Benny and Stanley miss Conan.

Good find Tyler!!

Accounting geeks out for cycling.

I love this because Melissa doesn't (officially) work on the marketing team, and she doesn't race cyclocross, but that didn't stop her from totally geeking out when she spotted a Stanley Cycling Team jacket.

"I was at the Apple Store last night in U Village and noticed a guy wearing this super cool black, zip-up jersey with ‘STANLEY Cycling Team’ on it and I immediately asked (yelled?) ‘Hey, where’d you get that?!’ and he said he was a member of the Stanley sponsored Cycling Team. We quickly realized that we both knew JoAnne and he had lots of great things to say about PMI and Stanley. I got so nerdy about it and of course thought of you and your PMI geek-outs. J  Next time, I’ll be sure to snap a photo for the blog." - Melissa

Until she gets that photo, here are a few from Starcrossed of cyclists sporting their Stanley team's threads, and posing with the new Nineteen13 One-Handed Bike Bottle.

Do work boys.

Mobile tour, China edition.

Matt Slaughter, Mary's son (aka Little Slaughter), interned in our Shanghai office for the summer and afterward did a bit of backpacking, taking some Stanley and Aladdin gear with him. Enjoy these scenic photos he sent from one of the world's "greatest" and most recognizable structures.

Mikey likes it.

Mike not only bikes, he also does the reuse (in a recycled and recyclable mug no less). Let's hear a rally-style round of applause for our mayor, who commutes and caffeinates sustainably. Hooray!

Mayor Mike McGinn and a Starbucks Mug

MAN LUNCH!

The latest gossip.

While this is a clip for See by Chloe, showing the starlettes of Gossip Girl strutting their wears, it doubles as a clip for Starbucks, which means it's ACTUALLY a clip for PMI. Because obviously Starbucks would be NOTHING if it weren't for PMI. Obviously.
As for the gals, Jessica Szohr (aka Vanessa) is looking quite savvy with her disposable-esque mug, but Leighton Meester (aka Blair) needs a clue. Can we send her a Cold To Go Cup?

Sustainable commuting.

Public transportation via WA state ferry? Check. Zero carbon emitted on the rest of his commute via bicycle? Check. Coffee (I'd put money on it being fair trade and organic) from a Recycled & Reusable Mug made with 30% post consumer content? Heck yeah, check.

Way to go Sustainable Commuter Guy.

Men with mugs.

These guys are either totally secure in their masculinity or they stole their wives' mugs.

Except for the Eddie Bauer Travel Mug on the left; that one is manly enough. I don't think we made it, but when I asked to get a photo of the SBux and Senja Mugs the other guys felt left out. "What about mine?" they asked me, and I didn't have the heart to tell them I don't care about their (wives') non-PMI mugs. So they got in on the mug love too.

Now children, here's how you drink coffee.

A mug story from Amber, accompanied by adulterated photos from me:

"We're at the Children's Museum and on the way to get our "all access" hand stamp. There is a dad in front of us with a Starbucks paper cup. The smiling attendee lets him know that disposable cups are not allowed in the museum but reusable ones are. She then directs the dad to a display sign that shows the right and wrong way to transport beverages. The "NOT ALLOWED" side was his Starbucks paper cup, and the "ALLOWED" side is no less than our Aladdin Sustain Recycled & Reusable Travel Mug.

I loved that it was free advertising for Aladdin to all the mom's and dad's that go in and out of the museum, and also that our mug is probably sitting on the desk of the employee tasked with making that sign and they loved their mug enough to share it as an example of "WHAT TO DO" when taking hot beverages to go."

PS - if anyone else is at the Children's Museum and sees this sign please send it to me so I can post it!

1 for 2

Nice 20oz SBux Cold To Go Cup, but girlfriend still needs a mug.

Technical difficulties.

This morning on the ferry, I was chatting with Nathan and enjoying the morning sun on the deck when out of the corner of my squinty eye I see an Outdoor Drink-Thru Bottle in the strong hand of a motorcyclist. Classic, nearly perfect, Stanley guy. Kind of like the dogs in "UP" when they see a squirrel, I stop in mid sentence and blurt, "Stanley. Outdoor Drink-Thu bottle. 3 o'clock."

"Well take a picture," Nathan suggests.

"But he put it on the ground. I can't get a good shot - he hid it behind his foot."

Motorcycle Guy feels us talking about him and looks up at me; offers a thin-lipped smile in return for an end to our weirdness. Sadly we do not comply.

"Go ask him to pose with it." (My boyfriend is super helpful at mug spotting and has lots of suggestions.) "He smiled at you; he'll do it. You're cute."

"Sorta, but he won't think so when he realizes I'm some mug-crazy girl who wants to put his picture on a blog. I sound psycho. You go ask him."

"No. You."

"No YOU."

This continues while I wait with my blackberry, poised, ready for any sign of mug, pretending to check very important emails. I take this photo. You can ALMOST see the shadow of his mug next to his right foot.

"This would be soooo perfect," I whine. "Pick up your mug pick it up pick up the mug..."

"You could walk around the boat and get your photo from the other side," Nathan says.

"You could walk around the boat."

This goes on for at least ten minutes. Then something amazing happens.

Another guy, in a salmon colored polo, comes walking toward us. In his hand is an iPad and a Recycled & Recyclable Mug, color Green. A Stanley mug AND an Aladdin mug in the SAME PICTURE with Seattle in the background and the sun shinning - it is too good to be true. This is going to be the best blog post ever!

I frantically try to unscroll the zoom on my camera phone (I had been trying to zoom in on Motorcycle Guy's feet to see if I could get a photo of the mug even if it was partially obstructed) so I can get Salmon Polo Guy and Motorcycle Guy with their mugs in the same picture. Nathan, caught up in the excitement of the moment, is urging me to "hurry hurry!" because I'm "missing it!"

This is the photo I end up with. You can see Salmon Polo Guy's shirt in the upper left side of the photo. You still cannot see Motorcycle Guys mug.

I am bereft. A failure, I turn to Nathan with big, doe eyes, hoping for consolation. He has to turn away to avoid blatantly laughing in my face.

"Babe, how did you miss that?" he asks.

"It was my phone." I sound pathetic. "It has a delay; you can't just hit the button and take a picture right THAT SECOND. I wish people would just stand still for me."

"You should have just asked Motorcycle Guy to pose for you 10 minutes ago."

"I have no balls."

"Well," Nathan says thoughtfully, pausing to pat my knee, "that is why you work on Aladdin stuff now."

I punch him in the arm. And miss my only other shot at a picture of Motorcycle Guy's mug when he starts collecting his things to get off the boat.

Art novo.

Novo isn't exactly our most outdoor-friendly product, but it looks damn good against this dramatic background. The clouds even form a lovely halo of steam, as if they were wafting off a delicious cup of (specialty) coffee.

Photo credit to Ken Mitchell, one of the few guys man enough to carry a Novo to the beach, get it situated, and photograph it at sunset. Props.

Which came first...

"My question is, did he buy the bike to match the bottle, or the bottle to match the bike...?" - Evan B.

My question is how did they make that custom bottle mount? (David, accessory idea for auto?)

Is that a classic cooler?

Yes. It looks very small in the picture, taken spy-style from Colleen Kennedy's sleek, black, BMW (a perfect car for incognito picture snapping with a BlackBerry), but I assure you it is in fact a Classic Lunch Cooler. In action at a bunch of manly construction workers' feet. Couldn't get better than that if we paid them. Booyah, man lunch SPOTTED.

Danger of paper cups.

Example #1 as to why the world needs more Mug Love: line of sight impediments.

If you see this van give it a wide berth. The driver can barely see over their paper coffee cups and is probably so caffeinated they have temporary ADHD. Then, if you can, at the next intersection give them a mug. They need one, if not to reduce waste then at least to make their vehicle safe to operate.

Thanks to Nancy for the driver-danger alert. Eesh.

Mug love.

Sometimes in the flurry of our jobs - the lets-not-think-about-how-many-hours-worth of meetings, intense deadlines, jet lag, and endless supply of more work to do - it becomes very easy to forget what we're doing.

We make mugs. Really great mugs. And really great water bottles, vacuum bottles, food jars and other food containers. We now also make carbonated beverage (um, beer) bottles. AND flasks. Can't forget flasks.

What's more, PEOPLE LOVE the mugs, water bottles, vacuum bottles and so forth that we make. They carry them around every day. They lovingly wash them at night, set them on a drying rack for bed time, then pack them again the next day. If you have ever talked to someone who loves their mug, they are adamant that THEIR MUG is the BEST MUG in the WHOLE WORLD. Period. PERIOD. Many times we made that mug they love so much.

I think this is pretty effing cool.

Working in marketing, I get to see the affection people have for our products a disproportionate amount compared to other departments. This is sad, because the Mug Love is what can turn the project I'm working on at home during hours I should be watching World News Tonight (ok ok, so maybe it's Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries, but whatever) into something I'm happy doing. It is exciting to see the work we do turn into what makes someone's morning. I think we should all get to see this Mug Love a little bit more.

So I am starting a blog! Cliche, yes. Clever? Not really. Entertaining? I promise. There will be random muggings, private-eye style photos and guerrilla interviews. Expect reports from buses, ferries, coffee shops and various street corners. A few times a week I'll put up a new post and I would love help. If you see someone using something we made and it warmed your little heart please send it on to me and I'll make sure it gets posted.

Be warned. There's a lot of Mug Love out there. This could get kind of crazy.