Flat pack furniture makes shipping and moving a lot easier, but it doesn’t leave much room for comfortable cushions. A French furniture brand called Mojow came up with a clever workaround that somehow manages to not look like it belongs in a college dorm or a child’s bedroom: inflatables. The simple, streamlined frames for its chairs and couches pair with the air-filled cushions in a pleasingly modern way.

Available on Archiproducts, Mojow’s offerings include armchairs, sofas, daybeds and indoor benches. Each offers a choice of either an oak or black metal frame and opaque or transparent inflatable cushions in green, black, orange, clear and pink color ways. They’re easy and nearly instant to set up and disassemble with an electric inflater, and Mojow says they’re easy to clean, durable and UV-protected so they won’t degrade in the sunlight like you might expect.

But perhaps the coolest part of this modern blow-up furniture series is the ability to fill one of the models with any solid objects you like (within reason) before inflating the cushions all the way. Rubber ducks? Sports memorabilia? Crystals? Shredded paper? A week’s worth of your own solid waste materials? Go wild with it, a long as the objects can fit through the opening and won’t puncture the plastic.

Explore, play, and wonder at gigantic, fantastical, artworks at Inflatable — a new exhibition at the Exploratorium, opening on May 26, 2018. The renowned San Francisco museum is partnering with art, design, and visual culture blog Colossal to present a collection of large-scale, inflatable artworks.

Inflatable features artwork by contemporary artists Amanda Parer, Jason Hackenwerth, Jimmy Kuehnle, Shih Chieh Huang, and an art collective, Pneuhaus. Born out of thin air, these dynamic sculptures include otherworldly organisms, a forest of cushiony columns, an inflatable insect-eye room, and more.

Even visitors familiar with the Exploratorium will see the space in a new way. Museumgoers will be able to enter an inflatable multi-lensed camera obscura that feels like stepping into the compound eye of an insect. Massive crouching inflatable humanoids will fill the building from floor to ceiling, making the West Gallery feel at times like a dollhouse.

And visitors will feel they’ve entered a microscopic biological world thanks to a balloon artwork inspired by organic forms that will be constructed onsite, to deflate almost imperceptibly throughout the summer in a process that gestures toward biological decay.

Visitors of all ages can step inside a tornado, turn upside down in a giant curved mirror, walk on a fog bridge, and explore more than 650 hands-on exhibits.

You’ll find all of this plus unique programs, discussions, and events; a café and restaurant; two stores; and more at Exploratorium’s beautiful San Francisco bayside location on the historic Embarcadero.

• Daily Summer Hours (May 26–September 3), 10am–5pm (All ages)
• Thursday Evenings, 6–10pm (Ages 18+)
• Friday Evening Extended Hours (July 6–August 31), 10am–9pm (All Ages)

Located between the historic Ferry Building and Pier 39, the Exploratorium is a short distance from San Francisco’s top attractions: Fisherman’s Wharf, the Alcatraz ferries, and Chinatown. Entry to Inflatable is included with museum admission.

Learn more at exploratorium.edu/inflatable.

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This post is sponsored by the Exploratorium in San Francisco

“The world is your waterbed” according to SmithFly, the creators of the floating Shoal Tent, an inflatable sleeping craft that lets you drift off while drifting out on the water.

The base is inflatable as is the tent structure, obviating the need for poles. Waterproof and wind resistant, it features a thick drop-stitched floor that serves as a robust but comfortable air mattress.

The tent is about eight by eight feet along the outside, and a person within can stand up without hitting the top.The top attaches easily but also detaches quickly in case of emergency. Each unit comes with a storage bag, foot pump and patch kit in case those shoals turn out to be rocky.

Of course, you have to be a bit adventurous to try this out on the open water, but SmithFly suggests sticking to “your favorite farm pond, salt water flat, spring creek, or eddie on your favorite river.” They are scheduled to cost around $1500 and are available for pre-sale.

More from its maker: “SmithFly designs and builds modular gear for sportsmen who want to be able to change and reconfigure their gear to suit various conditions and situations. Our goal is to build as much as possible in the USA.Our unique small batch mentality allows us great flexibility to test and maintain the highest standards of quality possible..”

Lightweight, durable and compact, this new recycled Zippelin bag series features wheels for rolling like any good luggage. But instead of metal or plastic frames, these bags employ bicycle tire inner tubes that can be inflated instead. This strategy also allows the bags to pack into tiny space for storage when not in use.

Using truck tarpaulins that are made to resist water and withstand wear, the bags have evolved — early versions still included frames, which added weight. These were swapped out for bike tubes which, conveniently enough, can be inflated using a standard bike pump (no need to buy a specialized device).

FREITAG is not stranger to recycling — its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, is housed in a stacked shipping container building that boasts a similar rugged look, worn materials and an upcycling ethos.

Like the variegated containers that make up its home, the company’s Zippelin bags are all different. Helpfully, this also makes each bag easier for its owner to spot and identify, since each one is unique.

A product engineer at FREITAG and former architect, Nicola Stäubli says he’s “familiar with air-supported structures” and she also “used to be a bike messenger and was impressed by folding bikes that are fully functional when mounted, and compact when you stow them away.”

A series of architectural installations in Scotland contrast sharply with the centuries-old stone architecture and natural landscapes, featuring spiky white inflatables filling in aged cracks and gaps.

Titled XXX, these designs by Steven Messam add movement to Mellerstain’s House and the surrounding gardens — they are the first part of a series of contemporary exhibitions planned for the Borders Sculpture Park on this historic estate. The white inflatables refer abstractly to old marble sculptures that were originally to adorn the grounds.

“Pointed” emerges from an old gatehouse; “Scattered” is spread across the lake, comprised of floating bubbles; and “Towered” pokes out of an aged laundry column. Each one invites interaction and exploration of the site.

“In the use of historical buildings and the designed landscape, XXX draws on the architectural significance” of the estate, says Messam. “As interventions, the sculptures speak the language of scale – all three are bigger than a house. As studies in scale and form, these artworks have to be directly experienced in the environment to be fully appreciated, so i hope they will encourage even more people to visit this wonderful architectural gem in the Scottish borders.”