Vase Clos

Fancy a vase with a difference? You'll have to wait just a little longer as designer Pierre Foulonneau's multi-leveled vase is still in production. Recently exhibited under the theme "Model Ideas" at the Milan Furniture Fair, it's a container that's almost organic in concept as you can twist, add or subtract piece by piece for a shape that constantly interacts and expresses.

Click for bigger images here

Price: N.A.
Availability: Concept
Device: Vase
Basic specs: N.A.

Heated bra

The next time a beautiful woman tells you she's hot under the collar, take a chill. It's more likely a result of the new WarmBiz wonder bra that Triumph International recently unveiled at its Tokyo headquarters. The lingerie company's secret weapon to keeping abreast of the global warming issue is a heated piece of lingerie that aims to give a boost to Japan's campaign to get its workforce wearing warm clothes instead of using heaters. The strategic piece of material keeps warm via special pads filled with an eco-friendly gel that can be easily heated in a microwave or with a hot water bottle. Talk about your bosom buddy on a cold, nippy day.

Click for cup size D

Price: N.A.
Availability: Prototype, still not for sale
Device: Eco-friendly lingerie
Basic specs: Comes with matching shorts, design incorporates a furry boa that can double as a winter scarf, has chili pepper-shaped pendant on its front

The Bubble Chair

Fun and dippy, this inflatable bubble chair is great for tiny flats. Guests coming over? Just blow 'em up. Party over? Simply deflate and pack away for the next round. Not only does this look sweet since we've not seen an inflatable of this design anywhere else, the convolution of small and large inflated balls make this butt hugger one very comfy seat.

Click for bigger image here | See also FUNkeys

Price: Regular 29.99 pounds (US$53), large 39.99 pounds (US$70.60)
Availability: I Want One Of Those site
Device: Inflatable chair
Basic specs: Made of heavyweight vinyl, inflatable with man power or with pump, base can be filled with water for added stability, 92 x 74 x 68cm (small chair), 130 x 85 x 105cm (large chair)

Zoom Shops

Get ready for Zoom Shops, high-tech vending machines that aim to give the Japanese ones a run for their money. Apple's iPods aren't the only gizmos to be sold through these standalone retailers. Since March, the Zoom Shops have been stocking Sony headphones, Virgin Mobile prepaid phones, XM and Sirius satellite radios, Bose gear, to mention a few. Expansion plans are in the works, with as many as 10,000 machines being planned by 2007. These machines are not only beefier at up to 40sq ft, which allows a max. of 150 items to be displayed behind the glass pane, this next-gen breed sports touch-screen capability and support for credit or debit card transactions. A robotic arm retrieves items, while optical sensors verify that customers have removed items from the machine before charging their credit cards. In an age of connectivity, these vendors can transmit all purchase data via the Internet to a central bank of service. Oh, and did we mention that they sell snacks, too.

Get the bigger picture here

Price: N.A.
Availability: Currently in the US
Device: High-tech vending machines
Basic specs: N.A.

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