Feeling bored at work? Nothing gives productivity a bigger boost than surfing the Net on company time. More t-shirts here.

Mini / Massive is now ‘live’.

I’m one lucky guy. My wife just bought me this!

Love this argyle ampersand tee by Springfield.

via i love typography/Nubbytwiglet.

Once confined to the domains of aerospace and racing, titanium and carbon fibre is now found in more pedestrian applications - Yo Yo Ma’s carbon fibre cello may be an exception.

In the realm of racing, titanium offers better fatigue life while carbon fibre, its weight-saving qualities. Such materials aren’t strictly necessary when speed isn’t the name of the game, but together they can imbue a product – in this case Nokia’s 8800 Carbon Arte – with a higher level of class and build quality.

Nokia has succeeded in harnessing the visual qualities of both the materials to good effect. The grey of the titanium, which appears to have been anodized, blends perfectly with the carbon fibre panels, the polished glass screen and stainless steel trim.

As with all sliders, how the front panel moves to reveal the keypad is always of interest. In the Carbon Arte, notwithstanding the additional weight of the polished glass screen, it slides with confidence and on ball bearings – precise and taut. It would be interesting to see how this holds up over long term use.

Indeed, it’s the finer details that make this phone standout. Like how the keypad lights up row-by-row as you move the slider up and how it dims and fades out once it’s closed. Everything has been geared to exude class.

Its heft does make it feel snug to grasp, but the Carbon Arte is a tad small – perhaps more suited to elegant manicured hands of women in these ads. Consequently, it did feel cramped sliding the panel up or down with the thumb. Individually, the keys have been angled upwards to perhaps make it easier to hit the keys you actually want.

Beneath the metal and glass things remain unchanged with storage bumped up to 4GB from 1GB. It boasts 3G connectivity, a 3MP camera (video/still) and an OLED display.

Priced at 1100 euros, you can expect to see the Carbon Arte in the viewing suites of Europe’s F1 circuit.

DHL came-a-calling this morning and delivered this.

And in it was this from UK-based WOM World/Nokia.

First impressions? All I’m going to say now is that I wish I didn’t have to return it. Soon to follow, a review.

…is an Umbuster.

This is a 240-pencil set made from the carbon of cremated human remains. Each pencil is foil stamped with the name of the deceased.

Only one pencil can be removed at a time. You sharpen the pencil by putting it back in the box. The shavings then occupy the space of the used pencils. Over time the box fills with sharpenings — turning the box into a new urn (it’s filled with the shavings which are made from the cremation).

Not quite available at the undertaker/funeral director near you. Designed by Nadine Jarvis.

via signal vs. noise.

Dweey is a short-necked giraffe designed by Fusiowave. Buy the button badges here.

Rubitone by Ignacio Pilotto.

via swissmiss.

via monoscope.

via swissmiss.

Start ‘em young. Push-along bike by Porsche Design.

via notcot.

Tetris Tiles.

via notcot.

WASARA has got to be hands down, the nicest collection of disposable paper tableware. I’d have trouble bringing myself to use these and then binning them.

“Underlying the concept of WASARA is the legacy of Japanese aesthetic and value sense. Japan has a tradition of good manufacturing backed by excellent skills and techniques, one of the most refined food cultures in the world, and a spirit of hospitality and courtesy. These are essential for days of spiritual fulfillment. While a WASARA is a paper dish good for one-time use, we would like it to represent those quintessences of our tradition.” - From WASARA’s website.

via notcot.

Cute. Monster Laptop Sleeve. Imagine going for a client meeting with this. Available at Barry’s Farm.

via hello bauldoff.

Love these helmets by French designer Jerome Coste. He came up his brand Ruby after his sixth high-speed cranial fracture. Not a moment too soon I say. Jerome draws his inspiration from sci-fi, Japanese biker gangs (who smoothly blend street culture and vintage motorcycling) and of course Steve McQueen.

via bbgadgets and core77.

Love this minimalist bin. You do need to hang a plastic carrier bag over it though.

via monoscope.