Former car designer Dzmitry Samal has created limited edition time pieces with faces made of polished concrete. There are only 100 of these Swiss made watches in production and will be priced in a range of about $1,200. A rubber band connects into the functional, masculine-styled watch. The architectural elements of the watch’s case yields an interesting composition when contrasted by the colorful hands and accents in its face. A strong, bold aesthetic make this watch an alternative to classical wrist wear with a progressive and fun concrete edge....

Here for your enjoyment are just a few of the strangest (and strangely useful) and best smart gadgets for 2014. 1. The Savory “Steaklocker” is an App-Connected Steak Chiller For the tech-savvy consumer who’s tired of buying aged steaks exclusively from butchers and upscale restaurants, meat meet the Steaklocker. It’s the first commercially-available dry aging fridge in the world, and it equips its owner with the power to decide exactly how their meat is aged, tweaking the end result so that it gives them exactly the flavor and tenderness they desire....

“I’ve never been to a museum in my life, and now I’m living in one,” said one of Brazil’s poorest of her Vila Cruzeiro favela neighborhood. Dutch artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn perform a vibrant form of charitable art they call “Favela Painting“. A favela is a Brazilian shanty town that houses the city’s poorest citizens, those who cannot find gainful work or a proper home. These run-down ghettos are dangerous and dilapidated, roundly ignored by Brazilian city governments....

Generator Hostels are the design effort of in-house creative director Anwar Mekhayech and Toronto-based design partner The Design Agency. Together, they’ve created a collection of hotel themes that are independent of each other but stick to the core ethos of Generator. They’re inviting and inspiring, featuring interior layouts and furnishings that make the time spent at a Generator hostel a memorable part of the journey. It’s like a night club without the pretense, a lounge where everyone is welcome....

But before you have that conversation, we’re here to help guide you with tips on how to ask for a raise. That way, you’ll be ready to ask for the salary you deserve. As you grow in your career, you become more valuable to the workforce. And being valuable means better benefits, and a bigger paycheck. But talking money with your boss is a frightening experience for many. With so many concerns looming overhead, how do you properly ask for a raise without fumbling the opportunity?...

People stopped being quite as drawn in by manly biceps and soft, feminine lines and started to dream of hard torsos with defined abdominal muscles leading to the alluring V at the hips. How to get abs? One of the hardest looks to attain is that of the “six pack” abs. It technically goes against your body’s natural state, which is to store weight at your center for use later....

We first came across the tattoo photography of Warwick Saint years ago in Inked magazine. Saint’s work with women in ink has yielded a large body of work, a few of which we’ve collected here at TheCoolist. Saint’s imagery captures the raw, counter-culture rock-and-roll sexuality of his subjects, but maintaining a refined sense of style that is equally classy. Take that image above, for example– the tattoos and pearls yields a stunning contrast, one that we had to share here....

Well, today we’re putting these virtuous claims to the test. Is organic coffee really organic, or is it mostly just marketing? Find out below whether you’re getting your money’s worth – or if you’re just making somebody rich. Our critical approach to organic coffee As with any popular product, there’s a certain vocabulary generally used to sell organic coffee. Below, we consider three of the most common coffee labels to ascertain whether they really do yield a healthier, tastier, more responsible cup of joe – or whether they’re just feel-good buzzwords....

The Keffer collective in Paris, France has documented Paris life and landscapes for the better part of the last decade. Their work ranges from carefully staged works of photographic art to live, unscripted action. The entire collection is certainly worth a long look, but we’ve published a decent starter gallery here as pointed out by our friends from the via link here… enjoy! View in gallery View in gallery View in gallery View in gallery View in gallery View in gallery View in gallery...

Leica V-Lux 30 Gallery

If you’re not familiar, Senz umbrellas have an elongated frame with four ribs that extend to the rear of the holder. This provides greater aerodynamic response, which handles wind better than most, and it also sports a wider coverage area than the typical umbrella. The Senz design thereby keeps its holder dryer than most umbrellas, while also being easier to hold in heavy winds. Maharishi has taken the Senz umbrella and given it a fresh look with a sharp black-and-white pattern....

The two groups, officially Lufthansa Technik and Mercedes Benz Style, are first time collaborators in this project. The goal was to fuse Mercedes design language into the Lufthansa Technik aircraft, and fans of Mercedes can see the obvious design dialect here. There are points of influence from plenty of Mercedes products here. “The cabin windows are concealed by so-called black panels, which, inspired by the screen design in the Mercedes‑Benz S-Class, appear to float in front of the window like a light corona,” says Mercedes Benz Style....

Indonesian photographer Hengki Koentojoro practices the art of minimalism in a recent feature called MiniM. The black and white images are stark yet powerful, as dark silhouettes contrast against a light and almost glowing backgrounds. Many of the images take place around water where fog and mist are often present and the subjects of the photos can be seen fading into mysterious clouds. Each photo has one distinct focal point as a result of bold lines and design created between the dark and light colors....

Artist Alan Craig recreates famous iconic photographs with unique giant portraits using aerial photography. Similar to pixels, gatherings of people create these intricately composed portraits. Among some of the portraits recaptured are of the late Elvis Presley, Lucille Ball, and Marilyn Monroe. Most of the people used to create this project are outfitted in dark clothing to contrast easily with the stark white ground used as the back drop. Select areas use color to create a differentiation where the lips are....

Types of Pressure Cookers Pressure cookers come in two major flavors: Electric and stove-top. As you might imagine, electric ones plug in and do the work as a free-standing autonomous unit. Stove-top options require that you physically put it onto a burner. The way to determine which is right for you depends mostly on how much work you want to do. Electric Using an electric pressure cooker, you can set it and forget it, leaving it to do the job while you sit back with a good scotch....

The Scientific Perspective Since the world of academia and research has solved all the other problems in the world, it took the time to investigate how a shaved head was perceived by the world at large. Albert Mannes of the Wharton School of Business conducted experiments to ascertain how a shaved head came across. In a series of three experiments, he made a few determinations about the way a shaved head on a man came across....

Model aficionados have a deep respect for the career of Kate Moss. Having modeled for 21 years and counting, Miss Moss has reached an iconic status in the world of fashion. Sure, she’s certainly had her share of problems, but Kate continues to kick, and the occasional trouble just seems to add to her allure. Now 35 years old, this model and mother has begun to pen an autobiography which will be published by entrepreneur extraordinaire Richard Branson....

Along with notions like the fluid workspace, studies are now showing that being comfortable is as important to being productive as looking like a million bucks. The problem here is that you can’t just throw on any pair of ratty old sailor slip-ons and hope that corporate merger is going to go off without a hitch. Rather, you need to get the right boat shoes for the job, wear them the right way, and keep them in their place....

Super brand sunglasses are all the rage with today’s hip and happening stars. Actors, musicians, athletes and otherwise are rocking Supers while out and about in front of the lenses of the paparazzi. Amongst the brand’s latest are the Super “Luciano” Sunglasses, a fresh hexagonal take on the classic horn-rimmed style. While Super rarely releases anything less than the best, this one is clearly amongst their greatest designs.

Board games make the ideal interactive experience for socializing, since they give us all the enjoyment and satisfaction of play while also allowing us to mingle with our friends, co-workers, compatriots, and people we want to win money from. Though many of us look to the digital world for our gaming needs, there’s an irreplaceable connection that happens when you take the experience down a notch, into the analog world....