Business cards are fun to design, good to have, and a better way to get girls/boys to remember you after a long night out on the town. However, if you happen to be a tireless self-promoter, you’ve probably been faced with the restrictions that arise within the limited space in wallets preserved for such materials. Not to mention, the added effort it requires to keep said space appropriately stocked, or the tendency to forget the cards very existence once they’re stashed in your desk drawer. Luckily for you, the Arizona-based company Shinebox has taken business card matters into their own very capable hands and developed an incredible system that packages cards into snazzy tear-off flipbook format that’s easy to take everywhere. The Shinebox site allows customers to download design formats, create their own business/calling/whatever cards, then send them back to the company to have them nicely printed, conveniently packaged and quickly shipped (the whole process can take under a week). Your cards can come in any number of quantities, and for the creatively shy, Shinebox also offers design services to help you get that callback, professional or otherwise. How lovely.

I have a few close friends that have recently developed passionate relationships with electronic music. I’ve yet to join the lovefest (and doubt I ever will, honestly), but I have spent some time trapped in moving cars desperately hoping for any small amount of appreciation of the “art form.” Thankfully, I think I may have found some form of respect for the DJs they love by way of their promotional websites- which are, well, awesome. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that these techy artists are up on the latest in flash, etc., but I never thought of their genre as having time-killer potential until today, when I spent a good chunk of my morning on the newly-refreshed site of DJ Mason, an Amsterdam-born beat master who specializes in italo, breakbeat, and electro…whatever that means. So, if you’re up for a little visual excitement, go play around with the “music” section of his site. It’s fun enough that you don’t even have to keep the sound on and, surprisingly enough, even more fun if you do.

I was just reading a fantastic piece over at Curbly about Christopher Deam and his ultra-mod trailer currently being prototyped by Breckenridge Recreational Park Trailers in Nappanee, Indiana. Following the wild success of his line for Airstream, The Perfect Cottage will be a fully-furnished, uber-chic update on the ubiquitous trailer residence. Technical and release specs are scant as of right now, but I’m looking forward to following Chris’ progress– it’s definitely an interesting twist on the pre-fab buzz we’ve been listening to of late. I’m wondering if I could convince my apartment building to let me put one on our rooftop…

Last year I was involved in the Green Homes Tour and received a heavy dose of sustainable resources and alternative wood choices knowledge and since then, this sort of furniture has continued to catch my eye. While at BKLYN Designs this past weekend, the like-minded folks at Inhabitat couldn’t help but notice the furniture by 4KORNERS appeared not only similar, but bordering on rip-off of the Scrapile designs. Apparently, Scrapile uses bands of wood in different colors and laminated together. Inhabitat questioned the design process behind 4KORNERS’ product, raising concerns about trademark, public perception and brand recognition. Personally I am not a furniture expert, and I am certainly not a patent or trademark attorney, but considering the relatively small market segment that these brands are in, I am not really sure if this is a big issue, and certainly isn’t one that is new to the design world as a whole. If Scrapile truly are the innovators of using different colors of wood (really?), I don’t think it would be difficult to stop 4Korners, considering the relatively small size of these companies and the market they are in. What are your thoughts?

The voting for Design Blogfest’s Window Competition starts tomorrow at 12pm EST. Up for grabs is facetime for prototypes in The Apartment’s newly-renovated space on Crosby Street for the duration of Design Week– and more importantly, during their party on the 18th which is sure to be a spectacle. My vote (provided it makes the shortlist, that is) will go to Shannon South’s Can’t-He-Leave-Her Rocking Chair: it makes me want to take a nap. Like, right now.

Head over to MocoLoco tomorrow to cast your vote.

I’m headed out to London for 10 days, leaving tomorrow evening. I was invited to speak this weekend at the Google Zeitgeist Europe event. I’m a part of an incredible (and humbling) lineup of speakers including Kevin Roberts, Sir Martin Sorell, Hans Rosling, Chad Hurley and many more. Unfortunately, the conference is closed to the public (only 300 people in total were invited) but I’ll do my best to give updates throughout the conference if I’m allowed and able to. If you’re with an agency, brand and would like me to stop by, or you’re a reader with an interesting story feel free to drop me a line!