There are plenty of everyday objects we barely think twice about: a mirror, a doormat, a broom, or a belt. But in the hands of Drought, even the most familiar items can turn into something completely unexpected. Founded by designer Jake Olshan, the Los Angeles-based studio reimagines ordinary products through the visual language of pop culture, old technology, and the early days of the Internet. Its creations often take something instantly recognizable from a screen, game, or gadget and turn it into a functional object for the real world, from an enormous Microsoft Paint-inspired mirror to an iPod-shaped one, a Windows warning-message doormat, and a giant paintbrush that doubles as a broom.

Nostalgia plays a major role in Drought’s work. Interfaces, logos, devices, and other digital artifacts that once felt completely ordinary are brought back in forms that are much harder to ignore. One example is the studio’s oversized Microsoft Paint mirror. The familiar toolbar, menus, and color palette surround the reflective surface, turning the classic computer program into a physical piece of décor. Another mirror takes inspiration from the iPod, transforming the once-ubiquitous music player into something large enough to lean against a wall.

Scroll down to see some of Drought’s most inventive designs, and let us know which nostalgic creation you’d happily have in your own home.

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Other ideas lean even further into visual jokes. A kitchen knife becomes a mirror that appears dramatically planted in a pool of red, while a Windows-style warning box becomes a doormat that tells visitors, rather appropriately, “Do not enter.”

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Drought also likes taking familiar shapes very literally. A huge painter’s brush becomes a broom, paired with a palette-shaped dustpan splattered with colorful “paint.” The resulting object is practical, but it also looks like a prop that has escaped from an art program and landed in someone’s apartment. That blend of ‘potential practicality’ and humor is a recurring part of the studio’s appeal. Many of the designs are recognizable almost immediately, yet it still takes a moment for the brain to register what they have actually become.

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Much of Drought’s visual world feels distinctly Y2K, drawing on the computers, music players, software, and internet imagery that defined an earlier era of digital life. Rather than simply reproducing those references, however, the studio gives them entirely new functions. The result is a collection that sits somewhere between product design, sculpture, fashion, and an elaborate visual joke. These are objects built around the strange pleasure of recognizing something from the past in a form you never expected to see it take.

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WHATS CRACKIN

19 Nostalgic Designs By Drought That Bring The Internet And Gadgets Of The Past Back To Life

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