Kill two birds with one stone with UMA, a portable lantern for the modern age. Designed by Carmine Deganello who is based in Milan, and Venezuelan-born industrial designer Pablo Pardo, UMA combines LED technology with 360° high fidelity surround sound and provides a one-of-a kind portable light and audio experience housed in a strikingly elegant design. 

UMA is designed for effortless portability indoors and out. It is made from diffused polycarbonate and comes with a tan or grey leather strap and a premium cotton travel bag for additional protection. It features touch-sensitive volume control, an intuitive full-range light control dial and Bluetooth connectivity so you can stream audio wirelessly from any mobile device.

A new design store opened in Hamilton last year just before Christmas. & Partners is owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Andrea Sundt and Peter Lapsley, the latter of whom is a well-known local artist. The couple returned to Bermuda a few years ago and set up their store with the credo that good design should be timeless and not based on trends or fads. As such, the store carries a wide variety of classic pieces, mainly Scandinavian in provenance or style, including items such as the scissors, building blocks and wooden cutting boards by HAY we previously featured, enamel trays and other household items, textiles, watches and jewellery. Some local pieces like the handmade wooden spoons by Alex Davidson are also on sale. Our favourite items include the small-batch, functional porcelain ceramics by Tennessee-based Bean and Bailey and the graphic, laser-cut leather pouches by Molly M Designs. 

Nuse Design's Corvo is a whimsical flock of birds made of one of three types of wood: walnut, ash or oak.

Pacific and West

These binders are out to challenge Moleskine at their game. 

The Wood Notebook from Pacific and West is engineered to inspire creativity through the use of unique natural materials and thoughtful design. Made in the US from 100% recycled paper, black walnut and brass, the designers placed their focus on the importance of functional and beautiful tools. The resulting custom 5-ply wood front and back covers showcase the unmatched natural beauty of the material and are incredibly durable. The grain is hand-oiled and this shows the natural material off to its best effect.

The notebooks come with the option of plain, ruled, or dot grid papers and are available in three sizes.

Timex

With a bullseye dial inspired by a design pulled from the Timex archives, the Timex x Todd Snyder Mod Watch may be retro in appearance but not in its usefulness. Both 12- and 24-hour time formats are available at a glance due to its three separate rows of indices. The watch has a gray nylon strap that works for nearly any occasion and goes well with the silver case and 40mm cream, red, and black face.

Jacob Riches

This clever piece by Jacob Riches is designed to be as versatile as possible. It can act as either as a side table or a low bench and the shelf provides storage for papers, books and magazines.  We'd be reluctant to cover it up though as the intricate weaving adds a beautiful touch to the curved wood of the piece.

Sometimes when we're covering the various fashion weeks, we end up not writing about a collection we had initially wanted to highlight. When this happens, the collection can remain as a draft for months until it is eventually deleted. Such was the case with our review of Byblos Milano back in September 2016, when initially the bright, punchy colours caught our eye but we never completed the post. Upon reviewing our drafts since then, we think in retrospect that this collection is simply too pretty to pass up.

Manuel Facchini, the current creative director, took air as the inspiration for this collection. The element was interpreted in an esoteric manner through his use of colour, volume and scale and more literally by incorporating clouds as details and through the use of parachute silk as the dominant textile. Movement came from the use of fringes on tops, mini dresses and high-heeled sandals. In addition to silk, materials included tulle, nylon, organdie and jersey. While some shapes were boxy, the dresses exhibited a certain amount of fluidity.

Dwell Magazine is synonymous with modern shelter design and while Target may not be your first resource for such things, the coming together of these two entities marks Target's continued push to differentiate itself in the world of big box stores and to democratise good design. For Dwell, the partnership makes sense as the publication looks to evolve from a magazine into a lifestyle brand.

Modern by Dwell Magazine is a 120-piece collection that debuted in Target stores and online on December 27, 2016. The collection's aesthetic is cool and urbane, from the copper-accented barware and tableware to punchy throws and compact storage, seating, and accent pieces. The collection is more minimal and modern than Target's usual partnerships but the collaboration is a marriage of each brands' strong suits: Dwell’s aesthetic and Target’s ability to mass-produce products and a reasonable price. Everything is affordable coming in at under $400. You can find candle holders for $17, terra-cotta planters for $20, prismatic throws for $40, an upholstered pouf for $80, a hand-tufted wool rug for $190, a lounge chair for $250 and an outdoor sofa for $400.

The most recent version of this collaboration between South African jewellery designers Pichulik and Espadril SA launched in October of last year. It features studding around the sole and wide ankle straps for stability. There are four new espadrille styles in the collection with four different colour combinations.

Damien Gilley + Revolution Design House present the Boxcar One Artist Series limited edition planter set the third collection in the Boxcar One artist series, featuring Portland based artist Damien Gilley. The six original designs are hand painted and laser engraved with gold and fluorescent paint and showcase Gilley's attention to detail through his use of intricate patterns and lines.