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No Wallflowers

Occasionally, The Toad comes across something totally fabulous which, while perhaps not making the perfect gift for just anyone, is just too stunning to not merit a mention on this illustrious blog.

This Branch wallpaper is one of those items. As a rule, Toad is not an enormous fan of wallpaper (perhaps because of the flocked, fuzzy variety in her grandparent's bathroom, which always seemed to attract lint and other undesirables). Wallpaper has just too much potential to be, well, a bit fusty. But this one is an exception. I see it on a single wall, in a small room (a bathroom, maybe? Or perhaps a foyer? Even the interior of a closet?). It's stark and elegant and really packs a decorating punch, meaning that after forking out $115 for a roll and the extra added cost of installation, you'll really be done with that room for a good, long time. And that's the kind of interior decorating The Toad advocates!

So is this a gift? I don't know. Maybe you know the perfect person who'd love a roll of fancy paper. Or maybe that person is yourself. Check it out at www.raredevice.net.

A Driving Need for Self-Expression

It's true that I live in one of the most auto-centric cities on earth, so I'm willing to admit that not everyone sits stuck in traffic, amusing themselves by reading creative vanity plates. But probably a fair amount of you do. So here's even more of an outlet for auto self-expression: the license plate holder.

I thought of this while driving behind a truck the other day which boasted a holder reading: "I go where I'm Toad." Naturally, The Toad loved this. So what could you design for your funky friends? With way more space and less cost than a vanity plate, there are endless options to amuse both your friend and every lucky driver idling behind them. And it can definitely plunge into the world of the weird. One of my friends spotted a holder that said: "Mork and Mindy ain't got shit on me." We have no idea what this means, but to the driver, it's an essential message.

Design a fabulous personal license plate holder at www.traffictalk.com. It'll make your giftee the talk of the traffic town, for sure.

Ready Compliment

Out of all the home gift categories, nothing seems shorter on wit than the bathroom category. Example? Once, The Toad was gifted a single roll (not even a 4-pack) of George Bush toilet paper. This is not witty. The Toad doesn't want to see W. anywhere in her house, particularly when she might be in a, say, vulnerable position. Yuck.

Occasionally, though, there's a bathroom object that not only evokes a smile, but enhances it, too. That object is this Vanity Mirror. Yes, it's a fully functional mirror, useful for checking makeup and food in one's teeth. But this mirror has words, endless compliments, written across every inch of it. Compliments like, "You look gorgeous! It's fantastic. You are so infinitely attractive!" It never gets old. Plus, it's available in English and French versions, perfect for that insecure Francophile in your life. Equal opportunity compliments. What could be better?

Find this looking and gushing glass at www.okstore.la. And give it with your compliments.

Ode to a Pantone Mug

Back in 2008, when The Toad first began this blog, a new item was duly scouted, spotted and installed online. It was a line of mugs from Pantone Color, and they immediately enchanted me to no end. Looking at them in a hipster store in Silverlake, I thought to myself, "these are a hit."

It's proven true. After the mugs were posted on Toad (handily just in time for the holiday season), they suddenly appeared everywhere. In every magazine gift guide, in every stylish accessory store. At first, The Toad congratulated herself on her Faith Popcornish ability to so successfully trend spot. But then, I thought: nonsense. I must be part of a marketing herd on some level (although Toads don't usually run in herds). How does a product get plucked from oblivion and thrust into the retail spotlight? Who decides?

In this case, it's now obvious to me: The Toad (along with every other person or animal in journalism, design, or writing generally) has a publishing background. Thus, Pantone evokes warm, fuzzy, and familiar feelings when it's plastered onto a new everyday object like a mug. Pantone mugs resonate with a specific population which happens to be put in a position of relative power: what trend makers choose is what gets the most attention. As an experiment, I went to the Uncommon Goods site and looked at the consumer online reviews for the mugs. Sure enough, they were almost always purchased by graphic designers, or people in the publishing industry, or purchased as gifts for people in the industry. Just an endless loop of common experience driving the popularity of one item. And how many more items are just like the mugs; of particular interest to one particular class and background, foisted upon the rest of the world as an "it" product.

That being said, The Toad still loves those mugs. In fact, she keeps waiting for someone to give them to her as a gift. Alas, no one has the guts to buy The Toad gifts. Can't imagine why.

Sleep Disturbance

The Toad always finds products she likes, and sometimes finds blogs she likes, but combining the two is very rare (as rare as Costa Rica's Golden Toad, which is very rare indeed).

The blog I found (along with about three thousand other followers) is Sleeptalkin' Man. The premise: a married Brit talks in his sleep, and his American insomniac wife records what he says and publishes it online. Needless to say, the quotes are howlingly funny. Bizarre conglomerations of dreamspeak, mixing British and American curses and slang. And if it's fake, who cares? It would be a truly creative feat to invent these quotes.

Anyway, the blog now has shirts available, featuring choice quotes on the front. It's a great gift for the woman (or man, for that matter) with a sleep talking (or sleep walking, like yours truly) significant other. Please, go check it out. Even if you don't order a shirt, the blog's content will make your day (today's pirate themed quotes are particularly good). Go to www.sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com now, and start laughing.

Career Change

It seems like everyone is always in flux when it comes to career. Either friends and family aren't where they'd like to be in their respective careers, or they're bored, or they're simply unemployed. Perhaps it's time for a change, but without the feedback of career counselors or bossy life coaches putting in their two cents.

Here's a gift that offers a career alternative. Be a dowser! A dowser is a person who marches out with these funny wood and metal instruments and magically finds water. How does it work? I have no idea; no one has any idea how it works or whether it's for real. Sort of like working as a studio executive! All I know is that it's a career that offers travel and exploring the great outdoors, and there's nothing wrong with that.

One gift of dowsing rods could put your giftee on a new career path, and for just twenty-five bucks. Order at www.cooperhewittshop.org. Natural dowsing ability not included.