Genius

...AND it's made from 100% recycled materials. We love it. Now all we need is for pizza chains to actually start using it!

Come on people.

Let's do this.

Let's take a moment...

At CupKozy we often play MJ's catalog of music in the sewing room and we all have fond childhood memories and stories about the king of pop. Needless to say, we were shocked and deeply saddened by his unexpected passing yesterday. 

"Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight. Here one day, gone one night" 

-Lyrics from his song "Gone Too Soon"

We'll miss you <3

Urban Garden

We've had unusually cool weather here in the valley and Derek (CupKozy's prez) has been flexing his green thumb, growing a veggie garden right outside our headquarters. 

He's got several different types of tomatos growing, some cucumbers, peppers, herbs and even a pumpkin plant. All of the veggies are still babies, but come mid/late July, we'll have some harvesting to do.

Apparently, this is what a baby cucumber looks like (below): 

It's pretty exciting to watch everything grow so quickly. Who knew we'd have such fertile soil in the middle of the city? I think I'll do a follow-up post when everything is ready to be picked. A big thanks to Ryan for contributing to veggieland and to the rest of the neighbors for being so cool with it :)

Think Tink!

Tinker Bell has a website where she and her fellow pixies teach kids how to be more energy efficient. It contains videos, educational  information about renewable energy sources and fun online games.

Kids are really up to date on Eco topics these days, even more than most adults I know. This a great little site where kids can spend some time without running into any "unsavory" web content, while learning a little more about conserving energy and possibly helping reduce your energy bill!

...and who doesn't love Tinker Bell? Check it out at: www.Energy.Gov/Tink

Iced coffee weather

Ever wonder if it's going to be an Iced Coffee kind of day? Sometimes it's too hot outside to enjoy a hot cup of coffee. This fun little website will help you with a simple Yes / No answer.

www.IsItIcedCoffeeWeather.com

At the bottom of the page it allows you to enter your zip code to check your local weather conditions and determine your answer. Oh, and by the way, I use my CupKozy on iced coffee cups to keep my hands from getting wet due to condensation. 

Blog mentions!

Earlier this month we got a really cool mention over at one of my favorite blogs, Peppermags.com! We made a custom CupKozy for her "I Am Not A Paper Cup" reusable coffee mug...

To read the full post, click HERE. Oh, and also please note the star wars toys on her desk. Aaaaaaawesome.

We're also currently sponsoring a give-away over at BabyRabies.com, run by the lovely Jill. She does a feature called "Memos From Mommy" where you can submit a "memo" to your child/fetus/pet/etc. in the comments section. Winners are randomly selected. Click HERE to enter to win one of 3 CupKozys!

We love this!

"What CAN’T this bag do? This Delight.com Eco-Delightful Exclusive from Green Garmento is about to change the way you think about dry cleaning and laundry. This bag is:
-An eco-friendly alternative to single-use plastic dry cleaning bags
-A recyclable 3-in-1 laundry bag
-A reusable hanging garment bag
-A carrying bag and duffel bag
-A reusable dry cleaning bag 
-A green dry cleaning bag 
-A hanging hamper.
 WOW! perfect for long dresses and most coats. Also works with most suits, sweaters and tops. Includes outside plastic ticket pocket to help you and your dry cleaner easily identify your order."

SOURCE: www.delight.com

New milestone

Today we had our 800th Sale in our Etsy shop!

Yaaay!!!! :D

Free Shipping!

We realize times have been tough for everyone lately, so that's why we've decided to offer FREE SHIPPING indefinitely! This applies to both the official CupKozy website and our Etsy shop too.

In other CupKozy news, we've only got a handful of Earth Day kozys left, so if you've been eyeing them, hurry before they sell out! We're already begun brainstorming for our next limited edition design ;)

Beauty Revolution Mag

E-flip magazines are the latest way to view your favorite magazines without wasting all of that paper! Even big magazines like NYLON are jumping on the E-flip bandwagon. 

Ever seen a product in a magazine and thought, "I gotta remember to google it and find out where I can get one of those." Beauty Revolution Magazine, an eco-conscious lifestyle mag,  offers instant gratification by providing clickable links on their pages that take you directly to a product page or a designer's website. Some of their magazine pages even feature videos. Most other online magazines are merely a scanned version, with no bells or whistles.

Check out Beauty Revolution Magazine's Spring issue, now available online, for FREE. Click here to peruse!

P.S. CupKozy might be featured in a Summer edition of Beauty Revolution Mag. Very exciting! More details as they develop in the coming months.

Friendly Reminder

Today is the LAST DAY to take advantage of our $5.00 price for all CupKozys! Mother's Day is right around the corner, so you might want to grab a kozy (or two) for the coffee-drinking mamas in your life!  

www.CupKozy.com

*Sale ends at 12 midnight PST.

Come see us, why don't cha.

woodbury town center
Originally uploaded by baostar

CupKozy will have a tent at the Earth Day Community celebration this Saturday 4.25.09. This event features live music, raffles and healthy living exhibits.

When and where: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Woodbury Town Center, 6200 - 6460 Irvine Blvd., Irvine CA

If you're in the neighborhood, come over and say hi!

Happy Earth Day!

How will you be celebrating Mother Earth today? Here are a few suggestions:

• Check out Ecosalon's list of Earth Day events happening all over the U.S.
• Disneynature's first film, titled 'Earth', hits theaters today and a tree will be planted for each ticket that is purchased during its opening week. Due to advance tickets sales, the company has already committed to planting 500,000 trees! It's also narrated by Darth Vader (James Earl Jones). Who doesn't love that?
• If you compost or just enjoy gardening, go to your local Starbucks and request a bag of their used coffee grounds for adding to your compost bin - it's FREE. You can also sprinkle them directly onto the soil around roses or any acid-loving plants you might have. Click here for more info.
• Last, but certainly not least, you can celebrate Earth Day by snagging one of our Limited Edition CupKozys featuring our exclusive Earth Day print! Making their debut today, they're on SALE for just $5 bucks until the end of the month...if they last that long. We have a very limited supply! 

Tweet-Tweet!

We're a bit anxious to begin the Earth Day festivities around here so we just launched a give away! Enter to win one of 5 Earth Day Prize packs. Visit our contest page for the full details.

We're also celebrating by having a SALE at both our official website and Etsy - All CupKozys are only $5 bucks until 4/30/2009 (ends at 12:00 AM PST.)

Teaser

You're looking at a swatch of our latest project. At this very moment, we're cranking out some special Earth Day edition CupKozys! We can't wait to release these, especially because it's been forever since we've done a limited edition print. Definitely something we LOVE doing around here.

The screen printing process for this pattern has proven to be quite intense, so we really hope you guys like how these turn out - we put lots of extra "elbow grease" into them! 

Release date: April 22nd!!!!

Coffee = Speakers?

Next time you go out for a cup of coffee, don't toss your cup! After 4 trips to the coffee shop, you'll have the components to make "ghetto ipod speakers". Apparently you just need a couple of toothpicks and your ipod ear buds to complete this project. 

I wonder if these speakers get louder when you use a bigger cup? Hmm... Looks like a fun way to upcycle coffee cups! Click here to see how: http://www.zagga.org

CupKozy on EcoFabulous

Today is April Fool's but instead of falling victims to some cruel joke, we were fortunate enough to be featured in the Ecofabulous Spotlight! They are one of the best green lifestyle blogs around and If you're not already a regular reader of Ecofabulous, check them out for tips on sexy, sustainable style. 

To go directly to their post about CupKozy, click here.  Exciting!!!!

Happy Birthday Al!

Today Al Gore celebrates his 61st birthday. CupKozy sends him warm birthday wishes and a million grateful hugs. His film, The Inconvenient Truth, is one of the main reasons we started taking steps toward greener living, resulting in the birth of our little company!

You continue to be an inspiration to us all. Thank you Sir, and Happy birthday!

-Team CupKozy

Dunkin' Donuts

We don't have any Dunkin' Donuts locations in L.A., but they do sell their ground coffee at the market. Haven't had a chance to try it but I keep hearing about how great it is. I really do wish they'd stop using styrofoam cups or at least switch to biodegradable styro. One day...

By the way, they're having a fun contest on their website where you get to create your own donut. If yours is chosen, it will be sold at participating locations! Check it out here.

Have any of you tried Dunkin' Donuts coffee?

Yes, another Earth Hour post!

This time we're getting in on the Earth Hour action. It's just a small, half-minute long video, but it's fitting because our headquarters are just that small! We're trying to think of a fun and creative way to spend that precious hour so we can document it and possibly share it with you all. Oh, and feel free to subscribe to the CupKozy YouTube channel so you don't miss out on our occasional video snippets.

How many of you are planning to UN-plug on 3/28/09? 

If you're still not sure what we're carrying on about, check out their website: www.EarthHour.org

Today we hit our ::700th SALE:: in our Etsy shop

YAY!!!

Alanis promotes Earth Hour

I must say, this video made us laugh and shudder simultaneously. I think we've got the message, Alanis - Thanks. 

11 days left until it's time to turn-OFF. Expect more reminders from the CupKozy blog ;)

A couple of newbies...

 

These newbs are only available through our Etsy shop: www.CupKozy.Etsy.com

By the way, the Earth Day CupKozys are currently in production and we should be launching those at the end of this month! Yay!

:: Keep it kozy ::

This nice cave man brought me a frappuccino yesterday. Strangely, it tasted like paint. 

I made a face. 

He grunted.

CupKozy on TV!

CupKozy on VJIAM.TV from Cup Kozy on Vimeo.

We were very excited to be featured on TV this morning! We appeared on episode #14 of a show called VJ i AM. It's geared toward today's coffee-drinking youth. If you feel like watching the entire episode, you can simply click here to watch it directly on the VJ i AM website

Enjoy!

-Dinah

CupKozys for Eco-Celebs

Here at the kozy headquarters, we work around the clock to try and generate some buzz about our product, so next week a celebrity swag (see: freebie) coordinator is getting some CupKozys into the hands of a few eco-minded celebrities!

We will be included in several gift baskets along with a few other neat, green products by other companies. The following fabulous women will be receiving their very own kozys:

• Julia Roberts
• Jennie Garth
• Jessica Alba
• Kate Hudson
• Sheryl Crow
• Halle Berry
• Amanda Peet

Pretty exciting! Now let's just hope they use their CupKozys while TMZ or Us Weekly is hanging around. Now THAT might create a buzz. Fingers crossed ;)

Can coffee help prevent skin cancer?

A report released today suggest that it can. 

THURSDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Past studies have suggested that caffeine might offer some protection from skin cancer, and new research may explain why.  "We have found what we believe to be the mechanism by which caffeine is associated with decreased skin cancer," said lead researcher Dr. Paul Nghiem, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Read the rest here.

Follow us!

We mentioned Twitter in the previous post and figured it would be a good time to remind you all that you can follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cupkozy

We post daily about general CupKozy news, sales, green tips, etc. 

Happy Tweeting!

12 Seconds

CupKozy has jumped on yet, another bandwagon. 12 Seconds.tv

It's basically like a video equivalent of microblogging (i.e. twitter) We love finding easy ways to stay connected with everyone out there.

Hope you're all having a great week so far!

How caffeinated are you?

According to my results, I'm highly caffeinated.
What else is new? ;)

Earth Hour

In 2007, Sydney, Australia made a powerful statement to the world by turning off or dimming its lights for one hour. What started in Sydney quickly made its way around the globe in 2008 — when Earth Hour became an organized worldwide event with 37 countries and 370 major cities who also turned off the juice for one hour. 

Now, get ready for Earth Hour 2009 — with already 377 cities and double the countries committed. On March 28, at 8:30pm — join the movement in YOUR city by turning off your lights and thinking about energy.  60 minutes is all it takes.

Go circle the date on your calendars right now! You will definitely want to be a part of this. Visit their website for more info: www.earthhour.org

Source :/: Ecorazzi

Mud slingers

McDonalds takes a shot at Starbucks with this billboard in Seattle. I'm usually a neutral party when it comes to the big chain coffee offerings but I recently tried a couple of the new McDonalds coffee drinks and they were AWFUL. The iced mocha got thrown directly into the trash after 2 sips. The first sip tasted like soapy, sour milk with a hint of artificial coffee flavoring. The second sip was taken as a confirmation to my mental dialogue, "Wow, does this really taste that awful? *sip* Yes. Yes it does." *toss*.

The hot vanilla cappuccino (sugar free) was barely tolerable. The taste of artificial sweeteners just overwhelms your taste buds with this one. It's not like the sugar free cinnamon dolce latte at Starbucks, which tastes almost identical to the regular version. I would gladly trade both of those McDonalds drinks for one good $4 drink at Starbucks.

Sorry Mc.Donalds. You've got some refining to do before you can compete with the big guys. The price difference isn't worth the torture of consuming your coffee drinks. Stick to serving your classic coffee, which is actually not half bad.

Photo source: www.social-cache.com

Valentine's SALE

Love her and she'll love you back - Mother Earth, that is!

Now is the perfect time to show her you care. Enjoy $2.00 OFF any solid* CupKozy until Feb. 15th.
Get one for yourself, your loved ones or that special someone in your life. Available at www.CupKozy.com

Wishing you a caffeinated love buzz this Valentine's day!
XOXO

*Sale excludes printed CupKozys

Contest Announcement!!!

CupKozy Twitter Contest Winners - 1/30/09 from Cup Kozy on Vimeo

OK everybody, the time has come! We did this the old fashioned way and literally pulled some names out of a hat. Our official contest winner is...*drum roll please*...
(this is where you hit the "play" button)

Winners will be contacted directly. Thanks again to everybody who entered!
-Team Kozy

P.S. We had some extra love to give so we pulled 2 more names who will receive a FREE CupKozy!

Photo shoot in progress...

We are currently re-shooting all of the CupKozy website photos. We're also taking pics of some new colors that will soon be available. That reminds me - keep an eye out for an Earth Day CupKozy this April! It will feature an awesome, bold print with vibrant color. We're SO excited to be releasing those! Best of all, part of your purchase will be going to an environmental charity. More details on that coming soon. Stay tuned...

CupKozy out and about (part II)

On Saturday we headed out to visit our friends at Locali in Hollywood. We got to sample very generous portions of their delicious offerings. First we tried the "Fignana Tamal" - a sweet tamale made with fig that encases a delicious banana center, mmmm! Since we're omnivores we sampled their corn-fed beef hot dog and I can safely say that this was the best (and biggest) hot dog I've had in really a long time. The casing even had that "pop" that you typically find in a quality dog. We also got our hands on some vegan ethiopian wraps from their refrigerated section that were mighty tasty. The best item, in my opinion, was their chicken soup. I can only describe this hearty soup as the type of thing you will crave every time you miss home. Comfort food at its best!

Aside from their delicious fare, they have seating indoors and outdoors in case you're not in too much of a hurry and they serve everything in biodegratable containers. They even provide a separate trash receptacle just for compostable items. Most of their stuff is locally sourced and genuinely good for you! Certainly can't say the same about places like 7-11. I challenge you to show me another convenience store that carries a variety of meltable vegan cheeses and soyrizo. They've thought of everything at Locali and that's why we love them. It doesn't hurt that the owners, Greg & Melissa, are pretty awesome too :)

Go! Now! 5825 Franklin Ave. Los Angeles, CA

P.S. Did I mention they carry CupKozys there? ;)

CupKozy out and about (part I)

On Friday we played hookie and headed downtown to the Go Green Expo. Since it was "Green Business day", we got a chance to chat with lots of exhibitors and did a little networking with other green biz owners. We were surprised that we didn't find anything terribly innovative on the showroom floor, however, I did get suckered into purchasing a "java wand" which is like a straw with a french press filter attached to the bottom of it. We spent much of the day trying to spread the word about CupKozy and got really good responses from the people we spoke to.


After we had exhausted all of our walking & talking energy, we took a much needed break during the screening of the Sundance award-winning documentary, FUEL. This amazing and inspiring film received thunderous applause and a standing ovation. They had a panel discussion after the film with the director/star Josh Tickell, Peter Fonda and Mariel Hemmingway (who swore they would personally take the film to the White House). It's that good. If it comes to your town, it is an absolute MUST. Check out their official website to watch the trailer and get more info on where it's playing. I promise it will leave you feeling more hopeful than you can ever imagine :)

New retailer

If you're in the Hollywood/L.A. area, you can now purchase the CupKozy at Locali - an eco convenience store located in the trendy "Franklin Village" area, nestled between Hollywood Blvd. and the Hollywood hills. We're very excited to be among the carefully curated, green goodies being offered at this fine little establishment.

Their grand opening is tomorrow, 1/22/09 so stop by and check them out!

We're having a contest on Twitter!

CupKozy.com updates

It's the calm after the holiday season and things have been chill enough for us to work on the CupKozy website. We've added two new sections:

-CupKozy Press

A list of some notable CupKozy blog mentions :)

-CupKozy Wholesale

Info on how to order wholesale or custom printed CupKozys. They're great for either re-sale or promotional "swag", even green party favors!

1/20/09 - Change has come.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."  -Barack Obama

So proud.

Latte Art

I really want to learn how to make latte art, just so I can look down at my mug and see something deliciously inspiring every day. This guy makes it look so easy! I'm sure it's anything but.

I also found a lovely Flickr photo set with a bunch of cool latte art pics. Check em' out here. 

Cuppery

Today I discovered some fun videos by Jason of CoffeeCupNews.org He posts videos of coffee tastings and his sheer enthusiasm for coffee is totally contagious. Watching his videos is really making me want to go on a cupping excursion. 

What is cupping, you ask?

It's basically the formal term for coffee tasting. More specifically, it's a method coffee tasters use to evaluate a coffee's characteristics. If you really want to learn more about cupping and the traits of different coffees, this is a great introduction: www.2basnob.com

OR

You can watch Jason's "How to do a coffee tasting" video. He breaks it down nicely :)

600th Sale!

Over the weekend we had our 600th sale at our Etsy shop - WOO!

What's in a name? ...

The diagram above explains it quite simply and literally. (click image for a larger view)

New Color!

Say hello to our newest members. Tomorrow we will be releasing this new trim color along with our exclusive, new print. It's a combination of our logo and the cup silhouette print that you've all seen, done in a very subtle way. We'll also be making the purple trim that you saw on the Day Of The Dead kozys a regular member of our color line-up.

 

And speaking of our limited edition Day Of The Dead CupKozys, we're down to our last 8 pieces so If you've been wanting one, now's the time. Once they're gone, they're GONE!

New tea offerings at Starbucks

- Black Tea Latte - described as a bold, invigorating combination of black tea and freshly steamed milk
- Vanilla Rooibos Latte - "a naturally caffeine-free infusion of botanicals that unites South African rooibos (ROY’-bus), Tahitian vanilla, sweet spices and freshly steamed milk"
- London Fog Latte - an intriguing blend of black tea, citrusy bergamot, French lavender, vanilla and freshly steamed milk.  

- Apple Chai Infusion - (Hot or Iced)
- Berry Chai Infusion - (Hot or Iced)
- New Green Tea Latte Recipe - (The drink will now be made with Classic Syrup. Water is also being eliminated from the recipe, as we will now be steaming the matcha directly into the milk).

I think I might try the Vanilla Rooibos Latte, the next time I go - except I'll probably ask if they can make it with soy milk. Sounds like a good caffeine-free option!

Source: Starbucks Gossip