Springwise - Style & Design

Buy one, donate one plush animal blankie

2010-07-19T14:55:24Z

Stuffed animals and security blankets tend to be favourite sleeping companions among young children, but the Happy Blankie—one of the cutest innovations we've seen in some time—combines both into one. Not only that, but for each Happy Blankie sold another is donated, resulting in not just double but quadruple the comfort and quadruple the fun.

Ohio-based Happy Blankie offers a line of four animal blankets made of luxurious plush “minky" fabric and silky charmeuse satin. Available in puppy, pig, frog and teddy bear versions, all feature an embroidered cheek-to-cheek smile and a plush embossed ribbon nose. Pricing ranges from USD 29 for an 18-by-18-inch size to USD 99 for a 48-by-56-inch version; personalization with a child's name is also available. Best of all, however, is that for every Happy Blankie sold, the company will donate another to a child in a hospital or orphanage. It even lets the buyer of the first blanket choose where the second one is given by following the instructions on the blanket's "giving is cool" tag.

Who says there's no more room for innovation in the world of children's blankets and toys? Throw in a dash of buy-one/give-one generosity, and there will surely be sweet dreams all around! ;-) (Related: Personalized baby blankets, reborn — Bespoke baby blankets — Personalized books starring a child's favourite toy — Buy a onesie, donate one to a baby in need.)

Website: www.happyblankie.com
Contact: support@happyblankie.com

Spotted by: Sara Al Mulla

Online room-makeover service offers nine 'designs-in-a-box'

2010-07-16T08:09:12Z

Not everyone has an eye for interior design—or the budget to hire a full-fledged, custom service. Enter California-based Avenue Interior Design, which recently launched an online offering that aims to give consumers a lower-cost way to get a professional look for their home.

Consumers begin by choosing the room or rooms they want to make over. They then browse through Avenue's I Heart Design site, which offers nine very different looks chosen by its designers. Each is represented by a door with a corresponding style; when clicked, users can see inside for a closer look. Once they find a look they like, users tell I Heart Design about their goals for the room and any special considerations, such as pets with a penchant for muddy pawprints. Measuring the room comes next, followed by uploading a few photos including any furniture that will be reused. For a fee of USD 3.50 per square foot, I Heart Design will then send out a custom box including two space plan options for each room; a spec card for each piece of furniture the designers selected; a paint card with recommended colours; a window treatment card with recommended styles; and a tape measure and other small tools. I Heart Design chooses items from a mix of flea markets, national retailers and trade-specific vendors, according to a report on Daily Candy. Consumers can buy those they like directly from their personal online design board on the site.

This fall, I Heart Design by Avenue will launch a similar offering aimed at hospitality providers. One to try out on your own hotel or restaurant—or emulate in another part of the world? (Related: 3-D tool helps students decorate (and shop for) dorm rooms — Home enhancement service focuses on senior citizens — Social shopping meets interior design.)

Website: www.iheartdesignbyavenue.com
Contact: service@iheartdesignbyavenue.com

Spotted by: Heidi Heifetz

Five business ideas focused on babies & new parents

2010-07-02T18:41:01Z

Starting a family is such a fundamental part of human life that it's no surprise that babies are an inspiring subject for enterprise and innovation. There's a new idea born every minute ;-) Here are five we spotted recently:

1. EMBRACE — Premature or underweight newborns can have problems maintaining body temperature. Unfortunately, proper incubators aren't available or affordable everywhere. The Embrace is an infant warmer that costs less than 1 per cent of the price of a traditional incubator, according to the eponymous non-profit currently trialling it in India. It looks like a tiny sleeping bag, and is powered by a small electrical element or hot water.

2. TEXT4BABY — The result of a partnership between government agencies, corporations, academic bodies and non-profits, text4baby is a free SMS information service for expectant mothers in the United States. Messages cover health, childbirth and post-natal childcare, and are scheduled to accord with the mother-to-be's term.

3. BABYBLOOMS — Once birth has been given, friends and family will often send flowers to congratulate the new family. BabyBlooms offers a gift that looks similar, but turns out to be rather more practical: their 'bouquets' are assembled from baby clothes. There's a choice of pink, blue, natural and twin bouquets.

4. CITYSHADE — The hoods provided on strollers are sometimes too small to keep babies fully protected from the sun, and parents often find themselves augmenting the canopy with a blanket or some other improvised item. The CityShade is a purpose-built alternative. It comes in a choice of colours and styles, and can be attached neatly to many popular stroller models.

5. LE KNOCKOUT — With a medley of attendant legends, the shedding of a baby tooth is a rite of passage celebrated worldwide. Now parents can have their own memento of the occasion by getting their child's tooth cast in gold and fashioned into a piece of jewelery or a keepsake. Mawkish or charming? The sentimental imperative should not be underestimated!

Spotters: Judy McRae, Marie Sedefian, Julie Mancuso

No-darn repair kit breathes new life into worn wool garments

2010-06-16T11:50:39Z

Just as Denim Doctors can inject new life into a favourite old pair of jeans, so Woolfiller can extend the usability of a much-loved wool item.

The brainchild of Dutch product designer Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller repairs holes and hides stains in woollen jumpers, cardigans, jackets and carpets. In a 21st century approach to darning (their words), Woolfiller takes advantage of the unique quality of wool, whose fibres each contain miniscule scales that open up when pricked with a felt needle. Once open, those scales bind with each other and do not separate again, even when washed. To use Woolfiller, consumers place a small bunch of patching wool in the spot that needs help. They then repeatedly prick the old and new wool with a needle, working from both sides over a foam block, until the new patch has bound. Six standard, colour-themed kits are available on the Woolfiller site, priced at EUR 17.50 each delivered within the Netherlands, but custom kits can also be created for EUR 21.50. Each kit contains five pieces of coloured wool, two felt needles, a piece of foam and a user's guide.

Last fall Klopper won the Doen | Material Prize for Woolfiller, which is available both online and in outlets in the Netherlands and in New York. Green and crafty retailers around the globe: time to bring a little good, old-fashioned ingenuity to sustainability-minded, wool-loving consumers near you?

Website: www.woolfiller.com
Contact: info@woolfiller.com

Spotted by: Green Thing

Made in South Africa, fair trade bracelets for Dutch soccer fans

2010-06-16T11:13:47Z

Like any major sports event, the FIFA World Cup is a prime merchandising moment, with vast quantities of t-shirts, scarves and those infamous vuvuzelas hitting the stadiums of South Africa and the streets of the teams' home countries. But as crucial as they may seem to fervent soccer fans, most of the patriotic paraphernalia has a fairly short lifespan between shipping containers and landfills.

Offering a meaningful alternative to mass-produced goods, Dutch start-up Rainbow Collection decided to go local and fair trade. It partnered with Africa!Ignite to create the Orange Bracelet, made of beads in the Netherlands' national colour (orange) and the rainbow colours of South Africa's flag. The bracelets were produced by women in the province of KwaZulu-Natal; according to Rainbow Collection, it provided employment for more than 400 rural women by ordering 100.000 bracelets.

Besides offering Dutch fans a way to support both their national team and South African women, the Orange Bracelet is also one of the more stylish accessories designed for the 2010 World Cup. That combination of style and substance seems ripe for replication to other events worldwide.

Website: www.rainbowcollection.nl
Contact: www.rainbowcollection.nl/contactus.html

Five (more) businesses selling personalised products

2010-06-11T18:55:00Z

Over the past seven years, we've covered dozens of businesses that let customers design or personalise products. People love having it their way, and entrepreneurs can gain a competitive advantage by combining offline manufacturing with online sales and personalisation. Five recent spottings:

1. THE MAGICAL STORY MACHINE — For GBP 5.95 or less, the Magical Story machine allows users to record their own children's audiobook, along with a personal message. Users pick from a selection of popular children's stories, then record the words online using their computer's microphone and a web-based autocue tool. Appropriate sound effects and music are automatically mixed in with the storyteller's voice, and the result is made available for download as an MP3 file.

2. I AM A STUFFED ANIMAL — I Am A Stuffed Animal makes cuddly toys that resemble caricatures of real people. Users send in one or more photos of themselves (or whoever they want parodied) and some descriptive information such as interests and clothing choices. The stuffed Mini Me is then delivered within four to six weeks; a little more if the destination is outside the United States. The price? USD 69.

3. QUILTCREATOR — QuiltCreator.com allows consumers to come up with their own unique bed quilt by choosing from a wide range of themes, patterns and colours, using a drag-and-drop tool. Six to eight weeks later they'll receive a hand-crafted, 100% cotton quilt that matches their design.

4. EDELWISER — In a similar vein but a very different field, Edelwiser Ski lets users design the livery for the top layer of skis purchased from the Austrian company. Full-colour graphics can feature artwork, images and text. There are also downloadable templates for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator if users to prefer to do their graphic design using familiar software.

5. FLUID FORMS — Also from Austria, Fluid Forms is a design label that specialises in using CNC technology to create products customised by customer input. Their latest line is Streets Earrings: jewellery featuring an etched map of any location that's special to the earrings' future wearer. Like most personalisation concepts we've covered, it's all done with an easy-to-use web tool.

Spotters: Martina Meng, Judy McRae, Dave Lueder, Dietfried Globocnik

Pop-up public urinal serves late-night revelers

2010-05-24T18:18:44Z

Indiscriminate urination is a widespread problem in urban areas, and often it's caused by a shortage of public toilets in the parts of town frequented by late-night revelers. Designed to provide a just-in-time solution, so to speak, the UriLift is a public urinal that can be stored underground during the day and set to pop up in the evening hours, when it's most likely to be needed.

Each cylindrical, stainless-steel UriLift includes three separate, doorless urinals that can be used simultaneously. While underground, all that remains visible of the device is its circular cover, which is designed to withstand traffic class 45 and comes in 200 colours. To make the UriLift pop up for the evening, the press of a button on the device's remote control is all that’s required; organisations such as the local sanitation department, the police or even a local hotel or bar could be given the job of carrying out this simple procedure. The urinals and drain in the UriLift are connected to the mains sewer, so that interim cleaning is unnecessary; there's also a connection to the water mains, but the device can be supplied with a rainwater-based water tank instead, or for use without water. Lighting and heating are both available on the vandalism-proof device, and Dutch Urilift BV takes care of any occasional maintenance or relocation. Also available are the UriVisible, a non-retractable version of the UriLift, and the UriLady, which comes complete with a suspended toilet seat.

UriLift currently has distributors in Holland, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France and Italy, but it seeks new partners for other regions. Time to help beautify late-night hotspots in *your* neck of the urban jungle...?

Website: www.urilift.com
Contact: info@urilift.com

Spotted by: Thane Ryland

Five new business ideas for urban gardening

2010-05-21T13:30:00Z

More than half of humanity now lives in cities, according to the United Nations Population Fund. This rapid and ongoing change presents a raft of new challenges, many of which create opportunities for resourceful entrepreneurs. Here are five concepts that target consumers' increasing interest in growing their own food in the city:

1. REEL GARDENING — Simplifying the process of starting a domestic garden, South Africa's Reel Gardening provides a strip of biodegradable paper carrying correctly spaced, pre-fertilised seeds. The strips are colour coded (e.g. red for tomatoes, purple for beetroot) and carry instructions for how deep they should be planted in your soil. Just add water!

2. THE WIKI GARDEN — Urban gardeners who haven't even got a bed of soil may be interested in the Wiki Garden from Hawaii. It's a metre-long "growing medium" (i.e. sack) containing compost, worm castings, bat guano and more, plus a built-in irrigation system with a hose attachment. The bags can be connected, allowing for an easily scalable system.

3. CLICK AND GROW — Another alternative is to do without soil at all. Estonia's Click and Grow is a hi-tech growing system deploying aeroponics: the plant's lower stem and roots are contained in an air or mist environment, regulated by sensors and electronics to ensure the plant is fed and watered correctly. The pots even feature a USB port to upload new growing instructions.

4. WINDOWFARMS — Rather than selling a particular product, the Window Farms project in New York promotes the production of hydroponic food gardens in homes and offices, using recycled or locally-sourced materials. The founders aim to build a community to share ideas and engender a DIY approach to solving environmental problems.

5. OOOOBY — Based in New Zealand, Ooooby, short for Out Of Our Own Back Yard, is a social networking community dedicated to connecting local food producers and consumers for trade, networking, and sharing ideas. Ooooby also organises stalls at farmers' markets and other locations through which people can buy, sell and barter local produce and small-scale farming supplies.

Spotters: Catherine Corry, Liz Stone, Kristoff Everaerts, Louisa Redshaw

Keepsake stamps of baby's feet and hands

2010-05-19T06:52:50Z

There's no shortage out there of DIY kits for making casts of a baby's feet and hands, but Otete & Anyo has come up with an innovative variation on the theme that can serve as a lifelong stamp and keepsake.

The words "otete” and “anyo" signify a baby's hand and foot in Japanese, and Tokyo-based design firm Kawamura Hideo Activity has tapped those terms for its original stamps of babies' hand- and footprints. The engraved prints can be used not only as stamps for papers and letters, but also as lifelong mementos suitable for birthday presents, baby gifts and more. Parents or other gift-givers begin by making an ink print of baby's hands and feet in 127-by-89-mm size. They then email those prints to Otete & Anyo, which engraves them in real size. A solid black hand grip makes stamping easy, while a paulownia wood box embellished with the print is used for storage. Baby's name and birthday, meanwhile, are engraved on the back of the stamp for posterity. Launched last week, the stamps are priced at JPY 8,800 each plus shipping.

With a solid, lasting alternative to most baby casts and a globally attractive design and packaging, Otete & Anyo stamps seem likely to do well around the world. Baby and children's products retailers: one to bring to the doting families near you? (Related: Rice babies, weighed to measure.)

Website: www.otetetoanyo.com
Contact: otetetoanyo@kha.jp

Philips introduces a clothes iron for men

2010-05-18T20:20:33Z

In stores this month: a clothes iron for men. Dutch electronics giant Philips felt that men wanted a more robust, heavy-duty tool to tackle hampers of laundry. Something with a larger grip and a more masculine look. So it created the GC4490, which offers 'more power, more steam, more performance'. Philips describes the iron's sleek yet rugged design and stresses its technical specifications, seemingly in an attempt to convince men that they're buying a power tool or new gadget instead of a garment care appliance. Like a new hammer drill, the iron comes in a solid case. It will retail for EUR 79,99.

On the surface, this is just another marketing gimmick. But Philips may have found a real gap in the appliance market. The man-iron is a mirror image of the tools for women we wrote about a few years back. Sure, a woman is perfectly capable of using a hammer that was originally designed for men's larger hands. But comfort and performance might be improved by using one that was designed with women in mind. No reason the same doesn't apply to men and irons. We'll leave the sexual politics debate to other bloggers; meanwhile, this could be the ultimate Father's Day gift ;-)

Website: www.philips.com

Transforming Rio's slums through community-driven art

2010-05-18T14:44:33Z

A splash of colour and design can go a long way toward beautifying a grey, ugly space, as Carspaze and Style-your-garage have already shown. Now aiming to do something similar for the slums of Rio de Janeiro through large, community-driven murals, the Favela Painting project also goes several steps further by incorporating training and employment for local residents.

The brainchild of Dutch artist duo Haas&Hahn, Favela Painting has already completed two community painting projects in Vila Cruzeiro—Rio's most notorious slum—along with the first portion of O Morro, its current effort to paint an entire hillside slum. Some 34 houses and 7,000 square meters of Praça Cantão in Santa Marta have already been transformed through paint, and the project hopes to return later this year to paint even more of the hillside. In each of its projects, Favela has focused on recruiting local residents to do much of the painting, including training and paying them. In this latest one, local inhabitants were trained through a partnership with Brazilian paint company TintasCoral on everything from different types of paint to safety measures while working on scaffolding.

Dre Urhahn, one of the Favela Painting artists, explains: “This work of art can make a colorful difference in the lives of local individuals, the community and the city of Rio. It has the potential of working as a catalyst in the processes of social renewal and change.”

Favela Painting is supported by Firmeza Foundation, and recently the decorative paint division of Dutch AkzoNobel—which is also conducting a community campaign of its own—signed on as a partner as well.

There are all too many grim, unadorned spaces throughout the urban world. Paint brands around the globe: time to sponsor some community action near you!

Website: www.favelapainting.com
Contact: info@favelapainting.com

Spotted by: Ruben Brusse

Geotextile bags for urban farming

2010-05-11T18:21:29Z

Urban farming is a trend we've been following for years, but between the recession and the recent focus on sustainability, it's showing no sign of slowing down. The latest spotting? French Bacsac, which offers a line of geotextile bags that can be used to transform any space into a growing, living garden.

The Bacsac is a lightweight and portable bag that can be used indoors or out, on terraces, balconies, rooftops and yards. Users simply fill the permeable bags with soil—there are versions in round pot shapes as well as divided squares for larger, modular gardens—and plant to their heart's content. The bags are made of double-walled and fully recyclable geotextile fabric that maintains the necessary balance between air, soil and water; it's also resistant to sun, frost and tears. Pot-sized Bacsacs range from 3- to 150-litre sizes, with hanging and window-box styles also available. Bacsquares range in size from two to 16 interior compartments. Custom sizes are also available. With prices starting at about EUR 15 for a 3-litre pot, Bacsac products are available at a variety of retailers worldwide.

Kitchen gardening, organic gardening, urban farming and container gardening are all among the top 10 global gardening trends for 2010, according to a recent report commissioned by Husqvarna. Gardening retailers around the world: Better stock up! (Related: Boosting suburban farming — More homegrown vegetables, without the sweat — Remote-controlled farming for city dwellers.)

Website: www.bacsac.fr
Contact: www.bacsac.fr/en/contact-3/

Five businesses that turn trash into appealing new products

2010-05-07T21:10:59Z

Creating new products from waste materials or used items has three distinct benefits for manufacturers: it gives them access to free or inexpensive materials, it lends their products an aura of sustainability, and it provides embedded stories that sellers can share with consumers, and that consumers can share with their friends. Five examples of upcycling we recently spotted:

1. NARWAHL — Neckties have long been used to add individuality to menswear. California's Narwahl Co. is repurposing those distinctive designs by turning vintage ties into new accessories: wallets, business card holders, passport covers and wristwear, all priced in the USD 10 to USD 25 range. Each item is one of a kind, and can be bought from Narwhal's online store or at a growing number of retail outlets in the United States.

2. HELLO REWIND — Another company taking old garments and turning them into something new is Hello Rewind. Observing that it can be hard to discard an cherished old t-shirt even when it's worked its way to the back of the closet, Hello Rewind invites customers to send in their old tee and have it returned in the form of a custom laptop sleeve. The business supports RestoreNYC, an organisation helping sex trafficking survivors reintegrate into society.

3. RECYCLING ZYCHAL — Clothes aren't the only household items that are ripe for repurposing. Philadelphia's Recycling Zychal takes the city's discarded umbrellas and fashions them into rain hoods, dog raincoats and cat toys stuffed with organic catnip. The dog coats are made to order after clients specify their umbrella choice and dog's size. Recycling Zychal invites people to donate broken umbrellas, and will make a donation to an animal refuge for each brolly they receive.

4. ESCAMA STUDIO — Staff in California and Brazil collaborate to make Escama's modern fashion accessories using traditional techniques. The flagship product line is a collection of bags, purses, accessories and jewellery made by crocheting together hundreds of aluminium ring-pull tabs. Each item features a tag signed by the person who made it; the website features bios of the artisans and invites customers to send them a message.

5. EMECO — Chairmaker Emeco builds chairs from 80% recycled aluminium. In collaboration with Coca-Cola the company has branched out to a new material: each of their 111 Navy Chairs is made from 111 recycled plastic bottles. Emeco hopes to encourage domestic recycling by showing that trash can be used to make stylish and functional products.

Spotters: Cecilia Biemann, Andrew Sargent, Andrew Krumholz

Reusable lid for coffee cups and mugs

2010-05-05T05:51:29Z

Last summer we covered the Australian KeepCup, a reusable alternative to paper coffee cups that even replicates standard barista sizes. Now aiming to give coffee lovers on the go even more green-minded options, the Mug Hug is a reusable silicone lid that seals securely on ceramic mugs and paper cups alike.

Developed by Toronto-based Vizun, the flexible Mug Hug fits on medium-sized mugs as well as larger paper cups used by major North American coffee chains—Starbucks' Grande and Venti sizes, for instance—along with various sizes at McDonald's. Using the Mug Hug gives consumers a way to take their mug full of hot coffee or tea with them when they leave home, for example, since it helps to keep drinks hot and prevent spills. The device can also be used to reduce the use of disposable plastic lids commonly placed atop vendors' offerings. Available at select U.S. and Canadian retailers both online and in physical stores, the Mug Hug is priced at about USD 6.95.

Americans alone will use an estimated 23 billion paper coffee cups in 2010, according to at least one estimate, suggesting an equal number of plastic lids will soon find their way into landfills. Eco-minded retailers around the globe: this one's for you! (Related: Personal, reusable hand towels — Reusable lunch box napkins — Reusable water bottle flattens & folds when empty — Reusable dry-cleaning bags.)

Website: www.mug-hug.com
Contact: admin@vizun.net

Spotted by: Murray Orange

Greeting cards that can be reused and tracked over time

2010-05-04T15:05:06Z

Americans exchange some 7 billion greeting cards each year, according to the Greeting Card Association, so one has only to extrapolate to begin to imagine how much paper and ink are involved worldwide. Enter the reusable greeting card, which we've now spotted on two different continents.

Minnesota-based Regreet, for example, uses labels and mailing supplies that make it easy and chic for consumers to reuse greeting cards. Recipients of a Regreet card simply apply a signature label over the sender's message and write their own text instead. If they want, they can also enclose a “Hop Along” kit that includes a greeting label, a sheet of note paper and an envelope for the next user. Those sending the card for the first time apply a journey label to the back of the card; journey codes enable users to track their card's travels over time. A basic Regreet kit, including four cards—with journey labels, signature labels, sheets of notepaper and envelopes—and four Hop Along kits (with signature labels, notepaper and envelopes) is priced online at USD 11.99. A portion of Regreet's profits gets donated to selected nonprofit partners.

Australian Merry-go-round greeting cards, on the other hand, have slits cut inside that allow them to hold a message on a separate slip of paper. Recipients of a sustainably produced Merry-go-round card can replace the slip of paper with their own and send the card on with a new message. Featuring the artwork of well-known Australian children's book illustrators, Merry-go-round cards each include a refill and instructions. Each collection of Merry-go-round cards is printed in a limited number, making cards more rare as they get older. To track each card's history, users can each fill in a little blank tree on the back of their card, making it easy to see how many sets of hands it's passed through. Available both online and through select Australian and New Zealand retailers, Merry-go-round cards are priced at AUD 23.95 per set of six cards.

Where ecoEnvelopes aim to minimize the paper needed for reply mail, Regreet and Merry-go-round promise to achieve something similar for greeting cards. Retailers the world over: time to add some eco-iconic options to your greeting-card lines...?

Website: www.regreet.com — www.merrygoround.com.au
Contact: info@regreet.com — mail@merrygoround.com.au

Spotted by: Tad Schmitz and Jayne Richards