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Gift Guides

Top 10 Gifts for Music Lovers

August 18, 2011

Looking to celebrate the music lovers in your life?  Shuffle through UncommonGoods Top 10 gifts for music lovers, and check out our picks for some late summer songs that will get you singing along!

Created with flickr slideshow.
Cool Jazz Ice Stirrers bring together two things every party needs: music and drinks!  Fill the tray with water before your party for a fun way to keep cool, or mix it up and use the set to make your own popsicles.

The Portable Balloon Speaker is an attractive and easy way to share music from an mp3 player or your mobile device’s headphone jack more effectively than loudspeakers alone would.

Designed by Hannah Garrision & Steve Bernstein, the Guitar String Bracelet is handmade from guitar strings.  Bracelets are sold individually and come in five different colors.

Artist Jeff Davis turns classic LPs into functional and unique Record Bowls.  Whether your favorite genre’s hip-hop or jazz, the bowls come in a variety of styles so we’ve got you covered.

Or, if you have a record of your own you’d like to have made into a bowl, just mail Jeff the record and he’ll create a truly one-of-a-kind Custom Record Bowl.

Our Mechanical Music Box Set puts a new spin on the old-fashioned music box: included are three strips of paper, a hole puncher, and instructions for creating your very own tunes to crank through the instrument.  The set is perfect for budding musicians or seasoned professionals, and comes with a sheet of the Happy Birthday song pre-punched.

Exclusive to UncommonGoods, the Glass Guitar Picks are handmade in Hawaii and available in three colors.

UncommonGoods artist Jeff Davis makes Record Cuff Bracelets from recycled records.  The bracelets, like Jeff’s record bowls, are handmade in Pennsylvania.

Getting ready to go back to school will be infinitely more fun with a pair of Drumstick Pencils in hand that do that classic double duty: business in the front and a party in the back!

Speaking of parties, the Geneva Sound System will have you geared up and ready to go the next time guests are over.  Winner of the  Consumer Products Award by I.D. International Design Magazine in 2010, the speakers are a beautiful way to amplify your tunes.


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Gift Guides

Gift Lab: Let’s Go Fly a Kite!

August 12, 2011

Marketing intern Ashley added some uncommon experience to her resume this summer by perfecting the art of kite flying with the High Art Kite.

I had never flown a kite before, and in New York City my opportunities to enjoy the outdoors are fairly limited. When I saw the High Art Kite, I thought it was a great chance to test my urban kite flying skills.

I love the slightly devious look of the Winged Demon design and took the kite out to the East River Park to test on a sunny Saturday.

The kite includes directions for assembly and comes together quickly (but also folds up neatly for easy storage and transportation).

Unfortunately, my first attempt at kite-flying failed. There wasn’t enough wind along the East River that day, and there’s not enough room to get a running start without running into cyclists.

A few weeks later into the summer, I headed out to a very windy Brooklyn waterfront next to the UncommonGoods office, with much better results.  See the video below to get an idea of how easy it was to fly out on the docks in Sunset Park.

Conclusion: at just $12, the High Art Kite is a simple and fun way to enjoy the outdoors, even in an urban setting like New York City.  For more family-friendly ideas and games to test before school starts, check out our wide selection of kits and crafts!

Gift Guides

Gift Lab: Beer Making Kits

July 28, 2011

When Kira, our operations analyst, and Jonathan, our sysadmin, saw our new Beer Making Kits, they knew they had to try one out. And luckily for the UncommonGoods team, they shared their results freely. You might think home-brewing is one of those “Don’t Try This At Home” type activities, but read on. Kira and Jona offer up some great tips for the novice brewer.

Beer making kits are $40 each and come in Everyday IPA, Jalapeno Saison, and Chocolate Maple Porter.


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Gift Guides

Best Dressed Baby

July 21, 2011

We love our new Have-A-Ball Babysuits™ so much, we started thinking about some of the other fun baby goods in our lineup. From old favorites, like the Worth the Wait Set, to new community approved items, like the Baby Fortune Cookie Booties, we have little ones covered from head to toe, whether you’re looking for an adorable outfit for your own bundle of joy or a great baby shower or new baby gift.

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.
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Gift Guides

Top 10 Wedding Gifts

July 19, 2011

With summer well under way, your weekends are probably booked with weddings.  Help the happy couples in your life decorate their new home together with our top 10 wedding gifts!

We broke down the best gifts UncommonGoods has to offer for each of the uncommon couples in your life:

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.
For the high school sweethearts that have been together forever, the Heart in Orbit Album is a beautiful way to preserve memories from prom to proposal.  Each copper-bound photo album is handmade in San Francisco.

Give the newly-wedded new homeowners a pair of beautiful, earthenware nesting wedding bowls inscribed with the couples’ names and wedding date.  Choose from two patterns and five warm colors to welcome them home.

Encourage wanderlust in your favorite pair of travel bugs even after they’ve returned from the honeymoon with our set of 3 continent pillows.  Whether journeying abroad or settling down, they’ll always remember that home is where the heart is.

If the paramours in your life are pet lovers, they’ll love a dog blueprint of their pooch.  Pick from a wide (and growing) selection of breeds to showcase their other best friend.

A cooking couple with a cabinet already stocked with pots and pans will appreciate our brand new steam tower, a simple and healthy way to steam three dishes at once.  Included is an inspirational cookbook to further fuel their foodie fun.

Help the Earth-loving pair begin their new eco-friendly lives together by giving a ceramic countertop compost container.  More elegant than most composting systems, the container is elegant enough to sit atop the counter for easy composting and minimal mess.

Our custom Personalized Tree Plate is perfect for the young at heart.  The simple design is engraved onto recycled glass and can be personalized with two sets of initials and the date of the wedding.

The cozy couple will be delighted by a personalized couple pillow.  Pick from a variety of styles for man, woman, bride, or groom, and mother-daughter artists Mary and Shelly Klein will hand stitch the special design.

Any party-throwing pair will love the rainbow hors d’oeuvres set, a beautiful and creative tool to display appetizers or small bites for special events or simply snacking.

Sports fans and lovers will cheer when they receive a reclaimed gym floor frame, hand crafted from the maple floor of Kendrigan Gym in Ashland, Wisconsin.  The 4×6″ frame is ideal for displaying photos of their big day or memories of past big games.

Take a look at our other wedding gifts for even more giving ideas, or if you’re the lucky ones in love, sign up for our gift registry!

Gift Guides

Top 10 Gifts for the Adventurous Dad

June 16, 2011

The adventurous dad is always on the lookout for a new path to travel, a grand site to see or an innovative new idea to make a reality. No doubt, as the child of an adventurous dad, you’re always on the lookout for bold gifts he’ll love. Father’s Day is just a few days away, but order today with our flat rate Express Shipping and your gift will reach Dad by June 19.

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.
We’re glad to share a few of our favorite gifts for dads with audacity. UncommonGoods Founder, Dave, is an adventurous dad himself. Whether it’s camping or climbing, Dave loves making adventure a family affair.

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