The Secret Behind IKEA Tables: Honeycomb!

Posted by Alex in Home & Garden, Video Clips on November 3, 2009 at 2:17 pm


[National Geographic Video]

Ever wonder how IKEA makes their furniture sturdy yet light? The secret is the honeycomb skeleton inside their tabletops. National Geographic went inside an IKEA factory in Poland: Link

 
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Neatorama Shop » Food & Drink » Offbeat Mints & Candies

Hangin' Out at IKEA

Posted by Alex in Travel & Places on September 12, 2009 at 1:55 am

Capitalizing on the viral popularity of People of Walmart blog (previously on Neatorama here), there’s a new blog called the People of IKEA.

While that’s nifty and all, there’s an even stranger IKEA phenomenon: Chinese people love to go there, not to shop, but simply to hang around!

With no plans one Saturday, Zhang Xin told his wife, son and mother to wear something smart and hop into the family sedan. He could have taken them to the Forbidden City or the Great Wall, but he decided on another popular destination — IKEA.

Riding an escalator past a man lying on a display bed with a book opened on his belly, the clan sauntered into the crush of visitors squeezing onto the showroom path, bumping elbows and nicking ankles with their yellow shopping trolleys.

Zhang said the family needed a respite from the smog and a reliable lunch.

"We just came here for fun," said the 34-year-old office manager. "I suppose we could have gone somewhere else, but it wouldn’t have been a complete experience."

Welcome to IKEA Beijing, where the atmosphere is more theme park than store.

David Pierson of the LA Times has the intriguing story: Link – via Look At This

 
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IKEA-Hacked Cubicle

Posted by Stacy in Blog & Internet, Home & Garden on February 10, 2009 at 7:24 pm

I work in the darkest, dingiest office building known to man. It’s like any light is sucked into the beige fabric-covered cube walls… not the best environment for creativity. Needless to say, I’m quite intrigued by this cube makeover – click the link to see the “before,” if you’re lucky enough to be unfamiliar with the confines of a cubicle.

Link via ikea hacker

 
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Cuddly IKEA Stuffed Animals

Posted by Stacy in Home & Garden on January 21, 2009 at 4:36 pm

I mean, if you find cockroaches cuddly. Or is it a roly poly? I don’t know what this thing is supposed to be, and I can’t find it on the IKEA site. All I know is that I was simultaneously repulsed and amused when I saw a big bin of these at IKEA the other day, so I snapped a picture. His mouth zips open, so he can be used for storage or as a purse or something. I thought about getting this for a friend’s upcoming baby shower, but then decided she probably wouldn’t appreciate the gesture.

I’m torn. What do you guys think – funny? Creepy? Or both?

 
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Salad Bowl Speakers

Posted by Stacy in Home & Garden on January 13, 2009 at 10:12 pm

I love IKEA. It’s one of my major complaints about Des Moines. If we had an IKEA, a Trader Joe’s and an H&M, I’d be totally content here.

Anyway, there’s something about the cheap but cool stuff at IKEA that inspires people to hack it and create something completely different than its intended purpose. I suppose because the stuff is so cheap, you don’t feel bad if your experiment goes wrong. That’s where IKEA Hacker comes in.

One IKEA Hacker reader turned these mere salad bowls into wooden speakers, and I think the result is quite pretty.

Link via Not Martha

 
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Neatorama Shop » By Artist » Mike Jacobsen T-Shirts
Nemesis (Double-sided)

Instruction Manual for Life

Posted by Alex in Religion, Video Clips on January 9, 2009 at 2:28 pm

TheraminTrees and his brother QualiaSoup collaborated to make this interesting animation called Instruction Manual for Life. There’s an unmistakeable (truthful/heavy-handed/blasphemous? Take your pick) message in there – which you don’t have to agree with – but all I could think of when watching the clip was all those IKEA cabinets I built over the years!

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – Thanks Bruce!

 
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Fancy Dress Party at IKEA

Posted by Stacy in Everything Else, Funny on December 8, 2008 at 8:07 pm

IKEA is definitely nicer than my house… well, maybe not nicer, but definitely cleaner and more organized. So it makes total sense to have a party there, which is exactly what the people at Cockeyed did. Dinner at the buffet (why not? I could always go for their Swedish meatballs), then on to various dining tables and living rooms to play BananaGrams, Boggle and Catchphrase. Looks like a good time was had by all.

 
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