Movie: Once

Our Thai friend Tarn pointed out this independent movie to us called Once. It's a musical about a street musician who bumps into an immigrant from the Czech Republic. They start writing songs together and their relationship develops as their music does. We found the great trailer for it but now we need a little luck trying to find a copy of the actual movie haha

Pouch Cuties by Karla Lim

Check out this cool new concept by Karla Lim. She says she was inspired to do this because she's been seeing all these kids wearing pocket slings recently.

Required Reading: Competing on Analytics

Traditionally, there's a lot of guessing involved in the business of retail. We have to estimate crucial things like how many orders there will be, how much time until stocks run out and what price each product should be. Add to that the less obvious guessing games of how big stores should be and how high rent gets until it becomes a bad deal for us.

A good business relies on predictability. Your level of success is strongly dependent on how well you can see the future. That's why we have to start taking steps to reduce the guessing. So this month, we're studying all about what data we should be gathering and analyzing in order to compete better with a book published by Harvard Business School Press called "Competing on Analytics". Hopefully, we'll learn a lot and be a much better company very soon.

Cool Libraries

We're always going to be strong supporters of education here at It's Cool. That's why it makes us happy every time a spectacular library opens up somewhere in the world. The latest destination is Italy. The first three pictures at the top are of the Pontifical Lateral University Library. Leave it to the Italians to make reading look so chic and luxurious. Learn more from the Cool Hunter.

Of course, the reigning coolest library in the world is still in the American city of Seattle. The Seattle Public Library (see the two pictures at the bottom half above) is the masterpiece of Dutch super architect Rem Koolhaas.

If only Manila can have something like this in ten years (heck, we'd contribute money to a project like that).

Netherlands Institure for Sound and Vision

These are photos of the newly built Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. It holds all the television archives of the Dutch so visitors can come over and watch any original program that has been broadcast. The offices of the media companies are also inside together with a museum.

The most noticeable feature of this magnificent building is the colorful exterior. To achieve this effect, television images were fused together and were then baked right into the glass skin surface.

Read more about it in the New York Times. Photos posted here are also from the New York Times.

Cell Phone Scam

Some horrible people have been sending text messages to different people's cell phones claiming that the cell phone holder has won some sort of raffle. This is totally fake. Don't fall for it. There is no such thing as a raffle that you are automatically/magically entered in. Contact information alone such as your cell phone number or email address cannot be used as a basis for raffles of any kind, especially without your consent. Here's a sample scam that we've been receiving this week:

"D'AUDITORS of GMA.CHARITY FOUNDATION nform u dat ur CELFON nos. WON P 950,000. 00 2nd prize winner,drw last. 05-25- 2007 PLS CALL ME NOW,IM,MRS LELIBETH SANCHEZ,"

Here are the cell phone numbers so far that have been sending this scam:
+63 9174653165
+63 9172513610

Pie Movies: "My Blueberry Nights" & "Waitress"

Is it just a coincidence that two of the movies we're looking forward to see this year have pies at the centers of their feel-good storylines? Maybe it's simply because we can relate to the pastry's rich colors, soft textures and homemade sweetness.

My Blueberry Nights is a movie that was created by director Wong Kar Wai just because he was inspired by the face of pop jazz princess Norah Jones. The trailer here teases us at the end with the much talked about scene wherein actor Jude Law kisses blueberry pie off Norah's lips.



While the Blueberry tends to be a bit bittersweet, Waitress starring Keri Russell as a "pie genius" is pure sugar. There's no way you're not smiling after this trailer.

Jordin Sparks

We'd wish Jordin Sparks goodluck on the final American Idol vote tomorrow if her impending victory wasn't such a sure shot. When we started this blog back in February, we made a list of dream celebrity product endorsers we couldn't really afford. Well, scrap that list because we think this bouncy bubbly teen would be the perfect fantasy famous person to represent our brand. She's just so huggable!

Market! Market! Street Market

A couple of weeks ago, we relocated our Market! Market! store to an area called the Street Market, which is a row of shops selling the best selection of gifts and accessories in the whole mall. We were actually the first wall shop to open in the space, which is never a good thing in retail. The area looked dead for a while and so did sales. But now everything is almost completely lit up and open for business.

Sure, a lot of the new openings represent competitors of ours but if competition is what it takes to catch the attention of mall goers, then bring it on.

Cell Phone Txt

Heart angel daydreamer toy project

Video: "Let Forever Be" by Chemical Brothers

This is our favorite music video of all time! We were inspired to dig this up after seeing the kickass movie "The Science of Sleep". That movie's director also made this video. The concept itself is such an amazing mind-bending trip. We know you'll have fun watching it.

Gift Gate Trinoma

Ayala's Trinoma mall had its soft opening today and Gift Gate has a great looking store at the ground floor. Check out the sweet spot they gave us inside.

Cell Phone Txt

"ECSTATIC CARTOON DISORDER" a two man exhibition by darrel ballesteros and nemo aguila JUNE 13(wed)@ BIG SKY MIND 66b Dona J. Rodriguez st., E.rodriguez sr. Ave ,toontales and comic madness starts at 7 pm c u der:)!

Qantas Lounge

Australian airline Qantas has just completed its spectacular airport lounge based on the vision of world-renowned industrial designer Marc Newson (the guy who made those orange Samsonite bags). Guests who still have time to spare after admiring the jaw-dropping scenery are treated to fine dining, spa services and a totally pimp entertainment zone.

The Cool Hunter has more details for you.

Movie: The Science of Sleep

Half of the people who see this movie (particularly those expecting a straightforward plot or an art film with some "deep meaning") will hate it and the other half will absolutely adore it. We are totally in love with this latest from director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). The story is simple: boy (Stephane) likes girl (Stephanie). The storytelling is magically complex. The Science of Sleep follows a certain dream logic to capture the joy of uninhibited creativity and the random euphoria of romance. In the middle of this surrealist film, Stephane proclaims: "Death to organization!". If you're like us, after watching this, you'll start rooting for the random as well.

View the trailer below:

Cell Phone Txt

Hi..i bought the strawberry plush and it is sO cOol..im katrina..i hOpe u cn mail me at ****@yahoo.com..ill wait for it..mOre pOwer.! God bless.!

3D Printing

It's coming soon and we can't wait. One day, 3D printers will make it possible for everyone to manufacture stuff that they want right from their home computer.

Aahhh...we're just imagining all the things we can do for the business with this.

Read more about it from the New York Times.

Pink Advertorial (Update)

With the help of the guys at Pink, we were able to edit the text of our advertorial to something that's more straightforward and on point.

We like it more now.

Cell Phone Txt

Message: Hello,I'm Jose,a college undergraduate.I heard about d Daydreamr frm my niece.I cn draw any sorts of chracters ever since,but still all my works went unnoticed. I would like 2 share my works w/u. Pls hire me.

Reply: hi =) cld u email us some of your sample work at itscoolclub@gmail.com? we'll see if it's a good match =) also feel free to visit itscoolclub.com to get a better idea of what we're after

ICA Ball

Chiang Kai Shek Ball

De La Salle Zobel Ball

Grad Ball Tour Photos

We're gonna be posting some photos from the Pink Magazine Grad Ball Tour and the complete set can be viewed on the "Luv" section of our photo gallery.

Special thanks to Robert Duazo of ABS-CBN for taking the time to select the photos that capture us in the best light and rip them all on a CD!

Cell Phone Txt

F mrn kau events like mtngs and mre bka gusto nyo i cater ang starbucks edsa central.

Pink Magazine Advertorial (Update)

This is the ad that we came up with for Pink Magazine. They gave us a quarter page so this is actual size.

Designs by Tarn (Sugar Lullaby)

Checkout these unbearably lovable sketches from our Thai friend Tarn who runs an up-and-coming design outfit in Bangkok called Sugar Lullaby. We'll link to your site once it's done Tarn!

The two girls in cuddly animal outfits are from a previous project she did. She then morphed them into plush toy concepts. She drew the ponies just for us =)

We were actually curious about the names that are tattooed on the ponies. Here's her reply:

Alex is from "Alexandria" the name for my horse in the future haha! For Pualy...honestly, I've no idea -__-''' I've just tried to find a buddy for my Alex hahaa =)

How cute is that?!

Pink Magazine Advertorial

We're doing a small advertorial for Pink Magazine's June-July issue and we have to turn it in by this weekend. Yikes! Here's a draft of the copy we have so far:

TOP 5 REASONS TO BUY TOYS FROM US:

1. You’re buying unique toys with world-class cuteness and huggability.
2. We don’t license from cartoons so we don’t have to charge you as much as most companies who sell toys based on licensed cartoons.
3. You don’t have to give your boyfriend/girlfriend a cartoon character on your anniversary anymore.
4. Because a lot of designs are based on great sketches that you send in.
5. Since we’re a young upstart brand, our sheer survival depends on making you happy.

Eastwood City Walk 2, SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Manila, SM San Lazaro, Market! Market!, Gift Gate outlets, Toy Kingdom outlets, Rustan’s Department Stores

itscoolclub.com itscoolclub@gmail.com

Takashi Murakami's New Exhibit

One of our strongest influences, Japanese artist and pop kawaii pioneer Takashi Murakami (also known as the Andy Warhol of Japan), has a new exhibit called “Tranquillity of the Heart, Torment of the Flesh: Open Wide the Eye of the Heart and Nothing Is Invisible”.

Read more about it in this New York Times article.

Toy Kingdom Display Makeover

In the next couple of weeks, we're going to see what we can do to call some more attention to our displays in Toy Kingdom. We'll be bringing in our own modules for some stores and we'll try to "dress-up" other existing modules.

Now in Rustan's

We are officially part of the Rustan's department store toy section. Look for us inside their Makati, Shangri-La, Alabang Town Center, Gateway and Robinson's Place Manila branches.

We'll also be refining the displays a little bit to make it more Rustan's-worthy in the weeks to come.

Cell Phone Txts

Message: is diz, "its cool"?..

Reply: yes, how may we help u? =)

Message: ,uhhm.. dO u hAve any stAff toy dEr dAt have its pArtner,?

Reply: we hav a black/red devil, blue/brown sleepy dog, black/white siamese, & boy/girl turtle =)

Message: ,my gf alreAdy hAve dA dEviLs, is dAt aLl? hOw big is dA sleepy dog,? nd whEre is ur stOre lOcAtd,? my gf alwyz gOes tO ur stOre nd buy stAff tOys...

Reply: haha wow. we're in love wth your gf as well =) th dog's arnd 5-6 inches. we do hav new items cming within th nxt 2 weeks =)

Message: ,ahH.. Okz.. iLl be seeing ur stOre sOon.. my gf lOves dA quAlity nd designs Of ur stAfftoys, maybe ill buy her Somethng frOm ur shOp..

Reply: goodluck gift hunting!

Magazine Cell Phone Txts

Candy Magazine: Hi! Im a S2dent writer of CandyMag =) i rili luv ur toys,&naicp ko il add 'its cool' in our hotspots section =) i got info&pix fr ur syt =) wil dt b ok?=)

us: haha of course! that's fantastic =) thanks for thinking of us =) jst let us knw if u need anythng and when we shld buy a copy haha

Candy: Hehe sure!3months b4 ang pggwa ng isue,so bka mga july or august pa =) il tx nlng ule. =) anyway,ilang yrs na at wer 1st shop nio? =) i rili luv d toys.pgndadaanan ko s malls ngsstopovr ako to oogle on them--rili cute!Haha!

us: wow.we hope all our customers are like u! haha =) we started october 2005,but it's actually only this year that we're concentrating on th toys so expect more improvements in th future =) we opend 3 stores at th same time to start actually (that was traumatic! haha): megamall, san lazaro & market!market!

Candy: Hehe =) goOdluk wd d busines! Il txt wen d isue coms out na..Tnx agen and God bles! =)

us: tnx! take care =)

Cell Phone Txts

Message: Ei zup =) am i txtn jason or queen? =) wel i bot sum aditional stuftoys frm ur stall n gave it to 2 of my cuzins they askd how much it costs wen i sed d price they said it kinda expensive coz i bought d lil ones n it costs 200bux they said it wud be nicer if u guys cud lower d prices =) wel, i'm jst sharing sum views =)

Reply: hey, tnx for th feedback! actually, we did lower the price to Php160 back in november of last year but found that we cldnt survive at that level wthout sacrificing quality. sadly, we had to put th price back to 200, but we've also been trying our best to add value to the price by including free gift bags, tags & stickers wth every purchase. we're not sure if that's enough though & we'd love to hear other suggestions =)

Cell Phone Txts

Message: Hi =) gud aftrnun =) i just bought one of ur stuf toys and theyre so cute =) i bought one coz its for a present. Well keep up d cute work! =)

Reply: awww...tnx! =) do check us out at itscoolclub.com and let us knw if we're keeping it cute enough haha

Message: Ei sure =) so may i knw hus behind d cute works? =) They r cute enaf i assure u =)

Reply: well, this is a company line so the one who replies may change frm time to time haha but mostly it's queen & jason =)

Message: Oh so i am txtin queen right nw or jason? wel i jst wnt u 2 knw guys dat i am stisfied wid ur cute wrks =) il buy agen 4 my cuzns who r sick. it myt cheer them up =)

Reply: it's queen ryt now =) hope your cousins get well soon (regardless of purchase)! and let us knw whenevr you're not satisfied so we can make it right =)

Message: Sure queen u bet =) wel i know ur bz n im sori if i disturbd u or anythn =) take care queen and more power 2 u guys =) i knw u have a lot of custmrs bt save my number =) u myt nid it sumtym =)

Reply: definitely =) take care!

MYKITA

MYKITA is the coolest eyewear shop we've ever seen. If only we had the budget to build something like this. Look at how clean and white =)

Kudos to Cool Hunter for the photo and the spotting.

Cell Phone Txts

Message: Do u hav a "sheep" stuffed doll available in your store in mall of asia? Thank you!

Reply: oh, not yet =( but we are developing one right now

Message: Ok. I'm interestd only with a small doll coz my daughtr keeps a "small" doll house only. She wants a sheep doll,like "Shaun the Sheep" on Disney channel (mon-thurs,7pm). We bought a blue dog doll in ur store in MOA last saturday,for P200,that big only sana

Reply: i see =) we'll keep that in mind. tnx so much for th feedback! we hope to offer more products worthy of the dollhouse in th future =)

Message: Tnx. Maybe u can chk out d tv show later @ disney ch.. (",)

Reply: haha yes, we can watch "work-related" television =) that wld be nice =)