At Wallpaper*, we’re constantly searching for the objects, homeware, accessories, fashion and tech that push boundaries. The Design Drop is where we gather the month's best finds – a running wish list for the design-obsessed.
This month's selection runs from craft with provenance – a hand-weathered bronze light from Original BTC and geometric jewellery from Shihara – to joyful accessibility in the form of Ikea's ‘PS 2026’ furniture collection and new Ilse Crawford lamps. Elsewhere: a Bottega Veneta fragrance, Polaroid's third-generation camera, and the chicest childrenswear of the season.
Read on to discover everything you didn't know you needed this month.
Part of Ikea's ‘PS 2026’ collection, this inflatable armchair embodies the series’ theme of ‘playful functionality’. Designed by Mikael Axelsson to invite interaction and curiosity, the chair pushes back against the idea of furniture as precious and untouchable – rather, it is something to be used fully, lived with and enjoyed.
Part of the 'At Play' collection unveiled at 3 Days of Design 2026, this sterling silver die reimagines a familiar plaything through Georg Jensen craftsmanship. Rooted in the founder's playful approach to making, the collection – led by creative director Paula Gerbase – explores how silver can elevate everyday objects. Other pieces, including a charming snail-inspired whistle, are available online.
Ilse Crawford's latest Ikea collaboration yields a pair of understated table lamps in ceramic, linen and brass. The two versions – one with a white stoneware block for a base and the other, a dark cylinder – both have discreet brass dimmer switches. Equally at home in a living room, bedroom or workspace, these lamps were conceived by Crawford to support a room’s atmosphere rather than dominate it.
Tokyo-based Shihara founder Yuta Ishihara designs jewellery guided by a philosophy of ‘reconstructing essential functions’. The ‘Square Earring 10’, crafted in 18ct gold, exemplifies his fuss-free approach: pure silhouettes, no unnecessary fastenings, and made by hand using specialised tools. The result is rigorously constructed, but delicately beautiful.
This Taschen volume deconstructs the design DNA of over 100 brands – from Netflix and Nike to Deutsche Bank – across 17 chapters, exploring logo, colour, typography, sound and motion. Authors Jens Müller and Katharina Sussek also conducted in-depth interviews with Pentagram's Paula Scher and Michael Bierut on the tenets of great brand creation.
The third iteration of Polaroid's ultra-compact ‘Go’ camera arrives with an uprated optics system, built-in selfie mirror, self-timer and double-exposure mode (for an added dose of unpredictability). Aimed at a generation newly attuned to the pleasures of slower, more considered image-making, it embraces the pleasing friction that no smartphone filter has yet managed to replicate.
An Original BTC classic light just got a new look with a hand-applied verdigris finish, crafted at the brand’s Oxfordshire factory. Inspired by the natural ageing of bronze – the same process behind the Statue of Liberty's iconic patina – each sand-cast piece is individually weathered, then immersed in a special solution to develop its distinctive green-blue hue. No two are exactly alike.
These cute shorts are part of the first drop from a four-part collaboration between cult London kidswear label Caramel and Zara. For the collection, founder Eva Karayiannis drew on 25 years of her archives to deliver timeless silhouettes in summery hues, punctuated with florals, gingham and stripes.
Danese Milano's summer series also champions play through a collaboration with Michele De Lucchi, who contributes colourful cardboard and pine puzzles that invite users to build imaginary animals and environments. This whimsical, old-school piece celebrates hands-on creativity and beautiful, minimal design.
Part of Bottega Veneta's new ten-fragrance ‘Alta’ collection, ‘Ricordami’ – Italian for ‘remember me’ – evokes childhood memories of melting stracciatella gelato. Milky vanilla and dark chocolate notes are grounded by oak wood to temper the sweetness, while each bottle bears the house's signature Intrecciato pattern, itself a metaphor for the interweaving of Italian and international ingredients.
Dwarflab's compact smart telescope reimagines the age-old telescope for the digital era, pairing a 150mm f/5 telephoto lens and Sony IMX662 sensor with app-based control over Bluetooth. Long exposures, celestial object tracking via an onboard sky atlas, multi-frame stacking for moon photography and video capability make this an educational device in a field of its own.