Successful baking requires strict adherence to a recipe and precise measurements, which is made easier with a scale at your disposal. But if the last thing you want is another ugly appliance cluttering up your kitchen counters, feast your eyes on the lovely GKILO scale (pronounced kilo) which when not in use looks like another wooden cutting board.
But thanks to a set of cleverly hidden white LEDs on one side, the GKILO displays the weight of whatever you set on it. And when it's upside-down, it displays the time instead. Since there are no buttons, resetting the scale, taring, and setting the time are all accomplished through simple hand gestures.
If you can't get enough of the GKILO's wooden minimalism, there's a matching clock and timer available too called the CLOGK that functions in a similar fashion. White LEDs on its angled surface create the illusion of analog hands moving, displaying the time, or time left, if you've got a countdown running.
Both devices also offer wireless connectivity to an accompanying iOS or Android app, which then allows them to work together. So for example, if you weigh a squash and then let the app know what vegetable it is, it will tell you the recommended cooking time by weight, and then automatically program the CLOGK's timer for you.
Thingk is currently trying to raise $50,000 on Indiegogo to put both devices into production, with a hopeful delivery date of sometime this August. If the company succeeds—both in fundraising and manufacturing—the GKILO and CLOGK will sell for $225 a piece. But earlybird donators to Thingk's Indiegogo cause will be able to buy them for just $100 each, which is a little easier to swallow. Even with the risk they may never see the light of day. [Thingk via Indiegogo]