Most women have some: earrings, necklaces, rings or other jewelry given to them by an ex-boyfriend. Once treasured, the items become an irritating post-breakup reminder of a relationship gone bad. Fortunately, a new site offers a place to unload such relics from the past: ExBoyfriendJewelry.com.

Launched in February, ExBoyfriendJewelry.com facilitates the buying and selling of "ex" jewelry, as well as providing a place for users to share the stories behind it. Along with basic details such as description, condition and price for each item—including a "for good karma give away" option—users are asked to provide the story behind it, such as whether the breakup was a bad or amicable one. They are also asked to provide a rating, such as "Loved it but just can’t stand to see it anymore," "Great gift, wrong guy" or "New boyfriend asking questions." ExBoyfriendJewelry.com's blog section currently features thoughts from the team behind the site--favorite "post-breakup activities," for example—but will soon be expanded to permit users to blog as well. Items for sale on the site range from a USD 20 beaded necklace to a USD 11,000 diamond engagement ring. For users who received something other than jewelry from their ex, there's also a category entitled "Gifts that should have been jewelry." Once they've sold their goods, users can even donate some of the proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation through a button on the site.

Los Angeles-based ExBoyfriendJewelry.com does not charge any fees or commissions, and it does not get involved in sales facilitated on the site (eventually, it aims to be ad-supported). By early May, the site had already reached almost 3,500 registered users. There are similar sites out there—Ex-cessories.com, for example, which does charge listing fees and commissions—but ExBoyfriendJewelry.com's emphasis on the stories behind the jewelry makes it less a pure marketplace and more a community. Purveyors of female-focused goods and services: this is an advertising opportunity you won't want to miss!

Website: www.exboyfriendjewelry.com
Contact: exboyfriendjewelry@gmail.com

Spotted by: Maria Dahl Jørgensen and Philip Hoffman

We've covered a number of work space concepts in the past, including New York-based TwoRooms, which lets parents work while their children play. Now Cubes&Crayons is offering a similar service to the hardworking parents of Silicon Valley.

Menlo Park, Calif.-based Cubes&Crayons offers flexible office space, community and child care for self-employed or freelance workers with young children between 3 months and 5 years old. A variety of work spaces are available at the site, including conference rooms and overstuffed chairs, and extra services such as printing, faxing and filing space are also available. The facility is open weekdays from 8 to 5, and parents can take advantage of its wireless-enabled office space and child care on a full-time, part-time or drop-in basis. Those who become members can make advance reservations by phone or online, as well as having priority for drop-in hours. Membership is USD 149 annually, with combined office and child-care rates starting at USD 13 per hour. Members are also required to donate three to four volunteer hours per month for up to 20 hours a week of use, or six to eight hours per month for up to 40 hours of use each week. Non-member rates for office and child care begin at USD 21 per hour. Cubes&Crayons also sponsors workshops and events focused on work and family topics.

As unconventional work schedules become increasingly common, demand for new, more flexible office and child-care options will only increase. It's no surprise initiatives like this popped up first in New York and Silicon Valley, but who will bring freedom and flexibility to self-employed parents in the rest of the world...?

Website: www.cubesandcrayons.com
Contact: contact@cubesandcrayons.com

Spotted by: CityMama via Leigh Carreira

More than just a time to renew body and spirit, vacations can also be opportunities to learn something new or try out different careers, as we've noted before. For guests at Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide, they can now also be a time to give back to the local community.

Last month Ritz-Carlton launched its Give Back Getaways program, which gives guests the opportunity to volunteer their time to improve and assist the local community in which they are vacationing. At The Ritz-Carlton in Cancun, for example, guests can join a biologist from the Cancun Department of Ecology for hands-on experience protecting mother sea turtles during nesting and helping them return safely to the sea. Through a program employees have already been participating in for more than a decade, guests will head out at night to search for nesting turtles, gather sea turtle eggs and bring them to a safer location. Visitors to Berlin, meanwhile, can roll up their sleeves and accompany hotel staff as they launch a spring clean-up of the SONNENHOF facilities for children with serious illnesses. Additional Give Back Getaways include cooking and serving meals at the North Texas Food Bank; restoring homes in the ancient water town of Wuzhen, China; planting native Cyprus trees in the dwindling wetland forests of the Florida Everglades; and building homes with Habitat for Humanity in Jakarta and New Orleans. Costs vary between roughly USD 50 and USD 150 per adult participant.

Simon F. Cooper, Ritz-Carlton's president and chief operating officer, explains: “We have come to recognize the interest many of our guests have in becoming more involved in the region where they are spending their vacation. Many of them are active volunteers in worthwhile activities at home, and want to continue this spirit of giving when they visit other parts of the world. We believe Give Back Getaways is a unique way for our hotels to partner with guests to provide an experience both memorable and personally enriching.”

Experience, of course, is what it's all about, as the hotel goes beyond furnishing a purely functional place to stay to give guests a lasting, potentially transforming experience they'll remember forever. Long live the experience economy—and the companies that make it happen!

Website: www.givebackgetaways.com
Contact: www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Contact/InfoRequest.htm

Spotted by: RK

Kids today often associate batteries with fun, thanks to the legions of battery-powered toys out there. The unfortunate result is not just a waste of power and an environmental hazard but also a danger to health, as thousands of kids each year end up swallowing the tiny devices. Michigan-based Zen Design Group aims to change all that with a new line of toys that's powered by kids' own energy instead.

Launched last fall, SEE Toys (short for "safety, ecology, economy") are electronic toys that never need batteries. Instead, they feature a hand crank that provides 15 minutes of fun in exchange for 60 seconds of cranking. Each toy makes its own, themed sounds to encourage kids to keep powering up—the Dynacar, for instance, makes engine sounds when its crank turns, while the Dynatiger makes a purring sound—and super-bright, colour-changing LEDs light up the action. Also included in the line are the Dynadolphin, the Dynashark and the Dynafly, a buzzing, giggling electronic bug that won Creative Child Magazine's Seal of Excellence Award last August. Pricing on the toys ranges from USD 14.99 to USD 19.99.

While it would be a stretch to call these plastic toys eco-friendly, there's no doubt the eco trend is building momentum (see trendwatching.com's May briefing for more on that), and bringing that green focus to kids' toys as well makes good sense. Besides the obvious environmental benefits, green products also tend to bring greenbacks for their makers—or the currency of their choice! ;-)

Website: www.zendesigngroup.com/seetoys
Contact: info@seetoys.com

Spotted by: Bill McMahon

People have used dark-lined writing paper since medieval times and over the years, a lot of bleach has been used to provide a contrasting white background. Swedish Whitelines, on the other hand, makes carbon-neutral writing paper that uses white lines against a light grey background.

Traditional dark-lined paper not only depends on the use of bleach for a contrasting background, it also can conflict with lines and letters drawn or written on its surface. Dark lines show up on photocopies too, often making for muddy, difficult-to-view copies. Stockholm designer Olof Hansson came up with the idea of Whitelines as a way to eliminate those problems. With a focus on the environmental consequences of its operations, the company tracks and labels its own carbon footprint in collaboration with NEWA, the North Environment & Weather Agency. Through a partnership with paper producer Stora Enso forged just last month, meanwhile, it uses a carbon dioxide-neutral paper as a base for its products. Whitelines now offers pads of its patented paper with a variety of bindings, including spiral, glue and saddle stitch, through select retailers in Canada, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Whitelines was named Innovator of the Year by ALMI Stockholm last year, and in January it was nominated in the New Product Innovation and Emerging Vendor categories at the European Office Products Awards in Frankfurt. With its paradigm-busting appearance, Whitelines' eco-iconic qualities are sure to appeal to the rapidly growing eco-minded masses. Remember: it's not enough to be green; you have to help consumers show the world that they are, too. Think green, think different, think iconic!

Website: www.whitelines.se
Contact: info@whitelines.se

Spotted by: Johan Lofmark

Back in 2006, we covered an ancient commodity that was being marketed in a fresh way—mastiha, made from resin of the mastic tree, which is mainly cultivated on the Greek island of Chios. As we pointed out, mastiha (or mastic) is used in a wide variety of products, and Mastihashops—founded by the Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association—carry everything from mastiha-flavoured coffee, biscuits and liqueur, to toothpaste, cosmetics and chewing gum. All well-branded and sleekly packaged.

So we were pleased to hear that Mastihashop has made it to New York, its first retail outpost west of Greece. The shop, located at 145 Orchard Street, was opened by two sisters, Artemis and Kalliopi Kohas, who spent many childhood summers on Chios. The New York store sells an extensive range of edible goods and skincare products, from the raw material—'tears' of mastic resin—to mastiha eye cream. Naturally, there's still plenty of room for mastiha expansion. Sao Paulo or Singapore, anyone?

Website: www.mastihashop.com
Contact: info@mastihashopny.com