Looks can be deceiving. When Peter Ghyczy’s new Garden Egg chair is closed, it resembles nothing so much as a glowing psychedelic dinosaur egg. But then the back flips open to reveal a soft (removable) cushion, and the whole thing transforms into a cushy curl-up-with-a-book armchair. Ghyczy, a Hungarian native now residing a stone’s throw from the Soviet frontier in West Germany, designed the chair for Reuter, the plastics company. Like Verner Panton, Joe Colombo, Marco Zanuso, and Richard Sapper, Ghyczy takes thermoplastic technology fit for an Apollo flight and repurposes it for an equally daring mission: a rugged, weatherproof, city-sophisticated indoor-outdoor chair. Available in three visible-from-the-moon colors: bright orange, Sunkist yellow, or indigo blue. For more of the best of today, click ahead.
The Kodak Instamatic keeps improving. The latest model lets you take pictures in low light, thanks to its innovative rotating flashbulb ($55).
Bell’s sleek-bodied Trimline phone is a fashion accessory for the home ($5.60 per month from the New York Telephone Company).
A crimson Royal Safari with an airy, see-through keyboard makes a desk seem almost sporty ($100).
If you can’t get Charlton Heston’s imploring blue eyes off your mind, hang the film poster in your office ($5).
Artist Curtis Jere channels the laurel leaves of ancient Greece with his one-of-a-kind hand-cut leaf mirror.
Revlon’s Eterna ‘27’ skin cream is packed with Progenitin, which the company says increases elasticity and smoothness ($10).
When you’re firing up another Pall Mall, remember we’re still in Vietnam ($3.50).
We’re not suggesting you abandon Grandma’s, but Campbell’s new Manhandlers are surprisingly satisfying for a canned soup.
This canvas satchel from BOAC is stylish enough to use even when you’re not crossing the Atlantic.
The latest shape from the rugged CorningWare line is a square bowl-cum-casserole with a transparent borosilicate-glass lid ($15).
The new Ouija (wee-jee) purports to answer questions by channeling spirits from beyond. We’ve seen it turn dull parties supernatural ($5).
A California engineer created this X-Y Positioner (“the mouse”) to help navigate a supercomputer during a presentation. Home-computer hobbyists, take note.
The Op Art–inspired “Checker Split” fabric by Alexander Girard is in the Herman Miller catalogue and destined for forward-thinking couches everywhere.
G.E.’s new compact cassette player includes a microphone that lets you record your own voice ($25).
Garrard’s new 301 turntable has an ingenious flywheel motor system that makes the platter impervious to needle friction ($500).
Ettore Sottsass is a design master; his prototype “Nefertiti” desk will be a Madison Avenue staple when it goes on sale later this year (he says).
Philips Norelco’s two-headed electric shaver gives a closer shave with less friction, and its streamlined shape fits the hand nicely ($16).
A group of Jersey high-schoolers have started playing a game they call Ultimate Frisbee, leading Wham-O to design this sturdy version of the plastic classic (75¢).
Italian designer Joe Colombo’s metal-and-chrome Coupé 1158 lamp shade can slide up or down and pivot in any direction ($50).