I’m as big a fan of buy-a-pair, donate-a-pair company TOMS SHOES as I am of Azalea Boutique in my neighborhood (between Cheap Mondays and Pangea Organics, they’ve got a good thing going). Tomorrow afternoon the latter will host a get together for customizing your kicks as part of shopping site Tobi’s first offline event. Not feeling creative? Resident artist Caitlin Foster will be on hand to assist and provide inspiration.
Local creative type Cindy Liu was feeling frustrated by a lack of likeable masks in preparing for a friend’s 3oth masquerade birthday party last year when she decided to create her own. When asked to describe the lovingly humorous (and androgynous) hand embroidered face scarves she now markets as Archicraft at craft fairs and on Etsy, the creator I met at IndieMart said simply: “I love moustaches and wearing bandanas…it all naturally came together.” At less than $20 a pop, they make a good gift for facial hair-challenged and good humored friends looking for moustaches in black, brown and blonde against colorful bandanas.
Partially reposted from JoshSpear.
The idea behind local sustainability and consumer-focused company Viv is a simple and free one that could also be the best way to make your credit card look better (short of securing a black AMEX). After customers place a small sticker on the front of their debit or credit cards and show it at the time of purchase, participating retailers pledge to make energy efficiency and other green improvements to their businesses if enough stickers come through their doors and patronize. Grocery stores (Real Food Co.), bars (Elixir, The Page), “eco-gourmet restaurants” (Mixt Greens, my favorite daytime splurge) and outdoor companies (Sports Basement) are all taking part, and their progress on their commitments to make their businesses more eco-friendly can be tracked by the community. Founder Arul Velan started the company after Stanford Business School and a stint at Facebook with the help of Dinesh Thirupuvanam, and the pair and their team have been seen recently at street fests and athletic events distributing their green stickers. A little good, a lil’ green.
Partially reposted from JoshSpear.
Inspired by fellow SF blogger Maggie Mason’s Mighty Life List, I put together an abbreviated set of my own (just because it’s August doesn’t mean it isn’t a good time for goal setting and even a resolution or two). Many of Maggie’s “100 things to do before I go” items are being realized with a bit of help from Intel’s Sponsors of Tomorrow program (whose spots were beautifully art directed by pal Crystal English). Among my favorite on Ms. Mason’s list are: attend the SF Black and White Ball; help someone get into or through college; attend TED; and grow vegetables.
I’m thankful that her posts kick started my own list, which includes:
1. Take voice lessons (overcome tone deafness)
2. Run a marathon
3. Learn to cook well
4. Organize large AIDS Life Cycle fundraiser
5. Live in Asia
6. Buy a kayak
7. Publish a book
8. Be the cool aunt
9. Snowboard into my 70s (this is not too far-fetched–my dad started around his 50th birthday)
10. Teach yoga and college classes (in no particular order)
I’ll be planning to add a few and am interested to hear yours. List away.
Writing about fun things for an upcoming sunny weekend on a cold summer night in SF may be similar to planning Christmas in July, but few can fault you. I’ll keep it quick and dirty in thinking about to do’s this Sat/Sun, but there are some lovingly promoted events to plan for:
Saturday
While it’s better known for a festival of another sort, Folsom St. between 25th and 26th will play host to the San Francisco Street Food Festival from 11 to 7. The feeding freenzy includes bites from Poleng, Delfina, Absinthe, and the like, and a silent auction and scavenger hunt should buy time between courses. Flavorpill SF described it best: “Proceeds benefit La Cocina — which helps low-income women start their own food businesses — and you’ve got a scrumptious event that pleases both your conscience and your palette.”
Mission Bicycle Company starts selling their new apparel line on the 22nd. The items they’re carrying have gotten good reader response so far, and I’m pining for a pair of B. Spoke Tailor arm warmers that cover half the hand.
Although it opens the day before, The Sausalito Film Festival’s Saturday programming looks the most enticing. Screenings include Milking the Rhino, a documentary about Kenya’s Maasai and Namibia’s Himbra tribes vying for portions of the “wildlife tourism pie,” and Win or Lose: A Summer Camp Story, a (potentially humorous, potentially startling) look at a frighteningly competitive all boys camp for kids determined to become professional athletes. I’m looking forward to Tease & Screen, the event that film startup and pals IndieGoGo are throwing to show works-in-progress and host discussions with filmmakers that night as well.
Sunday
The Rock Make Music & Art Street Festival (another 11 to 7 event, this time on Treat Street between 17th and 18th) sounds like free fun all around between 50 artists and 12 bands. I can’t speak to the music, but with names like The Psychotherapists, Music for Animals, and The Don’ts, there may be more irony than one block can hold.
Sunday night is the second Blog Out Loud panel at curios and dress shop BellJar on 16th. It will be my first one, and the local co-founders describe it most completely as a “networking event for creative people to gather inspiration and information” from each other and experienced bloggers, most of whom focus on style (coco+kelley) and desirable things (The City Sage).
I’m looking forward to the book that tastemaker and reporter TREND HUNTER Magazine publisher Jeremy Gutsche is releasing on September 1. “Exploiting Chaos” looks to include as many talkable items and fun photos as the site itself, and it covers the success of innovative companies that started during recessions (maybe Disney, Apple, and the crowdpleasing if not regrettable IHOP ring a bell). Want to sneak a peak? Advance previews are available to Goliblogski readers before the book goes on sale.
Federated Media works with TREND HUNTER, but I found and appreciate this item completely independently of my employer.
I was impressed by upstart Valencia St. shop Mission Bicycle Company’s soft launch of apparel this week, and the way they introduced it to local bloggers was especially well-planned. Instead of inviting us to fight for an owner’s attention over cheese and cheap wine at a crowded launch party, manager Jefferson McCarley offered one-on-one product show-and-tells and introductions to the makers of select bags and clothing after hours. (Not that you can buy them now–the shelving and showcase were set up only for the two hour event while passers by looked in the windows; the accessories and clothes won’t be available for purchase until August 22nd.)
I thought the promotions plan was a good one–not just because it prevented another pitch email, but because it was a more intimate way to show their selections. Besides the touch screens for frame customization going in the store this week–which I guess you would use if the clerks are busy?–the Mission Bicycle web presence is clean and useful. (Not that you’d expect less from a company whose board includes Vimeo co-founder Zach Klein, Threadless co-founder Jeffrey Kalmikoff, and Google senior software engineer Brett Slatkin). But there’s something nice about being able to get your hands on the goods, especially when they’re SF weather-worthy, like B Spoke Tailor arm warmers repurposed from Merino Wool sweaters ($59).
A few other items of note were Cordarounds pants with reflective material ($89), Cheuy caps ($25), Sheila Moon knickers (honestly, I didn’t check the price of these because I bought a pair last year in a post-century haze), and exotic wood top tube covers ($39-$69). The store will be the only retailer to sell SF Bike Coalition hoodies ($40) and is designing a Mission bike bag with Rickshaw Bagworks, maker of the previously featured Moleskine folio.
My only complaint is that most of the clothes sold are made for men, which may reflect the fact that at least two thirds of the custom frame shoppers are men. But the way they introduced the items in advance was smart (a friend who worked for Adidas said they approaching showing new Stella McCartney lines to bloggers similarly). Despite the somewhat lacking description language (“Think of it as a farmers market for bicycles. In an Apple store. That sells custom single speed bicycles.”), I’ll go back. Could you fault me?
If you’re as interested in city tools Dopplr and FourSquare (but as time-strapped) as I am, the Paris company Never Alone Anymore’s new HiMyTribe app may be worth considering as a location-based people finder. It uses the iPhone and iPod Touch’s GPS capabilities to help people manage their groups (or professional and personal “tribes”) and identify people they would want to meet who are in their vicinity. A criteria-based search engine helps you locate people with similar interests, including business travelers, friends of friends, conference goers—even potential dates. There is a “blacklist” option, and exact locations aren’t shown until the other user accepts. The free app, which the company describes as the “first truly real-time person to person application for the iPhone,” allows for 20 tribe members globally, or there’s a larger network option with a monthly fee.
Partially reposted from JoshSpear.
In moving to Hayes Valley this summer, I’m excited to have found some fantastic spots of note (sit tight for the Hotel Biron post). Graphic designer pal Jamie Panzarella pointed out furniture store Inside Modern down the block, and with good reason: even if you aren’t in the market, it’s worth seeing the selection of primarily California-made tables and chairs and experiencing great customer service from the husband and wife owners (So Cal-based Vioski even “secret shopped” Inside Modern before making them a dealer of their furniture and was so impressed that they begged to be involved). The pieces that have most caught my eye are bubble lights and daybeds from Modernica, and I’m about one tax refund away from a teal 1950 fiberglass arm shell rocker. The store’s selection is one of the better non-gallery uses of a fine art degree, and in addition to the curatorial-style items, it has champagne for neighbors and shoppers on Sunday afternoons.
Their colorful chairs remind me of Charles Eames’ aesthetic (beautifully featured in a recent TED Talk about the designer’s furniture and film creation). It’s described best by the producers:
“The legendary design team Charles and Ray Eames made films, houses and classic midcentury modern furniture. Eames Demetrios, their grandson, shows rarely seen films and archival footage in a lively, loving tribute to their creative process.”
I got a lot out of PSFK’s SF conference last year, and it came as no surprise that their Good Brands Report for ’09 is just as worthwhile. In looking at criteria including experimentation, environment and going “beyond the 30 second spot,” the trends publisher identified Zipcar, Good Magazine, and Virgin as the brands doing the most notable work since this time last year. The best advice (…beyond Twitter being a company to watch–oh, that) is the Good Mag lesson for business: “Set the agenda and let your customers spread the conversation.”
