Business opportunity from the US Market Leader in Disc Protection. Recently we told you about the unique Disc protection product D_Skin. The product is great and in fact our only gripe was where to buy it outside America. Well the guys from D_Skin have listened - and are now looking for Distributors worldwide. So what are you waiting for? Contact them and be part of the D_Skin success worldwide! www.D-Skin.com
TrendCentral: Just like how some apparel e-tailers are adapting virtual sizing applications to help online shoppers find properly fitting clothes with the click of a mouse, we predict that a growing number of beauty retailers and services will harness similar technologies to allow consumers to try out new hairstyles and makeup looks without having to take a trip to the salon or cosmetics counter.
In Japan, Shiseido and Sega teamed up to create Project Beauty: The Nintendo DS game features a scanning device that transfers digital images of the user's face onto a split screen, at which point the user's facial features and coloring are analyzed and different "looks" or makeup suggestions are displayed on one half of the screen.
BusinessWeek: When Unilever (UN) challenged its scientists to come up with a detergent that uses fewer resources, greener materials, and less packaging, few thought it was possible. Yet Small & Mighty, the industry's first super-concentrated liquid detergent, launched in October 2005 in a partnership with U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), 18 months ahead of rivals such as Procter & Gamble (PG). What started as a means to boost Unilever's green credentials now is opening up avenues of innovation that are helping to drive growth in the company's once-lackluster laundry unit. Since rolling out Small & Mighty in Europe in January 2007, more than 30 million bottles have been sold.
The virtue of the product is that consumers can wash the same amount of laundry with one-third the detergent. Smaller packaging means each bottle uses 55% less plastic, enabling retailers to stock three times the number of bottles in the same space, saving on labor and out-of-stock costs. There's big savings for Unilever, too, in manufacturing and transportation. The company says it saves 500 million gallons of water and 150 million pounds of plastic each year. And the smaller bottle means Unilever can transport three times as much product in every truck, saving 26 million gallons of diesel each year. "It's a good example of how good environmental practice is good for the company's bottom line," says Keith Weed, Unilever's group vice-president for home care.
HometownLife.com: Who knew that Jill Wylie, a stay-at-home mother in Northville Township, would turn out to be an inventor? But after some research and ingenuity, she now has a billiards-related product on the market - the Junior Shark Guiding Wheel.
The small, white, plastic device's use has two uses: It helps protect pool table felt from scrapes and tears and assists beginners by guiding their use of the cue stick.
She's even created her own limited liability corporation, the Wylie Group LLC, and has a Web site for the product, www.juniorshark.com.
"I am really excited about the Junior Shark Guiding Wheel," she says on her site. "This idea came to me when I saw how much kids really wanted to play pool and how nervous this made the owners of the pool tables."
If a pool table's felt is ripped, it cannot be patched or repaired because that will leave an uneven surface. Thus, the entire pool table cover must be replaced at a cost of several hundred dollars.
"The biggest worry with novice players or children playing pool is the risk of scratching and tearing the felt," Wylie said. But, with Wylie's new device, there are no worries.
She adds that children under age 3 should not be allowed to handle the guiding wheels because they might choke on them.
The Junior Shark Guiding Wheel is placed on top of the cue stick and pushed down to where the ferrule (the white tape-looking part) joins the taper of the cue stick shaft. The wheel can be used on any size cue stick.
Springwise: Launched just in time for the holiday season, I Am Saint Nick lets would-be gift-givers submit the phone numbers of those they're having trouble coming up with ideas for. The company's very own "Santa" will then place a discreet, anonymous call to each challenging person and ask them what they'd like for Christmas. Each such call gets recorded and posted online for access (only) by the gift-giver, who then gets insight into wishes that may not ordinarily get shared with mere mortals. Powered by Twilio phone technology, Kirkland, Wash.-based I Am Saint Nick aims to support itself through advertising and sponsorships.
The dreaded electricity bill has just arrived! You can feel the sweat start to roll off your forehead as you begin to open it. This time you are in for a pleasant surprise! Your bill is €30-50 lower than the previous month!
Electricity reduction devices are not new. they have been used by businesses for years, and they have been getting great reductions in their electricity bills. Why have these devices not been available to you and me. The answer is, they have, but in the past the retail price for these for a standard home was in excess of €400 to €500 which did not make them cost effective.
Now with the advance in technology and the miniaturization and standardizing you could save up to 20% on your electricity bills without sacrificing normal energy consumption and the comforts it provides for a little as €89.
CScout: Cosmetics company Fancl of Japan is connecting the dots between its customer base’s concern about their appearances and their presumed health consciousness by partnering with food manufacturer Itoyakado to create a line of snack foods containing various allegedly healthy additives.
The Fancl Collaboration Series includes items such as bread, tofu, and sweets with added collagen, kale extract, germinated brown rice, and “twintose” (a Fancl branded supplement made from Chicory root that purportedly aids mineral absorption). These supplements are also used in Fancl’s existing beauty and healthcare products, and are recognized components of the Fancl name.
Servinity is the future of communication for the service industry. It allows employers and staff to interact via the leading communication technologies of our time - online, email and SMS text. Servinity is a collection of helpful utilities built on a framework of social networking, job search functionality, and online scheduling. Each feature has been developed with the cooperation and input of servers, bartenders, owners, and managers - people just like you.
Employers use Servinity to post jobs for candidates to search, or utilize our employee matching tools to target people with specific skills, experience and availability. Applicants browse the job board to find the latest positions available in their area or search for employers who meet specific work-related criteria. Servinity helps manage the application process for both employers and applicants.
Kramer really was on to something after all. The 'Men's Premium Brassiere' is the number one wishlist item being devoured at Rakuten, the online Japanese store. The male bra trend is sweeping the country...
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The Wall Street Journal Online: Last year, Alias was just a videogame character known for stabbing monsters in the back. Today the bald-headed rogue has come to life on a bookshelf near Seattle as a four-inch-tall figurine with emerald dagger in hand.
Bringing such fantasy characters to life is possible thanks to the technology of 3-D printers, which turn three-dimensional computer images into three-dimensional objects. The statue of Alias was created courtesy of a start-up called FigurePrints LLC, which is opening for business this week. The company was founded by Ed Fries, a former Microsoft Corp. executive who is taking advantage of a shift in the 3-D printing industry to populate the world with trolls, gnomes and other fantastical creatures from the online game World of Warcraft.
The 3-D technology combines computer software and specialized "printers," which are copier-size machines that sculpt objects using a tool akin to a set of high-tech glue guns. Following a 3-D design on a computer, the gun nozzles squirt layers of material that harden into a porcelain-like object.
For 20 years, 3-D printers have primarily been used in labs and research groups at auto makers, aerospace companies and other design-intensive businesses. But during the next 12 months, 3-D printing will move closer to the mainstream, thanks to some entrepreneurs and consumer-focused companies like FigurePrints that are building businesses around the machines.
The expansion by 3-D printers into manufacturing is happening thanks to a steady drop in the price of printers, improvements in the materials they can handle and a proliferation in the amount of 3-D data that can be turned into objects.
SlipperyBrick: Everyone needs a lamp at one point or another. Whether it’s on your desk at the bedside, a lamp is something we all need, but is often one of those things we don’t buy. Lamps can make good Christmas gifts, especially geeky lamps.
ThinkGeek is offering new DIY Dinosaur Lamps that are made from laser cut sheets of flexible plastic. The lamps require assembly, which amounts to putting tab A into slot B and so on. The directions promise to be easy to follow and lots of pictures are included.
Three lamps are included in the kit and they look like a T-Rex, stegosaurus, and diplodocus. I have no idea what that last dinosaur is. Construction time is 30 to 40 minutes and a card and switch are included with the lamp kit. The only thing you have to add is elbow grease and light bulbs. The kit of three lamps is $19.99.
4Hoteliers.com: Susie Ellis President of SpaFinder predicts the worlds of spa and medicine will further blend as consumers become more health and price conscious, while new generational trends take hold.
SpaFinder, the global spa resource, has announced “Top 10 Spa Trends To Watch In 2009,” the company’s sixth annual forecast of the emerging concepts that will shape the world of spa in 2009 and beyond.
The global spa industry’s extraordinary growth and resiliency has been fueled by important new ideas in health, wellness, fitness, beauty, design, and cuisine. Despite a turbulent economy, SpaFinder President Susie Ellis believes 2009 will prove no exception. In particular, one clear ‘macro’ trend is emerging: the interweaving of medicine and spas in unprecedented ways, with spas poised to increase their roles in wellness and healthcare, while hospitals evolve to embrace spa-like offerings and hospitality.
As Susie Ellis, President of SpaFinder, Inc. noted: “In a few short years I’ve watched spas go from a narrow focus on pampering to become a vastly expanded category where dozens of wellness solutions are explored. They’ve become, in essence, our alternative ‘laboratories’ for testing new health and wellness approaches - from fitness, nutrition, acupuncture and yoga - or more recently, sleep and fertility solutions.
SpaFinder’s Top Ten 2009 Spa Trends:
1. Energy Medicine
2. Casinos & Spas
3. The Medical and Spa Tourism Shuffle
4. Eco-Embedded Spas: A Deeper Shade of Green
5. Trains, Boats & Planes: In-Transit Spa-Going
6. Brain Health and ‘Mind’ Gyms
7. Learning Labs for Stress Reduction
8. Mindful Spending
9. Move Over Baby Boomers: Gen X & Y Are Spa-ing Their Way
10. Brands, Brands, Brands
Kramer really was on to something after all. The 'Men's Premium Brassiere' is the number one wishlist item being devoured at Rakuten, the online Japanese store. The male bra trend is sweeping the country and as reported by one of the customers: "I like this tight feeling, it feels good". Getting in touch with their feminine side? Perhaps, but the main goal is to keep those 'moobs' (man-boobs) firm under form fitting outfits. Sure, there have been some responses conveying mockery and shock, but fact is, the man bra is outta control and keeping the male boobie, uh, well, under control. Ha.
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TrendsSpotting.com is a trends agency focused on developing exciting tools for Trend Spotting. We follow current trends and are constantly looking for new ones. We specialize in trends research and the social media. Dr. Taly Weiss, TrendsSpotting CEO, is a Social Psychologist, with extensive experience in branding strategy and marketing research. Feel free to explore our trend spotting tools on www.trendoScope.com.
CoolestGadgets.com: Candles are romantic to say the least, and having a few in the room will certainly enhance the mood and ambiance even more. Unfortunately, they can be a fire hazard at times, so here’s a safe substitute from ThinkGeek - the LED Blow On-Off Candles.
The LED Blow On-Off Candles are solid wax (except for some electronics) and feature a natural-looking, flickering light just like normal candles, but they have a couple of extra techno enhanced powers.
Regular candles will blow out if you blow on the flame, but these LED candles will also blow on. All you have to do is use the master on/off switch on the bottom, and these candles will turn on and off with just a puff at the “flame”. Even better, each candle has a switch to select either a cool blue flame, or a more realistic yellowish flame.
From the proper distance and height, these candles will fool everyone into thinking they are the real thing; they are a fantastic way to put candles where it is too dangerous to have open flames. And, they won’t drip wax all over your mithril armor either.
Inhabitat: Engineers at Innowattech in Israel recently created a new type of road that generates electricity as vehicles pass over it! The supercharged surface is embedded with piezoelectric crystals, which transform kinetic energy from passing vehicles into an electrical current. With widespread adoption, the technology could feed energy back into the nation’s burgeoning electric vehicle grid, transforming congested roadways into a clean green source of energy.
The energy-generating roadway works thanks to piezoelectric crystals embeded in the asphalt. As vehicles pass over them, the vibrations generate a small amount of electricity that travels to a larger transformer which then distributes the energy. The generators can be as thin as a few centimeters or can cover large expansive surfaces, and can be easily adapted for a variety of different transit systems including roadways, railways and even airplane runways.
