Inspiraction!

People draw creative inspiration from all sorts of places. Take Sarah Rouse- Higgins, the talented designer behind the Levi Strauss Barbecue Sauce Project. Readers of The Espresso will know that we have talked about story telling- a big trend in branding which has developed in the last couple of years. Many people probably don't know that before taking off with denim, Levi Strauss sold dry goods. Sarah Rouse-Higgins used the gold rush era advertisements as Levi Strauss's inspiration for the label of a limited edition run of barbecue sauce. Whilst taking inspiration from a by-gone era she also wanted to maintain the look of the company in that time to be able to tell the story of the company and its product in the right light. By the way Sarah, we love the designs and would love to try the sauce. However inspiration without action is simply a dream. The difference between Sarah and many other designers is that she took the next step towards doing something with her inspiration. So often when people go to conventions, conferences, read motivational books, watch motivational videos or read self help magazines and the like there is plenty of inspiration, what's short is the action. What's important is taking the inspiration and moving one notch up. The first pencil drawing after Sarah read about the Levi Strauss story, that's the notch. The inspiration to do something physical is putting on your shoes and walking out the door. That's the first notch (or in fact two notches). Having a great entrepreneurial idea is about ringing someone to have coffee to talk about it, going to your first business seminar on running a company or picking up a pencil to design your product.

Inspiration without action is just a dream without a deadline.

p.s. I love the term 'inspiraction'. It's something I read recently and thought it was worth writing about to share with you. It's being inspired and taking the first step towards action. Taking the first notch...that's inspiraction!

Just Say the Word

We came across this story by way of a blog. It's called Yorder (as in You Order). Everyone knows how hard it is to sit amongst sixty thousand people at a sporting stadium and then get beers or food. There is the getting out of seats and the lining up, not to mention actually finding your way back, arms laden with your (and possibly your friends) load of food and beverages. Well someone has fixed that by creating Yorder. Yorder is a location aware mobile application that allows you to order food, beverages and merchandise while sitting down at your favourite sporting event. It's as simple as downloading the app to your iPhone (or similar android or smartphone). Currently Yorder can only be used at the San Jose Earthquake Games during the season at Buckshaw Stadium, but it is surely just the start as these guys roll out to other sporting events this year. This one is sure to spread like wildfire because Yorder only takes a $1.00 US commission from each order. It solves a problem and makes it easy for the fans. Problem solved. 

The Hippest Block 

Anyone who has taken their bike to the shops and then worried about leaving it outside will appreciate our latest find. HipLock is an adjustable lock that you actually wear around your waist. Essentially you wear it like a normal belt and strap it closed like an aircraft style seat strap. It allows you to ride to your destination with your lock wrapped around your waist. Once you get to your destination you put the key into the padlock buckle provided and take the other end of the belt which actually has a chain and wrap it around your bike. Essentially there are two straps, one for putting around your waist and one which has a chain for locking up your bike. HipLock claims to be the world first lock designed to be worn on the body. Although we haven't road tested it, it does seem to make perfect sense in that it is simple as well as safe. 

Pop Up Extreme

Regular readers of The Espresso will know that we have been following the 'pop-up' trend for some time now. But we have to say that this one takes the cake. A joint collaboration between household appliance specialist Electrolux and architectural designer Park Associati has created an amazing 'pop-up' experience that is currently en route to a European city near you. The Cube is an aluminium clad 140 square metre dining area that includes a 50 square metre terrace. The highly portable restaurant which is transported by helicopter plans to move from is current base in Brussels to a new European city every 4- 6 months. Its planned to mount the cube on unique panoramic locations offering diners eye catching views. Naturally the cube is decked out with the latest Electrolux kitchen which is fully on show to the diners. Another innovation is your table that retracts into the ceiling after every meal in order to maximise space for mingling in the high tech and lightweight structure. This has to take the cake from all pop-ups so far.