Sandy Vohr has been making the most adorable luscious little leather bean bag creatures for the last 30 years. In fact i think i even received one of her beautiful little leather frogs as a paperweight as a kid! The site even says, “The animals are made from cowhide and deerskin, and filled with various combinations of fiberfil and beadlike materials.” When i spotted the Bunny Bookends at Barneys, i got nostalgic and ended up looking up Sandy’s site… where i discovered so many new adorable leather creatures ~ from moose to dragons, robots to octopi! See some of my favorites on the next page! Looks like she’ll even do customs!
Andrew Bell’s DYZPLASTIC Android toys are finally here, and i’m a little obsessed. They are ADORABLE. And oh so detailed in all the right ways… and that glow in the dark radioactive one… just stunning. And how some have arm tattoos… or cufflinks… or tramp stamps… or awesome logos… and swirls in the eyes… you really must see them all! Also as much as i can’t stand blind box toys conceptually, i do adore that 5 year old feeling of joy when you sit and tear through a case of little boxes and their foil wrapped innards. Take a peek at all their close ups on the next page! Including two of the secret chase characters!
p.s.
as i play with these, i can’t help but wonder, why don’t more OS’ have awesome little mascots?
p.p.s.
Soooo, it sounds like demand has FAR exceeded expectations ~ which is awesome! Unfortunately that means these little guys are hard to get your hands on. However, Andy wanted me to assure you that there will be more Series 1 available this summer ~ which really is just a blink away… so sit tight, and/or grab some when you see them!
On random saturday night inspiration ~ while hanging out at a friend’s i got mesmerized by the way the wicks were burning… and the crystal clear reflections of them in the melted wax… and then i couldn’t help taking a bunch of pics!
Tops! They are universally mesmerizing! Regardless of age, they will definitely amuse… so imagine how my eyes widened when i came upon a huge bowl of these small wooden japanese spinning tops at Tortoise in Venice Beach… i kept going through the whole bowl ~ one by one ~ and slowly ended up buying a dozen. They were all so different! So hard to resist! And many have these floating rings carved into them that float as they spin… and they make the most amazing sounds… when still, the curvatures in your hand are just so beautiful… and then get them spinning, and it’s hard not to just watch them for ages… see the videos and more pics on the next page!
On random design inspiration ~ Playmobil seems to have evolved quite a bit since i was a kid. We had the zoo, rock climbers, fancy dressed victorians with car, the teepee, and farm animals… but definitely no disheveled stubbly striped shirt, sport jacket, sunglass, and beanie wearing safe crackers… these guys even come with graspable money, a canister with hose to freeze the lock(?), silver suitcase, keys, flashlight, and even a weighty metal gold bar… best part of all, the safe is actually lockable! You can set the combination by picking two numbers… and it actually clicks as you rotate the dials.
So for random weekend experiments, had a bit too much fun taking pics of this set on the pool table…
While i’m a bit swamped in the UK ~ Linhchi has been playing with the penguins at my house in LA… and put together our second “Dear NOTCOT,” postcard! The first part of the evolution of this particular magenta penguin started here. See the details of her latest adventures with the penguin on the next page!
They are finally nearly here! Andrew Bell teased me with sneak peeks of toys in the making on his phone over lunch a few months back ~ so long as i promised to stay quiet. Well, it’s been hard! Because, we all know as fun as the Google Android phones and UI are… i’m pretty smitten with the adorable mascot. And here they finally are! A series of blind box toys bringing that adorable little Android to life!
The details? Illustrator and toy designer Andrew Bell has teamed up with a few friends at Google’s Android project to bring their green mascot to life. Presenting Android mini collectibles series 01! Each 3” vinyl figure sports one of 12 different possible designs and features a rotating head and arms. Packed in “blind boxes” so you don’t know which design you get until you open it up. Pick one up and take a chance or grab a case for a near-complete set. Available in an initial limited release later this month from dyzplastic and specialty retailers.
If you’re ready, see more details on the next page! (And notice he says “Series 01”… will there be more???)
On silly little kid stories, when i used to hang out at guitar stores with my dad, i’d be that little girl the store guys would let play with the pick drawers, and they’d always let me have a few… my favorites? Dunlop Tortex! In Green of course! Because i was in that rational “it HAS to be green, its a turtle” little kid mindset, and while knowing it made a difference, i refused to care about how thick it was, what the different colors meant, etc… i just wanted the green ones… flash forward about 20 years, and is it any wonder that my absolute favorite booth encountered at NAMM is Dunlop? The graphic design of the posters and the design of the booth itself were so much fun, the kind of inspiring that makes you want to go design gig posters… and i could have stayed and stared at the panels of custom guitar picks for hours. Also, how exciting is it that there will be a documentary film coming this spring on the Cry Baby? Seeing that awesomely designed poster just made me remember being a little girl balancing on the wah wah pedals amused no end with all the noises i could make… And really, how could i not post the Bad Mutha Fucka Shut Yo Mouth posters… all of the graphics at this booth were really far too fun to pass up. Take a little tour of it all on the next page!
On bizarre and fascinating design found at AVN this weekend… i found these Tenga Eggs in person, and i couldn’t help laughing when i saw them (yes, i tried to hold it in, but it was just so fascinating!). If they seem familiar, they were on NOTCOT.org as #18467 a while ago. And when they were first submitted, we couldn’t make sense of what they were for a bit… well now that they are being distributed by Liberator (they specialize in “bedroom adventure gear”)… so they were part of a big booth at AVN filled with beautifully designed toys. We even had a chance to meet the designer himself. Now as for how they work… these are bizarre eggs that are male pleasure toys, but they come in the most adorable plastic eggs (like kids easter eggs, or toys from machines you pop a quarter in to)… and inside you find an “egg shaped masturbation sleeve” ~ and they come in 6 different internal textures. “Although intended for a single session, the cup could be used a couple of times if handled and cleaned carefully.” Anyhow, take a peek at the pics of the packaging, products, and funny video on the next page!
Andy Bell is probably one of the awesomest people i’ve met in 2009 (yay, sdcc?) ~ and his red and blue sushi’s sit sadly in their boxes by my desk inspiring me daily. So you can only imagine how ridiculously giddy i’ve been photoshopping the behind the scenes pics for this feature where he gives us a look into not only how they came to be, but also a chance to giveaway one of the much coveted GREEN O-NO SUSHIs!!! Before they are even available (you can buy one in january, but you’d better be quick!)…
So if you’re ready ~ go see the making of feature as well as details on how to win one of these awesome little guys + some stickers too on the feature page!
They’re heeeeeeere!!! Meet the Puma Penguin Army that arrived yesterday. Sorry i lost a few hours of my day yesterday to unpacking the fort of 20 massive boxes that showed up. And then carefully pulling out each of its foamy filled box… only a few casualties. 1 poor orange guy totally shattered (we’ll consider him a sacrifice in the name of science to see what’s inside a Puma Penguin)… one green guy lost a foot (don’t worry he’s being superglued as you read)… another orange guy has a special sunburst like color fade with a cracked neck (watching him carefully to make sure not to snap his head off!).
PUMA - i just have to say, you guys are amazing. Like, best christmas present ever amazing. THANK YOU! Now that being said ~ go see the many photos of where i first spotted these guys, how they arrived, and just how fun they are en masse. Now the question is, what to do with them???
So you’ve seen the Day In The Life of the White Rabbit so far… well, here is more of the campaign that Fallon has put together for Syfy. This is one of those posts that took me a while to figure out how/what to show you because while i love each part individually, conceptually all together its fun to see how this one crosses in and out of online, tech, and real world! See if you can follow it all…
1. 50 Real human Rabbits run around NYC
2. Real human rabbits disappear and a huge building sized projection shows the rabbits climbing the wall…
3. Rabbit projections and real rabbits continue to run around NYC prompting people to “FOLLOW ME” which of course means twitter… and real life… (nice use of alice in wonderland meets twitter, fallon.)
4. On the twitter account you can find the link to The White Rabbit Inc, a detective agency of course. The man-rabbit is there again teasing you to follow.
5. Clicking him takes you to Wonderland Tea Shop, where he causes some havoc and teases you to follow once again.
6. Now you end up at the Happy Hearts Casino, faced with an eerie Kathy Bates Queen of Hearts backed by some show girls… and he escapes again, waiting for you to follow.
7. Where you finally land at Syfy’s Alice.
Oh, but wait, that’s not all… Also fascinating, Kay jewelers is sponsoring the miniseries, and they’ve done even MORE silliness to integrate with them… There is also Alice’s Jewelry Box, where you essentially click on each of the Kay jewelry pieces to get to the “fabled Stone of Wonderland” ring of Alice’s, which then lets you see concept art for the film…
I can’t help but wonder, what’s next? Where can i get a Rabbit mask? Will the miniseries live up to the campaign? There is so much talk these days of ways to integrate social media, ways to use twitter, how to innovate on really engaging people (in both real and online worlds) for campaigns… and i’m loving what Fallon and Syfy have pulled off with this one. With so many ideas floating around, they’ve definitely taken it further than most would expect, and it feels like everyone has had a blast doing it! So take a peek to see the different parts of this campaign (and a fun video too!) on the next page!
Did you see him running around last night? Love this video of the projection of the White Rabbit running through NYC… Fallon has really gone all out with a Syfy for their latest flick, Alice! (Can’t wait to check it out on sunday)… before i share more of the campaign, check out more pics!
Or perhaps some of you in NYC even saw him running around today? Before i even begin to show you what else i’ve found, let’s just take a look at these really fun and surreal pics of a day in the life of the White Rabbit… See pics of the White Rabbit/s doing everything from sitting in the office, to photocopying, to doing the crossword, to ice skating… and more! on the next page.
For those who love books, what a perfect boardgame to gift! I forget who first sent this to me, but i’ve had these pics waiting in photoshop on the desktop for some time now! Have you played Bookchase? While the original wasn’t as visually appealing to me, i have always loved the look of penguin classics, and these adorable little penguin books on shelves with the penguin covers on the board… so cute. All packaged in a giant book of course! So here is The Great Penguin Bookchase!
Here’s the official description “The fist edition of BOOKCHASE® was launched at the Hay International Literary Festival in 2007, to rave reviews. Bookchase is the perfect game for anyone who has ever read a book. The game can be played with questions or without - fast or slow. Ever dropped a book in the bath, or lent a book to someone and never got it back?? 2-6 players aged 6 and upwards - the perfect family boardgame. First to collect, beg, borrow or steal 6 books is the winner.” See more pics on the next page!
Would you believe that pile up there contains 4 different Target Gift Cards? After seeing a magazine ad for some of the new gift cards this season, Linhchi and i took a little field trip to 2 targets tonight to see what there was… i’m absolutely in love with the beautifully illustrated Winter Fishing Hole Board Game of a gift card as well as the adorable wind up dog that pulls a woody sleigh gift card ~ both of which are new for this year! Unfortunately between those two targets we weren’t able to find the remote controlled mouse in a shopping cart, but you can still see pics of that on the next page. We’re also now very familiar with exactly where around the whole layout of their stores you can find gift cards (different ones in different sections, often at the ends of aisles)… also found were a really fun coloring birthday card with a box of crayons as a gift card ~ and a relaxing car with a bathtub on a box filled with bath salts! I’m impressed with what playful and thoughtful ways target has come up with to enhance the often boring gift card giving experience. While this isn’t a new phenomenon (remember the light up Target Wii gift card we dissected?) ~ this year’s did seem particularly noteworthy for fun design! See closeups and others on the next page…
Sandy Vohr has been making the most adorable luscious little leather bean bag creatures for the last 30 years. In fact i think i even received one of her beautiful little leather frogs as a paperweight as a kid! The site even says, “The animals are made from cowhide and deerskin, and filled with various combinations of fiberfil and beadlike materials.” When i spotted the Bunny Bookends at Barneys, i got nostalgic and ended up looking up Sandy’s site… where i discovered so many new adorable leather creatures ~ from moose to dragons, robots to octopi! See some of my favorites on the next page! Looks like she’ll even do customs!
On random saturday night inspiration ~ while hanging out at a friend’s i got mesmerized by the way the wicks were burning… and the crystal clear reflections of them in the melted wax… and then i couldn’t help taking a bunch of pics!
Tops! They are universally mesmerizing! Regardless of age, they will definitely amuse… so imagine how my eyes widened when i came upon a huge bowl of these small wooden japanese spinning tops at 
On random design inspiration ~ 
While i’m a bit swamped in the UK ~ Linhchi has been playing with the penguins at my house in LA… and put together our second “Dear NOTCOT,” postcard! The 
They are finally nearly here! 
On silly little kid stories, when i used to hang out at guitar stores with my dad, i’d be that little girl the store guys would let play with the pick drawers, and they’d always let me have a few… my favorites? 
On bizarre and fascinating design found at AVN this weekend… i found these 
They’re heeeeeeere!!! Meet the 
So you’ve seen the 
Or perhaps some of you in NYC even saw him running around today? Before i even begin to show you what else i’ve found, let’s just take a look at these really fun and surreal pics of a day in the life of the White Rabbit… See pics of the White Rabbit/s doing everything from sitting in the office, to photocopying, to doing the crossword, to ice skating… and more! on the next page. 
For those who love books, what a perfect boardgame to gift! I forget who first sent this to me, but i’ve had these pics waiting in photoshop on the desktop for some time now! Have you played 
Would you believe that pile up there contains 4 different 
