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Hidden in plain sight…
So, as you might imagine, I get pitched all kinds of things to include in the zine. The majority of the submissions are crap, but there are some gems.
This week… a total gem: the ShampBooze II, a set of flasks disguised as shampoo and conditioner bottles designed to smuggle liquor onto cruises and into events. You know, to save money.
Now, once upon a time I wrote about the earlier version of this product (pictured above), simply called the ShampBooze. I was as tickled then as I am now to know of its existence. I mean, the name is inspired, it’s sticking it to the alcohol-gouging Man, and, how hilarious is it to be mixing drinks using hair product bottles?! SUPER HILARIOUS.
So yeah, the man behind these products, entrepreneur and inventor Scott, sent me info about the ShampBooze II this week. It has a new patent-pending bottle which actually dispenses real shampoo or conditioner.
Well…
I couldn’t stop there. I had to interview the guy. I just had to know his story. You’ll find it below.
–Rusty Blazenhoff
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This space intentionally left boozy
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Real things you can actually buy: no way!
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| (Cheap) drinks for EVERYBODY:
As promised, Scott, the founder of Smuggle Mug (the company behind ShampBooze I AND II) shared his story with me:
Are cruise ships getting wiser? What’s the story there? How did you get into this business?
“I started down the flask road by means of necessity. Going to poker parties, I would pack my rum flask, cokes and an insulated mug, because I like my drinks cold. Carrying all that became a hassle, so I figured a way to combine my flask with the mug. My first prototype of the Smuggle Mug worked really well. I started modifying regular mugs into Smuggle Mugs and they sold faster than I could make them in my garage. I didn’t have the funds to make the molds for an updated Smuggle Mug, so I had to put it off for a while.
Researching the hidden flask market, I saw an opportunity to market cruise flasks and thus came ShampBooze. They sold so well it funded the Smuggle Mug mold and production. From there I went on to make Sunscreen flasks, Wine flask kits, Umbrella flasks and Cooler flasks.
At first, everything was great, but after a year or so copy cats came on the scene. There really was no way to patent an empty bottle so there was nothing I could do, except come up with a totally unique patentable bottle flask that people would want more. So I did.
Plus, the cruise lines are well aware of people smuggling booze in any type of bottle and this would make it way harder to find. The patent will cover any bottle or tube so I can turn any product container into a flask that really dispenses that product. There is a huge market, and with my patent, I will be able to take a big chunk of it back. I put a lot of money and time into this new bottle design and funds are low. So Kickstarter is the perfect way to get the funding I need to start the first production of the ShampBooze II. The sunscreen bottle will be next. I also have a new Umbrella Flask that is even more like a real umbrella. I have fun designing and prototyping my ideas. I also have a few nonalcoholic projects I am working on. But first things first. Reaching my funding goal on Kickstarter with the ShampBooze II will speed up all the new products I have coming out this year.”
Good luck, Scott! |
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Real things you can actually make: Ja!
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| “If it rustles, it’s the real deal“: First, luxury brand Balenciaga made a bag that looks a lot like FRAKTA, IKEA’s iconic big blue bag. Now, people are making things out of it. There’s already a baseball cap, a thong (!), a pair of shoes, and more. I’ve started on a baby onesie. You know, for kids.
P.S. You can actually buy the cap for $38. |
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Alameda, California
[5/20 and 5/21] RootCamp, a “2-day teach-in to inspire dialogue, engagement and community action”
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Also in the East Bay
[5/21] Punk Rock History Tour, on bicycles, Learn about “the history of anti-establishment Oakland, from DIY to music, art to activism, all on two wheels,” Oakland, begins at 10 AM, $10 |
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I’m looking forward to going to this: Bawdy Storytelling’s Dixie De La Tour has been bringing true sex stories onstage for ten years and counting. in that time, she’s learned A LOT about what makes a great story come alive for her audiences. Last month, to broaden her coaching repertoire, she started a six-week storytelling workshop to help a group of folks make their personal stories stageworthy. On May 14, those 13 budding storytellers will share those stories.
Plus: It’s Dixie’s birthday, so wear a hat. There will be cake.
She’s kind of a big deal: Esquire just named her #4 on their Top 10 best sex podcast list! ESQUIRE.
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Also in San Francisco
[5/25] Altamont | Joel Selvin and John Hell, in Conversation at Folio Books, 3957 24th St, 7 PM to 8 PM, Free
“If 1967’s Summer of Love heralded a sea change in San Francisco, the disastrous events at Altamont in late 1969 heralded quite another. In Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels, And The Inside Story Of Rock’s Darkest Day, Joel Selvin, longtime music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, details every way in which the presumptive “Woodstock West†dissolved into chaos and bloodshed, a bracing reminder that some of the “good old days” were not as nostalgia would paint them. Joining Selvin onstage will be local radio luminary John Hell (Radio Free Burning Man, Radio Valencia), for an in-depth Q & A about one of rock music’s most notorious moments.” |
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Palate Cleanser: Brilliant band poster
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“If she doesn’t scare the hell out of you a little, she’s not the one.”
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Rusty’s Electric Dreams is a weekly inbox zine from the curious mind of Rusty Blazenhoff.
Described as, “One of the most inspiring, weird and off-kilter collections of curated kitschy ephemera for the big-brained.”
People like it.
:: Read the archives :: Send a tip :: SUBSCRIBE ::
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