This website is pretty interesting. From their
mission statement: “We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit,
‘consumer advocate’ for voters that aims to reduce the level
of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual
accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form
of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.
Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship,
and to increase public knowledge and understanding.”
Go here to make sure you are getting the facts straight!

www.factcheck.org

Nicole is our Seattle Store Sales Associate. If you visit our Seattle store,
you’ll find Nicole, ready to answer all of your questions. She’s super cool.

width="68" height="104" />The
LUX is as you like it: a sophisticated tote, an elegant laptop
carrier, or a chic diaper bag.

A customizable bag with optional zip-in inserts, the LUX is a tote bag
with graceful curves and streamlined design. There are no outside pockets or
zippers to distract from its clean lines. The padded handles are easy on
the hands, and the straps are the right length to ride comfortably on
the shoulder. A zippered inside pocket is sized to fit wallet,
checkbook, and/or iPod, and has two points to attach a key snap
(included). The inside bottom of the LUX features a separating zipper
that allows you to zip in one of our still-in-development optional
inserts to customize the function of the LUX to suit your needs. Of
course, without any insert, the LUX is still an easy-on-the-eyes and
ever-so-useful bag for town and market. The LUX is $50.00 and is available
for pre-order now with a ship date of late September. Inserts for the LUX
will be available in late September.

Planned inserts include:

The Parental Unit:
A diaper bag insert designed and tested by parents.
No bunnies or teddy bears, just clean lines, tough materials and
thoughtful features.

Laptop insert:
A padded insert for your 12 laptop, as well as
accessories, a few files, and maybe even lunch.

Knitting insert:
When we decided to make a knitting insert for the LUX,
we turned to our friends at Knitty Magazine for their input,
and that’s how the the Knitty/Tom Bihn contest came to be.
Visit Knitty.com to fill out the survey on the LUX knitting bag insert.
Should it have three pockets or five? What colors would you like to see
it in? You tell us through the survey and we’ll make the knitting bag
of your dreams. When you fill out and submit the survey, you’ll be
entered in the contest.

The Grand Prize (1) is 1 LUX tote with knitting insert and a $100 TOM
BIHN gift certificate. (Approximate value of prize is $200.00). 2nd and
3rd place prizes (1 each): 1 LUX tote with knitting insert.

Visit Knitty
for all the rules and details.

Enter the
Knitty/Tom Bihn contest

The LUX

Do
you remember the Hippity Hop jumping ball you had when you were a
kid? You know, the round rubber ball with a handle on top that you could
bounce all over the yard? Well the fun is not over just because you’re
all grown up and you sit in front of a computer all day long.

The BalanceBall Chair by Gaiam is like a grown up version of the old Hippity Hop.
Sort of. Okay, I don’t get to go bouncing all over the office in it and it doesn’t
have a handle, but it sure does turn heads. Not a day goes by that a customer doesn’t
notice it and say something like “Wow, I’ve never seen a chair like that.”
And I suspect that my co-workers steal it away from my desk when I’m on vacation.
It is essentially a Balance Ball in a wheeled chair base.
You’ve probably heard that sitting on a Balance Ball instead of a chair is good for
your back and hips and all-over alignment.

Ever tried that? It’s hard! You have to balance it all day. That’s why it’s called
a Balance Ball. The BalanceBall Chair is basically the a wimpy variation.
You get a lot of those same benefits without having to keep the ball balanced.

When I first got my chair I could really feel my lower back starting to
get stronger. In other words, it ached. Now it is totally natural for me
to sit in this chair every day, and it is sooo comfortable. The chair
comes with a desktop exercise book that you can set on your desk and
look at every day. Some more ambitious folks might even do some of the
exercises. The chair is made by a cool company called Gaiam and is sold on their website
as well as some other online dealers such as Drugstore.com.

Happy Bouncing!

The BalanceBall Chair

About Sunga

The
TOM BIHN Laptop Keyboard Cover is a thin piece of Ultrasuede® that
you sandwich between the keyboard and the screen of your laptop when you
fold it shut. Ultrasuede® is a high-tech synthetic suede material that
feels like chamois; it pads the laptop screen from the keyboard when the
laptop is closed (especially useful when transporting your laptop) as
well as absorbing dirt and oil that your fingers leave behind on the keys.

It fits most laptops and is available in four colors: Graphite (dark
gray), Kiwi (vibrant yellow-green), Wild-Caught Salmon (light orange-pink), and Cobalt (medium blue).

Lightly and tastefully embossed with the TOM BIHN and Ultrasuede® logos. Available for $6.00
including shipping.

Laptop Keyboard Cover

These
simple pouches will add an extra pocket for organization to any bag.
Using a small-but-tough plastic snaphook, they attach inside the
TOM BIHN Buzz, Smart Alec, ID, LUX, Empire Builder, and all sizes of the
Cafe bags, which have D rings for a key snap inside (if you have some
other bag, that’s OK too: just don’t use the little plastic snaphook or break it off.)

Available in Small ($5.00) and Medium ($7.00) sizes. The small fits
items such as wallets, keys, or makeup, and the medium will fit a
checkbook, mouse, or pens. Available in various colors.

Accessory Pouches