Cate – Page 59 – everydaysparks

A bit of geekery

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Cate

A confession – I’m not really all that cool. I like gadgets, good spelling and other things that I guess could be described as ‘geeky’. So it should make me happy to know that I’m not alone – and my measure for that is of course the most popular craft marketplace in the world, etsy. There is a whole category of ‘Geekery’, featuring nearly 118,000 items, catering to crafty geeks (or crafty people who know and love geeks) across the globe. But I found a lot of the geekery to be kinda scary. Here are some highlights…Cool kids, consider yourselves warned.

For the geeky home accessory, or if you’re after a romantic trip down memory lane, here’s an Etch-a-Sketch cushion for your beloved. Sure, the white knobs don’t actually work and you can’t shake it to erase and start again, but the writing is still as wonky as the real thing. Part of a collection of geekery made by Cindy and Randy Green, this is one of the few things in their Yellow Bug Boutique that I actually ‘get’. They have a lot of chemical and periodic table type gags (!), but I’m afraid the memory of struggling through high school Chem classes means that I’ll never find that stuff funny. (I do also like this black & white cushion in their shop, but I think it would bug me too much to have it lying around. Which, come to think of it, is maybe why I need it.)

If you’re a Dr Who fan, you might appreciate this Tardis beanie (more than I do). The Gromidez shop also has other beanies that might appeal to geeks – including these cute and colourful numbers modelled on those ghosts in PacMan. And some other Pokemon things, which I am far too old to understand. The shop also sells a cool SpiderMan web blanket, just in case you’ve been looking for one to complement your new lounge.

Or maybe you’re looking for some geeky jewellery that also serves a practical purpose. If so, apparently you will really like the BitofSugar shop. Who knew that beautiful Hawaii could be a hotbed for so much geekery? They sell this ‘Zombie Antidote’ necklace, by asking: Are you preparing for the eminent zombie invasion/apocalypse? If you answered “yes,” this zombie antidote necklace is the most important component of your stockpile. Ah, the old marketing technique of scare tactics, gets ’em every time. But in a somewhat evil twist, they also sell a ‘Zombie Virus’ necklace, thereby cleverly creating the zombie virus market of supply and demand. Genius.

I’ve only scratched the surface of Geekery, but if you’d like to see more, you should check out etsy. If the cushions are to your liking, the Yellow Bug Boutique is here, and the beanies can be found at the Gromidez shop here, while the zombie antidote (and virus, if you’re so inclined) are for sale at BitofSugar here.

Sock it to ’em

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Cate

Sock monkeys seem to be everywhere at the moment. Well, not wandering the streets or catching buses or seeing movies, but everywhere in shops that sell cool toys. I like them a lot and think they’re a great gift for young and old alike, but they can be a bit same-same looking, without a distinct personality or style. Enter the clever people at You Make Me…Me, who sell their ‘handmade sock softies and baby books’ on my beloved Australian handmade market site MadeIt.

These are more than sock monkeys. These are movie stars. Whether you’re a fan of Star Wars, Harry Potter or a whole heap of other films, you’ll find your match here. It was this Yoda who first caught my eye – firstly, because he is a favourite beacon of wisdom in an often dreary world, and secondly, because in this incarnation he looks a little bit like a dodgy gremlin or an old man you might see in the park…

Or if Wookiees are more your thing, then here is Chewbacca in sock form. I find him almost as scary in this form as on the big screen, but since he means no harm (at least, that’s how I remember it), he’s probably a safe addition to your home security detail.

Then there is that pesky boy wizard Harry Potter, complete with dorky glasses, scar from that failed homicide and a little wand to cast a spell on those around you. As always, I take no responsibility for whatever happens if you bring Harry into your life – that kid did get into quite a lot of trouble…

You can also get custom-made supporter sock monkeys in your team’s colours, along with a range of more traditional looking sock friends. If you’d like to brighten your life with the company of these ‘sock softies’, then check out the collection in the MadeIt shop here.

WWWhat?

Kickstarting ideas

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Cate

You might have already heard of Kickstarter, which is basically a website / online community that offers start-ups the opportunity to pitch their project to the world and get donations from ‘backers’. Or as they say (in a much clearer way): it’s the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. They have arranged all of the pitches into different categories and, although most of the projects are from the USA, there are some from other parts of the world too. It’s interesting to have a look at the range of ideas – some very clever, some very weird and some very dodgy.

I found this one in the ‘game’ section: Unemployment Quest! (With an exclamation mark to show you that it’s FUN!) With 14 days still to go, it is 503% funded (that’s over $5,000 when the developer only asked for $1,000) and has attracted donations from nearly 500 backers. If you donate at least $5, you get a copy of the game (with other treats added if you donate more cash).

The game was developed in New York by this chap named Charles. Apparently, Unemployment Quest is a game about the experience of unemployed youth. Now, I’m no geeky gamer, but that doesn’t sound like much fun to me. The graphics look pretty basic and Charles says the game’s story is minimalistic. And it seems that the music has been recorded to sound like those annoying soundtracks to early computer games. So why would anyone want to play this game, Charles?

Instead of fighting typical fantasy monsters, your foes will include “Doubts,” “Isolation,” “Shame,” and the main villain “Uncertain Future.” The aim of the game is to turn the negative experience of joblessness into something less terrible, while still having fun gameplay that will not bog down players by requiring gigantic time investments.

Because presumably you should be spending that time, well, you know, applying for jobs. Or doing something a bit more productive than playing this game. But far be it from me to know what the market wants – perhaps there are bzillions of people just waiting to experience virtual unemployment. Even if they are experiencing real world unemployment at the same time, as per Charles’ target market.

Whatevs, gamers, if you want to check out this project and maybe help Charles make his dream come true, you can find Unemployment Quest here. Or you can just have a look at some of the other ideas on Kickstarter here. And as a person with many, many kooky ideas, I really should get started on some Kickstarter pitches myself – there seem to be some generous people out there!

Fashion Sparks, WWWhat?

Green sleeves

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Cate

The Ecouterre website is all devoted to the future of sustainable fashion design. And there are some very interesting things there. I tend to use the word ‘interesting’ a lot when I am not sure of the right word to use to properly articulate my thoughts. And so I present to you this interesting fashion innovation: Egle Cekanaviciute’s Plant-Filled Couture Doubles As Wearable Planters. Uh huh. There are so many puns that I could insert here, but I’ll limit it to one true thought: I wasn’t sure at first, but the idea is growing on me.

I have previously written about wearable planters as necklaces in the early days of this blog, here. So I’m not opposed to the idea. I mean, why shouldn’t we use our empty pockets and otherwise pointless jacket sleeves to grow plants?

Peckish on the bus? Break off some basil from the herb garden at your elbow, whip out the tomato slices in your shoe & the mozarella in your handbag – hello, Caprese salad on the go! Or if the person next to you in a meeting has not-so-fresh breath, you could offer them a mint leave from the patch at the back of your frock.

And every bride wants to look her best from all angles – why not have a bouquet at the front and an ivy plant climbing up your back? Not sure how you’d sit down or avoid birds and bugs getting up close and personal with you on your special day, but I just put the ideas out there – you can work out the details.

You can see more of the Lithuanian designer’s wares here. Just in time for planting bulbs if you’re in the southern hemisphere…keep an eye out for me around Sydney in a few months in my daffodil jacket and hyacinth trousers…

Home sparks, Sparky gifts

Great Danes

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Cate

I first read about Danish label LuckyBoySunday in Frankie magazine, alongside a photo of three very cool looking chairs. So I looked at the website (yes, even though they were apparently only for children) and I was hooked. I don’t know if Danish children are more melancholic (if that’s a word) than other children, but the collections of accessories on the website would scare the crap out of most kids I know.

The creation story of LuckyBoySunday is a cute one. The idea was born “on a Sunday in August 2007” as Camilla & Camilla (yes, really) sat by a lake in Copenhagen and “shaking hands, promising each other to create our very own version of a child’s reality”. And so they did. With their focus on “silly, seriously, joyful, graphics, dreams. Yes!” they are surely on the right track. As long as your children aren’t prone to nightmares as they see their toys coming to life at night…

The collection is made of “very soft 100% baby alpaca”, which sounds a bit cruel to me. (They haven’t specified, but I presume they mean the baby alpaca’s wool.)

Anyways, the peculiar hand cushion is called Fancy Finger, for obvious reasons. And the little girl is holding Dead Buddy. Uh huh. Then there is Balthazar, the shirtless guy with the blue balaclava and his bestie Sailor Jack, who look like they’ve had a rough night at sea. Or somewhere. And then there’s the Uffie cushion – part-robber, part-anxiety and all charm. Then there are the fabulous Mr Bells, with their green and blue moustaches.

The collection is for children? Do you really think so? Either way, they have some very cool and kooky accessories and their website is well worth a visit. You can check it out here.