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.

See also Erik’s video on how you can help.

Ugmonk Warehouse & HQ

Long-time friend of Cotton Bureau Jeff Sheldon shares before and after photos of the Ugmonk warehouse and headquarters.

Wimp Coffee

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?

PayPal

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.

Thanks for reading! If you have something you would like to share with us, just email us@cottonbureau.com and we’ll take a look.

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.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

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.

While plans are in place to add a new terminal with 20 additional gates, construction won’t be complete until 2030 at the earliest.

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.

Austin Skyline

For anyone old enough to have been around for the Twitter/Foursquare era at SXSW, comparing the current skyline with the skyline of the late 2000s is quite a trip.

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.

Dark Mode Icons

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.

For a smarter, more attractive take, read icon artist extraordinaire Louie Mantia’s take.

tldr: don’t naively paint icons black, use your brain, consider smart use of darker hues and shades.

Submission Impossible: Last Call

Today’s the final final day to get your entries in for Submission Impossible. Don’t miss out on an excellent chance to take home a free iPhone 16 Pro.

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.

With support for the new Camera Control, Cotton Bureau phone cases are ready for their close up.

Every phone case on Cotton Bureau has been updated with support for iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. That includes our clear cases, slim cases, tough cases, and MagSafe compatible cases.

To celebrate, for a limited time (16 days), we’re giving you 20% off the new cases and 100% off shipping.

You’ll never have a better chance to try our rugged tough cases with durable polycarbonate exterior and TPU liner or our exquisite clear cases (now available with MagSafe charging) to let your phone’s inner beauty shine.

All Cotton Bureau slim and tough phone cases have deep, in-surface printing that resists scratching, peeling, and fading. (Clear cases are UV-printed — a slightly less durable, more textured printing process.)

Did we mention that our phone cases are printed right here in the US?

Available for order now, shipping as soon as, uh, tomorrow.

Promo ends September 25, don’t miss out! Use code CaseBureau16 at checkout.

P.S. Not picking up a new phone? While prior generations don’t quality for free shipping and 20% off, we have aggressively marked down older models. Be sure to take a look if you need something to give you that new car smell.