Heroes: Where The Hell Is Matt?

Its been a busy and a sad day (R.I.P. George Carlin) and I didn't get done all the things that I wanted to, but I did discover one of the most heart warming videos I have ever seen.  I don't want to spoil things for you so just go here, turn your speakers on and get ready to smile. For more information on what is surely one of the best marketing campaigns ever, visit Where The Hell Is Matt for more information.

A Closer Look at Zune

On the heels of last week's post and virtually everywhere I look-music blogs, magazines I've been seeing adverts like the one above for the Zune. To my surprise a black 8GB  arrived by Fedex at my front door this morning (thanks Clay)! Let me tell you that my first impression about the packaging did not disappoint. About the size of your average bottle of perfume, the box even opens like one: the matte black lid gets pulled up off an tiny ombré orange and fuschia base. Judging by appearances only at this point and attention to detail, the Zune presents itself as a formidable runner up to the iPod. I'll give you more deets after I spend a little more time with it!

Rejoice: Topshop Arrives Stateside

Fast-fashion retailer and British high street store Topshop is finally opening its flagship North American store in New York October 10 (insert squeal of delight here!) The opening was orginally supposed to coincide with Fashion Week September 5-12 but had to be pushed back. The store will be located at 478 Broadway in Soho which used to be the storefront for the infamous Yellow Rat Bastard. Sources in New York tell me that this past week Top Shop offered a style preview of the trend driven well priced merchandise that will be available come the fall and by all reports it won't disappoint! Start saving! Read here about one of Topshop's upcoming marketing initiatives.

Photo source: Fader 

UPDATE: See more Topshop looks here.

Polaris Prize Long List Annouced

The 3rd Annual $20,000 Polaris Music Prize has announced its 2008 long list. The list consists of 40 full length records by Canadian recording artists released from June 7, 2007 to May 31, 2008. The artists were chosed by a 185 member jury. The second round voting will take place soon and then the nominees will be reduced to a 10 album short list to be revealed at the Drake Hotel July 7. Former winners include Final Fantasy and Patrick Watson.

Radar: Nagi Noda

I have been known to come late to the party once or twice and this may be the case with the discovery of the beautiful Nagi Noda (thank you Yankodesign.com). Director, multi disciplinary designer and artist, the Tokyo born Nagi came to much of the world's attention with her video called "Ex Fat Girl"-which if you haven't seen yet you really owe it to yourself, especially if you like big poodles. What I wanted to tell you about though is her Hair Hats: small animals sculpted out of hair. They are very well crafted and although the website doesn't give any specific details about them, the photo featured on her website is dated 2005-which means that I am not the only one arriving late...

A Little Treat

I am a pretty big music fan. I simply have to have fresh new sounds on the regular and I have found one of the best ways to do this is through rcrdlbl.com. Totally legal downloads from new, emerging and established artists (from local faves Tokyo Police Club and Woodhands to Moby, Kid Cudi and Santogold) this site is blazing pathways to building an audience for the music and leaving all the other crap behind. Starting today what you will see on the sidebar of this blog is a rcrdlbl.com widget displaying the most popular downloads. To listen just click on a track and you'll be whisked away to the artist page on the rcrdlbl website. Enjoy!

Radar: Huile Prodigieuse

I wasn't really sure, when the big beauty makeover happened over at Shopper's Drug Mart a few years ago, that I would actually shop there by choice. I mean, I've never had a knowledgeable customer service experience there except when I was buying insulin needles for my cat. Plus its expensive. If I had the money and needed beauty products, I'd rather go to Sephora because their product line is more sophisticated and their staff are trained. But now I am not so sure. 

Because it was at Shopper's that I discovered Huile Prodigieuse by Nuxe. Huile Prodigieuse is billed as a multi usage dry oil for face, body and hair. I am not even joking when I say that this product lives up to its billing. And at $25 for 50ml, its a great little hard working product. Use it on your face, hair, dry cuticles, chapped skin, after sun exposure and as a bath oil. I haven't tried it yet, but they even have a shimmery version of the oil with soft golden particles: perfect for summer! 

So props to you SDM. Its taken me a while to consider your store as a beauty destination and it took a while for you to bring in the right product lines at the right stores, but you did it.

Coming Zune? We'll See

I think it was back at Christmas that I first started seeing a lot more press and adverts for Zune. Zune for those of you Macheads or non digital music folks, is Microsoft's version of the iPod mp3 player and iTunes music service combo: Zune is not only hardware but it also refers to the software and the marketplace (music store) too. The hype seemed to die down with the Holidays and I never thought anything else about it until recently.

Taking the subway the other day, I was sitting across from a guy who, like me was listening to music. He nodded towards me presumably looking over at what device I was using. I pulled my iPod covered in this gelaskin out of my pocket to show him and he smiled in that knowing way when you find something sympatico, but then he frowned and raised his mp3 player. From across the train it looked something like an iPhone. But it was actually a suped up Zune with what looked like some cool etching on the back side like this.  Later that day I started seeing all the adverts on Rcrdlbl.com and took it as a sign. I am now compelled to take a closer look: Microsoft products looking this sexy? I'll keep you posted.

Radar: Tina Tsang

Former Central Saint Martin's student Tina Tsang is very talented. Her website undergrowthdesign.com is an amalgamate of cool goodies like this sexy Blaue Blume Tea set. Also available on the site delicately racy Nymphette Lingerie and  Art Deco meets Peter Max lust-worthy handbags. Go London!

Make the Switch and Unscrew America!

Global warming is the largest challenge that our species has ever faced on this planet. That we caused it just adds to the urgency to solve it. Unscrewamerica.org is a terrific initiative to light the way towards making all of us informed and involved in reducing our energy consumption saving resources and money. 

The website is terrific. It combines wit, animation and clever navigation to engage visitors to do their part in switching out old incandescent lightbulbs to more efficient options like LED's (light emitting diodes) or CFL's (compact fluorescent light bulbs). Read here about the comparison between incandescent vs. LED vs. CFL bulbs and download a free lighbulb comparison sheet.

The website says that according to Energy Star if every home in America changed just one regular incandescent light bulb to a CFL, the energy that would be saved would be enough to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars. This cost savings means $3 billion in energy costs!

I've Been Next Door at Words To Grow By

I have been spending more time over on my other blog lately. I have been focusing on business issues (more on that in a moment) and the Words To Grow By forum just seemed the better place to have that dialogue and share my findings. Basically, I have been trying to keep afloat in my design practice. In case you didn't know, its not easy being an independant designer of any sort in this country. Its a balancing act between offering services that have value in the marketplace (that is to say-reflect actual needs), that are affordable to offer, to deliver and that have a niche. In a climate as we have in Canada where design doesn't have the traction like in Italy, Japan or the Netherlands, a large part of my daily operations is educating the public about the nature of design. Couple that with clients who refuse to honor their commitments and pay for the services they've received and it can very easily become impossible to succeed. 

Why am I telling you this? Because you, dear reader, need to know that design is important. It enhances our quality of life not only in the products we consume or the things we buy, but in how we relate to each other and live together. Design needs an audience to succeed. But to get to that audience, design needs to step out from the shadows and be recognized and legitimized for all the value it offers all of us in our everyday lives. And with this post I pledge to do everything I can to raise visibility, support and awareness for it. And so should you.