Goldiblox : GIRLS

I love that the song for the Goldiblox promotional video is a remake of "GIRLS" from the Beastie Boys! It makes this whole concept KILLER.  I made my first Rube Goldberg machine in 8th grade. It took me the entire weekend to create and test. The concept behind this video hits you in the gut- pair that with clever girls and a catchy beat and you have a viral video in two days! The product, packaging, illustration, video, song, consistency of the brand is stellar. Way to kill it Debbie!

YEahhhhh! Now go buy one  goldieblox.com

My favorite part of the video is towards the end, the beat of the music falls in line with their lively footsteps "GIRLS, to build a space ship. GIRLS, to code the new app. GIRLS, to grow up knowing that they can engineer that. GIRLS. That's all we really need is GIRLS. To bring us up to speed, GIRLS. Our opportunity is GIRLS. Don't underestimate, GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS...." and end with sweet giggles and belly laughter.

Makes me almost cry, hits me right in the heart. This isn't just a video or a new toy, this a start of a new movement.

"GoldieBlox, a toy company out to show the world that girls deserve more choices than dolls and princesses. We believe that femininity is strong and girls will build the future — literally.

Our founder, Debbie Sterling, is a Stanford engineer who decided last year that girls need more choices than the pink aisle has to offer. She developed GoldieBlox, an interactive book series + construction set starring Goldie, the kid inventor who loves to build.

This year, we wondered what we could do to showcase the amazing inventive power that girls have. So...we might have recruited three young girls and that guy who made OK Go's famous Rube Goldberg machine to turn an average home into a massive, magical contraption."

The New Epi-Pen : Auvi-Q

{youtube.com}

This is a game changer! As a parent of three kids with serious Tree Nut/Peanut Allergies I have to carry up to 6 epi-pens with me when we go out. For those who have never held an epi-pen, they are 6" long and 1" in diameter. They look more like a KING SIZE Sharpie marker. No college kid or even teen would want to walk around with two epi-pens. This was a huge fear for me, as my kids are getting older. 

This new Auvi-Q is basically the size of a credit card, but .5" thick. I can easily fit 6 of them in my smaller purse. My daughter (10 years old) is thrilled. She can keep this in her pocket. The very best part is the Auvi-Q talks to you. Yes! It talks to you. Watch the video above.  Seriously, watch it. 

It is a lot of pressure to drop your kids off with other parents, explain the food allergies and how to use an epi-pen. It feels terrifying to the other parent. This new Auvi-Q takes the pressure off, while it talks you through what to do! Amazing. 

Get Auvi Q in your pocket for $0 out of pocket, by printing off this coupon.

I read this New York Times Article  February 2013.

"Twin brothers Eric and Evan Edwards grew up with serious food allergies and were under doctor’s orders to carry their medicine everywhere they went. 

But as they entered their teenage years in suburban Virginia, they found the advice increasingly hard to follow. The device they carried to inject the medicine, known as an EpiPen, was shaped like a large felt-tip marker, and they would frequently forget it. As the twins entered college, they found themselves thinking there had to be a better way.

This week, the brothers’ invention — a slimmer device shaped like a smartphone — hit pharmacy shelves nationwide, the culmination of a single-minded quest that began 15 years ago and ended in a $230 million licensing deal with the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi."

terrarium pendant light

{re-nest.com} The pendant light glass terrariums from the glass design studio of the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague.

Make Summer Funner : beach balls

I cannot understand how this remains and Target had to take theirs down?
I thought this was brilliant for Target's "Make Summer Funner". They covered the usual red cement balls with fabric that looked like a beach ball. It was zippered over the existing cement ball. Of course, a few people (I heard adults) attempted to kick the cement ball thinking it was a beach ball and injured themselves. So Target removed the witty fun beach balls.

What gets me is that the balls are perfectly spaced on the sidewalk... and don't move, so I cannot understand why someone would think that the beach ball was a real beach ball. If I happened to be so foolish as to kick the ball, I would not tell anyone. I would walk away, feeling like a bit of an idiot. I love fun ideas and I was sad to see this one go away so soon.

On facebook there were quite a few comments about this beach ball ordeal. My favorite one is about the bacon... read on.

{startribune.com}

The monster-sized beach balls sat in front of every Target store, an open invitation to every kid who approached.

Just as long as they didn't try to bounce or kick them.

Underneath the colorful fabric: concrete. Ouch.

Across the country, Target dressed up existing red balls at store entrances to make them look like beach balls, part of the retailer's "Make Summer Funner" campaign that began May 22.

But two weeks after wrapping the bollards, whose main purpose is traffic control, Target removed the covers over the past few days.

"We did hear some concerns from guests, so we removed the beach ball covers from the bollards just to avoid any sort of incidents," said Jessica Carlson, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based retailer.

Carlson said she couldn't share "any specific information about incidents" but added that "we really care about the safety of our guests and our team members,'' so the covers have gone.

comb bike rack

{knowhowshopla.tumblr.com} my kids would think this is a RIOT!

The comb bike rack is finished! Knowhow Shop is breathing a sigh of relief now that the bike rack is enroute to Virginia. The 400 pound comb is handcrafted out of Mangaris using full mortise and tenon construction, while the hair is made from powder coated steel.

koukku : etsy

{etsy.com} Teething bangles and necklaces for smart mothers to wear while toting around their drooling offspring! Smart!

berber soepboer : color your own dress

{berbersoepboer.nl}

'The Colour-In Dress' is a simple dress with a black and white print, which is especially designed to fill with coloured textile markers. Because the print is so flexible you can make many different designs by colouring it. Everybody can interpret the print the way they like it best."

come and draw

{tiantang.se} very smart kids drawing table!

electric shoe car

{web.orange.co.uk}

A footwear manufacturer in China has made an electric car out of a giant shoe.

It can carry two people up to 250 miles at speeds of up to 20mph on a single charge of the battery underneath the driver's seat.

The leather 'bodywork' is made in the same way as a normal shoe but on a bigger scale, using the hide of five bulls.

A Kang Shoe company spokesman said it took six months to design and build the car at a cost of around £4,000.

The company demonstrated its bizarre vehicle outside its headquarters in Wenzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

Workers queued up for the chance to drive the shoe car which is 10ft long and more than three feet high.

Company president Wang Zhengtao says it is designed as a promotional tool and he plans to make 40 for stores around the country.

QRapping paper

{qrappingpaper.com}

Even terrible gifts are worth opening when they’re wrapped in QRAPPING PAPER™ the world's most interactive wrapping paper. Behind each QR code is an original holiday video that can't be seen anywhere else. Over 50 in all, turning any gift into a tiny holiday film festival.

This wrapping paper would send my mom into a total technical frenzy. She still has problems understanding how to log into facebook and that "reply all" means everyone...

Boardwalk Empire : Secret QR

{freshnessmag.com}

Right after the tv-series The Sopranos ended its run in 2007. Premium cable network HBO went to work on the next television saga, Boardwalk Empire. Along with The Sopranos screenwriter Terence Winter and director Martin Scorsese, the historical crime drama take place in the “original” sin city, Atlantic City, during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s. In a massive marketing campaign to coincide with the premiere of the series this week, HBO and BLT & Associates rolled out a special billboard in New York City and Chicago’s bus shelter. In the form of large whiskey bottle, the billboards are embedded with a special QR Code. When the code is read by a cellphone, direction as well as password will appear to gain entry to a secret “speakeasy” event, where the first drink will be on the house. The offers will last till this Thursday, September 23rd 2010.

sunchips : compostable chip bag

I actually bought the new Sunchips in the 100% biodegradable bag way back in early May 2010. I noticed in the store how loud the bag was, but I really didn't care because I put the chips in containers for my kids lunches. I recently heard that sales are down and there is even a facebook page called "Sorry but I can't hear you over this sunchips bag" (with nearly 44,000 fans). I am not a fan of that page.

Honestly, I would put up with a noisy bag 100% biodegradable bag if it meant that I was helping the earth for generations to come. It bugs me a bit that a company is trying to do good and it doesn't work. However I do understand the complaint, noisy bags are very annoying. I have also heard that you should pour out the chips you want to eat so you don't end up eating the whole bag without thinking about it. New product innovations might require consumers to change their habits. In the end, the noisy bag is a good thing.

From sunchips.com "We dream of a world with less waste. That's way we're using fully compostable packaging on specially-marked bags of Original flavor SunChips® snacks. Every specially-marked bag of SunChips® Original flavor snacks is designed to break down in about 14 weeks when placed in a hot, active compost bin or pile. If it takes a little longer, don’t worry about it; Mother Nature will get to it soon enough.

Truth be told, our compostable bag sounds a bit different than our other bags, That's because the plant-based materials used to make our compostable bag have different sound qualities than the materials used to make our other bags. Although our compostable bag is a bit louder, we hope you'll appreciate its environmental benefits.

{washingtoncitypaper.com}

People are pissed off about environmentally unfriendly plastic. But people are even more pissed off about the noise level of SunChips‘ new compostable bag, which the Wall Street Journal reports is as loud as a jet cockpit, registering 95 decibels on a sound meter.

The inevitable Facebook group has emerged. Its name is in ALL CAPS, no doubt to emphasize the SHOUTING required to talk over a SunChips bag.SORRY BUT I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THIS SUN CHIPS BAG already has nearly 40,000 followers — or whatever Facebook calls these people now.

Over at Serious Eats, Y&H’s friend Erin Zimmer has put together this video to give you an idea of exactly how loud the new bag is. You might want to grab earplugs first.

urban outiftters : september fun items

{urbanoutfitters.com} urban outfitters you annoy me... I can't pull screen grabs anymore without the annoying preview window popping up. If you would like me promote your awesome products don't do this too me.

Anyways I still love this beautiful woodland duvet, mushroom lights, the donut mug, the truth mugs and the carstache.

car lashes

{carlashes.com} Carlashes™ attach with 3M double sided automotive trim tape. The same tape that has been used for years to attach exterior trim on cars. This is also the same tape used to attach many aftermarket items such as bug guards, wind guards, mirrors, and reflectors.

Kinda fun, but I can't imagine any hubby allowing this to happen to his car or his wife's car. I have not seen any of these in Minnesota yet. The company is based out of Utah. This mission is to "be the leading supplier of female automotive aftermarket products". I wonder what other products would fall into this category?

diamond lights

{henricks-tankar.blogspot.com} diamond shaped light bulbs!

ABChairs by Roeland Otten

{dezeen.com} How fun would it be to have some letter chairs around your house (inside or out) to spell out some words!

glamorous band aids

{cynthiarowley.com}

Now you can “dress up” your boo boos with BAND-AID Brand by Cynthia Rowley.

The limited-edition adhesive bandages come in a special metal tin and are available in fourteen designs—including lace, sequins, gems, gold chains and even a complete runway show.

You can purchase Cynthia Rowley Band-Aids at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in NYC, at Cynthia Rowley stores or by clicking here.

A donation from the project will benefit Design Ignites Change, an organization that engages high school and college students in multidisciplinary design and architecture projects that address pressing social issues in their own communities.

Check out Cynthia Rowley Band-Aids in InStyle and the New York Times!

sergio garcia

{sergiotheg.com} fun trikes

Treat + Company Pattern Site

From Treat's site:

TREAT enhances the human experience in many ways, including surface design. We excite, elevate, and keep you relevant. Continually craving innovation. Ahead of the trend. We refine. We never rewind. We always look forward.

I love the mixture of styles and great color palettes! It will be fun to check in on their site from time to time to see what is new! They are at PrintSource this week in NYC... till Aug 4th.

TREAT will be at PrintSource, August 2 - 4, 2010. Booth G 15

7W New York
7 West 34th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues

PrintSource New York, The Premier Market for Surface and Textile Design in the USA. As the hub for the world’s top creative talent, Printsource showcases hundreds of collections by international surface and textile design studios and agents. England, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and the USA are just some of the countries featured each season at the Show.

As the first buying stop of the design season, Printsource is the cornerstone event for thousands of apparel, paper goods and home textile manufacturers and retailers.