URL: Totokaelo

Juicy high-end online boutique store, Totokaelo.
Judy sent me the link a while ago, and I've been a member since then :-) All their showcasing clothes are very selective and well edited.

URL: Hafsteinn Juliusson

Hahaha :D This is very funny!!!
I question how useful this jewelry would be in real life, but I appreciate the idea... and it definitely tingled my inner heart :D

URL: UT | Shonen Sunday Magazine | UT Grand Prix 08
RELATED ARTICLE: Shonen Sunday 50th Anniversary | UT Manga T-Shirt

UT = UNIQLO T-shirts
UNIQLO has recently launched a new series of UT T-shirts in collaboration with the Japanese manga magazine "Shonen Sunday" for their 50th anniversary. I especially like Shonen Sunday's older manga like Tiger Mask, Golgo 13, Kitaro, and Ashita No Jo (the boxing one)! Some of the shirts are super cool!! They will be releasing new T-shirts each month until the end of this year, and some of these shirts will be available at our online Z-Grade store sometime in August... or maybe earlier!

URL: Polyvore

Another addictive website, Polyvore!

This is like the perfect site for the fashion lover. You can view and choose from a wide variety of different clothes, accessories, shoes and more from different brands... all over the web. Basically, you can create collections of your own outfit online like playing with a dress-up doll. Each item links back to the original item found on the web, so you can purchase them if you really want the items you found. (Very tempting!!)

URL: Loomstate
RELATED LINKS: Treehugger
SHOP@: Whole Foods | Revolve Clothing | Greenloop | Tobi

100% Organic Cotton clothing :)
The design, their philosophy, and their finished products - Simple yet high-end and good quality.

URL: Reware
RELATED LINKS: BPM magazine

I read about this portable water proof solar powered "Thin-Film" product called "Power Pockets" by Reware in BPM magazine. This flexible sheet can be folded to compact wallet size, and you can lay it out outside and carry everywhere with you to charge cell phone, digital camera, and more!

URL: www.zgrade.com
RELATED LINKS: Z-GRADE EBAY

Z-Grade Online Store Officially Open!
We finally launched our online shopping site! We have been working really hard for past xx months... It has been a long long journey for us...

URL: Los Angeles Times
RELATED LINKS: Art Pro Nail Printer | Digital Nail Art | Nail Printer

What? What is digital nail art?!
Paul was reading to me about this little nail art machine on wheels that prints and decorates your fingernails in just a few minutes... and it is at the Little Tokyo shopping center in Los Angeles. So I had to look it up online and see what this is all about. How crazy is that :O

ARBOR (MAP)
102 Washington Blvd,
Venice, CA 90292
URL: ARBOR

"Using environmentally friendly, natural elements to improve style and performance."
Hip Eco-Friendly Skateboard / Snowboard / Apparel shop in Venice California. The store is located right by the beach.

URL: JUNK MAIL GEMS

Fun and intriguing products... made by junk mail and other trash :D
The artist, Gretchen Fleener is running her business alone from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She explains on her website that she got fed up with throwing away unwanted junk mail, so she decided to create something useful with it instead.

URL: glerups.dk

Cool simple indoor shoe to keep your feet warm.
I ordered their slippers about 4 years ago for me and Paul. We love them so much and always wear them around our house :) And people have asked us where we've got them and say "Yea, this is the type of slippers I was looking for!"

URL: ecoist

Innovative cool eco-friendly fashion accessories!
These cute purses/handbags are made out of recycled candy wrappers!! They are all handmade, waterproof, and price ranges from around $32 to $198 depending on the size of the bag. There are colorful bags using various different wrappers as well as bags that have more of a classy look using monotone wrappers. They look very fun!

URL: Camper FoodBALL
RELATED LINKS: Marti Guixe | Treehugger

Camper has cafes (health food shop) in Barcelona & Berlin called FoodBALL?! We just found out about this from our friend Judy (another friend of ours who always has cool interesting resources) and thought it was really cool!

FoodBALL is made out of whole grain rice and filled with various local organic ingredients - mushrooms, tofu, chicken, or beet root. They remind me of Japanese rice balls called Onigiri :) With the FoodBALL, you can chose from different dipping sauces, such as soy and ginger or coconut curry. They also have sweet FoodBALLS. The cafe seems to be laid out kind of like a donut shop except that the food they offer is healthy and organic :)

LiViTY Outernational
Topanga, CA
URL: LiViTY Outernational
RELATED LINKS: Giant Peach | Natural Rasta
SHOP@: Whole Foods

Livity Outernational is a cool eco-friendly clothing (fashion) company from Topanga, CA. Their philosophy on the environment has influenced their entire line of merchandise, and the company is operated by multicultural artists, travelers, musicians, teachers, activists, and athletes.

I've come across many of their hats, t-shirts, bags, and accessories at Whole Foods, and I've been pretty impressed with all of their merchandise. One of my favorite lines is their hats!! It's difficult to find cool hats that fit my head right even though they look cool. I've tried many of their hats at the store, and they all fit my head right and look the way I would imagine on!! And the quality of their hats are unquestionable - very professional.

RELATED LINKS: Sainsbury's and Arts Council bags | TreeHugger

Yesterday, I wrote a post on grocery bags at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Then today, I find these cute recycled grocery bags used at supermarkets in England (pic above)!! These artistic bags are almost stylish enough to wear to any place, and they cost only about $1 and the profit goes to charity :O These are just really cool both ways!! What a beautiful idea...

We are thinking about what to do for our Halloween Costume since we are invited for a costume party this Saturday. We started thinking about something we could quickly put together without going shopping. Here are some inspirational photos above I've come across.

URL: FAFI | MySpace
RELATED LINKS: DOZEN | Flicker

Fafi - The Female French Graffiti Artist
I first became aware of Fafi when she released Artist Gacha-Gacha capsule toy series in Japan along with some other artists around the world back in 2003. At first, I didn't like her figures that much (I liked her drawing/painting style though)... but her figures started to grow on me every time I saw them. I was reading this guys blog this morning, and he wrote that he had to move the figures off his desk because they kept flirting with him!! I was laughing so hard!! But, I think fafi's figures seriously had the same effect on me!!

URL: HOLLISTER

Simple design and slim fit - California Soul :)
Hollister's women's polos and sweaters are cute! I like tops that fit tight and come down below my waist, so I'm really liking all their sweaters and polos!! I guess their sizing is smaller than usual, so if you usually wear Small, then you might want to try on Medium.

URL: Simple: Green Toe Shoes
SHOP@: Whole Foods | REI |Online

We like Green Toe shoes by Simple, yet another cool eco-friendly product!!
"Simple" has their product line called "Green Toe". Basically, Green Toe makes an effort to stop hurting the planet. Their shoes are made by all natural ingredients which means "No chemical, no leather, no plastic". If you bury Green Toe shoes after wearing them out, they will be recycled into the earth and disappear!

URL: Prps
RELATED LINKS: New York Times | KIT ME OUT
SHOP@: Jake | SOLIS

Prps - A product with purpose...
Prps is designed to be worn and utilized before fashion, and they state "each item in the collection is conceived with a specific purpose and function in mind." They create their denim with the softest organic African cotton, woven and manufactured in Japan by a family-run company specializing in jeans. Each denim item is hand-finished into the most authentic vintage washes and each piece has it's own unique signature style. They also create cool t-shirts as well.

BRANDS: VANS | DRAVEN | FIFTY 24SF | VISION | Ed Hardy | CIRCA

When my sister was in town, she bought a few pairs of VANS slip-ons. Since then, I've been looking for a pair I may want to get for myself, and I ended up finding so many cool slip-ons I've never seen before!! They are pretty cool! Check out each of the photos, they are all linked to where you can purchase a nice pair for yourself. :)

URL: http://www.custo-barcelona.com
SHOP@: Custo stores all over the world (LA|JP) / Online

Oh my gosh... Where have I been? I love their clothes!!
I took my friend for shopping at Beverly Center the other day, and we came across CUSTO BARCELONA. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so here I am :) Each item was uniquely crafted, and all of their clothes have a 70s and early 80s feel with a modern twist. Very inspiring with funky designs and some Asian influence as well. :)

Their store also reminded me of FORNARINA which is another retail store I love and admire!!

Wow... Is it too nerdy? or is it cool?
Either way, I was so inspired with this new form of art/fashion with USB. I read an article about this in WIRED magazine (JUNE 2006) just the other night. New way to have storage devices in everyday objects (more photos)! ...so many possibilities with this :) Showing motion graphics inside the USB frame would be pretty cool way to present art work.

So far, I'm not sold on the design of the USB belt and bra just yet.. but if a company like mimobots which I introduced the other day came up with funky USB belt... Hmmm... That would be super cool!

Mission Playground
Solana Beach, CA
URL: http://www.missionplayground.com
SHOP@: Whole Foods / Online

I first came across their products at WHOLE FOODS. Yea... a place where you’re probably not looking for fashionable goods. But, I keep seeing more and more cool products there and something you just wouldn't find at a regular store.

Since most of the products that Whole Foods carries are eco-friendly or simply have a healthier approach, I feel good about spending a little extra to support their business. (Oh, by the way, did you know that you get 5 cents back when you bring either your own grocery bags or bring back and recycle the paper bags when you shop there?)

Of course, when you are shopping for something you wear, the products have to be visually appealing. And I think Mission Playground does a very good job designing their product line and producing something that supports what they believe in.