For those of our readers in London, and those who plan on making the trek across the pond from North America within the next 2 weeks, we encourage you to check out the 143 Pop Up Boutique. From May 14th till the 28th, the shop will be open at 3 Lowndes Court. The creative artistic arrangements are cooked up by rising star of the London creative scene Kate Moross. 143 will feature exclusive products ranging from clothing (for both men and women) to books and household items by the some of the hottest rising designers today. Pretty much anything that can evoke emotion can be found here.

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So what else can your iPhone do?

You can turn your iPhone into a universal remote control with this little gadget that connects to the headphone jack. Of course, previous handheld devices that come with a built-in infrared port often have some kind of remote control functionality, but the multi-touch capability of the iPhone makes the UiRemote so much more convenient to use. Imagine being able to just flick your finger anywhere on the screen to change the channel, control the volume… Now you really would never have to take your eyes off that screen! And if you happen to lose your UiRemote? Just give it a call =)

In our quest to find products and designs that will enhance everyday living for many, we came across Argentine Designer Leonardo Manavella’s Agua H2O which converts urine from humans or animals into fresh drinking water in minutes!

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While Apple continues to focus marketing efforts on promoting their latest gadgets and technology, Microsoft looks towards the budget concious consumer. In their latest ad they challenge Lauren to find a laptop that fulfills her needs under a $1000 budget. With the economy in a recession and everyone’s wallet tightning, Microsoft looks to have created a successful campaign that nails their target market.

Photo by Wen-chun Fan courtesy of CNN

A year ago today, a devastating earthquake leveled the province of Sichuan. Almost 70,000 people died due to the quake with 4.8 million more left homeless. Till this day, most of Sichuan is far from being fully recovered from this tragic catastrophe with the disaster impacting the province on almost every level of life imaginable. The Guardian has a great article outlining the social impacts and changes that the earthquake had on Sichuan victims, including those who chose to remarry.

i love this set of Orchestra Kitchenware by designers Hyuh Jin Lee, Chooi-leng Tan and Hye Ryoung Cheon. Dining with family and friends will be so much more entertaining now (not that they weren’t before….) with this line of dining ware. The product line is comprised of a Xyloplate, Drumsticks, Music Note Hanger, Guitar Plates, Maracas Salt & Pepper Shakers and Do-Re-Me Wine Glasses. Slurping, gobbling and plates clacking will be replaced by kitchenware chimes.

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that one of the things that really agitates me is when earphone wires get all knotted up. Marrying smart design with functionality, designer Ji Woong has come up with a prototypical design of earphones with a zipper to… well zip-up the wires to prevent them from being tangled. A volume control button is also located on the slider. I personally can’t wait until these earphones are produced, and will probably be the first to jump on these as soon as they’re out on the market.

Following up on their previous projects of curating products from Finland, Denmark, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Japan, and Seoul, the MoMA store brings to us this time items that are typically found in Brazil. The goal of Destination: Brazil is to introduce products from the aforementioned countries which best illustrates the colours, forms and materials found in the country.

Here’s a couple of our favourite items from Destination: Brazil,