Objects I love (as posted to U101)

-
As part of my Design Thinking course, I had to take photos of objects I like and then submit them to the Online Design Studio. They are intended to act as practice for taking and uploading photos which I already have lots of experience on… but I still took a while to do it. Why? I just couldn’t decide on only 3 objects to photograph!

In the end the three things I chose probably say a lot about me, so I thought it would be fun to share them with you and explain my choices further.

The first object that I chose was a Smart car. I chose this pretty quickly because it is something that has always made me smile. I used to own one and even though I have nothing against the car I have now, if I could I would go back to my Smart in a second.

The second object took a bit longer to pick. I was looking around the kitchen for inspiration and considered my blender (which I love but not THAT much), my slow cooker (which is great but let’s not get carried away) and finally settled on my Beaba Babycook.

I first got one when I had my first baby (of course) and quickly found out that this was probably the best way to make quick, healthy and cheap baby food. The little gadget steams, chops and defrosts vegetables so that you can quickly make baby food. It is also small, can fit in the cupboard, it’s easy to clean, it looks cute and is incredibly easy to use. Anyway, the gadget is amazing and even though it is expensive, it is well worth it. In fact, we carried on using the steamer even though the ‘baby’ was now a little boy as it was so useful for things like asparagus or small portions of veggies. Now with the new baby in the house it has once again come into use and once again I can rave about this useful little gadget.

The last item was proving difficult. As the course is all about design I wanted to choose an item that has made my life easier somehow because of the way it is designed. I thought of the obvious electronic gadgets (mobile, camera, MP3 player) but they weren’t exciting enough for me to ‘love’ them. I wanted something relatively simple but that has really made a difference to my life… and as I wandered around the house trying to get ideas I suddenly got inspired. Of course – a running skirt!

I have of course gone on and on about these things but they are truly objects that I love and that have changed my life. In my life before discovering these, I used to wear running clothes that were functional but didn’t make me look or feel good. Sure, some of the tops were cute but in general I didn’t love wearing any of that stuff. When I discovered running skirts I finally found an item that was still functional and had all the technical stuff for running but also made me feel pretty. Which meant I wanted to wear them a lot so I started running more. Which meant I got fitter and my life started to really improve. So when I say running skirts changed my life, they really did! But skirts aren’t only cute and functional – they are practical. Skirts usually have one (or two) pockets which are great for carrying the MP3 player, spare gels, keys and all those other little things that make running and life easier.

Once I uploaded my photos and thought about the choices I made, I realized that two out of these three items I’d already blogged extensively about so that validated my choices. It may seem superficial, it may seem a little materialistic but these three things are things I love, things that are well designed and things that bring a smile to my face.

What three things do YOU love?

Comments

911shazza said…
Very neat!! And great choices!! It's because of your blogging that I ever got a running skirt in the first place. As for three items for me, probably my iphone, gps watch and camera. I love taking pictures so much!! And the iphone doubles as an ipod and has so many cool features I barely leave it long enough to charge it. And the gps watch, hey, that's for running, so I can analyze all my stats!! It might have been my red mittens, but they were stolen... or maybe the torch, yeah, that item is really neat and special and fun to take pictures with!!
2 March 2010 at 08:29
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Copacabana: mystery solved

-
It is no secret (perhaps it should be!) that I really like Barry Manilow's music. So I was listening to Copacabana for the millionth time today and I remembered something I've pondered for a long time: why can't anyone figure it out? If you know the story - and you know you do - we have Lola and her boyfriend Tony who both work at the Copacabana. Rico turns up, starts flirting with Lola and the boys fight. Then "there was blood and a single gunshot, but just who shot who?" This is the part I don't get. I mean, it works out as a lovely rhyme but it really shouldn't be that difficult to work out who shot who! There was a single gunshot and we know from the song that Lola "lost her Tony" so surely Rico shot Tony. Another possibility could be that both guys ended up dead, in which case the body that has the GSW was shot by the other one (and in that case, how did the non-shot person die? Punched to death?) For some reason EVERY time I listen to this
Read more

Milton Keynes street names

-
Image
There are lots of weird things that appeal to me, but one of them is the idea of planned communities. I think the concept of producing a place to live in a space where none yet exists is quite idealistic. There’s something very satisfying about getting to decide what it looks like, where things are located, how it will flow, what are the underlying design principles, etc. Of course one of my favourite planned spaces is Walt Disney World which famously was built in the middle of nowhere much and everything had to be built. For decades I have researched almost every aspect of its construction and every detail is fascinating. The fact that it is still standing, still functioning and still successful is one of the reasons I admire this place so much. Closer to home, MUCH closer, is another planned community that I love learning about. It is of course Milton Keynes where I live. Here is another planned community that had its genesis in the late 60s with the first spaces built in the 70s an
Read more

Running around Bancroft - photo blog

-
Image
Inspired by RLSoccerMom over at www.disneyrunning.com forum, I finally got my finger out and took some photos while out for a run... This is my house and where the run started from. It was an unusually sunny Sunday lunchtime and I didn't have plans to run but it was so nice out that I thought - why not? The run took me mainly along the redways which are the pride and joy of Milton Keynes: cycle or walk ways (some are even red!) that criss-cross the entire city. It is possible to get from anywhere to anywhere on these routes and sometimes you don't see any cars! This is the redway that goes along the front of my house and where I started first with a brisk walk to warm up. Not long after I started I got to one of the infamous overpasses in MK. They can be a little scary at night but they keep walkers and cars separate so I don't mind them much. Milton Keynes is pretty flat so this is one of the few 'hills' I have to negotiate on the route. It is hard to tell from t
Read more