Quite a lot of the MOO Crew here in London grew up in the 1980s. We've managed to get over legwarmers, ra-ra skirts and Flock of Seagulls hairdos,* but we got really nostalgic after we received an email about the Rubik's Cube this week.
Isn't that just totally rad? ... Bueller? ... Anyone?
Matt has made his very own custom Rubik's Cube, using a special self assembly kit and a MOO StickerBook! Not only did he send us pictures of the finished article, but he also sent us a link to video of how to put your own custom Rubik's Cube together.
It's nice to see stickers being stuck on to a Rubik's cube, rather than peeled off to (ahem) 'solve' it more easily. Perhaps it was just me who was a terrible cheat?
We love personalizing things here at MOO - it's what MOO is all about, after all. Some prototypes of our new plastic holders arrived last week, and Rui and Lisa decided that what they really needed was some personalized bling - so we set about them with special sticky Japanese rhinestones.
Big Richard sticks it down...
Lisa and Joy's collaborative effort...
The finished holder...
The non-bedazzled version of the holders will be available from MOO soon (although they might be slightly different from the ones in the pictures here - we're still perfecting them).
If you're waiting for your choice of colour for our regular holders, there's good news. The ladies at Supernana in Belgium have been really busy, and have sent us a new delivery of fluffy holders, so all ten colours are back in stock. We still have pink, hot pink and aqua leather Cobu holders, and more in all colours are on the way.
As we're looking at YouTube, I should also tell you about jocksspedos' brilliant stop-motion animation of unboxing his Moo Cards.
You won't get the Banana Split Song out of your head for the rest of the day, be warned!
TTFN!
Kim
*Well, maybe not Dan B, but he looks so cute coding in footless tights and deely boppers that we'll let it pass.
It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in the MOO offices - Greeting Cards are flying off the presses, and London is seasonably cold and damp.
Sensible Denise looked at the weather forecast for this week and decided it was the perfect time to visit Petra in the Jordanian Desert; she's left me in charge of the blog. Hello!
We're not letting the rain get us down yet! Moo's contribution to the Holiday spirit this year isn't limited to our fab Greeting Cards. We're also running a Super-Duper Holiday Card Competition for the best designs submitted to our special flickr group.
We've been amazed at the response - over a thousand of you have joined the flickr group, and we have nearly 3000 different designs available in the People Powered Holiday Card Store. You can find the perfect Holiday card for just about anyone in there. Don't believe me? Lets have a look...
What if... your boyfriend is a huge Doctor Who fan? Well, make him a card with this picture from Henry Pupkin:
What if... you know a six year old girl who loves pink things and Dinosaurs? Carolyn Coles has you covered.
What if... your sister is a sophisticated, glamorous booze hound? sjmaeff has the perfect design:
What if... your Dad is in to street art AND the history of public transport? daveknapik has a card for him:
What if... your best mate is into goth rock and only ever wears black? twisted-butterfly totally has their scene:
You see? It's all covered.
A lot of people have been asking which designs are in with a chance of winning the best-selling prize. I don't want to give away the list and spoil the surprise, but here - in no particular order - are five of the current top fifty designs. The running is really close, so tell your friends about your cards, and use our linking tool, too.
christmas in hampden by Idle Type
Sessão de fotos Pré-Natal by AM Photography
Merry Christmas by Steve Rhodes, on Flickr
Out of Focus Christmas Tree by arkworld
ZooOctober 017 by hapslappylove
The best thing about the competition is that every entry is available to buy, and for every pack sold, a dollar goes to Médecins Sans Frontières. So, you get the perfect card, a talented designer wins a prize, and together we're helping MSF make the world a better place. That's proper holiday spirit.
Before I go, I should mention that our MiniCard holders are flying off the shelves - we'll be getting more soon, so if you haven't been able to get the colour you wanted, check back soon.
Phew! That's all for now. Toodle Pip!
Kim
As you might know, the MOO crew are an active bunch online. A lot of us have our own blogs or little side projects, and all of us have our photos on photosharing sites, like Flickr. We're also interested in where the web is going, and what might happen in the future - which is why Kim, one of our product managers, happened to go to the iCommons Summit in Dubrovnik, a little while ago.
Despite the fact it was classed as a 'holiday' from work, when Kim met Chiaki she couldn't help but talk about MOO. Chiaki is the CEO for Loftwork, one of the biggest creative networks in Japan. Loftwork provides a community and support for over 8500 illustrators, and helps young designers to protect their work using Creative Commons licensing.
Lots of long conversations later, we're happy to be able to say some of these young artists are now making their work available via the designers section on MOO.
Have a browse around the site, because the content is getting bigger by the day. We've introduced a search option to help you find the kind of images you might like, but here's a few of the Loftwork illustrations to whet your appetite.
'Sweet Dessert', by Feebee
'A kitten and a ball', by the very cute Mina Kawai
'Yokogao' by Kosuke Ikeda
Do take time to browse around though - because Kim has been working overtime! There's lots of other new designers we're working with too - from the gentle drawings of Andrea Joseph...
...to the colourful chaos of Colin Johnson
...to the madness of Adam 'Apelad' Koford. What more can I say?
bye!
Or - as I like to call it: The Drop-Box Shop Shock! Actually, there is no shock, but it sounds better that way, especially if you say it quickly.
As you know, we have some great content on MOO from a variety of different designers. If you're looking to make some holiday cards this year and illustration is your thing, you should take some time to browse around. Shop by adding images you like to your drop box and you can review them later when you come to crop or personalise you cards. (The cool bit that makes them *really* yours)
The great thing about making a pack of cards like this is that if you know someone who really loves, say, patterns and textiles, you could make a card just for them. On the other hand, if you know someone who's a bit more of a cynic, you could choose something like this. There are some lovely cards for our younger friends, and even things for the awkward and occasionally unfestive teenage boy or girl you know and love.
Hopefully, by the time you've finished, you'll have a perfect pack, where every card fits the person who's going to receive it. People will marvel at your good taste and you wont be left with a few dodgy cards that always seem to appear in every shop bought pack.
And while we're on a Holiday Card subject, there are still more great entries into the Holiday Card Competition! You can make cards with these right now - and MOO will give money to Médecins Sans Frontières for every pack sold. These are a few of the nice entries we've spotted recently.
Beautiful colours, by MeganJane
Perfect seasonal sparkle, by charmeddigitalchick
Reflecting on Christmas past by jelens
Someone you might recognise? By potatomamma
And for everyone who joins me in that 'Friday feeling', a little pick me up! By sjmaeff
Have a good weekend!
Do you like black, orange or red? Know someone who does? Well if you're thinking of buying a leather MiniCard holder for yourself, or as a gift, it might be a good plan to get it right now. Cobu, who make the holders were only able to send us a limited number of each colour, and we've just found out they wont be able to send us more until after Christmas. It seems that these three colours are really popular, so if you'd like one, get it while you can.
If you're not sure about the other colours, here's what our lovely intern, Rui has to say...
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I'm using both leather and felt holders (priviledged as a MOO staff!), and like it very much. Leather holder is really gorgeous. Mine is pale pink, and I love soft pastel color, the smooth touch of leather, a Cobu mark on the back and a cool Cobu rabbit on the wrapping box! The felt one is also very cute. Variation of bright colours reminds me of a crayon box. I like the fluffy touch of thick felt. It's actually slim and convinient!
皮製とフェルト製のミニカードホルダーを両方使っていますが、どちらもとても気に入っています。高級感が漂うのは皮製のホルダー。私はピンクを使っていますが、柔らかいパステルカラー、皮の手触り、しゃれたCobuのフォント、ラッピングの箱に印刷されているCobuの兎マークまでもお気に入りです。フェルト製のほうはとってもかわいい！鮮やかな色揃えはなんだかクレヨンみたいです。厚いフェルトを使っているので手触りはふわふわ。実はこれ、薄くて持ち歩きにも便利だったりします。
Here's a pale blue leather holder - you can see the Cobu rabbit, Rui mentions on the outer box.
This is the full range of felt holders
I'd also like to tell you about a new case we should have in a few weeks. I said 'like to' because I would, but I'm not allowed. Rest assured as soon as they've taken the thumbscrews off, and I can type properly again, I'll give you more details.
In other news, we've seen some great swing tags and promotional cards being made from MiniCards, by the crafters and creative types out there. These are a few of our favourites.
Handmade earrings, tied to a MiniCard, with ribbon. Design and jewellery by Kutuu Jewellery
Beautiful, bright promotional cards, by Flapi
Lovely yarn packages, with a MOO swing tag, by Yarnissima
