March 10, 2014

Giant Red Saunders photo made into picnic bags

Filed under: Design,Food & Drink,Photography by Branko Collin @ 8:22 am

treaty-of-utrecht-red-saunders

As part of the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Utrecht, the local centre of the arts (UCK) commissioned British photographer Red Saunders to create a large piece depicting the signing of the treaty.

The 200 square metre photo was displayed in front of the city hall, but when it had to come down there was no place large enough to continue to exhibit it. The photo banner was given or sold to Jongkruit, a company whose sole business seems to be to turn festival banners into bags. According to Oranje Flamingo, you can buy one of these for a picnic at the festival on Liberation Day later this year. (It would appear that only some buyers will get a Red Saunders bag.)

The Treaty of Utrecht ended the War of Spanish Succession in 1713 in which a great number of major European powers were involved.

(Photo: Metro Imaging / Red Saunders)

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January 12, 2013

Transparent trash bag for reusable garbage

Filed under: Design by Branko Collin @ 11:35 am

Have you ever hesitated to throw something in the trash because although you personally no longer had any use for it, it was still usable?

The incentive prize of the 2010 Dutch Design Awards was won by Waarmaker’s Simon Akkaya and his Goedzak, a transparent bag that you can use to put usable things out with the rest of the trash. Since it is transparent and has a bright yellow band, it should immediately draw the attention of any passer-by.

Not that lack of attention seems to be that much of a problem. In my experience when I have to throw away something like an old keyboard or tennis racket I just wait for a dry night and then put it out in the street by itself. The good stuff gets picked up in no time.

The name Goedzak, literally ‘good bag’, is a pun because it also means ‘kindly person’.

(Photo: degoedzak.nl. Link: Bright and Pop-Up City)

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May 14, 2012

Silver coated bag shields you from phone calls and e-mail

Filed under: Art by Branko Collin @ 8:46 am

Amsterdam based artist Sarah van Sonsbeeck came up with the Faraday bag, which is according to Bright magazine made of “silver plated polyester which will protect the contents against electromagnetic data, including wifi and mobile networks”.

No idea what that means. The artist herself explains that “my world is less silent because of […] technological advancements. That’s why I created portable silence.”

The bags were made in a limited edition of 100 copies which sell for 129 euro each.

If that is a bit too steep for you, several department stores sell cooler bags that may produce the same effect for a couple of euro or even less. Van Sonsbeeck’s website does not tell whether the Faraday bag runs afoul of local anti-shoplifting legislation that states that it is illegal to carry a prepared bag with the intent to shoplift—that is, bags that cause exit scanners to fail to detect RFID tags. Distrifood.nl reported in 2008 that 60% of all shoplifting is done with shielded bags.

(Illustration: Sarah van Sonsbeeck)

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May 27, 2010

Bags made from old transport belts

Filed under: Bicycles,Design by Orangemaster @ 2:30 pm

Amsterdam designer Dinand Stufkens and his recycled bag company Kazmok makes bags by recycling transport belts from manufacturing plants. Every belt is different, as is every bag since only 10 or 20 bags can be made with one belt.

First, there was The Principal, based on the traditional leather school bag. There’s also The Tutor with various accessories like laptop sleeves and belts. A totally different model is the Bulkcarrier, which fits in a milk crate that is usually the front basket of a Dutch city bike.

(Link: bright.nl)

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August 17, 2009

‘Hotel’ made from big square shopping bags

Filed under: Architecture by Branko Collin @ 11:26 am

‘Gecekondu’ is a type of housing in Turkey that literally means “built in one day,” and that exploits a legal Turkish loophole that says that if you built a house in one night, the authorities cannot tear it down. Estimates say that up to half of the buildings in Istanbul are ‘Gecekondular’ (plural).

It is also the name of a one-room hotel in Amsterdam that DUS architects came up with. The building is entirely made of big square shopping bags and sits atop a pontoon. Visitors can draw the bridge at night to keep unwelcome visitors away. Staying a night is ‘free,’ that is to say, you are expected to perform chores in payment.

Parool calls it surprisingly cool (Dutch).

(Photo: DUS Architects, which has an extensive web page about this project.)

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August 24, 2008

East India Company themed bicycle bags

Filed under: Bicycles,Design,History,Weird by Branko Collin @ 9:59 am

Does steering your bike into Dutch traffic make you feel like you’re navigating a stormy ocean, hundreds of miles away from the nearest shore? Are you consumed by dark longings of burning villages on Java? Does the idea of paying shareholders with pepper and cinnamon instead of cold hard cash turn you on? Relive the days of the Dutch East Indian Company with these handsome VOC bicycle bags!

Quoth the manufacturer:

The “Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie” (often abbreviated till VOC) was an extreme successful Dutch Company which transported goods oversea. Transporting goods is for many Dutchmen still a daily job, with this difference that nowadays it takes mostly place by bike. Enough reason for Basil – the producer of bicycle bags – to translate this into an unique concept: the double bag VOC! This VOC-bag has an archaeological tinge and refers to the period of the VOC, the time the Dutch ruled the seas.

Basil will show the double bag VOC at Eurobike 2007 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, from August 30 till September 2. No word on when it will be sold.

Via Dagelinks (Dutch).

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