Wantist: Give Amazing Gifts

Posts by Brittany

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Your story, in the funnies

Custom Comic

Hand drawn custom comic of you and your honey (or whomever)

You have those moments. We all have those moments. Sweet, funny, eventful—some of them completely uneventful and yet somehow totally memorable and awesome.

How great would it be to have a professional illustrator turn those memories into a comic strip? Really freakin’ great, right?

That’s exactly what artist Mark Weber will do for you through the delightful folks over at Elsewares. Mark’s work has appeared in the New York Times, The Village Voice, Rolling Store, many books…the list goes on.

Armed with the highlights, inside jokes, and events that make up your story—whatever you’re willing to share with him—Mark will draw a frameable 11″×14″ six-panel custom comic just for you.

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Other walls will be green with envy

Woolly Pockets

How does your garden grow?

Vertically.

You know when you’re on a walk in the woods and the air smells fresher, the breeze feels cooler and the greenery around you seems almost huggably lush? Imagine that on the wall of your apartment, your office, your patio. We are, and we’re flipping out over the possibilities with Woolly Pockets.

Inspired by living walls he’d seen while traveling in Paris and New York, Miguel Nelson created a soft-sided pocket, filled it with soil and began growing plants on his wall. They grew so fast and so successfully, he knew he was onto something.

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Pictures of the past from A to Z

Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities

In pages

Did you ever thumb through that old dictionary at your grandparents’ house? Perhaps you even referenced the tome in the bibliography of your fourth grade term paper.

If such memories ring a bell then you probably recall the intricate engravings carefully wrapped in columns of definitions—a visual respite in a swarm of text. The images were often a helpful depiction of the adjacent term and occasionally an awkward glimpse at notions of a previous era.

Victorian Visuals

Printer, bookbinder and artist John M. Carrera found one such volume under his grandfather’s favorite reading chair and became inspired to put together a new book.

Carrera spent the next ten years with thousands of engravings, borrowed from Yale’s Sterling Library, organizing the little blocks and producing the Pictorial Webster’s, which he describes as, “in simplest terms, an artistic visual reference of what was important to 19th Century America.”

Take the eight minutes and watch Pictorial Webster’s: Inspiration to Completion. The time and passion that went in to creating this book is incredible.

Bound imagination

The result is more an artistic tribute and historical record than a reference title. Most visual dictionaries, heck even Richard Scary’s Best Word Book Ever, are organized by categories and groupings to assist your understanding of what you’re looking at. Carrera’s Pictorial Webster’s is arranged instead in alphabetical order, leaving your imagination to make associations of its own.

Win one

Craftsman that he is, the fine press editions of the book have been hand-printed, hand-bound and the finger tabs of the 400 plus pages, hand-cut and are sold for upwards of $4K. Someone very special will win Edition C, of A-Z, from Chronicle Books—will it be you?

Thankfully for the rest of us this affordable trade edition is available.

See the world through the images of Webster’s past. The Pictorial Webster’s is sold direct from Chronicle Books for $35.

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Reusable, Better, Collapsible, Stronger

We evaluate collapsible bags

Our look at three of the best reusable bags available

One of the biggest hurdles to making the switch to reusable bags is the frustration of not having one when you need one.

The environmental reasons for the switch are obvious. Plastic doesn’t go away when you throw it away, it just goes somewhere else. And your standard plastic shopping bag might get used for about twenty minutes on average before it’s tossed making the logic of the whole situation a little fleeting. But amen for convenience, we hear ya on that one.

That’s why we decided to figure out where the best overlap of reusability and convenience was happening to help you choose which bags (or combination of bags) might be best for you.

What we discovered is that a big part of the convenience issue could be alleviated by choosing bags that were collapsible and compact when not in use. As much as we love (and use) our favorite screen-printed canvas totes, convenience is a biggie when it comes to making a change that people really do want to make.

We narrowed down the choices based on how they are made and by who, what are they made of, overall brand impression, unisex appeal, and style. We chose Baggu, RuMe, and flip & tumble. And then we used the heck out of them.

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For Kitty, without the kitsch

Buddha: A modern wall perch for your cat

Eat, sleep, play, repeat

Oh to be a cat. When you’re ornery, we call you independent. With a content purr, you melt our hearts. And to love you back we oblige your restless instincts with toys and treats that are as much for our enjoyment as they are yours.

Cat as art

We adore our pets for their furry little faces, soft paws and timely snuggles. We also like to watch them—observing their curiosity, cunning and clumsiness with irrepressible smiles on our faces.

That’s just one reason why we think the Buddha wall perch is an awesome idea. Made with your choice of bamboo or 100% recycled wood fiberboard and an inlaid (replaceable) scratching surface that comes in a variety of colors, the Buddha mounts to your wall with the included brackets and can support a kitty up to 40 lbs.

Just imagine, install a few of them and you’ve got an ever-changing feline performance art piece. A smaller go-between perch called the Itch Step is also available.

Eyesore no more

Say goodbye to your molting tower di carpet. Square Cat Habitat created their line of cat furniture to “accent existing modern decor rather than distract from it”. Can we just say thank you? Seemingly something that took us humans way too long to figure out, we’re so glad that they did.

If you’d rather not mount to the wall, Square Cat Habitat also makes a sculptural and quite fantastic 5 ft. cat tree called Baobab for pampered owners, err cats.

Get ready for the cat show. Select the finish that suits your style then watch them perch and play all day. The Buddha wall perch is sold directly from Square Cat Habitat for $70-$100.

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Crunch is personal

Granola goes custom at MixMyGranola

Us picky, them adaptable

Made-to-order, design-your-own options are popping up all over the place reigniting established brands with a fresh opportunity, and jump-starting a wide assortment of new ones smart enough to hatch a killer idea.

While a handful are decidedly gimmicky, many new companies on the customization bandwagon are opening up a whole new world of truly personalized goods and customer-focused services. From where we sit that means we win (bonus that the new company wins too).

Some like it chewy

One such clever customizer is MixMyGranola who lets you pick and choose from over fifty all-natural ingredients (nuts, fruits, gummies and more) to create your own granola, and then they ship it to you in a nifty tube for gifting, breakfasting, road-tripping—you choose.

Details make the Mix

Where this simple idea goes from good to great is through execution of the details. The most significant of those is the site’s ease of use. Bright colorful photos, three simple steps and your custom mix is on its way.

Our favorite feature is the nutrition calculator that updates on the fly as you add ingredients. Know the calories, carbs, sodium, protein, etc. of your concoction as you make it—a mathematical feat the bulk bins can’t do.

When you create your mix, a Mix-ID is automatically assigned to it, and then comes printed on your tube when you receive it. The ID can then be used to reorder your mix when you (or a friend) come back for more.

Mixes begin at $4.99 and go up as you add ingredients. Your 16oz tube ships for a flat fee of $4.99, or conspire with your peeps to reach $40 for free shipping.

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Drop, do you? Bamboo to the rescue

Vers wooden cases keep your iPhone beautifully protected

Green like grass

If you’re tough on your iPhone, but trying to tread lighter on the planet, then this is your case. A great choice for those who (eek!) toss their phone in their bag as they do a sock into the washer.

From the makers of quite possibly the most lovely, compact iPod sound system are these Vers iPhone/iPod cases. They’re hand-crafted of bamboo making them very strong, lighter than most other cases, and especially renewable. Other sustainably harvested wood choices are also available.

Visually the natural style and texture of the wood are a nice contrast against the gloss and chrome of the iPhone. And if you like the feel of hardwood under your feet then you’ll probably like how it feels in your hand.

Strong like steel

Think of the Vers Slipcase as armor for your iPhone. It completely surrounds the device, including the screen, with the exception of an opening at the top where the phone slides in, a window in the front to read the time and a slot in the back to eject the iPhone. The case is also lined to resist scratching.

If you’re more a protect-while-operating kind of person, we’ve been told an open-front Shellcase is coming soon.

Warm up your iPhone with the look and feel of hand-crafted wood. Cases available in cherry, bamboo or walnut for the iPhone, iPod touch, nano and classic for $34-$39.

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Interviews

q&a: with Vivian Leung of 9SpotMonk

q and a with 9spotmonk

From a great business story comes inspiration. From a glimpse into the people involved, we make a human connection. And through these tales behind the things we love we gain meaning, understanding and appreciation.

In a nutshell, that’s the oomph behind our new feature section.

We reached out to Vivian Leung, founder and principal creative at 9SpotMonk Design out of Glen Rock, NJ, to learn more about her printing studio and her diverse collection. Lucky for us, she agreed—and was quite a privilege to collaborate with.

9SpotMonk has a design philosophy that we find irresistible, “You will either agree with the following statement or not: Design matters. If you agree, then you’ll be quite happy with the work of 9SpotMonk Design.” In addition they describe themselves as craftsmen, artists, a tinge perfectionist, and just as focused on the tactile aspects of their products as the visual.

Over the past couple years 9SpotMonk has implemented a Green Focus commitment with great success. The studio recently launched their ecoModern® Custom Wedding collection with initiatives that include 100% cotton paper as their primary stock, purchase of wind power energy credits equal to the shop’s usage and participation in the Plant A Billion Trees program.

As you’ll see 9SpotMonk is quite the talented small team. Sold nationwide and abroad, from your favorite local stationer, to great kids stores like fawn&forest, to seasonally at Urban Outfitters. Nearly ten years in, and the collection screams personality—much of it, courtesy of Vivian…

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Number 9, Number 9, Number 9

A big day for Beatles fans: Remastered and Rock Band are here

Step right this way

Let no foul word be spoken of The Beatles today—9-9-09 we have been waiting for you.

As a second-generation Beatles fan who sat on the floor with Dad’s crate of LPs and Koss headphones, these four British icons, their music and influence have massive significance in my life. So can it if you’re meh about The Beatles—I love this day.

Rock Band

Play any one of the previous incarnations of the game and mention of a possible Beatles version will make you giddy.

For a game that’s a fair challenge in story mode and the life of the party when your friends get together, adding John, Paul, George and Ringo, their likeness, venues, instruments and three-part harmony into the mix is sure to be the best thing that happens to your living room this year.

If you haven’t seen the trailer, do and if it’s not on your wishlist yet, click.

Remastered

The Beatles, in stereo. Also released today, digitally re-mastered versions of the Beatles core catalog. After a four year process in Abbey Road Studios in London, everything from Please Please Me to Let It Be, with the addition of Past Masters, has been tweaked and fine-tuned to be better than they’ve ever been and all in stereo for the first time.

The albums are available individually or as a box set, packaged with the original UK album art, liner notes, rare photos and a short documentary about each album.

Each album is available for $13, the Stereo Box set is $180 and RockBand’s software and bundles range from $54 on up to $250.

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Right where you left them

Unplug and your cables stay put with Cabledrop

Don’t let go

It doesn’t get much simpler than this and for that we are entirely grateful. Cabledrop is a clip with a strong adhesive back that holds a cord in place. For those of you who need one we probably don’t need to tell you just how great this really is—one look at the photo and it’s “Um yes please, where do I get mine?”.

Just imagine

Then: You disconnect your laptop and the cord falls to the floor—a Machiavellian cable intent on seeing you bent over under your desk. You venture, palms first, into the dusty shadow of your workstation to fetch the elusive thing, only to bonk your head on your way back up. Not a good way to start your morning.

Now: You unplug and the cord stays, awaiting your next move.

Bonk no more

Cabledrop was created by Bluelounge Design of Pasadena, CA. Their studio is responsible for all kinds of creative endeavors from furniture, to graphics, to web and obviously products.

Of the products manufactured with the Bluelounge name they write: “[we make] simple solutions to daily problems with a constant drive to transform even the most everyday items into objects of desire.” And they do.

Cabledrop is sold in packs of six with your choice of the muted color palette or the bright colors for $9.95.

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Coloring in the key of indie

OMG, it’s the Indie Rock Coloring Book

They’re all rock stars

When a rockstar illustrator collaborates with a rockstar non-profit to make the Indie Rock Coloring Book we can’t help but want to grab our 64 and toast our sippy cups.

The Yellow Bird Project is a unique, and frankly quite awesome organization that brings indie musicians, charities, and artists together to produce the raddest, most philanthropic tshirts you’ve ever seen.

Now for the first time, they’ve made a coloring book. They teamed up with artist Andy J. Miller who’s been conceptually working on the project for two years.

Within the lines

The book is full of hand-illustrated drawings and activity pages (yes mazes and connect-the-dots) created in tribute to indie rock bands. There’s a maze that leads to The Shins “Young Pilgrim” and a page for drawing new hairstyles on the members of Rilo Kiley. MGMT, Bloc Party, Bon Iver, The National—the list goes on.

Profits benefit the Yellow Bird Project and the charities they support.

Your crayons are begging you. The Indie Rock Coloring Book is available from loved publisher, Chronicle Books for $9.95.

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Here’s to the breezes

Alternative Apparel’s lightweight long-sleeves for early fall

Sleeves please

While we’re not ready for summer’s end just yet, we feel it coming and do love the colors, smells and styles of autumn. Scarves, hats, boots and layers (layers!) make everyone seem a bit more urbane, or at least a little more snuggly.

Right about now the days are a little breezy, it’s a smidge cooler and we find ourselves turning to Alternative Apparel for a lightweight something to warm us up.

Dress you up or down

Since the company’s founding 13 years ago Alternative has been a brand known for championing the tshirt, tailoring the cut and making it a thing to be worn whatever the occasion. Naturally, founder Greg Alterman wore one to his wedding.

We love that their collection is comfortable (crazy soft, like an old vintage tee) and their style is simple—not hyper trendy, but never a step behind either.

They’re based in Atlanta, with vendors in the US and abroad. They’re especially passionate about ensuring healthy, responsible labor practices while keeping the quality and price right for their customers. Details we can easily appreciate and admire.

An eco alternative

A large and growing part of their business is the Alternative Earth line made from certified organic cotton, and some pieces blended with recycled polyester.

Additionaly, Alternative began a new initiative this spring called Think Earth. Leveraging their influence with fans of their brand (many of them celebrities) they’re shining light on people and organizations taking steps, big or small, to make positive change on the environment. They do this via publishing—videos and interviews that you can find here.

Our picks for autumn’s subtle entrance: for him the Metro Pullover Hoodie ($42), for either of you the Eco-Heather Zip Hoodie ($40), and for her The Stevie L/S Wrap ($40) and the Palm Springs Slub Throw-Over ($48).

Head to Alternative before the leaves start changing. Get 15% off when you signup for their newsletter.

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