bright sparks Norman Burns
TAKE A LOOK AT SOME CLEVER IDEAS FROM HOME AND AROUND THE GLOBE
OFFICE ON THE GO
A
nyone who has had to lug around a laptop bag - especially on and off planes - knows what a pain in the derriere it can be. Former mortgage broker Tim McKenzie knew it too and had the seed of an idea for a truly functional and overhead-locker-friendly lightweight bag - an office on the go if you like. After a lot of work refining the bag’s design and materials, Tim’s Perthbased business Rovingwork is on to a winner with this nifty carry-on bag. It’s airline friendly (indeed will fit under the seat in front of you on the plane), ruggedly made and - in a genius touch - can “stand” by itself. The front opening allows super simple access too and, naturally, there’s a zip up compartment for smaller laptops and the like. Rovingwork
20
PRIMOLIFE | summer 2016/17
WIN Thanks to Rovingwork, PRIMOLife has one Roamer bag to give away (valued at $180). To enter, go to PRIMOLife’s Facebook page.
Good luck!
has two variants, the Roamer ($180) and the Nomad V2 ($210), plus for those who like their office space neat and tidy it offers an optional extra of a retractable, swivel bag hook you can attach to the office desk. Tim and his design team aren’t resting on their laurels either - plans for a similarly clever backpack are already on the drawing board. For more information, visit rovingwork.com.au
VERTICAL VINYL
I
t may be the digital age but the revival of oldfashioned wax records - vinyl to you and me - continues unabated; around 12 million LPs were sold in the US in 2015, a rise of 30 percent on the previous year, and proof that vinyl is attracting a whole new audience. Sure, digital music players are incredibly convenient but they lack, well, the whole coolness of being able to show off your record collection. Which is where the very groovy (pun intended) Gramovox Floating Record Vertical Turntable comes in. Hand-assembled in Chicago, this is something of a throwback to those all-in-one systems that used to rule the dining room - but it’s a whole lot funkier. In this system the record platter, and tone arm with the cartridge, are positioned vertically. Pop on your record and, presto, you’ve not only got some smooth analog sound (the Gramovox has built-in speakers driven by a 15w per channel digital amp) but the mesmerising sight of a record “floating” in space. You can hook up the Gramovox to external speakers, plus there’s a headphone jack, and the walnut/maple veneer wood base of the unit is a welcome touch of warmth from a lot of those shiny modern hi-fi units. $699, visit thesoundofvinyl.com.au for more information.
primolife.com.au