Idea, Paper, Craft

Time to kick origami up a few notches with PaperCraft? Hell yea, its become fairly popular for those creative minds to design characters and random objects only in 3D form, using only your creativity, paper and a printer. The objective is to design an object, for example a tank, draw it using an adobe product of choice and print it out. Now you can start folding your paper in order to create your 3D look, keep in mind if your doing this from scratch it will take a bit of planning. But here at YoCoPros, we of course will always provide you with some sweet resources. For one, check out this bad ass Mario papercraft project that went above and beyond anything we seen before. Second, for some awesome samples and ideas we highly recommend Cubecraft. In addition to that, there is an online museum of papercraft and of course every enthusiast needs a blog.

So Read, Learn, Make...

Fishtown Just Got Fishier

So the word on the street is that Fathom Seafood Bar is opening this Monday 2/21/2011!!! The spot? The corner of Girard Ave. and Shackamaxon Street. - right across the street from Johnny Brenda's. This little joint is the mastermind of Chef-owner Mike Stollenwerk (You might know him from Center City's Fish and Little Fish located in Queen's Village.) We are super stoked to check this place out Monday and report back to all our YoCoPro fans with a review, and pictures!!

Taste the Rainbow

Colors have a huge impact on our everyday life, from the minute we wake up our mood is effected by our surroundings and the time of the year. Is it sunny or dark and stormy? These differences have enormous impacts on our attitudes, and decisions we make during the day and throughout our lives. Colors not only effect you as a person but they have an impact on others around us, in nature colors often times are warning signs, for example its a general rule that the most brightly colored frogs are the most deadly to us. In other cases birds fan out colored feathers to attract a mate. How the human responds to color is called Color Psychology, and fields of both business and advertising have become experts at specifically targeting an audience. This is even true with logo design, check out this comparison of major companies and the colors they use. When you get a chance do a little reading about web colors and usability, its amazing how a simple logo or background could change the meaning and mood of a site. In reality color theory is a whole expertise on its own, outside of general design. A great tool that we use for designing or for some inspiration is the Adobe Kuler site, it allows you to play with color sets and create your own color scheme or sample those that others have created. And if your just playing around on your computer and need to find out what a particular color your looking at is try this handy color picker site.

Words of wisdom: When I doubt about a specific color choice, take a step back and taste the rainbow.

Valentine Gift Ideas

Well, it's that time a year again - time to find that perfect gift for your special someone to show your love and appreciation for them on Valentines Day. Are you sick of the same old flowers and chocolate? Well, here are some ideas from your friends at YoCoPro....remember Valentines Day is this coming Monday!!

Tweet Heart Maple Wood Pendant // $10.00
From Zephry Woods

We're Better Together 8x10 Print // $12.00
From Lemon Squeezy Shop

The Calm Before the Story Tea Set // $54.99
From ModCloth

Tattoo Heart Cookies // $66.00 a dozen
From Whipped Bake Shop

Snuggie Sutra Book // $9.99
From UrbanOutfitters

Dominic Episcopo's Love Poster // $45.00
From Silicon Gallery

To cool for school?

With the economy being the way it has been its been hard for YoCoPros to justify spending those extra dollars on things you don't need, but is this the case with schooling as well? We have also wondered if higher education is truly necessary. Well after long thought and surveying our friends, family and coworkers we've come to the conclusion of: In some case Yes, while others the answer is No.

We have first hand experience that higher education doesn't always pay off, or make up for all of the money spent in undergrad and postgrad careers. And now its harder than ever to find a job or even keep the one you already have. We know that in some situations for instance Doctors, Lawyers etc need postgrad educations, but many times does it make a difference in other career fields?

Another big factor would also be where you live vs. the jobs available. The economy has hit some parts of the US much harder than others, both in real estate values as well as the job market. Check out this article about what salary buys happiness in your city.

Keep this in mind though: a recent poll by Financial Times, indicated that 70 per cent of those who required loans to fund an MBA will still be in debt three years after graduation, and only 40% of all CEO's have an MBA.

Check out this infographic as well:

A case of the tech goggles

The tech world just gets more and more amazing everyday. Some in the tech world stand by the idea that technology doubles in performance every 18 months, sometimes referred to as Moore's Law. This can easily be seen in cellphones, just picture your phone five years ago (if you can remember back that many phones ago) and now look at all of the capabilities of the new IPhones or Android phones. We never thought how integrated everything could be, from mobile calls to shopping and adverting, everything is at your finger tips. For example look at Google Goggles, and even better yet download it immediately. Whats it do? Well hold your smart phone up to pretty much any item you can imagine, and snap a picture..... Boom! Seconds later you have instant feedback from Google, if you took a picture of a business it will come up on a map, take a picture of a new tv, find a listing of that tv's prices locally. How bad ass is that! You can even use a little app called RedLaser to scan whatever barcode your little heart desires and shop for the best price right on your phone. Hell, why even leave your couch anymore, we haven't. 

Re-use, Re-Upcycle

All of us have heard of "Re-use, Recycle," but what about upcycling? We recently came across some craft/artwork that made use of old chip bags to create jewelry and wallets. Creativity has no bounds when it comes to upcycling. We were happy to see a local company leading the way, TerraCycle, from Trenton, NJ is making the most out of upcycling. They are turning ordinary food and beverage packaging into things like messenger bags and speakers, and were recently called the Google of Recycling. It's great to see companies recycling waste into usable products and we love the fact that artists and some homegrown companies have taken the initiative in re-use, check out Vaya Bags who make some bad ass messenger bags from recycled bike tire tubes. Also if you would like take the hands on approach there is a plethora of sites you can take a look at for DIY projects: our favorites including Instructables, and Craft Magazine.

Neighborhood Review : Fishtown

So we thought we would start the New Year off right by not only reviewing local businesses, but to feature a different neighborhood each month of 2011. First stop? FISHTOWN. We just recently got the chance to check out Brindle Cafe, which is located on at 221 E. Girard Ave. It had just snowed the day before, and it was a blustery day - we thought we'd drop in, talk to the owner and get a cup o'joe, boy were we pleasantly surprised when we found their awesome menu of sandwiches and salads!

It's taken six months, but Brindle Cafe is up and running. The Cafe has a laid back, fresh and modern atmosphere. There is a lot of great light from the two huge windows, (it's a corner lot.) Chocolate brown counters span the length of the windows and small tables with inviting succulents planted in small charcoal colored pots adorn each table and make you feel at home. There is a large chalkboard on one wall that states the day’s specials. And the food case under the register is filled with locally baked desserts enticing you to try them all.


Owner: Scott Forman was behind the counter making everything himself, and we got the opportunity to chat it up a bit about what he loves about local businesses, and what he foresees in the future for Brindle. He too like the YoCos appreciates the time and effort local businesses take to provide food that is obtained locally and is organic, unique - and tastes good! He knows that even if the menu isn't huge, just having a few fantastic items makes the public come back again and again. What was the inspiration for the name? That's easy - Scott and his wife own two brindle colored dogs: Kayla and Gracie. Scott is from Philly, and has had the opportunity to live in South Philly, Old City and NoLibs before settling down and buying a house in Fishtown.



We tried the Grilled Cheese and the Hummus & Roasted Pepper sandwiches, and we cannot wait to go back! The Grilled Cheese was oozing with cheddar and mozzarella and came with a pickle to enhance the sandwiches gooey deliciousness. How was the Hummus & Roasted Pepper sandwich? Well we are big fans of hummus and have only found a few places that make it to our standards, so we had to try it. Upon receiving the sandwich are usual first impulse is to eat the pickle, I don't know why, but it was a good pickle. Then after examining the sandwich, it was time to go all in. The first bite was the crunch of the fresh French bread followed by the sweetness of the red pepper and the smooth creaminess of the hummus. A good first start, but it wasn't until the third or fourth bite where our senses got the full effect of the sandwich. The combination of hummus, red peppers and onion we are accustomed to seamlessly melt with the harissa/goat cheese and prosciutto. These last two ingredients were the perfect accompaniment. It was a great combination of textures, and flavors of salty, sweet, smooth and crunchy. It’s hard for us to think of a better mix of flavors in a sandwich.




Right now Scott is a one-man show, what does he see for the future of Brindle? He hopes there is a Brindle in every neighborhood of Philly, and that each individual Cafe has it's own menu which would reflect what is available locally throughout the seasons in that area - making each a destination for the locals and non-locals alike. His passion for the neighborhood and local businesses shine through his heart and soul that has been put into the Cafe we all gathered at that afternoon.



We wrapped up our visit with a piece of Orange Ricotta Cheesecake, that contained just the right amount of orange flavor that makes us want to eat it all day everyday!! That paired with a cup of Nor-easter Blend Coffee, a dark roast with spice and dark cocoa was quite nice, to warm us up from the cold afternoon. $2.50 one size cup fits all, and a $2.00 iced tea is not too shabby for the penny pinchers pocket book.



We definitely recommend Brindle Cafe as a place to check out! And we look forward to menu items and events to come at this great neighborhood establishment!!

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Renegade Dates for 2011!!!

Now you see it, now you don't?

We have always admired advertising in its many forms, we even collect old ads and use them as inspiration. If your a true ad enthusiast like us, definitely check out this series by Jim Heimann. As much as we can admire the art and copy of some of the best ads throughout the years we also admire the bad, for example Camel's long running campaign of 9 out of 10 doctors recommend Camel over the other brands. Which you can take a look at here.

So what is advertising? By definition its a form of communication used to persuade an audience to buy a product or service, and in "layman's terms": Selling you s$#t you don't need.

How do advertisers do this? Well the most often used way is visual stimuli, followed by good copy, and that accounts for advertising in its many forms: billboards, print, tv, radio etc. Often times advertising may "enhance" how things look, sometimes even using subliminal messages. Take a look at the following examples and see how it targets the viewer and uses persuasion. Here are two great examples of how products are enhanced the first being the Dominos video above, and the second being the famous Dove Evolution video. Recently BMW has been getting some slack attention for a new video they released, which uses some subliminal messaging, check it out for yourself and read the article from fastcompany.

So in our opinion advertising as a whole is awesome, but as a marketing tool and a form of communication, consumers need to take advertising with a grain of salt; and don't be afraid to do your research so you don't get stuck with something like this!

Monthly Neighborhood Feature

This month we will be featuring stories on local businesses in FISHTOWN.
We will be interviewing owners, reviewing menus and posting awesome limited edition prints in our Etsy shop that coincide with our reviews!!
We hope you all are as excited as we are about this series, which will include local, organic and handmade features! Remember support local businesses!!

Stay tuned for the articles to come, posts about local events, and the end of this month we will be revealing our brother company......

Holiday Gift Ideas for : HER

First of many gift giving posts for this Holiday Season!!

Pendant Measures 14x20mm
Chain 18" Oxidized
$56.80
From Miscii Jewelry

Emerald colored, diminutive glass beaded hoops,
handmade caps and studs from sterling silver
Diameter : 4 cm
$119.52
From Donauluft

Printed tea towel with a multi colored houndstooth pattern.
55% Linen - 45% Cotton
16" x 22"
$25.00
From Avril Loreti

One Dozen Box of Wilbur Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookies, decorated with the dark brown Faux Bois (French for "false wood") design on Wilbur chocolate.
$18.00 a dozen
From: Sweeties By Kim

Chunky handmade napkin rings with your choice of words imprinted into the clay.
$96.00 for set of 8
From Rae Dunn

The case has a hard outer shell, but is lined using beautiful soft leather to protect your iPhone/iTouch from the inside.
$39.00
From Tovi Sorga and Corrie de Vries

Happy Thanksgiving!!

MC Nutter

Well Will Smith isn't the only one that can get jiggy. Check out MC Nutter bust some rhymes over at the Mitchell and Ness Store opening this week.

Philly Cupcake Shop Whips Up Something Special For Late Night

The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon debuted on NBC March of 2009. Former "Saturday Night Live" star Jimmy Fallon has given a great reason for YoCoPros across the nation to tune in to Late Night TV. Once looked at as "Our Parents" late night TV has come around and now features artists, actors and comedy segments that we can relate to. Not to mention our Philly originated favorite band: The Roots, who signed on as the show's band...becoming the first band of that stature to commit to a network TV series, and continue to tour during the networks off season.

The Boss is stopping by the Late Night Show TONIGHT!!!!! Our friend Casey and the crew at Whipped Bakeshop (at 636 Belgrade Street, Philadelphia, PA 19125) have baked some pretty amazing cookies to send up to NYC for the occasion....

Design and portrait piping: Jenn Hall
Additional design and piping: Zoë Lukas
Ribbon measuring, cutting and tech support: Brennen Lukas
Dough making: Rebecca Hauptman

Whipped Bakeshop was started by Philadelphia pastry artist Zoë Lukas. "Zoë's lifelong love of baking was born as a child among her dessert-loving family. Her father traveled frequently and was always in search of the finest bakeries in America, bringing home the tastiest treats he could find. Zoë tried them all. Meanwhile, her mother was an incredible baker in her own right, and her brother Jeff became a successful chef." (-Whipped Bakeshop website)

It was luck, according to Whipped Bakeshop's blog that a recent customer came into their shop who happened to help manage The Late Night Show's band, The Roots. After mentioning that Bruce Springsteen would be on the show tonight performing they asked Whipped if they would be interested in sending over some cookies to help them celebrate. They said: "Um yes. We would like to send cookies to Jimmy Fallon."

We YoCos, think these cookies are pretty f-ing awesome and will be watching Jimmy Fallon to see if there is a mention of our friends!!

Great Thanksgiving Cookbooks

Getting ready for your first turkey or dissatisfied with the dry results you got last year? Not to worry--"Mr. Thanksgiving," Rick Rodgers, is here to teach Thanksgiving 101. And he ought to know. For the last eight years he has been traveling the country to teach his class as the media spokesperson for Perdue Farms, an industrial giant among turkey producers. The "Main Event" is everything, absolutely everything, you would want to know about buying, thawing, prepping, and roasting a turkey. You needn't look any further. There's a long question-and-answer-style section that anticipates any questions you might have.

In addition to the nearly fifty recipes, there are step-by-step instructions for decorating your home, setting an attractive table, and making a variety of festive drinks -- all lavishly illustrated with color photographs. Detailed work plans accompany each menu, and helpful reference sections provide guidelines on tableware and glassware, setting up a buffet, pairing food and wine, and more. You'll find everything you need to know to host a memorable Thanksgiving that both you and your guests will enjoy.

Vintage Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

You remember watching the parade while the smell of the cooking Turkey slowly started invading your house. But what you probably remember seeing was a lot of giant balloons of Snoopy, Garfield, Smurfs and Miss Piggy. Here are some 1950s and 1960s photographs of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for you to enjoy.
Some are pretty creepy.
And yes that is Betty White, she co-hosted the parade with Loren Green for several years. That picture is from 1969.
You remember how excited you got when Santa came at the end......



All images from Google Images

Top Three Things to do in Philly this Fall Season

October is almost over, here are Top 3 Picks of what you need to do this Fall Season....

1. Linvilla Orchards
137 W. Knowlton Road Media, PA 19063

Linvilla Orchards is a 300-acre farm dedicated to agriculture, entertainment and education. They raise their own fresh fruits and vegetables that you can pick yourself or purchase in the Farm Market. Their pies are out of this world, and we recommend you wait in that long line to buy one, drink some of their amazing Apple Cider to make the time pass. **Beware this place gets super crowded the closer Halloween gets.** So plan ahead and make sure you leave enough time to buy pumpkins, cider and mums. DON'T FORGET to have the pumpkin pie funnel cake or the apple cider slushie...two treats that should not be missed.

2. Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary
22nd & Fairmount Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19130

Many people believe that Eastern State Penitentiary is haunted. As early as the 1940s, officers and inmates reported mysterious visions and eerie experiences in the ancient prison. And the ghost sightings have only increased since Eastern State was abandoned in 1971. With the growing interest in paranormal investigation, Eastern State Penitentiary may now be the most carefully studied building in the United States. Dozens of teams visit to explore the site each year. So this may be the perfect site for a Haunted Walk Through Attraction...reserve your tickets today! Today till the weekend after Halloween are all you have left!

3. GREAT Pumpkin Sundae at Franklin Fountain
116 Market St. Philadelphia,, PA 19106




The Franklin Fountain aims to serve an experience steeped in ideals, drizzled with drollery, and sprinkled with the forgotten flavors of the American past. We came on a Wednesday night (not too crowded) and indulged in the quite wonderful Great Pumpkin Sundae. Pumpkin ice cream, (made here), carmel sauce, sugared walnuts, whipped cream and cinnamon ...need we say more. Portion is large, we shared, but if you are skipping dinner....one for each person is perfectly fine.

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WEDNESDAY LINKS

Here are some things we think you should check out!

2011 Sketchbook Project - Sign Up Ends 10/31!!
DIY Project: Ashley's Floral Tray Table (Design Sponge)
Monday's Pets on Furniture!!
Awesome iPhone App!
Celebrate Dutch Merchants!!
Our favorite place to eat right now:

Eames® Molded Plywood Dining Chair / Affordable Alternatives

Design is for living. That maxim shaped a widespread shift in design during the 1940s and 1950s. It was a revolution of form, an exciting visual language that signaled a new age and a fresh start – and two of its prime movers were Charles and Ray Eames. The Eameses were a husband and wife team whose unique synergy led to a whole new look in furniture. Lean and modern. Sleek, sophisticated and simple. Beautifully functional.

Yet Charles and Ray Eames created more than a "look" with their bent plywood chairs or molded fiberglass seating. They had ideas about making a better world, one in which things were designed to fulfill the practical needs of ordinary people and bring greater simplicity and pleasure to our lives.

As the most important exponents of organic design, Charles and Ray Eames demonstrated how good design can improve quality of life and human understanding and knowledge.

Artist photo from 1000 Chairs courtesy of Taschen.

Here is a comparison of the two original chairs by Eames® available through Design Within Reach. Both come in multiple finishes and are beautiful, but high in price.

First great alternative. We saw these in person at the West Elm store in Center City Philadelphia and fell in love. Not only are they a GREAT alternative but are very similar to the Eames® chairs. These chairs are in stock at the store, however they do require assembly.

These last two alternatives are at a GREAT price point! They are available through IKEA and as all furniture from Ikea, assembly is required. Not quite as similar to the Eames® chairs, but a close match in the idea of the same simple design. Plus at $39.99 a pop you really cannot go wrong!

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