Lonely City USB Hub:

• 4 USB 2.0 hi-speed ports
• Windows and Mac compatible
• No software needed
• Measures 2½ inches in width by 8.6 inches in length

Brand: Kikkerland

Material: Plastic, metal

Wipe with a damp cloth

Kikkerland

Kikkerland Design is a super-creative chameleon sort of company: a design house that produces instant icons, from paper straws to music boxes to clocks, notebooks, radios and toys with major kitsch appeal. Kikkerland’s story is as quirky as its creations: in 1992, founders Jan van der Lande and Kazumi Hayama set up shop in their home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan – a home that also happened to be a houseboat. The pair’s original focus was on importing great Dutch design (Kikkerland is an affectionate name for the Netherlands – it means, literally, frogland). Now the company partners with designers from around the world, who have created gadgets that make even the most utilitarian object a delightful discovery. Standouts include wall clocks by the legendary Milton Glaser, Chico Bicalho’s adorable Critter Windups, Solar Rainbomakers by David Dear, the LEUCHTTURM1917 series of notebooks and journals, and sets of Invisible Playing Cards by Pieter Woudt, which were so phenomenally popular that the MoMA design store sold out of them on the first day!