On this New Year's Eve Eve, we figured some of you might be going a little stir crazy at home (too much of a good thing) or perhaps you're one of the minority who's working today and need a distraction. We definitely did. That is why what's left of the MOO crew have been trying out some end-of-year quizzes.
However, before you get stuck in to some of these quizzes, we have a few questions for you about MOO. It should only take 5 minutes and we really do appreciate the answers. It's the same survey that was in our Boxing Day newsletter. If you did complete that, you can skip this part and get right to the end-of-year brainteasers.
Here are a speckling of quizzes we found on the interweb. If you have others that are worth sharing, please add to the comments.
- A world news quiz from the BBC. Crackers! Our average was only 4.5 out of 10. What was your score?
- This one is a world business quiz. It has a slight Canuck angle as it's from the Globe & Mail (Canadian newspaper)
- Now for the slightly more scientific quiz from the New Scientist.
- Metro (one of the free papers in London) had a quiz that was surprisingly not that easy. Hmmm.
- This quiz was rather funny as it was all about Tom Cruise in 2008. Sadly, I can't find where the answers are published. If you find them online, please comment.
- An arts and entertainment quiz by the Times.
- Finally, here is a technology quiz from the Guardian.
Enjoy, but don't forget our survey.
Have a Happy New Year from all of us at MOO. See you in 2009.
New Year Design by:Frieda Bird Here are a few more new year designs just in case you want to send out some new year cards.
Cheers!
A post from Emilie, MOO's lovely French Intern:
Christmas is now at our door. Most people have already bought their Christmas and Holiday Cards. But some of us; Europeans and French, send cards for New Year. I moved to London 7 months ago from Paris and plan on keeping the very convenient French custom of sending cards in January, as well as kissing at Midnight on New Year's Eve!
Speaking of the French, did you know that In France, New Year’s celebrations were cancelled for six years (from 1791 to 1797) because wishing people a ‘Happy new year’ was seen as being too hypocritical? In Post offices, envelopes were opened to check if they contained New Year's cards and delinquents were severely punished. Fortunately we are a bit more relaxed now and receiving cards is still much appreciated!
So if you have French friends, clients, family, it is not too late to send them a little New Year’s card! (And if you know MOO’s address, I'll be there in January ;)
I'm very excited to spend my first New Year's eve in London, to show to new friends how much I have perfected my “Bottoms up” exclamation!
And if, like me, you are abroad for New Year's eve, here is a “how to toast in other languages” mini-guide that could be useful:
Spain: Salud
China: Niennien Ju e
Denmark: Proost
France: A ta santé or chin chin
Greece: Eislgian
Argentina: Saude! Viva!
Italy: A la Salute or Cin Cin
Japan: Kampai
You're now prepared. Well, as long as you are in one of these countries... Maybe some of you could help me to complete the “how to toast” guide for other languages. Post a comment if you know another one!
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Un jour de l'an à Londres
C'est bientôt Noël! Ici à Londres, les gens ont déjà envoyé leurs cartes de vœux pour Noël. Mais certains d'entre nous, Européens et Français, attendent pour envoyer leurs vœux pour la nouvelle année. J'ai quitté Paris il y a sept mois pour m'installer à Londres et je garde cette tradition Française d'envoyer mes vœux en Janvier, ainsi que celle d'embrasser mes amis à minuit!
En parlant de la France, savez-vous que nos ancêtres Français furent privés de Jour de l'an pendant six ans, entre 1791 et 1797, parce que ce jour était considéré comme un jour de fausse démonstrations, d'hypocrisie? Dans les bureaux de poste, on ouvrait les lettres pour voir si elles ne contenaient pas de vœux, et les délinquants étaient sévèrement punis. Heureusement que nous sommes un peu plus relax maintenant et que recevoir une carte de vœux reste un plaisir!
Donc si vous avez de la famille, des amis ou des clients Français, il n'est pas trop tard pour leur envoyer une carte! (Je travaille a MOO, donc je serais là en janvier, au cas ou vous connaitriez l'adresse ;)
Je suis impatiente de passer mon premier réveillon de jour de l'an a Londres, pour montrer à mes amis Anglais que trinquer à leur façon n'a plus de secrets pour moi.
Et si, comme moi, vous passez le réveillon à l'étranger, voici un petit guide pour apprendre à trinquer dans différentes langues.
Espagne: Salud
Chine: Niennien Ju e
Danemark: Proost
Royaume-Unis: Cheers!
Grèce: Eislgian
Argentine: Saude! Viva!
Italie: A la Salute or Cin Cin
Japon: Kampai
Vous voila parés! Enfin presque, si vous vous rendez dans l'un des ces pays... Peut-être pourriez-vous m'aider à compléter le guide? Postez un commentaire si vous savez lever votre verre dans une autre langue!
If you, like us, are feeling that 2008 has reached its final days in the blink of an eye, you may be in a blind panic about getting last minute Christmas and Holiday gifts.
First of all, there is no shame in handing over a Christmas present mid January, (well, maybe a bit of shame.) But try to position a belated gift as a clever way of extending the festive season into the New Year when everyone would otherwise be bored and depressed.
Secondly, most of our favourite companies sell gift certificates, which not only ensures you're not left empty-handed and red-faced when standing round the Christmas tree, but also comes across as a lovely, thoughtful way of allowing the recipient to choose a gift that suits them perfectly.
Of course MOO sells gift certificates for some of our printed products including MiniCards, Stickers, Notecards and Postcards. But if you've already bought a few of those and are looking for other gift ideas, here are a few of MOO's favourite companies to check out;
Personalised Photo Books by Blurb
Snazzy design T-shirts by Threadless
Bespoke designed Bags by Timbuk2
Our friends at Styleshake, Etsy and JPG also have lovely products to turn into gifts.
Phew. Now we don't have to worry about Christmas gifts until about midday on the 25th.
After the financial stresses of recent months, we've come across lots of people who are thinking of going it alone. Some are 'jumping before they're pushed' and others, who have been made redundant are thinking now could be as good a time as any to go freelance.
As someone who freelanced for two years before working at MOO, I always find listening to different people's experiences really interesting. I personally stopped freelancing as the opportunity to work with MOO came along, and it sounded like fun (it is, actually). I was also quite tired - my office was my front room, and work was always there, in the corner of the room, needing to be done. It's quite hard to ignore freelance work sometimes, especially without the simple comfort of a physical door to block the way. People who work from home often say the same thing - getting away from work can sometimes seem impossible.
Having said that, I also enjoyed freelancing a lot. There's nothing like working on a range of projects, with a variety of different people. Lots of opportunities presented themselves and I was lucky enough to work on some projects that exercised my brain, taught me a lot and made me some new friends along the way.
Why I am I posting this now and what's it got to do with MOO? Well, I read this useful article by Rachel Andrew last week. She mentions only spending money on the things you really need - and that might mean you don't need the traditional full suite of business stationery.
She's completely right. My needs were fractionally different to hers - I found I didn't need printed letterheads for example, as invoices etc were all sent via email. I did need something like a compliment slip though, as I would often have to send back CDs or DVDs to companies, and shoving in a post-it note always seemed a bit scrappy. As my work was largely visual it seemed sensible to use something that showed that off a bit, so my 'compliments slips' were postcards - with images of my work on the front and my details on the back.
I also needed business cards. I think had MOO been around at the time I'd've gone for MiniCards as they suit my personality a bit better - and my range of clients. If my client base was a little more traditional though, I'd've stuck with a more traditional size.
If you are thinking of going it alone, the full article is worth a read.
You might also find these other links handy. They're spot on, and exactly the kind of advice I wish I'd had before I started. They're written from the personal experience perspective - and I found them more human and more relevant than a lot of other more 'business focussed' articles.
Beginners guide to freelancing - Phil Gyford.
A well written, comprehensive guide to going freelance.
I hope those links help you as much as they helped me - and if you're going for it in the new year, good luck :)
If you're already a freelancer, what's the one thing you know now, you wish you'd known before? Now's your chance to help out the newbies.
Many of MOO's designers undertake their own personal projects, creating artwork for themselves, friends and clients around the world. In this digital age, a lot of this work is created on screen - but we still get a huge buzz out of seeing original works created the old fashioned way; on paper, using real pens or pencils.
Andrea Joseph is one such illustrator. Working from her overcrowded desk (shown above) she's just finished over 300 hours worth of drawings, filling an entire Moleskine sketchbook. A total of 53 pieces, there's a huge mix of work, from beautiful buttons...
to service station classics..
The very final page of the masterpiece even contains 9 little MiniCards, featuring Andrea's own work.
If you'd like to take advantage of her talent, and fill up your own book (in less than 300 hours), you can print a mix of her artwork with MOO. (I can never decide if I like the buttons or the tapes best, they make really cute Stickers)
In other 'finishing news', yesterday we said our tearful goodbyes to Iain, our suspiciously cheerful project manager. After two years he's heading off to pastures new - miles away, in an agency near London Bridge.
Ever calm and cheerful, even in the face of looming deadlines, stressed developers and the design team (usually me) refusing any possible request he might make, he was a ray of sunshine around the MOO office. It's fitting then, that he loves us and leaves us, as he rides off into the sunset...
Good luck, fella. You'll be missed.
Some time ago, the wonderful Chicago based photographer, Dawn M gave away a free photoshop template for making MiniCards. A raging success, we've seen the template used to great effect time and time again.
One of our other favourite photographers, Robyn, has recently used the templates herself... and look how cute the cards are!
More to the point - look how great they work when packged as a gift for clients:
Robyn has used the reverse of each card as a little contact form for playdates. Each pack of 100 MiniCards serves as a gift for 5 different clients (the parents of the photogenic babies) - each client receiving 20 cards. It's a great idea - what parent wouldn't be happy to receive such a gift?
We've been a fan of the way Robyn packages her client work, ever since spotting these stickers last year:
She uses them to seal envelopes and add an extra touch to gift certificates:
If you're looking for packaging inspiration, check out her fantastic Flickr set - full of ideas, and of course, all beautifully photographed!
Well the Holiday rush has truly begun here at MOO and our faithful troop of elves and reindeer have been working hand over fist to get your important holiday orders out the door and on the sleigh. With the smell of chestnuts roasting on an open fire and sea of red and white santa hats, Holiday Cards, MiniCard Frames and many more MOO products are flying off the shelves and into Santa's sack.
Beautiful Business Cards being lovingly packed
Rory and Dan wearing cosy Christmas hats with Santa sacks full of product!
To make sure you get your orders in on time, it's worth having a quick look at our shipping deadlines below;
| Standard* | Express | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 13/12/08 | 13/12/08 |
| EU | 06/12/08 | 13/12/08 |
| US | 06/12/08 | 13/12/08 |
| ROW | 29/11/08 | 13/12/08 |
Please also be aware that over the holiday period (24th Dec - 2nd Jan), orders may take a little longer than usual to ship. Just like you, both Little and Big MOO need a few cheeky days off to gather their thoughts, read their Holiday Cards and sip some Eggnog.
If you're looking for a quick n' crafty Christmas gift to make - either alone while you enjoy some peace and quiet, or with the kids for added noisey fun - you could think about something like this great little calendar, made by jbloomphotos.
She's mixed more traditional scrapbooking materials with family photos, printed on MiniCards. It adds an extra personal touch, and makes for an ideal present to send in the post to family far away. If you're really clever, you could make the MiniCards removable, so as the month ends, they could be used for bookmarks too. The beautiful ones below were made by Emmalynne
MiniCards are acid and lignin free, incidentally, so good for scrapbooks of all kinds. And don't forget, if you fancy going glue-free, for less mess with the kids, Stickers work really well too (also acid and lignin free).
And talking of Stickers - look at this. It's scrapbooking the new school way!
This beautiful collection of tech Stickers (including ones from MOO) have been lovingly and very carefully applied to a Mac laptop, by Phil Hawksworth, using a circular template. It's so nicely done, I kind of wish it were mine.
First off, thank you to all the MOOsters who participated in last week's challenge. As always everyone who took part kept us entertained with their creative, logical and in other cases wacky answers to our question. Just to recap the challenge, I was looking for an answer to how many combinations one could arrange 20 MiniCards in the Mosaic Frame. While there is probably a correct mathematical answer out there, all the answers were inventive and thoughtful and worthy of recognition. There is one honourable mention.
The honourable mention goes to Rob. He said that the answer is only one. He believes there is only one combination that will look perfect. I like the idea of perfection and I can't wait to see Rob's creation. Congratulations to Rob who wins a pack of MOO MiniCards.
And now to our winner. Drum roll please. The winning answer is the Mosaic Frame can be arranged in 72,130,678,738,421,022,720,000 different combinations according to David. While I am still not 100% sure this calculation is correct, I had enough math geeks concur that it probably is the right answer. Hat's off to David who really wowed me with his explanation. As the winner of the challenge David wins a Mosaic Frame. Congratulations David, good luck in testing out your theory.
One of the best things about working for MOO is that we're lucky enough to have incredibly creative customers. If we're ever stuck for inspiration all we need to do is look at the beautiful cards whizzing by in the warehouse, or the amazing store of photographs in the MOO Flickr pool.
We've seen designers and photographers, crafters, makers and bakers all printing with MOO - but until now, we'd never seen a StickerBook of images quite like this:
or this:
or even this:
These are the 'i-men', created by the London-based designer, Gareth White. There's a whole army of them, ranging from the slightly cute, to the oddly creepy.
After far too long spent wondering how these were made, I decided to get in touch with Gareth myself, and ask. He was kind enough to answer and this is what he said:
Gareth, how long have you been creating the 'i-men'?
Oh that's easy - exactly 3 years this month. I have hundreds of the critters, I only post the best of the beast, but there are loads more in the reserves.
There's so many - do you make one every day?
Not every day because it's so physically demanding, but I think about them most days. They form an orderly mental queue and then I have a flurry of creation. It's a little bit like getting Gizmo wet.
So, what got you started?
When Apple launched the imac with the intergrated isight and photobooth. That day my mind split horizontally, it was like the big-bang. That is day zero for the 'i-men'.
They all look so complex - what was the most difficult one to do?
I don't have one beast in particular that was especially the most difficult, but the less elements I use the harder they are to create. All the best things are the most refined and simple - even beasts.
How do you decide what to use in the creation - or do you just use whatever is to hand?
Oh, well initially I just got whatever was close to hand, and to a certain extent that is still the case - but I have started seeing objects differently. For example, I'll see a roll of gaffer tape and think 'what a great pair of eyes that will make' or something else hanging around and think 'I'll use that for a big long tongue!'
How do you actually do it? Don't you need more than one pair of hands?
Well obviously they're all mirror images. Some of the men may look pretty crazy - and I do get a little bit contortionist nowadays - but really it's pretty simple to get going and start making wild creatures. After a while you get to know certain tricks - like holding objects at the correct angle will make your fingers into a mouth or nose. However, I think the eyes should always be an inanimate object, that's where the beast's soul is.
Have you got any photos of you actually making an 'i-man'? I want to see!
Ha - it's funny you should ask that - here's some from the old days:
You can check the flickr set to see the results.
What was your inspiration? Where do your ideas come from?
I am genuinely inspired by not knowing what is going to come out of a session. I get so excited when the perfect monster arrives. It's the same feeling I get when I walk through the doors of a jumble sale. You never know what's inside.
How much can you plan your images? For each perfect picture, have you got loads that are just a bit off?
That's just it - I have no idea initially. They evolve during a session and you can see that from my set on flickr - they are grouped inadvertingly by the materials and light that were to hand at the time.
So, Frankenstein by night... What's your day job?
I am co-creative director of New Future Graphic. It's okay though, everyone is well aware of this thing.
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Gareth - you're awesome!
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So - anyone else fancy making one? It's the weekend, c'mon, what else are you going to do?
