internet cool?!

As you well know by now I way in to all kinds of innovation when it comes to kids education and entertainment. So I was pretty stoked to find KiwiCrate recently. For $19.95 a month (includes shipping), KiwiCrate will send you an age-appropriate craft project for your child complete with all the materials and detailed instructions. The crafts are developed by a panel of experts in child development, science, art, and education and tested by the ultimate experts: real kids.

I signed my boys up a few months back for this one and so far all three kits we’ve received have been a total hit.

So are the boxes that have arrived are themed (they may be centered around a season, holiday or subject; IE Space & Planets). There are plenty of materials provided, and it’s good quality stuff. I was happy to see two activities in most of our boxes as well as plenty of materials so both my boys can participate.

Really digging the creativity here. Can’t help but think the best is yet to come in the subscription service world. What do you think?

Found at the mighty JESS3’s Vimeo account. Enjoi!

Had some fun this morning with Instagram snapping the 20’ of snow that pounded us last night. Weeeee!

enjoi!

via Centennial Society

 

Hey! Thought I’d take a quick moment to introduce you to a pet project of mine.

Meet Tegu. A startup Toy Company that I have been involved with since 2010. Tegu “the blocks that click” are green, sustainable, beautifully design pieces of art - loaded up with magnets inside. They are unassumingly cool and once you pick them up you can’t put them down. Tegu LIVE is the first outcome of our journey together as business partners.

Think of it as an online playmate and owner’s manual. Full of ideas and instruction to inspire you to create with Tegu. Having given the block to my boys, I can attest to their quality and beauty. But I can also attest to how challenging they can be! Tegu LIVE aims at helping people through the learning and creation process by making the entire think interactive.

Would love your thoughts. There’s quite an operation behind the scenes at POKE making it all happen. Stop by sometime and we’ll show you!

- Tom

Welp, these sweet (and very creative) toys brought a lil’ sunshine to a rainy Monday in CT. The video and the toys are the product of Beth Algieri and Jonny Plummer, two directors / designers with a common passion making awesome. Hope you enjoi!

Parallel Parking from Yum Yum London on Vimeo.

APRICOT — A Short Film by Ben Briand from Moonwalk Films on Vimeo.

Holy smokes. This little indie short really delivers. Good acting, good script, good editing, good camera work (although at the end, the camera motion was bit too much, but still!) There are a lot of inspiring films on Vimeo, but few are this beautifully written, shot, and performed. Somehow it reminds me of Where the Wild Things are. Love it. Enjoi!

Remember what it was like to meet people before Facepants? You know, with coffee and high-fives and fist-bumps and shit?  

Meet Meet Joe. A new, low-tech alternative to Facebook and its ilk that requires no online profile but relies on personal introductions instead.

Serving the Chicago area, Meet Joe focuses on introducing people to new friends based on their interests and the kinds of people they want to meet. Users begin by signing up with the service online—that may actually be the last time they use its website. From there, Joe Drake, the company’s founder, will contact them personally via email to set up a confidential meeting over coffee or a drink. Based on their description of who they’re hoping to find, Joe will then coordinate an opportunity for them to meet someone or a small group of people—he’ll even help coordinate schedules and recommend an activity based on everyone’s personalities, interests and preferences. Joe! That’s rad! Looking for someone to start a NY outpost? :)

from the site

“Joe is like a great tailor or a trusted real estate agent, but he doesn’t have an assistant and he never takes a day off. You’ll be able to reach him by email, phone, text, or instant message within 24 hours unless he is in jail, a coma, or the world is ending.”

The price of a personal consultation and one meeting with potential friends is USD 29.

This brought a much needed smile today. Hope it does for you too.