Last week we asked our community to submit ideas or concepts that can be represented through symbols.  We really liked the clever use of symbols by Toke Frello Hansen of Denmark to demonstrate the “Butterfly Effect” through the simple use of icons.  To view this shirt in our store, click here.

The phrase “Butterfly Effect” refers to the idea that a butterfly’s wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a hurricane or delay, accelerate or even prevent the occurrence of a hurricane in another location. The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale alterations of events. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different. While the butterfly does not “cause” the hurricane in the sense of providing the energy for the hurrincane, it does “cause” it in the sense that the flap of its wings is an essential part of the initial conditions resulting in a hurricane, and without that flap that particular hurricane would not have existed.

Congratulations on the great idea Toke!

To read more about the Butterfly Effect and Chaos Theory, visit Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

As we open the virtual doors of the Noun Store, we’re proud to introduce the stories behind the products we’re carrying.

NounShirts by Hozell

You may already own one of these shirts from our Kickstarter days, and if so, you know first hand just how comfortable they are!  

Our NounShirts are made by Hozell, a small shop started by two gents in California who were tired of boxy, ill-fitting shirts with sleeves that stretched out and bodies that lost shape (in their own words).  They now make their own well fitted shirts that are carried in stores such as Barneys New York and Tokyo, Fred Segal and Kitson. 

The shirts are made in small batches, with limited production and distribution, out of 100% cotton fabric that is washed using certified organic dyes.  Each shirt is hand finished with distinctive design details such as contrast stitching on the shoulders.  Once an order is placed, the symbols are individually printed on each shirt using water based inks for a soft-hand feel.

One of the things we love about Hozell is that they make their clothes locally in Southern California.  They source the fabric from domestic mills around downtown Los Angeles, get the shirts cut and sewn by folks in Orange County, and have them washed and dyed at a dye house in South Central.  Just about everything is made within a 30 minute drive of the Pacific Ocean.  

Do you want to see just how our NounShirts are made? 

Video directed by Matthew Smith

Button Packs by Busy Beaver

The Busy Beaver Button Company came to be when its founder, Christen Carter, spent a semester abroad in England in 1995. She saw the popularity of one-inch badges (as they’re called in the Queen’s English) in the London music scene and learned what she could of the button-making craft. With a manual press and the encouragement of her first customer, indie rock band Guided By Voices, the entrepreneurial expat returned to school in Indiana where she ran the burgeoning button business out of her college apartment. Initially known as The Li’l One-Inch Button Company, Busy Beaver found a new name and, in 1998, settled down in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood where the company now resides.

Since its humble beginnings Busy Beaver Button Company has gone from a one-woman operation to a company with fifteen employees. During its first fifteen years, the Busy Beaver crew has overseen over 50,000 designs and produced millions upon millions of buttons for clients like Missy Elliot, Bumble and Bumble, Adidas, and Burger King.  They’re also the proud owners of the world’s first Button Museum, which showcases notable buttons from the past century and is open to the general public at the Busy Beaver headquarters.

Busy Beaver prides itself on being an active member of the community, providing opportunities by supporting local non-profit Girls Rock Chicago, hosting button-making workshops at the Chicago Public Library and sponsoring a local high school robotics team. For its annual Button-O-Matic series, the company enlists the support of local artists and like-minded businesses to create limited runs of wearable art. 

The company is also a model of eco-efficiency, from its geothermal heated headquarters to the recycled Gary steel used in each button. 

iPhone Cases by Uncommon

Uncommon was founded in 2009 on the desire to foster an artistic community around exceptionally well-designed products.  They have developed a proprietary 3D TATT™ (Thermo-Active Transdermal Technology™) process that ensures durable, long-lasting, high resolution imprints on every phone case.   This process embeds the image deep into the case, so there’s never any peeling or fading.  They use a slim case made of premium impact-resistant polymers to safeguard your iPhone.  The case also features an anti-glare camera ring, and allows for direct access to all of your phone’s features. The slick design of this case is worthy of your iPhone, and is sold by Apple.

We can’t wait to carry their upcoming iPad Deflector case!