Gift-of-the-month clubs are popular corporate holiday gifts, but they can be a bit expensive—and predictable. Enter Candyphile, a brand new candy-of-the-month service offered by San Francisco-based lollipop company Lollyphile. Through Candyphile, members receive a monthly (or bimonthly or quarterly) shipment of hard-to-find retro sweets like Valomilks, Idaho Spuds, and Blue Mondays, plus the company’s own adventurously flavored lollipops (think maple-bacon and absinthe). Each shipment serves about four people, according to the company. Candyphile ships worldwide; pricing is $204 for a 12-month subscription, $120 for six months, and $96 for four months. Discounts are available for 10 or more subscriptions, and if you sign up for the club by November 21, shipping is free.
At Diffa's Dining by Design event, several designers crowned their tables with low arrangements of tightly packed florals. Here's a look at a few of the lush designs, which prominently featured shades of pink and green.
A palette of rich jewel tones infused the installations at Diffa's Dining by Design event, where designers layered deeply saturated hues of red and green with pops of gold, silver, and iridescent blue. Here's a look at some of the colorful dining environments.
Dark fabrics and rich veneers appeared on walls, floors, furniture, and backdrops at Diffa's Dining by Design event. Here's a look at a few installations that showcased the manly trend.
The Toronto-based Plum Gift Company has a variety of new holiday items to suit corporate recipients at multiple price points. Appropriate for executives is the Great Escape, a leather travel clutch with multiple compartments (starting at $104.95 Cdn., minimum six units). High Note, a set of monogrammed note cards, is an upscale desk accessory ($64.95 Cdn., minimum 50 units). For food and design enthusiasts, Salad Gold contains a Phillipe Starck-designed tin of extra virgin olive oil and Acacia wood salad tongs (prices vary, minumum 12 units), while shortbread cookies come in a set of three paper-wrapped tubes ($36.95 Cdn., minimum 25 units). Gift wrapping is included in the cost, and owner Jennifer McLean can consult on branding add-ons like paper sleeves, cards, tags, and embossing. McLean recommends holiday orders be placed before November 14, although late orders can be accommodated. Items ship across Canada and the United States.
This summer, northern India-born chef Naveen Sachar left his consulting job to focus full-time on his culinary project, Rasoi Chicago Indian Cooking Classes and Catering, based in Bucktown. Sessions focus on Indian, Thai, and Asian-fusion cooking, and students explore the essential spices of the these cuisines, learning how to prepare dishes such as saag paneer, and curried chicken. Chef Sachar offers cooking classes for as many as 20 guests, which can take place in the school's kitchen or an off-site location. A recent Thai-based event for Google employees focused on spring-roll preparation and consisted of teams split up into vegetarians and meat eaters to create different dishes. Sachar can also cater dinners where guest participation is optional. Prices start at $50 per person, and menus are customized.
From Italian leather to no-frills stainless steel, here are nine gift-worthy business card holders.
Food-industry veteran Kirsten Anderson partnered with trained pastry chef Betsy Yagunic to found Glazed Donuts this spring. The duo specializes in doughnuts with exotic, seasonal flavors, like autumnal options that include pear with honey, apple cheddar, and butternut squash with orange essence icing. The company can also prepare doughnut bread pudding and doughnut cakes (similar to cupcake towers but with ring-shaped pastry instead). In addition to their signature treat, the caterers can prepare desserts such as petit fours, miniature cupcakes, and key lime tarts.
The team can now provide sweets for meetings and events for as many as 200 guests. Committed to sustainable business practices, Anderson and Yagunic source spices from farm co-ops and buy eggs from local farms. Additionally, all Glazed Donuts packaging is recycled and can be composted.
After successfully posing as musician Ben Folds while his friend pretended to be a fawning admirer in a bar one night, Charlie Todd decided to stage stunts on a larger scale. He started Improv Everywhere in New York in 2001 with the goal of making people notice the world around them (or just smile). Todd and his team of “undercover agents” have since organized more than 70 public missions involving thousands of volunteers, which are filmed and shown on the Web. This past January, they captured worldwide attention with a spectacle that involved 200 people simultaneously frozen in their movements for five minutes in Grand Central Terminal. What’s more, the group’s efforts are influencing corporate events and marketing stunts: Todd, who has been consulting with corporate marketers for three years, advised Marie Claire for a recent Ray-Ban project. We spoke to Todd in between his teaching duties at the Upright Citizens Brigade improv comedy theater and planning his next public coup.
How do you feel about people who copy your work? It depends on who copies our work. One thing that has been amazing to watch is what has happened with our “Frozen Grand Central” video. It got about 13 million views on YouTube. I get email from all over the world with links to videos of people freezing in place in China or South Africa or small towns in the United States. We’ve always been democratic about our ideas, but we appreciate it if there’s a mention that what they’re doing is inspired by us with a link to our Web site.
