TO WIN: Leave a comment! ENTER BY 11/21 - WINNER: Cynthia in Texas!

Giveaway #2 (of what looks like around 30 giveaways in the calendar right now! isn't that insane! and it's all stuff i love too! I'm so exciting to be able to help share this stuff with all of you!!! ok moving on...), so as i was saying, Giveaway #2 for this holiday season is Joey Roth's Sorapot. He and i will be keeping an eye on all your comments, and he will dropship a (possibly customized/signed?) Sorapot to one lucky reader! You have until the night of 11/21 to leave a comment and we'll pick + email a winner!

The Sorapot story is definitely a design saga that is near and dear to many design/trend/gadget blogs - we've been watching, waiting, and nurturing Joey's design from the concept and prototype days ~ through production ~ through packaging design ~ through unboxings ~ and finally to brewing that first cup of tea. As you can see, its as much a work of art as it is a tea pot, and the packaging is one of my favorite parts, especially how the scroll like instructions curl off the glass body... So as a refresher, take a peek at a look back at some of my pics on the next page, and leave a comment for your chance to win one!

TO PAGE 2 of "NOTCOT Giveaway 2: Sorapot"! ----->

Tags: gifts - giveaway - shopping - tea - teapot

Joey Roth's Sorapot has come a long way, and after years of waiting we can finally all get our hands on one in 2008! In fact, Joey Roth is officially the *first* reader from NOTCOT i ever met in person ~ we met about 2.5 years ago when i was in NY doing our NOTed photoshoot, and he's been a great friend and supporter to NOTCOT since! Well, you should be caught up on all your Sorapot news by now, and if not check out the video of it in action after the jump, but what this post is really about is the gorgeous new teacup design to match it! So why this design? Joey says "I designed this teacup to emphasize the the beauty of tea on glass while insulating your hand and tabletop from heat." I must admit my favorite part was the base... at first it looked like a mercedes logo ~ perhaps a cute idea for a future mug is a peace sign base that leaves peace sign water marks when left on paper... See more close ups of his new Teacup below!

TO PAGE 2 of "Teacup for Sorapot"! ----->

Tags: food - gifts - shopping

Ran into blogfamous Sorapot designer, Joey Roth, a few times this weekend (yes, the first NOTCOT reader i ever met)... and after posting about his Garden Geta project over 3 years ago, i FINALLY got to see them in person!!!

At the Rubin Chapelle and IDSA New York Opening reception for Equilateral 08:01, they had Joey's Sorapot, Garden Geta, and Shika literally on pedastals, spotlighted for all to see, and being slightly early, but spotted walking past the window while they were setting up, Joey snuck me in early and i got some nice clean shots of the woodiest flip flops i've been dying to try on since '05. I am still in love with the fact that the pair are cut from the same slice of tree stump... and there must be some correlation to be drawn if he made kids pairs that were from younger trees... something about rings in the tree measuring your geta/shoe size? So check out more pics on the next page...

TO PAGE 2 of "Joey Roth's Garden Geta"! ----->

Tags: fashion - green - icff - shoes - wood

On more packages to play with upon returning to LA... Here is the Sorapot unboxing that i've waited 3 years to do (i first read about it over on Cool Hunting in 2005)! Joey Roth was actually my first NOTCOT reader i ever met, and i'm ecstatic to finally see his masterpiece in my hands (and not on a computer screen!). So amidst all this u-haul unloading, unpacking and playing 3D tetris with boxes... here's a quick unboxing of this beautiful new teapot. So industrial, yet elegant... and i even have

... I have yet to brew my first sorapot of tea - more to come on that later... But for now - check out the freshly launched official Sorapot site! On the next page see the unboxing of it out in Topanga Canyon... a few sneaks peeks for you of the factory in the making... and a refresher diagram of the making of the Sorapot and how this is a testament to the power of design blogs to help small designers get out there!

TO PAGE 2 of "Sorapot Unboxing"! ----->

Tags: drinks - home - kitchen - tea - teapot

I'm a flip flop girl. Admittedly these have less flips and flops, and more plink plunk type sounds... but i love this image. Another woody wonder by Joey Roth.

●These geta are modeled on a traditional Japanese design, and form a rough circle when viewed from above. ●The finish is sandblasted so that the wear that comes from using the geta while gardening only adds to their beauty. ●Both geta are carved from the same piece of wood.

Pretty to look at, are they not?

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I fell in love with the simplicty of this object... and the ideas it brings to mind. "Slant Stacks" are the new visual in my head, the idea of transorming the way things naturally tend to pile on my desk, coffee tables, shelves, and in my car. I like the idea of using simple objects to recreate, or shape a space that they will occupy anyhow.

This is also just a gorgeous piece of wood, given an innovative use, which becomes more pleasing to look at as it is being used. SHIKA! Not to mention mad props to Joey Roth on not only designing but naming this object to make it unforgetable.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR almost. And thank goodness for an end to 2005... and i welcome 2006 with open arms and a dash of skepticism. But all in all, Notcot has been one of the best things to happen this year, and here's one of those tasty best for last of the year posts...

Designer Joey Roth (remember his Garden Geta and Shika posts back in the day?) - has done it again with his Totemo, winning the a Red Dot Award in Productivity this year. The Totemo is described as Strip down to cool. The growing importance of silence in computing mirrors a large-scale shift in the way people think about the products they use. The Totemo is designed with recording studios in mind, but is a computer case equally suited for the home or office environment. The omission of LED’s, molded plastic and cooling fans firmly differentiate Totemo from the many computers of today. Its concentration is based on the concept of stripping down the computer case to its bare essentials.

Modest designer that he is, Joey Roth wrote a feature article for Notcot, but just happen to leave out a description of his own project! So take a look at the Totemo on his site, and then read more about his favorite projects and stories from the Red Dot Awards which took place in Singapore recently.

TO PAGE 2 of "Red Dot - Joey Roth"! ----->

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NY Designer, Joey Roth, went and checked out the MoMA Spring Preview for us, and i must admit i wish i could have been there! See more below for his coverage of what exciting new products are coming... Personally, i'm already wanting the Speaker Mug...

--- Today I visited the MoMA store in SOHO to see a preview of new products they're adding for the spring. While they didn't push the springtime vibe as far as they could (patio furniture, gardening tools, and a kite or two would have been perfect), the buyers put together a collection that was quiet, airy, and playful.

TO PAGE 2 of "MoMA Spring 07 Preview"! ----->

Tags: gifts - museum - shopping