This bizarrely cool necklace isn't just a fashion statement; it's a fully functional USB flash drive with a secret digital display, designed to be both stylish and practical.
Spotted at a San Francisco music festival, the "Puff" necklace, featuring stainless steel swirls and a bulbous orange center, caught the attention of onlookers. When its cap is flipped, it reveals a USB drive, capable of displaying custom animations when plugged into a phone or laptop.
The creation comes from Harry Isaac and Sebastian Bidegain, known as Noware. Their initial prototype went viral in 2025, garnering over a million views and thousands of waitlist sign-ups. After a year of development, Noware is gearing up to ship the Puff necklaces this October.
Both Isaac and Bidegain have a history of creating whimsical and unique designs. Isaac previously went viral for an electric scooter that shoots bubbles, while Bidegain has explored integrating electronics into everyday objects, like a vape camera built into a rock.
The Puff's design ethos blends aesthetics with utility. Inspired by food textures, cellular biology, and vintage electronics, it's intended for anyone who appreciates its look or needs a functional flash drive for their workflow. Photographers, DJs, and IT professionals are among the target users.
A standout feature is the small screen at the necklace's center, which lights up with customizable designs when connected. Noware demonstrated animations reacting to phone orientation and even displayed the WIRED logo, created using custom software accessible to all users. Since it lacks an internal battery, the USB drive can remain powered indefinitely when plugged in.
The main hurdle for the Puff is its price: $179 for 128 GB of storage, significantly higher than standard flash drives. The duo hopes to lower the cost in the future, citing current memory prices influenced by the AI boom. Future iterations might also include more affordable options, such as a non-metal version.
The experimental necklace, with its retro-futuristic vibe and vibrant colors, proved to be a perfect festival accessory and a lively conversation starter, even leading one friend to jokingly ask if it was a hiding place for drugs. The creators aim to make electronics that are "more opinionated, playful, and personal."
