The times require a Modern Shoestring, nice to know an affordable contemporary house exists for as little as $51 per sq. ft. Scheisse as in 'oh crap my bulb just exploded', well illustrated here. Plastic or glass? Glass wrap please. A Secret Friend is a good home for unused jewelry. And our first Chinese diary begins...

+ Modern Shoestring: Contemporary Architecture on a Budget: What we all want to know.
+ Schiesse: The name caught your eye more than the exploding design???
+ We love the Periodic Table by Council, but some don't.
+ A mixed bag from Milan included Karim in the bathroom and Marcel on the floor.
+ Artware Editions gave us a Homeland Security Blanket and golden skulls.
+ Wear carbon collecting credits with pride at Fresh MoCo.
+ Glass cling film and water clocks were all the rage This Week from Tokyo.
+ Life Goods: Sleek, sensible, Swiss.
+ A Secret Friend: Jewellery as pets. Until they lose their heads.
+ Jen Renzi tails Tobias Wong and Arik Chan at 100% Design Shanghai.
+ Brilliantly-illustrated narrative wallpaper by Little Hands.
+ New work from Brio54, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen, Schonbek, Voisard 3Design, Johanna Keimeyer, James Malcolm-Green, KesselsKramer and Tjep. Prefab hybrids, camouflage jigsaws and lighting wearing handknits.
+ From Victorian engineering to Vectorfunk - This Week at Art MoCo
+ 100% Design Shanghai: Russia in Shanghai: more than the sum of its spire (obviously).
+ The DMY Berlin Youngsters Jury Selection saws off a piece of radio in a good way.

Above: food design and terracotta design from Umbria.