Japanese artist Aki Inomata helps crabs find new homes. The project was inspired by, well, here; I’ll let her tell you.

”This work was inspired by the fact that the land of the former French Embassy in Japan had been French until October 2009, and then became Japanese for the following fifty years, after which it will be returned to France. I was surprised to hear this story, and associated this image with the way that hermit crabs exchange shelters.” -Aki Inomata

I’m not sure I would have made that particular connection, but I’m glad Inomata did, since it inspired her to make these lovely objects. She uses a 3D printer to craft fancy new homes for hermit crabs (who seem completely unaware of the fact that there is anything exceptional about their new shells). The results are adorable and a little funny and very snazzy.

And, because this song has been playing in my head as I write this post, here’s Bob Dylan with “Shelter From the Storm.”