Bandai's Luminodot is the Lite-Brite we always knew we wanted. This 70 by 50 pixelated board is supported by a bright LED backlight. With 1600 bulbs in 12 different colors, each dot is important to finish the master piece. Any type of images can be projected onto the Luminodot, from a simple 2D picture to perspective art works. Featuring a private software that helps the user to create and preview the image. Luminodot is designed with a removable front panel, which allows the user to place the printed image underneath. A one-of-a-kind interior decoration. Available only from Japan.

Specs:
Power: AC adapter
Accessories
1600 color bulbs

In Japan, buy it here.

In the US, buy it here.

Sorry Barbie, But Compared To Mooqla Dolls, You're Just PWT*

If you don't know Mooqla dolls, you're about to be introduced to a series of exotically featured handmade silicone encased plastic dolls clad in the hippest of fashions. They make even Couture Barbie look like some serious *poor white trash.

With delicate features and an almost pensive, sometimes sullen look, they are simultaneously beautiful and macabre.





Made in Russia by the talented Polina Voloshina, the collection consists of several different 'girls' whose fashions are simply fabulous. The detailing is incomparable and the craftsmanship in both the doll and the clothing is very impressive.





A little American goth, a little Japanese animé, a little French fashion and a lot of Russian craftsmanship and ... voila! Dolls that are stunning, bizarre and yes, expensive.

Meet the girls.
Summer Sonya:




Victoria:



Julia:



Maria:




Eve:





Summer Lora:



Lora:



Summer Maya:



Maya:



Emilie:



Tanya:



Summer Tanya:



Sonya:



Anna:



Summer Anna:



Summer Lisa:




Who's behind these creatures?

above: Moscow artist and creator Polina Voloshina

How the dolls are made.

The doll begins with a drawing by Polina:

then a head is crafted:

a silicone encased plastic body that articulates in nine ways is created:


the doll is then sanded and polished to perfection:

and then clad in stunningly designed fashion ensembles, complete with accessories.

The accessory detailing is really incredible:




Prices start at approximately $350.00 USD for the dolls. Additional outfits start at $79.00 USD.

In France, you can purchase them here.


The newest addition is Bunny:

Or you can buy them from their online store here.

Their logo and corporate identity were designed by the talented art.lebedev studio where you can also purchase some of the dolls.