Ever since Jonnie and Jen joined Studiomates UNO has become the go-to-cardcame on beer fridays. So, of course, these Mini Uno Cards made me gasp and click that purchase button. A Studiomates must have.
Mountains
Love this simple Mountain T-Shirt by Ugmonk.
Friday Link Pack
(I met Kevin Clash yesterday. For real.)
– I love the South Brooklyn Curiosity Map by Makewell. You can find the printed map at The Invisible Dog or the Brooklyn Historial Society. Or you can download the PDF here or go all pro with this digital version.
– Minuetto, an absolutely stunning space-saving table.
– Why do we behave so oddly in lifts?
– Etsy launched Gift Cards. This is awesome.
– Hey German speaking readers, my wonderful friend Martina Kink wrote a humorous book called Bad Hair Days. (Even though the title is in English, it’s all in German.)
– An app that tells you the best time to run and pee during a movie so you don’t miss anything. Hilarious.
– Pizza rules.
– Bunny Ears over the Years.(Thank you Michael)
– 50 Free Courses with Certificates from Great Universities. What about Power Searching with Google, Networks: Friends, Money, and Bites or A Crash Course on Creativity.
– Trackable suitcase automatically follows its owner
– Giggle in NYC is looking to hire a Senior Web Developer.
– Finally: Apple agrees on licensing terms for use of iconic Swiss clock design.
– My six year old loves Toca Boca as it is but this Dress Up Game will push her over the edge. In the app store October 25th!
– 30 WordPress tutorials for designers
– Look inside a Google Data Center
I met Kevin Clash
“If everybody else your age is doing something very different than what you’re doing, there’s always going to be someone saying to you you might not succeed with it, you might not make any money with that… there’s always going to be some type of obstacle in the way. All of those things will go away if you really focus on what makes you happy.”
― Kevin Clash
Anyone who has ever seen me speak, knows that I believe that you need to do something you truly love. Life is too short to go into a career that doesn’t make you happy, that fuels your passion and makes you want to get up every morning in excitement.
There is one person that personifies this personal rule of mine; Kevin Clash, the person that brought Sesame Street’s Elmo to life.
If you haven’t seen his documentary do yourself a favor and watch it. (It’s on Netflix) At 10 years old Kevin knew he wanted to be a puppeteer and he followed his dream, relentlessly, with the support of his parents. No documentary has ever touched me as much as Being Elmo. (Have a box of tissues next to you)
Yesterday, thanks to Louis Mitchell, I got to visit the set of Sesame Street and watch a taping.
!!!
I can’t remember when I last was this excited and giddy. My heart started racing when I spotted Kevin Clash on set. And when Louis introduced me to Kevin, I was speechless, just smiling ear to ear. Here’s proof:
Now my dream is to have Kevin speak at a CreativeMornings.
(And yes, I live a charmed life.)
Thing Wine Rack
Love this stackable, modular wine rack by Thing. Makes me want to have a wine cellar in my basement.
Emergency Shovel
Winter is coming. Be prepared with this Emergency Shovel.
Creative Market
Creative Market is a new online store for handcrafted, mousemade design content from independent creatives around the world. You can buy various templates ranging from websites to flyers, business cards, invitations, presentations, typefaces to app add-ons like brushes and so on.
This.
Do what you love, love what you do. Words to live by. Also available as a print.
Holstee Greeting Cards
Love the new Holstee Greeting Cards which are based on their popular Manifesto Poster.
Proud to say that the cards were designed by our lovely Tattly team member Yoko Sakao Ohama. Go Yoko!
3D Printed Maille iPhone Case
I had the honor to sit next to Ping Fu at last night’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards Gala and she handed me a an absolutely amazing 3D printed iPhone Case by Freshfiber. I put it on my iPhone and have been fiddling with it nonstop since. The interlinked rings create an incredibly fascinating texture. The rings move seperately from each other so you can jiggle them.
The case was designed by Janne Kyttanen and you can buy it and lots of other cool 3D printed designs over at Freshfiber.
Bend, Not Break
“Bamboo is flexible, bending with the wind but never breaking, capable of adapting to any circumstance. It suggests resilience, meaning that we have the ability to bounce back even from the most difficult times. . . . Your ability to thrive depends, in the end, on your attitude to your life circumstances. Take everything in stride with grace, putting forth energy when it is needed, yet always staying calm inwardly.”
— Ping Fu’s “Shanghai Papa”
A few months ago, Ping Fu told me her moving and inspiring life story on a flight from Colorado to NYC. I have never been as touched by a person’s life journey, ever. Ping is an extraordinary woman. She knows what it’s like to be a child soldier, a factory worker, and a political prisoner. To be beaten and raped for the crime of being born into a well-educated family. To be deported with barely enough money for a plane ticket to a bewildering new land. To start all over, without family or friends, as a maid, waitress, and student.
Ping Fu also knows what it’s like to be a pioneering software programmer, an innovator, a CEO, and Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year. To be a friend and mentor to some of the best-known names in technology. To build some of the coolest new products in the world. To give speeches that inspire huge crowds. To meet and advise the president of the United States.
It sounds too unbelievable for fiction, but this is the true story of a life in two worlds. And I am thrilled that she is sharing it with the world, with her upcoming book Bend, Not Break. It is a tribute to one woman’s courage in the face of cruelty and a valuable lesson on the enduring power of resilience.
Works That Work
Works That Work is a new design magazine that looks beyond mere portfolios, a magazine dedicated to inspiration and observation, to conditions and contexts, a kind of National Geographic of design. They are interested in the manifestations of unexpected creativity in the real world. Practical, positive, detached from artists’ egos, showing just works that work, from around the globe.
Works That Work will be published twice a year out of the Netherlands, by Typotheque. The 80-page inaugural issue is due in early 2013, not only in electronic and online editions, but also in a paper edition, a beautiful tangible print object intended to be held close with both hands.
Editor Peter Biľak is the former editor of dot dot dot magazine, and has written for Eye, Print and Emigre. He is also the founder of Typotheque design studio and type foundry.
I am pledging. You?
Branch
Branch wants to bring the intimacy of a dinner conversation to the internet. The service was originally called Roundtable. I am impressed by how far the team of 8 has pushed the idea of virtual conversations.
Have you had some meaningful conversations on Branch? What are your thoughts?
Permanent
“Trust, fear, compassion, empathy. It all goes out the window with a screen name. Please, think before you post, especially if you’re a teenager.”
Wise words by Will Smidlein, a 15 year old web developer.
Feedly
I have been trying to find the ideal way to browse my Google Reader RSS Feed and while I like Reeder, Feedly has been taking pole position lately. Here’s a video that explains (rather dry, but worth it) how to personalize your Feedly experience:
Feedly also offers an app for iOS and Android. Check it out here.
Farmigo
It makes me happy when I discover web-based tools that help connect like-minded people, in this case, people that care about local produce with farmers. Farmigo is taking CSAs to the next level. The Farmigo online food network provides consumers with an easy way to subscribe to a local farm and get fresh food delivered to a convenient pick up location.
I just learned that Brooklyn Roasting across the street from our office will be one of the drop-off locations. Shopping local, supporting local farmers has never been easier. And, how cute is the name Farmigo?
♥ / Squarespace: Exceptional Websites Made Easy
A big thank you to Squarespace for sponsoring this week’s RSS Feed.
Squarespace is a beautiful, intuitive website publishing platform with breakthrough features that make innovative web design more accessible than ever before. The completely inclusive, all-in-one service provides content management, hosting, domains, social integrations, and 24-hour customer support. Design and maintain a professional website with magazine-quality layouts that scale to any screen size – all without touching a line of code. Try Squarespace today with a free 14-day trial.
(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)
Twig & Leaf Place Markers
Growing up in Switzerland, my parents had lots and lots of dinner parties and they usually put me in charge with the place markers. I remember getting all crafty. I wish I would have thought of something like these birch looking Twig & Leaf Place Markers made me smile.
Modern Welsh Lovespoon
Now these Modern Welsh Lovespoons make for a fantastic gift for newlyweds or newly engageed folks, no?
Jambox
A little over a year ago I received a Jambox as a gift. I admit, I would have never bought one myself, but I can wholeheartedly say I *love* it. It’s versatile, mobile and sounds great to my ears!
Especially now that the new iPhone came out and I can no longer plug it into the dock of my other audio device, I can clearly see the advantage of the bluetooth connection to Jambox. Consider me a fan!
