After ten years of working on food projects, Dutch product designer-turned-eating designer Marije Vogelzang has developed a philosophy about food incorporating eight points: senses, nature, culture, society, technique, psychology, science, and action. She's published two books about food, and this summer opened a restaurant in Amsterdam called Proef. Learn more about Vogelzang in this interview by Gestalten. More

Industrial designer Carlo Heckman came up with an orderly way of putting candles on a birthday cake. More

"We all live in a yellow submarine"? "I'm on a submarine mission for you, baby"? (Insert other cheesy submarine-related pop-culture references here?) [Photographs: monkey-bus.co.il] This is kinda neat. From Tel Aviv–based design house Monkey Business, the Tea Sub launches tea leaf goodness into your morning mug. Unfortunately, like so much of what gets blogged about on design blogs, it doesn't seem to be available for sale anywhere online, so we're just all gonna have to admire it and say Cute! [via swissmiss]... More

[Yanko Design] Is this the best design for a teabag? I can think of a few problems—if the hook holds to the top of the mug, the teabag only can float so far down as the water drains, and they tend to float upwards as it is. Still, this "Hanger Tea," designed by Soon Mo Kang, is so cute I almost don't care. I'd buy a tea T-shirt. (Tea-shirt?) [Yanko Design]... More

[Photographs: box vox] Even though I rarely chew gum, I'd want these gumballs just for the adorable Lucky Cat packaging. (Other possible designs for white gumball packaging: snowmen, bunnies, penguins? Someone get on that.) [via The Dieline] Related Gum Alert, a Gum Rating Blog Amazing Chewing Gum Art Photo of the Day: Franks Bubble Gum... More

[Photographs: da da da] Hollowed-out loaves of bread designed by R&E Praspaliauskas are available at dadadastudio.eu for €22 a pair. Or you could find two shoe-sized loaves of bread and make them yourselves (for purposes unbeknown to us). If you need more instruction, here's a video on how to make bread shoes, after the jump.... More

[Images: Alphabet Plates] Alphabet Plates, created by graphic designer (and mom) Laura Paresky Gould, allows you to personalize plates with your little one's name and favorite food from 14 popular choices. Although geared towards kids, there's no reason you can't get a plate plate as a fun gift for a burger or broccoli-loving, postadolescent friend. Besides food, other designs include sports, monograms, and customizable faces starting at $22 a plate. Personalized placemats in different colors and languages are also available for $18. A portion of the proceeds are donated to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation. [via swissmiss] Related Frame Plates Map Plates Colorful, Pattern-Stitched Servingware... More

[Photograph: Colette] Christian Louboutin is partnering with Piper Heidsieck in releasing a Louboutin-branded Champagne. To celebrate the launch the French shoemaker designed a glass stiletto (with signature red sole), which comes in a limited-edition gift box along with a bottle of the bubbly. Available from Colette on October 26. [via The Dieline]... More

[Photograph: Rupert Blanchard] London-based designer and builder Rupert Blanchard made these nifty kitchen cabinet doors by veneering them with vintage tea packing chests from the 1930s to 1960s. The kitchen belongs to Time Based Arts, a post-production studio based out of an old Victorian townhouse attached to Shoreditch Town Hall. [via Re-Nest]... More

Silicon Alley Insider points us to the redesigned logo for iVillage, the interactive women's website. Hmm, why does it make us suddenly crave chicken sandwiches and waffle fries from a mall food court? All they forgot was the feather crest and beak. Related Chick-fil-A [Talk] Chick-fil-A's Chick-n-Minis Chick-fil-A vs. McDonald's Southern Style Chicken... More