These Shoes Are Knit From Recycled Water Bottles | Co.Exist

July 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Two weeks ago, this new shoe was three plastic water bottles. After ground-up bottles are turned into recycled filament fiber and delivered to a factory, a San Francisco-based startup uses a proprietary process to 3D-knit the fiber into a seamless, essentially waste-free shoe. The knitting process takes just six minutes.

Rothy’s, the startup making the shoe, wanted to make better footwear than they saw on the market. But as they tried to figure out how to also make the shoe more sustainable, they realized that they could dramatically reduce the materials that are normally thrown out in construction.

Startups Are Giving Unwanted Foods New Life | Co.Exist

June 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Food waste isn’t a new problem. People have been grumbling about squandered produce for years. Now entrepreneurs are starting to do something about it: Recently we’ve come across several initiatives that attack the issue in new ways.

One of those is Cerplus, a marketplace for wasted food in the Bay Area. Set up by Zoe Wong in November 2015, it matches food that farmers and wholesalers can’t sell through conventional channels with buyers like restaurants and smoothie-makers. So far, about 16,000 pounds of zucchini, broccoli, strawberries, and the like, have been transacted through the system, she says.

UpLamp Turns Your Smartphone Into a Smart Gesture-Controlled Bedside Lamp | Cool Business Ideas

June 13, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We use our smartphones for everything. From talking to texting to general surfing, our phones transform our lives into a connected universe of bliss. However, what if our smartphones could transform something as simple as a plastic shell, into a lamp? With UpLamp, the newest design from Product.

UpLamp uses your smartphone’s LED light to light up a plastic shell made of glowing resin, effectively turning your smartphone into a smart lamp. UpLamp comes with a companion app, enabling smart features such as:

The divorced couple who built a global shoe company | BBC News

June 10, 2016June 10, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Jodie Fox says that when she started a successful business with her then husband Michael, it was both “amazing and equally difficult”.

The Australian couple had set up their company, Shoes of Prey, in Sydney in 2009, three years after they had married in their early 20s.

Together with co-founder and old college friend Mike Knapp, they launched their e-commerce website that allows women to design their own shoes. The company then makes them at its factory in China, before mailing them out to anywhere in the world.

While the business is continuing to grow strongly, and so far more than six million shoes have been designed on its website, the Foxes’ marriage broke down under the strain of working together, and they divorced in 2012.

A Sofa That Never Gets Bored | Design Milk

May 20, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The internet of things is no longer limited to well, just the internet. It now includes furniture. In fact, the Lift-Bit (not to confused with Fitbit or other bits), is the “world’s first Internet-of-Things sofa.” First unveiled at this year’s Milan Design Week, the sofa was created by international design and innovation firm Carlo Ratti Associati with help from Vitra.

The Lift-Bit is a modular furniture system that transform from sofa, to chair, to bed, to chaise lounge… to whatever else your creativity dreams up. It consists of a cluster of bright green, upholstered stools which are motorized using a linear actuator. This means that the cushions on the stool can be raised or lowered. Furthermore, it can be controlled through gestures, or of course, a mobile app.

An Inside Look At Car Marketplace Shift And Its Plans For Major Growth, Starting With D.C. | TechCrunch

January 27, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve ever tried to sell a used car you know it’s a process. You either haggle low-ball offers at the dealership or wade through Craigslist emails with the hope that a possible buyer actually shows up, wants your car and has cash.

Startups such as Beepi and Carvana attempt to take the pain out of the process by cutting out the dealer and helping you list online. Ebay motors originally started with this same idea, but dealers now utilize the service quite heavily.

A Lamp Made with the Help of a Robot | Design Milk

December 9, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Atelier Robotiq, a design company based in Rotterdam, uses a combination of design software they developed and a robot that weaves in their first product, the Fiber Pattern Lamp. The software tells the robot what to weave in order to create the lightweight, 3D fiber structures that look a bit like a UFO.

Frenchman develops ‘cure’ for builder’s bum | The Local

November 9, 2015November 9, 2015 ~ CBPS ~ Leave a comment

Builder’s crack, plumber’s bum, the coinslot, bottom cleavage…

No matter where you go in the world, there’s an expression for the unfortunate moment when a tradesman or woman bends down and reveals the top end of their backside.

In French, it’s called the plumber’s smile (sourire de plombier) or even the “mason’s line” (raie du maçon).

“I’m not changing the world… maybe just a bit. It’s not like I’ve found a cure for Aids – just for the builder’s crack.”

Made: Bloodroot Blades | Bloomberg Business

November 3, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When was the last time you were cooking in your kitchen and you looked at the knife in your hand and wondered, “Where did this come from?”

Probably never. Right?

For David Van Wyk and Luke Snyder, the science-minded duo behind the knife company Bloodroot Blades, the source is half the point. They make gorgeous, custom blades for a global clientele at a lakeside shop in Arnoldsville, Ga. For them, the first step in the process is finding materials.