CritBuns Daily News

CritBuns in Fortune Magazine

2009-06-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

An excellent article in Fortune Magazine about inventors, product development, and the Billy Mays phenomenon.

Order fulfillment services

2008-12-17T01:17:00.000-08:00

Are you a business owner, entrepreneur, designer, or artist selling a product? After a great deal of research, I have selected a new order fulfillment house and highly recommend them for handling web and wholesale orders. They have excellent customer service and years of experience shipping products. If you're interested to learn more, drop me a note: design@critbuns.com

Designboom coverage!

2008-12-13T01:12:00.000-08:00

Based in Milan, Designboom is a design mega-site run by some fantastic folks. Thanks guys!

Core77 coverage!

2008-12-10T01:05:00.000-08:00

Writer Carl Alviani had some words about CritBuns today on Core77. Ecosystem of cruelty or pleasure? You know some people actually enjoy pulling all-nighters. Thanks Carl and Allan!

Read the post.

Swissmiss covers CritBuns!

2008-12-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

If you don't know this blog, you should. It's called Swissmiss, and it's full of daily design inspiration.

Thanks for the coverage, Tina!

http://swissmiss.typepad.com/weblog/2008/12/critbuns-are-ba.html

They're back! Or rather, they're bottom!

2008-12-09T06:30:00.000-08:00

CritBuns were last seen in Sydney at the Designboom gift mart in August. They went on a break as we searched for a new manufacturing partner. The search is over - I am proud to introduce CritBuns 2.0. These are the softest buns we've ever produced. They retain their lightweight attribute, and portable handle, along with rich color and smooth, baby-butt finish. They're even better for hard, uncomfortable surfaces like office chairs, stadium seating, and yoga (yes, during meditation).

Thanks for your patience while they went on hold, and I look forward to shipping you a pair.

They are available in blue through the holiday season. You can order online.

Obama O's & Cap'n McCains

2008-10-29T01:23:00.000-07:00

The breakfast of change! www.obamaos.com

A maverick in every bite! www.capnmccains.com

A happy boyfriend

2008-10-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

CritBuns down under!

2008-08-04T01:59:00.000-07:00

It's that time. CritBuns is headed to a new continent. I've been selected to participate in DesignBoom's gift mart located at the International Sydney Design Festival 2008. I'm thrilled to be a part of another DB event, and look forward to meeting some design savvy Aussies! I'll also be retailing a limited number of Untitled books, my latest collaboration with CITIZEN:citizen.

How Art School Reveals Human Nature

2008-06-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

The Huffington Post ran an article on art schools, and the personas that come from them. There is some truth to how an artist wants to embody the lifestyle, clothing, and attitude of an "artist". You can stereotype each major (Architecture, Painting, Jewelry, Fashion, Graphic Design) by personalities and behaviors. Line up bunch of art students and their clothing, body language, tattoos/piercings (or lack of), and even body language can say what creative camp they reside in. I disagree, however, that art students inherently look down upon other majors. The smart students recognize the different perspective another design discipline can bring to the table. The smart student will take advantage of the access to a wide range talent only a short reach away. Chances are in the real world, you may very well have to collaborate with another creative in a different department to realize your project. But they'll be much harder to find. If you create the habit of resenting other majors in college, there's a very good chance you'll do that after you graduate. And that, to me, is a recipe for failure.

Read the short article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-roberts/how-art-school-reveals-hu_b_110097.html

CritBuns in USA Today

2008-04-07T23:13:00.000-07:00

I completed an interview with USA Today recently about the CritBuns story. They spoke with other small business owners about doing business on a global level. It's a great read overall, and certainly useful as case studies for anyone looking to go international with their small business. My best advice? Get your web presence up on day one.

Here's the complete article.

Here's the part about CritBuns:

A young online designer. Joe Gebbia, a 26-year-old entrepreneur and designer in San Francisco, credits sore backsides for helping him to create CritBuns (www.CritBuns.com), an online maker of colorful foam seat cushions.

As a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Gebbia noticed that classmates were uncomfortable sitting on hard chairs and floors during day-long critiques of their work by professors. He designed the fashionable cushions and plunged full time into his new business after graduation.

Scores of skeptical retailers rejected his cushions, until Gebbia finally sold 200 units to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Last year, Gebbia launched his website, and the cushions were featured at a Tokyo design show and in I.D., a design magazine.

Demand for the cushions took off. Now, 25% of his sales are to customers in Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan and other countries and regions. He also plans to market the cushions as "Sports Buns" to professional and school athletic events in the USA and abroad.

"I hadn't anticipated international sales at all," Gebbia says, "but people found the website, and I started getting orders from all over the world."

CritBuns.com ranked in the top 5%

2008-02-20T03:31:00.000-08:00

Wow. Now this is cool. There's this web site called CommandShift3 (named after the keyboard command for taking a screenshot) that pairs two web sites against each other, and users click on the one they think is 'hot'. I entered CritBuns.com back in December 2007 and the stats are quite impressive: "Top 5% of sites (460 of 9924)"

Boo yah!

See the listing, browse other sites, or enter your own site.

CritBuns.com design gets noticed (again)

2008-02-20T03:14:00.000-08:00

Another gallery of web sites picked up CritBuns.com. This time is across the pond in the UK, as seen on Design Shack.

They also allow voting.

CritBuns featured in Craft - Volume 4

2007-12-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.craftzine-digital.com

Chicago Tribune

2007-12-13T12:31:00.000-08:00

Guide to quirky creative gifts

"Nothing ruins a day at the office or football field more than a sore bottom from prolonged sitting. Made of cushy foam, this colorful, indoor/outdoor seat cushion"

CritBuns.com gets noticed

2007-12-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

CritBuns.com featured on CSS Heroes - a site that catalogs beautiful web sites! Major props to Horace Ko who helped implement the vision for CritBuns' presence on the web.

CSS Heroes allows fans to rate the design. Cast your vote for CritBuns here.

CritBuns featured NOTCOT Holiday Gift Guide

2007-11-24T02:10:00.000-08:00

As a avid reader of design and culture blog NOTCOT, I was thrilled to discover they selected CritBuns for their 2007 Gift Guide! Check out the buns, and all the hard work they've put into curating a collection of some really unique gifts. Each day will have a new addition to the gift guide, an entire page in fact, so check daily. With 28 more days to go, you're bound to find the right present for that certain someone. Thanks, NOTCOT!

Tokyo, we love you too

2007-11-14T00:27:00.000-08:00

The results are in - Japanese have an affinity for soft curvy seat cushions. At least the ones who showed up at the 100% Design Tokyo Designboom gift mart. I went with a full box of 42 CritBuns, and after 5 days at the show, left empty handed (thanks for translating, Min). More Tokyo pics posted in the photo gallery.

Read the Core77 event coverage here.

Pecha Kucha, round 2

2007-11-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

When Pecha Kucha asked me to come speak at November's event, I could hardly pass up the opportunity. This month's volume was sponsored by Oracle, and tied in with the massive Oracle conference taking place in San Francisco. Held for the first time at the Yerba Buena performance center, presenters had one heck of a set-up: a stage, giant projection screen, wireless mic, catered food, cash bar...and over 500 people in the audience!

Rather than repeat the entire CritBuns story from February, I did a product medley consisting of four short stories about four current entrepreneurial ventures: CritBuns, Ecolect, "Untitled" (coming soon from Citizen-Citizen), and Air Bed & Breakfast.

User Image: The Breakfast Nook

2007-11-04T02:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks for sending in the photo, Angela S.!

Do you have an image? Mail to design@critbuns.com.

New Store: Chronicle Books

2007-11-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is a big year for Chronicle Books, the well known San Francisco based book publisher. They celebrated their 40th anniversary, moved into new headquarters, opened their first free standing gift store under the Chronicle name. Located on Union Street near the Marina neighborhood, Chronicle's retail approach looks to compliment their books with unique gift products; so CritBuns feels right at home. Glad to have you on board too, Chronicle.

Read their blog for more on the store launch, here.

New Store: MoMA NYC

2007-10-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

After two very long years of not-giving-up, the folks at the MoMA Store agreed: CritBuns is made for their audience. Coming to the New York City location on 53rd Street, the MoMA will be retailing an exclusive blue colored CritBuns for the 2007 holiday season. Availabile on their website, or take a visit to their store in New York.

100% Design Tokyo

2007-09-12T10:06:00.001-07:00

I'm not exactly sure what happens when you mix a design crazed country with CritBuns, but we're about to find out. I'll be exhibiting with 25 other entrepreneurial designers from around the world at the designboom giftmart from October 31–November 4 at 100% Design Tokyo. A limited number of CritBuns will be available for purchase, orders will be placed, test chairs used. Come say hello.

Chronicle Books goes buns

2007-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 10, 2007 - San Francisco, CA: Award winning publisher Chronicle Books has outfitted their new building with Lime Green CritBuns. The move aims to bring comfort and more productive critiques for the design department. The location at 680 Second Street is Chronicle's newly renovated headquarters. CritBuns will compliment the brand new Knoll furniture throughout the building.

"Bringing in CritBuns just made sense," said inventor Joe Gebbia. "It's an innovative product for an innovative company."

In only one month of use, the design teams have reported that crits improved over 700% while sitting on CritBuns.

Submitted CritQuote

2007-08-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

"You're exceptionally attractive, so I'm going to talk some bullshit about how wonderful your creative vision is, but will fail to mention that you completely ripped off everything you saw in the Tate Modern on your semester abroad in London. Please don't read between the lines, but your art sucks - you'll still probably go far."

Submitted by Josh M. at Skidmore College.

Read them all and submit yours here!

User Image: Movie Night

2007-07-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Long lasting cheek-to-cheek action. Thanks Jane L.!

Send your action shot to design@critbuns.com

As seen on Screenfluent

2007-07-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

We spent a lot of hours making CritBuns.com look just right. Each menu label was created by hand, photographed, photoshopped, then CSS'd together to create a unique site for a unique product. People are starting to notice the hard work. A web site dedicated to cataloging attractively designed web sites has added critbuns.com into their gallery. Congrats, Horace!

See Screenfluent for CritBuns and examples other design driven web sites.

'iFoam' big hit for iPhone fans long wait

2007-06-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

iDay has finally arrived- Friday, June 29, 2007. Here in San Francisco, the line outside the Apple Store looped around the block. A couple of brave souls towards the front settled in Wednesday night. By early this morning the line had grown a few hundred deep. I biked over to check out the scene and couldn't help but notice the sheer number of people sitting uncomfortably on the sidewalk - no chairs, no seat cushion, not even a towel. And there were 10 hours left to go! Some were going across the street to Walgreen's to buy folding chairs. There must be something better than a gigantic folding chair, I thought. Something lightweight, weatherproof, and easy to clean.

You can see where this is going.

I raced home, collected 20 CritBuns (all could carry), and proceeded back to the Apple Store. I spent the next 5 hours walking the lines at the Apple Store on Stockton St., and two AT&T Stores on Market St., offering Apple fans the 'iFoam' discount. By 3pm, I was down to one pair left, and joined some my friends in line (#62). The insanity climaxed at 6pm when the doors opened. The sheer amount of people, media, celebrities led me to believe this was what my parents experienced going to a Beatles concert.

In the end, CritBuns saved the day for 19 lucky buns, and helped pay for a new iPhone to boot.

Submitted CritCode

2007-05-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Rectilinear

Submitted by Patt W. at GSU.

From wikipedia:

A rectilinear polygon is a polygon all of whose edges meet at right angles. Thus the interior angle at each vertex is either 90° or 270°. Rectilinear polygons are a special case of isothetic polygons.

Read all the CritCode submissions.

User Image: CritBuns & farm life

2007-05-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

From the art studio to the farm, a little bun for everyone. Thanks for the pic, Jessamee S.!

Send an image of your buns in use to design@critbuns.com

IDSA + the CritBuns Story

2007-03-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

The story behind CritBuns can never be told enough. The IDSA (Industrial Designer's Society of America) thought so too, and invited me to speak at their 2007 MidEast conference in Cincinnati, OH. The conference was held at the University of Cincinnati's infamous DAAP building, designed by Peter Eisenman. The event catered to students and professionals in and around the Ohio region, and featured speakers from all over the country. Themed with "Big Brands, Big Ideas", I kicked off the festivities with a little brand and big idea - the notion of an independent designer taking their idea to market, and the role of the story in that process. I shared observations and insights acquired over the last 7 years, from prototyping to toolmaking, salesmanship to contracts, focusing on using your product's story to gain brand awareness.

Pecha Kucha talk

2007-03-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

20 slides x 20 seconds. This is the format of Pecha Kucha, an informal gathering in San Francisco and other major cities around the world that bring together people making stuff happen, who want to talk about it. I presented in the second half of the evening, to a crowd of over 200 people packed tightly into 330 Ritch Street. CritBuns ruled the floor! The well prepared presentation (days of planning) ran like a well oiled machine, flowing from one slide to the next, hitting punchlines square in the jaw. The story was an animal, and I was its tamer.

AIGA Auction

2007-02-28T15:54:00.000-08:00

We've donated a pair of CritBuns to be part of the San Francisco AIGA Chapter's Heart Throb auction. Proceeds to support Joey's Corner - a non-profit design consultancy. The lucky winner was a gentleman from Protero Hill, CA, and lived a lime green house. Fitting.

Zinc Details Holiday Party

2006-12-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

Give the gift of buns this holiday season. The well known San Francico design store, Zinc Details, will be hosting a holiday party at its 2410 California Street location. I will be on hand with a selection of CritBuns, demo chair, and limited edition booklets.

RISD Alumni Sale

2006-10-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

Another October, and another Alumni Sale. It was crisp air, and crisp sales - CritBuns sold out of stock at the Rhode Island School of Design's 2006 Fall Alumni Sale. A sea of people were initiated to the curvy cushion, and I witnessed again the power of the story; customers would literally turn around and repeat it to the next person in line. This year's most requested color? Purple.