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It's pleasing to see a veteran industrial designer practicing the art of reduction. This Monza shelf bracket, by British ID'er Michael Marriott, uses the barest amount of material possible to fulfill its mission: The packaging, too, is quite minimal.

It takes guts for a designer to re-imagine something as basic as a table. But Stuttgart-based industrial designer Fengfan Yang has done just that, in collaboration with Danish furniture brand +Halle.

Since taking over as Chief Creative Officer of Audi, automotive designer Massimo Frascella has made his goal clear: "Making our brand truly distinctive once again," he explains. "We want to shape a brand capable of inspiring desire and creating cultural impact."Frascella—who has put in shifts at Bertone, Ford, Kia and Jaguar Land Rover, where he was formerly Design Director—says that the Audi TT made a strong impression on him. "In 1998, when the first Audi TT arrived at a dealership in Turin, I took a day off work to just look at the car in peace. I was there for hours, looking at the car from every angle, touching every surface. The staff probably thought I was crazy. But for me, the TT was more than just a car. It was a message: you don't need to shout to be heard. You don't need excess to make a statement. You just need clarity. And, more importantly, the courage to follow it."

Here's what we looked at this week:From Japan, a sexy matte black sledge.The Japanese matte black tool trend came from the L.A. car scene.Nifty hardware: These quick-release pins.

Multitool blades are expensive, and tradespeople can extend their lives by resharpening them. We've looked at Jim Dimond's Tiger's Teeth invention, designed for the task, as well as the SharpTool, a drill-based solution from the Netherlands.

French industrial designer Johannes Faure-Brac knows furniture; he grew up in his father's woodworking shop in the French Alps, building traditional furniture. But after gaining two degrees in ID and working in the furniture industry, he found its practices wasteful. "It had become inefficient to produce, store, transport [furniture]," he writes. "A cumbersome, expensive, energy-intensive system."Ever more volume, containers, logistics costs, and wasted energy. To compensate, the industry has cut back on materials and sacrificed quality, comfort, and design. Ultimately, users pay the price for this logic, which impoverishes the object, its use, and the experience [of it]."Faure-Brac spent six years researching and developing an alternative type of furniture. "The goal was not to lighten the furniture at all costs, but to rethink its

This unusual Kael Walnut Folding Chair is by a no-history company called Esspur. While it doesn't appear to be high-quality, the folding design is certainly in

Italian manufacturer Manfredini specializes in making shoe lasts for high-end footwear manufacturers. These are objects that only those within the manufacturing industry ever get to see; even the most avowed footwear lover probably has no idea they even exist.

Indiana-based Encore RV makes "Adventure Trailers," camping trailers designed to handle rugged terrain. And for their ROG 12RK model, they've designed a module that makes off-road life way more comfortable: A heated pop-up wet bathroom.In its closed position, the bathroom doesn't look like anything more than a storage box. But it unfurls into a structure providing seven feet of interior height, and providing the ability to use the toilet and take hot showers in a heated environment:

To work the handles of pliers, you need a certain amount of throw. Knipex's new Slim Knips cutting pliers were designed for tight spaces, where handle travel would be limited. Asymmetrical handles make it easier to both hold and work the pliers, while the hand position provides good visibility.