Urban Lime

A Container for One Thing

Hugo — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:06:25 EST

A Container for One Thing is another fine example of a product from someone who "get's it." Though a simple container hung by a 20 inch white leather cord, the endless possibilities allow you to have fun with what you can accentuate. As the product description says, "A seashell from a romantic getaway. A ring. A wallet-size photo of someone you love" or something completely ordinary like an eight of clubs from an over-used pack of playing cards.

Found at Olive and Myrtle.

Packing Tape Gives Good Advice

Hugo — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:18:24 EST

Now when you sell your unwanted doo-dahs on ebay, you can pack your boxes with packing tape that gives good advice. Advice like, "Don't cave in when you know you are right" and "Focus". Nine top designers make up the collection of quotable on this Sticky Tape. Use of Helvetica is of course, guaranteed.

Found at Blanka

Chef'n SleekStor Collapsable Measuring Cups

Hugo — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:11:35 EST

All of our kitchens are plagued with the absolute take over of the measuring cups. Chef'n created the SleekStor Collapsable Measuring Cups which collapses onto itself taking up significantly less space in your kitchen cabinet. Gotta love the simple to solution to hard problems.

Found at Amazon

Vers Wood Cases for your iPhone and iPod touch

Hugo — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:01:09 EST

We've never held one of these in our hands, so we can't attest to how these iPhone/iPod touch cases might feel in your pocket. What we can say is that each of these real wood iPhone and iPod touch cases are beautiful. Each iPhone case weighs in at 1.07oz and if you are worried about scratching your iPhone's soulful body, worry not, on the inside of the case there is a soft, scratch-resistant lining.

Now there is going to be a whole new generation of people with wood in their pants. Come on, you knew they'd be a punch line in there somewhere.

Found at Vers.

Magnetic Stickers

Hugo — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:23:36 EST

Forget the cheesy written tag line: the magnets that stick around. Instead focus on the usability of the Magnetic Stickers. Unlike most gadgets that serve no purpose, these stickers/magnets serve a double purpose: adding some color to your wall, while actually doing some work.

Found at Design3000.

My Cuppa Coffee

Hugo — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:20:25 EST

How do you like your Cuppa Joe? Milky, regular, dark and strong, or black. This mug helps you get it right every time.

Found at Amazon.

Energizer 15 minute charger review

Hector — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:13:29 EST

If you have kids you likely go through dozens of batteries on toys. My wife and I have a 16 month old who loves her toys. We were throwing our money down the drain by buying batteries every time we went to the supermarket. Not having a good experience in the past with rechargeable batteries, we were skeptical about purchasing the Energizer 15-Minute Battery Charger.

The charger pictured here is also available with an AC adapter which is the one that we used for the review. It really does take less than 15 minutes to charge and gets you up and going in no time. Even the Energizer bunny himself couldn't catch up with the speed of this charger. The charger typically sells for about $30.00 and comes with 4 X AA batteries, but is also compatible with AAA batteries (great for remote controls). Currently the highest ma rating available is 2500mAh and a pack of four AA will run you about $13.00. We found a good deal on amazon of 2 X 4 AA packs for under $20.00.

The included AA Energizer rechargeable batteries are not as long lasting as the regular Duracel or Energizer batteries you find on the shelf, but they do save you a lot of money in the long run. These batteries can be charged hundreds of times and although the battery life decreases as time passes, the effects are not noticeable until the end of a long life cycle.

A few hints when buying the batteries, make sure that you purchase the highest mAh (milli Amp Hour) rating you can find. The batteries will be more expensive, but will have more power and last longer per charge. Also label and charge the batteries in sets. They tend to last longer when charged as a set. I use a sharpie to label which helps me see which batteries are older and have degraded life. Finally, remember to check with the toy or appliance you are going to put them in to make sure it allows you to use these type of batteries. I have been able to use them on toys, cameras, and remotes without a problem.

If I had to buy this kit again I wouldn't hesitate. It has saved us a ton of money. The instant gratification of having fresh batteries in 15 minutes is also a plus. One last thing to note is that you are reusing these batteries so it is great for the environment.

IN THE BOX
- Energizer 15-Minute Battery Charger.
- 4 X AA Energizer rechargeable batteries
- AC Adapter

THE GOOD
- Saves you money over the long run
- Charges four batteries in under 15 minutes
- Batteries can be charged hundreds of times

THE BAD
- Initialialy expensive
- Batteries tend to degrade after many uses

WHERE TO BUY
Amazon

MANUFACTURER
Energizer

Pet Goldfish Garbage Bags

Hugo — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:17:27 EST

Not that you'd have a need to spice up your garbage bags, but it is good to know you could if you wanted to. The Pet Goldfish Trash Bags (also known as Happy Sacks) come in a box of 12 and unlike plastic garbage bags, these are 100% biodegradable.

Found at Baron Bob for $14.95.

Knitted Box of Chocolates

Hugo — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:21:29 EST

Kate Jenkins is a master of knitting. You'll quickly come to same conclusion as soon as you see her collection Comfort Food made entirely from yarn and lot's of love. Some favorites in the collection are: Box of Chocolates (pictured above), Fried Eggs And Beans On Toast, Fish And Chips, and Tarte Au Citron.

The new iPod nano now takes video

Hector — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:02:08 EST

We were always a little skeptical about the tiny little iPod nano but now they have packed so much technology into this little device that we crave getting our hands on one of them. You can record video, listen to FM radio, or even use it as a fitness tracker.

The nano currently comes in 9 colors and either 8 or 16 GB flash drive. The nano has super-sized its display to a 2.2 inch screen for easier viewing. There are two features that make this player stand out amongst the crowd. The first of which is the ability to pause live radio. The second and our personal favorite is what Apple calls their genius system. The genius system simply recognizes songs that mix well together and creates a seamless mix of about 12 tracks so that you can enjoy compatible music without having to even think about it.

The 8GB nano retails for 149.00 while the 16gb nano goes for 179.00. Amazon currently has the 8GB model for $139.00.

Get yours on Amazon.

Twitter and Facebook Mousepads

Hugo — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:55:03 EST

Meninos has some love for you social networking maniacs. $17.99 gets you two social networking mousepads: Twitter and Facebook. The twitter mousepad substitute's Twitter "What are you doing?" with "Where are you pointing" while the Facebook mousepad replaces "What's on your mind?" with "What's on your mousepad?"

The mousepads are made out of cloth material with a non-slip rubber base.

Found at Meninos.

Honda Unveils the U3-x Personal Mobility Device

Hector — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:46:17 EST

Well watch out Segway! Honda unveiled their new people mover which they deemed a personal mobility device. This little thing has no steering wheel. It has an electric motor, and a couple of little wheels in series that allow one to move in any which direction you want it to. The U3-x moves based on the movement of your body. Lean to the left and it will move to the left. Lean to the right and you guessed it, it will move to the right.

The U3-x weighs about 22 pounds, its seat and foot rests fold into the device and has a nifty handle that will allow you to carry it from place to place. Honda has not said when it will be available, as it is just experimental at this point, but they are going to showcase it next month in the Tokyo Auto show.

Here is a video of this little sucker in action on You Tube.

The World's Most Expensive Blu-ray player

Hugo — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:06:06 EST

$135,000 USD -- that's the current price tag for the Goldmun Eidos Reference Blue blu-ray player. That is not a typo. $135,000 smackaroos. Now, Goldmund is known worldwide for developing real high-end audio/video systems, but the price tag on this blu-ray player is a bit silly. Perhaps the market for this is the same as the market for the "I am Rich" iPhone app. Really, I got nothing more to say.

If you buy one, maybe you can say we've referred you or something and we'd be able to retire.

Found at Goldmund.

Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition + Standard DVD and BD Live) [Blu-ray]

Infectious Laptop Skins

Hugo — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:50:46 EST

Laptop skin web sites are a dime a dozen. Infectious is different because, as far as we can tell, their laptop skin illustrations are voted on by a community of talented illustrators. You won't get lame stockphotography-for-skins here. Some of our favorites from the bunch include:

A very long journey by zutto (pictured above)
Mysterious Forest by Simon Kim
The High Seas by James Hancock
Speakercloud by Zeptonn

I should probably also mention that Infectious also has car decals, iPod/iPhone skins, and vinyl wall art as well.

Sarah Hankinson's Fashion Illustration Prints

Hugo — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:36:49 EST

We're big fans of Sarah Hankinson. And even though we know nothing of fashion, we are even bigger fans of her fashion illustrations. Lucky for us, Sarah sells some of her fashion illustrations on her Etsy shop. All prints are limited edition 35cm by 25cm printed on high quality cotton archival art paper using archival pigment inks.

Featured above: Paris.

Audio Cassette Table Mats

Hugo — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:02:58 EST

Totally retro dude! Table mats printed to resemble an old audio cassette laminated with transparent foil for easy cleaning. A set of 6 of these audio cassette table mats will set you back 11.9 EUR (or about $17 USD at current rates). You'll have to figure out tax and shipping all on your own though.

TIP: This is cool enough to frame.

Found at fair-kaeuflich.de

Tom Vadakan's All Dressed Up Print

Hugo — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:12:03 EST

This limited edition 10" x 8" giclee print beautifully illustrated by Tom Vadakan was created to convey "being someone else not who you really are." The reason we love it is by the strong use of tangerine orange hues and the way the blend in with the similarly strong yellow.

As with anything at Poketo this limited edition stuff goes fast.

Happy Birthday Cake Mold

Hugo — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:00:00 EST

Designed by Sam & Jude, this food grade silicon mold creates the cake that says Happy Birthday for you. You can throw the mold in the oven (up to 570 degrees Celcius), the dishwasher, the microwave or the freezer.

Found at Generate Design.

Decorate Your Cappuccino

Hugo — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:16:57 EST

Irma & Rimas produce handmade coffee stencils which give life to the tasty froth that adorns your cappuccino. The story goes that their business grew out of the first cup of coffee which said "I love you." Now their web site has over 150 different handmade coffee stencil designs.

Found at Coffee Stencils.

The Falling Bookend

Hugo — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:42:26 EST

Designer Ori Niv give us a chuckle this morning when we saw the Falling Bookend at his web site. Available in three colors: red, green, and black (what no silver?), the bookend is made out of metal to help support the weight of the angled books. Ori Niv recommends a hard cover book as your first book since it will help conceal the medal plate better than a softcover one will. Besides, a large hard cover book will look more menacing to the person facing their inevitable doom.

Found at Ori Niv's web site.