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Fashion fanatics have a number of online tools at their disposal—including countless places to design their own creations—but expert industry forecasts have traditionally been available only to paying professionals. Proving once again the increasing clout of the creative masses, London forecasting firm Trendstop now offers a free mobile app that delivers high-end fashion predictions to anyone. Trendstop typically provides forecasts and analysis to fashion industry professionals, with clients paying some USD 3,495 a year for full access. Now, however, any mobile user with a passion for fashion can download the company's Trendtracker application for free. Available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and other mobile platforms, Trendtracker lets users monitor the latest runway looks, fashion news, trend ideas and inspiration right from their mobile phones. Coverage includes daily trend reports, news and photos from fashion shows from around the world, and runway schedules and event guides. Where's the line dividing amateurs and professionals? That becomes a little less clear each day, thanks in part to consumers' insatiable infolust and the real-time apps that increasingly feed it. It's all part of what our sister site calls nowism. What up-to-the-minute data can your brand offer to forge a new point of connection with creative consumers...? Website: www.trendstop.com/mobile_app |
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Global warming and the recession may have delivered a one-two punch to many consumers' travel plans, but that doesn't mean people can't still enjoy an exotic escape of a different kind. Enter Destination Dinners, a San Francisco company that offers a wide variety of dinner kits replicating dining experiences from around the world. Bangladesh, Jamaica, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Israel, Lebanon and New Orleans are all regions that customers can 'visit' gastronomically by means of Destination Dinners' recipe kits, which come complete with everything necessary to create a local-style meal. Premeasured spices, sauces and dried items are part of every package, as are step-by-step instructions, a shopping list for fresh ingredients, and fun facts and trivia about the destination in question. The Destination Dinner kits are designed to serve four adults and are priced at USD 25 or USD 30. A line of dinner party kits is also available—including serving pieces, placemats, bowls, trays and even music CDs—as is a "Destination Passport" plan that ships one dinner kit plus a corresponding cooking or serving tool each month. Offering a healthy platter of dining insperiences along with a generous serving of status skills to boot, Destination Dinners currently focuses on shipping within the United States. One to help bring to home-bound culinary adventurers in your neck of the global woods...? (Related: Cuisine in a box — Ready-to-cook meals delivered to busy urbanites — Modern wine paired with ancient Roman cuisine.) Website: www.destinationdinners.com Spotted by: Jim Chiang |
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Regular Springwise readers may recall food52, the year-long series of weekly recipe contests we wrote about last autumn that will ultimately culminate in a published cookbook highlighting the winners. That project is still under way—it's nearing week 40 now—but recently we came across an Australian venture that brings much the same concept to the world of cartoons. Billed as "the world's first social cartoon character", Eric the Circle is the story of—sure enough—a circle named Eric. Eric is not just any circle: he lives a full and active life, as evidenced by the hundreds of cartoons contributed so far that depict some of its highlights. Participants simply sign on to Eric's web page and then begin creating their own cartoons about him. A drawing tool on the site makes drawing and adding captions easy. Those cartoons can then be published on the site gallery; they can also be publicised using Twitter, Facebook, web pages and blogs. Viewers can vote on the submitted cartoons, and those that fare the best will be published in a book and syndicated to other web pages. The creators of those winners, meanwhile, will be rewarded financially, the site's founders say. There are few things we love more here at Springwise than to see the prolific members of Generation Cash get compensated for their efforts. When was the last time your brand tapped the creative crowds—and rewarded them? (Related: Crowdsourcing site helps publishers find new authors — Greeting-card maker pays for top crowdsourced designs — Author's next thriller will be cowritten by the crowds.) Website: www.ericthecircle.com Spotted by: Douglas Aplin |
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India has one of the largest deaf populations in the world, but social stigmas have eliminated many job opportunities for the roughly 6 percent of the population that is affected. Aiming to empower this isolated group economically, Mirakle Couriers is a service provider that hires only deaf workers. Mirakle Couriers offers a pickup and delivery service in Mumbai. The company puts a heavy emphasis on the training of employees—right down to the finer points of professional grooming—and has grown dramatically since its late 2008 launch. Its client list now includes Johnson Controls, Bain Capital and the Indian Hotels Company, among many others. Founded by former investment banker Dhruv Lakra, Mirakle Couriers stresses that it is "not a charity but a social business, where the social element is embedded in the commercial operations". The firm plans to expand beyond Mumbai to other cities and countries around the world. Social entrepreneurs hither and yon: time to get in touch...? (Related: Adventures for sighted and non-sighted travellers — Network for people with disabilities.) Website: www.miraklecouriers.com Spotted by: Manoj Nahar |
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If augmented reality can be used to reveal the buildings of the future, then why not someone's face as it would look if a particular kind of makeup were applied? Such, indeed, is precisely the idea behind a new digital makeup mirror now being used by Shiseido in Japan. Launched last month at the Takashimaya department store in Tokyo, the Digital Cosmetic Mirror lets store patrons test makeup and recommendations without actually applying anything to their skin, according to Japan Trends. Customers begin by allowing the mirror's camera to scan their face, generating a set of customised recommendations. Using the device's touch-screen interface, they can then ask to see specific types of makeup on their face, and the mirror paints those products on virtually and in real time. Different colours and formats can be applied and removed with the touch of a button, and consumers can print out 'before' and 'after' photos of the looks they like best. Also included on the printout, as one might expect, is product purchase information. A video on YouTube demonstrates the mirror in action. In addition to enabling virtual tryvertising without the expense of real samples, the Digital Cosmetic Mirror also promises to dramatically reduce much of the waste associated with traditional sampling approaches, as Japan Trends points out. How long before this one spreads to makeup counters around the globe? (Related: Tryvertising store expands in Spain.) Website: www.shiseido.co.jp Spotted by: Jenny Lau |
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From jeans to bicycles, fabrics to sleeping bags, we've seen a wide array of products consumers can design themselves. Lest swim shorts aficionados feel left out, however, there's now a design-your-own site for those too—and it even rewards creators with cold, hard cash. Aiming to do for swim shorts what Threadless has done for t-shirts, Shortomatic is a California-based company that invites consumers to upload their own art for a truly customised swim. All they need do is indicate their waist size and then upload the graphics they have in mind. They then position and size the art, choose their colours and add text for use on the waistband. Next, voilà! A unique pair of California-made boardshorts that's customised for them. Those feeling less creative can also browse Shortomatic's curated gallery of existing designs—currently, there are close to 700 exhibited there. Consumers feeling really artistic, on the other hand, can submit their designs in Shortomatic's Artist's Program. Designs accepted by the gallery curator are produced in limited editions of 200. Their creators receive USD 5 for every pair sold, while a further 5 percent goes to support Global Green. Either way, every pair of shorts is printed with the artist's name, image title and edition number. Pricing begins at USD 99 per pair. Shortomatic is the sister company of Yogamatic which lets consumers design their own yoga mats. The verdict is in, it seems safe to say, and consumers clearly like to have it their own way. Perhaps even more, however, they like to be paid for what they create. Help make that happen, and you'll see some sweet rewards yourself! ;-) Website: www.shortomatic.com |
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When a child is too sick to go to day care or school, working parents often have little choice but to stay home and miss work themselves. Not so for those who live in and around Kennewick, Washington, however, where a new company offers bed rest and supervised nursing care for kids with low-level but contagious illnesses. Chicken Soup + Nursing is a 20-bed facility aimed at kids up to 12 years old with fever, conjunctivitis, rashes or other problems that prevent their going to school. In a setting much like a hospital ward, children are evaluated by a doctor or nurse practitioner, and typically placed on varying degrees of bed rest (with a safe distance between beds). Their vitals are taken at routine intervals by certified staff. If they are found to require medication, those drugs are ordered from a pharmacy, picked up and administered as directed. Kids can bring toys, books, handheld games and movies along with a packed lunch or baby food, if appropriate. Chicken Soup + Nursing provides snacks and fluids, along with updates to parents throughout the day. Chicken Soup + Nursing is planning to become a 24/7 operation and to enable remote viewing of patients for parents at work. Employers in the United States alone lose between USD 2 and USD 12 billion annually as a result of the 5 to 29 days working mothers miss each year on average caring for ill children, according to the National Association for Sick Child Daycare. Recession-beleaguered parents, meanwhile, are more reluctant than ever to risk compromising their jobs by missing time unnecessarily. Who will be first to offer daytime care for mildly sick kids in your neck of the woods...? (Related: Hotel approach to childcare.) Website: www.chickensoupnursing.com Spotted by: Susanna Haynie
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Registering bicycles to make them easier to track down if lost or stolen isn't new. Many bike retailers put identification numbers on bike frames, and in some cities you can register bicycles with the police. The problem is that these methods are generally only effective at the local level. Enter German startup MyBikeNumber. Launched in December 2009, MyBikeNumber is a free online service that lets consumers register their bicycle and components, or search for them worldwide. Consumers can visit the site and check the unique identifiers to ensure that the bicycle they are looking to purchase is not stolen. In the event that a bike is found to be stolen, a message can be sent securely through the site to inform the rightful owner. According to the FBI, there were 221,936 bicycle thefts in the United States in 2008. Globally, the number of bikes reported stolen annually is estimated at 1.5 million. MyBikeNumber aims to help bike owners worldwide avoid becoming a statistic. Could this be a model worth emulating to trace other possessions vulnerable to theft? (Related: Lost & found in the 21st century.) Website: www.mybikenumber.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen |
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Creative consumers can already craft their own fonts using FontShop's do-it-yourself font-building tool, but for those seeking an extra degree of personalisation—the ultimate degree, one might say—there's now Typeface. Billed as a "typographic photobooth", Typeface's software translates facial dimensions into generative type design. Users of the software, which was created by Mary Huang of Rhyme and Reason Creative, sit in front of a webcam-enabled computer. Typeface then builds and adjusts a font based on the user's face, movements and facial expressions. When the user smiles, for instance, the font alters to reflect that; when they turn their head slightly, it changes again. The resulting individual typefaces can be saved and exported in PDF form. Huang intends to make a downloadable version of the software soon. Similar in many ways to jewelry that replicates the wearer's scar, Typeface promises to take personalisation to a whole new level. One to help bring to the customisation-happy masses...? (Related: Green-minded font uses less ink.) Website: www.rhymeandreasoncreative.com Spotted by: Jim Stewart |
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Similar to Hamburg's Language Lounge, which we covered back in 2008, Spanish restaurant chain Fresc Co now provides a way for customers to practice their English while they eat. But while Language Lounge charges a monthly fee for its lessons, Fresc Co's initiative is free. Fresc Co operates some 40 restaurants in 11 Spanish cities, focusing on fresh ingredients and Mediterranean dishes. Starting last month, two of its Barcelona locations have teamed up with local instruction firm English Metas to help patrons improve their English skills while also doing a little networking. Targeting professional workers, English Metas' native speaking teachers focus primarily on everyday language and work situations in the relaxed, two-hour sessions. Corporate generosity is always good, but when it can help your target customers through tough economic times—and drum up a little extra business along the way—it's a win-win for everyone. Other restaurants, bars and cafes around the globe: time to give out a little free love of your own? (Related: English lessons and eyelash extensions.) Website: www.frescco.com Spotted by: Leticia Pérez Prieto |
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Planned scarcity is a well-known tactic for increasing a product's appeal, and a new Australian venture is taking full advantage of that strategy with its collection of strictly limited-edition designer laptop sleeves. Launched in July 2009, Melbourne-based Tropical Howie caters for consumers seeking a more creative protective covering for their laptop over the bland offerings that dominate the market. Each eye-catching Tropical Howie design is limited to 750 sleeves; and Tropical Howie's website displays the numbers remaining. Adding to their uniqueness, the designs feature an accompanying story—some of them quite risqué—printed on the inside of the sleeve. There are currently six designs on offer, available for 13in, 15in or 17in laptops. Made from high quality 5mm neoprene, the sleeves are priced at AUD 69.95 and worldwide shipping is available. Website: www.tropicalhowie.com Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann |
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Long-distance relationships are difficult enough to maintain among adults, but when young kids are involved, the chances of achieving a meaningful conversation from afar tend to diminish. That's where Readeo comes in, with a newly launched platform that lets families share bedtime stories through the web. The Chicago-based company's patent-pending application integrates digitised picture books with webcam communication, allowing adults and children to share stories while seeing and interacting with each other. A diverse library is available on the site, including titles from publishers such as Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Candlewick Press, Blue Apple Books and Chronicle Books. The library is fully searchable, and families can create personalised virtual bookshelves of their favourites. A Book of the Month is available to all users for free, but unlimited use of the site costs USD 9.95 per month or USD 49.95 per year. With its focus on stories, Readeo promises a new point of connection for families separated by travel, divorce, military service or just geographic dispersion. Currently, however, the site serves only United States users—other languages and countries, anyone? (Related: Narrate-your-own storybook videos.) Website: www.readeo.com Spotted by: Claudia Allwood |
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