The team at San Francisco’s new Rickshaw Bagworks have taken a page from the Schoolhouse Rock hit “My Hero Zero” with a bag they’ve optimized to reduce wasted fabric. The ZERO shoulder bag is available in four sizes, each constructed from a single piece of material patterned in rectangles. The Timbuk2 alums who founded the company say that eliminating scraps brings the cost of their made-to-order bags down. At $40 to $70 for the different ZERO sizes, we have to agree that what’s good for the environment is also easier on the pocketbook. Since opening their factory in SF’s Dogpatch they’ve created messenger bags for attendees at this year’s TED and Social Capital Markets conferences. If minimizing a manufacturing supply chain footprint doesn’t sound very visual, that’s only because you haven’t checked out the eye candy on the Rickshaw Flickr stream.

Pugzee used to work for the mob bosses back in the day. While in prison (or an animal shelter; whatever), he learned how his old stomping grounds of Red Hook started changing, so he broke out and took matters into his own hands. Pugzee is the latest creation of toy sculptor and designer, Dave Cortes, who has a history of sculpting toys for an impressive list of companies including Mezco Toyz, Mcfarlane Toys, NECA and Toy Biz. Pugzee is Cortes’ first solo designer toy scheduled to drop in the next few months, and he’ll come with a cigar, baseball bat, a Kangol hat and own comic book. We have fake nostalgia for Red Hook already.

Lou Reed’s voice has been at the forefront of rock ‘n’ roll since he first appeared with the Velvet Underground & Nico in the 60’s. The Brooklyn-born icon has influenced generations of musicians and writers, inspiring everyone from David Bowie to R.E.M., by portraying a level of both sexual and social honesty that had never before been heard in popular music. Beyond his accomplishments with the legendary experimental outfit, Reed has continued to push lyrical boundaries in his solo work from 1972’s landmark Transformer album to 2003’s The Raven. The power of Reed’s words will be on display Housing Works Bookstore Cafe at 7 p.m. tonight, as he reads from his new book, Pass Thru Fire: The Collected Lyrics. In addition to reading some of the three plus decades worth of poetic passages, the esteemed Mr. Reed will be taking questions and signing books. If you’re planning on going, get there early because this free event is sure to be packed.

If there’s one thing we could use during this recession-marred holiday season, we’d have to go with savings. If there were a second thing we could tack on, we’d say, “how about some top notch tees from one of our favorite design houses?” Thanks to Momimomi we’ll be able to check both of those boxes off of our wishlist. Starting today, the tee company unleashes some quality holiday creations for ‘08 along with some special discounts for a few preferred customers — namely our readers. Yes, you’ll have the honor of receiving 25% off orders of $100 and above. As a bonus you’ll even be able to save a major amount of money on Momimomi’s TEeA Party subscriptions. The service that sends you one of a kind wearables at least once-a-month usually costs $360 for a 12-month subscription but for now you’ll only have to tender a mere $270. Just use our holiday discount code: MMholidayJS. Sounds like quite a deal if you ask us.