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Lifestyle | X |  |
Now you can drive a Lamborghini without the costs of cosmetic upkeep, insurance, taxes, garage space and even yearly depreciation. A recent
Denim don Rogan Gregory got his first taste of fashion stardom thanks to a simple pair of jeans he designed for mega-retailer the Gap in the late 90's. His jeans, part of Gap's heritage "1969" collection were an homage to the worn-in romance of a great pair of jeans- back when wearing jeans was a...
Environmentalists have long been criticized for being ineffective communicators, they have often found it difficult to reach a broad audience and attract attention to the issues that they care passionately about. While none of the efforts listed below will reach a truly mass audience, it appears...
There are a number of companies trying to specialize in various elements of healthier fast foods, from Jamba with smoothies, to wraps from World Wrapps, but no one is bringing it all together under a broad cohesive concept. Kauai is a small South African chain appears to have got it right. Kauai...
Influx recently discovered a new community concept for parents with kids up to age 6. Urban Monkeys, described as "a jungle for kids, an oasis for adults," opened in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle last September. The light, airy loft houses a playroom, two movement studios, a spa, a...
It appears that the McMansion is not just a US phenomenon; it now seems that the trend is also happening Down-Under in Australia. A report from Australian news show 60 Minutes (another export?) explains how over the past 20 years, the average Australian home has grown by 40%, and how this is...
The convenience store hasn't really changed much since it's introduction, despite the best intentions of the leading players, the stores are generally about ease over goodness. There is always an overload of pre-packaged food and the stores focus too much on being convenient, rather than...
Last July, Influx wrote about the conditions needed to turn creativity into a mass pursuit. On Tier 3 were the "Artistic Educators" and Influx found a recent interesting manifestation of this in the Maryland Institute College of Art's DIY book and program. They clearly understand that people...
If traveling from A to B is not enough for you, perhaps you should try "Experimental Travel". Created by French journalist Joel Henry, the movement that is part art, part science and part experimental theater, is designed to spice up your travels. Henry encourages travelers to seek the unorthodox...
Back in July 2005, Influx discussed what was required to make consumer creativity a mass market proposition. We identified four tiers that represented the type of institutions needed to make this phenomenon a reality. Tier 2 is made up of those who consumers to publish, create and distribute. ...
Contained in our sadly ever-growing list of fears, is food contamination. The threats come from the likes of powerful bugs like E-coli and Salmonella. Obviously, this creates a huge market opportunity for innovative companies to come up with solutions. One such player is the French company, Crylog...
Bored housewives in focus groups with clients pretending to listen and quantitative that isolated ladders of benefits, were almost the only ways that consumer input got fed into the corporate product development process. These findings "kind of" informed new concepts, that were then taken out and...
Continuing on the theme of the power of small, Street hawker and roadside salespeople form much of the color and economic fabric of the developing world, with limited big retail, street hawkers are where most people buy their essential items. Although less prevalent, they are also in pockets...
Yesterday's, USA Today article suggests that Myspace is fast becoming one of the cultural icons of our time. The site's growth is stratospheric, it's adding 5 million new users a month. One of the teens quoted in the article succinctly summed up the influence of the site:"MySpace has gotten to...
Celebrity chefs are often known for their self-promotion all designed with the goal of selling more of their cook books and food lines. It's rare to find someone who is prepared to step out of the limelight and take real action on an issue. Britain's Jamie Oliver has done just that in taking on...