New items up on our Etsy shop: A Week of Sundries

Hi folks! This is just a quick announcement that my girlfriend and I have opened an Etsy shop called A Week of Sundries. We’ve got a few items up now…more to come soon.

I’d like to point you specifically to the most recently added item: a cute, re-purposed bi-fold wallet. Check it out today!

Crash the Inauguration

via SwissMiss

A new online Inauguration guide has recently gone live–giving you all the info you need about Obama’s upcoming Inauguration.

Find a room, find a party, find out the events you can attend for free and find out all you need to know about navigating DC.

If you’re headed to what folks are calling the “Woodstock of Washington” you should give it a look!

Will you be in DC on the 20th?

Beer by country from Sloshspot

Check out this great post by rtcrooks over at Sloshspot. I’ve done a lot of traveling, and the one thing we always make sure to try is the local brew.

Travel around the world in 116 beers — how many have you tried and what are you favorites?

Revolving Door harnesses everyday energy

Above you’ll see a brilliant piece of green design being used in a train station in the Netherlands.

DVICE reports that this is “the first revolving door to ever be designed to harness energy, with a display on the outside of the station showing just how much energy has been generated.”

It’s about time people began to incorporate green design into everyday activities in a way that is more than just sustainable. Self-propelling and self-fulfilling design is bound to present itself more often in the future.

World’s First Green Vacuum

Electrolux has taken a step forward in reducing the carbon footprint your vacuum will leave behind. Their new model, the AirMAX Öko, consumes “only 1.25 kilowatts [and] the vacuum sucks 33% less power than your typical 2kW vacuum.”

The new model, released in November, boasts comparable suction power due to the “uniquely designed dust bags and floor brushes” from what I hear. This, coupled with the fact that it’s made from 55% recycled materials, seems like a huge improvement.

It’s not the sleekest design we’ve seen yet, but it’s still a cute little canister with pretty green accents! Nonetheless, Dvice nails it when they say that Electrolux will need to step up their game to compete with the beautifully designed (and marketed) Dyson models.

Electrolux may hedge them out by offering the less expensive model ($270 for the Öko), but I’d love to see something slick in addition. I’m sure it won’t be long before Dyson creates their own green machine – and I have a feeling it might look much sexier.

Reports confirmed: Walmart will sell iPhone

There have been reports swirling around the internet, from Engadget to Dvice to ComputerWorld. I’ve heard that Walmart will pick up the iPhones prior to Christmas or just after. I’ve heard they’ll sell a 4GB version for $99. I’ve heard that the $99 is way off-base.

What I’m hearing now, via Gregg Keizer is that “employees at several stores in the discount retail chain [have confirmed the rumor that they'll sell the iPhone]. Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters, however, would not confirm that the company will sell the iconic iPhone. A spokeswoman said only that ‘we are not making an official announcement at this time’.”

Engadget has this to say: “Walmart training materials (pictured above) have been seen in the wild, so there’s a grain of truth to this madness somewhere. Plus, a $99 iPhone just sounds so Walmart-ey, doesn’t it?”

Again, Keizer says “The Wal-Mart workers said that they didn’t know what Wal-Mart would be charging for the iPhone. Apple currently sells two models: an 8GB version for $199, and a 16GB device for $299.”

Whatever the cost, I’m not surprised that this will be happening as much as I’m thrilled I might be able to get one early next year!

Keizer nails it when he notes, “Wal-Mart sells iPods, don’t they?” he asked. “I don’t see this changing the Apple image. I don’t see it terribly much affecting Apple one way or the other.”

Vinyl Wall stickers from Wonderful Graffiti

Moving into a new home or office space? Thinking about affordable ways to spruce up your blank, white walls? Check out Wonderful Graffiti.

Wonderful Graffiti says of themselves, ” We celebrate typography–the art of lettering–in unconventional ways.

Our two websites, WonderfulGraffiti.com and WonderfulGraffitiWEDDING.com, are designed to help you celebrate typography your way.

We’re best known for our Wonderful Graffiti™ transfers, but in 2006 we introduced our Blank Canvas™ and Graffiti 3D™ collections. And we’ve only just begun.

We want to help you bring unmistakable meaning to your space. To tell the world what’s on your mind and in your heart. To give you the courage and freedom to express yourself in ways you never could before.”

You can choose from several designs and quotations, try something seasonal or add a dash of color into your space. You can even create your own Custom Graffiti. Log onto some of the WG photo galleries for inspiration. Make sure you check out what Wonderful Graffiti calls “The Art of Interior Typography.”

Downy and dirty: WIRED decodes active ingredients

This article from Wired Magazine explains the ingredients in your Downy fabric softener:

Dihydrogenated tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride
A derivative of rendered fat from cattle, sheep, and horses. Just boil it down and mix with ammonium (NH₄). After a series of chemical pit stops, out comes a quaternary ammonium compound, or quat—a positive ion in which the hydrogen is replaced by long-chain organic molecules. Quats effectively coat your clothing with lipids, making the fibers soft to the touch. These fats also make fabric a bit less absorbent—don’t use on towels or cloth diapers—and the positive charge neutralizes static electricity. There are a few other quats in Downy, with easily pronounceable names like 1-methyl-1-tallowamidoethyl-2 -tallowimidazolinium methylsulfate.

Calcium chloride
These water-absorbing crystals are in everything from road deicers to food additives. On a molecular level, quats tend to clump into fatty globules. CaCl draws water out of them by osmosis, keeping the goo flowing smoothly.

PEG 8000
The 8000 is this polyethylene glycol’s molecular weight; in this formulation, each molecule weighs as much as a small protein. Here it’s an emulsifier, keeping the fats and other liquids from separating on the shelf.

Kathon CG
Also known by the catchy moniker 5-chloro-2-methyl-3-isothiazolone. So much animal fat in one place serves as a perfect medium for microbes. Without powerful antimicrobials like isothiazolones, April Fresh would quickly turn into August Rancid.

Perfume
The sizzle that sells the steak: Research shows that scent—locked into the clothing fibers by the fatty coating—is the main reason consumers choose one detergent or fabric softener over another.

Ethanol and isopropanol
Downy is shipped year round and isn’t always stored at room temperature. If the quat cocktail were to drop below freezing, it would thicken and need to be dissolved in water. Alcohols act as antifreeze to keep things from solidifying into a pitcher of lard.

Deionized water
This is added as a preservative for the various quats in the bottle. It also eliminates any ferric ions (dissolved iron) present in your laundry water, which can yellow some fabrics.

I don’t know about you, but I had no idea. Makes you feel dirty, doesn’t it? I’ll pass from now on.

H&M plans launch of Home Collection

From the company that brings you stylish, affordable clothing and accessories comes a new line in February 2009 called H&M Home Collection.

The housewares will be split into four distinct styles: Design, Youth, Classic and Nature.

Berlin got the first glimpse of the collection last week at its debut and you can click over to the shop online early next year.

A new website for your RSS reader

From designers Jacob Cass (of Just Creative Design) and Jeff Fisher (of LogoMotives), a new source for logo design inspiration. Check out their collaboration on Logo of the Day and submit your own favorite logos for review. They’ve set up a rating system not unlike Threadless and sometimes give you a peek at what the logo designer was thinking as they worked up to the finished design.

Give ‘em a look!