Knock Knock's Blog, page 11

Back to Organization

Grab a one-way ticket to organization nation with these cheeky gift ideas.

WTF Am I Doing? Pad ($7.00)
What To Eat Pad ($7.00)
Today’s Plan of Attack Great Big Sticky Notes ($6.00)
ASAP Sticky Notes ($3.99)
Honest Acronym File Folders ($9.00)

More back-to-school picks here.

LICK Featured in The Times Magazine

The Times Magazine in the UK featured LICK by internationally recognized animal photographer Ty Foster! The original portrait series became a viral sensation and is now Knock Knock’s first-ever photography book, chock-full of 90 sweet and slobbery dogs caught mid-lick. Check out the feature here.

For more info on Ty Foster, visit TyFoster.com and click here for an exclusive preview inside LICK.

Don’t forget to sign up for our  newsletter  and check our  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Pinterest , and  Instagram  pages to see what we’ve got going on in 2015.

Enter our “Back to Cool” Giveaway: $800 worth of stuff!

We’ve teamed up with two awesome brands, White Plum and Dana’s Bakery, for the ultimate “Back to Cool” Giveaway. The prize? $800 worth of goodies!

The Grand Prize winner will get a handful of back-to-school essentials, including:

A 16 GB iPad Mini
3-Month subscription to Dana’s Bakery Macaron of the Month Club
$100 to spend at Knock Knock
$250 to spend at White Plum

How to enter: 1. Go to the official giveaway page. 2. Submit your email address to subscribe to Knock Knock (we know some of you already do—kudos!), White Plum, and Dana’s Bakery.

The giveaway ends Friday, August 21 at 5 p.m. PST!

About the brands:

White Plum is a women’s fashion and lifestyle brand based in Northern California. Their hope is to help women present themselves to the world in a manner that is stylish, sophisticated, and approachable.

Dana’s Bakery brings you a unique experience by revolutionizing the traditional French macaron with an authentic American twist.  Life should be exciting and so should your dessert!

We can all agree that entering this giveaway beats doing homework. Good luck!

Meet Rinee Shah!

Do you share silly phrases with friends and family? Words that are so goofy and specific that it’s like you have your own unusual language? Well, it turns out that isn’t unusual at all! Illustrator and art director Rinee Shah created The Made-Up Words Project based on her popular project and website of the same name. It’s a collection of 100 unique and silly phrases crowd-sourced from real families around the globe—like sticking your cold feet under someone’s butt on the couch (“nurdeling”).

Shah hails from the vibrant city of San Francisco and earned her degree in Media Arts from the University of California, San Diego. Her animation work has played in film festivals around the country and has been prominently featured on Pitchfork, Stereogum and Fader Magazine (see list here), while The Made-Up Words Project garnered press attention from Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Mashable, and Flavorwire.

Read more about Rinee—including how she came up with The Made-Up Words Project, her hobbies, and a certain need-to-know factoid—in this Q&A!

1. What are a few made-up words you have with your own family or friends? What are their meanings? This is a surprisingly tricky question for me. I know my family had quite a few growing up but the only one I can distinctly remember is “oingo boingo.” We always used that term for when you’re eating something really cheesy and there’s one small string of cheese that stretches out.

“Oingo boingo” is a term Rinee and her family use to describe the stringy piece of melted cheese that stretches out when you take a bite of pizza. There’s an oingo boingo hanging from your beard again, Dad.

2. Where do you find inspiration for your own creative projects? Everywhere, really! Film and television are a pretty big influence, as well as certain fiction books that embrace a bit of mystical realism (the first one that comes to mind is Karen Russell’s Swamplandia.) Design blogs (FFFFOUND, The Fox is Black, Designspiration) and Pinterest also help with finding inspiration for type design and illustration.

3. How did you get into animation? What’s your favorite animation project that you’ve worked on? Tell us about it. My first job in San Francisco was at a post-production house that specialized in animation and commercial editing. They needed someone who could animate, so I had to learn on the job.

Rinee’s animations for artist Benoit Pioulard’s music video, “A Woolgathering Exodus.”

What I love most about animation is that the medium gives you so much freedom as a storyteller. That freedom really came into play when working on my favorite animation project—a music video for Benoit Pioulard’s “Woolgathering Exodus.” It was one of those songs I had listened to on repeat for weeks so it was really fun to create something for it.

4. Do you have any hobbies outside of designing, illustrating and art directing? Drinking coffee, watching movies, and walking around the city while listening to music/podcasts.

5. What is one random fact about you that no one necessarily knows? Close friends and colleagues know this about me, but a lot of people are surprised to find out that I’m a triplet.

6. You mention in your bio that you came up with idea for The Made-Up Words Project while watching “The West Wing.” Can you let us know what exactly happened? Last January, it was cold and miserable out. I decided to marathon The West Wing on Netflix, since I had never seen it. I can’t remember the exact episode, but everyone is at lunch and Rob Lowe’s character says a word and just gets puzzled looks from everyone else. He pauses and says that he JUST realized that it must be a word that his mother made-up. As I was watching that, I thought that exact experience must happen to people all the time and it got me thinking about starting a project that involved that.

7. You’ve created awesome music videos. What music artists, bands, or songs are you listening to nonstop right now? I’ve been listening to Leon Bridges and Father John Misty a lot lately. On a related note, I closely associate the band Sylvan Esso with The Made-Up Words Project. Their album was my non-stop soundtrack when I was working on the book.

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso—an American indie pop duo based in Durham, North Carolina.

8. If you could cook dinner for any fictional or non-fictional character, who would it be and why? What would you cook? First off, I’m a terrible cook so I hope everyone is okay with peanut butter sandwiches. I’m a big Seinfeld fan so I’d have to say Elaine Benes.

9. What’s your favorite Knock Knock product and why (not counting Made-Up Words)? I absolutely love Cheerful in 100 Days. The illustrations are just so good and the sense of humor is unexpected and quirky.

10. Any advice for aspiring creatives, animators, and illustrators out there? Make work that you think is funny and interesting and chances are it will resonate with ­other people too.

11. What are 5 things on your bucket list right now? (I could only think of 3!)

Go to Iceland and see the Northern Lights
Learn to cook (can’t live off peanut butter sandwiches forever!)
Learn at least one other language

For more info on Rinee and her projects, check out her website , “follow” her on Twitter , and browse Seinfood —her illustration series about the food of Seinfeld.

Write a Review and You Could Win a $100 Knock Knock Spree!

Have a favorite Knock Knock item? Gush about it in our Word Up! Giveaway and you could win a $100 Knock Knock shopping spree!

How to Enter: Write a review for your favorite item in the Word Up! Giveaway section of the site—up to 10 reviews. Each review will count as one entry. Check out Official Rules here.

 

Meet Annemarieke Piers and Claudette Halkes!

Introducing Annemarieke Piers (left above) and Claudette Halkes (right above)—the dynamic duo behind Snor Publishing House! In case you were wondering, “snor” in Dutch translates to “mustache” in English. Based in Utrecht, Netherlands, they’ve published about 50 titles in seven languages, some of them being memorable Knock Knock titles: 99 Pick-Me-Ups For New Mamas, Little Philosophers, Big Questions, Pregnancy Book for Men, In the Backseat: An On-the-Road Vacation Fun Book, Vouchers for Women, Dear Mom Activity Book, Dear Dad Activity Book, and Cheerful in 100 Days.

Having written books for other publishers in the past, Annemarieke’s and Claudette’s first book was about cleaning and was a huge success in the Netherlands. They continued to make more books and had the idea for a handcrafting book (on sewing, cross-stitching, etc.), but unfortunately, no publisher was interested at the time (bet they’re kicking themselves in the head now!). They decided to take matters into their own hands and Snor was born! Nowadays they crank out 15-18 books a year with just a team of six people. Impressive!

They recently won the Gourmand Cookbook Awards in China for “The Best BBQ Book in the World 2014” for their title, On Fire! The Big BBQ Book for Women, by author Charlotte Fielmich.

(Left to right) Annemarieke, Charlotte, and Claudette celebrating their award for the 2014 Best BBQ Book in the World with a glass of wine.

Given their success and our collaborations, we knew we had to learn more about Annemarieke and Claudette. Check out the Q&A below!

1. As a pair who runs a publishing house, what’s a typical day like for you? We start with coffee and a lot of talking. Then we answer e-mails, get more coffee and, in between, we talk a little bit more and by then it’s lunchtime. We always make a big deal about that—an enormous salad with salmon, spices, tomatoes, beans, and so on. Good ideas come in healthy bodies. Most of the time Claudette’s cell phone will ring a couple of times and, in between, we try to think of some marketing ideas, great ideas for new books, and answer more e-mails. We also have a meeting with someone about something.

A little peek inside the Snor Publishing House office.

2. Where do you find creative inspiration for your books? We have no idea. We don’t do anything special to get inspired. Of course, we spend a lot of time on Pinterest, read magazines, and visit museums.

Just some of the many books published by Snor. (We spy the “Pregnancy Book for Men” in the far right!)

3. Your team strives to incorporate creativity and fun into your work and everyday life. What kind of relaxation tips do you have for de-stressing? Running and meditation, but more often you can find us drinking and enjoying the good life.

(Left to right) Annemarieke, Charlotte, and Claudette taking in the amazing sights in Shanghai, China, before going to Yantai, where the ceremony was held for the Gourmand Cookbook Awards.

4. What advice did you wish someone gave you when you became a parent? Get some sleep.

5. What’s a funny memory you’ve had so far as moms?

A: We have a lot of funny memories—like when my sons put black paint on the walls because they saw a movie where the main character did that as well. Or when they fell in love with a frog, called him “Frog Bob,” and took him inside the house like a real pet.

C: When my son (9 years old back then) got me a surprise: he mail-ordered some free mummy stuff (incontinency slips), or when my daughter put makeup on herself and her friend with permanent markers.

6. Hobbies outside of work?

A: I like to read home-and-garden-type magazines, rearrange the house, and buy flowers. I like gardening and really like to draw. Right now I’m into making art journals with my daughter.

C: I like to read and cook, and sit in the sun and watch my husband garden. I also love to buy flowers, especially on Saturday at the flower market in Utrecht.

7. What is one random fact about you that no one necessarily knows?

A: I have the ugliest feet in the world.

C: I (used to) play clarinet.

8. What’s your favorite Knock Knock product and why? The Someday Mini Sticky Set! We are trying to get things even more organized over here, and this mini sticky set would help us a lot!

9. What are 5 things on your bucket list right now? To answer your questions, get some coffee, and enjoy the sun.

Claudette Halkes (left) and Annemarieke Piers (right).

Snor Publishing House will be having its second annual Snor Festival on September 20, 2015. Located in a campsite near Utrecht, Netherlands, Snor Festival will have fun, creative workshops, food, music, and a book launch. If you’ll be in their neck of the woods come September, tickets can be bought here and check out their video showcasing last year’s first Snor Festival here.

The first Snor Festival was held last year and was a great success—expecting only 300 attendees, but had 1,200!

For more information on Snor Publishing House, visit their website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Who Won Our LICK Giveaway?

Congratulations to the winners of our LICK Giveaway and a huge thanks to everyone who participated!

The 10 lucky winners are:

Colie G.
Harley C.
Jessie W.
Amanda S.
Susan
Maria P.
Jessica G.
Elisabeth B.
Courtney A.
Meghan S.

Don’t forget to sign up for our  newsletter  and check our  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Pinterest , and  Instagram  pages to see what we’ve got going on in 2015.

A Tribute to Marriage Equality

Our Head Honcho, Jen, was so moved by today’s Supreme Court vindication of gay marriage that she immediately had to give it the Knock Knock treatment. To paraphrase Justice Anthony Kennedy’s closing paragraph in the majority statement, “Everybody—even gay people—deserves multiple-choice.”

Who Won Our “Calm the F*ck Down” Father’s Day Giveaway?

Thanks to everyone who entered our Calm the F*ck Down Father’s Day Giveaway! Oh my do you all have some fun “CTFD” moments (read them all in the comments section of our initial giveaway post). Congratulations to our winner, Lydia B.!

Sign up for our  newsletter  and follow our  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Pinterest , and  Instagram  pages to be the first to know about future Knock Knock giveaways!

What Does It Mean To Be A Dad?

Father’s Day is this Sunday, June 21! To celebrate, check out this special video of David Vienna, parenting blogger and author of Calm the F*ck Down: The Only Parenting Technique You’ll Ever Need, discussing what it means to be a dad with his twin boys, Wyatt and Boone. From food and family to awful smells, these kids sure know a thing or two about fatherhood!

Follow David on Twitter at @thedaddycomplex (named a “Beast Best” by The Daily Beast) and @davidvienna. You can also keep track of The Daddy Complex on Facebook and Instagram.

For other viral posts by David, check out How To Hang Out with Your Friends & Their Baby and his post Self Defense Against Misinformed Parenting Advice for HowtoBeaDad.com.

For fun and witty Father’s Day gift ideas, click here. And don’t forget to enter our Calm the F*ck Down Father’s Day Giveaway here.