HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Can you believe we’re in the final stretch of 2009? 2010 is right around the corner already! So here’s a fun playful giveaway ~ lets do it on twitter this time! StrangeCo ~ one of my favorite toy companies ever ~ has sent over 5 adorable goody bags filled with blind boxed fun (and more!). For a chance to win one of these 5… here’s the plan.

This one is for all you amazing TWITTER followers!!! (And if you’re not on twitter yet, no worries, its free. Feel free to sign up!) Follow @NOTCOT, and tweet what you think the ultimate party favor is. and use the hashtag #notcotPF. I’ll go through the #notcotPF tweets on Dec 28th and D message 5 of you, so make sure you’re following @NOTCOT, or else i can’t contact you! (Oh, and one entry per twitter handle please!)

As for the Party Favor - think small, fun, something you could buy/make a bunch of, etc. And it doesn’t have to be just for kids… can’t wait to see what you come up with! See more pics on the next page of the surprises waiting for you…

--> to more images

Joey Roth takes us behind the scenes of his new Ceramic Speakers! 4 years in the making, these beauties started as an idea in college, only to be further developed in 2008, and now they are a reality! While i have yet to hear these myself, Gizmodo and Wired are already commending their “audiophile-worthy sound” ~ and personally i’m smitten by the combination of ceramic, wood, and cork ~ yes CORK! the way the plugs go into the cork before the ceramic is my favorite detail of all. Take a peek at the feature on the next page, including a super cute stop motion video ~ and he’s also giving away a set of these lovely speakers to one lucky reader! Giveaway details are here.

--> to more images

Ready to take off for the holidays? Well wejetset wants to hook you up.

What can you win? + 1 Hideo Bean 19 (Green) Luggage + 6 Wallpaper City Guides + 1 Arkitip x Incase Curated Laptop Sleeve for (15” Macbook Pro) Steven Harrington + 1 WeSC Bongo Blue Headphones + 1 pair of Sunglasses by Super See pics of it all in the feature as well as details on what to do for your chance to win!

--> to more images

On Los Angeles field trips, i took a little trip over to the Baxter of California HQ last week and met up with president, Jean-Pierre Mastey, a fellow mini haribo gummi bear and packaging design junkie ~ he’s also passionate about boxing, cars, men’s skincare… and japanese, Head Porter bags! I am so excited to share a peek into their world… so fun to get to see the products waiting to go out, some of the R&D in progress, and even some amazing retro barbershop accoutrements and playful art and design… it was also awesome to get a peek into his packaging design library! Take a look at JP’s desk up there, that juxtaposition of objects sums up his well rounded background quite nicely!

Beyond the peek into the world of Baxter of California on the next page ~ JP has also been generous enough to give one of you lucky readers the new Porter collaboration Baxter Dopp Bag filled with Baxter travel sized goods - Face Wash, Oil Free Moisturizer, Super Close Shave Formula, After Shave Balm, Daily Protein Shampoo, and a special edition Baxter anodized aluminum travel shave brush produced just for this kit in Black. I was jealous enough of this being a men’s product, i bought one for myself… it’s a fabulous dopp kit! With three removable velcro’d sections! With stunning details you’d expect from Porter, it is the ultimate flexible travel kit! See more images and details on the giveaway here!

--> to more images

PLEASURE TO THE PEOPLE! Who can deny pleasure? Jimmyjane recently teamed up with Yves Béhar to create the new FORM 2. Great design + pleasure? That’s pretty irresistible. Jimmyjane has just released FORM 2, the first launch of PLEASURE TO THE PEOPLE, a groundbreaking new series of waterproof, rechargeable vibrators designed by Yves Béhar and Ethan Imboden. So for this latest holiday feature Jimmyjane founder (and designer!), Ethan Imboden, has decided to take us behind the scenes, sharing some amazing pics and confidential sketches, of how this pleasure object came to be.

GIVEAWAY! They really aren’t kidding around when it comes to spreading Pleasure To The People ~ they have generously given us a FORM 2 for you as well! So for a chance to win, leave us a pleasurable limerick (if you are limerick challenged, be creative and pleasurably poetic?), in the comments of the feature, and i’ll pick a winner on December 16, 2009.

--> to more images

UPDATE: Congrats to Katie in Winchendon, MA!

Ready for another giveaway??? Well, our good friends at Fred have put together quite the bundle of fun for you! For a chance to win the following: Stone Cold, Hopside Down, M-Cups, Saltside Out, Ice Invaders, Twist & Spout, Birthday Candelabra, Sword’oevres, Mix Stix, Bubble Scrubber, Food Face, and Cookeys! Leave a comment with the happiest thing to happen to you this year for a chance to win! I’ll pick a winner on the 15th of December 2009 ~ take a look at all the goodies up close on the next page!

--> to more images

UPDATE: Congrats to Amanda in West Palm Beach, FL!

My iPhone has been clothed in the new Incase Perforated Snap Case the last few days, and i’m loving how incredibly light it is, yet nice matte black feel… and the perforations actually give it a little bit more grippiness! Well, for this feature and giveaway they’ve given us a little more insight into their inspiration as well as how much goes into the tools and manufacturing of these super thin simple solutions to iPhone cases!

Oh, and you get a chance to win the whole trio of Incase Perforated Snap Cases too! There is gloss white, matte black, and matte pink… details and feature all on the next page!

--> to more images

UPDATE: Congrats to Rose in Huntington Woods, MI!

Shawnimals never ceases to bring a smile to my face. I mean, little plushie ninjas. Who can resist that?!?!?! It’s a Ninja Empire for sure… from the early days of the Wee Ninja ~ to Pocket Ninja ~ to a whole town of ninjas… and a Nintendo DS game even… i’m so delighted and honored to announce his latest amazing ninja announcement just before NINJA DAY (yes, Dec 5th, this saturday. prepare yourself!), NINJA OF THE MONTH!!! Seriously. I kid you not. You can magically have ninjas appear in your mailbox monthly. Perhaps the awesomest yearlong gift yet? So YES, you get a chance to win a year long subscription of ninjas… AND Shawn was nice enough to let us peek behind the curtain to see where ninjas come from… ready to see inside the studio? Peek at potential ninjas in the making? See the next page….

UPDATE: the NINJA OF THE MONTH page is now up!

--> to more images

UPDATE: Congrats to I Hsuan in Taipei!

Oh how i <3 Rocket World. But most NOTCOT readers should know that by now. Patrick Ma is definitely one of the guys to look up to when it comes to putting your passions first and finding a way to grow an amazing company pulling in all of them as diverse as they may be… from a military background to a love of toys and eye for fashion… add a great design sense, some business savvy, and an impeccable attention for detail… surround with a bunch of great people. And poof Rocket World and TAD Gear! SO i’m thrilled to show off this special photoshoot they’ve done for us to showcase their new jewelry pieces! As modeled by my favorite plushie bear, Titus. (I couldn’t resist, so snuck in a few picks of my Titus at the end of the post to share with you too!) Oh, and they too love you guys enough to want to giveaway some of their gorgeous new pieces…

The giveaway: Sterling Silver Mean T-Skull bead and Pineapple Grenade necklace. Details on the next page!

--> to more images

UPDATE: Congrats to Matt in Hoboken, NJ!

Another friend of NOTCOT and fellow socal native (although she’s in NY now, her mom/biz partner/designer of this awesome new canvas duck bag is still in La Jolla) ~ Emily of Baggu shares the story of how she and her mom came to start this stylishly simple reusable bag line… as well as showcase their latest foray out of ripstop nylon and into the classic canvas bag: the Baggu Duck Bag! I must say i wasn’t sure from the photos at first, but once i played with it in person, i’m smitten. It’s so soft, yet strong ~ just wide enough on the bottom ~ perfect length ~ and LOVE how it looks when you button it and hide the shoulder strap! Anyhow ~ see their story on the next page… and they too have been super generous with a big Baggu giveaway!

Giveaway! It’s a Baggufest ~ you can win one green duck bag, a set of green Baggu X3, 2 Baby Baggus, one small and one large produce baggu, one BIG baggu, and two patterned baggus. Giveaway details on the next page!

--> to more images

UPDATE: Congrats to our winner, Julia in San Francisco!

Loving these holiday features, it’s been SO much fun to get a look into the worlds of some of NOTCOT’s favorite brands and designers this year. They’ve been awfully kind to pull together pictures and stories to share with us amidst the crazed holiday season, AND add giveaways too? All of these folks are pretty special to us! Today James over at Hard Graft gives us a visual peek into a Day in the Life of Hard Graft. I want their life! We couldn’t bear to tarnish the amazing pics they sent over with text ~ the pictures certainly speak for themselves, so take a look into their stunning austrian studio on the next page!

Also ~ today is the debut of their brand new X Sleeve + Add-On Pouch! Isn’t it stunning? Guess what? You can also WIN IT! They have one to giveaway to us!

--> to more images