fun

creative sitters

“A singer, a dancer, a painter – take your pick, these are just some of the creatives that New York parents can hire as their child’s babysitter for the night. Eugenia Bachaleda, a musician, and Kristina Wilson, a performer, combined their talents to devise Sitters in the City for a modern twist on baby sitting. Both Bachaleda and Wilson enjoyed performing but also loved working with children, and so they found a way to use their artistic talents to inspire and entertain children.The benefits of Sitters in the City work both ways – for actors and artists, it’s a flexible job that combines well with auditions and concert rehearsals. For parents, it’s a fun and creative childcare option that aims to leave children inspired and entertained. Sitters arrive at the customer’s home armed with a ‘tote of toys’ and with an abundance of creative ideas to appeal to every child from bookworm to budding movie star.”
via Springwise

What an awesome idea and service, and at $15/hour, it’s a steal! Adding such incentives to services really make them stick out from the rest of the competition. Think about the services you use daily and how they can be enhanced with such simple changes.

Wowzers! This is some crazy cool Non-newtonian Fluid(Cornstarch and Water)! Basically, it’s a liquid that hardens on impact and softens when idle! Run across a pool of it, or stand still and sink! A must watch video!

Reminds me of Liquid Armour(Shear Thickening Fluid), which stiffens upon impact as well. It also reminds me of Magneto-Rheological Fluid Technology, which doesn’t harden upon impact, but hardens when a magnetic field is present. They have a video on their site, and I’ve played around with this stuff which is pretty cool!

One last hardening type material is spyders soft futuristic and flexible d30 material clothing which instantly hardens like armour upon impact, protecting this years winter olympians. Check out their webiste for more! I want one!(d30, or spyder) This is such an awesome new material for kick-butt brain storms!

sqwerts

OOoo. how cool, get a bunch of them, throw them around your office!

“Jamungo’s Sqwerts feature designs by Frank Kozik, Tara McPherson, TADIO, and the Jamungo guys: Ferg and Van Beater. Only 350 of each design (250 for the pink Van Beater design, my fave) were made, so get ‘em while they’re hot. via drawn.ca

A grid image of a bunch of them after the jump!

Continue Reading

paint chip card set of 3

A bunch of ya’ll that have met me have asked me about my card-holder. Well, here it is. I grabbed a few of those free paint chips ya find at paint stores (home depot), made a few bends here and there, and bahm, you have your very own colorful hand-made paint chip card holder. I made a DIY guide after the jump, though the template’s custom to my cards size (3.5″x1.9/16″). The the home depot chips I used can just barely fit a basic 3.5″x2.5″ card with some changes in the template. Lots of pics after the jump along with the DIY instructions.

Continue Reading

victor and rolf store upsidedown

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to walk around the ceiling, but never thought I’d be able to experience it, besides a few instances in amusement parks. Well, not exactly everything is upside down, but the Viktor & Rolf Store in Milan does just this. Check out some other great pics here or here. This also reminds me of a great prank I once saw here!

via apartmenttherapy 

Just to note, sometimes when you turn things, ideas, plans, etc up-side down, it sometimes makes things better!

cardboard faces

Here’s a great set of characters drawn on cardboard sheets! I love cardboard…it’s one of those essential elements that you always have, use, and end up building halloween mazes, castles, mock-ups, storage bins, costumes, or as with many artists, the ultimate canvas. Hit up THIS Flicker Set for all the images and closeups, otherwise, I’ve posted an index of all of them after the jump.

Continue Reading

Just a reminder from Seth Godin:

“Normally, people just show up. They show up at work, or at a conference. They show up on vacation or even sometimes they show up at home.

They aren’t doing anything special, they’re just doing.

Well, I spent the day with several hundred enthusiastic people.

This group, led by Jennifer Young, didn’t just show up. They arrived. They were purposeful and positive and prepared and in a hurry… but in a good way.

It didn’t cost anything. It didn’t take any more effort (in fact, it probably ended up being less of an effort.) They got more out of me, more out of each other, more out of the day.

Enthusiasm has a lot to be said for it.”
via Seths Blog

This is soooooo true! I’ve been at several firms, corporations, conferences, parties, etc…and you know what, it’s a real turn off when people show no excitement in their work, their life, or just meeting new people. People or places that thrive with energy, excitement, and enthusiasm really makes any kind of experience better and usually more productive.

If your office space lacks this energy, try throwing a goofy day, some wild retreat, a few wacky toys around(airZooka)(or a handful of toys from Kidrobot), buy a few bean bags or a beanbag chair, add more jazz and color to your space, dress up for halloween, or pretty much anything that makes ya feel like a kid again. If ya work in a stressful environment, perhaps you can make some foam soccer heads for everyone to kick around. Perhaps just the soft lovable “living stone” pillows will do the trick. If you have a larger budget and a larger space, get a robocoaster, a kick butt slide, fun art on the walls, a kitchen full of goodies that change often, or a few razor scooters. Keep in mind, Work is play, play is work!

cork ring

A bunch of you have asked me about this ring which I wear every so often. Well, I was playing around with some cork for a side project, and decided to make something from the leftovers, and bahm, a ring made from cork, then squished into a rectangle shape, then hardened with epoxy, though I’m testing out other elements such polyurethanes, glues, starches, and other such compounds. I’m still playing around with mixing cork with other materials such as leather, silver, or wood…hopefully I’ll have more to show soon.

I’ve added it to the sidebar “Stuff I rock” section, or you can get a larger glimpse of it here.

poptech2006

Pop!Tech 2006 was an amazing brain safari filled with big ideas, great conversations, and a gathering of curious open minded people from all disciplines and places. I’d usually post tons of pics and detailed descriptions, but other guru bloggers have done this timing favor, a very detailed textual blog by Ethan Zukerman, or a more visual dose by core77. Hopefully they’ll post all of the webcast lecture online much like TEDtalks soon. Pictured above is Rodrigo and Gabriela rockin out the house!!!

Read those blogs for the full details, and hit up Flickr for some images, otherwise, I’m going to post my experience outside of all the great lectures after the jump with a bunch of pics:
Continue Reading

living stones

How freaking awesome are these! SmarinDesigns Living Stone collection lets ya dive into these ultra-cool soft pillows, making ya feel like your a kid again or zapped by that laser in “Honey, I shrunk the Kids” movie! Very much like MoloDesigns Felt Rocks, these larger pebble like sibling comes in various sizes, colors, and textures to bring that kid out in you again even in your fancy living room space giving it a fun playful vibe to get inspired by.

Personally, I think all offices spaces or even grown up spaces need these along with fun slides, sushi pillows, an Isle lounge chair, carpet poofs, and maybe a robocoaster if you have a nice backyard and like jolts of energy!

Tons more pics after the jump!

Continue Reading