Come and Say Hello!

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We will be at a couple of festivals and fairs this fall. If you are in the Chicagoland area, please stop by, get some safety reflectors, learn something new and say hello!

Scandinavian Fest

September 7th, Vasa Park in South Elgin, 10am – 6pm

Celebrate your Scandinavian heritage or just enjoy good food, entertainment and Scandinavian gifts anyway. Get in touch with Scandinavian organizations in the Chicago area and shop unique goods and Scandinavian foods from over 50 vendors from across the U.S.A. The festival features Scandinavian entertainment from folk music and dance to ABBA, pony rides and face painting and hopefully as much sunshine as previous years.

Scandinavian Fest at Vasa Park drew visitors from near and far.
Scandinavian Fest at Vasa Park drew visitors from near and far.

Chicago’s Green Metropolis Fair

September 14, Lake View High School, Chicago, 10am-4pm

Green Metropolis Fair 2014
Green Metropolis Fair, September 14

Evanston Green Living Festival

September 27, Evanston, 9am-3pm

The Evanston Green Living Festival is an annual community event presented by the Evanston Environmental Association  (EEA) and the City of Evanston. The festival is held at the Evanston Ecology Center and provides a venue where local organizations can present their green products, services and ideas to attendees who are looking for ways to lower their personal carbon footprint. This will be our first time exhibiting and we are excited to be part of it.

Warren Township High School Craft Fair

November 1st, Gurnee, 9am-3pm

Warren High School Band Booster in Gurnee organizes a huge craft fair early November each year.  Not only was it a good show last year, students also provided a phenomenal service and wheeled all our reflectors and displays to our booth. We are excited to be returning  as the Band Booster celebrates its 20th fair!

Student helpers at the Warren Booster Craft fair in Gurnee, 2013
Friendly student helpers at the Warren Booster Craft fair in Gurnee, 2013

Julmarknad at the Swedish American Museum

December 5-7, Chicago

The Julmarknad (Christmas Market) is our “holiday trip to Sweden” or as close as it gets. Swedish Lucia, music, food (meatball open face sandwiches!), baked goods (lussekatter & Princess Cake!) and Swedish related merchandize and hand made items. Don’t miss this weekend!

funflector® reflectors is one of many types of stocking stuffers you can find at the Julmarknad at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago.
funflector® reflectors is one of many types of stocking stuffers you can find at the Julmarknad at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago.

Come and Say Hello! Read More »

Slap Bracelet Fun Facts

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Interest is growing for the funflector® reflective slap bracelets and we thought it would be fun to find some slap bracelet fun facts and other things they have inspired. Most people remember slap wraps or slap bracelets from the early 90’s when they were a fad in schools until the kids misused them so much that the bracelets had to be banned. However, they are like all other products: if you buy good quality and use them with some “common sense”, they will serve you well.

Reflective slap bracelets

Wisconsin teacher Stuart Anders invented the slap bracelet in the late 80’s and it was launched by the Main Street Toy Company under the brand name Slap Wrap. A slap bracelet consists of a piece of metal that needs a tap or a slap to go from straight to curled up. For comfort and style, the metal is covered with cloth or integrated in a silicon/rubber band.

We’ve seen several stories on the internet about reused metal measuring tapes being used inside the slap bracelet cover, the one with school kids getting naked ladies being the worst. We cut one of our slap bracelets apart to check, and there was no surprise whatsoever, just bare metal. However, we could not get our tape measure to curl like our slap bracelets; instead we learned how a spring loaded retractable tape measure works…

After filing a patent, rumors have been circulating for a while that Apple will release a flexible screen attached to something similar to a slap bracelet. We are still waiting…

In the Ragnar Relays, teams of 12 run a 200-mile relay over two days and one night and use a slap bracelet instead of a relay baton. The Ragnar Trail Relays are similar, but uses scenic trails instead of roads to run on and there is more focus on treating nature gently.  Just like the street in Sweden I grew up on (Ragnar Lodbroks gränd), the race got its name after the legendary Norse viking hero Ragnar Lodbrok. Neat! 🙂

Viking safety reflector
Viking safety reflector

There is no stable state between totally straight or completely curled up unless you hold onto it with force. An AA Design Research Lab team in London came up with conceptual design for a flexible office where they imagined giant slap bands attached together to make straight and curled sections. A creative idea, but we are not too surprised that it has not been implemented during the five years since it was suggested. Look at their ideas and models in de zeen magazine and imagine that instead of a box with cubicles as your office!

When soft reflector material became available, extra long and sturdy slap bracelets with a reflective cover became popular in the Scandinavian countries as pants clips for bicyclists. They are easy to use, keep pant legs out of oily bicycle chains and increase visibility at the same time.

Did you know that we are also taking orders for customized slap bracelet reflectors? Right now, you can make as few as 75 with your logo or slogan, but availability is limited! Contact us today for current rates and specials!

Elisabeth

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More Fun at Tivoli in Copenhagen

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Before the summer is over, we want to share some more fun from Tivoli Gardens, the century-old amusement park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. We’ve already talked about the rides and interesting architecture.  Something else that was different from any American park we’e been to was the work on sustainability.

Sustainability

Tivoli is located in the heart of Copenhagen, across the street from the main train station (Hovedbangard) and with a plethora of bus stops and bike racks surrounding it. Copenhagen is after all one of the most bike friendly cities in the world, and local Tivoli visitors take advantage of it. We had a smooth quiet commuter train ride from southern Sweden, over the bridge, passed the Copenhagen airport before arriving in central Copenhagen. It’s a totally different experience than riding the diesel train from the suburbs to Chicago.  (At the airport, the train stops right under the check-in area!)

Tivoli reusable coffee/soda/beer mug with a 5 DKR deposit.
Tivoli reusable coffee/soda/beer mug with a 5 DKR deposit.

When ordering a coffee, I was first a bit shocked to have to pay five Danish crowns (almost one US dollar) for the cup. However, it turned out that I got the money back when I returned the mug to a refund machine. They used the same cups for hot and cold drinks, including beer, saving on litter and waste. The refund system also turned out to be a great source of income for the kids while they were waiting for the concert to begin. After a couple of beers, many on the concert lawn gladly let the kids collect the mugs.
Ben and Jerry's Ice cream at Tivoli :)
Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream at Tivoli 🙂

Good Food

Our teen and her friend waiting for fish and chips. It turned out to be well worth the wait.
Our teen and her friend waiting for fish and chips. It turned out to be well worth the wait.

While enjoying some wild rides at American amusement parks this year, even my kids wanted to go back to Tivoli Gardens for food and snacks (and for rides of course). Tivoli has both decent fast food and restaurants on their premises. For the meal included in our “Puls Pakke” tickets, we picked Fish & Chips. That might not sound so special, but the Chips (French fries) were organic and freshly made and the fish was simply delicious! Soda came of course in the recyclable mugs…

We had to try some Danish “aebleskiver”, apple slices. The fact that they are round like doughnut holes and don’t have a hint of apple in them doesn’t seem to bother the Danes whatsoever ;). But they were very yummy!
At the waffle bakery, we bought some Danish aebleskiver (apple slices). They had not a hints of apple and not very slice like either, but they were delicious!
At the waffle bakery, we bought some Danish aebleskiver (apple slices). They had not a hints of apple and not very slice like either, but they were delicious!

Music

There is more music than the Champagne Gallop at Tivoli. Friday night rock concerts are included in the ticket price and we enjoyed the 30 Seconds to Mars concert that June night. The ten minute drizzle while waiting for the music to begin, was soon forgotten.

30 Seconds to Mars with lead singer Jared Leto at Tivoli Copenhagen in June 2013.
30 Seconds to Mars with lead singer Jared Leto at Tivoli Copenhagen in June 2013.

Thirty Seconds to Mars at Tivoli Copenhagen in June 2013.
Thirty Seconds to Mars at Tivoli Copenhagen in June 2013.

Wow, what a day! The 15 minute wait for the train home at 1AM felt like an eternity for tired kids and mom, but we’ll be back some day!

Thumbs up and big smiles! We had an amazing day at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.
Thumbs up and big smiles! We had an amazing day at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.

The funflector team, roller coaster test division 😉

More Fun at Tivoli in Copenhagen Read More »

A Colorful World Where “HOW” Matters

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We love colors and colorful reflectors are fun! So how do we make funflector® reflectors in all the colors of the rainbow when the 3M Scotchlite material only comes in clear (white), bright yellow and bright orange? (And the reason for that is that other colors result in material that does not reflect strongly enough to meet high standards).
funflector® reflectors are colorful because we  put colored material under the clear reflective layer, as most manufacturers of EN13356 compliant reflectors do.

funflector® reflectors are colorful because we vary the colored layer UNDER a clear layer of 3M Scotchlite.
funflector® reflectors are colorful because we vary the colored layer UNDER a clear layer of 3M Scotchlite. You can find the paw print reflectors here >

Some of our reflectors include a printed design and we also manufacture reflectors with custom logos and prints. There are different ways to do that and how it’s done matters to your safety. …

A Colorful World Where “HOW” MattersRead More »

A Colorful World Where “HOW” Matters Read More »

500+ Feet Visibility!

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Good reflectors should make pedestrians visible from a distance of 125 meters (410 feet), but we wanted to know if we could see our funflector® reflectors from even further away. Would they meet the 500 feet visibility target?
However, first let us be clear about why we care so much about safety reflectors:

That is how much of a difference reflectors make!
We found a dark street, straight for over 500 feet and with very little traffic. Here is what we saw of a pedestrian facing us with two reflectors hanging from front belt loops.The first image below was captured at 600 feet. We are very excited and pleased with the result since it is very important for us to provide as much safety as possible for our customers. A note of caution though: reality is rarely staged like this, so please wear at least two reflectors, but place one back and one front – OR- one left and one right. You never know exactly how you will be turned the moment the driver needs to see you! Alternatively, put a slap bracelet around your ankle, the visibility from all directions is pretty good unless you carry bags in your hands that hang low down.

…

500+ Feet Visibility!Read More »

500+ Feet Visibility! Read More »

Happy 4th!

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Happy 4th of July and Happy Independence Day!
Enjoy the day together with family and friends or all on your own if you need a day “off” from everything. (Yes, we follow the Quiet revolution with Susan Cain and know that sometimes the best day is a day spent with your own thoughts and dreams or a good book.)

Picnic basket with fun pedestrian safety reflectors for 4th of July
Picnic basket with fun pedestrian safety reflectors.

Just remember to be courteous to combat veterans, pets and children who might not enjoy firecrackers the same way you do!
Some years, we head for a 4th of July picnic that does not end until the fireworks are over. Heading back to the car can be an adventure as temporary parking on the meadow makes it difficult to navigate safely with strollers, kids, grandparents, picnic baskets, chairs and blankets. Use plenty of reflectors and blinking bike lights to increase your visibility. Toy glow sticks are fun but their light is not strong enough to warn drivers about your presence.
Don’t miss our 4th of July sale! Buy fun and stylish summer pedestrian reflectors for yourself, friends and family! Your loved ones don’t always realize how hard it is for drivers to see them when they are out for summer fun after dark. funflector® are designed to reflect your personal style too!

Red, white and blue star safety reflectors for 4th of July
Red, white and blue star safety reflectors for 4th of July

Have fun & be BRIGHT when it’s DARK!

The funflector team

Happy 4th! Read More »

Why EN13356?

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Safety reflectors increase visibility at night, but are they doing enough to make drivers notice you? How do you know?

Look for the CE EN13356 mark when buying safety reflectors
Look for the CE EN13356 mark when buying reflectors

If you bought or received a funflector® reflector, you might have noticed the CE EN13356 marks on the labels. (The CE is a European mark for all types of consumer goods and should be followed with a more specific standard). Did you think you didn’t need to care since you are not in Europe?
…

Why EN13356?Read More »

Why EN13356? Read More »

New Rides in the Old World

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Did you know that Walt Disney modeled the Magic Kingdom after the century old Tivoli in Copenhagen? In the space of a couple of city blocks, old fashion carousels are layered with modern and stomach turning roller coasters and rides. They are interleaved with parks, a concert hall, an aquarium, an amazing variety of quality food places and ice cream parlors. As  we spent last summer in southern Sweden, my kids insisted our replacing our annual trip to Six Flags Great America with a trip to Tivoli. With “Puls Pakke” tickets (entrance, rides and one meal) for 329 DKR ($60) bought online, we set out to enjoy ourselves for the day (and night). As an extra bonus, Friday rock concerts are included in the ticket price and 30 Seconds to Mars did a great concert that June night.

Rides

The rides are layered and interleaved. It saves on endless walking and makes it easier to manage kids who want to go on different rides. But it does make it hard to find a place to shoot interesting photos. Here are some of the fun rides we tried.

Tivoli Odin Express is not as innocent as it might look. It's fast paste and surprising turns are beyond the expected.
Tivoli Odin Express is not as innocent as it might look. It’s fast paste and surprising turns are beyond the expected. The back seat is the best (worst).

Star Flier at Tivoli, 80 meter (260ft) tall gives you a great view of Copenhagen at 70 km/h (45 mph). Decoration on top is a nod to Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer in the 16th century.
Star Flier at Tivoli, 80 meter (260ft) tall gives you a great view of Copenhagen at 70 km/h (45 mph). Decoration on top is a nod to Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer in the 16th century.

Bumper cars are always fun and when the cars are this richly decorated it is even fun to watch the kids go a second round.
Bumper cars are always fun and when the cars are this richly decorated it is even fun to watch the kids go a second round.

Architecture

Buildings are carefully designed to fit in and although the space is tight, they have managed to create an airy feel. Both old and modern ones have interesting details, reminiscent of their time. The stylized green and yellow leaves decorating the wall of the Tivoli Concert Hall give away that it was build in the 1950’s. The railing carries the tune of the popular Champagne Gallop by Hans Christian Lumbye, the first music director and widely popular in-house composer for Tivoli.

The Tivoli Concert Hall is decorated with Lumbye's Champagne Gallop.
The Tivoli Concert Hall is decorated with Lumbye’s Champagne Gallop.

Detail of Tivoli Glass Hall
Detail of Tivoli Glass Hall

The Woodhouse built in 1997 for the Valhalla Castle ride, today used for a restaurant. Designed by architect Søren Robert Lund.
The Woodhouse built in 1997 for the Valhalla Castle ride, today used for a restaurant. Designed by architect Søren Robert Lund.

Copenhagen sky is still bright past 10 pm on midsummer eve.
Copenhagen sky is still bright past 10 pm on midsummer eve.

OMG, the blog post quickly got very long, so let’s save some yummy food, music and everything else we wanted to show you for another time.
So long & hav en dejlig dag!
Elisabeth

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Egg Coffee & Midsummer Queens

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“More Swedish than Sweden” was the title of an exhibition at the museum Kulturen in Lund (Sweden) many years ago. At the time, I was hanging out with mostly Americans, and curious about everything that tied Sweden and the US together. One of the display cases was jam-packed with coffee pots from the 19th century. The sign mentioned “egg coffee”.

Egg coffee by the funflector Blog
Egg coffee by the funflector Blog

Every Swede, or descendent thereof, knows Swedes drink a lot of (strong) coffee. But what was “egg coffee”??? I asked the staff but they had no answer. My American husband and I were on a quest to find out what “egg coffee” was (this was before google). We asked Swedes from Norrland, Gotland, Halland, Skåne and anywhere in-between but only got confused looks in return – for 12 years. Finally, after we moved to the US and visited Apple River Fort we found out. While the kids were making noodles, we chatted with volunteers in period costumes and we jumped high for joy when the conversation stumbled upon egg coffee. Egg coffee is simply what you get when you pour an egg over the coffee grounds in the pot to bind them and keep them from getting into the coffee cup. This was before coffee filters and French press. Today, “Egg coffee” gives 84,000 google hits and it is obvious from the comments, e.g. here, that it is truly a Swedish-American phenomenon, not a Swedish tradition.
Last Sunday morning, there was a stream of Facebook posts with adorable Swedish Princess Leonore being Christened at the Palace of Drottningholm. When I later that day arrived at the Swedish American Museum and the Andersonville Midsummer Festival in Chicago (two weeks before midsummer, but ok…), I was asked about the tradition of a Midsummer Queen. Midsummer Queen? My first thought that Sweden has a queen every day, so why a midsummer one? Swedish midsummer is about inviting family and friends to your summer cottage, about going to the neighborhood midsummer pole event and dance, about dancing all night during the night that goes directly from dusk to dawn and about girls picking 7 flowers to hide under her pillow to dream about her future husband ;). On midsummer eve, Swedish cities and towns are empty, very empty, and festivals or midsummer queens are only found abroad. (Watch “Swedish Midsummer for Dummies” if you don’t believe me.)
Princess Madeleine, Mr. Christopher O'Neill and Princess Leonore. Foto by H. Garlöv / Kungahuset.se
Princess Madeleine, Mr. Christopher O’Neill and Princess Leonore. Foto by H. Garlöv / Kungahuset.se

It seems hard for some of my American friends to imagine kings, queens, princes and princesses being an everyday reality as it is in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and several other European countries. Maybe there is less need for “festival queens” when there is a charming royal family to pay attention to instead? Princess Madeleine, the youngest of the King’s children and mother of Princess Leonore, lives in New York with her British-American husband. I wonder what it is like to be a real princess in a country without princesses other than in fairy tales? Today happens to be her birthday; Happy birthday Princess Madeleine, enjoy it with your family in Sweden!
Elisabeth 

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Paris

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The disappearance of my favorite “French baguettes” from one of the local grocery stores kickstarted cravings for all things French and Parisian. Longing for “Pain au Chocolate” (chocolate croissant) that’s not refrigerated nor mushy from overheating. Longing for stone paved sidewalks lined with café tables. Longing for gracefully aged buildings with staircases slowly worn down where people have put their feet for hundreds of years. Longing for the fearless mix of new technology and old traditions. Longing for Musée d’Orsay, the Beaux-Arts train station that now houses more impressionist masterpieces than any museum in the world. Dream with us on Pinterest! I’m ready to pack my bags and go…
Follow funflector.com’s board Paris on Pinterest.
In Paris, as in so many other European capitals, public transportation and your feet are the most convenient ways to get around. Walking, walking, walking…  So, what funflector reflectors would I pack for Paris?

Metro and walking is the best way to get around in Paris. Metro map from www.ratp.fr
Metro and walking is the best way to get around in Paris. Metro map from www.ratp.fr

The Eiffel tower of course! The ultimate symbol of Paris and France. The icon status combined with a stunning view of Paris’ boulevards, has turned it into the most visited tourist attraction in the world. With that in mind, it is hard to believe that the resistance to building it was massive among writers, painters, sculptors and architects. However, during the 1889 Exposition, nearly 2 million visitors made it to the top level of the 324 m (1,063 ft) tall structure.
The red lipstick symbolizing “Parisian chic.” Makeup should be moderate, but lipstick can be bright red, depending on mood and occasion. If you love Parisian shopping and fashion, head for the area around Avenue Montaigne, Ave George V and Rue Francois 1er, where you find the finest Haute Couture shops in the world. If you’re looking for one-stop shopping spot, or a Parisian shopping extravaganza perfect for a rainy day, visit one of Paris’ famous department stores. Each one has a different personality, but one thing you can be sure of is stunning architecture and anything you’d want for “la vie Parisienne”! Printemps and Galeries Lafayette are two you don’t want to miss. More shopping tips and how to live like a Parisian can be found at parisperfect.com.
The treble clef for the chansons, cabarets and Palais Garnier, the national opera and ballet stage. Gaston Leroux‘s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, widely known from Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s popular musical, is set at Palais Garnier. It’s well worth taking a guided tour through this stunning building!
Can’t go to Paris without a mustache! Imagine what Paris would be today without the painters of the late 19th century, at the height of Paris as the world’s art capital. At that time, mustaches were as common as T-shirts and jeans are today and we can only guess how Monet, Manet or Renoir would have looked without one. There is even a restaurant called “Moustache” on 3 Rue Sainte Beuve. Their menu is intriguing…
When you go to Paris, make sure to have several days so you have time to enjoy the iconic tourist attractions AND the Paris that’s beyond the grand boulevards and polished department stores. Here are some tips on how to do it.
Tonight, I’m going to settle down with a baguette, good (French) cheese and wine and enjoy Paris through the eyes of Gil Pender in “Midnight in Paris“, Woody Allen’s romantic comedy fantasy.
A bientôt,
Elisabeth

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