Ramadan calendars, van shops and better sex ed

Plus, why a homeware brand is marketing by mail (without totally abandoning e-commerce). Tuesday 7th March, 2023 [View in browser]( / [Sign up]( As Eid al-Fitr approaches, one business owner shares her take on designing a product around the festive season. Plus, if you've ever scrolled #vanlife but don't want to actually live in a car, a shop in a van may be the next best option. 🗓️ Growing up in a British-Pakistani Muslim household, Nazia Kosar didn't necessarily celebrate Christmas, but she loved advent calendars. That led her to create [Star x Crescent]( a range of Ramadan calendars filled with treats and designed using traditional Islamic art. ‘By 2030, 33% of the global population will be Muslim and, in the UK alone, Muslims spend £20 billion annually,’ she [told us](. ‘There's massive amounts of space for us when it comes to making our ideas into a reality.’ 🪑 Inspired by Singapore's small – but very common – public rental flats, [Mutou]( makes compact stowable modular furniture out of birch plywood. 🥘 Kenya-based Charlot Magayi's clean cookstove is around 75% cheaper than alternatives on the market – and better reduces household air pollution thanks to [a design tweak](. 🚚 [Colter Freeman]( saw his work dry up during the pandemic, so the book-loving movie producer did what any sane person would do: buy a small Japanese van, kit it out with custom-made wooden shelves and become the proprietor of what he calls the world's smallest bookstore, [Small Print Books](. Here are four more shops in a van. - Little Lamb Coffee + Clay, a [coffee and ceramics truck](. - Harlem Doggie Day Spa, a [mobile dog-grooming company](. - Two Guys Good Buys, a van-based [vintage clothing store]( run by… two guys. - Creme Tangerine Records, a [vinyl store]( in a converted Airstream trailer. TIP! Going mobile can cut your overheads, but it has its unique challenges – like licenses, city regulations and size constraints. Read up on [local laws]( before you put your inventory on wheels. 🧢 This [secondhand streetwear sourcer]( has just launched an [account]( focused on vintage kids clothes. The first hot item? OshKosh B'gosh overalls. 🏀 [Crosscourt]( is giving basketball a lifestyle makeover. 🍷 Out-of-home advertising – think billboards, posters and transit ads – is [growing way faster]( than people expected. Canned wine brand [Nice]( says the trick is to use that real estate thoughtfully: ‘We had our Instagram handle and website [on the adverts], as well as four of our key stockists, both online and retail,’ co-founder Lucy Wright [told us](. 📩 Speaking of taking ads offline, a few companies are experimenting with direct mail again. Craighton Berman, founder of Chicago-based homeware brand [Manual]( recently launched [Snail Mail Club]( free hand-printed postcards and zines exploring slowness sent to subscribers at random. ‘I'm not rejecting the fast-paced world of e-commerce – I just want to make something “real” as well,’ he says. ‘I want to create a mini experience that isn't forgotten the minute someone scrolls past it.’ 🎋 Bill and Shannen [Oyster]( have been in the handmade bamboo fly rod business for 25 years – battling recessions and industry gatekeepers – with no ‘rich uncle’ or [other outside investment](. LEARN: If you're self-funded but need a little extra to get your business to the next level, consider a business line of credit. [Here's our guide](. 🍨 [LILO]( makes vegan desserts from local New Zealand fruits, like cherries from Central Otago, with the bigger aim of creating a new supply chain for ‘glitch fruit’ – AKA imperfect, ugly produce – that isn't usually exported. 🥐 [Mintchi Croissant]( sells filled croissants in São Paulo in a cafe with interiors inspired by flaky pastry. 🧬 Sex education isn't great. [Ollo]( is a subscription platform with guides on topics that go beyond biology basics, like consent. 🥽 [FORM]( makes smart goggles for competitive swimmers. Metrics like time, pace, distance and calories are projected onto the inside of the goggles. 💸 [Cash Only]( is an LA-based collective of chefs, designers, researchers and storytellers focused on food narratives. What does that mean? Current [products]( include a sambal and vegan fish sauce (plus sick matching shirts), but it also regularly hosts [pop-ups and events](. 👖 A dispatch from down under from our lifestyle editor Bre Graham: ‘I was just back in Australia for a month and First Nation brands – like [Clothing The Gaps]( and [Haus of Dizzy]( – are front and center at the moment. [Gammin threads]( in Naarm (Melbourne) is [one to watch]( – the founder makes clothing that blends her love of pop culture with Indigenous slang while educating the wider population on what it means to be an ally.’ 💍 Sweden-based fertility support company [Bumpy]( main product is an app, but it also took a unique approach to brand awareness, selling a wavy silver [ring]( meant to help users overcome the bumps in their health journeys. ‘It's visible to others, whereas infertility itself is an invisible disease and covered with stigmas and secrecy,’ says co-founder Andrea Olsson. ‘Putting the ring on your finger can open up conversations.’ TRY IT! Brand extension – entering a completely new area or category – is a bold move, but it can pay off if you do it right. Good thing we've got [everything]( you need to know about it. 🦙 [Paka]( is an alpaca-obsessed clothing brand founded in Peru. 🌃 [Futur.st]( started as a queer nightclub and gallery in Poblacion, a nightlife-heavy neighborhood in Manila, but it's since added retail pop-ups and food events – and [the ever-changing strategy]( has been key to its success. 🏺 After a few years working in the film and gaming industries, Ece Cingöz [used her severance pay]( to open a ceramics studio in a seaside neighborhood in Istanbul. [The dream](. Elsewhere in Courier: 🤳 On TikTok: A fragrance brand [inspired by burnout](. ▶️ On YouTube: How a waffle shop got on top of [its finances](. 💻 Online: Monetizing [Instagram mood boards](. 📰 In print: We have 100 (more) Ways to Make a Living [here](. Drop us a line any time at [hello@couriermedia.com](mailto:hello@couriermedia.co). Update your preferences [here](. Unsubscribe [here](