Now your baby can star in it's own movie...

Want a new baby birth card with a difference. Enter www.5starbaby.com, which offers personalized birth announcements fashioned after movie advertisement posters.

Take a look at the web site for more info

Fancy a quick nap? Well now you can, at the Ikea Nap Hotel!

Last week, IKEA offered fatigued Stockholm shoppers a similar form of respite by installing a Sovhotell (sleep hotel) in one of the city's downtown shopping centres. After checking in at Sovhotell's front desk, guests were asked whether they normally sleep on their stomach, side or back, and were given a pillow to suit their personal sleeping style. In addition to single and double beds, the Sovhotell also featured a bridal suite.

Guests were welcome to snooze for 15 minutes, and were given eye masks and headphones with soothing soundscapes to help them benefit from their sponsored power naps. According to IKEA, inspiration for the Sovhotell came from Japanese capsule hotels and from the fact that the shoppers in its own stores are occasionally found napping in the bedroom section.

Website: www.ikea.com

How do we know products are really green?

Are you confused about green products, eco products, biologique products? There are so many, how do we really know if they are green, dark green, light green or not green at all...this might help you.

"In the lawless and unregulated landscape of going green, it became clear that someone, somewhere, needed to step in to provide some semblance of order and a credible means of measuring the myriad of ways companies can go, and pretend to go, green. Here are three watchdogs that deserve recognition....read the rest of the article at Brandchannel here...

Numbers and letters are the latest a mini trend...

If you want to know what other mini-trends there are right now, check out Design Sponge here...Its a great design blog...constantly being up-dated with new products and trends...

Social Networking in Plain English

Confused about social networking....look no further!

Personalisation gone ga ga

Japanese company Yosimiya is selling bags of rice printed with a newborn's photo, name and date of birth. The bags are shaped to resemble a swaddled baby. But the key feature is that the bags contain the baby's exact weight in rice. Holding the bag will therefore feel like holding the baby. The personalized, made-to-order 'dakigokochi' are priced from JPY 3500 (USD 32 / EUR 22).

What do you want to drink?

Do you usually answer "whatever"? My husband does and it drives me mad, we usually spend 5 minutes debating all the drinks there could be at the bar, and he ends up by saying, I don't mind, you choose whatever.

Well this drink is for you my love! It's just perfect, cos the next time, I shall serve it up to you, by saying "OK you asked for whatever, now you've got it!"

"Singapore beverage company Out of the Box has launched two complementary brands: Anything and Whatever. Anything is fizzy and comes in six flavors (Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer), while Whatever is non-carbonated (Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea). The surprise part? Consumers
don't know which flavour they're getting until they take a sip. Cans are simply labelled Anything and Whatever, and the list of ingredients is limited to generic wording. Worth bringing a surprise to market in 2008, even if it's just a one-off, and even if only to make me feel really happy - the next time."

Its all down to our DNA...

Personalisation is already here is many of our products and brands, but now we have a new trend which relates to our DNA - how personalised is that? Here are two examples...

DNA 11 creates personalized art from DNA and fingerprints. For DNA art, a simple method of non-invasive collection includes a mouth swab. The company then harvests a sample of the client’s DNA to capture their genetic fingerprint and transforms it into an artistic representation of a person’s life code. Prices range from EUR 299 to EUR 892. To get started, clients simply select a size and custom color. DNA 11 then sends out a FingerPrint collection kit that includes: a fingerprint collection card, easy-to-use ink strips, and step-by-step directions.

Story and images thanks to www.trendwatching;com



Along the same lines, My DNA Fragrance makes individual fragrances by incorporating their clients’ DNA. The company sends customers a home swab kit to collect the DNA sample, which they then use to create the perfume. The one-time DNA swab and lab test costs USD 99.99, while a 4oz. bottle costs USD 134.99. From the site: “The fragrance is subtle and explodes into your unique mixture of exotic smells. The fragrance is delivered in a 4 oz. aluminum bottle which preserves the freshness of your fragrant elixir.” Soon to follow: lotion, bath products, and shampoo & conditioner.

Worried about your status...? Worry no more!

Don't worry brand manager's have got that sorted, they will tell you how to communicate your status when you buy their brand. It's the latest trend according to Trendwatching/Spring Spotter, a great trend web-site I pop into from time-to-time!

This trend is called STATUS STORIES: As more brands (have to) go niche and therefore tell stories that aren't known to the masses, consumers will increasingly have to tell each other stories to achieve a status dividend from their purchases. Expect a shift from brands telling a story, to brands helping consumers tell status-yielding stories to other consumers.

Have you bought anything recently you want to tell us about? How about these juices, aren't they beautiful? Serve them up at your dinner table and see your guests desperate for the story behind them - the status story of course...