World Magazine: At first glance, the narrow store near the merry-go-round at Parkway Plaza could be any of a dozen Southern California mall-chain clones, the kind that hawk stud-belts and double-entendre T-shirts to skater-punks and posers: Back-alley brick walls, exposed-pipe ceilings, cutting-edge clothing lines, rock music throbbing from the rafters. But the only double-entendres shoppers will find here are based […]

Startup Journal: Dan Mowry thought he knew just how to turn his family entertainment newsletter into a successful online business. Two years ago, he designed an attractive site and loaded it up with features to entice readers and advertisers: electronic crossword puzzles, a history quiz and cartoons. Almost as an afterthought, he designed a T-shirt with his company’s logo, a […]

Springwise: Three great examples underlining that retail formats and shopping habits continue to blend, turning everything into easy-to-ogle, easy-to-customize and easy-to-buy: At The T-Shirt Deli in Chicago, unadorned shirts are selected from a deli counter and then adorned with garnishings of personalized lettering, delivering on a “T-shirts made fresh daily” tag line. The starting price for t-shirts ranges from USD […]

Iconoculture: Baseball caps are de rigueur for Sunday afternoon games. Now the entrepreneurs behind GameWear have stitched together a baseball necklace they hope becomes standard attire. A fan can send GameWear a commemorative baseball for fashioning into a “wearable trophy” necklace made from the ball’s leather and 108 stitches. While diehards aren’t likely to part with an autographed Cal Ripken, […]

ABC news: Customers of a German supermarket chain will soon be able to pay for their shopping by placing their finger on a scanner at the check-out, saving up to 40 seconds spent scrabbling for coins or cards, bosses say. An Edeka store in the south-west German town of Ruelzheim has piloted the technology since November and now the company […]

AP via Yahoo! News: Consumer spending on online content such as music, dating sites and business and investment information grew 14 percent last year to $1.8 billion, an organization of online publishers reported Thursday. The Online Publishers Association, working with comScore Networks, a group that studies consumer behavior online, said in its report that the biggest gain came in spending […]

Influx Insights: One of the latest incarnations of the pop-up store is Nike Runner’s Lounge. The lounge is the brainchild of one of Nike’s Canadian marketing partners and is designed to help runners prepare for the Vancover Half Marathon. It provides runners with a space where they can test drive Nike product, get information on local running routes, receive post-run […]

USATODAY.com: To the relief of advocates for the mentally ill, the Vermont Teddy Bear Co. said Thursday that its straitjacketed “Crazy For You” bears are sold out and that it will not make any more. For weeks, advocates and Republican Gov. James Douglas have criticized the toy as insensitive. The $69.95 bear, marketed as a Valentine’s Day gift, came with […]

BBC News: Ever wanted to say “I love you” and never found the words? Well now you can buy a plant that says it for you. Two Japanese manufacturers, toy makers Tomy and Takara, have both produced bean plants which sprout to reveal a special message. Takara said its plant was “a new type of message card to convey your […]

Influx Insights: Great ideas need to be relevant, yet unexpected. And everywhere the idea lives should feel like the right home. A recent collaboration between Kidrobot and fashion and art publication, Visionaire, is an example of how to develop an idea that feels fluid rather than forced. An idea that exploits a cultural trend, but doesn’t scream, “me too!” For […]