Searching for rad new girl geek finds has become a little bit of a past time for me. I’m always stumbling upon small local stores or more mainstream products with a unique geek spin. There are a few posts like this on the blog and I’ll link to them below. But it is time, once again, to list a few new geek gadgets and items that might just tickle your fancy. I’m also rather excited because my latest list has four South African small businesses listed. Being able to support local entrepreneurs who just make cool stuff is something I’m rather passionate about.
Before you get started on the new finds here are some of my past lists:
MY RIDICULOUS GIRL GEEK BIRTHDAY WISH LIST
MY GEEK THINGS HAUL AND A TEASER OF WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE BLOG
MORE FAVOURITE THINGS! GEEK INSPIRATION AND TOP TECH FINDS
Right, let’s get in to it, my new fun geek finds:
Watch Me Whip
My friend Lauren is the baker and entrepreneur behind Watch Me Whip. If you were at Acer For Gaming or my Ocean’s 8 screening there is a good chance your tastebuds have already been enchanted by Lauren’s creations. She does gorgeous custom boutique cakes and cupcakes made to order. She also has some more mainstream stuff in the pipeline but for now I wanted to share her amazing geek creations. Seriously take a look at these:
The Green Lantern cake was actually my Valentine’s Day gift to my Player 2. Green Lantern was one of his favourite comic book heroes and she did a delicious chocolate cake with the decorations and a really funny tweak on Lantern’s oath on the back. While the cakes look impression they fillings are spectacular. You can request anything from Bar One, Caramel to Lemon Curd. The salted caramel popcorn decorations are home made and really yummy. If you’re in Johannesburg or Pretoria go find Watch Me Whip on Instagram and Facebook for your next sweet tooth craving.
Macaroon Neoprene Pouches
I’ve been a Macaroon customer for years. Every year around November I order my personalised diary from them and also use them for holiday bits and bobs. They always have something interesting on their online store and they’ve recently added to that product offering with their personalised Neoprene pouches. These are IDEAL for all your tech: notebooks, ipads, kindles and the like. The Neoprene allows for a few small liquid spills and also the thicker material allows for bumps and bashes. I love that you can personalise the sleeves either in your own style or by incorporating one of the Macaroon ranges. As a customer I can also confirm that the online store’s customer service is superb. I especially love how each delivery is beautifully individually wrapped. Go visit the store to personalise your own sleeve (PS. They’ve just added LEGO themed sleeves ?)
Classic board games are back in style!
Player 2 has a board game obsession. His collection is somewhat “different” and introduced me to a new world of board games and table top adventures. I really didn’t realise how deep the rabbit hole goes and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the fall. Despite finding some new favourites I’ve also had my love for the classics reignited. Winter is the perfect time to pull out something like Monopoly for a giggle. I’m also desperate to try Speak Out for nothing else but the black mail video content. Seems Hasbro, the company behind most of the best selling games, agrees. They’ve recently introduced some new challenges to old favourites. Simple changes can revitalise the likes of Monopoly (if you’ve lived on a street in Monopoly Mzansi you automatically own it at the start of the game). My favourite shake up though? Chopsticks Jenga. Simple really – instead of fingers you need to stack and remove blocks with chopsticks. Try that after a glass of wine for added “extra spice”.
Critters
This adorable small business came to my attention when my friend Meg tagged me in one of their pictures. Actually, Meg brings some rad small geek stores to my attention… maybe she should start curating these posts? Haha. Critters creates hand made toys “filled with joy”. Some of that joy includes the most adorable geek themed creations:
Groot is by far my favourite but I loved the Ninja Turtles pack as well. There’s even a Wonder Woman on the Critters instagram page! I chatted a bit to the mind behind the little critters and she confirmed that most of your favourite heroes can be made in to critters. I think this is a great starting spot if you’re looking for clever, cute and original gifting ideas. Let’s be honest, no matter your age, a geeky critter is going to go down well. Plus, the packaging is so damn pretty! I’m a fan.
Cadbury’s Martians are back!
You’d be mistaken that I have the Cadbury’s addition in here just for the chocolate. The 4 limited edition slabs now on offer are great (Astros is my favourite, no doubt) but, more importantly, your favourite dancing Martians are back. Each slab is linked to a little styled Martian. You can collect tiny Martian statues just by eating chocolate. The statues are really good quality and make funky additions to geek filled shelves. Plus the limited edition slabs (Caramilk PS, Crunchie, 5Star and Astros) are rather delish. One of my other techie favs to this new launch is the combination of chocolate, adorable aliens and an augmented reality experience. You simply need to download the Cadbury’s app (it is in the app store), open the app and hover it over a limited edition slab. The little martians appear with a small surprise. I won’t ruin it for you, but it is a good giggle.
Custom geek artwork
I came across Sugar Sally (real name Salomie) on an Overwatch Discord. She is an incredible artist and fellow geek girl. It turns out she takes commissions too! I desperately wanted a piece of artwork to commemorate my time on Overwatch Contenders. Considering the big chunk of time it is taking out of 2018 and my life, it seemed fitting. Ideally I wanted something that showcased my favourite hero (yup, I’m an Orisa main) while also saluting my African roots. Orisa has a specific victory pose that looks like she is dabbing. Salomie incorporated all the elements I asked for into an original commission that was extremely well priced! I’m so in love with my original. Some of her other work includes other geek themed art. She is well versed in various video games and fandoms. While she doesn’t have a website you can contact her via email. I’m sharing it, but please don’t abuse this! Click here to email Salomie.
I’m going to stop myself now. These are my latest favourites but no doubt I’ll have more to add in the next few weeks. I really love putting these posts together and finding new fun girl geek loves. If you know of small businesses or bigger brands I should check out please drop them in the comments below so I can take a look see?
