Another in the line of not very practical but very sweet comes this…wooden Vespa, a vintage sailboat-like creation on wheels that’s turned this conscious consumer (meaning I buy only what I need, and only when it’s eco, or try to) into a slathering, drooling idiot. 

This thing is beeeyutiful:

While probably not ideal for rainy climes, Portuguese carpenter/designer Carlos Alberto built a Vespa that could be reason enough for some people to move to a desert (one without sandstorms, naturally). The beautifully crafted vehicle is a DIY update on a decrepit model Alberto needed to fix up. 

… A photographic chronicle of the design and building process can be found at Alberto’s site.

According to the car blog, Jalopnik, the body of the new bike is made with steam-molded, laminated wooden veneer, laid side by side with incredibly precise detail, right down to the wheel hubs. It looks like it belongs in a wood-paneled library with wall-to-wall bookcases, leather chairs, and the lingering scent of scotch, but the craftsman demonstrates in his slideshow…

…go to Dwell’s daily blog (RSS/subscribe, free, if you like what you see) for more, and more photos. Also more photos-totally-worth-checking-out at joyengine.

And click on the below photo for a nice lil’blog with video and photos of…bamboo bikes. Yup, bam-boo-bikes.