Compiled by
TOM KELLY
Smooff Lounge CushyDon't you think these words all seem interchangeable? A Lounge Cushy Smooff sounds plausibly cosy too. I'm not sure either, whether it's just a bit of Euro-bastardisation of cushion or they really intended the play on "cushy number". Of course, calling it a vaguely onomatopoeic Smooff makes everything else seem like a bastion of sensible, mature branding. Lounging, it's definitely for.
The Smooff is a comfy, multi-use portable mattress that’ll make you perfectly at home on the beach, the boat, the lawn or for the impromptu sleepover. It’s waterproof, so your sodden cushies won’t become leaden and hard. And UV-resistant to help hold its colour – the Smooff comes in a rainbow of zesty options. It’s easy to fold up and tote around, and the fire-retardant cover can be removed for washing. You can even buy replacements.
Weighs 5kg and Smooffs out to 2m.
Cost€99, from connox.com
Wacom InklingGiven the relentless charge of the digital book, with Amazon's Kindle and the iPad shredding the way, it's commonplace now to see someone on the plane across from you e-reading the journey. It was only ever going to be a matter of time before technology for digital sketching on the go would appear too.
This is the Wacom Inkling. You simply attach a small receiver to whatever paper or note book you’re about to draw on. Use the Inkling pen and everything you sketch on the page, every stroke and shading will be stored digitally for transfer to your computer when you want.
However, not only can you import your sketches as jpegs or PDFs as you might imagine, Inkling lets you save your drawings in multiple layers and as vector files (for the majority of non-designers out there, this effectively means you can work on the sketches later with standard software like Adobe’s Photoshop or Illustrator.)
This is pretty clever, saving you scanning in your doodling and outputting an active, editable drawing, not just a passive image. Of course, I realise “Not An Inkling” might be a more appropriate name for this – and that I may have lost you around the second mention of “digital” above. But you can take it, though it’s now really aimed at graphics heads, this sort of technology will someday soon seem as everyday as a camera in your phone. Remember the days when we could only just draw on paper?
It all comes in a handy little carrying case, which also houses a charger for the pen and receiver. Though it must be said, a notebook and pencil will cost a lot less.
CostAbout $200 (€145), see wacom.com
Fresh TravelerSo you can buy little plastic tubs with cereal and milk in containers, but what if you have a personal custom-created muesli-flaxseed-gravel mix or you prefer a particular bio-Nepalese yoghurt rather than full-fat milk? Or perhaps you object to the relentless proliferation of packaging and want to have a reusable solution for carrying your Sugar Puffs?
Fresh Traveler (sic) from Dutch designer Arian Brekveld (a brekkie-puntastic name opportunity missed there) is an elegant solution. There’s a double-walled stainless steel flask to keep your mixer of choice chilled and a plastic base for the cereal – which screw together with an airtight seal. Meaning your crunchy favourites remain that way and the liquid stays as cool as the Fresh Traveler’s aesthetic.
Holds 420ml.
Cost£29.95 (€34), from madeindesign.co.uk