Nobody shout. It's Friday, and really, who doesn't need a little peace and quiet on a Friday? ESPECIALLY AFTER OUR PARTY! Ouch. We had fun! And from the great photos we've seen, so did you. Thanks to everyone for coming along last night, it was fantastic to see so many of you. After a hectic last-minute change of venue, we were all a little worried. But you can't keep a good MOOster down, and everyone made it there – and made it great.
We had Stickers, as modelled by the ever handsome MOO interns, Jake and Angel. They're photographed here by Alicia, but please, all future model bookings should come via me...
We had balloons, as beautifully shot by _sarchi
Postman Pat came along too - Alex took this photo. Pat was delivering MOO orders, placed by party people earlier this week. 
There were bowler hats, like this one, modelled by Meg Pickard, and shot by Richard.
Some of which were cunningly customised-on-the-go, like this one, shot by tommyajohansson 
Each bowler hat had a sticker inside - if you found a black and white cat, you won a prize! If you found the stray ginger cat, then the boobie prize was yours... Well, we say boobie prize, but really, who wouldn't want a signed photo of Iain, our lovely project manager? On reflection, maybe the lovely lady who won it...
We had food - or so I hear. Look at these people! 'Twas gone in a flash! This photo is by Annie Mole
and this, of the aftermath by M.J.S.
It was pretty hot inside, so lots of people headed for the ouside space - and partied from light:
(photo by symphonic knot)
'Till dark
(photo by AnnieMole)
In a nutshell? A fun time was has by all...
(photo by _sarchi)
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And a tiny PS: look what happened today... the lunch company totally got our order wrong. We were supposed to have 29 pies for lunch, and we got...
Sixty! Sixty pies. Which makes a very happy MOO Crew:
(Thanks to blackbeltjones for the photo of Richard.)
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Thanks again for coming - and have a great weekend!
Gimme a V! Gimme an O! Gimme an X! What's that spell? VOX!
What better way to tell the world how much you love Vox than to announce it on Facebook? That's right: Vox now has an official Facebook page! Become a fan of Vox.com on Facebook and let your friends know what you really care about: staying connected with friends and family through blog posts, photos, videos and comments.
Once you're a fan, you can also add photos and videos to the page, write on the wall, and connect with other Voxers in ways you may not have previously. Plus, it's a great opportunity to let people know about your Vox blog, or start discussion topics. To become a fan, just visit the official Vox.com Facebook page and click the "Become a Fan" button in the upper right hand corner.
Once you've joined, why not post a response to the current discussion topic? Just post a link (and a brief description, if you'd like) to what you consider one of your all-time best Vox posts.
What are you waiting for? Become a Vox.com fan on Facebook today!
They said it couldn't happen, they tried to cancel it, but the MOO Party Is STILL happening this Thursday night at a NEW VENUE!
Yes, just 2 days before our brilliantly planned party, The Ambassador (our previous venue) decided to cancel it. Luckily, you can't keep the MOO Crew down when it comes to a drink with friends, so the our new venue is The Vibe Bar, Brick Lane.
If you're not sure where that is, you're in for a treat. It's a great venue, easily reached from Aldgate East underground station or Liverpool Street tube and rail station. Follow the signs when you get to the venue, and we'll see you there! And Don't get side-tracked by a curry on the way, save it for afters, ok?
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Sheesh! What a palava. See, non-Londoners, this is the chaos that ensues when the sun finally does come out...
It's all go at MOO Towers at the moment. We're bug squishing (virtual, not literal), printing, packing and party-planning.
The party's shaping up rather nicely, so we're hoping it should be lots of fun. If you're in London next Thursday, come along for a drink - and if you're quick, a wee bite to eat. If last years was anything to go by, it should be full of lovely people - and if you don't know anyone when you get there, you should definitely make a few friends before you head off home.
In the meantime, it's really exciting for us to see the beautiful Business Cards you've been making. These are a few great photos we've spotted recently - and thought it would be nice to share:
Photographer David Porter used 10 of his own images to create these beautiful cards:
And these super-cute cards were made by Lori Tingey.
Nerea Marta used a company graphic for her cards:
While these cards by Stephen Collins combine both graphics and photography perfectly.
These beautiful photographs were printed on Business Cards by Hidde de Vries:
And finally this lovely collection, is by Arpad
But, in all this Business Card madness, we haven't lost our love for MiniCards...
(this perfect photo is by Erin Mason)
Even if first sight of these cards, by Andrew Scott did make us want to run for our dear lives.
I have a few "before I die" goals. See the Aurora Borealis. Walk the Great Wall of China. Learn how to play a musical instrument.
The latter goal has been pursued in earnest since February. And, of course, the instrument of choice is the accordion.
The accordion makes me happy. I love the way it sounds. My favorite bands use the accordion: They Might Be Giants, Oingo Boingo, the Decemberists (and yes, "Weird Al" Yankovic). I guess some would say my obsession with TMBG prompted the accordion lessons, but I would argue that my love of the accordion prompted my obsession with TMBG.
I have never played an instrument. I took piano lessons when I was seven, sitting dutifully on that hard bench with my ancient piano teacher, Mrs. Little. Mrs. Little must have been 115 years old (though in reality she was probably about 60; everyone over 15 is "old" to a seven-year-old) and warbled when she kept time: "Onnneeeeee twoooooo threeeeee..."
Mrs. Little had no patience, which is an awesome trait for a music teacher. When she would get particularly frustrated with me, she would take my small hand and pound it on the keys, screeching, "NO! NO! NO!" And I, more humilated than hurt, would cry. If the sobbing would take place near the end of my lesson, Mrs. Little would bribe me with candy to shut up before my parents picked me up. The candy was circa 1953 "root beer barrels" kept in a sticky candy dish on her coffee table. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that ever ate those things. I never told my parents about this until I was much older; I think I felt sorry for her.
I don't remember how long I took piano lessons, but do remember I just wouldn't practice. I would get by in my lessons, playing by ear, but Mom got peeved about spending good, sparse money just to fight with me over practicing. After my defection, Mrs. Little called occasionally, warbling her request to have me come back. And for years after that, whenever we'd see someone playing piano on TV or if one of my friends would play our usually silent upright, Mom would shake her head regrettably and say, "See, Keri? If only you would have practiced..."
And now, thirty years later, I realize she was right. Because if I had practiced piano, the accordion would be a helluva lot easier to learn. When I first called the accordion teacher he asked me, "What instruments do you play?" "None!" I said. "Never...?" he asked, incredulous, "How did you escape piano lessons?" I told him about Mrs. Little. "Huh. So... Do you read music?" "Nope!" I could hear him rolling his eyes through the phone. He knew he had his work cut out for him.
I was so excited for my first lesson. We started from square one. How to take it out of the case. How to put it on. Right hand goes here. Left there. That little button releases the air. These are called bellows. These are bass keys. That little rhinestone? Middle "C." Staff, G clef, treble clef, four count. Here's your music and assignment; you can borrow the accordion.
It's difficult. I mean, really difficult. Trying to get my left hand to do one thing while my right hand does another and reading music at the same time? Insane. But I keep at it. I practice at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Sometimes more. I think my teacher knows I'm serious about learning; I'm honest and earnest. I tell him when I haven't practiced. We spar. He tells me my playing sounds like I'm "leaving a trail of dead bodies," I tell him he's a freaking showoff.
I love it. This time I'm learning for me, and when it clicks and I play a piece straight through without mistakes, it's the most amazing feeling ever. I got my very own accordion from eBay; it's beautiful. There are many accordions like it, but this one is mine.
Bring on your accordion jokes (yes, I've seen the Far Side and the bumper sticker that instructs me to go to jail). I don't care. It's my instrument. It makes me happy. And I'm doing something I've always wanted to do.
Doesn't get much better than that.
Although we typically post on Team Vox to let you know about things that are going on with Vox (to, uh, state the obvious), once in a while, we like to let you know about other cool things that are happening around the blogosphere. And we think the idea of four hilarious mommy bloggers traveling across the U.S. on their way to the BlogHer '08 conference - all the while blogging and video blogging the journey - is one trip you will not want to miss.
Four adventurous bloggers from the Silicon Valley Moms Group were selected to participate in the Summer Road Trip '08 and blog about their travels, hotel stays, media appearances, time away from their families, and life on the road. Six Apart helped them partner up with General Motors, who provided the blogging mommies with a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV to help make their journey comfy, safe, and a little more green.
In case you're not familiar with them, SV Moms is a group of over 200 bloggers who showcase the ups, downs, outrages, struggles, victories, and everyday humor of motherhood. There are currently nine regional and demographically tailored sites that give mothers from D.C., New Jersey, the Deep South, Rocky Mountains, L.A., and Silicon Valley a powerful voice and sense of camaraderie across the country. Whether you're a mother, a child, or just a person who enjoys a good blog, you'll really love reading the words of these amazing women.
The moms buckled into their Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV on July 11th and even got an encouraging message from Katie Couric to kick things off! They are currently somewhere in the middle of America making their way to San Francisco where they'll attend an SV Moms Group Party, as well as BlogHer '08.
You do not want to miss these entertaining and irreverent bloggers -- or their spontaneous contest giveaways! -- as they blog from the road. Experience the journey at MomRoadTrip.com.
And let us know about your summer road trip - or plane/boat/bus trip - in the comments! (I like to live vicariously.)
It's already been over a week since the launch of MOO Business Cards. After taking a quick recovery lie-down, we've been busy fixing odd things and gawping at the amazing cards you've been making.
There are a few things we're still working on, so if you see anything odd, please bear with us. If it's *really* odd then please contact us and let us know the details. Sometimes things happen that we just can't replicate and it's your great feedback that helps to make things better.
There's now an online template for Business Cards, for those who've asked. Like the templates for other products it's the right size in pixels, millimetres and dpi, all you need to do is add your image, hide the guides and save as a maximum quality RGB JPEG. We don't have templates for the images to be used on the reverse as yet - we're just in the process of whipping this up into better shape, squashing the odd bug, and adding a bit of functionality. These fixes should go live next week - so if you've had any problems, please accept our apologies and bare with us just a little bit longer.
Some of you have also asked about a PDF upload for the text side of the cards. This too is coming as fast as we can get it out there. When we have it all in place, we'll let you know. (You know Text Business Cards are live now, right?)
As I mentioned, it's been great watching the cards you've made so far get printed and packed. Also fun watching them pop-up in the Flickr pool.
These are some examples we've spotted:
Illustrated Business Cards by Askey Illustration. (Also a MOO Designer)
Great photo cards, by Doc18
Variety is the spice of life, by Trevira
and it's all about the words, for Edd Dumbill, who used Wordle to make his cards.
But enough! Now it's on to the even more exciting stuff.
MOO's having a party on Thursday, July 24th in London, and you're invited!
Yes! We're doing it again. Last year we had the Hot and Sticky Summer Party and this year, we're less confident about the weather (hello, London rain), but we're partying anyway!
Its at the Ambassador, same lovely place as last time, and there'll be drink, good company, and a lot of MOO Fun. You can find all the details on Upcoming and on Facebook too.
And one more thing:
Special offer for party people - place an order to collect at the party and get FREE shipping!
Use the code HACCJE on the payment page, which will give you the discount and tag your order. We'll hand your stuff over on the night.
***Orders must be placed by Sunday 20th July***
Hope you can make it - we're looking forward to seeing you.
Do you live in or around Cincinnati, Ohio? If so, you're in luck because Scott and the Queen City Voxers Group have organized a Vox user meetup!
WHERE: Ault Park Playground. 3600 Observatory Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208. "We'll look for each other at the playground marked by the red X below. If it's raining, head for the shelter to the north of the [red] X."
To RSVP (which is not essential, but is appreciated), reply to Scott's announcement or send him a private message. All Voxers, as well as their friends and family, are welcome to attend.
If you do attend the meetup, have a great time and please take lots of pictures and send them to me so I can post them in Team Vox for everyone to see!
Thank you so much to Scott for organizing this meetup. Wish I could be there!
The eagle-eyed among you might have spotted this already, but for those who had to blink at some point yesterday - MOO's launched Business Cards! As so many of you have asked for the MOO MiniCard magic just that little bit bigger, we felt duty bound to indulge you.
MOO Business Cards are a similar size to standard business cards, but with some very cool differences:
Unlike lots of business cards, MOO gives you the option of a different image on every one.
Using magic technology we've decided to call 'PrintFinity', you can have a different photo, logo or design on every card. So, when people ask you what you do, you can show them - everything! It's a little portfolio in your pocket, a product catalogue, a trading card, anything you like.
You can buy your Business Cards in super-short runs
We're an experienced bunch at MOO HQ. We've all worked in different companies before, and we still have the business cards to prove it. The traditional way is to buy business cards in batches of 250, 500, even 1000 or more, and no matter how hard you network, its impossible to get through so many before something changes - your phone number, your job title or even the company you work for. We realised if we still have stacks of old cards sitting about, you probably have too.
So, we give you the option to buy in smaller batches of 50:
- it's more economical (much less waste)
- it gives you the chance to update your cards as you update your products or your details
- it's greener - even if you're using virgin stock, at least you're not throwing it away!
And talking of 'green' - there are now two paper stock options available
We're slightly obsessed with paper at MOO, and take a great deal of care looking for the best paper, with the best feel, print quality and outstanding credentials. We've decided on two different stocks for our Business Cards:
MOO 'Classic' - which is sustainably sourced and elemental chlorine free. Matt-laminated, it has a smooth and sturdy feel. It's the same stock you've seen and loved on MiniCards.
MOO 'Green' - which is 100% recycled, 100% recyclable and biodegradeable. It's totally chlorine free, uncoated, crisp white, and prints nicer than any other recycled paper we've seen. (And we've seen a lot.)
The cards come beautifully packaged
Every pack of cards comes with a free Business Card holder. Designed by MOO, the box is made of recycled pulp board and fits in a briefcase or bag. We've even included two (recycled) dividers too, so as you empty the box of your own cards, you can fill it up with the ones you're given, without mixing them up. (Another problem we've had ourselves, that we thought it would be good to fix).
So, there you have it. MOO Business Cards - as nice as MiniCards, but bigger, and a little bit different. We like them, and we hope you'll like them too.
Oh! And if you want to see what other people have been doing, check out our ideas pages. See what other people have made, and how you could use the cards yourself.
