PaperlessPost.com x CH Special Offer

by Evan Orensten

Started by brother and sister duo Alexa and James Hirschfeld, the two set out to create a new online service that has made online invitations better through design. PaperlessPost offers a well designed experience to create and manage tastefully designed invitations, including RSVPs and ticketing. Recipients get an envelope in their email that opens when clicked on, unveiling the invitation.

While not quite the same rush you get from opening a printed invitation, it's an improvement over the current click-to-disappointment of most digital invitations. The service costs a few cents per invitation, managed by buying books of "stamps," starting with 60 stamps (for 60 invitations) for only $5—which they remind you is more than $25 in actual postage.

PaperlessPost is still in limited beta, but Cool Hunting readers can both sign up now and start with a credit of 25 stamps for free (but you have to do so before 19 May 2009).

We sat down with Alexa and James and asked them a few questions about their new website (click on images for an enlarged view).

Cool Hunting: I'm sure you and your brother had a lot of ideas when you started thinking about a company to start together. Why Paperless Post? Was there an "a ha" moment?
Paperless Post: There were a collection of "a ha" moments that lead to Paperless Post. Over the years there were a lot of things we started working on together (like a woefully unfinished screenplay), but this was the most exciting. The idea for Paperless Post was to take the customization and thoughtfulness of printed stationery, which most people only use once or twice in their lives for very special occasions, and make it available widely. We were inspired by the idea of beauty and good design being available to, hopefully, a massive audience.

CH: What's it like working together? How do you divide/share responsibilities?
PP: It's hard to imagine starting something with anyone else. Arguments happen, but they are great because they always lead to new insights. James directs the content (cards, motifs, fonts, overall aesthetics) and Alexa directs the user interface. We share the responsibility of directing Paperless Post's future and making the critical decisions that any business faces.

CH: Many other sites have the same or nearly the same functionality—but good design and experience can make the same product seem entirely new. What role has design played in the development of Paperless Post?
PP: Good design is the operating principle of almost everything we do. In many ways it drives not only our product line but also the technology. We could never compromise on design, so we've ended up finding and partnering with talented developers and business people who can bend and innovate to fit the needs of the product.

As for the aesthetic, we hope the look of the product is fun and original. A lot of the designs are reflective of our own taste and personalities—a mix of modern and classic. We are making room for more irreverence, but we started out with the basics—beautiful cards, motifs, and fonts that people have never been able to experience online.

CH: Digital invitations are easier, faster, less expensive and obviously great for the environment. When do you think printed invitations are called for?
PP: We're seeing many users use Paperless Post for weddings and surrounding events, so we don't really know anymore!

CH: You're just getting started with the site and obviously it will evolve over time. What are some of the things you're looking forward to doing with it? Will people be able to upload a photo or a logo for their invites?
PP: You guys are good at this…there will be a few surprises in the coming months (people should sign up now!). Logos are our next feature, because we've found that our users are really excited by that. At this point we have a core group of dedicated early adopters that we communicate with closely and they have helped us pave our way. Photos should come around the end of the year. At this moment in time, we're really focused on being the best possible application for creating customized online stationery (invitations and announcements).

CH: What's the most interesting thing you've learned about starting Paperless Post?
PP: Execution is more important than an idea.

The Con Film Festival

by Ami Kealoha

by Tisha Leung

"The Con Film Festival," a two-week, twenty-one film series of prison movies, spotlighting cons, ex-cons and other incarcerated outcasts, runs at Film Forum through Thursday, 21 May 2009.

Featuring a special appearance by Dawson Brown, Acting Superintendent of Sing Sing Correctional Facility, he'll introduce tomorrow's 6:15pm show of "20,000 Years In Sing Sing" (1933). Following the screening, a Q and A session with the Sing Sing staff including Assistant Deputy Superintendent Dr. Lesley Malin, Corrections Captain Ron Brereton, Brant Kehn, Retired former First Deputy Superintendent, and Dennis Crowley, Supervising Superintendent of all of NYC’s area facilities, will take place.

Based on the best-selling book by Warden Lewis E. Lawes, the title refers to the accumulated sentences since the prison’s founding in 1828. (Still pictured above left.) Starring Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis, Tracy plays a gangster sentenced to the legendary penitentiary in Ossining, New York who does the time for the murder Davis committed in self defense. The 35mm archival print from the original camera negative is courtesy of the Library of Congress.

While there are no online ticket sales for this special screening, tickets will be available at the box office the day of the show.

Go to the Film Forum site for a complete Con Film Festival schedule. Other classic con films featured during include "Ladies of the Big House" (1931), "Les Miserables" (1935), "Cool Hand Luke" (1967), "Escape From Alcatraz" (1979) and "O Brother, Where Art Thou" (2000). It's a killer line-up—pun intended.

Ultra Motor A2B Electric Bicycle

by Doug Black

For aspiring environmentalists not sold on the whole physical fitness thing (or who just want a little more speed), there's hope yet. Developed by Ultra Motor (the San Francisco-based supplier of Light Electric Vehicles) the A2B is a zero-emission bicycle powered by a 500-watt electric motor.

Built around a lightweight, fully suspended aluminum frame, the ASB can be pedaled like the average bicycle. But when you're tired of the strain (20-inch wheels will add to that a bit), kick on the on-demand electric motor and effortlessly cruise around at a brisk 20 mph for up to 20 miles (depending on the terrain and, er, rider's heft). After three and a half hours plugged in, it's good to go again. An optional upgrade doubles ride time with an additional lithium ion battery (pictured above) to reach 40 miles. Several accessories, including a basket, also make the scooter-bike all the more useful.

Function aside, one of the key draws is the robust little profile of the vehicle, a design that comes thanks to Norbert Haller, co-founder of the Berlin firm Craftsmen and known for his work on transportation.

This eco-friendly ride doesn't come cheap, though. The base-level A2B is available at many retailers for $2700. But nobody ever said environmentalism would be cheap.

Model Citizens NYC Exhibition

by CH Contributor

by Alexandra Polier

The latest satellite event to showcase clever designs like Charles Constantine's Memento coffee table/coffin (pictured at right) in competition with ICFF this weekend is Model Citizens NYC 2009, a forum for independent designers at Exit Art, just around the corner from the bigger fair's Javitz Center home.

Like the American Design Club, Model Citizens is an exhibition society with a mission of strengthening the non-corporate voices out there by bringing together a community of talented designers. Motivated by hard economic times which prevent many talented designers from exhibiting at expensive shows like the ICFF, executive director Erika Carmichael hopes the close proximity and talented crew will draw real enthusiasts as well as passersby.

The exhibition includes works by some 26 award-winning designers whose fields range from furniture and lighting to ceramics and jewelry, running the gamut from the very conceptual to very pragmatic.

Bravo’s Top Design winner, Nathan Thomas will have his furnishings on display (pictured above), as will Seattle-based Iacoli & McAllister with their colorful candlestick-inspired pedestal tables and the award-winning couple behind J. Green Designs.

Model Citizens NYC
Opening reception: 16 May 2009, 5-7pm
16-18 May 2009
Exit Art
475 10th Avenue
New York, NY 10018 map
tel. +1 212 925 2928

Photographer Alin Dragulin

by Lost At E Minor

This set of photos by Romanian-born photographer Alin Dragulin belongs to an ongoing series documenting the changes that occur when boys enter their teens. Taken in February 2008, when they were all age 11, Dragulin will shoot the next series of portraits in February 2010, when they will be thirteen years old.

Beautiful/Decay Relaunch

by Karen Day

From their start 10 years ago when they hand photocopied an all black-and-white magazine, Beautiful/Decay has come a long way. Never one to rest on old paradigms, the art-filled 'zine is reinventing themselves by narrowing down the production to 1500 limited-edition copies while simultaneously doubling the size of each issue.

The cover of the first revived issue will feature artwork by Kyle Thomas, who is personally hand-drawing every single cover, providing each copy a one-of-a-kind value. Always focused on being a resource tool for artists and designers, the distinct cover is only one reason to collect the magazine.

The 164-page expanded format version, launching 1 July 2009, will feature even greater in-depth articles and include inserts, stickers, posters and original artwork. Subscribe ($40) now to ensure you receive one of the remaining 200 copies.

Hubble Telescope Tools

by Tim Yu

The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Florida yesterday afternoon carrying a seven-member crew to tune-up the Hubble Space Telescope for the last time. Like any job, proper tools are essential for working efficiently and effectively but this takes on a whole new meaning in space. The astronauts tasked with fixing the most powerful telescope in the world will be carrying 180 special tools, 116 of them designed specifically for this mission by the Goddard Space Flight Center.

In space radiation, zero-G and extreme temperatures render the old Makita drill useless, not to mention the difficulties of operating it wearing a space suit glove. Instead, totally new designs were needed to take on the proper precautions for situations that don't exist on Earth. For this particular mission the mechanics need to open panels with 111 tiny screws to access the guts of the instrument. Losing one of these screws in the telescope could be disastrous so a special catch plate was made to catch any floaters (above middle).

The Astronauts will have to go on five spacewalks to give the telescope the proper upgrades including new batteries, gyroscopes and replacing instruments, making the Hubble more powerful than ever. If all goes well, with the help of seven brave astronauts and some special tools, we'll be able to enjoy beautiful photos and learn from the Hubble Space Telescope for five more years.

via NPR