The Hickmondo ProjectAn online journal looking into ventures in sustainable design, self-sufficiency, and outstanding works of architecture, art, design & photography. Written & compiled by Tim Hickman, Stone, Staffordshire, UK.

Howies & Teepay

Howies

I recently received my summer 2009 copy of the Howies catalogue, which as ever, is a lot more than the usual dull volume of product shots and reasons to buy.

More like a seasonal magazine, there's plenty of articles to read inside it. Maybe its a plan to stop us throwing our catalogues away or not, I don't know, but its a highly entertaining read. Maybe a cunning sales technique, or purely to avoid unnecessary waste, I don't know, it works for me.

There's a piece in there by the CEO of Twitter, Evan Williams, about his 10 rules for web start-ups which definitely appears to be simple yet effective. Certainly one reason why I'll be keeping this on the shelf for a while before chucking it in the recycling bin.

"Repair things, darn it", by Ben Terrett, is another short piece on the virtues of repairing things rather than replacing. With the portal of the Internet wide open for a lot of us, maybe we'll soon be making the most of researching into "Toy Hacking" online, finding out if our faulty cameras are a well known problem fixable by the manufacturer, or checking out Fixya to solve our woes of repairing our belongings, rather than trekking down the shops again.



Teepay

Another thing I noticed while reading was an advert for the site shown above, Teepay. The idea here is to upload your own T-shirt designs, and if you get 30 orders within a fortnight, it gets printed and you get royalties for each one sold!

So if you've got a flair for that kind of thing, sign up and get scribbling! I've signed up myself, and will be submitting at least a couple of designs when time allows.

So you could have the combo of Howies ethics and your own T-shirt on at least 50 peoples frontages! Give it a try, I dares ya.


howies.co.uk
teepay.com

ISO50 / Tycho

ISO50 Screenshot

I forget exactly where I first saw and heard the works of Scott Hansen, but I have a feeling it was in an old Computer Arts supplement called "New Masters of Digital Art" from way back when.

A graphic artist, a musician by the name of Tycho, and avid blogger, this guy has a style which puts many to shame. A good eye for that late 60's / early 70's look is always a winner in my opinion, and when done in a style that remains fresh, all the better for it. And when someone can put electronic music together that paints an equally unique and deep picture, the Scott Hansen experience makes for at least a good few hours of good web viewing & listening!

I'm a big fan of music by the Boards of Canada and Four Tet, and the music on offer is right up my street- give Tycho a listen!

blog.iso50.com
iso50 portfolio site
tychomusic.com
virb.com/iso50
virb.com/tycho

Superuse.org

Superuse Screenshot

© 2009 Superuse.org


A collaboration between 2012 Architects and Suite 75, Superuse.org is an online community site for anybody "interested in inventive ways of recycling."

The site allows you to view, and after registering, vote on and add all kinds of innovative recycling and eco-design from around the world.

There is a great deal deal of lateral thinking going on in this field, that's for sure. Some brilliantly quirky ideas, such as Anna Bullus' Gumnetic Bin made from discarded gum and bio-resin, to some amazing recycling of old modes of transport and everything in between.

Its easy to see why their Google statistics showed the average user spent over ten minutes viewing the site on each visit- I could lose hours here, wishing I'd thought of some of those ideas.

http://www.superuse.org/