Pop Magic

I was one of the many that stood outside of FAO Schwartz in San Francisco to get one of the first tamagotchi‘s so you can imagine my interest when I read about the Mugen Puti Puti – touted as the “new tamagotchi” – in Business Week.

As much as I loved that digital pet egg – this toy takes the cake!  Mugen Puti Puti (which roughly translates into “pop forever”) is a keychain with tiny buttons that when pushed mimic the experience of popping bubble wrap from a real recording of actual packaging being pop.  If that wasn’t awesome enough, every 100th “pop” makes an unexpected sound, like a dog barking (sampled on the Web site), a fart or a sexy woman’s voice.

Amazingly, Business Week reports that over 300,00 were sold in the first nine days of being on the market and Bandi (the world’s third largest toy producer and proud producer of the Mugen Puti Puti) projects 2,000,000 by March 2008.  Unfortunately it has not been determined whether or not this will be sold in the US so if anybody out there is traveling to Asia and wouldn’t mind picking one up for me I would happily buy one for their popping enjoyment too!

 

Lipstick on a Pig

Come on, we all know somebody who isn’t terribly attractive but “puts him or herself together well” and ends up looking pretty hot, right?  Well, there you have it… packaging makes all the difference.

Check out a couple products that I cant peel my eyes off of.  Designers rule!

The work that Waldo Pancake did for Puccino’s, the largest UK coffee bar franchise, adds humour (when in the UK…) to somewhat mundane beverages with it quirky personality.

Or what about this unique 9-varietal flight of honey by Raw Bee?  Not only do I want one to place on my dining room table, I think it would make a gorgeous gift. 

And then there is Mailbox Tees, a one-of-a-kind t-shirt subscription service.  Every month this SF native finds a super-talented independent artist to create a one-of-a-kind design which is put on a super soft shirt and then mailed off to subscribers.  How cool is that?

Packaging & consumer experience:  Something to keep in mind as brands try to stand out in a world of limitless options.

Office Space

A girlfriend of mine, who also recently started a new job, pointed out just how difficult it has been for her to properly decorate her cube.  She figures that the reason for such ugly workspaces is an honest lack of cubicle decor options… and here I always thought it was due to general poor taste.

Well, I don’t want to be “that” girl with “that” cube so please share any cool suggestions on how to personalize my cube.  In the meantime I spotted these awesome finds which will be on my desk in 6-10 business days.

This adorably colorful Piu Piu Bird Magnet actually chirps when you touch it (my co-workers are going to love that feature, I’m sure) in addition to holds your precious paperclips.  Thanks SFGirlByBay!

Although I don’t have many loose papers… I’m an uber organized binder kinda gal… I still scooped up with small nugget paper weight by SmallStump on Etsy.

 

Now, if only Rex Ray made affordable mini resin panels…  sigh…

 

 

When you care enough to hit send

I love greeting cards — there is a huge stack in my “junk drawer”, even though I do not consider any of their thoughtful sentiments junk, just waiting to be sent or handed (I hate buying stamps) to a special someone. 

Car washes love me… I spend more on cards than cleaning my golden beast… and specialty boutiques see the $$$ floating over my head as I beeline to the thank you card display.

Not to burst my own bubble but physical cards aren’t the most practical in a world where most people are strapped (voluntarily and involuntarily) to their computers for hours a day. 

The problem is that there haven’t been too many Web sites devoted to electronic greetings that weren’t either extremely lame or charged you the same price as is expected for physical cards.  Now listen, I know it is a service and of course a business but I am just not ready to spend my cash on an virtual card… call me crazy… actually don’t – I hate that.

But wait no more.  I have found a great solution… SomeECards.  First off they are free — lets just put that out there.  But beware… these are not your mothers cards.  Which is exactly why I want to send them… and send them online where my mom cant find them and scold me.

Enjoy. 

XOO

When I was a child my mother and I would have these special “hookie” days.  These entailed her calling my elementary school to fib to report that I was too ill to attend that day while secretly whisking me off to a day of shopping with her in Beverly Hills.  On our drive there we would pass the American Cement Building on Wilshire Blvd.   

The exterior of the building was designed by Malcolm Leland out of reinforced concrete sculpted into a pattern using 10 foot tall X-shapes.  The building looks cool because it is so different but I wouldn’t call this 60’s style facade beautiful… until now…

I just found these amazing bookends inspired by Malcolm Leland’s X00 industrial design thanks to Velocity Art And Design.

I no longer live in LA – I don’t want to live there right now nor am I convinced that I will ever again but when I found these I got this warm familiar feeling.  (Insert: Barbara Streisand’s Memories)  I must have them!!!

I wonder how many other LA-born would feel the same way if they saw these beauties? 

Flip it

Erbert and Gerbert’s Subs & Clubs, a sandwich shop chain based in the Midwest, was looking for a way to break through the brand building clutter.  This is what they came up with… I think they nailed the challenge.   What do you think?

Scare tactics

I believe that advertisers and news corporation abuse grossly scare tactics in order to reach their audience.  However, this commercial, for the UN Mine Action Organization, is a great example of how, when used strategically, it is incredibly impactful.  I saw it for the first time a year or so ago and it is still as fresh in my mind as it was the first time I watched it. 

I wonder how that translates into driving action though…

WARNING: the following video content is graphic and disturbing

Guess what?

If only I had this shirt from OneHorseShy when I was in the 3rd grade I could have saved my voice for more important things like prank calling and performing live Madonna: True Blue concerts in my living room… oh well…

9 Lives

Proof that cats have nine lives… lolcats! 

I am not behind the game… I know this site is old news.  However, I am must express my confusion as to why it was popular at one point and ask why in the world it is increasingly becoming MORE popular.

This phenomenon just wont die… it just keeps evolving (pardon the pun)… Thanks to Not A Blog we now have the lolcats translation of the Bible.

Personally, I think children with minor speech impediments are kinda endearing but I am going to have to draw the line at kitty pigdin!  Sure – you don’t think I am a leg to stand on after my kitty cocoon posting but… oh wait, your right… I don’t… my bad.

Cat Nappin’

I am not one of those crazy cat ladies… sorry Nana… but I every once in a while I come across a cat that thinks it’s a dog and I want to take him home.  And if I did, I would buy a kitty cocoon by one form design because it is so freaking cool.  Granted it is just made of cardboard which in my book doesn’t warrant the ($249 plus $15 shipping) price tag but frankly, if they made one for people I would curl up in it every night.

Just for the record, I still want a dog.  A big one.