There's an old adage that goes, "You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep." I think you can tell a lot more about a person by the brands they buy, and the companies they associate with or work for.  I wanted to create a running list of cool companies, products, people, brands, ideas... the "stuff" of our life, both tangible and intangible

I have had the delightful good fortune to get to know a lot of top-flight companies and brands during my career, and I'd like to share them with you.  Some of these are companies I have worked with directly (I've either hired them, worked for them, or interviewed them); others are simply brands I've admired from afar.  

I won't add the "obvious" brands here: Fortune's 2011 list of most admired companies covers most of the high-name-recognition brands that have their act together.  Instead, I'm sharing smaller, lesser-known brands. I've always been fascinated by and drawn to entrepreneurs with big ideas and bigger dreams -- I root for the underdog when the underdog's product or service is better than the rest.  Who knows?  Ten years from now, they might be world-renowned! 

Really fantastic Mediterranean-inspired things to put in your mouth.  I met this woman at a Christmas crafts fair, and was blown away by both her products and her salesmanship.  Yaffa's a Mediterranean Maestro -- her sauces and spices are beyond yummy.  But what made her stand out the most was her sunny, upbeat  way of interacting with the crowd:  she's passionate about her products, and she should be; they're excellent. I've had to work a lot of trade shows and "booth events" all through my career; usually the people staffing the booths are bored and boring.  Not Chef Yaffa -- her happiness, excitement and passion for her products just reach out into the aisle and grab you!

Tom Dickson is one of my heroes.  Ever since I saw the first "Will It Blend?" videos on YouTube I've wanted a Blendtec blender.   I just noticed that their Roadshow is coming to my local Costco.  It makes complete sense:  this Costco is located in the second-most-affluent zip code in Colorado, and a Blendtec blender will set you back nearly five bills.  They're demo-ing to the right demographic!  The smartest. coolest thing about Blendtec isn't just that their blenders are the best on the market -- what I love is how they've let us KNOW that fact.  Using YouTube.  I/m sure they now have a great advertising revenue stream as well!

Taking a page from the Blendtec Youtube demo model, G-form has come up with some really fun to watch product test videos.  My favorite is dropping an iPad from a weather balloon, going up to the edges of outer space before popping -- and video cameras follow it all the way to the ground.  (Yes, the iPad continued working the entire time!)  Using very simply produced video to make a great product demo... Yum.  It totally sells the product!

Founded in 2007, Pixorial is doing smart stuff with video.  At first, I wasn't sure about this product - I mean, I've been a YouTube user for many years, and I couldn't figure out how Pixorial could compete with the Google-owned giant.  But... they're doing some very smart things that make it super-easy for people to bring their old video, film, and other image assets back to life.  Remember that old 8mm film camera your grandpa had?  Somewhere there's a box of little reels of film, quietly decomposing.  One of the things Pixorial does is convert that film to a digital format for you.  

Anybody who's experimented with video cameras going back a decade or so knows one deadly word "CODEC". I used to be convinced that a video codec was a technical flibbidygibbet thingy that video camera engineers created as a surly "screw you, consumer" challenge that could stop you cold. Codec errors used to make me crazy.  Pixorial sort of... erased that issue for consumers.  They've managed to bring all manner of video assets under one happy roof, and they have a simple, user-friendly editing tool that makes it easy to string together your favorite old clips.  I've had a blast revisiting all that footage of my kids when they were still little.  Pixorial's one of my new favorites.  

Soft Surroundings:  an old catalog brand, but a brand-new store at Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree, CO.  I'm in love with their clothing:  it's a tactile textile feast for the fingers.  Everything is has a lovely texture, from soft, drapey knits, to plush silk velvet, fluffy sweaters, and lots more.  Love this place.