Welcome to the Liv Design blog, an eclectic mix of great design and quirky finds

Anyone who saw the original Star Wars movie (i.e. Epidode IV) as a kid in the Seventies will have always wanted one of these for Christmas: the Mouse Droid. Or to give it its proper name, the MSE-6-Series Repair Droid. It looked like a futuristic pet, complete with cute noises. Well now you can get a remote control version from Disney so you can re-enact your own three point turn as you flee from a roaring Wookie. Unfortunately they only seem to be available direct from the Disney Parks for now, from December. I'll be checking my stocking this Christmas...

Vans have teemed up with Disney-Pixar for a new Toy Story collection . The collection of trainers and apparel  feature many of the characters from the movies including Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep, Hamm, Slinky, Rex and Sid's mutant toys. The soles are also emblazoned with the name ANDY which is a nice touch. The range is available in Men's, Women's and Children's sizes. Looks like they're only available in the US though.

Now I'm no stamp collector but there are some things that just seem to work in a miniature design format. I've featured stamps on this blog before: iconic British designs , London Olympics 2012 medal winners and classic album covers . On October 20th Royal Mail launch the  Mr Men and Little Miss range to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the characters first created by Roger Hargreaves. We've all grown up with the Mr Men or Little Miss books. They're timeless. They're such a design classic. Bright, simple, engaging, with so many characters available for you to relate to and engage with. For some reason, my favourite was Mr Bump. Maybe it had something to do with me wanting to be a stunt man as a small child. I blame Evel Knievel, but that's a different story... There are a variety of Souvenir editions, smiler stickers and presentation packs to suit all budgets. The First Day cover provides an insight into the history of the characters while t...