To push the public's idea of what letterpress printing can look like, this year they displayed large fantasy animal prints by local artist Donna Solovei on archival-quality bamboo paper. They were a big hit with teenagers on Friday, when students visit the Design Indaba Expo en masse. Adults continue to prefer more realistic designs, such as the new Sugarbird cards. The Letterpress Company's bestseller for the past few years is a set of six cards of indigenous trees of South Africa (seen here).

The wooden box is as functional as it is finely crafted, with room for clothes up top. Each niche holds treasures from travels, family keepsakes, books, and more.

Made of stainless steel and TEKA hardwood, a Curzon dining table by Modloft is surrounded by a quartet of Victoria Ghost dining chairs by Philippe Starck for Kartell. A striped Missy pendant light by Filipe Lisboa hangs overhead. Four Chill White media consoles from CB2 line the western wall.

The 3-in-1 Tray Box from Nomess Copenhagen is a simple design with multiple positions and functions. Comprised of three sections, the Tray Box includes a base with the largest capacity for storing items, a middle layer that can be used to store pens, pencils, and small items, and a top lid. The lid, as well as the middle layer, can be removed from the box and used as individual trays. This box adds color to a desk or shelf.

Clothing can play a vital part in post-disaster comfort and survival. Be prepared with lightweight, versatile items that are appropriate for the highs and lows of your region—bonus points for bright colors like neon yellow or orange that might help emergency workers spot you. Make sure you have clean underwear, layers (including a light jacket), and a hat that would protect you from the sun. Extra blankets, shoes, boots, socks, and bug spray might be necessary depending on where you live.

HotBox: Michaela MacLeod and Nicholas Croft (Toronto) A mysterious monolith on the landscape, this warming hut, a cubic room wrapped in rubber and egg shell crate foam, provides a space for socialization.

When the Casali family gave Michael Krus and Prishram Jain of TACT Architecture free rein to work with unconventional materials, the architects responded by creating a geometric 4,300-square-foot smart home encased in aluminum panels by Agway Metals. The front facade features Cor-Ten steel fabricated by Praxy Cladding.

The resident, a Tokyo transplant, commissioned architect Tadashi Murai to create a fully-equipped structure that comes with its own power, heating and cooling, water, and waste-disposal systems.

Paolo Box Set, $60 at The Creative Home.

These letterpress coasters are a collaboration between designer Marion Cage McCollam, a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Architecture who also makes jewelry and home hardware, and painter Jill Moser.

An assemblage of best-selling inventory, much of which is produced in small batches by designers and letterpress artisans.

An Alvar Aalto table is surrounded by a quartet of the designer’s Chair 65.

Architect Joaquin Castillo blends inexpensive materials, the odd splurge, and a refined modernist sensibility to create an affordable weekend house for brothers Alfredo and Guillermo Oropeza. The facade is a juxtaposition of rough-hewn local stone, smooth concrete, glass, and steel—the material palette used throughout the structure.

Light Box Peter created a simple uplight at the top of the wood box by wiring together energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures typically used under cabinets and countertops. “The cheaper magnetic models hum unacceptably loudly, so make sure you get the electronic ballast types,” he warns. He then painted the cavity white to reflect light and covered them with quarter-inch-thick acrylic from TAP Plastics. homedepot.com tapplastics.com

Narigua House (El Jonuco, Mexico) Architect: David Pedroza Castañeda Category: House

Box Box Rectangle Set by HAY, $45.00 for a set of five. Available in-store and momastore.org.

Modern Sprout’s planters were designed by Nick Behr and Sarah Burrows, two Chicago apartment dwellers who wanted to grow their own garden, but didn’t have the space. Struggling to maintain plants in their apartment, they tried hydroponic planters, which yielded results, but were expensive and unappealing to look at. As a result, they designed their own planter—a hydroponic, self-watering system that hides its mechanism beneath a reclaimed wood planter box.

North Carolina firm Skram Furniture Company has created a flexible and functional line of containers that can be utilized in various spaces, from offices to kitchens.

“We edit to what’s most essential and what will highlight the product best.” —Pearl Schenkel, graphic design manager at Finell

The Aesthetic Union creates posters, business and greeting cards, and other printed matter.

Sugarbird note card by The Letterpress Company-Letterpress stationary hasn't quite had the revival in South Africa as in the US, but the Letterpress Company's creative director Gitanjali Maharaj says that the demand for note cards continues unabated. "We only use imagery of flora and fauna that's endemic to the area. It's all about reflecting where we're based. We don't want the imagery to be clichéd," says Maharaj.

Greer opened in 2005 as a place to display (and sell) the latest in letterpress and screenprinted paper goods.

Yeehaw Mini Trees Letterpress Cards, set of 8, $20 Available at Etsy

Kyle Durrie (Brooklyn, New York) Another of her favorite spaces belonged to Kyle, who converted an old linen truck into a traveling letterpress studio. “She drove around the country for a year in the Type Truck, teaching people how to make prints,” says Hollander. “Every inch of that truck had a purpose and was so well designed, from her bunk to the drawers of type.”

Dotted with colorful footholds, a climbing wall covers one side of the home, allowing roof access.

A basic box that’s as tall as it is wide (28 feet) and 16 feet long, this Portland, Oregon house consists of rooms stacked vertically: an unfinished basement on the bottom, a kitchen-living area and a bathroom in the middle, and a bedroom on top, with the stairwell hinged onto the front of the home. The only interior doors are those to the bathroom, basement, and root cellar, leaving the rest of the space open and unfettered. At just 704 square feet, Katherine Bovee and Matt Kirkpatrick's home is a great lesson in making the most out of every inch. Click here to see the interior.

The transformed facade features dark gray stained-masonry.

Flaunt your seriousness at work with the Concrete desk set by Magnus Pettersen. $600

After an unprecedented year of earthquakes, hurricanes, and fires, a bright light has been shed on the benefits of building with concrete.

At 3.5" x 3.5" with a depth of 6", these planters are specifically designed to hold starter plants you've picked up at the nursery.

The facade of the three-bedroom house sports a series of extruded pine boxes, which create sheltered spaces that stand up to the area’s fluctuating weather. The owners, Isaac Pineus and Andrew Duncanson, spend summers here with their twin sons.

The lightbox is a glowing floor light made from roto-molded plastic. It's a lamp, stool, and accent table all in one. Read more about the lightbox here.

WOODEN TISSUE BOX or this one...

Boxes Gold Ornament This 3D geometric ornament creates a sense of modern movement with a gleaming brass or silver finish. We think they would be extra eye-catching in multiples on the tree or mantel.

Balearic Beauty in Boxes (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) Situated in a more relaxed part of Spain, this converted container hotel offers a condensed rooftop escape, a quiet private pool and crisp, unobtrusive design. The flat includes a pair of cycles to simplify your stay. Listing at Container home, a unique house!