swissmiss

A big thank you to A Book Apart for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

A Book Apart publishes highly detailed and meticulously edited examinations of single topics. We produce brief books of about 100 pages—the perfect size in terms of subject depth and coverage for topics like HTML5, CSS3, content strategy, responsive web design, and more. The goal of every title in our catalog is to shed clear light on a tricky subject, and do it fast, so you can get back to work. Look for Mike Monteiro’s much-anticipated book, Design Is a Job, this April.

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A big thank you to LOOKMATIC for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Your outlook is about to clear up, thanks to LOOKMATIC, the online prescription eyewear retailer that combines fashionable glasses with affordable prices.  With frames to fit any point of view, like the Jesse oversized frames for the hipster, the best-selling Andy frames for the Geek Chic, and the cat eye Marilyn frames for the retro darlings – everyone will be seeing clearer. Fancy some vintage-looking shades? They do that too. Turn any available frames into prescription sunglasses, readers or normal shades. And if you’re not sure how they’ll look, try ‘em on with ‘Virtual Try On,’ their virtual mirror.

The best part about LOOKMATIC: not only are the styles for everyone, but so are the prices. All frames are $58 alone, $88 with prescription.

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A big thank you to Citizen Stock for sponsoring this week’s swissmiss RSS Feed.

Get Real in 2012! Citizen Stock is a stock photo agency that uses real people, not models. Shooting against a white backdrop, Sherrie Nickol and David Katzenstein create diverse images of children, moms, dads, grandparents, skateboarders, musicians, nurses, athletes, dancers, office workers, clowns, executives and more. Don’t miss their series on Diversity!

Citizen Stock also keeps it REEL: Check out their video on YouTube. And sign up for access to free comps and other great features.

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A big thank you to Playful Learning for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Playful Learning Spaces is a six-week online course that is designed by educator Mariah Bruehl to guide parents and teachers through the process of designing thoughtful spaces for children.

Throughout the course, participants will explore and share ideas for creating areas that invite children to engage in reading, writing, science, art, and more. Organization, storage, and selecting materials for different ages and stages of child development will also be discussed.

Each week, participants will receive a video that contains basic educational principles, simple guidelines, and helpful photos. You will also receive weekly assignments and links to relevant research, products, and inspiration. As a community, participants will have the opportunity to look at the spaces they create for their children, tackle overdue projects, post before and after photos, and receive practical feedback and support.

Mariah Bruehl is the founder of the website and newly released book, Playful Learning.

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A big thank you to NeuYear for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Yay! It’s a New Year! Grab a fancy calendar from NeuYear to help you plan your life and get the most out of 2012.

NeuYear makes a special calendar, unlike any other, that has hipster style and a slight innovation that helps you see the year more clearly, and all at once.

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Get a calendar from NeuYear and make your ideas happen in 2012! (use code “SWISSMISS” for 10% off)

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A big thank you to Whiplash for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Whiplash might just be the perfect partner for your webstore or Kickstarter campaign. Whiplash warehouses your products and ships directly to your customers as orders come in.

They work with indie rock icons Modest Mouse, the techno-nauts Ghostly International, the webcomic Natalie Dee, and they’ll be shipping the Pen Type-A’s that were mentioned here this fall. They also partner with printer-of-note VGKids, so if you need design work or printing, they’ve got you covered there as well.

Whiplash is fast, accurate, reliable and awesome.

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A big thank you to iStockphoto for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

When you’re hungry for good, home-cooked food there’s no better place to go than Mom’s house. When you’re hungry for good, creative inspiration there’s no better place than Feast.

Feast is an online space where people go to feed their brains with thought-provoking and inspiring content and a mentor-protégé program lead by some of the most creative people around the world.

This month on Feast is a focus on the basic techniques of all creativity: copy, transform and combine. The conversation is being led by none other than Kirby Ferguson, of Everything’s a Remix fame.

Dig in!

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A big thank you to MegaDeluxe Sports for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

MegaDeluxe Sports is a site dedicated to searching the world for stories and ideas that hypnotize. Including art, design, craftsmanship, writing, photography, and film. Curated with all the finesse and tenderness of a one-​eyed rabid-​badger.

Check out their recently posted an interview with Paul Budnitz of Kidrobot and his line of new bikes.

MegaDeluxe Sports

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A big thank you to Gridbooks for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Gridbooks are custom crafted to help you create better digital designs. Their Ad Books and Pads feature a dot grid, column grids and IAB ad templates. The Web Books and Pads feature a versatile dot grid that is divided into numerous columns for use in portrait or landscape orientations.

Stay tuned this week for their contest to win a Wacom Inkling and an amazing Gridbooks package. Check out their Facebook page for details.

Take advantage of Gridbook’s 10% holiday discount until December 23rd, by using coupon code HOLIDAYS at check out.

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A big thank you to Sharon Montrose for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose offers open and limited edition prints from Sharon’s popular animal series photographs. Sharon’s animal art prints are beloved by parents for children’s rooms and baby nurseries- but adults appreciate the modern simplicity of Sharon’s work too! (The black and white cow is one of my personal favorites!)

Take advantage of her holiday sale until december 3rd, by using coupon code HOLIDAY at check out.

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A big thank you to Voice Art Gallery for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Looking for a unique gift idea for the holidays? Take a look at Voice Art Gallery! They create high quality giclee art from the sound of your voice. Yes, from your voice! Voice Art™ bridges the gap between sentiment and design. Since your voice is like a fingerprint each design is 100% unique and personalized. Voice Art Gallery’s groundbreaking technology makes it easy to create beautiful artwork that can motivate and inspire. See for yourself.

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A big thank you to Travel Hacking Cartel for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

What would you say if you could earn hundreds of thousands of Frequent Flyer miles… without getting on a plane. There is a service for that, it’s called Travel Hacking Cartel. When you become a travel hacker, you’ll start padding out your mileage accounts, then you’ll redeem them for high-value trips. The guy who started this service is Chris Guillebeau and trust me, he knows what he is talking about, as he is currently on a quest to visit *every* single country in the world.

Cartel membership is backed up by the World’s Greatest Guarantee: you’ll earn at least four free plane tickets for every year you remain a member.

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

A big thank you to Houzz for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

It’s the Wikipedia of home design, the Flickr of design-idea sites, and the online equivalent of clipping photos from magazines. It’s Houzz — and it has quickly become our daily obsession. Photos? Browse 200,000+ gorgeous spaces and save your faves to an ideabook. Professionals? Search 25,000+ architects, interior designers, contractors and more. Information? Articles from design experts and a vibrant community are ready to solve your design dilemmas.

Best of all, you can get Houzz on your iPad or iPhone – and we can’t think of anything better to enjoy with our coffee on Sunday mornings.

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A big thank you to *emera for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Women love their *emera camera bags because they’re tough, yet chic, right down to their little silver feet. These stylish bags hold and protect expensive equipment – DSLR, several lenses, iPad, cords and power supply gear, plus magazines, wallet, and a few more goodies. Oh, and they are customizable. (as shown in this video)

*emera camera bags are available in tote and messenger styles.

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A big thank you to Glennz Tees for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

T-shirts started as a hobby for New Zealand illustrator Glenn Jones, and now, just a few years later, he has a thriving online store based in Austin, Texas. Glennz Tees offers over 100 designs in men’s and women’s sizes, with a selection for kids and babies too.

Glennz Tees’ unique spin on pop culture has become a favorite in the worlds of geekery and technology not to mention anyone else who likes to add a bit of humor to their day. Keep up to date with regular tee releases, reductions and sales on twitter and facebook.

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

A big thank you to Dia Art Foundation for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Q: What do you get when you combine a restored 300,000 square foot Nabisco box printing factory with renowned artworks by some of the most influential artists of the last half century, and breathtaking views of the Hudson River?

A: Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, the home for Dia Art Foundation‘s acclaimed collection of artworks from the 1960s to the present, located in Beacon, NY—just a short train ride from Grand Central Terminal and a 7-minute walk from the station. In addition to its museum on the Hudson—where the galleries are illuminated almost entirely by natural light—Dia commissions, presents, and preserves site-specific, large-scale art projects across the country, many of which are among the art world’s best-kept secrets. To plan a getaway to any of Dia’s must-see destinations, or to learn more about its current programs and its thirty-seven year history of supporting artists most ambitious visions, visit www.diaart.org.

Personal sidenote: Dia:Beacon is one of my *favorite* places in the NYC area. It’s the perfect daytrip from NYC. And my favorite photo of Ella, my daughter, has been taken at Dia.

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

A big thank you to Wazala! for sponsoring this week’s RSS Feed.

Wazala is a slick, minimal and beautiful looking ecommerce store and shopping cart that allows you to sell physical or digital goods such as fonts, photos or music. You can create a store in minutes, then add it to your website, blog or even your facebook pages. It is that simple.

I am extremely intruiged by the fact that Wazala works as an overlay, which means your reader/potential customer won’t leave your site. If your customers are visiting on mobile devices, Wazala Touch provides a slick shopping experience both on the iPhone and Android devices.

If you are thinking about selling anything online you should consider Wazala!, just signup for a 15 day trial risk free.

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A big thank you to vespoe for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Artists and designers unite! New York-based startup, vespoe, is a new marketplace pioneered by the alumni, faculty and students of art and design schools from all fields to build together a supportive, cross-disciplinary and global marketplace to sell their original works.

Find everything from art to furniture to fashion to jewelry to lighting to all things cool made in batches or as one-offs using 3d printers, hands, digital fabrication and other manufacturing methods.

Want to open up your vespoe shop for free? Ask for an invitation here.

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

A big thank you to Brandbook for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed!

Everyone loves notebooks – especially designers. After all, notebooks are the best medium to keep hold of ideas. At Brandbook.de, designers can get their very own notebook edition produced and can choose between a wide range of different cover materials or even Japanese design paper. Brandbook is working for many international design- and advertising agencies, all well-known European brands.

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

A big thank you to ConvertMyFlash for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed.

Attention Flash site owners, online service ConvertMyFlash can open up a HUGE new delicious piece of the market pie for you and help you rake in major $$$$ in just 72 hrs.

How? Flash Fact: Flash sites don’t show up well on the 5 BILLION smartphones and don’t show up at all on 200 Million iPads + iPhones out there. By magically setting you up with an HTML5 version of your site (powered by WordPress), the web wizards over at ConvertMyFlash make your site accessible on the mini screen and infectiously shareable on all social media sites. PLUS: the process can turn your site into a rankings queen on Google. With CMF, your site hits soar (learn more).

*All Swiss-Miss Subscribers get a 10% discount: Promo Code “SwissMiss10%”.
CMF also offers a White-Label option for agencies and freelancers + Affiliate 15% Program.

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

A big thank you to ConvertMyFlash for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed.

Attention Flash site owners, online service ConvertMyFlash can open up a HUGE new delicious piece of the market pie for you and help you rake in major $$$$ in just 72 hrs.

How? Flash Fact: Flash sites don’t show up well on the 5 BILLION smartphones and don’t show up at all on 200 Million iPads + iPhones out there. By magically setting you up with an HTML5 version of your site (powered by WordPress), the web wizards over at ConvertMyFlash make your site accessible on the mini screen and infectiously shareable on all social media sites. PLUS: the process can turn your site into a rankings queen on Google. With CMF, your site hits soar (learn more).

*All Swiss-Miss Subscribers get a 10% discount: Promo Code “SwissMiss10%”.
CMF also offers a White-Label option for agencies and freelancers + Affiliate 15% Program.

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

A big thank you to Expired Software for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed.

First thing designers pick up when inspiration strikes is pen and paper, to quickly sketch out the idea. But sharing sketches on paper is hard. That’s where ScratchBook comes in, a simple, straightforward, easy to use, sketching app for the Android tablets.

Got ideas? Sketch it and share it, right from the app via 37signals Campfire, Email, Dropbox, Evernote, Twitter and much more?

ScratchBook is available in the Android Marketplace and Amazon Appstore. Find out more at: www.expiredsw.com/scratchbook

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)

A big thank you to Typekit for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed.

Typekit is the easiest way to use real fonts on your website. Just copy and paste two lines of code, and you’re off: design just like you ordinarily would, and Typekit takes care of the rest. A huge library of high-quality fonts features the best of your old favorites (from Adobe, FontFont, and more), plus new classics from Mark Simonson, exljbris, Veer, and others. And, as our library expands, your subscription just gets better and better—the hardest part is deciding which font to use.

(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)