2016 – The Goods

Maker Stories

It’s a Date: Collaborating to Create an Uncommon Calendar

May 30, 2016

Margaret Taylor and Kathleen Plate | UncommonGoods

Margaret Taylor and Kathleen Plate with an early version of our new “It’s a Date” Wine Bottle Glass Calendar

One of the joys of working at UncommonGoods is collaborating with talented and skillful artists to create original creative designs. Our Product Development team recently teamed up with longtime UncommonGoods artists Kathleen Plate and Margaret Taylor to invent a new and exclusive work of functional art: our new “It’s a Date” Wine Bottle Glass Calendar; a sculptural glass and wood calendar made from recycled materials.

“Kathleen had the idea to create a glass calendar that would be a piece of art,” says Assistant Production Manager Rebekah Krikke. “She originally saw it as wall art, but we thought it would be good to design it so that it could go on the wall or on a desk, shelf, or table. We worked through the design with her using insights that we have from other products to create something that we thought our customers would like–a beautiful and fun interactive art object-meets-home décor item.”

Gift Guides

The Most Interesting Father’s Day Gifts in the World

May 30, 2016

Because your dad is anything but ordinary, we consulted the Most Interesting Dad in the World to choose some uncommon Father’s Day gifts. Each design he selected has a story more fascinating than the last.

The Uncommon Life

Vintage Wisdom: 10 Uncommon Facts About Wine

May 25, 2016

Wine is bottled poetry ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food. ~ W. C. Fields

Whether you’re a sophisticated sommelier or just enjoy a nice glass of vino with friends and a good meal, wine is a storied substance with a fascinating history. It can be daunting to uncork the subject, so to begin, may we suggest this vintage collection of ten uncommon facts?

Wine has a Long History

Wine production began in the Ancient Mediterranean around 6,000 BCE. The mood-altering properties of the alcohol in wine were soon associated with mysticism and religion, from the hedonistic rites of Dionysus and Bacchus to the sacraments of Christianity. But the fermented grape products of the ancient world left something to be desired. Wine as we know it today was born circa 1091 CE with the Cistercian order in Burgundy. They planted grapes at Clos de Vougeot and are credited with organizing vineyard parcels based on how the wine tasted, the modern mode of vintages followed to this day.

Goto Venetian Wine Glasses

Maker Stories

This Just In-spiraton: Eric Prum and Josh Williams

May 23, 2016

Pineapple Tumbler | UncommonGoods

Our makers never fail to motivate us, encourage our creativity, and fill us with inspiration. So, when a new design enters our assortment, we’re always excited to learn more about the people behind the product.

What gets an artist going and keeps them creating is certainly worth sharing, and every great connection starts with a simple introduction. Meet Eric Prum, who, with Josh Williams, designed our new Pineapple Tumbler.

Josh Williams and Eric Prum | UncommonGoods

Photo courtesy Jane Riley, Who’d Have Thought

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: Why is Hot Food Hot Cuisine in Hot Countries?

May 23, 2016

Mexican, Caribbean, Indian, Thai…if you connect the dots of spicy cuisines around the globe, you’ll find that sizzling seasonings like chili peppers have something in common: they’re found in the favorite foods of hot climates. At first, maybe that doesn’t make sense. If it’s already hot, why eat something that might make you sweat? But then you realize that perspiring is nature’s way of cooling you off. Capsaicin, the compound in peppers that gives them a kick, also raises your metabolism and causes a slight rise in body temperature, inducing sweating. Catch a breeze, and just chill. If that doesn’t convince you to tuck into some pad Thai, vindaloo, or chile rellenos, there’s another reason to spice things up in hot weather: spicy food acts as an appetite stimulant, counteracting the tendency to skip meals in the heat. And for the record, these funky Chili Peppers can make you sweat too.

Hot Sauce Set | $48

The Uncommon Life

Instagram Challenge: GARDENING

May 18, 2016

The next Instagram Challenge theme is GARDENING. We’re one month away from the official start of summer, which means your plants are ripe to be as bright and sunny as the weather. Whether it’s re-potting your succulents, or growing your own backyard veggies, we want to see your beautiful gardens!

The Uncommon Life

How Jessica Hamel Cures Her Insatiable Hunger for All Natural Frosting

May 18, 2016

Jessica Hamel, creator of our new Natural Coconut Oil Frostings, has always had a sweet tooth and always knew she’d be an entrepreneur. When she took up the sport of ultra-marathoning–as in running, say, 100 miles–not only could she get away with eating sweet snacks, but her body really needed them, to assuage her insatiable hunger from hours of ultra-running in the Boulder mountains. She wanted frosting. All natural frosting.

Inspired by her grandmother, she’d always loved baking. She liked to experiment with original frosting flavorings, but didn’t always have time to make them from scratch. There are lots of canned frosting options in grocery stores, and it would have been oh-so-handy to use them–but have you read the ingredients of those things? Unless Distilled Monoglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Polysorbate 60 and GMO corn syrup are your favorite things, you’re not going to want to eat them. Jessica didn’t either. She wanted natural frostings she could eat on the go, but they didn’t exist. So she invented them.

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge
Wedding Etiquette: Do I Have to Invite the Underworld?

May 18, 2016

Weddings are spirited occasions. Love. Happiness. Cake. Champagne. The Electric Slide. There was a time, though, when couples would want their big day to be anything but, taking many measures to ensure that an RSVP was not extended to evil-intentioned souls from the underworld.

Contrary to popular belief, matching bridesmaids dresses was a tradition started not by brides with a twisted sense of humor, but rather Romans who believed having certain female guests wear dresses that matched the bride’s would confuse supernatural party crashers seeking to do harm to the newlyweds. If they didn’t fall for that, then surely wearing a veil—another spirit-deterring measure—would do the trick. Finally, a lift over the threshold was thought to prevent underworld beings from turning a love nest into a haunted house. Boogie-woogies, after all, should always remain at the reception.

First Kiss Personalized Art | $300.00 – 500.00

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