It seems obvious to combine a strainer and serving bowl into one item. Yet we’ve never seen such a thing until the Ventu.
When the handle is down this stainless steel bowl works like so many strainers you’ve likely owned in the past. Lift the handle and a leak-proof seal at the bottom of the bowl is created, allowing you to bring the Ventu to the table and serve out of it.
It’s another Vondrous item from Quirky. (Read a review of the Quirky, the cool store of crowdsourced products, here.) $50
Scotch tape is one of those everyday utilitarian items that could come in all manner of cool designs. Yet there’s been nary a one we found Vondrous until we came across this by Korean designers Jeong-Min Lee and Hyong-Min Park. X-Tape is designed to look as if a box or gift-wrapped present is closed together with hinges. Contact the designers directly for pricing and shipping info.
Bicycling to work is becoming more common. Bicycling at work is still rather rare. And doing both, well, that requires a Pit In Bicycle Desk.
Vondrous Junior was recently using our iPad and tried playing Pac Man for the first time ever. The verdict came back a few minutes later: “This game isn’t so fun.”
And, really, it isn’t fun when you have to maneuver safely through the maze by tilting the iPad in the direction of travel—the controls were simply too unresponsive. But the game could have been fun were it played with an IT iPad Joystick.
Any functioning alarm clock can wake you up. But how many welcome you to your new day with a cup of tea? That’s what the Swan Teasmade does. Fill the 600ml reservoir with water the night before, place a tea bag or two in the receptacle, set the alarm and you’re all set. The next morning when the alarm beckons you so will a fresh hot cup of Earl Grey. £60
While mobile devices and laptops compete on the tech catwalk, most power sources have yet to evolve beyond a nasty mess of plugs and cords. While club gear has long left our closet, Vondrous Gal has to admit to being taken by Diffus Design’s disco-esque Solar Handbag: large enough for our “every emergency covered” stash, sleek enough for the hip bar downtown and smart enough to charge the phone. …









