Lunches & Laptops

We've been big fans of Built NY ever since they launched with one simple (but clever) thermal lunch bag. Fast forward to 6 years later and they now have a whole range of quirky yet brilliant lunch bags, bottle totes, laptop cases, and sleeves at very affordable prices. What's not to love??

FreeAgent by Seagate

The FreeAgent hard drive by SeaGate seamlessly merges style and function. With its own docking station (to connect, simply pop it on the dock) and a wide range of colors and capacities (250GB, 320 GB, and 500GB versions) this is the only external drive you may ever need. It even automatically backs up all files and has a password encryption, but is unfortunately only compatible with windows.

AA Gym Bags

Sure, we admit that most students use backpacks for pretty much everything. Bag #2 on the typical student's must-have list is typically the carry-all gym bag, and luckily American Apparel offers them in all sizes and amazing fashion-forward colors. So plain they practically beg for a university logo or personalized graphic, they should be a staple offering.

Quirky items from Decor Craft Inc

Decor Craft Inc is one of those companies that makes loads of cute & humorous products to use around the home or office. We have scoped their product offerings from A - Z, here are some of our favorites for students (see photos above):


PAPER paperclips. How smart is that? Made of pressed paper, they are 100% recyclable. Saves you having to remove the staples and metal paperclips from any paperwork before tossing it in the recycling.

Boulder Blocks. A great mind escape in between assignments...

EarBuds with Humor. Now that earbuds are being decorated to look like everything from jewelry to toys, these ones seem like the perfect middle ground.

Truly REMARKABLE

British eco brand Remarkable has come out with some great pieces for students with a conscience. They make everything from non-toxic markers to recycled notepads and rulers, but our favorites are the stationery and pencil cases made from recycled rubber.

Stylish Noteblocks by Snow & Graham

Snow & Graham is a stationery company from Chicago that really understands how to entice consumers. Like the "Location! Location! Location!" cry of the real estate world, the cry of stationery companies everywhere should be "Prints! Prints! Prints!" The creative minds at S&G have some of the most beautiful prints we've seen on paper products in a long time - so fresh, so contemporary - they are perfect for what the company describes as "modern communiqué".

We particularly adore their Noteblocks, in both large and mini sizes. How better to dress up your desk?

Handbag hooks are cool again

Unless you spent a significant amount of time with your grandmother growing up (a fashionable grandmother at that), you probably won't know what handbag hooks are. They seemed to disappear around the same time as sweater sets and Brylcreem.
That's why we were very surprised when one of our junior staffers enthusiastically returned from a lunch date last week with one in her hand.

Handbag hooks are cute little metal hooks that fashionably keep your handbag from sitting on a dirty floor when you're out to lunch, studying in a library, or working on a project in class. Simply hook the straps of your handbag on the lower hook portion, then rest the stylish little head on any table surface, and voila!

We think they're set for a comeback, and a number of websites think so too. Above are some examples from SilverHooks, an Ohio based website.

Feel free to also check out The Purse Hook, and My Bag Hanger (from the UK).

KOR ONE Hydration Vessel

When presenting the Green Report seminar on the evolving green consumer and their purchasing motivations at the CSC show in February 08, I recall a few buyers concerned with which plastics to avoid when buying water bottles and coffee mugs. While mug manufacturers scramble to change their products to more chemical-free solutions, the folks at KOR have launched arguably the greenest and most beautiful water bottle on the market.

The KOR ONE Hydration Vessel is BPA free, dishwasher safe, and made in Mexico. It's also recyclable, although I'm not sure who would choose to recycle this beautiful bottle. The hinge cap that will never go missing also doubles as a carry handle, and the generous sized mouth makes drinking feel civilized! A favorite design feature among fans is the message space for your personal mantra on the inside roof of the cap - interchangeable to your hearts delight. Kor provides a few messages for you (built into the enviro-thoughtful packaging) which they call "stones", and even provide a blank stone for you to create your own message.

Retailing at $29.95, they are pricier than the typical water bottle, but so much better for the environment and your personal health. Kor is a proud member of 1% For the Planet and is looking for wholesalers...(side business anyone?)

Ferm Living Wallstickers

As wallstickers continue to grow in popularity (many are removable peel & stick varieties - perfect for students), the designs get better and better. Ferm Living, a San Francisco brand well-known for fashion-forward throw pillows and wallpapers, has a clever & pretty collection of wallstickers at very reasonable prices. Above are some of our favorites....for those of you who may remember our seminar in 2008, we had three main trend categories which discussed basic & simplified graphics, nature inspired graphics, and fashion-baroque graphics. There's a bit of all three here...