This Year's 10 Hippest Stocking Stuffers For Pop Culture Enthusiasts.

My picks for the ten most fun (and functional) stocking stuffers for fans of popular culture. Most are under $10 and all are creative, imaginative and most definitely hip.

One Up Designs' Printed Pencil Sets:

The $6 pencil sets from One Up designs are a great gift for lovers of pop culture and trends. Pencils printed with quotes from books, movies and music, the #2 pencils come in several colors and lots of options. Buy them here.

Tattly Temporary Tattoos:


The coolest (and safest) way to get inked. Tattly temporary tattoos are fun and imaginative gifts for everyone from designers to children. At only $5 a set, they are the perfect stocking stuffer for those who like to change their body art without a needle. Buy them here.

AJ's Toy Boarders:


Green, little and cool, Toy Boarders are an urban take on the classic plastic toy soldiers that promote action sports over violence. The designers at AJ's roots are skate, surf, & snow so when they design each rider they use real moves that would be used by today. Each Art Piece is hand molded with attention to detail and style. Toy Boarders now offers two sets of skateboarding figurines, the newest set of thrashers even includes a girl and a videographer (shown above). You can get a good look at the first set here.
Buy Them Here.

Archie Grand's "[BLANK] I Met and Liked" Notebooks:

Colored blank notebooks are embossed with titles of various occupations and characters that "I met and liked." With tons of options (From Models to Capitalists, Gardeners to Politicians, Brits to Architects and Fashionistas to Bloggers), these make hilarious and useful stocking stuffers. They have a rigid cover, are tread sewn and have a mate leathery lamination. The size is 160x115 mm to fit the pocket of a suit or a small evening bag. The notebooks / journals / scrapbooks contain 120 blank pages of high quality paper with a low emission signature. They are individually shrink-wrapped to keep the clean and protected. €9.95 each. Buy them here

Bandages worth cutting yourself for:

Okay, so I realize that was insensitive to self-mutilators. However, these bandages and the tins they come in are wickedly funny and worth giving yourself an intentional papercut.

Each tin includes between 15 and 25 flexible bandages, depending on the selection.
buy them here

Blue Q's Breath Sprays are packaged in hilarious blister packs with promises like "Enjoy Yor Job", "Understand Men" and "Accept The Fact That you Are Aging."

With 11 to choose from at only $5.49 each, you'll want to buy them all. Buy them here.

We Are Dorothy's Movie and Song lovers Maps:
The Film Map is based on the style of a vintage LA street map, but is made up entirely from film titles. The Map, which features over 900 films is the second in their series of 'Map' prints and is available to buy as a signed and stamped Limited Edition print and an Open Edition print.

The Song maps:

Two new editions of their Song Map are now available. A Special Edition Large Format print which is over twice the size of the original Map and a Saint Etienne Edition which is a print of the artwork they did for the band's 'Words and Music' album cover. buy the movie and song maps here.

Mimico Mimbots (USB flash drives):


Most everyone could make use a USB drive. Mimico has become THE company for designer USB drives that capitalize on popular culture. The Mimbots are available in various storage capacities and feature the likenesses of everything from Star Trek and Star Wars to Hello Kitty and Ugly Dolls.

buy them here.

Fred and Friends Keycaps:
Not only cute, but super useful. These fun keycaps will help you to identify individual keys on your overloaded keychain. Some even glow in the dark. Trendy imagery like Luche Libre masks, Sock Monkeys, Unicorns, Robots, Tikis, Skulls and more are affordable and fun.

Buy Fred Keycaps here

Showtime Series Goodies:
Fans of Showtime series Dexter, Weeds, Homeland, Shameless, Californication, Nurse Jackie, The L Word, House of Lies, the Borgias, etc. will appreciate the numerous t-shirts, mugs, caps, bobbleheads and exclusives to the online store.

The Dexter Garbage Bags, Weeds 420 T-Shirt, Nurse Jackie Coffee Mug and Shameless Sleep mask are a few of my favorites:

Shop for many more Showtime gifts here.

And there you have it, a bunch of hip stocking stuffers - most of which are under 10$ - and none of which will be regifted.

12 Days of Christmas For Every Porsche Lover In the Family.

You may not be able to afford to give someone an actual Porsche for the holidays (and if you can, please e-mail me for my phone number), so here's the next best thing for Porsche lovers. A selection of 12 Porsche designed gifts for everyone in the family.

Porsche Magnetic board with vintage image and 5 magnetic cars:

Painted metal board in the same design as the historic motorsport poster of 1964. Inclusive set of 5 magnetic cars [ 356 BT5 Coupé ]. 1 : 87 scale. Limited to 2,000 units. Dimensions: 40 x 50 x 0.5 cm.
$175, buy it here

911 GTE R Chronograph Watch:

Brown dial. Base color: Black. Brown accent color. Black rubber strap. Luminescent hands, stopwatch function with split-time measurement and tachometer. Extra-hard sapphire glass with anti-reflection treatment to ensure clear visibility. Integrated rubber. $740 (Other colors and styles available). buy it here.

Save up for the real thing with the Porsche Piggy Bank:

In the design of the 917/20 – ‘the pink pig’. Elaborately decorated with a lockable opening for removing coins. Material: ceramic.
$70, buy it here

2013 Porsche calendar "Mega City"

Timeless and sporty Porsche models in futuristic megacities. The new Porsche calendar for 2013 gives you 12 reasons to start looking forward to the future now. Comes with an exclusive collector’s coin.*The Porsche 'Mega City' calendar is exclusively available only at your local authorized Porsche dealership.* $48, buy it here.

Porsche Computer Mouse:

In the same design as the Porsche 911. Designed in the design studio of Porsche Weissach. PC- and Maccompatible aluminium scroll wheel, high resolution 2,000 dpi sensor, 2.4 GHz technology and plug & play installation. Colour: in high gloss Black. With a tiny and very powerful dongle for wireless use. Dimensions of dongle: 20 x 15 x 7 mm. $115, buy it here

Also in gold:

$130, buy it here


Porsche Kid's Bike:


Two products in one: a push-along bike that can be converted to a chidren's bike in a few simple steps. Lightweight aluminum frame with Porsche logo. Adjustable height, ergonomically designed saddle. Handlebars with protective padding and bell. Smooth-running 14 inch wheels with ball bearings and reflective stripes. Adjustable cantilever front brakes and back pedal brake. Plastic pedals with reflectors suitable for children. Additional front and rear reflectors. Exclusive design by the Porsche Design Studio. Suitable for ages 3+ years. Imported.  $430.00, buy it here

Porsche Wrapping Paper:

In the colours of 1968 design. 2 sheets, each 70 x 100 cm on a roll. Material: high-quality 80 g/m2 paper, matte. $7, buy it here

There are many other items available for Porsche fans from their Driver's Selection online store. Check them all out here.

If you've got more coin to spend, the Porsche Design Studio offers these fabulous items:

Porsche Design Chopsticks:

High-end Chopsticks with magnetic clip. Made of high quality materials: blackwood and stainless steel. € 75,00, buy them here

Porsche Design Candle:

Perfumed, black candle. Smells like "The Essence"., € 60,00, buy it here

Porsche Design Running Shoes:

The exclusive Bounce:S² running shoe is engineered with a car-inspired suspension system that transfers vertical impact into forward propulsion. The result is 20% more cushioning and 15% more elasticity than standard running shoes. An innovative one piece mesh shell combines breathability with step-in comfort and abrasion-resistance. (shown in Black/Orange but several other colors are available. € 350,00, buy them here

Porsche Design Twin Bag
The Twin Bag is two purses in one with a handle that extends to make it a shoulder bag or collapses to make it a handbag.



Each TwinBag is produced in the Italian city of Florence, by dedicated and experienced hands and benefiting from knowledge passed down through generations. The selection of materials is also typical of Porsche Design. The luxury brand’s handbags are made exclusively from the finest vegetable-tanned leather and enhanced with timeless high-quality metal fittings.



The Porsche Design TwinBag will be available all over the world from March 2013 in all Porsche Design stores and in the luxury brand’s official online store. For more information, go here.

Porsche Design Shisha (hookah or bong):

Unique design and high-end materials combined to an extraordinary product. Made of high quality materials: Stainless Steel, Aluminum and Glass; Height: 55 cm; Limited Edition; Made in Germany
€ 1.350,00, buy it here 

all images courtesy of Porsche and Porsche Design

DHL Delivers Haute Couture. Fashions Made Of Shipping & Packaging Supplies by Michael Michalsky.

To promote global shipping company DHL at Fashion week and in billboards and print ads, designer Michael Michalsky turned shipping and packaging materials into stunning haute couture. Conceived of by German agency Jung von Matt and photographed by Kristian Schuller, the images were used by DHL as self-promotion and in a 2010 Calendar.















The spread (also a billboard) and single page ads:


The Making Of The DHL Campaign:



About MICHALSKY


Michael Michalsky is regarded as one of Germany's most influential fashion designers. He has worked as Design Manager at Levi's and Global Creative Director at Adidas before founding his own Label "MICHALSKY" 2006 in Berlin. MICHALSKY serves the high fashion segment by fusing classical styles with streetwear influences. Besides his work as fashion designer Michael Michalsky founded his design agency "MICHALSKY designLab" , which realizes design projects in the fields of product, interior design and corporate fashion.


Credits:
Haute Couture by DHL
Jung von Matt AG, Hamburg
Self-Promotion

Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt AG, Berlin
Executive Creative Director: Mathias Stiller, Wolfgang Schneider
Creative Director: Markus Ewertz, Boris Schwiedrzik
Art Director: Marc Tebart
Production Manager: Sven Hannemann
Designer: Michael Michalsky
Photographers: Kristian Schuller
Account Executive: Ilan Schafer, Jan-Hendrik Oelckers, Niko Thielsch
Copywriter: Friederike Sinning
Styling: Peggy Schuller

Awesome and Unusual Handmade Christmas Stockings From Etsy Designers Make The Mantel.

Not your usual Christmas Stockings, these three etsy stores sell handmade and unusual designs for the artisan holiday home. Hand-tooled leather with koi, flowers, bees and snowflakes from Moxie and Oliver, Burlap coffee sacks turned into elf stockings available with or without customization from Habitation Boheme and wild and modern patterns and designs for people and pets from Urban Creative. 

Adidas Launches Christmas Campaign With Snoop as Scrooge and An Interactive Facebook App That Lets You Un-Scrooge Yourself.

adidas has launched its pioneering Holiday Campaign for 2012, enlisting the help of some of the world’s finest sporting and cultural icons, to turn your social media content into a potentially timeline-changing classic Holiday Tale. At the heart of the campaign is ‘The Cautionary Tale of Ebenezer Snoop’ online film (shown in this post), offering you the opportunity to follow a digital journey to find and share your own Holiday Spirit. As the film closes, you are invited to find out if you are an Ebenezer, and if so, the chance to redeem yourself with an innovative Facebook app (screen grab shown below).



The film features global music heavyweight Snoop Lion alongside skateboard OG Mark Gonzales escorting viewers into the illustrated world of legendary Beavis & Butthead artist JJ Sedelmaier. ‘The Cautionary Tale of Ebenezer Snoop’ follows the path of the classic Holiday story, seeing Ebenezer Snoop confronted by the Ghosts of Holiday Past (Stan Smith), Present (David Beckham) and Future (Derrick Rose & Rita Ora), as well as a host of other Global adidas stars that keeps viewers going back to find more. As you continue on your journey through the tale, you return to Facebook to create your own story.


The adidas Holiday Facebook application produces for you, the user, a personalized journey that mirrors the structure of the Ebenezer Snoop film content. Snoop might not be the only Ebenezer. By aggregating your user data around certain Facebook activities such as comments, birthday well-wishes, & event responses, adidas creates your own uniquely tailored Ebenezer film (they choose all the times you declined invites, didn't respond to posts or didn't acknowledge friends' brithdays to prove your 'scrooginess'). The app pulls in these features from your Facebook timeline, proposing what your digital life could look like if you don’t mend your ways. The level of your online interaction determines the film which your journey takes – the storyline and content directed by your digital life.

Examples from my own Facebook page:



At the end of your personal journey adidas offers you the opportunity to redeem yourself by sending a Facebook greeting card featuring JJ Sedelmaier’s campaign illustrations to friends.



You can choose any of the ghosts from the animated tale to deliver your customized card:

David Beckham:


Derrick Rose:


Rita Ora:


Stan Smith:


The gift which accompanies the card is dependent on your Ebenezer levels – one possibility is a 15% e-commerce discount.

A truly interactive online campaign working across social media, adidas recognises the importance of the digital world to its consumers and presents a complete Holiday gift-giving solution to its fans.

“The Ebenezer Snoop Holiday Campaign is the most user-specific app adidas has ever created, examining consumer behaviour to produce a truly personalised online experience. There is so much noise during the holidays, we’ve created a simple yet effective app to cut straight through. The Ebenezer Snoop Facebook app aggregates your personal Facebook information to produce a film entirely for you. Using the Timeline we are suggesting how your timeline could look if you don’t mend your ways!” -- Gabriel Jaffe, Senior Digital Communications Manager, AG.

Creative Credits:
Production Credits
Client: ADIDAS
Creative Agency: SID LEE
Production Agency: JIMMY LEE.TV
Post-Production:MASS MARKET/JIMMY LEE.TV/ VISION GLOBALE
Production houses: Live action – CAVIAR CONTENT / Animation - J.J. SEDELMAIER PRODUCTIONS
Director: Live action – Jake Szymanski / Animation – JJ Sedelmaier
Grading: MASS MARKET
Editors: JIMMY LEE.TV
Sound Design : MACHINE HEAD
Sound Mix: LA MAJEURE

About adidas
adidas is a global designer, developer and marketer of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories with the mission to be the leading sports brand in the world. Brand adidas is part of the adidas Group, a corporation that includes brands such as Reebok, TaylorMade and Rockport.

About the adidas Group
The adidas Group is one of the global leaders within the sporting goods industry, offering a broad range of products around the core brands adidas, Reebok, TaylorMade, Rockport and Reebok-CCM Hockey. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has more than 46,000 employees and generated sales of € 13.3 billion in 2011.