TicaToca Find your unique gift

Bin men & women get it hard, you've got to be up at the crack of dawn gun slinging our rubbish into (possible) dismembering garbage crushers, time and time again. Imagine how they'd react if they saw these rubbish bags - in London, they'd probably refuse to pick them up because of our anal council regulations but I wreckon it'll bring a smile or two to our garbage men & women all over the land.

Kempler & Strauss's Slim Data USB card has everything pretty much going for it in the world of data storage. It's as thin as a credit card and it can fit in your wallet storing up to 4GB of data. I for one hate lugging around my USB dongle on my key ring because it's bulky. This is a great gadget alternative gift to keep your data with you at all times.

Treepee® is something of a novelty in the world of tents because it's got a bit of a split personality. Once inside you can bounce in it like a trampoline, swing in it or just hang out with friends prodding slugs or playing barbie. For added protection for your little ones it can be harnessed still and it's made from UV protected (50+) fabric that allows children to play safely in the sun away from harmful rays.

Us brits love a good cuppa and we can get pretty anal about its taste and strength so it's pretty important to let the tea brew before pouring. Apart from good old fashioned China pots I went in search of something a little more modern and Sorapot came highly recommended for it's beauty, style & it's awesome tea brewing prowess par excellence. It's made from 304 stainless steel, borosilicate glass (Pyrex) and food-grade silicone.

The inside scoop on EcoSphere® is that it came from technology developed by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA was researching self-contained communities for space explorers to live in during long-term space flights.

Out of this research came the EcoSphere® gift, unlike a fish tank it's a fully enclosed ecosystem of animal & plant life in perfect balance. The little shrimp only need light and life shall thrive.

I've got a couple of guitars and both cases have let me down. My Yamaha's got a dent the size of the grand canyon in it and my other ones been warped by beer spill. These guitar case gifts on the other hand are 100% full grain leather that's been hand sewn with marine grade threading and has a 1 inch high density foam padding. The strap works as a backpack or shoulder strap and comes with a lifetime warranty. I've got case envy!

I am very excited because I have been searching high & low for a retailer to be able to bring you Masashi Tentaku's awesome interpretation of the humble sticky note. This creation hails from D-Bros (Japan) and its a unique gift that I assure you will impress. It's just out in the market so get your hands on an apple or pear or two before it becomes globally recognised.

Tell me your sick of clutter and I, my dear friend, shall give you the treatment and cure. Tada! Pop a Vita-pin gift and all your messy woes shall vanish in a puff. Each one of these grey and white plastic pill gifts break apart (just like a pill) to become two separate push pins, and the glass bottle keeps them safely stored until they're needed. Who needs an apple, I remember the days when doctors encouraged you to drink Guiness and smoke cigarrettes.

Glen Liberman from Livingston, NJ (USA) is the man behind the Gear Ring of which is made from high quality matte stainless steel.

The cool thing about this piece of jewellery is that the six micro-precision gears turn in unison when the outer rims are spun. Top marks for design and innovation Glen, I look forward to seeing more gifts from you.

To commemorate the unveiling of Apples iPad (frigging awesome!) today I give you the handmade BookBook leather protective case for Macs only. If you're a PC I'm afraid this novel gift isn't for you. It's made by TwelveSouth based in Charleston (USA) who bring each hardback leather case to life with hand craftsmanship and distressing, ensuring no two are exactly alike. What a great way to disguise your lappy,... big fan!

I saw this gift on the gadget show and it looked awesome. Co-presenter Pollyanna Woodward took it for a spin and remarkably rode it solo after a few attempts.

Chris (the creator) designed the Ryno to compete against the scooter in our urban areas. It's electric and as you can see has one self balancing wheel. Bruce Willis is apparently going to be hopping on one in his latest movie,... yippee-ki-yay!

Super! So cute and functional, they'd be the darling starlings (couldn't think of a word to ryhm with hummingbird) to grace your fridge. The Humming bird magnet gift is made from 100% recyclable material and is printed by Soy ink.

Do you print something with 'by Soy ink' of 'with Soy Ink?' me-no-know! Anyways, plonk up your messages under the wings of each bird and watch your to-dos take flight.

MaybeProduct has discontinued it's sale of their awesome Vintage LP Bowls, and because it's proved to be really popular with you guys I went and found a new supplier called Vinyl Village - who are mad about recycling all things vinyl into cool new gifts.

Anyways, back to the blurb, I simply love these vintage LP bowls made from recycled vinyls. I wreckon they'd make quite a table statement for the music buff. I just wander if you'd actually put anything in it or leave it out to marvel at,... whatever you decide me thinks it's a cool and unique gift.

Mawok is developed by a Swedish entrepreneurial company called Mony Inc who create innovative products like this baby cradle gift that helps improve the well being of babies and mums and dads alike. Mawok is a flexible soft hammock that can be suspended permanently or hung over a door with a spring loaded suspension system that gently rocks the baby up and down aswell as side to side. And yes,.. it has a safety chord.

Poo, is all I've got to say. I say 'poo' not because I need one but because this is another classic example of a gift I wish I had come up with. Take an everyday object and flip its use, this is a visual feast for anyones desk and it's useful too. Another great product from those London based lads Jamie & Mark, more to come from them soon.

The water Bobble is an ingenious gift because it's a specially designed bottle with an integrated carbon filter that filtrates water from the tap. If we all bought one we wouldn't need to buy bottled water of which takes 1.5 billion barrels of oil in the US alone to produce. It also saves you cash and cuts waste from discarded bottles that end up in landfills. It's a winner of a gift in my book unless you're happy to drink directly from the tap.

Squashing things in bookmarks takes me back to my childhood when my Grandma and I used to press flowers. Squashing people in books is just not acceptable until now that is. These paperclips aren't exactly people but i3 Labs have cleverly created the illusion that a tiny stainless steel man has been squished between your literary masterpiece. You get 5 in a pack and they're pretty cool gifts for bookworms.

Binders are so boring, period! However I do like Russell + Hazel's stationary collection because they've actually managed to breathe individuality into what is essentially folded bits of cardboard and plastic. I don't think R+H from Minneapolis (USA) would approve of me describing their funky looking binders as cardboard & plastic because they've got reinforced metal corners to nut someone with and a dry erase interior to wipe away the tears!

These coat hooks by Anthony Chrisp of Keep it Council are made of chromed steel with a screw-in wall fixing at the tip. I can't say much about them that the picture already hasn't conveyed but I can say that I like the idea of walking past a set of darts stuck in the wall and wandering what they're for. I've had these in my hand and they're well built but I wouldn't try to swing yourself from one to the other like Tarzan.

The QLOCKTWO by Biegert & Funk from Germany is a pretty clever piece of kit. It has a quadratic matrix of letters that illuminate in five minute intervals to tell you the time in words. If you need to have a more exact time you can look in the corner at the illuminated dots. Each product is handmade and they've taken it a step further by introducing an iPhone App that replicates their QlockTwo interface.