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Gift Lab

The Uncommon Life

Gift Lab #6: Channeling Jackson Pollock

June 16, 2010

Action Painting Kit

1) Product Name: Action Painting Set

Action Art Kit

2) Background Research: I was looking for a fun way to make some paintings but it always seemed to be too time and energy consuming.

3) Hypothesis: If I use the action painting set, I will have some vibrant little paint squares for my wall.

4) Experiment: To use the action painting set and create some paint squares for my apartment and have fun with paint!

5) Results: So, I was all excited to get started with my action painting set during the weekend. I opened the package and it had a few paint tubes, drip stick , 2 little canvas squares and sand. The instructions were pretty clear, except for the sand part. It said ‘use the sand to give structure to the painting. I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant and decided to leave the sand alone and come back to it later.

Action Art Kits

I started to mix the paints in little plates and had three watery paint concoctions. The paints wash away easily, so don’t worry about messing up the plates or your dress! I followed the instructions for using the drip stick, it was as simple as dripping the dripstick in paint
and dripping/splashing it on the canvas. However, the drip stick tends to hold a lot of paint so it started to drip big blots of paint
on the canvas. If you want to get thin lines on the canvas, drip the paint on a paper before dripping it on the canvas a few times until the lines start getting as thin as you want. I did not seem to realize this until I had finished one of the squares, but my loss is your gain.

Action Art Kits

The canvas squares are not that big, so it won’t take very long to finish your drip painting. In less than 30 minutes, I had two painted squares finished. Though I did not use the sand (since I did not figure how to use it, and forgot all about it until I finished the paintings) and did not make any specific patterns, I had twp vibrant little pieces for my wall!

6) Conclusion: The action painting set makes for a quick way to get creative and have fun with paint.

Action Art Kits
The Uncommon Life

Gift Lab #2: Simon & the Stormy Seas

May 18, 2010

Stormy Seas

1)  Product Name: Stormy Seas

2) Background Research: I really enjoy simple, wooden toys. And thanks to my son Simon I have an excuse to slowly build my (I mean, his) collection. I saw this product and thought it would make a great gift for Simon’s upcoming birthday. He loves stacking things and balancing tall towers of blocks. My only concern is that he often yells at the blocks when they fall over. Would this game cause constant weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, or is it the perfect chance for him to finally get over his angst toward topsy inanimate objects?


3)    Hypothesis: If I get this for my 3-year-old son, I will be the best dad ever.

4)    Experiment: Wrap it up. Mix it in with the rest of his gifts. Unwrap. Play.

5)    Results: Simon loves it. I love it. My wife loves it. My 6-month old son is indifferent.

We all had a lot of fun playing. The concept (just balance the differently shaped items on the boat) is so simple that we had no problem explaining the rules to him. It was just as easy for him as it was for us, and, yet, we oddly found that we tipped the boat almost as often as he did. I thought it would only be a game for parents and adults to play with kids, but I think it would do just as well at a dinner party or between my wife and I (though I worry I would lose badly if I challenged her).

I am also a fan of the materials used. The game is made from fast-growing bamboo, the printing inks for the rules and promo booklet are soy-based, and the paint is kid- and earth-friendly.

My only real qualm with the game is that the box is much too big. They are obviously a very environmentally focused company, but I think they could be a bit greener if they made the box only as big as it needed to be and save on cardboard and printing. It would also be easier to store in our little apartment.

Conclusion: This is a great game. I realize, of course, that some days hungry hungry hippos (which he also got for his birthday) will catch Simon’s eye. But for me, it is really important for him to have a simpler, non-plastic, less generic alternative to pull down from the shelf on game night. Stormy Seas fits the bill nicely.

About the researcher: Micah is a graphic designer and associate art director at UncommonGoods. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two sons.

The Uncommon Life

Gift Lab #1: Gaby vs. the Laptop Bag

April 27, 2010

Alexander Girard Laptop Bag

1) Product Name: Alexander Girard Laptop Sling in Retrospective

2) Background Research: I travel for work often, and am almost always lugging around a laptop.  This laptop sling was in the studio, because I had just photographed it, and I was in desperate need of a new laptop carrier.  I grabbed it as I ran out the door to catch my flight.

3)  Hypothesis: If I use this laptop bag, then the way I travel (and my life!) will be changed for the better.

4)  Experiment: Take the laptop sling to Wisconsin for the printing of the Summer 2010 catalog.

Alexander Girard Laptop Bag

5)  Results: I loved this bag! I have never really spent anytime thinking about it, but carrying your laptop around horizontally is not nearly as easy as carrying it vertically.  I noticed right away how much easier it was to walk up and down the airplane aisles with that and a carry-on.  I was happy to discover that I didn’t end up smacking anyone upside the head with the edge of the bag, which unfortunately for those who are on my flights … is not all that uncommon for me.  And something else I loved, three separate people stopped me to ask about my bag and tell me how cool they thought it was!

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The Uncommon Life

Trust Us, We Wear Lab Coats

April 23, 2010

Missy Joanna Gift Lab

We don’t know about you, but we have a serious lack of the scientific method in our lives these days. You know, the 5-step format to doing experiments often executed with the help of an awesome composition notebook, a lab partner you were generally repulsed by, and a pair of giant embarrassing goggles that left an outline on your face for at least another class period. Come to think of it, were not quite sure why we suddenly have such fond feelings for the scientific method … maybe we just wanted an excuse to test some of our favorite products, and the scientific method just made it seem more official. And that’s how we came up with The Gift Lab: a company-wide operation that calls upon all Ugooders to conduct rigorous tests and research on select products, report on their findings and lead to breakthroughs in the often frustrating and puzzling field of gifts.

So in the name of science, gifts and dangerously high levels of fun, let the labbing begin!