Monthly Archives: December 2014

Get Ready To Gift Unique Items This Season

It’s that time of year again, it’s that special season when you realize you’ve been so focused working late every night to avoid having to schedule conference calls over the holidays, that you’ve forgotten to purchase gifts for at least a third of your significant others extended family. Don’t worry, we’ve come up with a list of five great gifts ideas, that your loved ones never knew they wanted.

1. Shoe Shine Boy

Screen Shot 2014-12-15 at 4.52.13 PMShoe Shine Boy is perfect to make shoes and bags shine like never before. This small gadget set has all the goodies one needs for a thorough gleam on calfskin pieces to extend their life. All you need to do is insert two AA batteries into your device, attach the microfiber pad, apply shoe polish to the pad and turn on polisher. Shoe Shine Boy works at 420 rotations per minute and can be used on a wide range of leather products including car seats, shoes and leather bags. If new, the batteries can last up to 70 uses. Think it might be the perfect gift for someone you know? Don’t hesitate to purchase it here. 

What Sparks Our Fire: A gadget that can keep our leather goods looking good with  minimum fuss.

2. Lensbaby

Lensbaby-Sweet-Spot-LensLensbaby is a mobile lens more fun than a barrel of filters. Thin enough that it won’t interfere with most cases or other lens attachments. With the lensbaby, you get an effect that’s very similar to the one you get when zooming a lens while shooting, with a depth-of-field blur. A gadget highly recommended for people looking to enliven their camera photography but still merit a #nofilter. So if you want to gift someone who is really into photography, we recommend getting your hands on this. Where to buy? Simply click here.

What Sparks Our Fire: A gadget that can make us have professional camera effect with just our mobile phone.

3. Fujifilm’s Intax Printer

image128Another gadget for photography lovers. With apps like Instagram and its many filters, quite often, one wish to have its pictures printed. With this Fujifilm’s Instax Printer, anyone can have their phone pictures printed like a Polaroid. Now, that’s cool, right. What is fun about this is that there is no need for a separate supply of ink so you don’t have to worry about running out of ink and don’t have to load cartridges. The gadget actually uses the same cartridges as Fujifilm Instax instant cameras. The camera simply uses LEDs lights along with a liquid crystal shutter to expose the film inside the printer. It is fun and you can watch the image develop over the next several minutes. Fancy this? Get it here.

What Sparks Our Fire:  A portable photo printer, because in 2015 millennials will appreciate pictures in print more than the ones on their instagram feed (maybe).

4. Hoodie pillow

Screen Shot 2014-12-15 at 5.00.14 PMAnd yes this exists. Simple as the tittle, it’s a hood with a pillow. This hooded pillowcase can provide ultimate “ Cocoonification™”, helping you tuck away the stresses of your day. Useful for long flights trip or simply for curling up with a good book, dozing on the couch, watching TV. This is the perfect accessory to enhance your lounging experience. The HoodiePillow Hooded Pillowcase fits all standard bed pillows and measures. There is alsoi the C shape version. Sometimes, pictures speak louder than words. Get one here and why not for yourself as well.

 What Sparks Our Fire: a gadget that every holiday season traveler wants, but is too embarassed to purchase for themselves.

5. Slimger

1048029_1526493884264679_3972367664762119302_oWe all suffer from short life batteries whether we have an iPhone or an Android. For some reasons phone makers have not tackled the issue yet. So, in the meantime while they get it all together, we have this suggestion that could be the gift of the year. It is called Slimger: a charger so thin and small it can fit in your wallet. This is the result of a project on indiegogo that received more than six time its initial pledge of $10,000. Thank you to all backers, we can now all benefit from the magic. If you need to purchase a devise. Here is the link

What Sparks our Fire: a useful devise that is easy to carry around and a life/phone save

We hope you found this list useful. What did you pick? Let us know.

Unlock All Sort of Possibilities With Flic

Flic-Button-3

In one way or another we are all becoming smart phone addicts. But if you think about it, we use our devices for the same functions most of the time. For instance, we listen to music, text the same people, check our social media feed, and the list goes on and on. So, if you are just like everyone, then you are constantly doing the same thing on your phone. And maybe you wish there was something that could make it easier, like a button you could press instead getting your phone out for every little thing. Well, you’re in luck. Flic will be your new gadget to cherish and to pet. Especially if you appreciate a little ‘real-world’ interaction.

As far as smart gadgets go, Flic is about as simple as it gets. It’s a stylish magnetic button that communicates wirelessly with a smartphone to carry out certain favorite actions, such as launching GPS navigation, controlling lights, snoozing a phone alarm, playing music, controlling the camera’s shutter and even allowing hands-free texting. The button can also be programmed to access the controls of a smart home, with different ‘clicks’ (long hold, double-click, single click) activating certain functions. And you can have as many buttons as you wish. Check out the video below to get an idea of how this tiny device works.

What Sparks Our Fire: A simple and stylish wireless button that can change the way we live every day.

Are you ready to create a button for anything? If so, hurry and check out Flic’s Indiegogo to snatch great deals before they fade away.

The Bluetooth Speaker For Party Around Water

ECOXGEAR_ECOSTONEA lot of outdoor products seem like they were designed by people who’ve never been around water (beach, pool, etc.) but with the Ecostone speakers, engineers clearly understood the main priority of the poolside party. The coolest thing about Ecostone is that it is a rechargeable Bluetooth speaker that you can take anywhere and that can survive everywhere. A small splash of water on it wouldn’t turn your pool party into a meditation group. Not only can it shrug off a splash, it floats and can survive being dunked up to 3 feet underwater or even endure a sandstorm. It has a 12-hour battery life and is equipped with detachable mounting options that can attach the speaker to just about anything. The Ecostone is available now at many fine retailers in Black, Blue, Orange and “Real Tree”. You also have the option to purchase it straight from the company’s website.

What Sparks Our Fire: A perfect gadget for those who live an active lifestyle.

Would you consider  EcoStone for your next summertime pool party?

You’re One App Away From A Comfortable Retirement

acorns appTo build wealth, and become financially independent, you need to start investing early and there is an app for that. Acorns enables you to start saving early, invest often, and feel secure about your financial future without having to think about it.

So, how does it work? Simply connect a credit card, or debit card and a checking account, and enter some characteristics about yourself. Acorns will automatically recommend a stock portfolio based on information like your age, time horizon, investment goals and the amount of risk you’re comfortable taking. Then each purchase you make with the registered card is rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the difference is invested in low-cost ETFs. For instance, if you spend $10.49 on lunch, that remaining 51 cents is invested. And if you’re worried about the safety of your personal information, don’t be, because Acorns has been awarded TRUSTe’s Privacy Seal for the collection and use of personal information. According to its maker, “what makes Acorns different from any service out there is that it offers a personalized investment portfolio with no account minimums, no commissions, and fractional investing all at your fingertips”.

What Sparks Our Fire: An app that intuitively makes it easy to save and invest.

What do you think of Acorns? Would you use it?

Coffee As Unique As Your Handprint

Memory-by-Wenyao-Cai-Electrolux-Design-Lab-2012-finalistA small but important part of many people’s lives is the intimacy of having a barista who remembers who you are and more importantly how you have your coffee. Memory is a coffee maker that uses hand print recognition to act as your personal barista and make the right cup of coffee for the right person. Set it to your preference of weak, medium or strong coffee or even an espresso to a ristretto. When you’re ready for your perfect cup of coffee, Memory will scan your hand and get it right every time. The machine was designed by WenYao Cai from China, an Electrolux Design Lab 2012 finalist.

No matter how hard we wished it wasn’t, Memory is still in the concept phase and isn’t ready to be on the market just yet.

What Sparks Our Fire: An innovative gadget that allows you to get your perfect cup of coffee with a simple scan of the hand.

Do you wish Memory was out on the market? Let us know your thoughts.