(3 of 6)
HOPPING From the makers of the original pogo stick comes … a super pogo stick! Invented by M.I.T.-trained physicist Bruce Middleton and developed with champion skateboarder Andy Macdonald, the Flybar mobile exercise and stunt bar enables riders to clear heights greater than 6 ft. by bouncing on a rubber-like spring system that feels similar to a trampoline.
I iDJ MIXING CONSOLE If you haven't had enough seamless integration, check out the Numark iDJ mixing console for iPod, which transforms your portable music library into a source playback device. Its slick blue-on-white board features extruded, anodized aluminum panels and zero-tolerance precision switches and knobs for a tight, precise feel. Rock on.
J JEANS Casual meets luxe in a 7 For All Mankind/The Great China Wall collection of embellished clothing, including three “levels” of crystal-adorned denim in classic washes and fits. Level A retains a signature sunburst on the front panel and back pockets; Level B adds paisley-shaped swirls; and in Level C, above, the entire front and both legs are studded with Swarovski.
K KIDS Finally, modern design for the tots. DWRjax, Design Within Reach's first collection of furniture and accessories for young'uns, isn't just beds and tables. The line consists of more than 60 imaginative, versatile pieces, ranging from play caves and riding toys to whimsical chairs and rugs. Also thinking outside the box is Maclaren, where style seems to be climbing the corporate ladder. The baby-products company is experimenting with a new array of vibrant colors, fabrics and designs. It recently hired Phillippe Starck, Lulu Guinness and Burberry to design sophisticated strollers, like the Starck Buggy, which sports sleek, continuous frame lines. Its chic complementary changing bag—made of quilted black fabric with leather accents—holds Mom's or Dad's stuff but doesn't com promise elegance. Kate Spade also designed a Maclaren carriage, covered in—what else?—polka dots. She sells a footed cashmere onesie and matching hat for infants, and for their mothers, baby bags that mirror Spade's signature totes. Young chaps can slip into a Herringbone shirt by Thomas Pink, downsized to fit lads ages 3 to 14, complete with encased collarbones and buttoned cocktail cuffs.
L LASER CUT Furniture or sculpture? The answer was both for the vanguard brother-sister team of Thien and My Ta Trung at Canadian design studio Periphere when they created the all-steel, rococo-esque Iceberg table, with a laser-cut snowflake pattern in bright mirror chrome. In similar fashion is the Conran Shop's Prince chair, with a wool-covered rubber seat and back—originally designed by Louise Campbell for an invitation-only competition to give form to a chair for Denmark's Crown Prince. Swede Monica Forster was inspired by snow crystals and sunbeams when building her zinc-plated, polyester-powder-coated Cake and Sun tables, which catch light to cast shadows in magical and dramatic shapes.
M MEN'S SHOES English shoemaker Barker Black is trotting Stateside. Its premiere is an ode to old British lancers, bearing the regiment's skull-and-crossbones logo. Bottega Veneta uses leather as canvas this season, perforating cotton-lined featherweight capretto lace-ups. Inspired by Andy Warhol's loafers, Paris bootmaker Berluti has patched and darned its new line.