Weird and wacky design: Walk a mile in these shoes?

Yes Sir I could boogie (but not for all night long)

I’ve not put any ‘Weird and Wacky designs’ on here for a while – so I shall address that now.  I love strange shoes, though it takes me all my time to wear high heels these days (though I just will not be told and do try to persevere).  I rather like these shoes. I like the shape of them, and I think that they would probably be comfortable – the hydraulics of them giving at least a bit of support. (link to an interesting shoe blog which featured them)

heavy boots of lead - fills her victims full of dread

Now I really like these metal shoes!  They would look fantastic – but I should think that they would be pretty uncomfortable to wear.  They are the sort of thing the H.R. Giger would design (must do a post on that artist).

alien surrealist work of H R Giger

  He did the visual effects on the film Alien for which he won an Academy Award.  Ideal for a female alien perhaps?  Do they have real feet?  If so – how many?

walk this way - if you dare

These of course are by the late Alexander McQueen – a tragic loss to the fashion world.  His designs were sometimes  outrageous  and very impractical – but what an imagination!  I love the twisty meanderings of these shoes.  they remind me of the nursery rhyme:-

There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile

He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile

He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse

And they all lived together in a crooked little house.

I don’t think you would be walking very far at all in the last shoes.  the nursery rhyme, by the way has its foundation in Kings Charles 1st – the crooked man being the Scottish General Alexander Leslie.

the crooked man

Metal shoe link here

H R Giger website here

McQueen shoe from this blog

Nursery rhymes here

Weird and wacky design – Get the Message

breast t shirt

Since it is impractical to wear your actual heart to your sleeve – or even nail your colours to the mast (you’d need a boat for a start), the next best thing  for getting your message across is to get it emblazoned a T-shirt.  Logo and message T-shirts are very common, some of the slogans have become clichés.  But I thought that the above one was unusual to get noticed.  These are made by a woman known as the Lactivist who advocates breast-feeding in public.  There are a few designs.  All proceeds go towards Milk banks, which apparently there is a great shortage of.

a way with words?

There are some really good Slogans in this T-shirt place.   Unfortunately I couldn’t get pics of them apart from the two above.  I especially like the choking one (only choking……) HERE

er great chat up line eh..

If you like to use that old hackneyed phrase ‘Been there, done that, got the T shirt’ you will be pleased to know that now you can buy the actual t-shirt!  Everyone will believe you now!  HERE

at last – THE T shirt!

Weird and wacky design: In my cups

coffee bean cup

There are some very unusual cups around.  I especially like this one with coffee beans on.  I don’t know how practical it would be to drink out of, but it looks good to me.  Other strange cups HERE

not my cup of meat

I think this meaty cup is thought provokingly weird!  (do I want my thought provoked like this?)  Meat and drink, meaty Bovril, streaky Tea….I’m trying to make a link here and failing dismally.  Strange, just one of the many exhibits from this exhibition HERE

I heart tea

This heart shaped cup is so dainty and cute.  But I wonder what it would be like to try to drink from?  I’m now trying to think of a red drink – probably rosehip tea or something.  That would look nice. perhaps a little palmier biscuit on the side too – purely for artistic purposes you understand…. want one? HERE

‘Weird and Wacky design:The short life of a gadget

 

here's one I didn't make earlier

 

I’m a sucker for gadgets – especially kitchen gadgets.  I just have to have them!  Of course, I use them a couple of times and away they go in the cupboard, forgotten until I have no more room, then they are relegated to the cellar only to see the light of day when the whim comes upon me.   Take my Breadmaker (please), this started out as a way to save money and eat healthily.  Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way.  I didn’t like the bread, it was too dense, plus the screw always stuck in the bottom of the loaf – leaving an unsightly hole.  Away it went, only to be resurrected again when I make fruit loaves (which turn out great.)  Another use for the breadmaker is for the actual bread making process, the kneading, risings (novel idea eh) BUT I don’t let it bake, I use the oven for that. I turn the dough out, shape and bake.  Now this works great for me and I’ve had better results,  so every so often, I will use the breadmaker.

 

cute egg seperater - seems a shame to use it really

 

I rather like this gadget.  It’s an egg seperator….yes I know, why bother, just use the old egg-shell trick.  But this is why gadgets get bought – because they are so cute!  It’s all very well being practical, but if the design doesn’t grab – it won’t sell. Get it HERE

 

square egg gadget, for the people who will NOT be told...

 

Staying with the egg theme (which came first? the gadget or the egg?), here’s a bit of magic –  put your boiled egg into this machine and hey Presto square eggs!  WHY?  – are they more aesthetically pleasing? easier to put in sandwiches?  Poor Mother Nature, if man had his way…the poor chicken!  Still can’t live without one? Get it HERE

 

meatball- grill basket

 

Men love to barbeque.  I don’t know why – they’re not usually much good at it overall.  They never seem to get the heat quite right.  In my experience and so my stomach has informed me a few times,  those  charred blackened offerings are usually raw in the middle.  But you can’t keep a good cavemen down (well we tried, but they keep popping up from time to time).  Here is the meatball grill basket.  Would a man or woman  make meatballs  at a barbeque?  Does it matter? Nifty gadget though, for use on any grill, but I suspect, like with a lot of gadgets – it  will take some cleaning.  Want one?  Meatball grill basket HERE

If you would like to enter the Flashbaxk book challenge;

and HERE’S the list of what I shall be reading and why

Weird and Wacky Designs: Hitting the Sack (and keeping it)

shame to throw them out really

I think these refuse sacks are so cute!  (they’re called ‘Happy sacks’) and just the job for all that sorting out I am going to do.  But surely they’re much too nice to throw away?  Here I go again…..   Is there any end to it?  I also like these ‘Birch log’ pillows, they come in wool felt and are available HERE.  you would be sleeping like a log with one of these…

log pillow wool felt by Erika Kern. Sleep like a log

I really like this ‘hand’ wrench’, what a very innovative design!  A bit of a helping hand literally.   Available from HERE. 

paul martus tools

I also rather like this ‘Persuader’ hand bag by James Piatt, it’s even got a little pocket for your phone.  A very contemporary design with a touch of James Bond (shaken not stirred).

The Persuader bag, I'm persuaded

This has got to be one of the most simplistic designs ever!  Hangers made of Hazelwood.  There is something so Fred Flintstone about these, and organically charming.

hazlewood hangers livette la suissette

Weird and Wacky Design: Conjuring Rabbits from a Car

I really like this ram a lot

I don’t know what is wrong with wordpress lately, but I keep losing lots of stuff, then they keep coming back.  I have changed a lot of stuff round recently, so I need to go through my settings again, make sure I’ve not ticked some wrong boxes or something.  I came across these unusual animals made of car parts.

car part sculpture Rooster

They are called ‘Steampunk animal sculptures’ and are by James Corbett.  Apparently, each part has kept the integrity of the car part it is derived from.  I haven’t a clue about car parts at all, so where this rooster came from I don’t know, but I like the shiny substance which looks like it’s made from horn.

James Corbett Hare

This hare is a bit frightening, it looks like an automation – that it could easily come alive!  Something you would see in an old Doctor Who episode.  For more of these unusual animals made from car parts HERE

 

Weird and Wacky Design: Crusty Bread Rolls with It!

mighty strange bread

 

Just a quick one tonight.  I came across this silly bread roll the other day which I thought was rather fun.  Also this bread hand.  The question is why?  the answer must be  ‘why not! because they can, that’s why!

 

 

very strange bread hand

And what about this weird foot?  I wonder how difficult it is to sculpt this bread?  Surely the bread would have to be of the right  consistancy – not too soft and not to hard.  I wonder if it has to be freeze-dried first?  I actually wouldn’t mind having a bit of a go at this!

crusty foot

There’s  a whole gallery of them HERE

Read my earlier post about Bread and Butter sculpture HERE