Crafted in small batches and housed in elegantly branded bottles, OOLA (~$32.99) uses all natural ingredients locally selected within Washington State to create unique flavorful vodka, gin and whisky. Each is balanced with different spices and fruits adding up to a very inspiring palate for sipping straight or mixing in your favorite martini / cocktail combinations. Looking for a little more tasting notes; OOLA distills a spicy pepper vodka, rosemary vodka and citrus.
Worker's Soap ($14.50) by Hudson Made, Brooklyn NY, is hand crafted and elegantly packaged in the Western Adirondacks, a place where the hands go rough from the daily ruggedness of the outdoors. Not only for the hands of outdoors-man/woman, Worker's packs natural pumice and organic oils to exfoliate, cleanse and moisturize, crucial for taking care of your hands and body, all while enjoying the 'hardy & strapping' scent of cedar wood, patchouli and tobacco.
Designed with history in mind, the Bulbrite Nostalgic (~$5 - $15) series is meticulously handcrafted to preserve the look of antique incandescent lightbulbs. Thin incandescent filaments are cased inside glass with a distinctive steeple, giving off a warm, amber glow prefect for indoor or outdoor fixtures. The family owned New Jersey lighting company celebrates their 40th Anniversary and amongst many energy efficient lighting solutions, Bulbrite have eight different styles of the Nostalgic series to choose from.
It's time to give up on those French lessons and open your eyes to The Noun Project (Free / $2). Simply put, the Noun Project is a platform enabling the web community to build a visual language database in hopes of unifying the world with a language that everyone can understand. The project was Inspired by cave painting, essentially the oldest language on earth. One symbol for each word allowing anyone, in any language, anywhere to communicate. All the symbols are free as long as you attribute the designer, if not, you can buy the icon for $1.99 royalty-free.
As one of Ontario's original micro-roasters and independent coffee companies, Balzac's Coffee Roasters ($15+) embraces a unique hand lettered design to showcase their crafted coffee brand. Balzac's has four blends to choose from: Farmer's Blend, Celebes Kalossi, Balzac's Expresso, and the bird friendly Atwood Blend- an Organic Amber Roast with distinct notes of caramel and cocoa. Order online or visit one of seven locations around Southern Ontario to get your morning coffee pep the traditional, natural way.
Larkburger ($5) is the latest burger joint and it's taking Colorado by storm. Their flavors are complex but their story is a lot simpler. What started out as a small Vail area spot puts natural high quality ingredients first. Their business model runs on natural as well. From reclaimed wood interiors to recycling cooking oil into their vehicles, Larkburger takes sustainability seriously. Whatever you do, don't skimp on the truffle fries.
What started out as a small mom and pop shop in Wilmington, DE over 30 years ago is now becoming quite the success story with well over 45 locations scattered across the US. Capriotti's is known for roasting whole turkeys to use on their signature items. Sandwiches like "The Bobbie" ($6.50), basically thanksgiving on a sub, have really let Capriotti's stand out among the slew of strong competition. The Sandwich consisting of fresh pulled turkey obviously, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mayo was named the best sandwich in america by a reader poll in 2010. These folks are opening new locations constantly so see if you can hunt one down near you.
One of the easiest and fastest ways to create an awesome dish everyone will love is to add a bangin sauce. And let us just say, LeGrande ($6) delivers. Whip up delish steak sandwiches with their tzatziki, or pull together some quick pasta with one of their awesome pestos. The sauces also fill in as great dips. Your best shot of finding it for now is by the other cold dressings at higher end supermarkets or natural food stores.
As if wooden toast shaped coasters are not cool enough, Black Box Design Group has inlaid their own French Bulldog pup. The 'French Toasters' (~$15) are laser cut from three layers of birch and have a cork backing to protect fine furniture. If only Spock was for sale too.
