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If you're looking for a credit card sized speaker then look no further than this gift from the boys from IDEA International in Japan. I've got a Jambox speaker and that's awesome and from the sounds of things this mini speaker packs some sound punch and it looks rather sweet. It's made of heavyweight metal and can stand up to the odd knock on your travels.
However, and this sounds like a bit of an oxymoron it is light and it'll charge up with the included cable by plugging it into any USB-powered socket for 2 hours. It'll pump out about 5 hours of sound using the small jack of which fits any iPhone, mp3 player or cellphone with a 3.5mm jack connection. The carrying case includes a connection plug and USB charging cable. It comes in matte gold, shiny black and stainless.
However, and this sounds like a bit of an oxymoron it is light and it'll charge up with the included cable by plugging it into any USB-powered socket for 2 hours. It'll pump out about 5 hours of sound using the small jack of which fits any iPhone, mp3 player or cellphone with a 3.5mm jack connection. The carrying case includes a connection plug and USB charging cable. It comes in matte gold, shiny black and stainless.
Claudio Colucci, you enigmatic, smart designer, you. What possessed you to come up with a glass bottle with a wine glass inside of it and how on earth did the glass bower manage to sculpt it all from one piece of glass. As you pour your way through the bottle, you'll visually be left with a splash of wine in the wine glass inside the bottle. This is a truly unique gift because of the fact that each Carafe Un Verre is hand blown.
Why not bring the birds to you. Sounds like a good idea right - that way you can see birds up close and personal. That's the idea behind this window mounted bird feeder gift by swedish based design company Born in Sweden. It sticks to you your window with a suction cup and it's feeding hole is small enough to fit teeny weeny chirpers and not bigger chompers like pigeons who'll just end up pooping all over your porch.
Maxim Velčovskı of Qubus (Prague) has taken an everyday object that's supposed to keep water out and flipped it around to keep water in. Who wouldn't want a porcelian wellington boot filled with flowers guarding their porch or living room? You can choose from a plain white or delft patterned welly gift of which come in left and right sizes. Just don't try and slip into them after a night out on the tiles it could end up messy.
If this Table Grill wasn't so heavy on the wallet I'd buy this gift in an instant. I'm a big fan of barbequing food because it brings a sense of occasion to any festivities so when I found Eva's table grill I got a teeny wee bit excited. Imagine grilling tapas stylee food, meat and veg right infront of your dinners, yes my friends I like. Fire it up with coal and the trivet will stop your table from catching fire & the bowl is dishwasher safe.
I keep hearing Doctor Evil from Austin Powers in my head. A bit like Marmite you either like this gift or hate it! Lets way up the pros and cons, it comes from Style Meets People in Japan (cool), it uses lazers (very cool), the vine can grow up to 20 feet (nice!), it comes in a can & germinates in 7-14 days (sweet!) it's a bean with a message on it,...(hmmm, I like Marmite! What say you?)
TODAYS 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 keyring 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, kids 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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Vinyl Village are mad about recycling all things vinyl into cool new gifts, like 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 even if you do use it as a fruit bowl.
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 water purifier 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.
No copying peeps this cool zipper 2 in1 system that turns these sneakers into flip flops is patented by the fashion powerhouse Nat-2. They've got a pretty cool collection of all weather and season ready footwear to match your individual style. 2 for the price of 1 makes me giddy with sneaker envy.
