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Our Part Two of “Looks Good Enough to Eat but Don’t!” looks at Japanese food. We at Rotem Gear love Japanese food (as you can see from our own natto t-shirt) and figure “why stop at just eating it when you can wear it, bathe with it, work with it and play with it?”

Asobi: Play with your food!

What would be a more unique holiday gift for a child than a clever play “bento” box lunch, like the ones created by Lilly Bean (available from Mahar Dry Goods.)

Think of a bento as a special lunch box with compartments for all your favorite foods. This delicious three-piece stacking bentwood bento box meal contains the following handmade wool felt foods:

* two pieces of California roll sushi,
* one piece of salmon nigiri sushi,
* one piece of shrimp nigiri sushi,
* seaweed salad,
* Three cucumber slices
* sweet strawberry

But should kids have all the fun? The feline a-fish-ianado in your life deserves a toy too.This crocheted sushi is guaranteed to put a smile on your face and send your kitty into catnip hysterics. A piece of filleted yarn shrimp features embroidered details and is set upon on a pillow of sticky white rice. By Christen Hayden and available from Mahar Dry Goods. (Chopsticks, sushi mat and cat not included.)

Sleep on it!

After a hard night of downing special rolls and guzzling sake, die-hard sushi fans will love coming home to rest their heads on these delectable sushi pillows and “go ne-ne.” By Cindy & Mel and available in Salmon Nigiri, California Roll and Tuna Nigiri styles at PixieGirlShop.

Nigiri pillows: 14″ length, 8″ width, 11″ height
Norimaki: 12″ diameter by 5″ height

Bathe with it!
Another bento box, this time filled with fragrant soap. One of many made by Kisukisu.

More sushi sightings:

Sushi jewelry by Amy Secrest at PixieGirlShop; crocheted sushi magnets from mmm-fruit; and while it isn’t Japanese, we must include the fortune cookie necklace from Amy Peters.

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Technorati Tags: sushi jewelry, sushi pillows, fortune cookie necklace, japanese food gifts, sushi soap, amy secrest, amy peters, kisukisu, mahar dry goods, cindy and mel, crocheted sushi, sushi magnets, rotem gear, natto t-shirt

Finally, air guitar maestros the world over will soon be able to translate their musical delusions into real audible experience.

Scientists in Australia have developed a t-shirt embedded with sensors that cause the t-shirt to play electric guitar riffs — you’ll see a link to the podcast there telling all. Each movement by the “wearable instrument shirt” (WIS) maps gestures to trigger audio samples, basically translating them to notes and chords. One arm is interpreted as picking chords while the other strums. The “wearable instrument shirt” is adaptable to both right and left-handed would-be rock stars.

The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) team recently demonstrated the technology, which can also be applied to other uses. From the CSIRO Media Centre:

“The technology – which is adaptable to almost any kind of apparel – takes clothing beyond its traditional role of protection and fashion into the realms of entertainment and a wide range of other applications including the development of clothes which will be able to monitor physiological changes,” (says textile and fiber technology researcher Richard Helmer).

In an interview we heard with Dr. Helmer on NPR yesterday, it was indicated that the technology could be helpful for non-entertainment uses as well, such as sports or physical rehabilation therapies. Here’s the interview.

But to see the groovy garment in action, here’s a video of the rockin’ Dr. Helmer playing the t-shirt.

(Caveat: Despite the stage effects in the video, the air guitar t-shirt does not provide light show, fog, back-up singers or groupies. For that you’re on your own.)

But here’s an idea! Wear the shirt to work, get yourself a drum mousepad (allows you to play eight different percussion sounds using only your fingers) and you can really drive the office colleagues nuts as you rock out.

Meanwhile, the t-shirt is not yet on the market, so would-be musicians lacking talent, training or a sense of rhythm will have to wait a bit before annoying the people around them not only visually, but audibly as well.>

And while there is no word on whether famed t-shirt company CafePress will be carrying these t-shirts in the future ;), air guitar fans can boast their lack of musical know-how with non-electronic t-shirts or look forward to the day they can wear this:

Props to BoingBoing, NPR Radio, digg.

Technorati Tags: air guitar, CSIRO, Australia, Australian science, richard helmer, electronic air guitar, air guitar t-shirt, drum mousepad, geek, technology, textiles, t-shirts, tee shirts, science, music, rock and roll

Here we are, between Halloween and Thanksgiving, hurtling well into the eating extravaganza of the winter holiday season. Worrying already about how to curb that sweet tooth? Here are some calorie-free treats to put on your wish list or gift list this season.

This ring looks just like a Wintergreen Candy but is actually a glass bead handmade exclusively by Silver Styles. Also available — “peppermint” (red) and “spearmint” (icey light blue.)

>> Meanwhile, at SoapyLove you will find lots of good humor ::wink:: in their selection of soaps that look like popsicles in different “flavors” from this Neopolitan to French Vanilla, Orange, Sherbet, and for the season, Candy Cane.

>>More soapy trickster sweets are available at Soap Cafe, where you can find a veritable bakery of soaps — boxes of chocolates, slices of pumpkin or chocolate cherry pie, donuts, cupcakes and gingerbread.

Earthenwood Studios is known for their handmade ceramic beads, many of which are a storybook’s worth of faeries, pixies, moon faces and nature. But they also have a huge collections of snack beads, from fruits and vegetables, to cakes, candy, pretzels, pizza … these are wonderful for crafts or pendants and wholey unique.

Bon apetit!

Technorati Tags: soap, soap gifts, soapsicles, charms, beads, earthenwood-studio, soapylove, soapcafe, silverstyles,

A co-creation by nature and Dreams & Jewelry.

The natural leaf fine silver pendant is what is what is left after the firing process, after the original leaf burned away, leaving an exact impression of its once beautiful splendor. Delicate yet strong, this leaf has a hand applied patina to accent the natural veining in the leaf and buffed to a beautiful shine.

Below, a brass leaf pendant by Urban Bloom is hung from 14K gold filled chain and accompanied by a freshwater pearl, dyed jade, and Swarovski crystal. One of a kind and made in NYC. Also by Urban Bloom, the Perennial Beauty line of 24K gold-dipped leaves and pinecones.

A world of leafy possibilities exists at SBS Teas, home of such organica exotica as Rooibos White Chocolate Toffee Tea, Banana Caramel Tisane, and an Earl Grey with vanilla. Other special blends will take you through autumn to winter, like Chocolate Berry Tea and Candied Apples Tisane. But you’ll find so much more than tea. You’ll find special spices and sugars, and tea paraphenalia there, and can even get a virtual tea leaf reading!

Fallin’ Trivet sets by NotNeutral. Bright candy-colored leaves make these durable steel Fallin’ Garden Trivets eye catching on your table. (Props to Modern Seed.)

Finally, either the outdoors or the indoors can take advantage of thes fanciful and removable wall decals by Blik.

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