Transglass recycled glassware

Esule wine labels by Mash Design

From the cool cats at Mash Design, comes yet another stellar set of creative, fun wine labels. This time around, Mash’s imaginative energy was put towards a series of designs for Red Heads Studio — an inspired collection of fifteen Southern Australian wines that garner impressive reviews worth boasting about. Though Mash is responsible for a number of the Red Heads Studio labels, the comic book like imagery for Esule stands out from the lot. Here, through imaginative illustrations that reflect ‘falling from grace’, the black and white labels convey the story of how two former kings of the wine grape world — Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc — were cast aside as other varieties came into vogue. But whatever the history, for sure Mash’s stylish design coupled with Esule’s strong wine ratings will help this deep, velvety red climb its way back up in the ranks.

Matsu’s photographic wine series

Renowned photographers Bèla Adler and Salvador Fresneda have paired together with Spanish agency Moruba to create a modern project for sustainable viticulture: Matsu’s photographic wine series. In this beautiful packaging, the labels for Spanish-based organic winery Matsu reveal the portraits of three generations that devote their lives to the vineyard. Each personality featured on the different bottles embodies the distinctiveness of that wine. Adler and Fresneda’s work captures the characters in a way that brings to life Matsu’s philosophy of linking nature with those that care about it. Through this portrait series, Matsu’s wine trilogy of ‘El Pícaro’, ‘El Recio’ and ‘El Viejo’ is stunningly realized.

Hoopla sell recycled goodies

There’s some fun, environmentally friendly toys and cards on the Hoopla website, a new gift company based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. They get most of their goodies produced in New England and always use recycled and reusable materials. We asked co-founder Hannah Lavon to tell us about the philosophy behind the business: ‘Our mission is simply to enjoy the fun-ner things in life. We make products that you just can’t help but laugh at — and with. We strive to make even the grumpiest old grump show us those teeth. Or at least those gums. Or dentures. Dentures are definitely funner. Lots of fizzing water glasses and they double as castanets. Light bulb! We feel a new product line coming on …’

Sooshi

Not a fan of sushi? Then check out Sooshi — a new sushi-style treat from New Zealand Natural ice cream. Though it may look a lot like your neighborhood rainbow roll, these sweet snacks are made purely of real fruit and ice cream. Instead of the outside ‘nori’ sheet, Sooshi sports a green apple flavored strip. Rice is replaced with vanilla or fruit ice cream, and rather than vegetables, the center’s filled with lemon, apricot, raspberry, or blackcurrant fruit puree. Though word on the street is that it’s already super sugary, those with a real sweet tooth can top it off with a squirt of chocolate ‘soy sauce’. So next time you’re out for a sushi dinner, consider skipping the California roll and heading straight to dessert.

Forest Milk

So here’s the theory: happy cows produce better milk. And from this concept comes Japanese-based dairy company, Forest Milk. Rather than locking their cows down, Forest Milk’s lot are free to roam the woods 365 days a year. The freer, happier cows then produce tastier, fattier milk. At the same, they maintain the forest by noshing on unwanted grass and weeds. The sweet packaging with its simple green trees, charming typeface, and old-school tissue paper cap make for an overall delightful creamy treat. So mOOOve over factory farming, Forest Milk is here.

New York’s Stuffed Artisan Cannolis

Having been raised a proper Italian-American girl in New York, I was taught from a young age how to spot a good cannoli: those tasty desserts made of hollowed fried dough stuffed lovingly with creamy, sweet ricotta and topped with a marvelous dash of powder sugar. Yum. These tiny Southern Italian treats are not the stuff of nouvelle cuisine. Or are they? Enter Stuffed Artisan Cannolis. Read more