Charles & Marie: Soupe du Jour

Hacked USB Drive

Administrator — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:00:28 +0000

There’s a million cheap – and more importantly – ugly USB drives out there. Our phone company just gave them away for free, but who wants one of those non de-script, silver and black USB drives? If you want those, check out your local dollar store, we are sure they’ll have a bunch ready and waiting there.
If you don’t want those, but are looking for something a little more unusual, try this one for size. It’s amongst the funniest thumb drives we’ve seen in a while. Just make sure your IT guys don’t toss it because they actually think it’s a torn cable, which it isn’t. It’s a fully functional 2 GB USB drive that just happens to look like a torn cable…
Funny.
Price: $50 / 40€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, laptop, memory stick, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip, USB stick

Pinky Tree

Administrator — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:00:28 +0000

Pinky Tree - Probably the world’s smallest living plant phone charm, keychain accessory, Tamagotchi, call it what you want that we ever saw. What is it? It’s a teeny weeny cactus in a teeny weeny glass jar. Sitting in real soil, with little holes in the bottom so you can water it once a month and see it grow.
Pretty hilarious was what we thought, but in fact those little guys really do grow if dealt with properly, Succulents and Cacti only need very little water and at that size they need even less. And if treated properly they can really grow up to become, well, grown up Cacti… We saw Valerie’s little friend and she had hers for a year now and is getting ready to take it out and plant it into a pot because it pretty much doesn’t fit in the little tube anymore.
Need we say more? Nah, that should suffice. Well maybe we’ll just tell you that you can’t get them anywhere else online in the US except here…
Colors: Pearlito, Pilly, Smoothy, Sphera
Price: $11 / 10€ plus shipping

accessories, Charles & Marie, flowers, Marie’s closet, plant, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip

Ming by ibride

Administrator — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:00:01 +0000

Please help; we don’t know what today’s Soupe is. No, that’s wrong, we know what it is, we just don’t know what to call it…
It’s designed by French design power house ibride (has nothing to do with iPod or such, but is pronounced more like a French ‘Hybrid’) – you might know their wonderful trays with the great prints – and is a great selection of plates and bowls and smaller bowls and more plates and it all stacks up in the shape of a ming vase.
See our problem? What do you call that?
We don’t know, but it’s probably not relevant either. It’s pretty fantastic, about 15″ (40 cm) high, hides 7 different plates and bowls, is made out of Melamine and printed with the most beautiful imagery we have seen from ibride in quite a long time!
Price: $125 / 80€

accessories, Charles & Marie, contraptions, decoration, Epicurean delight, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, tableware, vases

Desk Dots

Administrator — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:00:09 +0000

We’ll kick off our Father’s Day Gift week with one of our all time favorites: Desk Dots - Dads always need organizational assistance and these great rare earth magnets are the perfect accessory for your dad’s office…
At plain sight, it is a set of 6 shiny black metal balls each a quarter inch (7 mm) in diameter, so nothing amazing yet. But in reality, it is a set of super strong rare earth magnets (nothing rare or earthy about them unfortunately) that can be used to organize your desk in a super easy way. They can hold your images, business cards, tickets, to-do notes, lists, anything your heart desires that might clutter your desk.
And besides that they are so much fun to play around with, so don’t just get one set, but 2 or three and you will be entertained for hours and conference calls will once again be fun…
Price: $20 / 17€

accessories, Charles & Marie, design, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, stationary

Tatebanko Paper Diorama

Administrator — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:00:09 +0000

Have you heard of Tatebanko? Well, we hadn’t either and assumed it was a new eatery in our favorite city, so don’t feel bad. But to enlighten you a bit, Tatebanko is the forgotten Japanese art of creating amazing dioramas and scenic perspectives from paper. Tatebanko was popular and widely admired from the 17th century (Edo period) to the early 20th century. Then it all but disappeared.
“It’s a Beautiful Day” – Tatebanko - was now revived and reinterpreted this simple and elegant Japanese art with this paper craft kit. The kit features the works of famed Edo artist – Hokusai – The Great Wave. Beautifully designed and printed in Japan with elegant metallic accents, the kits are beautifully packaged A4 size and make a diorama that is 7 1/2″ W x 3 1/2″ D x 4 7/8″ H (19 x 9 x 13 cm). Each kit has a playful secret and interesting details that make assembly fun.
With these kits, even we can create a Tatebanko and it is hopefully enjoying a well-deserved renaissance.

Price: $10 / 8€

accessories, Charles & Marie, decoration, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour

The Sanctuary

Administrator — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:00:21 +0000

What’s The Sanctuary you ask? One of these smart cable-organizing boxes that hold all your daily stuff that is in need of charging at night. You might ask what’s so new about them; they have been around for quite a while already. That’s correct, but The Sanctuary does so much more than just hide cables. The simple and compact design conceals a universal charger compatible with over 1500 electronic devices from most major brands and a USB port allowing hundreds more electronic devices to be charged using just The Sanctuary. You can from now on charge your cell phones, PDAs, Blackberry, iPods, MP3 players and bluetooth headsets simultaneously in one location.
The Sanctuary is designed for daily use at the bedside table, kitchen counter, office desk, etc, and it truly performs its functions with ease and elegance. The Sanctuary never truly reveals its multi-purpose electronic capabilities so the user develops an emotional attachment, as it becomes personalized and integral to one’s daily routine.
Fabulous! All you need is a spot that will hold the 9″ x 9″ box (23 x 23 cm). Oh and in case you were wondering, it works with 220V and 110V…
Colors: White, Black
Price: $130 / 110€

accessories, Apple, Charles & Marie, design, hip home, iphone, ipod, laptop, Soupe du Jour

Spice Grinder

Administrator — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:00:44 +0000

By now you should know that we are all pretty avid cooks here at the C&M HQ as well, and are always looking for new accessories to enhance our experience and these little grinders are top notch!
Made out of highly durable polycarbonate, they are the perfect little accessory, to any kitchen battle. Whether you have your different peppers in there, or coarse salt, we’ve even filled it with Cumin seeds and it also works with small pieces of Nutmeg – it’s pretty genius. One swift thumb action and you are done, that’s it.
Whatever needs grinding, this does it and you’ll love it! You’ll love the looks as well, 4 great colors and easy opening mechanism and at 4″ (10 cm), the perfect size if you want to turn it into your travel companion…
Colors: Brown, Green, Orange, Red
Price: $12 / 10€

accessories, Charles & Marie, contraptions, cooking, Epicurean delight, kitchen, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour

Sheep Pillow

Administrator — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:00:43 +0000

Today’s Soupe might not be what you’d expect from us, but trust us, if you have anyone in your family or within your friends with kids, then this is the next gift you have to get. When we saw this Sheep Pillow a few months back in Frankfurt and every kid basically started drooling. Worse still, once they held it, they didn’t want to let it go anymore and it was true across the board, whether the little tots were 3 or 7, it was an absolutely brilliant sight to see!
And it makes absolute sense; it is super soft and super cute, think about it, a pillow shaped like a little lamb? Is there anything with a higher cuteness level? Well, at least not for us at the moment, and once you give it to the little ones around you, you’ll see what we mean, absolutely brilliant, like a magnet! And at 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12″) just the perfect size for the little ones!
Price: $75 / 48€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, kids, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, toys

Cardstock

Administrator — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:00:30 +0000

Are you organized? Honestly, do you have a card ready for every occasion that life throws at you? Granted, there are some that you should be prepared for, because the date hasn’t changed in thousands of years. But when it comes to all the other locations, many of us simply aren’t prepared!
So we see it with utmost delight that for all of those out there who are remotely like we are, we now have a solution. Today’s Soupe takes care of a lot of those – damn I don’t have a card – moments, it is a set of 40 cards for most occasions you can think of and to satisfy any dyslexic moments we might have, it even comes with 42 matching envelopes… We like that, because now we are prepared for 6 birthdays, 2 congratulations, 2 valentines, 6 thank you, 2 mothers days, 2 fathers days, 2 anniversaries, 2 sympathies, 2 get wells, 6 holidays and 4 new years, and for all the other events that aren’t planned there are 4 blank cards in the box.
All we can say is, bring on the events now, our secret box of Cardstock will ensure that we won’t miss a beat!
Price: $60 / 50€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, design, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, stationary

Animal Rubber Bands

Administrator — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:00:11 +0000

Hi there! You might have read about it already, we’re heading out to Tokyo for the first time to present our products there, so the following 10 days, we’ll focus on finding some of the greatest products there for you and in the mean time we’ll bring you a round up of our favorite products this year so far! Hope you’ll enjoy the next couple days, you might just find something you missed in the past!
Have you ever found yourself drooling for a box of rubber bands? No, well, we were when these first came out, but that shouldn’t disturb you in any way…
In case you have no clue what we are talking about and simply don’t understand why anybody would get excited about rubber bands, have a look at these super fun, silicone ‘memory’ rubber bands in the shape of various extinct or living animals.
These little things come in a set of 24 and hold their shape no matter how often you use them. And boy can you use them: Throw them into a microwave or a freezer, if you desire even in the oven. Once you end their ordeal, they are ready to go to work again.
So whilst they are completely silly and yes, nothing but a rubber band, they are too much fun to be ignored!
Colors: Dinosaurs, Domestic Pets, Zoo Animals
Price: $8 / 6€ plus shipping

accessories, Charles & Marie, Soupe du Jour, stationary, Tragically Hip

Animal Index

Administrator — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:00:30 +0000

If you love books just as much as we do, then you’ll have a vast selection of all kinds of literature, from the obscure to the factual, the weird to the romantic and so on. How do you keep track of all your topics that are undoubtedly all in one shelf? You’ll need dividers, right? Right! That’s where today’s Soupe comes in. 3 lovely divider sets, always front and back shaped either like a Giraffe, a Deer or a little Piggy. Just slide them between your books and within an instant it looks as if the little guys are peeping out of or disappearing into, your books…
Lovely, just lovely…
Price: $22 / 18€ plus shipping

accessories, books, Charles & Marie, decoration, design, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour

Origami Sticky Notes – Set of 3

Administrator — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:22:54 +0000

Here’s a little something for all you cubicle jockeys out there, re-cycle your old sticky notes and turn them in to fun 3D models! Each pad has instructions for 10 different shapes, including: pig, penguin, boat, crane, butterfly, squirrel, lily and water bomb
Giving a whole new meaning to taking notes…
Price: $10 / 9€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, gadget hip, Soupe du Jour, stationary, Tragically Hip

Sketchpet

Administrator — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:00:06 +0000

Remember when everybody carried a timer around? A nice leather bound timer, where you would enter all your appointments and notes and whatever else you deemed note worthy? It seems that no one does so any more. We carry iPhones and Blackberrys and sync with our laptops and office and some even have web based calendars to manage their family appointments… It seems like a piece of culture disappeared with the switch to the handheld units, we might be more effective, but the tactile quality and the aesthetics of a Filofax can’t be beat by the iPhone, let alone any Blackberry… That’s why we like this new note book/timer series which we found in Germany. At 6 x 2.25″ (15,5 x 6 cm) it is compact enough to be thrown into your bag without occupying too much space. Structurally it is pretty smart as well as it pivots around a central hub, eliminating the need to flip pages and it has a big solid rubber band attached to it, which keeps it from opening up in your bag… The rubber band is also pretty cool to hold your iPhone or Blackberry when you take this little companion to your next meeting, but if you prefer not to, you can slip a pencil or pen underneath it as well.
We have two versions available: the timer 2009, with a week per page and a page for notes per week and the diary with 115 empty pages just waiting to be filled by you…
Color: Timer 2009, Diary
Price: $25 / 17€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, design, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, stationary, Tragically Hip

Sticklebook

Administrator — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:00:54 +0000

Read much? Where do you keep your books? Yes, of course, when you are all done, they’ll end up in your shelf, but where do you put the 3 or 4 or 5 that you are reading right now?
Here’s a fantastic solution from the great guys at Mode in the UK, the Sticklebook. Sticklebook? Well yes, the Sticklebook is the alternative to a regular bookshelf, an aluminum bracket and a combed strip, that grab the pages of your paperback book without leaving any marks, creating the illusion of a line of books hanging unsupported on the wall. If you’re thinking that this can’t be working, trust us, you’re not alone, we were the same. But the fact is that it does work perfectly, even Ron Arad called it new and original, so don’t just take our word for it.
It’s 19″ long and 1″ high or 50×3 cm if you prefer metric, so it’s as unobtrusive as it gets. Lovely!
Price: $40 / 30€ plus shipping

accessories, books, design, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour

Obama O’s vs. Captain McCain’s

Administrator — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:00:05 +0000

Yesterday we had the final of three debates here in the US presidential race. And it gave us all a pretty good look at what’s going on in the country around us. If you find it hard to hold back and prefer to choose your personal favorite today already, go ahead, here’s your choice.
Basically, it’s political satire in a box. Yup, your eyes aren’t tricking you, in a box of cereal to be precise! Choose between Obama O’s or McCain Squares, both perfectly nutritious cereal and yes, you can eat it if you want your taste buds to decide for you. The front of the Obama O’s box is stamped with “Hope In Every bowl” and on the back it calls itself the “Breakfast of Change.” The McCain character on the Cap’n McCain’s box is appropriately wearing a naval officer’s uniform, and the side of the box sings the praise of eating squares - “Squares Are Stackable” and “Squares Keep America Regular.” The copy on the side of the Cap’n McCain’s box could have been written by his campaign:
Os may look pretty, but have you ever noticed there’s something missing? That’s right, there’s a hole in the middle of every O. With Cap’n McCain’s you get a whole piece of cereal in every bite. Simply hilarious! But you might want to think twice, because this is a beautifully printed, a beautifully written piece of art, and the boxes are limited to 500 units each. Every single one is numbered and once the 500 are gone, they are gone… The first batch we got our hands on was literally gone within a few hours and we just received another big case, so go ahead, cast your vote today!
In case you are wondering, the winner of the first batch was without the shadow of a doubt Barack Obama – if that’s a hint of what’s going to happen Nov 4th?
Color: Blue, Red
Price: $40 / 30€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, design, Epicurean Delight, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip

ZipZip 2GB USB Memory Brick - Save The Economy 40% Off Sale

Administrator — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:00:02 +0000

Yesterday the latest consumer report showed that overall spending had the sharpest decline in 16 years here in the US. That’s frustrating! That’s why we’ll continue our motivational sales pitch for another day and we’ll knock almost 40% off your favorite USB thumb drive. So go ahead, save with us and help us jump-start the economy… But wait, you don’t know which memory stick we are talking about? Well, read on and find out:
Nowadays USB memory sticks come a dime a dozen. They all look the same, black or gray or silver-ish and they are as ubiquitous as Starbucks. But they are all pretty damn boring, and if you have to use one of these devices, do it with some style, that’s why we adore Guido’s stick that looks like a twig or the porcelain version designed by the Mokkatanten…
Well here’s another one which we’d happily add to the mix: The ZipZip USB Memory Brick. 2 gigabyte of storage – that’s quite a lot of word documents – works with Macs and PCs and ahs all the usual bells and whistles USB memory sticks have. The cool thing is, it resembles our favorite toys! In fact, it doesn’t just resemble it, it looks pretty much exactly like it! 5 fun colors add a whole new dimension to the usual appearance of those little suckers…
Just don’t let little Tommy find it to get it mixed up with the rest of his collection…
Colors: Black, Blue, Green, Red, Yellow
Price: $40 / 40€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, laptop, memory stick, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip, USB stick

Renova Colored Toilet Paper - $10 Save the Economy Sale!

Administrator — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:00:18 +0000

With the economy in shingles we’re doing our part to give it a little booster. Well, sort of… For one day only we are lowering the price of one of our best selling items to $10, a whopping 30% off, that should get us started, so act fast and get your hands on the one and only colored toilet paper out there…
Ok, so you are thinking: What? Toilet paper? Have you gone completely insane, lost your marbles or spilled the brain away with too many Martinis?
Well actually none of the above. Black toilet paper has been around in the hopping clubs and hotels in Europe for quite a while already, but we were amazed how few people actually knew about this stateside. Made by Renova in Portugal, it has been dermatologically and gynecologically tested, it is made of 100% biodegradable, virgin pulp that is chlorine-free and entirely recyclable, so basically a 3 ply, completely non-toxic, soothing tissue. And no, it does not bleed any color when wet, in case you were worrying…
So treat your tush some color and if you have a little party, get together or dinner thing, this will be quite a conversation piece, whether you want it or not. Oh, and if you don’t like black, it also comes in sunny Orange and a deep dark Red and Green, but we’ll spare you the comments we could come up with for that…
In case we didn’t mention it already: 3 rolls of this luxurious paper come in one gift canister.
Color: Black, Green, Orange, Red
Price: $10 / 9€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, design, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip

Two Juicy

Administrator — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:00:54 +0000

Drink much orange juice? The real stuff or the one from the box? Too much hassle to squeeze the real stuff? Well, have a look at today’s Soupe and ask yourself why nobody has thought of this before.
A double handed juicer. So simple, so smart. Rather than holding the juicer with one hand and squeezing with the other, squeeze both halves at once and at the same time holding the juicer in place through the pressure you put on it with both hands.
Simple and smart, need we say more?
Price: $45 / 33€ plus shipping

beverages, Charles & Marie, contraptions, Epicurean Delight, kitchen, Soupe du Jour

Wonderful Wooden Cutting Boards

Administrator — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:00:17 +0000

Here’s a cute addition to your kitchen that has been out of stock for the most part of this year and are now finally available again. Each wooden cutting board comes with a different laser engraved illustration that is positioned according to the natural grain of the wood creating a whimsical little scene.
Prior to the engraving process each board is evaluated by the designers to determine the ideal position for any of the 6 different illustrations and which will have the best fit. Then they are hand positioned and sent to the laser engraving process after which they are oiled and ready to ship.
This way not a single board will be identical in terms of the positioning of the illustration, creating a beautiful presentation when they are used together. The wood used for the board is Acacia and it is simply oiled.
Size: 6.1″ x 9″ x .4″ (15,5 x 23 x 1 cm)
Click here if you prefer the bigger version that’s 9″ x 13″ x .6″ (23 x 34 x 1,5 cm).
Price: $20 / 14€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, contraptions, Epicurean Delight, kitchen, Soupe du Jour

S-XL Bundt Cake Mould

Administrator — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:00:36 +0000

You know the scene inside and out: You spend hours baking a fabulous and amazing cake, your friends are seated and then it starts: ‘Oh, I’ll have a small piece please’, says Chloe next to you. ‘Could I get an extra large one?’, says Mildred who really shouldn’t. ‘Could I get that medium sized piece please?’, asks Pete who is always so balanced. In any case, you know what we are talking about…
This was the intro to last holiday seasons hot selling product. Why are we running it again? Our friends over at Konstantin Slawinski have just launched their second cake mould. This time for a bundt cake style cake. The original silicone Cake Mould was 11.8″ or 30 cm diameter making a nice wide cake, the new one is 8.4″ (21,5 cm) diameter and 3.4″ (9 cm) high, so making more of a bundt cake. Both ‘pre-shape’ any cake into 15 separate pieces, in a variation of ’sizes’. From Small, to Extra Large. Now how much easier could life be?
Price: $32 / 23€ plus shipping

Charles & Marie, contraptions, Epicurean Delight, Soupe du Jour, cakemold