Hey, just so you know, we’re going to be hanging out in Brooklyn Thursday and Friday this week at Creative Works East. Come say hi at the pop up market (we won’t be selling anything, but lots of other people are), or grab a ticket. It’s not too late… yet.
XOXO Talk Videos
Cabel’s first XOXO talk is iconic. I won’t spoil his last. Just watch.
While we’re talking food, check out these unbiased gear and recipe reviews from our friends Sarah and Bryn. Just yesterday they published 16 of the most compelling minutes you’re ever going to watch on… spatulas.
Welcome to Cotton Bureau’s hand-picked links for the week of October 7, 2024. Today we’re sharing three small businesses that could use your support, plus one giant business that really does not.
Sourhouse + Hurricane Helene Recovery
Our friends Erik and Jenny at Sourhouse, makers of the Goldie sourdough starter jar and the DoughBed dough proofer, are donating all of their profits from the month of October to assist with with hurricane relief in the Asheville, North Carolina area. As fellow Appalachians here in Pittsburgh, we hope you will consider ways that you might be able to help.
I’ve never been much into coffee, but it isn’t because I hate the taste. I actually love the taste, I’m just afraid of the caffeine. Wimp (from friend of Cotton Bureau Matthew Smith) decaffeinates their coffee without methylene chloride, so it should taste great and be great for you, right?
When royal blue and dark blue in a sans serif typeface isn’t corporate enough, it’s time to bring in Pentagram to straighten those obliques and set your wordmark in all black. Armin Vit from BrandNew reviews the new PayPal mark.
Apparently PayPal needs the world to know they are very serious and you can use PayPal Everywhere. It’s not all bad, I guess. You can do a lot worse than cloning Futura.
We’ve got a great Kickstarter, a cool charity, an ice cream recco, tips on designing for dark mode, and some fun facts about Austin, Texas for you today. Plus, it’s your last chance to get something in our hands for Submission Impossible.
The Falcon Mechanical Pencil
Currently available on Kickstarter but ending soon (Friday, October 4), our friend Andy Sanderson is back with an all-new design for his sixth successful campaign. Available in either bead blasted stainless steel or limited edition Cerakote. The Falcon looks like a sleek, comfortable, compact pencil. Perfect for the every day carry.
Fresh off a Cotton Bureau field trip to Texas, the changes since our first visit in 2011 are hard to believe. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is now processing over 22 million passengers per year (up from 9 million) on only 34 gates (37 if you include the “South Terminal”) and two runways. For comparison, our hometown Pittsburgh International Airport has 56 active gates (75 total) and four runways including one that is positioned for cross-wind takeoffs and landings while handling only 9 million passengers last year.
If you hypothetically find your flight to Charlotte unexpectedly delayed causing you to miss your connecting flight home and you need a pick me up, do yourself a favor and get a Mexican vanilla milkshake with a shot of espresso at Amy’s.
The 20 tallest buildings in Austin have been built in the last 20 years including Sixth & Guadalupe, The Independent, The Austonian, Block 1985, Fairmont Austin, 360 Condiminiums, 44 East Avenue, Indeed Tower, Hanover Republic Square, Frost Bank Tower, W Austin Hotel & Residences, Fifth & West, 300 Colorado, Spring, Northshore, The Bowie, 70 Rainey, Ashton, JW Marriott Convention Hotel, and the Four Seasons Residences Austin. All over 400 feet tall.
With iOS 18 officially out, everyone now has access to the new icon modes. I like dark mode as much as the next person, but the current implementation is rough.
That’s it for this week. Don’t forget Cotton Bureau is donating $10 for every kids tee sold to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through the end of the day. Use code CB4Kids at checkout to get free shipping in the U.S. for all on demand products. Every shirt on Cotton Bureau is available in kids styles, so there’s no excuse not to find one you love for back to school season.
Every year our friends at Relay FM raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the month of September. Since 2019 their efforts have resulted in over $3m being donated. This year they’ve already set a new record and are closing in on $1m.
If you’d like to help, you can donate directly on their fundraising page, or you can buy any kids tee from Cotton Bureau between now and the end of the day Monday, September 30. We will be donating $10 from every kids tee (includes youth, toddler, and infant styles).
As a thank you for your help, we’re including free domestic shipping on all on demand products using the code CB4Kids at checkout.
Every shirt on Cotton Bureau is available in kids styles, so there’s no excuse not to find one you love for back to school season.
Every year Relay FM spends all of September (Childhood Cancer Awareness Month) raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This year they’ve already passed $560,000 on their way to their goal of $700,000. In five years they’ve raised over $3m. Here’s Stephen explaining why they do it.
In case you missed it, we’re recruiting as many designers, communities, brands, and bots as possible to join Cotton Bureau this month. We’ll be giving away an iPhone 16 Pro (and maybe more). Get all the details on the blog.
Earlier this year I had the privilege of visiting Italy, Switzerland, and France, primarily by train. Other than some track sabotage in France that did not affect us, everything was lovely. Zero issues with trains arriving on schedule. Various levels of cleanliness and speed but overall quite effective.
Count me firmly in the camp of improved public transit in America, particularly high-speed trains — even with the promise of more sophisticated and accessible autonomous air and ground transport allegedly coming soon. It would be incredible to be able to travel the country with anything resembling the convenience of getting from Rome to Milan to Zurich to Paris in 10 hours.
Side note: I can’t recommend The Man in Seat 61 enough if you need to know anything train-related for Europe. Invaluable resource.
While we’re partial to Cotton Bureau phone cases, we can’t deny this retro case from Bitmo Lab looks like a ton of fun if you are into the newly-App-Store-approved game emulators.
