Liquid Treat

Winning a National Design Award pretty much places you in the design world's hall of fame. And Scott Stowell, founder of the design office OPEN, managed to rack up this accolade while running the studio. On September 10, he'll share how he deals with everything from work/life balance and business issues to industry recognition at his New York office. It's an event from Spark, a New York organization for independent designers. Sign up for the group's e-mail list to keep up with all their happenings, including talks at design events in other parts of the country.

by Michelle Taute

The book is already out, but you'll have to wait until 2009 to see the movie Handmade Nation. Luckily, this documentary on DIY artists, crafters and designers isn't going to leave us completely hanging. Its makers are previewing the wickedly fun, stop-animation title sequence (shot in a total of 26 hours at Radar Studios in Chicago) on YouTube. There's lots of twisting and shaking by all your favorite craft supplies—yarn, embroidery thread, paint and markers all take star turns. And a contagious soundtrack will have you moving to the beat, too.

by Michelle Taute

Is it just us, or has every company suddenly joined the Sierra Club? The nonstop choruses of "We're green, too!" are making us want to see some official membership cards. Maybe that's not so realistic, but the folks over at PaperSpecs want to help us spot the faux greenies and make sure your clients aren't among them. Just sign up for the free webinar, "Greenwashing: Wringing Out the Truth," on October 30. It's a crash course in everything from greenwashing to third-party certification.

by Michelle Taute

Even if you're exceptionally coordinated, riding your bike while snapping pictures might prove disastrous. But Yahoo! unleashed a fleet of purple bikes on the world that document the view all by themselves. They're dubbed "purple pedals," and each one comes outfitted with a camera phone mounted on the handlebars in a waterproof housing. This accessory takes a photo every 60 seconds as the wheels roll and automatically uploads the images to a Flickr map. Follow the adventures online or tell Yahoo! in 200 words or less why you deserve a purple bike of your own.

by Michelle Taute

Now let us pause reverentially to give My Little Pony some respect. She's turning 25 this year, and while we're not sure how that translates into horse years, it's apparently long enough for a makeover ... make that 25 makeovers. To benefit the nonprofit Give Kids the World Village, a group of artists, designers and B-list celebrities took a crack at updating the classic girly look. Gawk at the delightfully cheesy designs from John Stamos, Courteney Cox and Amy Grant. But don't be scared by the eerie black pony we suspect escaped from the Kidrobot store.

by Michelle Taute

The dollar-store concept has long been popular in retail, but now the value of a buck has trickled up to the art world. Mylinh Trieu Nguyen and David Horvitz, who collaborate on offbeat, wonderful and sometimes head-scratching projects under the banner ASDF, are offering 100 $1 art grants. Fill out the application by November 30 for the chance to win meager funding and show your thrifty work in a downloadable exhibit in February '09. Or just head to the ASDF site to explore past efforts, including Easy to Find, an art exhibit in a post-office box.

by Michelle Taute