Trendwatching.com: Enabling customers of participating retailers to receive their packages wherever it’s convenient, PickupZone is a network of neighborhood pickup points, from convenience stores to dry cleaners. The company is currently active throughout the Boston area, but aims to expand farther afield in the near future. Innovation Jubilation [Trendwatching.com]
Curbside Pickup
Glowing Sofa
Inhabitat: Via Lattea is a striking change from traditional padded furniture and also a significant upgrade from your college room blow-up chair. Low wattage lights are placed inside the pieces to emit a glowing light. While they may look like they belong in a nightclub instead of a living room, these pieces of recycled furniture require considerably less materials and […]
Urban Transporters
The Cool Hunter: Whether your cargo is kids, laundry, groceries or beach gear, the coolest way to haul it is the Madsen Cargo bike. These handy urban transporters from Salt Lake City, Utah, can carry 271 kg either in a bucket or on a rack. The bikes and the buckets come in three colors: dramatic black, yummy cream and sweet […]
Online Car Racers Compete with Live Professionals
Fiat Punto created a virtual online racing game in which the online player competes against a real racing driver on an actual circuit. Using GPS tracking, on-board cameras and CGI modelling Fiat has managed to integrate the real car into the virtual racing game so that you can test your driving skills against the professional driver. Follow the online event […]
DIY Culture
FT.com: There is a new movement afoot. Just as the self-build trend is gathering pace, so too is a new wave in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects for the home – embracing everything from plumbing, woodcarving and pottery to robotics, electronics and recycling. At the spiritual heart of all this is California-based magazine Make, which, since launching in print and online in […]
Ynot Plast – Plasters for Melanin-Rich Skins
BMH UK: There are few if any black or Asian people who have not at some point been forced to use plasters and bandages that contrast conspicuously with their natural brown skin tones. The site of a friend’s child being bullied for wearing a conspicuous white plaster across his forehead after sustaining an injury in the playground, was the catalyst […]
Give an Hollrr
Got a product from a small company you really love? Think this product is so great, it’s going to be a big success? Tell your friends about it via Hollrr. Hollrr allows you to root for products you think deserve to succeed. By joining a Tribe of Followers, you are able to promote a new product to all your friends […]
BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 85
SmartSwipe Safe Online Shopping Now you can swipe your credit card at your home or office computer just like you would in a store! SmartSwipe is the new, smarter, more secure way to shop online. Plug it into your computer’s USB port, go shopping to your favourite online stores, and swipe your credit card – it’s that simple…… Continued in […]
Go Greener with New Recycled Utensils
thedailygreen.com: Many foodies and chefs get snobby about their cooking utensils. The rest of us pick up our mashers, paring knives, spatulas and basters at yard sales, or big box discounters. There are reasons why this might not be such a smart long-term investment, however. Cheap utensils are often made with plastics, which are petroleum-derived, scratch and break down, and […]
The Boobox
The Boobox is a prototype for a stand-alone machine that distributes product samples. Consumers interested in getting one simply send a free SMS, in exchange for which they are given an activation code. That, in turn, gives them access to the sample. Unlike most vending machines, the Boobox is completely adjustable to samples with different sizes, weights and forms; it […]