courtesy of beverly moon

Every email from product designer Beverly Moon ends with “Thanks for believing in refining the everyday.” That pretty well summarizes Pretty Mundane Objects, her plan to redesign one tired, ubiquitous item a year. “Little things people overlook–bathroom stuff, or something simple for detangling iPod cables–should be beautiful,” she says. Her first offering is the Moon Contact Lens Case, a sturdy little thing carved from a nonporous stone called Corian; when you store your contacts, the two halves of the case make a satisfying clink. “I’ve been wearing contacts since I was in seventh grade and just couldn’t understand why there aren’t better cases,” she says. ($65, prettymundane.com)