Iconoculture: This may be taking the dog days of summer a bit too literally. Pouncing off pet-sharing programs like Flexpetz, the hospitality industry is offering guests a rather unique amenity: pet leasing.

At select Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, guests can “rent” dogs for several hours. At Quebec City, Boston and Vancouver locations, dogs even have their own email addresses so their part-time parents can K.I.T. post-vacation.

Guests staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Beaver Creek, Colorado, need to make reservations up to a month in advance if they want to spend time with the hotel's yellow lab.

Like a loving aunt or part-time nanny may know, taking care of the kids is a treat — when it’s for a few hours. A trial run may be a great way for parents to experience all the fun and love of owning a pet, as long as they remember that full-time care takes much more than a walk in the park.

There’s no time like vacation to take on a fully experiential stay.

Pet time-sharing on vacation [Iconoculture]

TrendBird: Everyone likes getting a thoughtful surprise, and giving them isn't so bad either. But it's not always easy to find the time to shop and send something or, for that matter, to remember to do so. A Brazilian startup has come up with a solution: prepaid plans for multiple gifts over a set period of time.

Targetting male gift-givers, Ticket to Mind offers four different plans: Basic, Plus, Advanced and Express, ranging in price from BRL 19.90 to BRL 69.90 per month (USD 12.00-42.00 / EUR 8.25-29.00). The Express plan, for example, is aimed at "conquering a new love or renewing an existing one", and TTM will send three bouquets of flowers over a four-month period, at random times. The sender receives a notification before each bouquet is shipped, and the flowers include a card with a message based on information provided by the sender.

Other plans include a wider variety of gifts: chocolate, toys, cosmetics and "spicy" items. Prices for each plan include products, shipping and notifications, with no additional costs charged

Gift-Giving with a Prepaid Plan [TrendBird]

Springwise: Unless they happen to be near a bicycle shop during business hours, bicyclists who break down are typically out of luck if they don't already have the parts they need to make a repair. Aiming to make bike parts more accessible, two different vending machines we've spotted are always on hand with critical parts.

Most recently, bike manufacturer Trek set up a prototype Trek Stop Cycling Convenience Center at the end of June, just off the bike path in Madison, Wisconsin. Located outside bike shop Machinery Row, the Trek Stop is a 24/7/365 convenience center for cyclists that provides access to cycling products, information and a safe place to work on a bike. The full-service vending machine is stocked with bicycle products such as spare tubes, patches, tire levers, CO2 cartridges and more, along with food and cold drinks; it also features an information center with maps, a message board and advertising space for local announcements. A covered maintenance area, meanwhile, offers a work stand, free air and even how-to videos—available at the push of a button—for those trickier repairs.

Vending machines for bicycle parts [Springwise]

NewLaunches.com: Those of you who have been fantasizing about a unique way to get married may want to try this new destination. Carrie Bradshaw found solace in the Registrar's Office but may want to try Space! Japanese space transportation provider Rocketplane Kistler and wedding planner First Advantage have come together in this venture that will allow couples to take their vows in space. The wedding aboard the Rocketplane XP suborbital spaceplane will cost 240 million yen ($2.2 million), this includes a wedding ceremony aboard a 1-hour space flight that reaches an altitude of more than 100 kilometers (62.1 miles), as well as a photo and video album, original dress, wedding certificate and other ceremonial items.

Now Get Married in Space [NewLaunches.com]

Iconoculture: Some Boomers are opting for final resting places that are groundbreaking, to say the least. Deep sea and deep space are two final destinations that are increasingly popular.

Eternal Reefs mixes cremains into a concrete "reef ball" which is dropped into the ocean and seeded for ecosystem development.

LifeGem reduces ashes to carbon, which are then heated and compressed into a diamond for individuals who want to be a family heirloom.

The Eternal Ascent Society sends ashes up in helium balloons, while Space Services arranges for remains to go into orbit or into deep space. Beginning in 2010, Space Services will even arrange for a burial on the moon.

As if they'd have it any other way! Boomers are reinventing as they go, and in this case, as they pass. Further deflecting "aging" stereotypes, Boomers are inventing novel ways to say goodbye.
They may act like they'll live forever, but Boomers reaching that final lifestage can be expected to do it with creative panache.

Boomers personalize the afterlife for themselves, loved ones [Iconoculture]

Iconoculture: English mums can experience me-time with a membership at two recently opened momsclusive clubs in London. Cupcake offers seminars, fitness training (with and without baby) and a café, as well as plenty of space to simply sit down and relax. A kids-free floor houses the spa where moms and moms-to-be enjoy specialized treatments catered to their pregnancy stage.

Moms need a third place too. Instead of holing up at home post-pregnancy, they know how much more sane they'll be if they get out, connect with other moms, and reconnect with their purely feminine side.

Card-carrying moms kick back at the club [Iconoculture]

Springwise: Menlo Park, Calif.-based Cubes&Crayons offers flexible office space, community and child care for self-employed or freelance workers with young children between 3 months and 5 years old. A variety of work spaces are available at the site, including conference rooms and overstuffed chairs, and extra services such as printing, faxing and filing space are also available. The facility is open weekdays from 8 to 5, and parents can take advantage of its wireless-enabled office space and child care on a full-time, part-time or drop-in basis. Those who become members can make advance reservations by phone or online, as well as having priority for drop-in hours. Membership is USD 149 annually, with combined office and child-care rates starting at USD 13 per hour.

More work spaces for parents [Springwise]

A recent Reuters wire story (picked up here in the International Herald Tribune) describes the new trend of "urban mining" - of recovering gold, silver, copper, iridium and other precious metals from discarded cell phones and other consumer electronics.

According to the article, a ton of used cellular phones contains far more gold than an equal amount of ore from a gold mine. Ditto for silver and copper. Estimates vary, but there are tens (or possibly even hundreds) of millions of cell phones taken out of service every year as users upgrade to newer models. These end up in landfill, or at the bottom of the sock drawer.

And another use for used phones - Zurado Systems, from California, also wants your used cell phones. They want to reprogram them for use as portable kiosks.

There is clearly a real business opportunity in the recovery of used mobile phones and computers for smart entrepreneurs able to devise an efficient collection system. What are your ideas?

Graeme Spicer is a Canadian trendspotter, ethnographer and observer of all things retail. As Director of Retail Strategy at DW+Partners he spends his time consulting with leading retailers; presenting at conferences across North America; lecturing at OCAD, Canada's leading design school; and reading too many blogs.

Sense: Software developer Adobe are set to join the raft of online photo editing applications with the release of Photoshop Express.

Currently available in beta form Express will be completely web based so that users can use it with any type of computer, operating system or browser. Online photo editing applications have found huge popularity over the past few years and in releasing Express Adobe must compete against long established rivals such as Picnik and Photobucket. The release of Photoshop Express highlights a broader trend in which software developers are increasingly focusing on online services instead of stand-alone applications. Adobe hopes that Express will function as a marketing tool and part of a strategy to create up selling opportunities.

Online Photo Editing [Sense]

Trendwatching.com: 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.

From status symbols to status stories [Trendwatching.com]

Iconoculture: Not everyone thinks a highfalutin salon is necessary for a good haircut. These consumers may be more apt to frequent Barber Stops, self-contained barber "shops" or kiosks that can be easily set up in larger retail settings.

Shaped like giant iconic barber poles, the shops have enough room inside for barber and customer. No appointments necessary, and haircuts cost $11. There are currently four Barber Stops; the owner is working with Mid-States Distributing Company (home, farm and fleet retail organization) and Home Depot to set up shops nationwide.

Barber Stops provide shear efficiency in rural communities [Iconoculture]

SmartyPig is a simple, smart, fun way to save for a specific goal. Using groundbreaking technology and the latest in security standards, SmartyPig allows you to invite family and friends to contribute to your account, gives you additional incentive boosts from top retailers who sell exactly what you’re saving for and 4.30% interest on the money you’re saving.

SmartyPig

TMC Pet Vending Solutions has been studying the self serve dog wash market since 2005. One of its invention is the K9000 machine. This coin-operated self serve dog wash equipment is simple and easy to use. Dogs easily step up into wash area with a hair free non slip floor. It has a rotary switch/dial – easy to switch between wash cycles and similar to self serve car wash.

The K9000 offers 6 wash cycles, including conditioner and flea & tick options as well as a disinfecting option. TMC Pet Vending Solutions is touting its self serve dog wash products as an additional source of income for business owners.

Appleton Post-Crescent: With a son in medical school, Brenda Kubasta says scheduling was problematic during prime wedding season, and even if they did tie the knot in fair-weather months, waiting wasn't the couple's forte.

"It would've been in summer," noted newlywed Kubasta, who wed husband Jim in December 2006. "The question we asked each other was, 'Why wait?'"

The pair planned their nuptials during one of Wisconsin's chilliest seasons and wound up saying "I do" at a decked-out Paine Art Center and Gardens with amiable above-freezing temps and a festive holiday scene that added to the magic of the wedding.

"Oh, it was absolutely gorgeous," said Kubasta, who'd attended a friend's reception at the mansion previously and fell in love with the venue's Great Hall. When it came time to plan her own ceremony, the season afforded the bride and groom a perfect wedding backdrop.

"It's like everybody does spring and summer," she said. "With the holidays going on and everything, it's such a wonderful time to give thanks, too, and just be grateful for everything you have."

Glistening white floral arrangements, rich colors, velvety fabrics and holiday cheer are just a few reasons brides and grooms go for winter nuptials, local wedding planners say.

"I definitely think there's more you can do with (wardrobe) to enhance it — nice overcoats, the muffs," said Laurie Hughes, sales manager for LaSure's Hall Banquets & Catering in Oshkosh.

Add to it a hearty menu that may include snowflake cupcakes, a hot chocolate fountain, ice sculptures and carriage rides, and it's a wonder any pair opts for June. Hughes said winter weddings are conducive to satisfying food options, as well, whether the bride and groom are craving comfort food like ham or a gourmet buffet featuring bacon-wrapped chestnuts.

"And, I can be a little more flexible with things (in winter)," Hughes said. "We might waive hall rental fees … and we can work a little bit more with smaller groups in winter than I really can for prime wedding dates May through September."

Couples also find winter weddings are convenient for long lists of guests whose schedules are bogged down with summer vacations.

Winter receptions also make for a perfect way to celebrate a union when couples opt for a destination wedding, Hughes said.

Winter wedding ideas can be cool in a good way [Appleton Post-Crescent]

Trendwatching.com: Continuing the tradition of using shipping containers to house all things pop-up, a spotting from the Netherlands caught our eye. At the Lowlands music festival, jeans brand Wrangler offered festival-goers a much-needed service: laundry. At 18 meters wide and 9 meters high, the Wrangler Laundromat was hard to miss. People dropped off their mud-encrusted laundry and were sent a text message the moment it was ready. No change of clothes? Wrangler came up with a generous solution to that problem, too: they handed out black overalls to anyone who used the laundromat. Like most other pop-up ventures, Wrangler Laundromat is an exercise in experiential marketing, aimed at surprising and delighting consumers in a way that magazine ads or TV spots usually can't.

Brand Butlers [Trendwatching.com]

Springwise: Home cooking is a basic pleasure that gets denied by busy schedules all too often, and at least part of the reason is the time that must go into shopping for and preparing ingredients before the cooking can begin.

Customers of the Singapore-based service, which just launched in October, begin by going to ilovemother.net and choosing from a wide variety of menus. Meals are presented in categories, such as "Quick & Easy," "Something Special" and "Comfort Classics," and can include side dishes, desserts and wines. Next, once their selections are made, customers are presented with a list of the ingredients required. After indicating the number of servings needed they can approve the list as is or make modifications to suit their palates and the supplies they already have at home. I Love Mother will then shop for the required ingredients at restaurant suppliers and fresh food markets on the morning before the meal is to be prepared and deliver them in the afternoon.

All items are delivered in exactly the quantities needed, so there's no waste, and for those who desire, I Love Mother will even chop and prepare them so they're ready to throw in the pan. Customers pay just the cost of the ingredients plus a SGD 5 delivery charge, along with variable fees for the optional slicing and dicing. Most recipes can be made in 30 minutes, and I Love Mother provides step-by-step instructions.

Ready-to-cook meals delivered to busy urbanites [Springwise]

Springwise: While there are plenty of reminder services online that help people remember anniversaries and birthdays, few connect to the physical world. Which is where Boston-based Jack Cards comes in: a company that delivers pre-scheduled, ready-to-go greeting cards to the card sender, just in time for them to add a personal message and drop the card in the mailbox.

Customers register on jackcards.com, enter important dates for their family and friends and select cards for each person/date. Jack Cards offers a range of cards created by over 40 independent designers. Members schedule when they'd like the cards delivered—1, 2 or 4 weeks in advance—and select whether they would like the envelopes to be pre-stamped, pre-addressed, or both. Jack Cards takes care of the rest and even sends an email reminder to make sure customers don't forget to post the cards they've ordered and received.

Never forget to send a birthday card [Springwise]

Cart-Away Supply is the first franchised concrete, rental and landscape supply store. Cart-Away Supply sells construction materials that people walk on every day, like concrete, soil, rock and bark. The franchise also rents equipment and stocks merchandise that is used to install the concrete, soil and rock. Cart-Away Supply is a construction supply business that provides delivery trailers to take the materials to the job site. Customer’s cart-away their supplies to their projects. This trailer-based concrete delivery system has been proven for over 40-years in yards across the country.

Cart-Away Supply is a one-stop supplier for concrete, rental and landscape materials and is based upon the operations found in many of the most successful Cart-Away customers. Today the Cart-Away brand is a part of Cart-Away Supply for the exclusive benefit of franchise operators.

Cart-Away Supply

Springwise: Visitors to Sydney who want the scoop on where all of the best boutiques, cafes and galleries are need only point their browsers to Urban Walkabout to download attractive, pocket-sized walking maps in PDF form, complete with a detailed listing of shops and other attractions—for free. Maps are clean and concise and include information on buses, trains and other public transit. What's more, customers can take advantage of special offers, such as discounts at certain establishments, just by showing their guides.

The Urban Walkabout Sydney Shopping Guides are published twice a year. Versions are currently available for five areas—Bondi, Double Bay + Potts Point, Paddington + Woollahra, Surry Hills + Darlinghurst, and the Sydney Central Business District. In addition to downloading them from the web, customers can pick up copies from every retail establishment listed on the website and in hotel lobbies, tourist information booths and visitor centres. In addition to the guides, there also is a wealth of information on the Urban Walkabout website, including a listing of special offers and events.

Downloadable Shopping Map [Springwise]

Springwise: Hair salons on wheels aren't particularly novel anymore (to wit: Onsite HairCuts, which we covered last year), and most often they cater to office workers who spend their days in large industrial parks. Now UK-based HairPOD is picking up on that basic idea but bringing it out to the masses—wherever they happen to be—with quick, inexpensive haircuts on the go.

HairPODs are transportable, free-standing styling booths that look like futuristic space capsules. Featuring extendable floor and side panels, they can be closed up and locked for the night, then unlocked and opened up again the next day. The compact design features tucked-away storage space for supplies, and a suction unit at the base of the pod even makes hair clippings disappear. Best of all, they can be strategically placed in locations such as airports or downtown crossings—and relocated, if necessary—without the high rents most salons must pay. HairPODs take 3 to 4 hours to put together, and require just an electricity supply--no shop fitting or site alteration are necessary.

Pop-up hair salons in pods [Springwise]

Cool Tool: This service will digitize your old slides, negatives and photographic prints at high quality and at a very cheap price. I've been using them to scan my 30-year backlog of photographs and I have been delighted with the results. I've used other services to scan my old photos; ScanCafe is by far the best deal. Their prices are fantastic. To scan a slide is just 24 cents, a color negative 19 cents.

Here is how it works: You pack up your images and mail them to ScanCafe's headquarters in Northern California. They count them up, and repackage them before shipping the pieces to India. In India they are scanned, touched up, rotated and then privately posted to your account at their website. You then go through the images online and select which ones you'd like to keep. You are allowed to dismiss (and not pay for) up to 50% of the total for that order. You can reject images because you aren't happy with how they look online, or simply because you don't want the image. In the specific case of original photo negatives, there is no reliable way to communicate which image(s) you want on the strip, so ScanCafe will scan the entire strip of negatives. You'll have to reject the particular frames you don't want (but no more than 50% of the total order. Combine them with slides to keep your percentage down.)

ScanCafe [Cool Tool]

BusinessWeek: France is famous for its relaxed attitude to affairs of the heart (and loins). Unlike in the Anglo-Saxon world, the existence of extra-marital affairs -- from the fictional Madame Bovary to former President Francois Mitterrand -- is taken for granted there. French men even have a term for their mistresses: Le cinq á sept (the 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.). Now French adulterers are being offered a discreet and tailor-made service to help them indulge in their dalliances without getting caught.

The Alibila Web site offers a service for people "suffocating" in their family situation who need some air, or for those in the throes of a "passing adventure" who don't want to jeopardize their marriage. It offers would-be philanderers a range of services, costing €19 ($27) upwards, including diversionary phone calls, merchandise from fake conferences, and invitations to non-existent weddings.

Voulez-Vous Hide Your Adulterous Ways? [BusinessWeek]

Springwise: Baby-oriented websites provide a unique marketing opportunity, since they’re aimed at a highly motivated readership—new parents—who have a strong desire to learn and share their experiences. For advertisers, the value stems from bonding with new customers at a moment when they’re experiencing a major and (mostly) positive life transition. When a new baby arrives, families must make new purchase decisions on everything from diapers to cleaning products and foods. British website Babyfy is hoping to tap into that marketing potential by publishing expert reviews on baby products, giving the complete lowdown on every brand of stroller/pram/pushchair and dozens of other product categories.

Babyfy’s real user value could lay with its reviews of hospitals and the services they provide expectant mothers. Besides offering statistics on aspects such as the ratio of Caesarean vs. natural births, the chart-like reviews focus on occasionally overlooked areas such as parking and visiting hours. Visitors can also rate various aspects of their experience at a hospital and provide their own written comments. The site is currently still in beta: some product categories have yet to be reviewed, and advertising isn’t yet up to the site’s potential. Entrepreneurs bent on setting up a new website for parents-to-by in other countries might also want to review services like childbirth classes, paediatric clinics and day care centers.

A TripAdvisor for parents-to-be [Springwise]

3LUXE: has launched a new editorially-driven review site designed to simplify the online research/purchase process by giving consumers a means to "Simply find the best of everything." Instead of returning an overwhelming number of choices as search engines do, 3LUXE only provides the three best products or services.

"We started 3LUXE to help people save time, and possibly their sanity, when researching a product purchase online," said Doug Worple, CEO of 3LUXE. "People want to do research to avoid making poor purchase decisions, but time constraints and the overwhelming amount of information available online work against you unless you know exactly what you want. Comparison Shopping Engines currently help consumers with 'where to buy'; 3LUXE intends to be the destination of choice that helps you determine 'what to buy."

3LUXE updates reviews as new products are released, and also based on user feedback. Developed on Ruby on Rails, 3LUXE utilizes technology to enable visitor feedback on "Best Of" selections through a voting mechanism: "Luxe It" or "Leave It". Visitors are also encouraged to leave comments or ask questions on any given product or category.

In essence, 3LUXE does the research consumers would do if they had more time. These "Best Of" reviews cover a wide range of categories from appliances to airplanes, from sports products to spa resorts, and trucks to travel.

3LUXE.com

TrendWatching.com: Oh, and let's not forget about automotive insurance: UK-based Sheilas' Wheels, a division of esure, launched in October 2005 to provide competitive quotes for women. Sheilas' Wheels designed a policy for women, with features such as additional coverage for handbags and their contents up to GBP 300 if stolen or damaged while in the car, a 24-hour confidential counselling line for policyholders and the option to add other important services such as legal protection. Sheilas' Wheels is currently taking on new customers at a rate of over 2,000 a week, beating its own growth targets for this stage by 60%. Like most of the other ideas in this briefing, the global market for services like this remains wide-open.

Female Fever [TrendWatching.com]

Deliverthat.com provides a venue for buyers and sellers of goods not available within ones country to have another user deliver that product to them. Ah, that Yorkshire Pudding I loved while I was in England. Wait! thats only sold in Europe!! Our concept aids buyers in other countries that do not hold this product to purchase this product either by Mail or through another community member that recently visited the country which hosts the product. The members contract with each other to DeliverThat! item back. DeliverThat! will allow our users to earn an additional income while helping others get the products and items they are unable to within their own country.

Deliverthat.com

Iconoculture: Tired of sifting through the bargain bins for a great deal? Try Slifting instead. Slifter is a free mobile phone application that enables users to search for products at both online and brick-and-mortar retailers.

Simply key in your zip code and Slifter does the searching part of shopping for you.
The program has a database of more than 85 million products, and the company recently added Best Buy and CompUSA to its system. The chief complaint? Relevance. Slifter inventory data isn't always updated and its long lists of products can overwhelm many users, especially on their small cellphone screens.

Most tech-savvy consumers love the idea of searching brick-and-mortar stores electronically. Almost-instant gratification was never so enticing.

Help! My mobile phone has gone shopping! [Iconoculture]

TrendCentral: Already a hit in L.A. among the kind of crowd that populates the The Cobra Snake's website, Heartschallenger is kind of a gourmet hipster Good Humor truck. Often making appearances (for hire) at parties and festivals, Heartschallenger is stocked with a global buffet of frozen treats ranging from Japanese mochi and Italian spumoni to peace sign-shaped ice pops by artist Gary Garay, as well as assorted t-shirts and mix-tapes. There’s no schedule listed on their site, but you can email them to find out where they’ll be next or to book them for an event.

Heartschallenger [TrendCentral]

Thriving Office: Want a successful and thriving business environment? Here's the creative and innovative CD to enhance your working environment.

Thriving Office is a CD, filled with office sounds, that home businesses play it in the background while they’re on the phone to sound more established. In addition to eliminating uncomfortable silence, it also masks domestic noises, such as kids and dogs. Many people also play it when they’re off the phone, reporting that it increases their productivity. And big companies have started embracing it, too. One 39-minute track is “Busy” and the other is “Very Busy”. Was recently featured in Business Week, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Providing a Thriving Office [Thriving Office]

Iconoculture: The city that never sleeps has another reason to stay up late: after-hours beauty salons. New Yorkers who want a glass of wine with their color treatment head to meccas like Frédéric Fekkai/Soho and Red Market Salon, which are open for business — and socializing — until at least 11 p.m. Two fleets of ships pass in the night: execs and Wall Streeters winding down from their busy days and trendy 20somethings warming up for club-hopping with a fab new look.

Communal hairstyling stations where clients chat over drinks, along with live DJs and special events like art openings, make after-hours salons a hot player on the night-life scene.

Night owls flying to after-hours beauty salons [Iconoculture]

Webware: How many times have you been IMing with a friend or co-worker across the country, placed a bet ("If that Sanjaya guy gets the boot tonight, you owe me a beer!"), completed said bet, but had no immediate way to fulfill it because the other person involved was miles away? Well, now there's a brand-new solution--but just for New Yorkers, for the time being.

BuyYourFriendADrink.com was launched today and announced on the New York edition of e-mail events service Thrillist. BuyYourFriendADrink, or BYFAD, is a way to purchase libations for your friends online, which they can then redeem at participating establishments with the help of a text message. If you owe a friend a drink, or just want to be nice, head on over to the BYFAD Web site and fill out the form--you'll need to have that friend's cell phone number on hand. You can opt to give them a dollar amount between $5 and $250, and there's a 99-cent processing fee. Then, your friend receives an e-mail and a text message alerting them of the yummy drinkable gift, along with a promotional code.

Happy hour by SMS, with BuyYourFriendADrink [Webware]

Trendwatching.com: From 20 November 2006 to 1 January 2007, Procter and Gamble's bathroom tissue brand operated a 20-stall restroom in the heart of Times Square at 1540 Broadway, between 45th and 46th Streets, calling the service 'Charmin's holiday gift to New York'. The facilities offered clean, deluxe bathrooms, baby changing stations, stroller parking, seating areas, and of course lots of luxury toilet paper. Cleanliness was guaranteed by the presence of one bathroom attendant for every two stalls, cleaning after each use. Close to 430,000 people made use of the service.

TRYSUMERS [Trendwatching.com]

Trendwatching: Nike Trial Vans are currently touring the UK/Ireland, France, Italy and Spain, stocking 1,000 pairs of shoes. It’s a free trial, no strings attached. To deliver on the crucial element of TRYVERTISING, total relevance of placement, the vans will pop up in places where people actually run. From athletic events to well-known running spots.

TRYVERTISING [Trendwatching]

Cool Tools: Vanity postage. This pretty-easy-to-use website will generate official US postage stamps featuring a photo or illustration of your choosing (works well with iPhoto for instance). When the service was first introduced two years ago it was abused by clever pranksters -- my favorite hack was a Unabomber postage stamp. The Post Office shut the program down. The service is available again but I don't know what the actual image limits are (vs. their stated policy). We made some silly faces and they made stamps from them. I've seen them us