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When we wrote last year about Chicago-based Minnies and its bite-size burgers and sandwiches, we noted the concurrent rise of dessert-only eateries. Combining the two trends, a new bakery was recently launched in Traverse City, Michigan, that offers baked goodies strictly in two-bite sizes. Morsels, which opened its brick-and-mortar doors in April (online ordering is coming soon), offers cookies, brownies, cakes, scones and other delicacies, all in two-bite sizes. At least a dozen different morsels are available each day, all featuring the same half-round shape and size—the toppings and batter used are what distinguishes them. With flavours ranging from traditional to unusual (blueberry pancake is one), the diminutive treats are displayed in translucent, back-lit plexiglass drawers for freshness and dramatic presentation. Because the drawers are placed along a wall, bakery staff and customers are on the same side of the display, facilitating personal interaction. Jeff Neidorfler, Morsels cofounder, explains: "It's amazing how much easier it is to get to know someone when there isn't a bakery case between you and the customer." Morsels also offers a range of direct-trade coffees and teas from Intelligentsia of Chicago, and pita sandwiches for lunch are "about a week away," Neidorfler says. Morsels are priced at 89 cents for one, USD 2.99 for four or USD 8.49 for a dozen—mixing and matching is encouraged. The bakery has already handled orders for up to 50 dozen at one time. "My wife and I have always loved to bake, and we have had the dream of starting a bakery for a long time, but we didn't want to be like every other bakery out there," Neidorfler explains. "Then one day in April of 2007, we were sitting at home and the idea of really good, bite-sized baked goods hit me. Within an hour, we had the name, the initial flavour ideas, packaging ideas and the start of a business plan. After a bit of researching, we determined that this is a niche that no one was doing the way we wanted to do it. There were a number of cupcake bakeries and things like that, but nothing that really pushed the envelope of what a bite-sized bakery could be. We knew we were onto something when it became almost impossible to find the kind of baking pan we needed." Tourists visiting the shop from far and wide have already asked Morsels to open branches in the cities they're from, Neidorfler says. How about helping to make that happen....? Website: www.morselsbakery.com Spotted by: Richard Allen
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Crowdsourcing and consumer design are trends we've covered on numerous occasions before, whether for sneakers, beverages or restaurants. It wasn't until just recently, however, that we came across a product innovation that taps the creativity of kids. Australian Kideko, which launched last year, sells a variety of children's bedding and accessories featuring bright, bold colours and innovative designs. Now, the company is holding a contest to find a kid-created design to add to its collection. Creative kids begin by selecting from among a short list of Kideko's favourite themes, such as skateboarding, pets or camping. They then create a picture of their idea and submit it (with parental approval, of course) to the site along with their name and age. Entries will be broken down into two age categories—up to 6, and 7 and over—and prizes awarded accordingly. First-place prize winners in each age category will receive a Kideko bed set of their choice plus a 50-pack set of coloured "Smencils" (billed as "gourmet scented pencils"), while eight runners-up will receive just the Smencil packages. Winning designs may also be used on Kideko bedding, posters and utility bags. The deadline for entry is October 15th. Time has shown that there's nothing like the wisdom of the crowds to show companies what customers really want, and creative members of Generation C become even more motivated to produce their best when rewards are involved. Why should it be any different with kids? Producers of children's products around the world: follow Kideko's lead! (Related: YouTube contest for eco-minded kids.) Website: www.kideko.com
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As the US presidential election winds up to a fever pitch in these last few campaign months, there's no doubt passionate supporters in both camps are looking for ways to give their side an edge. One such tool now comes in the form of a custom e-mail signature that proudly displays the allegiance of its user. Austrian E-Mail Charity specializes in the creation of e-mail signatures to support a variety of charitable causes, including Care and Doctors without Borders. Users simply enter their contact information as they'd like it to appear, and the company's specialized installer creates and automatically installs a signature widget including that and a banner advertising the charity of their choice. Now the same can be done to support either Obama or McCain in the presidential race. On the Obama side, available banners include Latinos for Obama, Republicans for Obama and Americans Abroad for Obama, while opposing banners include "McCain Stands for Experience" and "McCain—Country First." Creating and using E-Mail Charity's signatures is free, and virtually all e-mail clients are supported; text-only versions are available for webmail users. As the company explains, "If only a few of your friends join in on using E-mail Charity, a viral marketing effect for your cause/charity is launched." The election signatures appear to be E-Mail Charity's first effort targeting e-mail users outside of Austria. One to help localize in a market near you to harness consumer marketeers for the change you believe in? (Related: Viral music sales through widgets.) Website: election08.emailcharity.com
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A few weeks ago, we wrote about how Microsoft's Surface technology is being used at Sheraton hotels, letting hotel guests use interactive touchscreen 'tables' to access local information and plan their stay. As we mentioned, the interactive tables are part of a wide-reaching partnership between Sheraton and Microsoft, which also includes new high-tech hotel lounges named "The Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft", thankfully shortened to Link@Sheraton. Launching Link@Sheraton in a big way, the hotel brand invited New Yorkers to abandon their desks yesterday to work from Central Park, where it recreated its new lounges and set the right example by stationing around 600 of Starwood's own employees to work remotely using Link@Sheraton's technological offerings. The event, dubbed Global Out Of Office Day, was also celebrated in in Shanghai, where Sheraton took over part of West Nanjing Road, and in Sydney's Customs House. Last but not least, G.O.O.D. will be hosted at the Sheraton Lisbon Resort & Spa on Thursday, September 18th. Starwood—Sheraton's parent company—will also be offering free wifi in Central Park's Sheep Meadow through the rest of September. While tumbling markets made for rather awkward timing, especially since Sheraton hopes to attract more business travellers, the concept playfully combined a number of consumer and marketing trends that are still going strong: pop-up spaces, online oxygen, brand butlers and, of course, new spaces for mobile workers. Website: www.globaloutofofficeday.com Spotted by: RK
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Over the years we've written about several companies that have specialized in the preparation and delivery of high-end meals that are ready to be cooked in the consumer's home. Now a London startup is offering a new twist on the concept with meal prep and on-site instruction by a Michelin star chef for food consumers then cook at home. Launched this summer, The Kitchen calls itself a cross between a cookery school, high-end takeaway, bakery and wine shop. To book a session, consumers first log on to the Kitchen’s website and decide which of eight to 12 monthly dishes they want to make. September's offerings include fish cakes made from organic salmon and smoked haddock served with homemade ketchup, for example, as well as free range Thai green chicken curry. (With a focus on food provenance and traceability, The Kitchen hand-picks all its suppliers, preferring small independents with strong ethics and high-quality ingredients.) When it's time for their appointment, customers arrive at the shop and are given a dedicated work station that's laden with everything they need to make their chosen dishes, all chopped and prepared for them. Spared of the preliminaries, they are free to shape their fish cakes or assemble their lasagne, for example—following The Kitchen's step-by-step instructions—before packaging it up to bring home for cooking. It takes about an hour to assemble five meals, The Kitchen says, and expert chefs including Michelin star awardee Thierry Laborde are on hand for assistance as needed. Each meal costs about GBP 5 per portion, and for the kitchen-averse, fully assembled meals are also available. By adding status skills and an element of experience to the insperiences provided by traditional pre-cooking meal-preparation services, The Kitchen is boosting the concept up another notch. Reportedly, its founders hope to expand—one to partner with in a time-pressed community near you? (Related: Meal prep goes uptown — Dining insperiences, Parisian style.) Website: www.visitthekitchen.com
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When consumers celebrate special occasions, a little gravanity goes a long way and bigger tends to be better. 5starbaby's movie poster birth announcements, which we covered earlier this year, are one case in point, and recently one of our spotters hit upon another: poster-sized wedding invitations. Seattle-based Poster Bride makes invitations to celebrate weddings in grand style. Each hand-printed serigraph is custom-designed for the client using a wide range of papers. Sizes available range from the standard A7 invitation all the way up to a 19-by-25-inch silk-screened poster that serves not just as an invitation but also as a timeless gift of art for wedding participants. Invitations are sketched by hand, rendered onto film, transferred to a silk screen and then carefully printed by Poster Bride. Poster-sized invitations cost USD 15 each, with a minimum order of 50 pieces. One to bring to a market near you, or—perhaps even more compelling—how about extending the concept to other types of invitations? When the gravanity is poster-sized, so too must be the invitations—whether for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras or retirements. Let the super-sizing begin! (Related: Online invites, upgraded.) Website: www.posterbride.com
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We've covered a variety of innovations in the world of sustainable fashion. Now Worn Again—an eco-fashion initiative from UK-based Anti-Apathy—has teamed up with Virgin Atlantic to find a use for old aircraft seat covers and other materials. For several years, Worn Again has been giving a new lease on life to old materials including car seat belts, prison blankets, bicycle tires, parachutes and firemen’s uniforms. Now the company is working to help Virgin Atlantic meet its goal of halving the waste it sends to landfills by 50 percent by 2012. The airline has already reduced the waste it produces in its offices and ground operations, and now Worn Again has produced 2,000 limited-edition bags using materials reclaimed from approximately 1,000 airplane seats during a renovation. The Worn Again Virgin line includes two handbags, a messenger bag and a toiletry case, priced ranging from GBP 25 to GBP 65. All are handmade in family-run and small-scale workshops in Portugal and come with a list of the "ingredients" and sources used. The bags are available at Terra Plana and elsewhere. Eco-minded consumers can only applaud the inclusion of another industry's waste on the sustainable fashion shelves, and the stories behind each product just add to the appeal. Sustainable designers: keep the innovations coming! (Related: District turns its own banners into bags — Eco-chic entrepreneurs.) Website: www.wornagain.co.uk/collections/wornagain-virgin-accessories
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There's no doubt bicycles are going through a renaissance of sorts, as the dual pressures of gas prices and environmental concerns spur consumers to look for transportation alternatives. Makes perfect sense, then, to see a similar upward trend in bicycle-related paraphernalia and equipment. One bike innovation out of the Netherlands recently caught the attention of one of our spotters: a combination bike stand and tire pump. Designed by Studio HiMom, the Heklucht pump was originally developed for an art project in Ypenburg, a newly built Dutch neighbourhood. With the goal of stimulating neighbourhood interaction, eight of the stainless-steel units—available in multiple colours—were placed in front of eight Ypenburg houses. The Heklucht won a Dutch Design Award back in 2006 in the category of public space products, and has since been installed also in Gent, Vienna and Leeds, Studio HiMom says. Indeed, making life easier for bicyclists is a goal with increasing appeal around the globe, particularly when the solution blends strong functionality and attractive design. One to bring to the bike-friendly neighbourhoods near you....? (Related: Vending machines for bicycle parts.) Website: www.heklucht.nl
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In a standard custom logo assignment, the average graphic designer develops six concepts for evaluation by the business owner client. Only one of those will be used, leaving five creative logos to be stored away—and probably never seen again. Enter IncSpring, a beta site that aims to help designers with ideas and business owners seeking same find each other for mutual gain. Launched last month, Texas-based IncSpring is a virtual marketplace linking graphic designers and businesses interested in corporate logos, brands and corporate identities. Designers can upload brand concepts onto the site for the perusal of entrepreneurs, corporations and businesses without middlemen or agency fees; they also retain complete control over their pricing. Potential buyers, on the other hand, can search by industry, colour or name, evaluating and even assessing market reactions to the designs they see via IncSpring's social network, which lets users rate and provide public feedback on submitted ideas. Potential customers can also request minor changes to shape a particular design to their individual specifications. When a purchase is made, IncSpring charges a commission of 15 percent, the artist receives the rest and the buyer receives the brand in a ready-to-use digital format. As part of its site launch, IncSpring is currently holding a contest—with a deadline of Sept. 19—offering USD 2,000 in cash and other prizes for designers who submit ideas to the site. Membership on IncSpring is free. In an industry where only a small proportion of ideas make it through to the finish, IncSpring will undoubtedly give designers a welcome way to capitalize at last on the many hours they put in, whether or not originally for a paying client. Entrepreneurs, meanwhile, gain access to a wealth of ideas that wouldn't ordinarily be available. It's a win-win for everyone involved and one to try out—particularly if you happen to be an enterprising Springwise reader on the brink of launching the next big thing! ;-) (Related: Crowdsourced graphic design.) Website: www.incspring.com Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann
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It's hard to imagine a business for which emissions-free travel makes more sense than the delivery of fresh organic produce. No real surprise, then, to find a Florida company that delivers local, farm-stand fruits and vegetables via a bicycle-towed trailer. Sarasota-based Harvest Cycle provides home and bulk deliveries of organic produce from Jessica's Stand and Organic Farm, a local provider. Foods delivered include farm-fresh greens, vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, grains and seeds, and everything is delivered in 14-gallon Rubbermaid bins stacked atop a bicycle-towed trailer. Customers browse the week's available selection—updated each Thursday night—and place their orders online. Deliveries are then made Friday or Saturday. Delivery fees are USD 15 per bin, and 25 percent of the proceeds go to the Alliance for Responsible Transportation. Expect to see more examples of delivery by bicycle in the energy-conscious days ahead, using anything from traditional bicycles to van-sized cargo cycles, as we've already seen at French La Petite Reine. With the growing number of eco-minded consumers out there, it won't remain a novelty—or an option—for long! Website: www.harvestcycle.com Spotted by: Emma Crameri
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