It’s Sweet Treat Week here at The Goods! And to kick things off on the recipe front, here is a sweet and tart little number that I whipped up the other night. It’s basically a key lime pie with Continue Reading…
With only a couple weeks left to enter their very cool Care to Air contest, which encourages participants to come up with innovative alternative to using dryers, Levi’s announces the judges for the contest, including UncommonGoods’ CEO Dave Bolotsky, and also delves into what inspired the challenge.
Definitely not for the faint of heart, bike polo is an up-and-coming urban sport that requires some serious grit and skills. Check out the full story about this uncommon sport by the Wall Street Journal.
Hey! We know that guy! That’s UncommonGoods CEO Dave Bolotsky and his family taking in a game of bike polo at the Lower East Side court, known as The Pit.
Rubber mulch. Paper countertops. Soy concrete stain. Who knew! When you thinking about all the home projects you need or want to complete this summer, check out this HGTV slideshow on green options first. I can’t believe all of the unique, beautiful and innovative eco products that are out there. Are you planning any updates for your home? Have you used these funky materials?
Somedays it’s just too hot to cook. So when you give up and order takeout, eat cold pizza or consider ice cream a meal, you’re gonna need one of these tasty cocktails — the Dark and Strawmy. This drink is a version of the traditional Dark and Stormy, but with light and fruity twist. Dedicated to UG copywriter and associate creative director, Miss Missy Dondlinger — a master of puns and a connoisseur of Dark and Stormies.
What You Need:
2 oz. dark rum
3 lime wedges
2 strawberries, sliced
ginger beer
What You Do:
Muddle and lime and the strawberries in a highball glass. Add ice and the remaining ingredients. Stir gently. Serve with two straws. Smile. Sip 🙂
1) Product Name: Make your own Ukulele Kit
2) Background Research: This is a joint project that my partner, Leo, and I will endeavor upon as a team. I have a continuing fascination with building models. In college I built a full-sized circular saw with a rotating blade entirely out of cork. I also am a working painter. My partner can play the accordion, trumpet, piano and guitar.
3) Hypothesis: The do-it-yourself nature of the project will enable both of us to bring our talents together to create a functional instrument that will have continued playability.
4) Experiment: I will paint the body of the ukulele and Leo will demonstrate the sound.
5) Results: Music has the capacity to transport one to specific moments in our lives so I wanted the ukulele to speak to the present in my own life. I’m about to celebrate one year living in Brooklyn, New York, so I decided that a view of my daily commute home from work would be the prefect landscape. I’m fortunate enough to live within walking distance from the UncommonGoods warehouse so I enjoy the sights of Brooklyn’s Fourth Ave each day. Additionally, from a compositional standpoint, I hoped that the median would echo the fingerboard of the ukulele.
The wood grain behaved differently than the stretched canvas that I am more familiar with. The gouache soaked into the wood and bled slightly (I decided against applying gesso). I enjoyed the effect in the large color planes, like in the sky, because it added a softness that would have been difficult to achieve with the brush alone.
After I completed the body, it was time to assemble the instrument. The directions kept declaring “This is a point” whenever something important was about to be written, but due to my lack of general guitar anatomy and the somewhat confusing translation miscues, I admit I found myself perplexed on what the “point” was. Nevertheless, my partner and I trudged along, despite some complications with gluing plastic to wood (be sure to use clamps). We found a metric ruler and assembled the hardware.
After the ukulele was fully assembled, my partner researched how to string and tune a ukulele on Youtube as a supplement to the written instructions. As a guitar player, the process was not difficult for him, but he noted that the tuning of the ukulele was much different than that of the guitar. Because of the nylon strings, as opposed to the metal strings often found on acoustic and electric guitars, the ukulele may be more forgiving on the fingers of a beginner string instrument player.
6) Conclusion: Whether displayed on the wall or sitting on the player’s lap, the ukulele was a success to both one’s ears and one’s eyes. The time we committed to the ukulele-building project was rewarding and justified.
Click here to see Mary Catherine and Leo play the Ukulele!
Once a cute little puppy comes into your life, you’re a dog person forever. No product (custom collars), service (doggy spa) or surgery (perhaps they ate an entire bag of gelt…yes, it happened) seems ludicrous when you think of a dog as your best friend instead of your pet. That’s why when I saw the latest UG item — dog blueprints— it wasn’t a luxury, but a necessity. With over 30 breeds to choose from (and more to come!) you can hang the blueprint of your Pomeranian, Boxer or Springer Spaniel on your wall for all to admire.
And in the case of a mutt like Napoleon (adorable dog seen above), you might have to get more than one to show your dog’s roots. What’s the greatest thing about your best friend? Tell us about your pooch below.
If anyone out there is like me, you don’t fully recall all the details regarding our independence due to passing notes in the 5th grade. While July 4th has passed, there is no time like the present to read up on the details and dates of our forefathers’ mission. As history reveals, John Adams wrote his wife Abigayle regarding the Declaration of Independence on July 2nd and the official signing didn’t take place until August 2nd. Where did we get the 4th? Read the rest on the Huffington Post! How did you celebrate your independence this past weekend?