The kitchen at my office freaks me out. It’s not that there’s ever a shortage of spoons or bowls (or free coffee or toast, for that matter) but there’s someone who doesn’t understand that dirty dishes don’t go in a clean dishwasher. That said, I’ve taken to stashing a bowl and spoon on my desk for my cereal in the morning, but three days a week when the cleaners come, that’s out the window. I may have found a solution: Flavour Design’s Bowl with Spoon at Farmhouse Wares. Rest assured that my new filing cabinet will have a space dedicated for this baby, along with a sign imploring my coworkers to keep their grubby fingers off it. Designers, you know. They can’t be trusted!

In an ideal world, a president is a true figure of action. In this world, the reverse is also true. While George W. Bush is perhaps the most parodied president in history, the current roster of candidates are spawning their share of toys too. Some, like Jailbreak Toys‘ Barack Obama figure are done with respect and a campaign donation per figure sold. Others, like Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi treated Obama, McCain and Hillary Clinton to equal opportunity charicature. To fulfill the request of a retailer who desired bipartisan balance, Jason Feinberg of Jailbreak also created a John McCain figure. Strong sales of his Obama figures allowed Jason to live the American Dream of quitting a teaching job to pursue toys full-time. Finally, seizing the opportunity, Hero Builders have customized some dolls to look like School Girl and Super Hero versions of Sarah Palin. If I were Joe Biden, I’d be calling my agent.

Recently launched Causecast “brings together nonprofits, community leaders, activists, celebrities and brands, with the goal of making a positive impact on the world.” Working with hand-selected charities and non-profits, Causecast is giving some much-deserved internet exposure to organizations who may be struggling in that arena. Users of the site can upload content, connect with like-minded individuals and stay up-to-date on a variety of causes.

Educating yourself is the first step in making a difference, and it seems like this will be a great educational resource and conduit for good. Design props to Bobby Solomon from Kitsune Noir as well, who headed up the prettiness of it all. Looking forward to seeing the progress to be made!

There’s this little on-demand design outfit called Ponoko, who’ve been generating some serious buzz in the last year (from the Wired to our mates over at Core77). As a designer you can upload an EPS file to their website, and they’ll facilitate the manufacturing process it — jewelry, accessories, lamps, whatever. After that, you set up an Etsy-esque shop to sell your wares if your heart so desires.

This week has seen the launch of Ponoko ID which takes this process one step further, allowing customers to submit their request to the Ponoko pros, and choose the designer they want to work with the most. Out the window are the hassles of sourcing a designer, manufacturer and materials, making it easier than ever before for people who have great ideas but lack in the dexterity department (ie: ME) to hook up with people who like to do nice things like collaborate on super-fun projects. In Ponoko’s words, it’s “the world's first shopping request and match-making service for manufactured goods.” Which, in my opinion, might be a lot more fruitful than some of the match-making services I’ve used in the past…

Moving right along with the Veuve Clicquot Recipe I’ve been slowly but surely completing for you this week… Since we’ve successfully added one part each of design and ambiance, we’re going to go ahead and fold-in one part expertise today. Successful businesses invariably depend on exceptional people, and VC is no exception, its tradition of expertise having been laid into place by Madame Clicquot. At the ripe age of 27, she took over the family business of wine making from her late husband, Francois Clicquot. The Madame began what what must be considered one of the most impressive careers of the era, both pioneering within her industry, and setting an important example for other aspiring female entrepreneurs. Through brilliant ingenuity of her own, she revolutionized how champagne was made and mass produced when she invented the process of riddling in 1816. She went on to leave her legacy to people whom she trusted, and the brand grew so that when she died in 1866, she was the richest woman in Europe.

Luckily, my Veuve Clicquot experience last week included meeting and learning from Madame Clicquot’s contemporaries. While the guys pictured above are by no means the only experts within the Veuve Clicquot organization, they sure stuck out in my mind. After the jump, I’ll introduce you to them in turn, starting from the left and working right…

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We love a good light show, so you can imagine how we felt when we found out about the Illumini Event in London. Fourteen artists have come together to provide a journey of light through a crypt (another thing we love). So to sum up, artist + a crypt + light show = we will so be there. The show runs through September 17th and takes place at the crypt in St. Pancras Church in London.

We’re happy to share the news that Jeff Soto’s Storm Clouds book is out and if it does as well as his last one, Potato Stamp Dreams, you better get a move on it because it’ll also sell out. The 154-page illustrated tome shows us a more serious side to Soto, which is a step away from his classic robot creatures we’ve been long familiar with. It reflects an inside-out look at the prolific artist and how he feels about the world churning around him. Storm Clouds is also bulked up with commentary from Soto colleague David Choe.
In other Soto news, he’s preparing for his first solo show coming to SoCal in December. We’ll keep you posted.

Johannesburg’s Dokter and Misses is not exactly a store, but it’s not soley a studio either. A bit over half of the apparel and furniture outfitter’s wares are from their own cubism-influenced label of jewelry, lights, T-shirts, and vests. It’s a place “where dreams come to life and vodka slaying superheroes support and uplift South African design,” say the co-founders. A collaboration between furniture designer Adriaan Hugo and multidisciplinary designer Katy Taplin, Dokter and Misses featured an anti-Mugabe, pro-democracy poster series with Kudzanai Chiurai in the wake of the Zimbabwe presidential “elections” earlier this year. All this from a pair who met designing cardboard handbags at university. Even Tim Gunn’s producers didn’t think of that.

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You know why driving isn’t fun? Because your car is spewing out Earth killing gases? Maybe, but also the road signs can be so boring. It’s a problem the Panos 2013 aim to address in the town of Lyon, France. Taking the color scheme, materials and dimensions of real traffic signs, a group of artists have recreated fictional signs to create a gallery without walls and full of directions. They’ve placed 100 signs all around the city, and so far no wrecks. We don’t expect many of our readers will be able to hop over to Lyon (if you do, please let us know), but fortunately images of all 100 images are up on their site. Our favorites are below.

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