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What dads really want

June 15, 2011 By Tori Leave a Comment

With Father’s Day fast approaching, we took to Twitter to see what some of our favorite dads really enjoy doing. In 140 characters or less, they described their ideal Father’s Day.

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dad blogs - @BenSpark @BenSpark: My Ideal Dad’s Day. Breakfast. Drive to the Cape. Family Kayak Trip. Picnic Clambake on the Beach. Movie w/lots of popcorn.

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@backpackingdad - dad blogs @BackpackingDad: It begins with sleeping in, and ends with a visit to a giant statue of me raised in my honour by a grateful nation. The middle is hazy.

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@CuteMonsterDad: Sleep in. Awaken to pancakes. Stroll in the park. Catch a movie. Poolside barbecue. Kids asleep early. Quality time with my wife.

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@dadofdivas: My ideal day as a dad would be taking the kids our Geocaching just the three of us and exploring the world around us, finding treasurer & fun.

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Any surprises here? I’ll be honest I expected at least one mention of golf! What do you have planned for Father’s Day?

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Kodak PlayTouch video camera giveaway!

June 2, 2011 By Tori Leave a Comment
kodak mini video camera review

Jesse filming Eco Touch waterless car wash video

Daily Grommet’s Video Director, Jesse Buckley, recently stepped in front of the camera to share how our daily videos are created. Today, Jesse is sharing details about which camera he uses and why he recommends it.  Be sure to stop by the Kodak: A Thousand Words blog to check out his guest post.

Also, we are thrilled that Kodak has partnered with us to give one of our lucky readers a Kodal PlayTouch video camera of their own! Be sure to stop by our Facebook page and enter to win.

Thanks Kodak!

Filed Under: Contests & Giveaways Tagged With: ,

A passion for delicious photos

May 16, 2011 By Tori 1 Comment

If you are a regular reader here, it comes to no surprise that we love food. From scouting cool places to eat, to sharing our favorite food blogs, and even challenging our own readers to come up with unique (mini!) recipes — if it’s tasty, we’re interested! During our love affair with great foodie resources, we’ve been following an up-and-coming food blogger Lisa Thiele. Her blog, With Style and Grace is equal parts delicious food and delicious food photography. She was gracious enough to do a little Q&A with us, and we would love to help tell her story.

Note – Lisa realized this is her first interview and found it to be a great exercise to articulate her story and journey so far. We are honored to be sharing her first interview with you. We have no doubt, there will be many more in Lisa’s future.

I am not sure which is more captivating, your recipes or your photography. Which came first, your love for food or photos?
food blogs

Mushroom & Walnut Quinoa + Fried Egg (recipe and photo by Lisa Thiele)

When I quit my job, I decided to start cooking since it was the one thing I knew and loved to do. I then needed a way to share my recipes on my blog, With Style and Grace so my mom loaned me her camera and well, the rest is history. That was in August 2010.

How did you learn to cook so well? What about your food photography, how did you get started?

I can’t help but laugh. I grew up watching my parents cook and reading food magazines & cookbooks and then watching the Food Channel while I worked or studied. See, I’m a perfectionist and since I didn’t have experience (i.e. confidence) in the kitchen, I had just assumed I would fail. Note: don’t be like me. It wasn’t until the end of college that I really got into cooking and now I go to bed dreaming of what I’m going to make next.

Food photography is all self taught and started so I could share my recipes and inspire others in some form or another.

What has been most exciting so far in your blogging, foodie, and photography journey?

For the blog – Every day is exciting for me. I truly love my blog. Receiving comments from followers who tried and loved my recipes, emails from people wanting to work with me and then seeing my work on other blogs or sites. It’s allowed me to connect with the most incredible people and to really inspire grace and beauty in other people’s lives.

For the foodie – I recently joined the Gluten-free Ratio Rally, started by Gluten-free Girl, which is a group of us set out to test gluten-free baked goods based off a ratio. For the first time, I created my very own gluten-free recipe, for baking. It felt amazing and now I have the confidence (& desire) to continue creating my own recipes.

With Style Grace - food blogs

Lisa juggling cameras while attending a styling and food photography camp

For the Photographer – It’s honestly exciting any time someone says they’re inspired by my photography or that they want to hire me. However, the most exciting was when my local (yet, famous) bakery hired me as a photographer – I mean shooting beautiful cupcakes and cakes, talk about a dream!

What has been most challenging?

Trusting myself and not being fearful of the unknown. If someone were to ask me what I would be doing a year ago from now, I would have starred at them, wondering the same thing. Not knowing what’s ahead and whether we’ll be able to pay our bills has been very challenging, but rather than reacting from fear, I have to just trust my heart that it’s leading me in the right direction.

What’s in the future? Any exciting plans or dreams?

I dream of becoming a food photographer and having my blog be a place where people come for inspiration. I’m currently working on a cookbook with my mom, who’s an incredible cook! Overall, I aim to inspire grace and beauty whether that’s working as a photographer, creating/sharing recipes, planning/hosting events, or bringing people together.

What three blogs do you read daily?

Just three?? I think this might be the hardest question, yet!

1. Joy the Baker

2. Creature Comforts

3. Cannelle et Vanille

Thank you Lisa for sharing your story with us! We look forward to drooling over reading more of With Style and Grace!

For those of you new to Lisa’s work — check out the delicious creations she made after we sent her a Babycakes Whoopie Pie Maker to test. These gluten-free strawberry cakes and these vanilla whoopie pies almost look to good to eat.

Filed Under: Discoveries, Featured Tagged With: ,

A walking tour of Kanazawa

April 25, 2011 By Jamie 1 Comment

We were so taken with the footage that Evelyn Teploff-Mugii sent from Japan, that we created this short video to share as much of it as we could. In this clip, Evelyn takes us on a walking tour of her adopted home-town, the ancient cultural center of Kanazawa, complete with cherry blossoms in full bloom. She also explains in a bit more detail how she makes her beautiful kin maki-e accessories.

Filed Under: Featured, Inventor Spotlight Tagged With: , ,

Introducing 1band 1brand

April 15, 2011 By Tori Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that here at Daily Grommet, we like discovering and sharing unique gift ideas, innovative people and creative ideas. So, when we heard about 138 Music & Entertainment and the 1band 1brand platform at SXSW, we knew we wanted to share it with you. We had the pleasure of speaking with Brady Sadler, a founding partner of 1band 1brand and asked him a few questions… enjoy:

Hi Brady, can you tell us a little about  1band 1brand?

Sure! 1band 1brand is a free, subscription-based digital platform that introduces one emerging band along side one independent fashion label on a weekly basis. Each band offers a collection of songs for a name-your-own-price download and each brand provides an exclusive discount for seven days only.

1band 1brand

Since we are all about the story behind the idea, we’d love to know what was the inspiration for this company?

Our team is made up of sales, marketing and strategy resources from ad agencies, consumer brands and technology companies. We’re all interested in new music and shopping for cool clothes, but we don’t always have the time to search for it online. These days there are more independent artists and fashion designers than ever before in history. Anyone can put out an album or set up a storefront on the Web and that makes for a cluttered environment.

We figured there were a lot of people in the same boat, so we launched 1band 1brand to help cut through the clutter and make it easier to discover great music and fashion.

The music industry has been changing ever since Napster came on the scene. How does this impact your site?

Linda Perry at BUZZBANDS LA / 1band 1brand Showcase

Music and fashion have always gone hand in hand, but now the two industries are collaborating much more closely. In the past, a brand would typically wait until a band had a hit on the radio, but that’s all changed.

Now if a band has twenty thousand followers on Twitter or ‘Likes’ on Facebook, they have direct access to a loyal audience. That’s appealing to brands and they are eager to form strategic partnerships.

How do you find these great new bands and brands?

That’s a secret! Actually, we spend the time researching bands and brands so our subscribers don’t have to and we have months worth of cool features already lined up.

Now that the site is live we’re also getting a number of emails from bands, brands and users with suggestions.

Networking is important as well. Just like in any industry, once you make a few key connections, you’re never more than one or two degrees away from someone else you might want to work with. This year, SXSW introduced a fashion component for the first time ever, so we traveled to Austin for our official launch and had a chance to interact with a lot of interesting bands and brands.

What’s next for 1band 1brand?

First and foremost, we want to continue building the community by signing up as many new people as we can and delivering the best bands and brands that are out there.

We’re also beginning to facilitate band and brand collaborations that will result in exclusive products, live events and more. A number of retailers and publishers have expressed interest partnering as well, so we’ll continue to explore new and different ways to deliver this content.

It’s an exciting time to be working in these industries because everyone is being forced to think beyond the traditional sales channels. We’re excited about the role we can play given the diverse background of our team and our experience creating unique strategic partnerships.

Please join us to hear, wear and share by signing up to receive our weekly features at 1band1brand.com on Twitter or on Facebook.

A big thank you to Brady for sharing 1band 1brand with us … now, go and check them out!

Filed Under: Discoveries, Featured, Inventor Spotlight Tagged With: ,

Twig Terrarium: Take 2

April 6, 2011 By Jeanne 4 Comments

It’s kind of funny that today’s Grommet is all about making a special little world, enclosed in glass … in a way, Twig Terrarium founders, Michelle and Katie seem to be living in their own little enchanted world. And we got a peek into that world when they sent us their home-made video to help us tell their story.

Normally, we pick out just a few key bits and pieces from the video our founders send to us … the parts that make the story come alive  (and trust me, our video producer, Jesse, is a master at picking out those gems). But sometimes, we just can’t bear to leave some of those clips on the cutting room floor — and today is one of those times.

So, enjoy this quick outtake of “two BFF’s hanging out, making terrariums all day” (my favorite part: watch Katie’s facial expressions in the background as Michelle tells her boggy-moss-gathering-shoe-stuck-in-the-mud story — classic!)

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes at Daily Grommet, Inventor Spotlight Tagged With: , ,

Grandparents.com is back with a great offer!

April 6, 2011 By Sara Leave a Comment

“When all else fails, ask Grandpa” should be on a wall plaque in my house. My kids adore their grandparents and vice versa! And what’s not to love? We also love the site Grandparents.com dedicated just for, you guessed it, grandparents!

We like Grandparents.com’s smiling vibe as a resource and haven for today’s grandparents who are more active, more involved and more connected to their grandchildren than any other generation of grandparents.  According to the NY Times, the downturn in our economy has caused the role of grandparents as both caregivers and financial supporters to increase dramatically. We’re glad to see sites like Grandparents.com be a place for grandparents to hang out and share laughs, ideas, gripes, passions and inspiration.

Our friends at Grandparents.com are all about helping grandparents and fostering and nurturing the relationship between grandkids and their grandparents. They do this in a really fun, lighthearted way. Each day they dish up creative activities, crafts, travel and gift ideas, expert advice, and conversation. They host affinity forums where grandparents can exchange ideas and opinions on whatever’s on their minds. They have groups like “Mothers-in-law Anonymous” where you can dish or ask for advice about the mother/daughter-in-law relationship. “Grandparents Caring for Grandkids” and “Grandparenting from Afar” are super support groups, and there are groups around hobbies, health and wellness, education, money, you name it, they’ve got a group of people talking about it!

Grandparents.comWe’ve checked out their newest resource, the Benefits Club that serves up great deals that grandparents and their families can use. Membership in the Benefits Club gives access to discounts and incentives on everyday products and services and on bigger items like travel and vacations. Jeffrey Mahl is the president of Grandparents.com and is here with us today for a Q & A and to give our Daily Grommet community a free gift!

Jeffrey, Grandparents.com is the go-to site for grandparents these days. Can you tell us a little bit about today’s grandparents?

Today’s grandparents are more dynamic and healthy than those of the past, and there are more of us alive now than at any other point in history. People over the age of 50 control 75% of the wealth in the United States. They tend to spend generously on their families and themselves, but they like to spend wisely, too. That was a primary motivation for us to create the Benefits Club. We think AARP has done a great job but they were created 50 years ago, for seniors of the past – not for the boomer generation. We provide a more modern alternative. We like to think of ourselves as AARP with a smile!

The Benefits Club looks great, what kinds of deals are included?

We have more than 160 partners in the Benefits Club and we’re adding new partners every day. Our members can save on travel, with great discounts on cruises, hotels and car rentals, on gifts – whether it’s toys and clothes for the grandkids or flowers and jewelry for a friend. They can enhance their health with vitamins, gym memberships, weight loss programs and spa services. They can buy books and theatre tickets. We also have great giveaways that are available exclusively to our members. And we offer discounts on insurance, too. We just added our first insurance partner – Foremost, which offers great ways for our members to insure RVs, motorcycles and boats, among other things. Basically, we’re focused on creating a place where our members can get discounts on things they need as well as things they want.

Sounds like the Benefits Club is a pretty good deal for everyone, not just grandparents. Can anyone join and tell us how extended families can use it as well?

I’m so glad you asked this question! You don’t have to be a grandparent or be any particular age to join the Benefits Club. Membership is open to anyone. Our mission, as you said earlier, is to nurture the relationships between generations. So when you join the Benefits Club, you’re automatically entitled to share that membership – for free – with four additional family members. How’s that for something to smile about?!

Jeffrey, we’d love to hear about your generous offer to give ourDaily Grommet community a free one-year subscription to the Benefits Club.

My pleasure. For the next 90 days, anyone in the Daily Grommet community is welcome to sign up for a free one-year membership to the Benefits Club. You don’t need a credit card; just log onto Grandparents.com, click on the Benefits Club and use the promo code GrandGrommet. And you’re welcome to share this offer with your friends and family, too. We’d love to have you as part of the Grandparents.com family.

Jeffrey, thanks for talking with us about the Grandparents.com Benefits Club and for the free memberships.

If you have any questions or comments about the Benefits Club, Jeffrey is around to talk with us today.  Just leave a question/comment below. Thanks!

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Supporting Future Entrepreneurs

March 21, 2011 By June 2 Comments

The Daily Grommet runs deep with Simmons graduates – Joanne, Wendy and Julia are all Simmons alums.  The relationship is even stronger now with the addition of our latest intern, Anuja KC.  Anuja was awarded a scholarship from the Deborah L. Natansohn Foundation, which promotes the advancement of women through mentoring programs and educational partnerships and community outreach programs.   We are thrilled that Anuja resonated with Citizen Commerce and humbled that she chose to work with us for her internship. Here’s Anuja on why she chose to work with Daily Grommet for her internship.

by Anuja

Anuja KC

Anuja KC

My interest in “entrepreneurship” started when I first learned about it in high school. When I read business journals and magazines, more than success stories of business tycoons and trailblazers it was the moving stories behind entrepreneurs and their startups that captivated my attention. On my quest to learn more about entrepreneurship and the nuts and bolts of starting a new venture I landed myself with an internship opportunity at Daily Grommet.

It was through my entrepreneurship professor Dr. Susan Duffy that I learned about this opportunity. The first time I browsed Daily Grommet’s web portal, I did not have to hunt for what the company was all about, the interactive videos and welcoming web presence said it all. Hence, I instantly wrote to Professor Duffy expressing my interest in this enticing opportunity and there was no looking back. Having spent a month interning at Daily Grommet, I must say this is one of those decisions I made as an impulsive college student, which I will never regret.

Being an avid online shopper, I could easily relate to Daily Grommet’s unique stance on “Citizen Commerce”. The idea of finding great products and services and sharing its reviews has always appealed to me. Where else could I find a better place to unleash my passion than Daily Grommet?  I have always believed that a company is as good as its people, and the welcoming ambiance on my first day at work said it all. Within my first week, apart from turning on my quant jock side to do some number crunching, I had already made my impromptu appearance in Celeste Stein tights video, joined a conference call with the suppliers and agreed to test a new product. The hard working and synergistic atmosphere is very contagious and obviously testing the potential grommets in between works makes any drab day an interesting one.

Given its early stage in ecommerce business, the challenges are insurmountable and every day is full of surprises. But the ambiguity and uncertainty does not daunt the Daily Grommet team.  The pressure to launch a new grommet everyday makes each day productive and the collaborative work culture makes every problem seem minuscule.

The responsibility that I have been given as an intern at Daily Grommet is invaluable for me as I hope to capitalize on every aspect I learn here in the days to come. The prospect of learning new something everyday, being focused on the work yet enjoying the process is what excites me and I am glad I chose to intern at Daily Grommet over the companies that consider interns as a side aid than an asset to the company. I hope my time at Daily Grommet for the rest of the semester has even more valuable experiences in store for me.

In case you want to check it out, here is Anuja’s impromptu appearance in one of our daily videos.

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Back on the Career Track

March 9, 2011 By Sara 18 Comments

Return to Work - Carol Fishman CohenCarol Fishman Cohen is one of our favorite friends here at Daily Grommet.  We laughed out loud at her post “My So-Called Daily Grommet Life” on Yahoo Shine!   Carol is one busy lady these days.  Like many of us, she left the workforce to raise her kids (4) and after years working part time (5), and years as a stay-at-home mom (6), she successfully made a career re-entry at an investment firm in Boston.  Carol tells us it took some careful planning, strategizing and a bit of creativity to get “back on the career track” and return to work. She and her co-author and fellow-relauncher Vivian Steir Rabin decided to write the book on it.

Their book Back on the Career Track, A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work is an easy read with lots of well-detailed and practical advice from career counselors and job recruiters along with some really inspiring and candid stories from other successful re-launchers.  I liked its format… it makes you first delve inwardly to realistically assess your skills, needs and options.  It then outlines steps to help you develop a plan to build up your confidence and your marketability, to network and get those interviews and, ultimately to land that job.  With the success of the book, Carol and Vivian have co-founded iRelaunch, a company that produces career reentry programs for employers, schools, groups and individuals who want to relaunch their careers. This year they are holding return to work conferences in Atlanta, Boston, NYC, and Washington, D.C.  Check out their site http://www.irelaunch.com/ for details.  With these tough economic times, Carol’s book and her iRelaunch company are fantastic resources for those relaunchers who want to get back on the career track.
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Filed Under: Contests & Giveaways, Featured, Guest Post Tagged With: ,

Picking just one at the NYIGF

February 28, 2011 By Jen Leave a Comment

When I was asked back to be a judge for the NYIGF “Blogger’s Choice Awards” it was time to get my brave on. In 3 short hours I needed to scan the over 200 booths in Accent on Design, get to know the artist and then appear on video. I was looking for the little guy — the starving artist. In a sea of flashy well designed booths and products, you would think it would be hard to find the new guy. In my opinion the new guy is usually easier to find. The new guy usually has a smile on their face, a sparkle in their eye and well a story to tell. Not just an elevator pitch, a real story. A story of how they got there and where they want to go. So when I walked into the American Design Club booth at the NYIGF I knew I had found the real deal. A bunch of storytellers. I spent some time in the booth getting to know the artists and knew that I had found my nomination. What made it harder is I found a bunch of real deals. I chose three artists to interview from the American Design Club.

My first interview was with Steph Mantis. What caught my eye with Steph’s work was the intricate details of the animals butts and the humor in her art. She also just happen to grow up in New England.
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