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Regular Springwise readers may remember Swiss Netgranny and Danish Mormor.nu, both of which sell knit goods handmade by real-life grandmothers. Now a similar contender has emerged in France that throws some design-your-own flexibility into the mix. Golden Hook is a company that lets customers design their own hat and then choose the grandmother they'd like to knit it. Users begin by selecting the shape of hat they'd like—classic, long or Peruvian, with pompom or without. They can then begin either with a blank hat or one of the site's existing designs and customize it, knit row by row, by clicking on a region of the hat and then clicking on the colour they'd like that stripe to be. On Peruvian styles they can even choose the hue of the strings by the ears, and for those with simple tastes a "Colour Up" option is available to make the entire hat a single shade. Customers then select their hat size and proceed on to view Golden Hook's gallery of grandmas, which gives photos and short bios ("married since kindergarten, a former dairywoman, she’s an absolute fan of the Wheel of Fortune," for example) for each knitter in the company's employ. After choosing the one they'd like to knit their hat, customers can send her a message and can even request that she sign her name on the hat's label. Pricing begins at EUR 42. In this era of anonymous, distant mass production, there's nothing like knowing (and being able to share) the product life story of a locally handmade good (one that's (still) made here, as our sister site would say) to make a consumer value it more—and be willing to shell out more to get it. Plenty more opportunities where this one came from, too. Get those knitting needles started! ;-) (Related: Full provenance sweaters.) Website: www.goldenhook.fr |
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Providing a new solution to an old problem, ReadyPing lets restaurants notify guests by text message when their table is ready. The system aims to improve on restaurant pagers, which require a substantial upfront investment plus maintenance costs, and have a limited range. Restaurants don't need to purchase new hardware to use ReadyPing; all that's required is an internet connection and a computer. ReadyPing charges a flat monthly fee of USD 35, which includes sending an unlimited number of 'pings'. To use the system, hosts enter a party's name, number of guests, and their mobile number. When their table is available, the host clicks a button to send a customizable text message. Launched in January 2009, ReadyPing is currently only available in the United States, but it definitely has potential in other time-strapped parts of the world. Of course, there's no reason why similar systems couldn't be used by other types of businesses. One to brainstorm on? (Related: Subway launches food ordering via SMS.) Website: www.readyping.com Spotted by: Judy McRae |
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As a delicacy with relative affordability and universal appeal, ice cream is one of those products that serves as a barometer of the times. We've covered ice cream innovations at the high end—such as the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Company and its locally sourced, hormone-free ice creams in flavours like ginger, giandujia and red currant—as well as convenience-focused novelties like the MooBella vending machine. Next up? Simplicity, if the Häagen-Dazs Five line is any indication. Häagen-Dazs Five is a new, all-natural ice cream crafted with only five ingredients: skim milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks and natural flavouring. Available in mint, ginger, coffee, vanilla bean, passion fruit, brown sugar and milk chocolate, the Five line also includes less fat than Häagen-Dazs's other ice creams, the company says. It's now available in stores, and an online flavour finder helps identify availability by ZIP code. Pricing is roughly USD 7 per pint. Pure, natural, simple—in today's ailing economic climate, such adjectives hold a nostalgic appeal. Everyday consumers may not be able to afford the big luxuries, but at least there's still good, old-fashioned ice cream! ;-) Website: www.haagendazs.com/products/five.aspx |
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Encouraging consumers to try new wines is a goal that has united vintners around the globe for many years, as evidenced by the trial-sized tubes, wine-tasting games, and technology-enhanced wine bars and wine tastings we've covered. Working along similarly cooperative lines, a bricks-and-mortar tasting room recently opened in San Francisco that promotes the wines of eight boutique producers through a series of dedicated tasting stations. Launched last fall, the Press Club is a tasting cellar located at the foot of the Four Seasons Hotel in the heart of San Francisco. Featuring both a common area and eight winery-exclusive tasting bars, the Press Club incorporates the best efforts of eight different Northern California vineyards, each of which is represented onsite by its own employees: the Chateau Montelena Winery, the Fritz Winery, Hanna Winery & Vineyards, Landmark Vineyards, Miner Family Vineyards, Mount Eden Vineyards, Pahlmeyer and Saintsbury. Patrons at the Press Club can taste flights offered by any of the individual wineries, or they can mix and match among them. A menu of accompanying bite-sized treats, meanwhile, draws from a selection of savory delights and sweet surprises inspired by the fresh fruits, produce and dairy of Napa Valley and Sonoma County. The Press Club's social experience caters to individual wine enthusiasts, friendly gatherings and private group events. Wine is also available by the bottle for retail sale. Much like the online efforts of Naked Wines, the Press Club's focus on local producers creates a unique bouquet that blends not just excellent wines and tryvertising but also a heady dose of (still) made here appeal. And while its model is particularly well-suited to the urban areas close to wine country, there's nothing to say such an establishment couldn't do stunningly well in, say, Chicago or London, as long as the right partnerships were in place. One to emulate—with vintners' blessings—for wine lovers near you! (Related: Urban winery & wine bar in NYC.) Website: www.pressclubsf.com |
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Although grabbing the set list from a favourite band's gig is like nabbing a trophy, not everyone can get their hands on that sweaty and smudged piece of paper. Which is why Setlist.fm was launched, a free wiki-site that allows users to upload and browse concert set lists. The process is easy: users sign up, select an artist from the site's extensive database (or add in someone up-and-coming), input a venue, and then list the songs the artist played during that particular show. They're encouraged to add whatever they remember, relying on 'crowd memory' to fix errors and add missing songs. Once saved, a list is added to an archive of an artist's performances that also includes 'most played' statistics and links to live videos. Each user is given a personal page of the set lists they added or edited, as well as their comments and concert attendance statistics. Helping promote the site, a Setlist.fm widget is popular on music websites, and is also available for Facebook pages. Its pseudo-handwritten ink-on-paper format combines a sense of authenticity with the convenience of a digital database. Launched in September 2008, Setlist.fm's current database consists mainly of recent concerts, although there's nothing to stop enthusiasts from listing shows dating back to Bruce Springsteen's glory days. Developed in tiny Liechtenstein (first time we've covered a Liechtenstein business), ad-supported Setlist.fm has potential, thanks to its niche focus, savvy execution and reliance on user participation. (Related: Video dictionary with a wiki touch.) Website: www.setlist.fm Spotted by: Lea |
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There are few products more eco-iconic than those that are stylishly but obviously constructed from other used goods. We've already covered a few examples—bags made from old airline seat covers, town banners or discarded wrappers, for example—but it wasn't until recently that we came across the idea of turning previously worn shirts into bibs. Sure enough, Margo Roth, a Michigan-based entrepreneur who sells nuts and homemade jams through her company Jemfruit, has begun offering what she calls Dirt Shirts—an alternative to a tied napkin or traditional adult-sized bib that offers a more stylish and dignified way to keep messy eaters' clothes clean. Dirt Shirts are essentially regular collared, button-down shirts with the sleeves and most of the back removed. Adults in need of a little extra clothing protection while they eat simply slip the neck opening over their head, and the front of the shirt covers their own garments; most are lined, unless the fabric is heavy enough to do the job alone. Velcro squares sewn to the bottom even allow a "tray" to be formed to aid in catching crumbs. Dirt Shirts are available in a variety of styles, patterns and lengths for about USD 19. A video on YouTube demonstrates the Dirt Shirt in action. There is no shortage of used clothing out there, making the Dirt Shirt an excellent candidate for emulation by minipreneurs with a crafty bent. A bunch of shirts, a needle and thread, and you're pretty much good to go! ;-) Website: www.jemfruit.com |
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If wine tastings can be conducted via Twitter, it should come as no surprise to find a wine-recommendation service that's accessible by SMS. Sure enough, Hello Vino is a new wine pairing and suggestion tool that can be accessed both via the web and from any mobile device. Users in search of wine advice merely visit Hello Vino online or text the word HELLOVINO to 368266. The tool then guides them through a simple question-and-answer process, asking first if the wine they seek is for with a meal, for an occasion, of a specific taste or style or from a particular region. Depending on their choice they are then asked a few additional questions, the ultimate result of which is a short list of specific wines that could fit the bill, including for each the vintage, region and price. California-based Hello Vino just launched a few weeks ago, and it's not yet clear exactly how its revenue model will work. Partnerships with local merchants or vintners seem a likely possibility, however, since that would also help complete the picture with information—currently missing from the service—on where to buy the wines that are recommended. One to test out, partner with, and take to the next level! (Related: Selling wine by SMS — Food pairing made easy.) Website: www.hellovino.com Spotted by: Roberta Steinberg |
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When actress Helen Mirren portrays the character Phèdre this summer in a London production of Jean Racine's tragic play by the same name, it won't be only attendees at the Royal National Theatre who get to watch. Rather, theatre lovers around the globe will have a chance to see the production on the silver screen at a cinema or arts centre near them. Through its new NT Live initiative, which kicks off with this summer's production, the Royal National Theatre will film the Phèdre performance live and in high definition, then broadcast it via satellite to some 50 venues across the UK—for a potential audience of up to 10,000 in a single evening—along with 100 more in the US, Canada and Europe. In addition to the performance itself, remote audiences will be able to watch backstage footage and interviews with artists. In the UK, the National is working with the Picturehouse chain and a range of independent cinemas and arts centres; ticket prices will likely be GBP 10. The National Theatre aims to broadcast three additional productions during its NT Live pilot season, and they'll be chosen in advance to allow cameras greater freedom; ticket prices will be adjusted accordingly. Much like the Met's broadcast efforts, which we covered back in 2007, the NT Live initiative promises to bring live theatre to countless audiences who might not otherwise see it. It's a sort of democratization of the arts—both financially and geographically—and it's very likely coming soon to a cineplex near you. Symphony orchestras: you're up next! ;-) Website: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk |
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We've already covered a few examples of retailers that focus on green supplies for do-it-yourself home improvement, and recently one of our spotters alerted us to another that just opened in Manhattan: Green Depot, a store that aims to make green building and living solutions "accessible, affordable and gratifying." Green Depot has been selling sustainable building products and services through its showrooms since 2005, but it was not until earlier this month that it opened its new, flagship retail store in Manhattan. Located in the Bowery, the 3,500-square-foot store is designed to demonstrate high-performance green materials in action, and is itself on track to be a platinum LEED-certified space. A light booth made of recycled resin materials, for example, helps shoppers compare light bulbs and paint colours in a controlled setting, while the zero-VOC paint bar serves up a line of paints free of volatile organic chemicals. The store's private-label cleaning line, meanwhile, is available for sale by the ounce, encouraging customers to refill and reuse their own plastic and glass containers. Aiming to cut through the "greenwashing" that's frequently applied to less-than-entirely-green products and stores, Green Depot also uses a system of five simple icons to make the "green" label explicit for consumers: "air quality," "local," "social responsibility," "energy" and "conservation," indicating just what aspect of greenness each product addresses. Green Depot bears no relation to Home Depot, but it does promise to help spread a whole new world of eco-credentials to the green-minded masses. Time to jump in with a contender in your neck of the eco-iconic woods....? (Related: Pop-up cafe is a monument to sustainability.) Website: www.greendepot.com |
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Planning a wedding may be a time-consuming task, but any bride who elects to take her husband's last name after getting married soon learns that the process of making that name change can be nearly as laborious. Enter I'm a Mrs., a new site that gives Canadian women an alternative to navigating the myriad forms, government requirements and notification letters themselves. Traditionally, changing one's name involves visiting a government office for the required forms, and then identifying and notifying all the other organizations in one's life—a process that can take hours or even days. Vancouver-based I’m A Mrs., however, provides a one-stop alternative with all of the forms, instructions and personalized letters new brides need when they change their name. Two packages are available on the site: a CDN 29.95 standard package, which includes access to all of the necessary government forms as well as three additional ones of the bride's choice, and a CDN 49.95 premium package, which includes access to all forms in the database covering government, banks, credit cards, utility companies and mortgage firms. With either package, brides are given a personal page where they select the organizations that are relevant to them. Then, they simply provide I'm a Mrs. with the details of their name change, and the site auto-completes the necessary forms and letters. After looking them over, brides need only sign the paperwork and send it out. I'm a Mrs. currently serves only Canada, but plans are in the works to extend its service to the US as well. One to partner with or emulate in your neck of the woods...? Website: www.imamrs.com |
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Aiming to help the thousands of Australian families left homeless by the recent devastating fires in Victoria and New South Wales, Bushfire Housing is a site that was created specifically to match people in need with others in the area who can offer emergency accommodation. Bushfire Housing was created within a day or so of the Australian tragedy by Melbourne internet marketing group Sputnik Agency, which was inspired by a similar site used during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. How it works: Area residents with space to share register and list their offerings on Bushfire Housing, which then allows fire victims to browse for potential places to stay. When a victim expresses interest in a place, an email is automatically sent to its owner, allowing both parties to make arrangements directly from that point on. Bushfire Housing does, however, provide a non-binding occupancy agreement to make negotiations easier. In creating Bushfire Housing, Sputnik relied on no outside advertising or sponsorship, and it used a purely viral strategy to promote its efforts. SMS messages, badges and prewritten emails are all among the tools available on the site to help visitors spread the word. Some 600 housing offers are currently listed on the site, with a total capacity to accommodate more than 2000 people. Bushfire Housing is similar in many ways to some of the bed-sharing services we've written about, albeit with very different motivations. Not only is it good proof of what can be accomplished virtually overnight with the help of the social Web, it's also a shining example of the corporate generosity now being expected by what our sister site calls Generation G. See trendwatching.com's briefing for more on why giving is the new taking—and try it out yourself sometime! (Related: Soccer fans to share beds at Euro 2008 — Networking & bedsharing.) Website: www.bushfirehousing.org |
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The fact that Green Irene, Green Grannies and Green Groove have all graced our pages in just a few short weeks recently is a fair indication of today's increasing focus on sustainability. Now joining that list is Climate Culture, a virtual world that combines guidance, community and games to help consumers reduce their energy consumption. Centered around a patent-pending carbon footprint calculator, Climate Culture offers users personalized advice on the amount of carbon, energy, dollars and other resources they expend through hundreds of lifestyle choices and daily actions. The site's Personal Energy Advisor tool uses regionally specific datasets that reflect the types of energy generated, temperatures, incoming solar radiation, energy prices and other factors determined by ZIP code to power many of its personalized calculations. Users who join the free site begin by entering some basic information to calculate their current carbon footprint, and then choosing an avatar. They then find themselves on a virtual island that reflects their current level of energy consumption. The Reduction Center guides users to make changes in their lifestyle that will reduce their carbon footprint, such as installing a tankless water heater or using CFLs instead of traditional lightbulbs. For every reduction they make, users earn points that give them higher social status in the community along with access to more and more features in the site's online store for customizing their avatar and their world. Users can also earn points by helping friends green their lifestyles and by challenging others in real-world carbon-reduction contests. In addition, a variety of multiuser games can be used to earn points as well: each time a user plays or wins, one of Climate Culture's corporate sponsors donates money to offset 10 pounds of carbon dioxide. Climate Culture is reportedly planning a pilot project in Connecticut through which it aims to help whole towns become more energy-efficient, according to a report in Matter Network. Its business model, the report suggests, involves having residential energy savings certified by the state and then selling them as Renewable Energy Certificates to energy suppliers. New York-based Climate Culture currently supports users only in the US, with support for Canadian users coming soon. One to partner with in an area near you....? (Related: Rewarding consumers for driving less.) Website: www.climateculture.com |
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Warm beer in airport restaurants resembling barns has, no doubt, caused many of us to wonder where air travel's glamour got to. Helping revive the notion of classy business travel, Heineken has teamed up with design agency UXUS to create an airport lounge that offers a respite from the chaos of the terminal gate. The Heineken Lounge opened in Newark Liberty International Airport in December 2008, and democratically presents all travellers with the luxuries typically reserved for first and business class passengers. Private conversation nooks, custom white leather sofas, spherical light fixtures and green aluminium tables combine to create a contemporary brand space. In addition to Heineken, a variety of beers are served on tap, alongside a fully-stocked cocktail bar. Although Hong Kong's International Airport has had its own Heineken bar for some time, Newark's lounge is more of a 'third place', offering work necessities such as wifi, as well as movies and other entertainment. One to emulate, if branding budgets allow ;-) (Related: Being space for a microbrew — Beer cans that sleep two — Baby brand space at Schiphol Airport.) Website: www.heineken.com — www.uxusdesign.com Spotted by: RK |
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There's nothing quite like a cold shower on a winter morning to encourage tenants to get vocal about their landlords' accountability. Hoping to put their views to good use is Neighbo: an online platform that brings tenants, property managers and landlords together to improve relationships and efficiency, similar to New York's LifeAt, which we covered a while back. Neighbo offers a suite of three core products: Neighbo Lite, a free service for communities to create neighbourhood networks; standard Neighbo, a private community tool with collaborative widgets, calendars and forums; and Neighbo Manager, a B2B version full of bells and whistles that help property managers keep tabs on their buildings. Prices vary depending on how many apartments or units are in each community. Founder and managing director Paul Fox was inspired to create the site for UK residents after living in a faceless, poorly managed apartment block for many years. After joining with several property management experts, he launched Neighbo last month. As our social worlds become increasingly virtual, Neighbo taps into the counter trend of seeking connections in our local spheres. Want more nuggets of inspiration along these lines? Check out the "warm bodies" section in trendwatching.com's off=on briefing. Website: www.neighbo.com Spotted by: Katrina Lincoln |
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As if the emissions reduction and gas savings weren't enough to entice people to carpool, NuRide rewards users for doing their bit. After registering with NuRide, members can connect with neighbours, friends and coworkers to organize ride shares and log their non-driving efforts. Akin to frequent flyer miles for mindful commuters, members earn points every time they share a ride, cycle into town or skip their commute by telecommuting. Regular NuRide users can receive around USD 350 per year in rewards, which can be exchanged for retailer discounts, gift cards, and tickets to shows and attractions The service addresses safety issues by only accepting users with email addresses issued by reputable employers, schools or universities. Users can specify particular criteria for those they wish to share with, and can blacklist people they don't want to ride with. Proving that carsharing can achieve critical mass, Nuride has almost 40,000 users, who have been rewarded with over USD 1.5 million in return for cutting out 2 million car trips. Since members specify their trip origin, destination, travel preferences and vehicle information, sponsors—the companies that provide rewards—can target highly specific sets of consumers, both nationally and locally. NuRide currently operates in eight regions in the US, with many other areas left to be serviced. For more inspiration: our sister site's latest trend briefing includes an introduction to eco generosity. Website: www.nuride.com |
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