Today is our fifth post in our series matching Lifehacker’s Top 10 Outdoor Tips for a More Pleasant Summer list with some suggestions of our own for how to increase the summer pleasure quotient of clients, customers or hard-working staff. Not all summer days are sunny and fair and we like to be prepared for all possibilities. There are loads of apps out there to help us stay on top of what’s coming weather-wise, but just in case, why not send out Fold N Go Fisher hats or hooded ponchos to keep customers and clients from getting unexpectedly drenched. And if your business or product is directly related to rain fall, you might want to consider sending out a branded rain gauge to remind customers of what you do, as they track the rain fall this summer.
Tip #6: Keep up with the Weather Forecast
Tip #7: Tasty Summer Produce
Today we offer our fourth post in our series matching Lifehacker’s Top 10 Outdoor Tips for a More Pleasant Summer list with some suggestions of our own for how to increase the summer pleasure quotient of clients, customers or hard-working staff. One of our favorite things about summer is fresh, local, and tasty fruits and vegetables.
Local Harvest is a website to help you find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area. The site also has a shop with sources for everything from Blue Swedish Duck hatching eggs (we wish we could have a chicken coop) to golden amarath seeds, a healthy gluten-free “grain” used all over the world.
And if you are looking for something in your neighborhood, enter your zip code on the site and voila: you get the locations of the farmers’ market closest to your house and the nearest restaurant serving local and/or organic foods.
And to help your clients get all those goodies home, what about a cotton sling bag with large imprint areas on both sides, that rolls up when not in use for convenient storage.
Tip #8: Avoid and Sooth Nasty Sunburns
Today is the third post in our outdoor series matching Lifehacker’s Top 10 Outdoor Tips for a More Pleasant Summer list with some suggestions of our own for how to increase the summer pleasure quotient of clients, customers or hard-working staff.
Today we have some suggestions for protecting your skin as well as a recipe for a soothing balm in case you do get burned.
The Environmental Working Group has a mission to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. They have an action fund that advocates on Capitol Hill for “health protective and subsidy-shifting policies.” They also have a great set of resources on their website, including the 2011 Sunscreen Safety Guide (also available for iphone) to help you find a sunscreen which will protect you from the sun without exposing you to chemicals that are dangerous. To make your own soothing Calendula salve, and learn a few culinary uses of the fiery orange blossom, check out WNYC’s Last Chance Foods: Herbal Flower Power .
As Seen on the Streets of New York
Some of us (and we’re not naming names or anything) can be a little cynical. The perfect antidote to cynicism is coming across something that renews one’s faith in the creativity and inventiveness of fellow human beings.
Hats off to whoever invented this plastic bottle rain guard for the back tire of a bike.
For a More Pleasant Summer Tip #9
Today is day two of our matching Lifehacker’s Top 10 Outdoor Tips for a More Pleasant Summer list with some suggestions of our own for how to increase the summer pleasure quotient of clients, customers or hard-working staff.
Photo Credit: James Gathany
Tip #9: Keep the Bugs Away
What about an easy to carry, all natural bug repellent “pen”? Providing a great smelling and effective combination of Citronella, Lavender and Penny Royal Oils, among other bug-distancing ingredients, and a size that fits easily into pockets or knapsacks, this is a item that will help keep your customers bite free all summer long.
A More Pleasant Summer…
Lifehacker recently posted a great Top 10 Outdoor Tips for a More Pleasant Summer list, chock full of great links on everything from how to shape the perfect burger to how to build a wood-burning hot tub for your backyard (if you have a backyard, which we don’t).
What better gift for clients, customers or hard-working staff than something to increase the pleasure quotient of their summers!
With that in mind, for each of the next ten days over the next few weeks, we’ll pair suggestions of our own with each of Lifehacker’s ten tips.
Tip #10 : Master the Art of Grilling
How about a sturdy yet pliable spatula with which to flip your burgers, and a nice long apron to keep those crackling burgers or steaks from staining your new madras shorts (or your oldest pair of jeans). You might also want to think about an all-in-one picnic set, complete with compartments for wine and salt shaker!
Gadget Clutter and Sushi Rice that Doesn’t Stick
OK, we all know that clutter is something to avoid, and that piles of unopened mail is a major cause of clutter.
But what about gadget clutter? For some, this is an issue.Too many devices, too many different chargers, too many tangled wires. Where is that phone, pod, pad, kindle anyway?
Mashable recently ran a post on multiple-device charging stations. They come in a range of prices and styles, seemingly inspired by everything from Tupperware to Star Trek to the lawn out back. Functionally we might not be ready for a gadget declutterer, but aesthetically, we’re voting for the grass.
Mention something and we may think of its opposite. Black white, hot cold, tall short…clutter organization. On that note, we’d like to share the Sushi Memo Block, featuring egg, salmon, tuna, and fatty tuna. Once you eat through the top third or so, you have only rice left. And while sushi rice is sticky, the Sushi Memo Block is not. Each sushi is a small pad of paper, not adhesive post-it notes.
via Acrylo via Colossal via Matomeno
J is for June, S is for Safety
Safe: Safe and sound. Safety in numbers. Failsafe. Safe sex. We may have different images of how safe looks, but we can probably all agree that at the most fundamental level, being safe is being free from harm or risk or the threat of danger.
In honor of National Safety month, in addition to offering you a wide-range of safety related ideas and items to increase your brand visibility, we’d like to share some safety resources and campaigns we think are worth paying attention to.
National Cyber Security Alliance’s (NCSA) mission is to educate and therefore empower a digital society to use the Internet safely and securely at home, work, and school, protecting the technology individuals’ use, the networks they connect to, and our shared digital assets.
U.S. Government website for Distracted Driving and great series online at the New York Times Driven to distraction
Although not being updated at present, safety is sexy is a good place to visit if you subscribe to the idea wearing a helmet is dorky or uncool. The site is entertaining and sobering and good reminder that wearing a helmet is attractive, cool and smart.
And speaking of brand visibility:
We totally dig the New York City Department of Sanitation’s logo-emblazoned vests. They rank right up there with the orange coveralls worn by Mexico City’s sanitation workers, and the cooler, quieter, blue smock-style approach of the French street sweepers.
And while we are at it, we highly recommend the new documentary about Bill Cunningham, another fan of French street-sweepers’ garb.
