Pushing Peeps. A New Peeps Store, Easter Peeps Contests, & New Peeps Products.

More Peepular than ever.
Those colorful sugar-coated marshmallow Easter treats shaped like bunnies and chicks continue to expand their cult-like popularity. More colors, chocolate dipped, bite-sized and sugar-free versions are now available. In response to the public Peep demand, Just Born has opened their first Peeps & Company store and have launched a new dedicated e-commerce Peeps site.



About the store
PEEPS & COMPANY® is located at the very center of National Harbor's dynamic main plaza. Directly in front of the PEEPS & COMPANY® store is Seward Johnson's famous statue, The Awakening, along with sweeping views of the beautiful Potomac River. The store's location is at a converging point for residents and thousands of visitors arriving by metro bus, car, and ferries, which dock at the piers in front of the store.





In a joint statement, David Shaffer and Ross Born, Co-CEOs of Just Born, commented, "This is a momentous occasion for Just Born, our family of associates, and fans of our candy. For years, we have seen tremendous growth and excitement for our brands, and received many requests for a store in just the right location. PEEPS & COMPANY® is proud to join the community near our nation's capital."

Inside the store:

above: The Corcoran Ceramics faculty was picked by Chicago’s RTKL to create the signature tile wall for the Peeps® Company flagship retail store at the National Harbor

The stores and site are being promoted with a Peepmobile (actually called the Peepster Car for some odd reason).



Here's a little news story on the new store:


Annual Peeps contests in which people create scenes and dioramas using the Easter favorites keep on growing. Several major newspapers now sponsor Peeps contests. Instead of showing you images of multiple entries like I have in the past, there are just too many, so instead I will show you the winning entry from the Washington Posts's contest along with links to the other contests so you can view the entries and winners on your own.

The Washington Post's 2011 Peeps Contest Winner: ‘Chilean CoPeepapo mine rescue’

above: This year’s winning diorama is called "Chilean CoPeepapo Mine Rescue." It was created by Mary Jo Ondrejka, Margaret Hartka, and Bryn Metzdorf. (Narration by Holly E. Thomas) (/Video by Evelio Contreras and Akira Hakuta)

•The Washington Post's 2011 Peeps contest
•Denver Post's 2011 Peeps Contest
•Chicago Tribune 2011 Peeps Contest
•The Seattle Times' 2011 Peeps Contest
• Pioneer Press' Peeps Diorama Contest submissions
•"Valley of The Peeps" contest, Allentown, PA.

Not only are the contests gaining more popularity but more and more non-edible Peeps products are being marketed. More peeps stickers, mugs, mouse pads, plushies, apparel and even golf accessories join brands like Lenox to create more branded items available from the Peeps online store.

Peeps golf balls, head covers and golf towel:

Lenox Peep tea light holders:

Peeps Silly Bands!

Mousepads:

Peeps Stainless Steel water bottles:

Peeps Jewelry:


Peeps apparel:






Visit Peeps and Company's new dedicated website which offers the above items and many more.

The Gooey origins of Peeps (courtesy of CNN):


Don't forget to see my many past Peeps Posts:

• Peeps As Pop Culture: The Peep Show II Winners & More

• PEEPS Peer Pressure! You Want Peeps Art? Here's Some Of The Best

• Washington Posts' Annual 2010 Peeps Show IV Winner, Finalists & Semifinalists

• Non Perishable Peeps Products. Everything Peeps But The Edible Ones.

Limited Edition Bent Wood Bracelets & Cuffs By Gustav Reyes

One of the standouts at this year's Smithsonian Craft Show (which ran from April 14-17) was the contemporary jewelry of Gustav Reyes. On the Craft Show website, they only show his rings, but it's his limited edition series of coiled, twisted and knotted wooden bracelets that really appeal to me.

Kohler Numi, The High-Tech Luxury Toilet That Does Everything But Take The Crap For You.

Kohler introduces Numi, Kohler’s most advanced toilet. The Numi toilet is a state of the art, modern, automatic and motion-sensor, self-cleaning toilet combination bidet that also warms your feet, your tush, can play music with its built-in speakers, audio input jack and docking station and keeps itself odor-free.


above: the Numi remote in its magnetic docking station

That's not all, it has ambient lighting that gives it an inviting glow in the dark, the lid is hands-free and motion activated, the seat has adjustable heating options and it has a built in automatic charcoal filter deodorizer. It even cleans itself with your choice from three patterned water sprays. And everything can be controlled by a modern looking remote.




By the looks of the promotional lifestyle product shots, Kohler is marketing the Numi like a piece of modern luxury furniture. The stylized, and come on, let's face it.. over the top, images were shot in the famous Pierre Koenig Stahl House (also known as the Case Study House #22) in Los Angeles.



The Numi combines modern design, technology and engineering to bring you the finest in personal comfort and cleansing. From its striking form and features to its unrivaled water efficiency, the Numi toilet marks a new standard of excellence in the bathroom.



Features:

• Motion activated lid and seat:
Front sensors react to your movement when you enter the room for hands-free opening and closing of the cover. Motion at the floor-level engages sensors to raise and lower seat.

Side view of the hands-free, motion-sensor lid and seat activation:


Front view of the hands-free, motion-sensor lid and seat activation:



• Advanced Bidet Functionality:
Self-cleaning wand features multiple options for water spray pattern. Adjust wand position, water pressure and temperature to your preferences



• Integrated Air Dryer:
Located in the wand for more efficient drying.



• Deodorizer:
Air is pulled through a powerful deodorizing charcoal filter.

• Heated Seat:
Warms the seat to your comfort level.

• Feet Warming:
Warm air from floor-level vents, heats the floor surface and warms your feet.



• Numi Remote Interface Home Screen:
You can remotely control everything from the basic functions to the music, heating and lighting.


• Illuminated Panels:
Ambient lighting illuminates your space with a soft, inviting glow.




• Music:
Built-in speakers allow you to play a selection from the Numi toilet’s pre-programmed audio, FM radio or to connect your MP3 player through the audio input jack in the remote docking station.

The Kohler Numi has a retail price of $6,500 USD.

Learn more here