Custom gifts for your one-of-a-kind Valentine

Paul Hochman TODAY gear and technology editor

On Valentine’s Day, it’s nice to show your loved one that of all the people in the universe, you only have eyes for him or her. Nobody else.

This gesture, of course, can be compromised if the small token of your affection — say, a card or a box of chocolates — can be found at four trillion CVS pharmacies.

But happily, technology comes to the rescue.

Thanks to the miracle of something called “mass customization,” more and more manufacturers are offering consumers the chance to create personalized gifts that express the unique and irreplaceable feelings they have for their loved ones. Nike was among the first to offer a custom manufacturing service on its NikeID.com site, and Burton’s series13.com site followed soon after with customized art for snowboards. But now hundreds of companies are in the customization business, for products big and small, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Below, some utterly unique choices for your one-of-a-kind love.

Fizzy love
Jones Soda company, a fast-growing independent soda maker, changed its name from Urban Juice and Soda to “Jones” in 2000. The company has made a name for itself with oddball flavors and cheeky marketing campaigns.

Now, thanks to a high-tech (and highly efficient) production line, anybody with a digital picture and a motto can put love in a bottle. Or, on it, anyway. Just e-mail Jones a picture and the words of your choice and get a case of personalized soda sent anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.

The possibilities for memorable love notes are endless: “I love you more than Fufu Berry Soda itself.” Or: “You’re the Green Apple Soda of my eye.” Imagine a 12-bottle case of Orange & Cream soda with your smiling face on the front, whisked to your college-graduate partner; or a case of root beer with your poem proposing the idea of “putting down roots” on the back of the bottle. Your imagination is the only limit.

The Web site, jonessoda.com, has an online system that includes a digital picture browser that will upload just about any digital picture you want from your computer to their Web site. There are some restrictions — you’re not allowed to use pictures of Elvis, for example, without asking Elvis himself for permission. Then, Jones takes your 300 dpi (dots per inch) picture and slaps it on 12 bottles with the flavor of your choice. Add some of your text or poetry (which you also insert at Jones Soda’s Web-based ordering site), and you’re in business.

NOTE: The process normally takes three to four weeks and costs $29 per case of 12 bottles, but if you order using Jones Soda’s UPS second-day service, the bottles should arrive two weeks from the day you order them.

Which means you’d better get moving. Love may be blind, but it’s not always patient.

www.pictureitpostage.com A customized postage stamp

The stamp of love
If you are stranded in a really big mall and have no choice but to send a mass-market greeting card to your special someone, at least put a unique stamp on it. Your own postage stamp, for example. With a picture of you on it. Seriously: you, on a stamp.

Wait — didn’t the U.S. Postal Service have a policy about not allowing stamps to feature the likeness of a living person? Yes. But no more.

And now a company called Endicia has taken advantage of this brave new world; they’ve created a cool Web site called pictureitpostage.com that allows you to put your lovely mug and a few choice words on real U.S. stamps.

All you have to do is go to the company’s Web site, choose a picture, logo or image of your choice, including a few words, edit the picture using their free online software and go. One great feature — the online software works with Windows or Mac. The company checks out your pictures and logos to confirm you’re not exposing your love too completely, and two weeks later, you get your stamps.

The stamps you design come in groups of 20; the cost is about twice that of a conventional book of stamps. For example: one pack of 20 customized 41-cent first-class letter stamps costs $17.95 at pictureitpostage.com, whereas getting 20 Gerald R. Ford stamps only costs about $8 but, when you think about it, isn’t as romantic. Unless you’re Mrs. Ford.

The book of love
For those who believe that if a little love is good, a lot of love is better, Kodak’s incredibly easy-to-use Kodak Gallery online photo service lets you put as many of your images in permanent form as you’d like.

For example, if you go to the Kodak Gallery site, you’ll find hard- and soft-bound book options, pocket photo books, mini photo books and just about any construction you prefer; the customization options are what differentiates this idea from the standard Valentine's Day card. Just follow the site’s photo-upload process (it’s pretty easy and fast) and pick your option, and your custom book of love will be almost instantly on its way to assembly.

The Kodak Gallery’s Legacy Photo Book, for example, measures 12” x 14,” can be hardbound in leather or linen and has myriad options, including collages, double-sided printing and colors. The price for the Legacy book starts at $69, depending on the options you pick, and can be customized using images you upload to the site.

And if you want to prove your love and your frugality, smaller, less-fancy custom books start at as little as $6.99.

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Paul Hochman is the gear and technology editor for the TODAY Show and a “Fast Company” magazine contributor. He covered the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Athens and Torino, Italy, for TODAY. He was also a three-year letter winner on the Dartmouth ski team and has a black belt in karate. Paul’s blog can be found at: Paulhochman.blogspot.com

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