Walkie Talkie

Artists are well known for their ability to take things a step too far, but British designer Sean Miles took his duty rather literally when designing his ‘Walkie Talkies’. The project sees used phones embedded on the underside of ‘iconic footwear’, such as a Christian Louboutin heel. It has been developed in conjunction with O2 Recycle and aims to showcase what can be done with unwanted ‘footsets’. The Walkie Talkies, each valued at £2,500, are fully functional, with the keypad incorporated in the sole. What’s more, they double as ‘pieces of desirable art’ – surely that’s an offer no self-respecting art dealer could walk away from? Whatever the case, these boots were made for talkin’, and that’s just what they’ll do.

A Bath in the Park

The Japanese are well known for their enthusiasm for the latest trends and once they’re onto a good thing, they stick with it. Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, is just one such cultural addiction, and has been standard medical practice for thousands of years. It is a type of supercharged natural therapy inspired by age-old Shinto and Buddhist practices, taking into account all five bodily senses. The idea is to take a short trip into a forest and absorb the sounds, noises and ambiance around you while supping on a steaming cup of sencha, or something equally green and virtuous.

Sceptics should take care not to dismiss this as haiku-fuelled spiritual namby-pamby, though – studies show it lowers blood pressure, alleviates depression, releases stress and even prevents the big C.

Recycling in 3D

3D printing is quickly becoming something of a phenomenon and the benefits of being able to print a desired part or working mechanism ‘in-the-field’ are quite clear. Using a plastic filament – the equivalent of ink – the technology allows for the creation of almost anything, provided it isn’t too large and you have the required resources. However, at £50 per kilo, the price of filament is enough to put anyone’s plastic under considerable strain. That’s where US student Tyler McNaney, comes in – he’s developed a 3D printer, Filabot, with a sustainable twist. It is able to recycle a variety of unwanted household plastics and melt them into the required filament, to be transformed into (virtually) whatever object you desire.

Tin-Pot Recycling

Victorian recycling rates are about to get an unexpected boost, after an 120-year-old food tin was discovered in Kirriemuir, Scotland. Rather than be used as sustenance, which could quite literally open up a can of worms, the Bowlby Bros ‘Standard Apples’ are to be recycled (well, okay, reused) in a rather novel manner. The tin, produced in Ontario in the early 1880s, is to make the return journey to Canada and will become the only original can with a label in the collection of the Bowlby Brothers’ canning factory, which reopened as the Waterford Heritage Agricultural Museum in 1985. Indeed, in a ‘canny’ move, the Kirriemuir Heritage Trust has made a gift of the tin, rather than loan it. I suspect the curator at the Waterford Museum is acting rather like a cat on a hot tin roof, such is the excitement of receiving an unopened can.