I’ve been using square as a card reader for my ipad since it first came out and I think this new retail stand is much needed. It has an integrated card reader and swivels for your customers to sign. You can also (if you need to) plug a cash drawer, receipt printer, and barcode scanner right into the accessories hub and connect a kitchen printer wirelessly. Beautiful. Find out more here
{ 0 comments }
Another wonderfully clever ad from Volkswagon – they get it right again. Via BestAdsOnTV
{ 0 comments }
One of the most common questions that I’m asked from the small businesses I work with, is about promotions. They are always looking for new ideas, especially those that look good on Facebook. Yesterday I saw what the very clever people at Mills Jewelers in Lockport, New York, have come up with for Mother’s Day – they found a great way to combine the important elements of Mother’s day (making Mothers feel appreciated and letting the kids actually do something themselves) This is from their website:
Sidewalk Chalk Coloring – Kids earn a $50 gift card May 6-11! Sign your children or grandchildren up to color the sidewalk in front of Mills Jewelers with a Mother’s Day message and picture.
We provide the chalk. Coloring will go on every day after school during the week before Mothers Day, weather permitting. Children ages 4-12 are eligible. Each child or family group will have one square to work with.
When their square is finished, they will be rewarded with a $50 gift card. There is a limit of one card per family and there is a limited number of sidewalk squares available. Parents must stay with their kids. Call 716-433-6456 to register.
What a great way to include the community, attract attention to your store, and brighten up the day of so many people (including me). Keep it up Mills Jewelers. (Like their Facebook page here, they deserve it)
{ 0 comments }
Great business card for The Denia Salu Tennis Academy – they even produced one for grass, and one for clay courts – now that’s clever. What does your business card say about you? (via notcot)
{ 0 comments }
Daily advice for “How to work with Creative People” from Amrit Richmond The site features original quotes from designers, managers, strategists, executives, and CEOs on how people can work more effectively with creative types. Love it.
{ 0 comments }
I drive a Beetle convertible (though not the new Cabriolet) and this made me smile. VW always have so much fun with their advertising and it shows. Does your advertising make people smile? Does your product
{ 0 comments }
This feels suspiciously like I’m writing from the future, but it’s May 2013 and a company has produced a wool shirt that can be worn for 100 days straight – no washing, no dry cleaning, no wrinkles, no odor. It also seems pretty stylish to me. Apparently the wool is so fine that it will make you rethink why you don’t wear it all the time – no itchy fabric here. It’s on kickstarter right now (with more explanations than you can shake a stick at). This all sounds pretty amazing to me. Go and find out more.
{ 0 comments }
The Depaul Box company in the UK are all about helping people move, both onwards and upwards.
“The Depaul Box Company was started by a youth homeless charity called Depaul UK. Instead of just relying on donations, we wanted to broaden our horizons and act like a business to raise money, rather than a charity.
So we thought out of the box. Everyone associates the homeless with sleeping on boxes, so why not sell boxes to help the homeless?”
What a beautifully simple idea. You buy your boxes from Depaul and they use some of the proceeds to help move young people on the street.
Their website has stories of those helped: “When Anthony was 16 his mum kicked him out of the house. Staying with his girlfriend’s family didn’t work out, so he found himself sleeping rough in parks and doorways. When Depaul UK found Anthony, he was depressed and drinking heavily. They helped him find a hostel and the support he needed. Recently Anthony sent a message to Depaul UK saying he’d found a job, patched things up with his girlfriend, and had just got his own flat. The only thing he needs a cardboard box for now is moving in.”
This made me smile. Thank you Depaul company. I will be recommending you to the whole of the UK. Go and visit them here. (via notcot)
{ 0 comments }
Nice cards from the guys over at Bandito Blog - quite an impact. Check out their shop too (some very cool stuff). (via notcot)
{ 0 comments }
I opened an email from The Container Store today, and I happened to notice a little box in the corner of the email that said
“We stand for our EMPLOYEES FIRST in all that we do.” I tell this to the organizations I work with all the time – Treat your employees well – they are the people who treat your customers well. Expecting underpaid, unappreciated, unconnected workers to give great customer service is not a good business model. Make people feel great about where they work, and they will make everyone else feel great about the place too.
Keep it up Container Store. Your values are showing.
(this post has no affiliate links, no sponsorship, no monetary value at all – I just like to write about good companies doing good things)
{ 0 comments }
Zurich city council have installed a Velokafi (a drive up table for cyclists) in a popular riverside cafe in Switzerland – you can drive right in and sit on your bike as you take a break. The amount of bikes in Zurich are double by 2025 (yay) and this is a highly visible way to encourage that process. From knstrct (via notcot)
{ 0 comments }
Perfect furniture for any lobby, lounge or anywhere you need to make a statement. The Typographic Furniture Collection from TABISSO is fun & functional. Fully customizable with different finishes, fabrics and materials. I’d love a BE YOU lounge. What a great place to hang out. (sent to me from Justin via twitter – thanks Justin) Via HiConsumption.
{ 1 comment }
Such a clever idea. A great way to show how important paper still is in our lives. Paper Because argues for its merits (renewable, sustainable, personal) in a series of videos. I know I still use a paper notebook and a pen alongside my macbook – there’s something about paper. Watch my favorite video below – the Paper Hotspot and then go and check out the othershere. (some are funnier than others but they all make their point). They made me wonder what perceived weakness in my client’s business could I make into a strength with humor and a bit of clever…. always a good thing to think about.
{ 0 comments }
Beautifully simple and evocative honey packaging from Polish design studio, Ah&Oh – (love the company name too). It’s grown up but attractive to children (one of their target markets). The simple stripes are genius. Via The Dieline.
{ 0 comments }
Most of us, at some point, have commented that clothes don’t last the way we think they should. Flint and Tinder noticed the same thing – and have set out to rectify the problem by introducing the 10-year hoodie. I’m a hoodie person, most nights, however warm it is, I end up sitting on the coach with a hoodie on (yes with the hood up). I write countless blog posts that way. (Aileen secret #4639). Watch the video below to see how this hoodie is made (so well that they offer to mend it for free).
“It’s not that it’s so cheap that we can replace it… it’s so well made, we’ll mend it free of charge!”
The Hoodie is on kickstarter now (but you’ll have to move quick because it’s very popular – at the time of writing they had $406,000 of a $50,000 goal)
Even if you don’t buy a shirt, watch the video and ask yourself – How can my business deliver a promise that will resonate with our customers? What quality can we be proud of that will also make us stand out? I will be showing this video to some of my clients and asking the same thing. And yes, I bought a hoodie. (Go visit their site and read the underwear story)
{ 0 comments }
Wouldn’t it be great if every business was so creative about their rules. Thank you Melt. (via WeAndTheColor a blog I will be revisiting – very cool)
{ 0 comments }
With all the social media that we use these days we all have the power to help local (and national) businesses more than we sometimes remember. Many people are quick to post to Facebook when something goes wrong, but how often do we take the time to write a proper review and post it in a place where it will help others. I’m guilty of reading all the amazon/zappos/urbanspoon reviews but never writing one. I’m changing that starting today. As well as helping the potential customer this also helps the businesses who are doing good stuff to get their message out there. I’m starting by testing out the new urbanspoon feature spoonback – this links (through the image below) a blog post about a restaurant to the urbanspoon page (cool idea huh!). I’m starting with one of the places that sponsor my blog (I like to be open and transparent). I only accept sponsorship from businesses I know and love, but my thoughts are my own…
Acme Burger is not your typical burger (or at least that’s what it says on the menu) and I think by the time you have read it you know that is true. Chip Rooney (the evil genius behind this and Acme Taco) seems to delight in putting together tastes with a twist. I’m not a huge beef fan but at Acme Burger you can choose ground chuck, sausage, 50/50 chuck & sausage, ground turkey or chicken breast for your burger (or upgrade to lamb, salmon, Portobello mushroom or grass-fed beef). Yes, you have to make a lot of choices.
For this visit I was with my husband and my 74 year old Mother who was visiting from England. Sean (my husband) ordered the Frito pie burger (from the specials) – a burger with chilli, cheese, and Fritos. My Mum and I had salmon, she had the All-American (acme sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle chips), and I went for the Tuscan (basil & lemon mayo, tomato, provolone, spinach, toasted pine nuts and a ciabatta roll). We ordered my favorite starter, the giant Mexican squid. My mother announced she didn’t like squid and gave me that “you’re so strange, I don’t know how you are my child” look. When they arrived at the table she tasted one under protest and proceeded to eat more than anyone else. Yes, they are that good.
The burgers arrived and my husband was quiet. That means he was happy. He didn’t offer to let anyone else taste his food, although I did get a sip of his locally brewed beer (Canebrake Wheat). My salmon was delicious, and the basil and pine nuts worked in that pestoey delicious way. The hand cut chips (that I still call crisps) were as awesome as ever (it’s the best side item hands-down). I hear they are improving their fries to get them to the same standard as the chips (looking forward to this). I was going to test the onion rings but my sweet, tiny mother had eaten them all (as well as most of her meal).
Acme taco is an easy place to dine, it’s not posh but it is cool and casual. The staff are very friendly and understand the menu well. I would go back (even if they weren’t blog sponsors). (photographic evidence below)
Frito pie. Chilli, cheese, Fritos (I didn’t get offered a taste)
Frito pie gone.
All American
Onion Rings (yes I managed to grab a photo)
My Mum tucking in…(notice the knife & fork – she’s so English)
My Tuscan burger (with salmon). Basil and lemon mayo, spinach, provolone, toasted pine nuts on a ciabatta roll.
{ 0 comments }
So clever. Ad for tattoo artists – you have to fill in the QR code in order to scan it and get the application form. Businesses take note: This is so much more than a clever application form – this is what branding is all about. If they have taken so much time over something most businesses neglect then I already have expectations that everything else they do will be brilliant too. The little things are often the big things. From BÜRO, (via adsoftheword)
{ 0 comments }
Such a clever mix of new technology and traditional aesthetics. A subway station in Bucharest with a digital library. You scan the QR code and you can download free samples of the books. I’ve always found QR codes have struggled a bit to find their place, but this may be it. I hope there is more stuff like this to write about soon. (via design taxi)
{ 0 comments }
This makes me realize I need to step up my youtubing. Great infographic with information you can actually use. From Brafton (they have some other great infographics too)
{ 0 comments }
