Great Star Wars and Full Metal Jacket mash up poster by artist and “graphic satirist” KENYONB. $30 and it’s yours.

Star Wars and Full Metal Jacket is like chocolate and peanut butter… Darth Vader and Private Joker's helmet epitomize the duality of man, or “the Jungian thing, Sir.” And even if you aren't picking up on my FMJ reference, you have to admit this is one badass looking poster. This is printed using clear gloss on matte black for the perfect black on black.

A pre-lunch visit to the online marketplace Foodzie is not for the faint of heart: the startup’s efforts to highlight the products of independent food producers includes images and details about cheeses, chocolates, and sauces that will make your mouth water. The artisan product provider earned recognition as one of BusinessWeek’s Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs earlier this year, and the results have been delicious.

While working for a private label market in North Carolina, Emily Olson, one of the three member Foodzie founder team (above in the middle), realized how hard it can be for small producers to get their products in front of retailers. The stories behind the foods and companies weren’t being well conveyed, and she set up shop with Rob LaFave and Nik Bauman to create a marketplace where producers could promote their products easily. “This lets them focus on chocolate or what they’re really good at,” said Olson, whose notable finds since starting the site have included truffle popcorn and almond butter crunch toffee. “We see ourselves as part of a bigger movement around more sustainable and high quality food. And even in a recession, we’ve found that people may not be going for big extravagances but are still buying small luxuries.” Sounds like it’s time for a gourmet pickle party pack.

With Mother’s day fast approaching, those of us who won’t be able to make it home to present mom with a box of chocolates and some fresh flowers to show how much we care in person have undoubtedly started feeling a dash of homesickness setting in. Sure, mom might not be able to hug us and let us know that everything’s going to be okay this year, yet there’s still a way we can revel in her warmth though distance may beg to differ. The caring folks at NYC Creative Agency, Mother, have come up with Mother-scented candles, so no matter how far apart you are, as long as these babies are burning bright, you can feel as though she’s in the next room preparing to tell you just how much she loves you…and how you desperately need to get a job and stop asking her for money. What does your mother smell like? Was it this good?

Check out the spot they did for them here. Because the sweetest memories, are the ones that burn. Funny.

Our pals at [Me] and Goji, the ones that let you “create and make your own healthy organic custom cereal an granola” are making the world a better place in the process. In celebration of Earth Day (today, folks), they have decided to go ahead and make a donation to American Forests for each Cereal Capsule ordered. So, if you order 1 mix, they plant 1 tree. 4 mixes, 4 trees. And of course, get your entire office to order and they’ll plant a forest (I’m going to try). It’s deliciously good– trust me, I made some Speareal with chocolate covered goji berries and it was absolutely great. Go, do it!

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Our pal Alice Wang dropped us a note letting us know about her latest project, Commodity Love. She’s at it again making us scratch our head wondering what’s true here. She says “As products get more and more attractive, can they replace the feelings we have towards our loved ones? Will you love your phone more than your girlfriend? Or will you love your car more than your wife? And how would you feel if your wife told you she suddenly loves chocolate more than sex?”

Depends what kind of car I guess.

The badges are made out of stainless steel with a piece of magnet at the back that can be attached to any garment.

They are on sale at Galleria Nina Lumer in Milan:

22-27 APRIL 2009
GALLERIA NINA LUMER
VIA BOTTA 8 20135 MILAN

Related Posts: Chairs with Personality, Sleep Inventions, Peer Pressure

Fair trade, dark, cherry, milk, mocha—no matter your chocolate preference, winning a year’s worth would be little short of lovely. Bridge Brands Chocolate’s current contest is soliciting 600-word essays about ways that the treat (or the necessity, depending upon whom you ask) has “bridged the gap between relationships,” be they lovers or political enemies. The contest was inspired by the company’s name switch from the San Francisco Chocolate Factory and founder Mike Litton’s observation that “chocolate throughout history has been used to soothe many of life’s difficult situations.” Winners will be announced on—when else?—Valentine’s Day.

We talk a lot about artist on joshspear.com, but when we get to talk with artist its like peaking inside their head full of amazing visions. Sickboy’s Stay Free is full of scary, amazing, funny and just wacky visions. The show is best described as an art playground. He took over a building (not a gallery) and put up paintings but also a sweet factory, weird girls in mask walking around, paintings planted in pots, a house to walk through (check out our exclusive pictures of the opening night for a better idea) and of course his iconic temples. Sickboy’s Stay Free is an entire world and in this interview we walk hand in hand through that world.

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Artist Dave MacDowell creates some really strange and interesting paintings. He combines a myriad of of pop-culture references into his art: characters from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Stand By Me, Mallrats, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Alice in Wonderland and a slew of other well-known figures. The funky vivid colors create something you’d find in a carnival funhouse nightmare. Check out his interview at Blah Blah Gallery.

There are artists who create crazy amazing paintings, and then there are artists who create entirely new worlds. Sickboy falls into the latter, and his new show in London, the Stay Free Factory, is a chance for us to enter that world. In his first major solo show Sickboy is shooting for the moon. He has transformed an entire Victorian Grade II listed building in East London into a 3D playground. He isn’t denying the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory connection — actually he’s completely embracing it by giving away the installation to the lucky recipient of a golden key. The project is only up for a week, so make sure you plan a visit. While only one person can win, many can buy. A new set of prints, paintings and mini installations will be available for purchase on the launch date. Don’t miss it. No pictures of the factory just yet, but they will be coming.

Date: December 4th through 10th; noon till 6pm

Location: The Tramshed, 6-8 Garden Walk, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3EQ / Tube: Old Street

Belgium is known for its chocolate, waffles and beer, but there is only so much that your stomach can take. I had a fantastic meal at the Belga Queen. A renovated bank hosts an expansive restaurant featuring some of the best beers in Belgium, as well as amazing food. Head chef Antoine Pinto has won countless awards for his food and interior design, which is a double whammy for us. Have a look over their menu and drool, then book airplane tickets and go. As for their ‘mysterious’ staircase, we’ll leave that a mystery that you’ll have to experience on your own.

We were blown away by the beauty and love rippling through New York photographer Phillip Toledano's lovely “Days With My Father”. In the days leading up to the U.S. election, Toledano switches from the personal to the political with his new online project “America The Gift Shop”.

Asking “What do we have to remind us of the events of the last eight years?”, Toledano's “store” offers they typical line-up of familiar mementos and souvenirs, but with a disturbing political twist. From an Abu Ghraib bobble-head doll, to a snow globe depicting Dick Cheney shredding secret documents, to a T-shirt reading “I was rendered to a secret prison and all I got was this lousy T-shirt”, the items would all be humorous if it wasn't for the shocking and atrocious realities they represent. Each piece begins as an entertaining notion and then shifts quickly into solid statement. Like when the candy bar “Choc and Awe”, once unwrapped, reveals the infamous slogan “Mission Accomplished” engraved on the chocolate inside.

Though souvenirs are normally treasured, kept to celebrate and commemorate happiness, the wares inside “America The Gift Shop” should be taken to heart with equal value. Not to celebrate, but to remember and acknowledge. If “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, then remembering the follies and mistakes of the last eight years could be one of the most important things you'll ever do.

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You think your friends are pretty diverse. Maybe you have one buddy who lives on a steady diet of tacos with no apparent consequence, or another who can’t leave the house without tying his shoes in double knots. Whatever. Friends are friends, and who are you to judge? Just like the new Cannibal Funfair freak show of minifigurines designed by Tado, because despite their insistence to live only in the forest — which is an obvious sign of an antisocial tendency — they are too cute to refuse. They also have neat removable accessories and interesting personalities … even if they’d turn on you in a second and eat you like chocolate cake. You can pick them up at the Magic Pony site.

Need an afternoon pick-me-up? Fat Pig Chocolate can give you one in five to seven business days with their organic milk chocolate bars. Today it may seem unfortunate that Fat Pig isn't in the corner shop down the street from your office, but if order one today you'll will have forgotten about it by the time it arrives. And then, surprise! You've got a package and a delicious treat. While you’re pigging out, check out their website where you can upload an image of your own fat face about to eat some chocolate.

Got milk? Chocolate Flavored Straws, recently released by The San Francisco Chocolate Company, are a great example of fun, functional packaging to bring out the kid in all of us (milk drinkers). Within a sealed, wider than normal straw, chocolate beads are encased. You simply put it into a glass and sip. We tried it with organic non-fat milk and soy milk. The straw is definitely for casual as well as hardcore chocolate milk enthusiasts. It's not overwhelming, but a healthy balance. I've been waiting for an accessible version of the overseas flavored milk straw product to make it to the U.S. – and it finally did! What do you think of the concept? Have you tried the Australian or European versions?

We kind of have a soft spot for bunnies. From Watership Down to The Velveteen Rabbit, cute cuddly things in distress bum us out. Which is why Dutch artist Sander Plug’s Chocolate Haas is morbidly fascinating. For those that were more fans of Donnie Darko’s Frank (the music actually kind of reminds us of the score) than Peter Cottontail, one hollow chocolate bunny after another gets the Lost Ark treatment, using heat guns, space heaters, and a hot iron. Sadistic? Kind of. But think of how much worse it would be if they were alive.