What a week! We’ve been fixing up a house in Nashville non stop the last week - and hiding in the air conditioning with internet to stay inspired between manual labor bursts… see what we’ve been loving on NOTCOT.org lately! Also… you may have noticed we’ve dropped all our advertisements! And we’re switching to a new NOTCOT Sponsors Program! More to come on that soon…

Columbia Survival Labels - a series of special informational hangtags printed on laser perforated/etched/cut steel! Each one can be popped out and turned into Sewing, Fishing, Sun Dial, Purifier, Sextant, and Handsaw Tools! Such a fun project from Olgilvy Istanbul. They also made a great video for it - and at the end it they tell you that they are currently available at 41.002 N, 28.9784 E - which takes you to the heart of Istanbul! And they tease “worldwide distribution coming soon” so don’t rush out to poke at these hang tags in person quite yet. Check out the video and details on the next page.

TO PAGE 2 of "Columbia Survival Labels"! ----->

We’re currently in Nashville - and as usual, gave into a packaging based impulse buy! Check out this Icebox Coffee Concentrate! Love that it basically has a built in jigger. Squeeze to fill the 1/2-1oz section, and uncap and pour! Ounces on one side and mL on the other. How can you not grab the bottle in the refrigerated section amongst all the bottles and cans? It is similar to Bettix Twin Neck Dispensing Bottles - which are more commonly used for horticulture, animal health, herbal supplements, fuel additives, pond/aquarium treatments, industrial and domestic cleaning markets. See more details of the packaging on the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "Icebox Coffee Concentrate"! ----->

Phew! Just made the drive from Los Angeles to Nashville in 3 days… but still finding inspiration everywhere we could! Here’s a peek at what we’ve been excited about on NOTCOT.org, and if you want to see what we’re up - check out NOTlabs on Instagram. But for now - click the squares to find out more!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch has been on a roll the last few months with absurd, ridiculous, real products. There’s the Selfie Spoon, Squadbowls, and Cruiser. Someone over at McCann has been having so much fun dreaming up and realizing all these playful attention grabbing products - and the infomercials to go with them! I love that they not only dreamed up the concepts but actually made them… and gave fans a chance to get them! Can’t wait to see what’s next…

… remember when cereal boxes were filled with sugar and there were real toys inside of them? Instant gratification FTW! Sure you could probably now 3D print equally mediocre plastic toys at home now - but what’s the fun in that? (Also SO slow) Nice work Cinnamon Toast Crunch on making me laugh and want to be part of the team to come up with more silliness to design and disperse into the world!

See the details and videos of them all on the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "Cinnamon Toast Crunch Product Madness"! ----->

25 little squares of awesomeness you should totally click on from NOTCOT.org!

Oooh a surprise arrived from Saint James - and to be honest, i knew little about them until this fun (and very informative) hands on box of goodies arrived. The branding, illustrations, and playfulness of the kit let you play with the various stages of wool (from raw to washed to combed) while learning about how their sweaters are made and what goes on in the french atelier… since 1889. There’s even a canvas scroll of their historical timeline!

Fun facts from the timeline - “From the mid 17th century, fishermen from Brittany and Normandy would go to the Channel Islands and to England to sell vegetables during the fishing off-season. They traveled the England countryside to mostly sell garlic, and wore these long wool shirts, often dyed indigo (one of the only shades resistant to sea air). As soon as they reached a hamlet, they shouted out for auction, “Marchand d’ail! Marchand d’ail!” (Garlic seller) but the locals only held on to the word “chandail”. As time passed, this wool shirt took on the name “chandail”. Fascinating! It went on to become the iconic striped sailor shirt/sweater we imagine today.

Ready to take a peek inside the fun press kit? To the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "Unboxing: Saint James Press Kit"! ----->

So many fun things to keep us all inspired!!! Here’s just a taste of what’s new over at NOTCOT.org! Click the squares to find out more.

The Saunagondel! Yes - these are upcycled old ski gondolas transformed into mobile 4-person electric saunas! Designed by Toni Egger and Felix Tarantik who were looking for a high-quality easy to use outdoor sauna. It has the frame of an original Swiss gondola, an interior of silver fir, and a 4.5 kW electric heater. They even have a wifi controlled heater! You can currently buy/rent them in Europe. Take a look at the Saunagondel on the next page - i particularly love their photoshoot in the snowy mountains by Christoph Morlock!

TO PAGE 2 of "Saunagondel"! ----->

Feeling tired and inspired - lots of manual labor is somehow also getting me giddy and excited about design again. Maybe it’s the prospect of what the manual labor is leading up to as Shawn and i plan and design (and execute!) our latest experiment in the backyard? Can’t wait to share it with you as we get it built… but for now, check out some NOTCOT.org inspiration - click the squares to find out more!

Far too excited about my new toy… Citroen HY Van! These amazingly iconic (and super utilitarian) vans have been a fixation of ours for years now… and when Shawn and i were grabbing lunch and wandering Abbot Kinney, we checked out the Rapha Pop Up, and while their full sized H Van wasn’t there, this amazing little 1:24 scale toy one was! So I had to get it. In a fantastic matte grey - complete with sliding panel door and a back that pops open - it’s going to be tough to stare at the scale model without wanting a full sized one even more! Take a peek at the awesome details on the next page.

p.s. We’ve also done lots of research and have SO many ideas on importing one to the states, doing an engine conversion, and making it into a really fun shop, adventure mobile, experience on wheels and more… Interested? Want to make our dream come true? Let’s chat!

TO PAGE 2 of "Rapha Citroen H Van Toy"! ----->

Roundup! So much fun inspiration lately - click the squares to find out more about any and all of them!

On happy deep dives into the internet, i just fell into the surfing animal illustrated world of Jonas Claesson. It all started with the Surfing Animals A-Z Book and the fun interview in Surfer Magazine… i saw the book in a store and was confused how this adorable kids picture book was $39 (turns out it was a kickstarter and is printed in small batches) As i explored the story of the book, i ended up on Jonas’ website… and promptly got smitten with his Vanimals! So many creature/adventure mobile combos - often topped with every possible variation of roof top tents! I wonder what he’d dream up our NOTFZJ80 to merge with? A yeti? A polar bear? A wooly mammoth? Bucky?

Check out some of his amazing pieces and work on the next page and also check out @Jonas_Draws for more inspiration.

TO PAGE 2 of "Vanimals of Jonas Claesson"! ----->

Opening tonight at Thinkspace Gallery, Matthew Grabelsky’s UNDERGROUND solo show can be found in the project room… and it looks fantastic! His surreal/realistic oil paintings of NYC subway riders reading magazines (and kid’s books) are stunning with a twist… all males are animals! If only they had prints of some of these paintings, the whole show is too stunning to pick from, though Canal Street (tiger reading Car and Driver) is my current favorite…

Check out this interview with Grabelsky on Sour Harvest about the new show. His background is fascinating, and about those creatures, “These creatures in my paintings serve to inject an element of surrealism into one of the most commonplace experiences of life and of New York (e.g., public transportation). The characters are symbolic of the kinds of thoughts that lie under the surface of people’s minds, and they reveal that the most extraordinary can exist in the most ordinary of everyday settings.”

If you’re in LA - get over there! And either way… check out the beautiful paintings on the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "Matthew Grabelsky - UNDERGROUND"! ----->

With neighbors doing construction on with two sides of our bedroom wall (it’s that time of year?) starting at 7am every day, i’ve certainly been a bit more of a grumpy zombie than i’d like to admit. BUT, luckily we’ve been trying to counteract all of that with field trips… and chocolate can never hurt! So the other day we popped over to Compartes! As fun as their wacky photocollaged chocolate bars boxes are individually (or in little clusters at stores) - a wall FULL of them is pretty mesmerizing… and bound to take your mind off anything else. And the black and white stripes inside their black and white bags are so fun to stare into! So we picked a few bars, a bunch of chocolate covered marshmallows and oreos as well as some dark cherry and strawberry clusters and headed home after construction to dive in. How can “Campfire S’mores” and “Let Them Eat Cake” and “Donuts & Coffee” chocolate bars not make you feel better?

Check out the delectable (and visual) inspiration on the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "LA Love: Compartes Chocolate"! ----->