Giveaway – The Goods

Gift Guides

Happy Birthday May Babies

May 1, 2012

Does someone you love have a birthday this month? Enter them to win a shopping spree at UncommonGoods. From now til May 31, you can tag your friend in this photo on our Facebook page and they’ll be entered to win. Leave a comment to let us know why your friend or family member is special to you, and why you hope they have a great birthday. Be sure to include their birthday! We’ll pick one lucky birthday girl or boy to receive a gift card to UncommonGoods.

And here’s the best part— you can enter as many times as you like. So if you, your mother, sister and best friend forever are all May babies, you can enter each time. If there’s no more space to tag a friend’s name, just leave a comment on the Facebook post.

You can also double your chances of winning a birthday prize for your favorite people by tweeting:

Hey @uncommongoods! Help me wish my friend @name a very happy birthday. http://unc.gd/JDvfrB

Is your birthday in May? You should enter yourself too. We know UncommonGoods shoppers are great when it comes to finding perfect gifts for the people they love, but we wouldn’t want you to forget yourself.

Treat yo self!

Congrats to our April winner: Dottie Filla Hibbeler, who was nominated by her sister Patty.

Patty says: My beautiful sister Dottie Filla Hibbeler would love an Uncommon Goods gift spree for her April 21st birthday. She is a wonderful gift giver and I’m sure if she won she would get me a cool Tocky alarm clock for nominating her. Right, Dot?

The Uncommon Life

Winning Wordsmiths: Our Favorite Uncommon Haiku

March 22, 2012

When we announced our haiku contest, we knew our clever readers would present some great poetry, but we were blown away by the number (more than 250!) of uncommonly creative submissions we received!

The winners earned spots in our most recent email and took home the products they praised in their 17-syllable poems. Only one poet could win in each category, but we’re pleased to share some amusing honorable mentions.

We’re glad MaryAnne Kate took a moment to show off her haiku skills, even though she wasn’t interested in any of the prizes!

We also received this haiku by Carol Thurman after the contest.

Love Uncommon Goods
Always worth a second look
I missed the contest?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We’re sorry to hear that Carol didn’t know about the contest. As you can see, she definitely has haiku skills! But, you never know, she may get another chance. We had so much fun reading everyone’s haiku, we might just have to hold another contest in the future.

As bloggers for The Goods, we also got a chuckle out of Nate Biddick’s clever name drop in his poem about the Tipping Teacups.

Uncommon tea cup
swings and steeps and swings and steeps
and you sip the goods.

And Diana McCartney’s haiku made us thirsty.

One cup black or white.
Hot, green, black or chamomile.
I like mine at night.

But Reanna Reiner took the prize by making us long for tea time.

While Reanna will have a new cup at her table the next time she sits down for tea, the winner of a new set of building blocks, Amanda Francis, is enjoying another table. She submitted this very uncommon entry:

Flourine Uranium Nitrogen – Carbon Uranium Boron Einsteinium – Sulfur Helium – Tungsten Hydrogen Iodine Sulfure Phospherous Erbium Sulfur
Yitrium Oxygen Uranium Thorium – Phosphorous Lanthanum Yitrium – Tungsten Iodine Thorium – Boron Arsenic Iodine Carbon Sulfur – Oxygen Flourine – Lithium Irone
Carbon Rhenium Astatine Electron – Germanium Nickel Uranium Sulfur Einsteinium

“Yes! That’s a haiku!” She explained. “Here it is translated into the elemental symbols:”

The last line of Amanda’s haiku is quite encouraging, but some folks chose to end their poems with punchlines. Kelly Brooks’ Owl Nightlight haiku started deep, but made us laugh in the end.

Oh, wise one who hoots
Light the pathway to the truth.
Or to the bathroom.

And Eve Schuyler’s winning words made us thankful for safe, well-lit walkways.

We also received some humorous entries for the coveted Stump Ring, but many poets took the sentimental route.

Farida Doblado’s rhyming haiku might also work as pop love song.

This stump may not grow
But my love for you does so
This I always know…

And Darla DeNyse’s haiku captures why the ring makes a great gift for a loved one.

Tree mighty and tall
Deep grows the roots in the earth
What a stable life

But Kat McNally’s winning haiku really captures what this beautiful design is all about.

Kat’s salute to the Stump Ring and the other winning haiku are just a few of the clever poems featured in our latest email. You can click here to read a variety of verses, or sign-up to have our uncommon emails sent right to your inbox.

The Uncommon Life

Contest: Share your Favorite New Designs & Win!

March 7, 2012

We love reading voter feedback in our community voting app and we want to thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for new designs and talented designers with the chance to win!

Share your favorite potential products on Twitter and you could win an UncommonGoods gift certificate to help buy your favorite new design (or one of the existing uncommon products you’ve been pining for).

How it works:

1.) Pick one of the products up for voting that you think should become an uncommon good.
2.) Visit the voting app, cast your vote, and tell us why you love the product in the comments section.
3.) Follow us on Twitter and tweet your pick @UncommonGoods. Make sure to include a link to the product voting page.

We’ll pick 5 winners to each win a $5 UncommonGoods gift certificate. We’ll announce winners on March 19, 2012.*

Tips:

1.) Craft a clever tweet. Tell us why you love the product or designer in 140 characters or less. (Reading the product story can be a big help here.)
2.) Vote on as many products as you’d like while visiting the voting app. The products aren’t in competition with each other.
3.) Use the share buttons on the product voting page to encourage your friends to vote for the product you chose, or tweet @ your design-savvy friends to invite them to vote for a chance to win.

Could it be any easier? Yes! Here are a few examples to give you an idea of what we’re looking for. But, of course, you’ll have to show us up with even better tweets.

The Sari Bag has my vote @UncommonGoods! Handmade from recycled materials. Thumbs up! http://unc.gd/frlpW8.

Judie Bomberger’s family garden stakes should be the next good @UncommonGoods! http://unc.gd/frlpW8. They’re so rustic yet fun!

Please carry Little Paper Planes @UncommonGoods! My kids (& I) would love them! http://unc.gd/frlpW8.

I’m a-MAZED by the Labyrinth Game @UncommonGoods http://unc.gd/frlpW8! I’ll buy it even if I don’t #win!

I voted for Christina Kober’s fortune cookie #design @UncommonGoods http://unc.gd/frlpW8 b/c it would make an amazing gift for @mybestie!

We’ll choose the cutest, most clever, and most creative tweets to win. We can’t wait to see your pick and hear why you think it will make a great uncommon good. Happy voting and good luck!

*P.S. This contest is only open to residents in the 50 states and District of Columbia. (We’re sorry about that, but that’s how far we ship!)

The Uncommon Life

Contest: Pin Your Dream Bedroom

February 27, 2012

Ok, be honest. Are you as obsessed with Pinterest as we are?

I certainly hope so, because here’s our first big Pinterest contest! Pin this image to a new board, fill it out following the guidelines below, and you’ll be entered to win a gift certificate to redecorate your bedroom!

Leave the link to your bedroom inspirations (or pin-spiration! Too much? It’s hard to resist) in the comments below and/or on the original pin in our Dream Home board and you’ll be entered to win.

We’ll announce the winner on March 9. How much that person wins is up to you. For every 50 entries we see, we’ll add $50 to the grand prize, up to a total of $250. So after you share your board with us, be sure to tell your friends and family to enter too!

Good luck and happy pinning. We can’t wait to see your brilliant boards!

The Uncommon Life

Fall Giveaway!

October 7, 2011

ETA October 10, 2011: Congratulations to our Fall Giveaway winner, Joanna Z!

Joanna said, “I love the smell of ripe apples on the trees, the crisp, cool mornings, and pumpkins showing up at every grocery store, every produce stand, and on just about every front porch.”

Thanks to all who entered for your fabulous fall stories!

Colorful leaves, warm beverages, new fashion, and Halloween. What’s not to love about fall? To celebrate our admiration for autumn, we’re giving away some of our favorite fall goods! Read on to find out how you can win.

Vawn and Mike Gray aren’t novices when it comes to creating kiln-formed glass art. In fact, they developed their own process to turn old glass bottles into fused-glass masterpieces using an energy efficient, computer-controlled oven.

We love Vawn and Mike’s recycled glass nightlights. Their Recycled Pelican Nightlight and Recycled Sandpiper Night Light are so popular, we added another bird to the lineup, just in time for fall!
Continue Reading…

Maker Stories

Smell the Roses

July 22, 2011

ETA July 28, 2011: Congrats to Audi Arellano, for winning a handmade Bouquet of Roses necklace!

Next month, we’re hosting an Uncommon Jewelry Challenge, with an open call for jewelry and accessories from designers across the US. This month we’re highlighting our favorite jewelry and accessories makers. Find out more about our design challenges and learn how you can become UncommonGoods’ next favorite jewelry or accessory designer. And read on to find out how you can win one of Ellen Thurmond’s handmade necklaces.

Ellen Thurmond says she’s never been particularly “girly” or a “flowery” person, but when she was asked to create a rose necklace for UncommonGoods, she couldn’t turn down the opportunity. Instead, she thought about how to carry themes from existing designs into her new piece and looked to nature for inspiration.

Design

How to make an outdoor trestle table

May 16, 2011

Weather forecasters and ice cream trucks might tip us off to summer’s start–but we all know the season hasn’t really begun until you’ve fired up the grill. In the spirit of packed coolers and good company, we’re kicking off the Ultimate BBQ Giveaway with our friends at Fresh Home magazine, where we’ll serve seconds (and thirds!) of outdoor tools worth over $1200–everything you’ll need to keep the grill hot, and your guests cool. Find out how to enter here.

But before you invite all your neighbors over for a backyard BBQ, Fresh Home magazine has this great guide to build an outdoor table using leftover building materials you might have lying around your garage.

Photo by Robert Reichenfeld Continue Reading…

The Uncommon Life

What a Crock…of Compost!

April 14, 2011

Earth Month is in full swing, and we’re excited to see so many of our readers pledging to make positive changes!

The response to our Compost Crock Giveaway was fantastic, and we want to thank everyone who entered. Congratulations to our winners:

Jennifer, who won the Simplify crock with her Facebook pledge, says that she “Just started composting!!”

Candra posted her comment, “I already compost, and pledge to continue! I am really getting interested in vermiculture, and plan to start later this year, too” and won the Grow crock.

Speaking of vermiculture, take a look at our Worm Factory, and check out FindWorms.com to learn more!

Or go worm hunting on a rainy day with the help of the Blunt Umbrella. Not able to venture outdoors at the moment? Read up on some of the talented UncommonGoods artists helping to keep the planet green, like Beth Mueller, creator of the compost crocks, and Marty Stevens-Heebner, who’s recycled paper handbags are environmentally friendly and fashionable!

Older Posts

Newer Posts