Up until a few weeks ago, there were only a few words that I associated with startup companies. One was "balls," another was "brains," another was "heart attack."

There are elements that lead up to those associations, first and foremost being that I was probably in diapers when I was initially exposed to startup culture. My father, an entrepreneur to the core, would be on his gigantic cell phone spitting stress into the mouthpiece; I'd be strapped into a car seat drooling into the mangy mane of a Cabbage Patch Kid– and even then, I swear I was thinking, "F*&$ this, dad, I'm going to be a writer."

However, if things had been going then like they are now, there's a chance that the words that I currently associate with entrepreneurialism might have formed differently – maybe even in the shape of "addictive," "creative," and "thrilling." To a great extent, this can be attributed to the Internet, and to the now increased rate at which new concepts can become tangible products. However, to another smaller, but potentially as powerful extent, this can be attributed to Startup Weekends – i.e., 54 hour-long, high-intensity events dedicated to melding minds and starting companies.

We chatted with Andrew Hyde, Startup Weekend's Boulder-based founder — and brand new community manager for Techstars.org — about the now globally occurring events, but never really found the answer to our main question: When – and how in the hell - did startups become so much fun?

Joshspear.com: Tell us about your history – how is it that you love entrepreneurialism so much?

Andrew Hyde: I remember learning how to count money from my favorite teacher, an elementary school volunteer of 40 years, Nellie Zook. At the end of the lesson she said that when we all started businesses, she would be our first customer, to check on our money counting skills. That stuck with me a bit. (Read More…)

Sometimes a Blue Mountain e-card of two squirrels hugging to a midi version of Love Will Keep Us Together doesn’t accurately express what’s in our heart. Zeichen Press, however, knows just how to make a Hallmark moment. Whether it’s the Valentine’s Day wish of “I hate you. I always have,” or expressing congratulations for a friend’s new arrival with “I’m glad you’re having a baby and I’m not,” the act of sending a paper card will always say more than a few impersonal clicks. (Unless, of course, it’s from somecards.)

David Avram Brown, aka Benny Strange, is willing to do whatever he needs to in the name of his art. Having survived a cross-country hitchhiking adventure at the tender age of eighteen and spending his early twenties bouncing up and down the west coast, he finally found himself settled in Los Angeles. His thoroughly listenable second EP, When Continents Collide, is more than worthy of comparisons to his contemporaries like Keane and Cary Brothers. We’re looking forward to more from this bright shining star, for sure.

Benny Strange: Official Site | Myspace | iTunes

Having tended a bar (or seven) on a previous career path, I still find myself rather drawn to well-crafted bar accouterments. Josh Owen’s Jigger Aluminum Cube is inspired by traditional sake cups and measures a mere three-inches cubed, and is designed to accurately measure the four most utilized alcohol measurements in the smallest possible dispenser. It’s available for pre-order at Unica Home now — just in time for those summer margarita sloshfests.

Are you feeling down in the dumps? Perhaps you need some pleasant thoughts or the added elements of sweetness and whimsy introduced to your mundane existence. We’ve been there before, but luckily we found a place where even the saddest visage can be turned upside down. That place is the adorably quirky world of Nut and Bee, the product of the fertile mind of Kiwi artist Annette Lauder. The Auckland based illustrator has created a wide array of adorable animal and even vegetable characters that are beaming with personality. We recommend heading on over to the Nut and Bee Etsy shop to get your fix of fun imagery. It’s sure to bring a smile to your face and it’ll probably make you want to buy an awesome print or two.

In the past few years we’ve mentioned the Dutch design super-humans at Droog Design a number of times and we’re absolutely delighted to have their name roll off the tip of our tongue yet again. This time around these heroes of in-home artistry who specialize in creating products based on innovative concepts that change perspective and connect with the individual, have teamed up with our friends at 2modern to make their latest line of quality wares available at the design blog’s online shop. The collection features everything from a parasol to a variety of lamps and even a doorbell that utilizes wine glasses to create a musical welcome. If you’re looking for something unique, beautiful and functional…we recommend looking no further than these Droog goodies.