August 2009 Archives

It seems like a large portion of the world is crazy about the Twilight books and movies, and I certainly don't want to upset that many people. I'll be honest - I have not read any of the books, have not seen Twilight, and am not anxiously awaiting the sequel. I'm not here to make fun of those; I'm making fun of an umbrella that costs $79.99 because it features characters from the movie. That is so expensive for an umbrella!

If you want a Twilight Umbrella but don't want to pay that much, check out the $19.95 version. To browse some umbrellas that aren't part of a teen vampire craze, visit Vat19.com. They are auto-open and auto-close, which is a way cooler feature than a vampire picture.

Who doesn't love finding little surprises every once in a while? You reach into your coat pocket to put away your keys and - what is this? - a $20 bill you totally forgot about. Sweet!

The Wonderball from Channel Craft has a whole lot of these little surprises wrapped up in an unassuming ball of yarn. As you unwind it, little "trinkets of the past" like charms, jacks, and jewels are revealed. You never know what you're gonna get - how fun is that? Once you're done unwinding, you can play Cat's Cradle games or make friendship bracelets based on the instructions included with the toy. Nothing like All-American, wholesome goodtimes.

This shark-shaped tent is really neat for kids. It isn't scary looking and also isn't too cute.

How fun would it be for kids to camp out (even if it is only in the backyard) in one of these? You could bring a portable DVD player along and watch Shark Week DVDs inside the Shark Tent!

Holy cannoli, I am in love with this TV stand. I feel bad calling it a TV stand, because that sounds so boring and commonplace, and this beauty is neither of those.

This TV Easel (name still doesn't do it justice) is constructed of solid hardwood and is height-adjustable to fit flat-screen televisions from 42" - 60". It's tough to tell from the photo, but there is a shelf on the bottom for your DVD player, cable box, and/or gaming console. It also has locking wheels on the bottom, and could also be used for a mirror or actual artwork. Oh, and the antiqued ebony finish is hand-applied in a four-step process.

So, you know what all this means, right? It's pricey. $995 at Restoration Hardware. Oh if I had $1000 to spare...

A digital camera with LCD screens on the front and the back! Why didn't this already exist? This would be especially helpful when someone (Hi, mom!) who sucks at using a digital camera is taking a photo for you so you can make sure they're getting everything framed correctly. I want one!

All of you who love to take photos of yourself and put them up on Facebook would like this because you can actually see what your photo will look like as it is displayed on the front LCD screen. If you can't afford to buy this new Samsung digital camera, you could always get the job done with the Bottle Cap Tripod or the Gorillapod Flexible Tripod, both available right here at Vat19.com.

How great of an idea is this cup holder for your bike? Having a drink holder right there on your handlebars is much more convenient than having it down below you. Hopefully it could also securely hold bottled beverages. They'd be a lot less likely to spill!

The "ring-o-star", which can easily be attached to handlebars, is currently just a concept product. I think it should go into production. What do you think?

Just by looking at this picture here, what do you think Le Whif is? Perfume? Deodorant? A smoking inhibitor? Nope. Le Whif is a chocolate inhaler. It contains little particles of chocolate powder that you inhale, leaving you with a brief but supposedly yummy taste of chocolate in your mouth.

Part of the reason for this is to curb your calorie intake. Instead of eating a whole Snickers bar, you can take a couple puffs of Le Whif and intake less than 1 calorie. But I'm sorry, if I have a craving for chocolate, I want to EAT chocolate. I don't think a puff of chocolate mist is going to satiate me, you know?

Plus, these little buggers aren't cheap. Currently only available from a European site (as far as I know), they cost a little over $14 for a pack of six. And each Le Whif only contains four puffs, or one measly calorie of chocolate.

Sidenote: Why would you name your product Le Whif? I feel like Pepe Le Pew should be the spokesman.

You know us, you love us, you buy from us. But do you know how we got our name? We get asked "What does Vat19 mean?" quite often, so we thought we'd address answering this question in a fun and unique way. That's just how we roll.

Below is a video we made of one possible answer to this Burning Question, but we want to know what YOU think Vat19 means. How do YOU think we got our name? Post a video response to our YouTube video or send us an email with your story. You never know, we just might send out cool prizes or coupon codes to those who submit awesome stories, so get creative!

Initially, I thought these Chair Socks by Chris & Ruby were a really cute idea. They're way more interesting and fashion-forward than those beige stick-ums you usually put on the bottom of chair legs, right? And it'd be a good way to add a little decorative kick to your dining area, right?

Then I looked at my dining chairs and imagined them with these pink "Flashdance" socks on them, and I realized how lame it would look. It's like putting a scarf around your refrigerator or something. It just doesn't go.

It would be neat if you could watch an amazing fireworks display at any given moment, but there simply is no substitute for the real thing! Kids might think the Fireworks Projector is fun to play with, but it would be an incredibly distracting nightlight!

Seeing images of colorful fireworks on a screen or wall cannot even compare to seeing them light up the sky. I need the entire package when I'm watching fireworks - the bright colors, the loud explosion, and the smell that lingers.

The video below is in Japanese, but at least you can see how the Fireworks Projector works and what it sounds like. For really awesome product videos in English, visit Vat19's YouTube channel.

Opening little packets of ketchup or other condiments definitely isn't difficult or strenuous, but it can be annoying. Sometimes they don't tear enough, sometimes they tear too much, and sometimes they practically explode on you as you tear them open.

The "Khort" is a simple gadget that effortlessly and cleanly slices open those little packets. Every fast food restaurant should have one of these at each table!

Have you ever had drinking chocolate? I'm not talking about what most Americans think of as hot chocolate, which is usually a powdered cocoa mix that you stir into hot water or milk. I'm talking real drinking chocolate, actual morsels of chocolate that you melt into hot milk to create a rich, smooth, velvety elixir. I drank it every morning when I visited Spain, and it was pure heaven...

Anyway, before I start salivating all over my keyboard, let's get back to the subject of this post - these adorable Cioccolato Mugs. With their unique European style, you can pretend you're enjoying gourmet drinking chocolate outside a Parisian or Italian cafe (even if you're actually sipping the powdered stuff at your kitchen counter). Plus, they come in this super chic hatbox, making them a great gift!

Psst... For more great gifts, be sure to check out Vat19.com.

To randomly choose the winner of Vat19.com's Curiously Awesome Back-to-School Giveaway, we added up the comments left on the giveaway post and the posts made to our Facebook discussion page and then went to a random number generator. Here's the result:

The winner of the giveaway is commenter number 54, Aura, who signed up for Vat19.com's bi-monthly email newsletter. (Yes, we verified the sign-up!) Congratulations, Aura!

Thank you to everyone who entered our contest!

Let's file this one under "Just Plain Unnecessary".

Yes, I understand that some people have trouble applying mascara to their lashes and subsequently get black stuff on their eyelids or under their eyes. However, I'm thinking that having to hold the Mascara Shield with one hand while wielding your mascara wand with the other would make things even more difficult. Notice how the gal in the photo isn't applying her mascara and therefore isn't really demonstrating the usefulness of the product?

Plus, it's $7.50, and it appears only to be a dinky piece of plastic. My advice is to save yourself some dollars and clean up any mascara boo-boos with a trusty household staple - Q-Tips.