A Macabre Mouthful. Beautiful Silver Skull Spoons By Tom Sale aka Pinky Diablo.

Combining the imagery of death with an instrument used to nourish is an artistic juxtaposition found in the hand-crafted spoons by Dallas artist Pinky Diablo, aka Tom Sale. He has taken vintage silverplate and sterling silver spoons of various sizes and creatively turned them into Skull Spoons, or Skoons, if you will.The original and individual skulls spoons vary in size, texture and some even have engraved words on the back. Some have a twist in the handle, some are teaspoons, others are serving spoons. And in addition to the human skulls, Tom has created cow and cattle skull spoons as well. Each has what appears to be either a bullet hole or a gash in the heads of the skulls (undoubtedly the cause of death).Now, I wouldn't attempt to eat peas with these suckers, but you can display them in a shadow box, on a table or simply suspend them from a string like the artist has exhibited them:If you'd like a spoonful of spookiness, the individual pieces of flatware, which are only $45 a piece, can be ordered directly from the artist via e-mail. He will choose the skull spoon for you. I can't wait to see what he sends me!all images in this post are courtesy of artist Tom Sale

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Clever and Cool Curling Container for Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream by Cedric Ragot.

To celebrate its 50 year anniversary, Häagen-Dazs ice cream brand invited several artists to imagine exclusive objects celebrating the tasting ritual of a Häagen-Dazs ice cream.The 28'18" Moment (28 minute, 18 second) designed by Cedric Ragot, is a take off on the ice sport of Curling. The name is a result of the average time it takes to eat an entire pint of Häagen-Dazs, according to Ragot, although I'm pretty sure I could do it in half that time.The curling tub contains a tub of ice cream, an Ice Twist, a spoon imagined as a "tool of tasting", along with a DVD of the movie, 28 minutes and 18 seconds by Thomas Lélu with music by SomethingALaMode.

In addition to being a design item that was unveiled at the Salon du Design in Milan last April, the Curling is also isotherm, portable and durable. Perfect for summer picnics, its rotational molding design offers all the necessary features to be faithful to Cédric Ragot's first drawing: respect of the handle's oblong shape, no molded screw for a secure closure. The Curling needed 6 months of technical development and two months for the design of the mold.The unique commemorative package design is available throughout France only in a limited edition of 250 pieces, but you can pre-order it online at Colette.While researching for this post, I came across this totally fun Curling ice cube tray:You can buy the curling cube tray here.

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Ah, the Sweet Smell of Design. Pantone Candles. Pantone Toothbrushes, Too!

Ah, so that's what PMS 15-5217 smells like.Pantone Universe (the company behind the Pantone Matching System of colored inks) just keeps pumping out the products - this is actually my thirteenth post on Pantone-related products.The latest Pantone-branded item for the home from the color inks standard are scented Pantone candles in three sizes and 10 PMS colors. Apparently the candles are created by Belgium-based Ilanga for Pantone and like many of the their products for the home, they do not seem to be available in the US, at least not yet.Although there is a dedicated website, it is not up and running, but you can purchase some of the candles at Vinçon (only Honeysuckle and twilight) and at Colette (where they carry 7 of them in two sizes).Pantone Toothbrushes & Pantone Contact Lens CasesIn addition to the candles, other new offerings from the Pantone Universe are Pantone Toothbrushes in a set of five and Pantone Contact Lens cases.buy the set of 5 here.Pantone Contact Lens casesbuy them here.Pantone Universe

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The BMW Motorrad E-Scooter With Electric Drive Is One Cool Commuter Concept Vehicle.

In an effort to design more innovative alternatives for the increasing population of commuters, BMW has designed an all electric, but powerful scooter, that seats two. The future-oriented concept vehicle has a battery that can be charged in less than three hours in a common household outlet.The concept vehicle had two main requirements for its development: dynamic figures comparable to those of a maxi scooter with a combustion engine and a high range in realistic conditions of use. And here's the result: The BMW Motorrad Concept Vehicle BMW E-Scooter.The press release, July 1,2011:BMW Motorrad Innovation Day 2011.Innovative development study with electric drive.Space is becoming increasingly scarce in the major conurbation centres and traffic density is growing continuously. Political and social conditions are changing. All these factors coalesce in increasing demands in terms of private transportation. The concept vehicle BMW E-Scooter with electric drive provides an innovative look at changing urban mobility needs.While the currently available, purely electrically-powered scooters have been almost exclusively used inside towns and cities to date due to their performance and range, which makes them suitable for short distances only, the concept vehicle BMW E-Scooter offers a much broader spectrum of use.High range and excellent performance figures.Since it was conceived as a future-oriented vehicle for commuting between urban areas and the city centre, therefore attracting funding from the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, there were two main requirements for its development: dynamic figures comparable to those of a maxi scooter with a combustion engine and a high range in realistic conditions of use.The concept vehicle BMW E-Scooter provides the necessary sustained output and maximum speed for safe and reliable overtaking on urban motorways and also when carrying two people. It is also easily capable of managing hill starts on steep slopes with a pillion passenger.The development study also has the necessary maximum output to be able to achieve acceleration figures within the important 0 - 60 km/h range, which are at the level of current maxi scooters powered by a 600 cc combustion engine.The high storage capacity of the battery allows a daily driving range of over 100 kilometres. In this way, the BMW E-Scooter concept vehicle provides a long-term, zero-emissions urban and suburban travel option which is suitable for everyday use.Fast charging at conventional power sockets.The E-Scooter concept vehicle's battery is charged at regular household power sockets as found in Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan, so no special charging station is required. When the battery is completely flat, the charging period is less than three hours. However, practical experience has shown that the battery rarely runs out completely, so charging times are generally shorter.Frame.Unlike existing maxi scooters with combustion engines, the concept vehicle does not have a main frame. Instead, the aluminium battery casing - which also contains the electronic system required for battery cell monitoring -takes over the function of the frame. The steering head support is connected to it, as is the rear frame and the left-hand mounted single swing arm with directly hinged, horizontally installed shock absorber.Electric machine, power electronics and charging device.Due to its high output, the BMW Motorrad development study has no hub motor with direct drive or planetary gearbox. Instead, the high-performance electric machine is mounted behind the battery casing. The secondary drive consists of a toothed belt from the electric machine to the belt pulley mounted coaxially on the swinging fork pivot with drive pinion. From here, power transmission occurs via roller chain to the rear wheel. When the E-Scooter is decelerated in trailing throttle or when braking, the energy released is recuperated, thereby increasing the vehicle's range by between 10 and 20 per cent depending on driving profile.The electrical components required for the electric drive are installed on the top of the battery casing. The external battery electronics system permanently collects and monitors data such as the temperature and voltage of the battery cells, both during travel and while charging. The power electronics acts as a control system and controls the electric machine. The charging device includes a charge cable which allows the battery to be recharged at a conventional household power socket. In addition to the other components like an ISO insulation monitor, high-voltage indicator and a high-voltage distributor, a DC-DC converter is included. It is required to change high voltage to low voltage power to supply the 12 volt vehicle supply and especially for the control units.Cooling system.During travel, the electric machine and power electronics are liquid-cooled, as is the charging device during charging. An electric coolant pump ensures coolant circulation through the radiator. While a coolant is commonly used for the battery in electrically powered cars, the E-Scooter concept vehicle uses an air cooling system in order to save space.Safety.BMW Motorrad is one of the very few motorcycle manufacturers to be able to draw on its own experience and expertise in the automobile field in the development of electrically powered vehicles. Synergies are derived from the development of the BMW E-Scooter concept vehicle not just in the ready availability of technical components but also in the area of high voltage engineering and the associated safety requirements. Here for the first time, standards established by the leading automobile manufacturers relating to high voltage safety (> 60 volt) and functional reliability are being applied to a two-wheel vehicle with electric drive.click on the above image to enlarge[Source: BMW] and images courtesy of Autoblog.

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