Polo Shirt Pteusday: “Squid Polo” by Gama-Go
December 8, 2009
I really should have included this in last week’s Holiday Shopping Guide, so consider this an addendum. This three-button polo features the by-now-familiar Gama-Go Giant Squid and is available in Black, Navy, and Khaki. It originally retailed for $32, but it is currently on sale for a mere $12 USD!!! My guess is that this sale will probably last until they are sold out…so what are you waiting for?? Buy from Gama-Go.com.
2009 Holiday Shopping Guide: Miscellaneous!
December 4, 2009
I hope that this week’s shopping guide has helped some of you find the perfect Christmas and/or Cephalopodmas gift for the squidophile in your life. To round things out, here are a few products that didn’t really fit in the other categories. And in case you missed them, those categories are:
Toys | Apparel | Books | Jewelry
Gama-Go
Giant Squid Sticker ($2)
This sticker is roughly 3″ x 4″ and is printed on durable transparent vinyl.
Squid Kimono Billfold ($24)
This embossed vinyl wallet is a variation on the same theme we saw with their “Geisha Tentacles” shirt (which is still available!). It has two i.d. windows, three coin holders, and “surprises a-plenty.” Buy from Gama-Go!
Futuregirl Leah Riley
Squiddish Pouch ($15)
From Leah’s product description:
The best thing about Squiddish Pouches is their diverse capabilities -
- they can be closed using the convenient button and button hole method OR
- they can be hung on the wall using a nail or pushpin through the buttonhole OR
- they can even be attached to holiday trees or other shrubbery by running a string through the buttonholeEach Squiddish Pouch is hand-cut from thick wool felt, which means each one is unique.
Each piece is securely sewn together, and features a lovely button eye.Measurements:
Open: 11″h x 3.25″w
Closed: 7.75″h x 3.25″wOther details:
Bright pink button
Rich Purple wool felt with darker purple thread design swirling through
Kamibashi Freak*O*Bags™
Squid ($20)
These fair trade, colorful creatures open up to reveal a sturdy 16″ x 16″ tote bag that can be used again and again. Bring them to the grocery store or anywhere you typically receive plastic bags. When you’re done, simply stuff it back into the attached pet and clip it on to anything so it’s always around when you need it.
Articulate Matter
Justina Kochansky’s Etsy shop is the companion site to her webcomic Articulate Matter (previously reviewed here). She sells prints, a brand new calendar, and some of the actual polymer clay sculptures from the comic!
Ariculate Matter 2010 Calendar ($15)
Articulate Matter Prints ($10)
Card Squid ($75)
Ninja Squid ($100)
2009 Holiday Shopping Guide: Books!
December 2, 2009
Sorry for the slap-dash nature of this post. I’ll fix up the formatting and add more description to each book when I have a little more time.
Anyway, because Wednesday is normally devoted to comics, let’s start our book list with a few graphic novels.
Comics/Graphic Novels
Jules Verne’s Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (2008, Flesk Publications)
adapted and Illustrated by Gary Gianni
In addition to the fully illustrated adaptation of Verne’s sci-fi classic, this beautiful folio-sized hardcover includes H.G. Wells’ short story “The Sea Raiders” (which features an encounter with a Giant Squid) and an introduction by Ray Bradbury.
List Price: $24.95 — Buy on Amazon.com
Cthulhu Tales (2008-2009, BOOM! Studios)
written and illustrated by various authors/artists
List Price: $15.99 per volume
Fiction
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (2009, Quirk Books)
by Jane Austin and Ben H. Winters
List Price: $12.99 — Buy on Amazon.com
Mall of Cthulhu (2009, Night Shade Books)
by Seamus Cooper
List Price: $13.95 — Buy on Amazon.com
Non-Fiction
Cephalopods: A World Guide (2000, Conch Books)
by Mark Norman
This is the oldest book in this list, and the only one that doesn’t appear to be currently in print. However, this is pretty much the definitive source book for cephalopod identification, and a must have for any serious cephalopod enthusiast.
List Price: $69.95 — Buy on DiveSeekers.com
The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss (2007, University of Chicago Press)
by Claire Nouvian
List Price $60.00 — Buy on Amazon.com
For Kids
The Octonauts & The Only Lonely Monster (2006, Immedium)
by Meomi
List Price: $15.95 — Buy on Amazon.com
Other titles in the series:
The Octonauts & The Sea of Shade
The Octonauts & The Frown Fish
The Octonauts & The Great Ghost Reef
20,000Leagues Under the Sea: A Pop-Up Book (2008, Sterling)
by Sam Ita
List Price: $26.95 — Buy on Amazon.com
2009 Holiday Shopping Guide: Apparel!
December 1, 2009
Today’s edition of the Shopping Guide focuses on cephalopod-themed clothing, but first, here’s our regularly scheduled installment of T-shirt Tuesday…
Sir Octopus
Brand new from Sir Critter (who previously brought us Sir Squid), is this dapper fellow. He’s all dressed up and ready for your office Christmas party!
Shirts start at $15.99, are available in a rainbow of color combinations, and did I mention the octopus with a moustache wearing a bow tie and flourishing a top hat? Also, there’s just two days left of their big Cyber Monday sale! All orders over $40 are 25% off.
Buy it now from SirCritter.com
Threadless®
Art Is My Weapon and Loch Ness Imposter are back in stock!
Both are currently on sale for $12 each (all sizes and styles).
As we know, Threadless designs sell out fast, particularly when they’re on sale, so act fast!
Squidfire.com
I’ve already featured several different Squidfire designs, but I’ve barely scratched the surface of their vast selection of cephalopod shirts. They are all currently on sale (and all in stock, as far as I can tell), so any of them would be appropriate for this list. For example, here’s the SquidFire Emblem polo. It normally costs $32, but it’s temporarily reduced in price to $27. Buy it now from Squidfire.com.
The Squidfire emblem is also available on regular T-shirts (both men’s and women’s), long-sleeved thermal shirts (men’s and women’s), and hoodies.
Diesel Sweeties Pixel Socks
Clicky the Pixel Squid
Diesel Sweeties is a webcomic by R. Stevens about robots, music, and geek love. Looking for clever, ironic, and/or pixilated gift ideas? Then check out the Diesel Sweeties Store! These women’s knee socks—produced in cahoots with Sock It To Me of Portland, OR—feature an entire school of adorable cyclopian squid and are only $6.99 a pair!
Etsy.com
The Etsy community seems to be a nigh-unlimited source of hand-made cephalopod products, but for the purposes of rounding out tonight’s list, I’m going to narrow things down to neck ties only. Let’s begin with a rather familiar looking design…
(Click the images to visit the each seller’s Etsy shop.)
Sucker! by toybreaker ($30)
Octopus by jesswitaj ($30)
White Octopus by satisfactory ($28)
Polka Dot Squid by makbeauty ($30)
2009 Holiday Shopping Guide: Toys!
November 30, 2009
Welcome to the 1st Annual Indie Squid Kid Holiday Shopping Guide!
Every day this week I will feature the best new products for the cephalopod enthusiast in your life. In most cases, these will be products that I don’t own (yet…hint, hint) and haven’t previously reviewed. To kick the week off, we start with one of my favorite subjects…TOYS!
Imaginext®
Ocean Squid
Part of Imaginext’s new Ocean line, and of course it’s the one piece I haven’t been able to find yet.
List Price: $6.00 — Buy on Amazon.com (but it will be cheaper if you can find it in a retail store.)
Ocean Mega Playset
This set combines four different pieces that are usually sold separately. It not only includes the Ocean Squid (see above), but it also comes with a green plastic ammonite (one of the Ocean Boat’s accessories).
List Price: $74.99 — Buy on ToysRUs.com
3-Headed Dragon Gift Set
Spotted at my local Target store, this set includes not only an awesome three-headed sea dragon, but a Tylosaurus (from Imaginext’s discontinued Dinosaur line) and a repaint of Sea Blade the Octopus from their Pirate line.
List Price: $29.99 — Target in-store exclusive.
Safari Ltd.®
Incredible Creatures Giant Pacific Octopus
This is yet another example of something I haven’t been able to track down in the store. Safari’s Incredible Creatures are larger scale (and more detailed) than the Wild Safari line, but are made of softer plastic and are comparable in price.
List Price: $10.99 — Buy on SafariLtd.com
Also still available: Wild Safari Sea Life Octopus and Giant Squid.
Matchbox®
Mega Rig Pirate Ship!
There’s a lot of talk about pirates versus ninjas, but if we learned anything from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the pirate’s natural enemy is actually the cephalopod.
List Price $39.99 — Buy on Amazon.com
Also still available: Mega Rig Squid Sub
Playmobil® Pirates
Giant Octopus
List Price: $19.99 — Buy on PlaymobilUSA.com
Pirate Raft
List Price: $10.99 — Buy on PlaymobilUSA.com
LEGO® Pirates
Kraken Attack
List Price: $10.99 — Buy on Amazon.com
