January 5, 2018

15+ Playful Products for People Who Love Surprises

Like surprises? If so, you've come to the right place! Created with craftiness in mind, these unique and unpredictable gifts put a playful spin on everyday objects. Some, like the collection of clever candles, melt away to reveal secret trinkets. Others—like the popular penguin paper toy and creative cat wall hanger—”pop up” when prompted. And then there are some that are sneakily hidden in plain view—including a bunny with secret scissor ears.

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January 3, 2018

Nature-Inspired Textiles Capture the Beauty of Our World’s Coral Reef Ecosystem

Porto-based textile artist Vanessa Barragão creates three-dimensional textile art inspired by the Earth’s coral reef ecosystem. The artist’s textured woolen rugs, tapestries, and wall hangings are made using various hand-crafted, fiber art techniques, including latch hooking, crochet, weaving, knitting, basketry, and felt. They mimic the organic textures, shapes, and structures found in the diverse world of underwater flora and fauna, such as fringing reefs and barnacles.

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January 2, 2018

World’s Largest Early World Map Stitched Together for the First Time

Cartography expert David Rumsey, together with his nephew, painstakingly joined together one of the world's largest maps for the first time. For over 400 years, Urbano Monte's color world map was spread out over 60 individual pages.  Created just 95 years after the discovery of America, the 1587 rendering is one of the earliest world maps; and when placed together, it stretches out a little over 10 feet.

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