I love art festivals. Especially the great ones that happen all summer long, here in the Chicago area. And it’s especially satisfying when I stumble upon great artists, like watch designers Juan Felipe Barreneche and Damiel Schemel who design the unique Mistura watches. True harmony between Mother Nature and watch-making.

These timepieces are not only stylish, they also have a focus on ecological matters. The face of the Mistura watch is made from exotic woods from the South American tropics: Bamboo, Macana, Coconut skin, Carreto, Guayacan and Nazarene. The watch cases are made either of wood or of recycled materials (70% plastic, 27% aluminum, 3% paper). Watch straps are all leather with wood clasps.

The watches are unisex though a few models were designed with women in mind. See all designs on the Mistera website here, where you can also purchase.

Now your wrist can be green too. Who knew?

I thought that this was the cutest idea: Gabs Studio’s build-it-yourself handbags.  These very cool “Made-in-Italy-and-assembled-by-you” bags actually come in pieces, ready to be put together, according to the instructions or in new and creative ways. Add personal touches too. It’s like cooking: instructions are just guidelines. The best cooks always add more of what they like and less of what they don’t. I think that’s a good rule for design too.

Once all assembled, the Gabs Studio bags can be worn over the shoulder or messenger style. They come in six color ways. Great gift idea. And perfect for the teen set, especially to give them something to do over the summer!

Another cool bag sold through Urban Junket (love their T.O.T.E laptop bags as mentioned here). You can get them here.

By Liza Kovacs, M.S.C, M.A., Guest Contributor

Although I am not a physical therapist, I make my living as aPilates instructor attending to people’s bodies. Sometimes exercise and learning good movement habits is not enough to provide relief from pain, which most of my clientèle, 40 and over, suffer from to greater and lesser degree. I often use my hands to relieve my clients from the numerous knots and kinks they manage to accumulate through day-to-day life and of course, bad posture and habits (such as spending hours in front of the computer). It was with great interest that I read up on KT tape and I have already looked up the nearest store that carries the tape in my area (most sporting stores).

The instructions are clear and in the case of the client with severe Achilles Tendonosis who is undergoing physical therapy, this might provide them with relief. In other cases, such as the client with the beginning of Tennis Elbow, it could possibly help in avoiding inflammation and get through the healing process. I have taught them some self-stretching exercises for the tightness through the forearm and each week I manually help relieve the tension through massage. Why not try another modality that could contribute to even better results? So, I am excited at the prospect of offering my clients something that could potentially enhance the well-being of clients, combining it with proper exercise, regular stretching and good postural and movement habits.

Let me know if you have tried KT tape and what types of results you have obtained.

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

Although all of the father’s in my life (including my husband) are deserving of a special day, I always find it a bit of a challenge of finding that perfect gift. Let alone the fact that it is probably celebrated at the worse time of the year, with all the end of the year school activities. So I cheated a bit and went to IKEA to see what I could find for the father of my children.

	SPRAKA – I love this pepper mill. I have been looking at one of these for my husband at a specialty kitchen store but all were over $200. This one is only $19.99! It stands over one foot tall and comes in either natural wood or black. I can see my husband spicing up our guests steaks just like the professionals do.
	SLIPAD – A perfect set of knives for the patio and BBQ area. The plastic knife holder can withstand the wet weather and the colorful knife handles makes it a fun accent to the outdoor kitchen area. $19.99.
	FLORT – a remote control pocket that fits over the arm of a chair or couch. It comes in red or black. Perfect for the little ones to buy with their allowance money. $4.99.
	FLORT shoulder Bag- This could me another perfect gift from the child to give to his dad. A messenger bag that can hold a small computer – definitely an iPad – that comes in either black or red. $9.99.
	BRADA- This portable laptop support is perfect for the man who likes to be on his computer while sitting on the couch or lying in bed. $14.99.
	IKEA PS - This lamp is very cool. It is designed like a bucket that can be filled with unlimited possibilities. Think of wine corks, a collection of coasters or sports memorabilia. My husband has a collection of wine bottle openers from various vineyards and hotels we have visited throughout the years. Now he will have a place to display them. $39.99. .
	EKTORP- Splurge a little and get him a beautiful leather chair. An incredibly comfy deal at this price. $449.00. .
	IKEA STOCKHOLM- Add some fun to his man cave with this ottoman. $279.00. .

Happy Father’s Day!

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

Although my children are too big now for high chairs now, I came across this one  and had to share it because it’s so perfect for summer travel. I wish I had one of these just a couple of years ago, instead of the bulky a plastic booster/high chair that took up an inordinate amount of precious cargo space in the car trunk…

Belkiz is an Australian company that designed the Feedaway, a safe, foldable, recyclable cardboard high chair. It’s is lightweight and folds easily for storage or travel.  It was designed for temporary use and is perfect for traveling since it will fit in a large suitcase – or at the bottom of a car trunk…  The Belkiz high chair is also ideal for parents, grandparents, friends and family with babies and toddlers in tow with them on holiday, weekends away or sleepovers.  It’s perfect for little ones up to 20 months old and under 44 lbs. It’s extremely safe and strong and has been approved by INPAA Baby Safety (Infant Nursery Product Association of Australia) with an attached 3 point safety harness.

Visit the Belkiz website to buy.

Think of summer, think of fun & colorful “adult” drinks in novel drinking glasses and fruit garnish. Well, that’s what some of us think of first…  And, for us, there’s the “Spike Your Juice” kits, a new way to transform all those kiddie, summery juice flavors into sparkling boozy beverages. All you need is…

1. Your favorite juice, a 64 oz bottle
2. One Spike package, poured into the bottle
3. Seal the bottle
4. Wait 48 hours
5. Enjoy…

The fizziness is part of the natural fermentation process. Most juices will create an alcoholic beverage with about 14% alcohol.

Though I don’t think that this will satisfy the chichi palates, I’m pretty sure that this bootleg cocktail maker makes up for its lack of sophistication with low-cost (6 Spike packets for $10 + cost of your juice for 64oz of drink) and sheer fun.

The Spike Your Drink kits (including the gift pack) can be ordered directly from the website, here.

I want a martini with Spiked grape juice. No twist, but I’ll take an umbrella.

… We say innocuous looking, because we believe that Buckyballs will, in fact, quickly become highly addictive.

Ok, so this is not a grand statement of a gift, but you know that it would be the one that gets the most attention. And which dad doesn’t need a desk toy that is actually interesting for more than 3 minutes…

Each set contains 216 powerful Rare Earth magnets that can be shaped, molded, torn apart and snapped together in UNLIMITED WAYS. Make sculptures, puzzles, patterns, shapes, stick stuff to the fridge, invent a new game…

You can buy Buckyballs directly from the site. Current promo is BOGO (Buy One Get One) for $29.95. Like! Alternatively, check out Amazon for other brands of magnet cubes, like this Grand Daddy of all magnet puzzles, the NeoCube Omega with 1000 spheres. For the confirmed addicts only.

So now, what are you going to do? Get dad another tie?