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By Emily Meagher
Weekend farmers’ markets are a great way to unwind from the week, spend time with family and friends, and stock your fridge for the week ahead. But there’s no need to wait until the weekend to do this – the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s midweek market, rain or shine, on Wednesdays, 3-6 pm, offers a way to get the freshest foods – usually picked off the land the day before or even that morning.
This year’s return of the midweek market to downtown Saratoga in High Rock Park offers a more intimate, slower-paced alternative to the Saturday markets. Product offerings include fresh produce, plants and flowers, eggs, baked goods, prepared foods, tool sharpening services, and more.
Vendors appreciate the market’s different characteristics. “Midweek markets are a great opportunity for farmers since it provides a platform to sell your freshest products that otherwise might not make it to the weekend,” says Charles Holub, owner of Scotch Ridge Berry & Tree Farm. He notes that since his farm doesn’t use pesticides or herbicides, they must pick berries every other day to avoid critters. “And naturally grown fruit doesn’t keep long after picking – just a day or two – so these midweek markets let us sell more of our product,” Holub adds.
For customers, the smaller size of the Wednesday market is a draw, especially this year. “Many customers prefer the smaller crowds – plus it makes it easier to have more meaningful personal interactions with customers,” says Becky Dennison of Shushan Valley Hydro Farms. “Since there’s less traffic, products don’t sell out as quickly, and there’s not such a rush for customers to get to the market. The atmosphere is very laid back,” adds Charles Holub.
A family-friendly affair, this season’s Wednesday markets will offer the Power of Produce Club with themed activities for children of all ages (running June 30th through September 1). Market-goers can also expect weekly live music and community guests (including the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners offering gardening tips and soil testing every third Wednesday of the month). Also, on Wednesday, July 21 and Wednesday, August 11, representatives from the Office for the Aging will hand out free Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons to be spent on fruits and vegetables at the farmers’ market.
Visit the Wednesday market every week, 3-6pm at High Rock Park!
This week’s recipe: Pasta with Spring Vegetables


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Augmented reality is a buzzword at the moment, with lots of talk around it going on, and the buzz has only got louder recently with the news that Facebook is to launch Augmented Reality (AR) advertising. Facebook, one of the world’s largest social media networks, took to the stage at their F8 developer conference earlier this year and announced that they are working with businesses to allow them to show off products in the News Feed, using AR. The examples they gave at the time were ads for fashion items such as sunglasses and beauty products such as lipstick, and the use of augmented reality to show how they would look on customer’s faces. The ads will look like a normal ad in the feed but will include a ‘Tap to try it on’ button which will open up the reality experience.
After this announcement, everyone was bigging up Facebook, saying that they were leading the way in AR and the virtual environment, but they were forgetting one thing. Facebook’s rivals Snapchat have already been introducing people to AR in a quiet way by allowing users to experiment with filters to alter their appearance. I mean come on, how many of us have added computer-generated puppy dog ears or harry potter glasses to our selfies? This is AR in its simplest form – so simple that people seem to have forgotten that Snapchat did AR before Facebook!
However, that is not to say that Facebook is simply copying Snapchat, they are both huge social media companies with huge numbers of users, and so they both have a very important role to play in the adoption of AE and reality systems. As we have said above, Snapchat has played a really important role in allowing people to become comfortable with virtual reality experiences – so comfortable that we don’t even realise that we are using ar technologies! What Snapchat does is to allow is to create content and socialise with our friends and family in a way we are comfortable with, enhancing our natural behaviours, and therefore our adoption of the ar application is eased as it doesn’t feel forced.
Facebook, on the other hand, takes this reality technology and scales it massively. Snapchat has 191 million active monthly users – which sounds like a lot – until you discover that Facebook has 2 billion monthly users. 2 billion. When you look at the figures it is easy to see that when Facebook starts to ramp up its augmented reality offering, the uptake of AR will really start to fly.
However, Snapchat has got a head start on Facebook because it has always positioned itself as an image based company, even calling itself a ‘camera company’ in a recent ad. They have also recently launched a hands-free video camera wearable device, to rival google glass, named ‘Spectacles’ which allow you to take circular photos and videos and then share them on Snapchat – and they are water resistant as well! They are upping their game when it comes to ar apps and doing it in a way that is easy for users to adopt, and so they are definitely a brand to keep an eye on in the augmented reality sphere. Facebook, on the other hand, hasn’t developed any physical products of note, and it is not known if they have any mixed reality products in the pipeline either.
So, the war on AR is on. Snapchat is competing on delivering the virtual world to customers in an easy to adopt way, whereas Facebook is delivering on achieving scale. We will be keeping a close eye on both companies and how they are delivering AR on social media. You can keep up to date too, by following our blog or our Linkedin page.

domain: news


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Mondetta Embraces Sustainability
New athletic-wear collection is its most eco-friendly one yet
Mondetta Performance Gear’s newest clothing line is 74 per cent sustainable, making the spring collection its most eco-friendly one so far.
Creating fabrics that will decompose by 70 per cent in one year in a landfill is the next step, said Ash Modha, CEO of the Winnipeg-based company. “I think we’re about 18 to 24 months away from that next level,” he says.
Photo: Mike Soduma / Winnipeg Free Press
Prices in the new collection are either staying the same or going down, he says.
“We can bring that value and affordability to sustainable products,” he says.
The clothes are mostly made of reused fabric from last year’s stock that have been broken down and re-made.
“That’s a massive undertaking and now that we’ve perfected that, we can start to build new fabrics.”
For about five years, Mondetta, MPG’s parent company, has experimented with fabrics made of coffee grounds and materials that are bluesign-compliant, meaning the chemicals and dyes are made sustainably.
“So many people just use a sustainable fabric,” says Modha. “But that’s just 10 per cent of the battle, it has to happen from the milling and the knitting of the fabric, to the packaging."
When Mondetta started this journey, the big sellers weren’t quite ready for it, Modha says. “The industry was in the infantile stages of sustainability, he says. “You need big customers like Walmart to start pushing this and when they do, the mills and factories start taking it seriously.”
Making products last longer is part of making them more sustainable. Using a Swedish material, PolyGene, MPG can make its products last longer between washings, giving them a longer lifespan.
“A pair of women’s tights for example, you used to have to wash them daily and now you can wear them, two, three, or even four times before having to wash them,” says Modha.
MPG has made sure the entire manufacturing process for the latest collection was Global Recycled Standard certified and Global Organize Textile Standard certified, on top of following ethical employment standards, the company says.
Mondetta’s next goal is to become a certified B Corporation, which is the highest standard of verified social and environmental responsibility.
“Every step of the sustainable process needs to be audited,” he says. If it’s not audited, it doesn’t mean anything,”
Mondetta was founded in Winnipeg in 1986. Its products are available online and in stores across North America.


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‘Asian version of blackface’: slant-eyed masks, ‘Wuhan girls’ chant at Paris dinner party condemned by big names in fashion
- A video posted by fashion DJ Gaubert shows guests at an Asian-themed dinner holding masks with slanted eyes while yelling ‘Wuhan girls, wahoo!’
- Fashion figures such as Susanna Lau and Bryanboy and Instagram account Diet Prada condemned the theme and masks – Lau called it ‘patently racist’
The fashion world’s favourite deejay, Michel Gaubert, a long-time collaborator of top brands such as Chanel, Fendi, Dior and Valentino, has come under fire for posting a video from an Asian-themed dinner he attended in Paris.
Gaubert, who likes to call himself a “sound designer” and is responsible for the music of many top shows during fashion week, has since deleted the clip, which shows guests holding cut-out paper masks with slanted eyes while yelling “Wuhan girls, wahoo!”.
Lau called it “patently racist” and “an Asian version of blackface”.
After being called out on social media, Gaubert apologised to his “Asian friends” in a lengthy Instagram post, explaining that the masks were designed six years ago by an artist friend who takes pictures of her dinner guests wearing them every week.


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Scammers operate through Instagram.
The crooks started to steal money from the clients of PrivatBank with the help of Instagram. On Wednesday, November 22, the press service of the financial institution.
A new Scam is promoted using an advertising message, which States that every Ukrainian supposedly has the ability to 3,8 thousand UAH. Information actively promote bots that the review confirm the acceptance of the funds on the card account in PrivatBank. The Bank deny this, affirming that 3.8 thousand UAH. no one gets.
The advertising message’ll spread in the social network, to access account details of Bank customers. When clicking on the link, the person offering to register, sold part of its Internet traffic, putting in the forms personal data about themselves but also information about the account in PrivatBank, including confidential. Then hack the account and take his money.
“We urge users to be careful not to get hooked on scams. There is no legal reason which would require the obtaining of every citizen of Ukraine 3800 hryvnia,” — said the press service of the Bank. Victims of fraud are advised to contact the call center of the Bank.
© 2017 – 2019, paradox. All rights reserved.


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Blockchain Use Cases to Watch in 2022
Blockchain technology was first introduced in October 2008 as the distributed ledger behind bitcoin transactions. Today, global spending on blockchain is forecast to reach nearly $19 billion in 2024. How did the technology at the heart of cryptocurrencies take on a life of its own? Based on decentralization, transparency, immutability, and automation, blockchain technology has a variety of use cases and can be applied across various industries. Here are the most interesting use cases and applications of this ever-expanding technology in 2022.


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Finnish electronics firm Polar is known for its fitness-tracking technology. The company is now looking to take things to the next level with its latest smart effort. The company announced a new kind of fitness watch, the M600 fitness tracker, which is powered by Google’s Android Wear.
The smartwatch is the first Android Wear fitness device to be made by a major fitness company. The tracker is accurate and powerful. The company claims that the fitness tracker is an ideal solution for those who are looking for a smartwatch for training.
Offering a sleek build which is on par with many other smartwatches out there, the new tracker is waterproof so users can take it into the pool and track swimming exercises and has a Gorilla Glass lens covering the TFT touchscreen. It features a 1.3-inch colour touchscreen display with a dedicated front button.
Polar’s Wear Fitness Smartwatch
With Google’s operating system under the hood, the android wears sport the company’s own wrist-based heart rate monitor, which uses 6 LED lights to generate accurate wrist-based readings. It is processed by an algorithm designed to be as precise as possible. The smartwatch’s HRM is a modified version of the A360’s HRM, with additional LEDs to cut down noise and enhance accuracy.
There’s also built-in GPS and round the clock, activity tracking including automatic sleep monitoring. It supports smart coaching features along with Polar’s Running Program with adaptive training plans for runners training to run a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or marathon. These are available to watch owners for free.
While the device looks more like a fitness tracker, it has the battery life of a smartwatch. The company claims that a single charge will last 48 hours. It isn’t that impressive when compared to standalone fitness gadgets. The iOS users will need to charge up every day as the company says battery life is about a day. However, with an activity using the GPS signal, the watch will run up to 8 hours 30 minutes.
Android Wear Fitness Smartwatch
Pairing with Android smartphone through Android Wear does make sense. Instead of just being alerted to notifications on the smartphone, the Android Wear gives users the ability to use the fitness tracking apps that they want to use. It enables them to respond to texts, receive calendar notifications, scroll through social media feeds and customise watch faces. Other specs include 4GB of internal storage allowing users to sync apps and music from Google Play. The users can listen to the music during the workout sans smartphone. There are also hundreds of other fitness apps that can be downloaded to its 4GB of built-in storage.
The new Polar M600 will be available globally with either black or powder white silicone bands for $329.90 (£247.97 / €349.90) later this year. The silicone strap, meanwhile, is removable and washable. Also, the changeable wristband with a red option is set to land later this year.


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Kudos to these faculty, staff and students
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E-mail your announcements to email@example.com.
- The Fashion Group International of Arizona, Inc. has recognized Judith Everett, a professor in the School of Communication, for “Teaching the Future of Fashion,” and for being “one of 10 fashion and design-industry icons” who has had a significant impact on the growth and success of the fashion industry in the Valley. Everett has co-authored fashion and merchandising books, including Guide to Producing a Fashion Show, Promotion in a Merchandising Environment and Writing for the Fashion Business.
- Janna Jones, an associate professor in the School of Communication, gave the keynote address at Screen Australia and the Cultural Research Network’s “In Transition: Media Distribution, Exhibition, and Consumption in Regional and Rural Australia” workshop in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 9. Following the workshop, she presented a paper at the University of Wollongong about Tad Nichols’ 1939 amateur film, Navajo Rug Weaving.
- Bruce M. Sullivan, a professor of religious studies, had an article, “How Does one Study a ‘Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’? Ethnographic Reflections on Kerala’s Kutiyattam,” published in the journal Method & Theory in the Study of Religion. The article analyzes a sacred drama tradition named by UNESCO as a human practice worthy of cultural preservation.


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CRN is unveiling its latest online initiative this week in the form of The Channel Debate.
Different questions and polls will be posted online over the next five months in an attempt to get reactions from every part of the industry.
On a specially designed micro-site, readers can leave their thoughts and comments on a variety of topics including the recession, the future of the channel, vendor/reseller/distributor relationships, partner programmes and trust in the channel.
The first question is: How is the economic slowdown affecting the channel, and what steps are you taking to get your company out of the recession?
The results of the debate will then be presented at The Channel Conference, a CRN event scheduled for later this year.
Visit http://debate.channelweb.co.uk/ to find out more.
CRN pulls out the key information from Microsoft's Q4, which took the vendor above $100bn for the year
Investment will include an AI research centre in London
John Coulston outlines Rackspace's plans to partner with the channel in the UK
Chris Bunch of Microsoft partner Cloudreach gives his take on this year's Inspire conference


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- Freeport murder suspect Damon Dixson taken into custody in Rockford
- Local gas station employee arrested for selling liquor to minor
- Renewable Fuel Standard delay ‘a mixed blessing,’ Bustos says
- Rockford delegation presents inaugural ‘Rockford Award’ to Norwegian Air
- Education in Illinois making slow progress, according to report
- Illinois GOP Congressional delegation: Obama’s immigration plan undermines rule of law
- Suspect, 17, charged in Halloween hit-and-run in Roscoe
- Saint Anthony College of Nursing president to retire
- Man found guilty in deadly August 2013 crash at Mulford and Garrett Lane
- ‘The Price is Right Live!’ at Coronado March 1; tickets on sale Nov. 21
More than 100 beers featured at Sept. 10 Screw City Beer Festival in downtown Rockford
Online Staff Report
Craft beer lovers will have the chance to try some fresh brews when a new festival kicks off this fall. The Screw City Beer Festival hits the streets in the heart of Rockford featuring craft beer from local, regional and national breweries. The event will feature breweries from Michigan, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Colorado, California and Oregon. More than 100 beers from 25 breweries will be served.
The event will be from 1 to 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 10. It will be centered at the intersection of State and Main streets in downtown Rockford, and will extend one block south and east.
Event organizer Aaron Sleger explained: “Beer festivals have been happening for years in the Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee areas to great success, and we thought there was every reason for Rockford to have one: great local restaurants, bars and retails shops that sell great craft beer, a local home brewers club and a local brewery. All these contribute to a very dedicated niche beer drinking market in Rockford.
“We hope that Screw City Beer Festival will gain the support of the community and become a valuable asset in not only getting people downtown, but getting people to come to Rockford for a day of quality, hand-crafted beer,” Sleger added.
Only 1,500 tickets will be sold for this event. You must have a valid ID and be 21 years old or older to enter. General admission tickets are $25 and include a 5-ounce plastic pilsner tasting cup, event guide and 25 drink tickets. VIP are $50 and include a 5-ounce tasting glass, VIP hour from noon to 1 p.m. with special releases, 30 drink tickets, event guide and Screw City Beer Festival T-shirt. VIP tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available at the gate.
Designated drivers get into the festival for free. Tickets can be purchased online at http://screwcitybeerfest.com/ or at Kryptonite Music Lounge, Artale Wine Co., and The Olympic Tavern.
The name Screw City Beer Festival pays tribute to the region’s storied industrial manufacturing history by incorporating Rockford’s former role as the “Screw Capital” of the country. While this is the first year for the event, organizers believe it will grow on an annual basis and attract regional attention.


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Carry, Ertiga, Dzire helped Suzuki PH reach the top 3
Suzuki Philippines Inc (SPH) is greeting the month of July with a bang after achieving a sales milestone. According to the Japanese automaker, they are now the third best-selling brand in the domestic automotive industry.
This is a massive breakthrough in the company's history considering their model line up. There is something that needs to be clarified though: Suzuki didn't say if this was based on CAMPI's ranking or combined CAMPI and AVID reports. Regardless, it's a significant feat considering how competitive the auto industry has become
The automaker was able to achieve this feat thanks to its continued sales growth over the past year. But what ultimately helped Suzuki land in the top three are the Carry, Ertiga, and Dzire. Leading the charge was the Carry which accounted for 19.9% of the brand's sales. Meanwhile, the Ertiga contributed 19.6% to Suzuki's sales. Last but not least, the Dzire was able to bring in 18.4% sales.
All in all, sales of the three models accounted for more than half (58%) of Suzuki's total automobile sales.
“Suzuki’s continued growth is a testament to our brand’s mission of expanding our reach for more people to experience what the Suzuki Way of Life is all about. SPH shall continue in its pursuit of finding avenues to provide Filipinos with the best quality driving experience that only Suzuki can provide,” said Keiichi Suzuki, vice president, and general manager for Suzuki Automobile.
The company plans to maintain its position in the automotive industry by offering special deals via the Ride Your Dream promo. Here, customers can enjoy big discounts up to PHP 90,000, and special downpayment schemes as low as PHP 18,000. Moreover, Suzuki also plans to bring back the popular Auto Festival Event in select malls nationwide, open new dealerships, as well as launch new products in the country.


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For a business to grow and prosper over time, it’s not unusual that it would have to overcome a number of obstacles along the way.
It is unusual when those obstacles include setting up shop 5,000 miles away, finding a new location because of a civil war, overcoming the death of the original owner, closing up shop because of the same civil war, a nine-year hiatus and several more location changes after another 5,000 mile journey back to the United States.
That’s the story behind Dearborn’s Famous Hamburger, and its current manager, Mohammad Hider, said it’s that story that makes the business so special.
“The story is what made us,” said Hider last week as he prepared to open Famous Hamburger’s newest location at 22207 Michigan Ave. “The story is really the heart of it all.”
The story behind the business began in the 1960s when Hider’s grandfather, Harry, emigrated from the United States and opened what was then called Little White Castle in Badaro, Lebanon. The fare was widely popular, but as bombs drew closer, Harry relocated to downtown Beirut. He died on the day the location was to open, leaving the business in the hand of his son, and Mohammad’s father, Feisal. Feisal maintained the business – which had been renamed Famous Hamburgers – and kept it going until 1989, when he decided it was too dangerous in Lebanon. He moved his family back to the United States, but he never he forgot the dream his father had.
In 1998, Feisal Hider reopened Famous Hamburgers at a location at Michigan and Wyoming, but the location was far from ideal for long-term success.
“My father worked there day and night, open to close, on the grill and the cash register,” Mohammad Hider said. “He never allowed us to go there because the area was so bad.”
Since then, there were two other moves until 2005, when Famous Hamburger settled in at 5808 Schaefer, a location that remains open today. It was followed by a location in Canton several years later, but Hider said the newest location in west Dearborn will become the signature local restaurant once it opens with its new decor.
Once open, the location at the southwest corner of Michigan and Howard will mean at least 12 new jobs and will feature more than 3,000 square feet of usable space and seating for more than 90. Most of that seating will be at tables and booths, but there also will be counter space available to cater to what Hider expects to be a good lunch crowd.
It’s not the three locations that set Famous Hamburger apart from the competition, though. For Hider, it’s the continued commitment to quality that his grandfather had, his father continued and now he and his brothers work hard to maintain.
“My dad is still here day to day,” Hider said, adding that his two brothers, Mounir and Malik, also work at restaurant despite working full-time as an engineer and a dentist, respectively. “This is just in our DNA, even with full-time jobs.”
The first thing that sets Famous Hamburger apart is that it offers only 100 percent halal burgers, one of a few such restaurants in the area to do so. In addition to more than 16 different signature beef burgers, the restaurant offers veggie burgers, several chicken burgers, a grilled salmon burger and even a falafel burger.
Without questions, Mohammad said, The Famous Burger is the top seller. The burger includes two 1/3-pound patties served open faced with a fried egg and American cheese.
Aside from burgers, there are also a number of wraps, pita and baguette sandwiches and half-dozen salads available on the menu, an important element of the company’s business plan.
“The goal is to get people in more than once a week,” Hider said. “We don’t want to offer just burgers. We want to have something else.”
There also are a number of appetizers, entrees, shakes and smoothies and even mini-burgers that Hider is quick to point out are not sliders.
“Sliders are always really greasy, and these aren’t,” he said, adding they are made with the same quality ingredients, just in a smaller form.
Hider said the commitment to quality doesn’t end with the menu, adding the service and presentation of the food speaks for itself. He said he and his staff are committed to doing all the little things necessary to make each visit a great experience in “fast casual dining,” meaning there is full wait service but less than a fine-dining experience.
The visit doesn’t even have to include a trip inside, as Hider said the new location will feature curbside service.
“Just call us when you’re outside and we’ll bring it out to you,” Hider said, adding the idea for the service came from his sisters who have children and know it’s not always convenient to take them out of the car just to pick up dinner. “We’ll have designated spots after a while.”
The reason behind the big commitment to the customers, Hider said, is simple. It’s because the customers have been so loyal the company. It was a push from the customers, in fact, that drew the Hiders to find a location in the downtown area.
“Honestly, we have the best customers,” Hider said. “They have been so loyal to us. It was the customers who told us we need to have a presence downtown.”
Hider said he is anticipating a March 2 opening date for the newest location. Once open, it will be open from 10 a.m. to midnight Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to midnight Sundays. The extra-late hours on Fridays and Saturdays, Hider said, are to offer an option for those leaving various downtown bars.
In addition to the three locations, Famous Hamburger has a large presence on social media, with pages on both Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, the Famous Hamburger is available for catering special events.
For more information, visit www.famoushamburger.com.


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Tech interaction makes life easier for passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport
Specialty retailer Tech Interaction is offering travelers at Pittsburgh International Airport the ability to activate and upgrade their Verizon Wireless service, with the service made possible by the company’s exclusive partnership with Verizon by GoWireless.
Tech Interaction, which is located in the airport’s Center Core, near Concourse D, first opened its doors at PIT’s Airmall in 2004, and Pittsburgh is the first location to offer this innovative service.
The streamlined activation process takes less than 15 minutes on average, says Iris Goldschmidt, President and CEO of parent company APW Holdings, LLC. “Tech and travel go hand-in-hand,” she continues, “and Tech Interaction is making the connection seamless for Airmall customers.”


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ComiXology announces four all-new creator-owned comiXology Originals titles to be released this September.
Browsing: Digital Comics
The debate has been raging on for years now: What will comics be like in the years ahead, if they survive at all? When I come across someone, often an expert in another industry, who enters into comics and says they know how to “fix” what’s wrong with comic books, I’m worried these days. Several of them have poured boatloads of cash into these endeavors, and so far I haven’t noticed any change in how things are being done, honestly. But still contenders make their presence known and take their shots. Some are at it even now. THE NEW GUYS…
Looking to read more comics on your Marvel Unlimited service? In August, the publisher adds a plethora of titles for your reading enjoyment.
Last night, during Preview Night at the San Diego Comic-Con, comiXology kicked off the show with its invite only event where it showcased new comiXology originals, and other exclusives.
comiXology and Kodansha Comics announced the global English-language digital debut of one of the all-time most beloved manga series with Sailor Moon Eternal Edition.
ComiXology Originals and Kodansha Comics have teamed to bring Mars, and You’re My Pet to digital format, two titles which have been out of circulation for a number of years.
May 15th marks the return of Magdelene Visaggio & Jen Vaughn’s punk rock, magical grrrl comiXology Originals series, Teenage Wasteland the action-packed comic where after-school activities include transforming into galactic heroes and fighting monsters.
ComiXology and Comicraft announced today Season Two of the hit comiXology Originals series Elephantmen and Ask For Mercy.
Starburns Industries Press’s summer season begins May 1, with the debuts of three digital-first series from some of comics’ rising stars!
ComiXology and Kodansha Comics announced volumes 1-38 of InitialD, the all-time classic manga about Japanese street racing by Shuichi Shigeno, are now available to read digitally.
ComiXology dropped Stone Star #1, new series for its digital originals line yesterday, from writer Jim Zub and artist Max Dunbar.
Ms. Marvel is back, and in the upcoming Magnificent Ms. Marvel #1, Marvel Comics is planning on releasing a bunch of additional material for the digital release.


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Ice-Watch to launch range exclusively at Selfridges
Ice-Watch, the timepiece brand beloved of fashion-conscious teenagers everywhere, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with the launch of a new collection to be sold exclusively through Selfridges.
The company, which last year sold 4.2 million watches and recorded a turnover of nearly £28million, has collaborated with Ibiza club promoter Cathy Guetta on the new ‘Day and Night’ collection.
Alongside the new collection, which launches tomorrow, Selfridges will also sell six of the company’s other ranges.
Fashionable: The Saturdays' Missing You video promotes Ice-Watches
Ice-Watch, which recently staged a
promotion with the band McFly and is advertised by girl group The
Saturdays, sells in more than 7,500 outlets throughout Europe.
The company says it plans to open further stores in major cities during this year.
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Lamborghini on ‘Ring Time Controversy: Why Would We Cheat?
Spokesman says Huracan Performante debate just “one blogger’s business model [of] paying for clicks.”
It's been a whiplash month for everyone's favorite former tractor manufacturer, as Lamborghini's big, splashy announcement of a new Nurbürgring production record lap time set by the upcoming Huracan Performante was quickly subsumed by accusations of edit-room trickery—specifically, many pointed to discrepancies between the on-screen speedometer and distance traveled as proof the video was sped up. Lamborghini did not appreciate the skepticism, dumping a mountain of data from the run on the floor of the Geneva Auto Show to try and put the matter to rest. And now, Autoblog reports CEO Stefano Domenicali has some words for anyone still doubting the 6:52.01.
"Why would we [cheat]?" he asked at the close of the auto show. "We have all the data, all the GPS data. It's verified. It's already verified. The simulation we did before we did the lap was already better than the previous time," referring to the previous record held by the Porsche 918 Spyder since 2013.
One of the main lap-time-truther theories used an officially-published 'Ring video of the Aventador SV as a benchmark for sussing out timing inconsistencies in the Huracan video, and Domenicali specifically refuted that point, pointing to the Huracan's active aerodynamics as an advantage in the corners.
"The SV [Aventador] was for sure faster on the straight, but the lap [by the Performante] was all recorded."
And though some questioned the special tires designed by Pirelli to conquer the record, Lamborghini has confirmed they will be an option for purchase.
Other fiefdoms in the Volkswagen Group have also defended the record—perhaps sensing the last thing the company needs is another cheating scandal floating around. Audi Sport Development Head Stephan Reil took time out of the RS3 launch last week to vouch for the boost provided by Huracan's active aero.
But a Lamborghini spokesman was much more direct in what they believe: the whole dust-up is merely the result of "one blogger's business model [of] paying for clicks."


text: DEKRA, the largest automotive test company in Germany and the third largest in the world, released images of a crash test shot in slow motion. With the use of technology it is possible to observe every little detail of the collision and damage reported by the vehicle. The company is currently working on a series of crash tests of electric vehicles. According to DEKRA they have confirmed a high level of security. In the joint research project with the Gottingen University Medical Center, a Renault Zoe and three Nissan Leaf were tested in the DEKRA Crash Test Center in Neumunster. Collisions (like video) against a pole simulated different impact scenarios with a tree. The speed at which the vehicles were launched is far superior to those common in standard crash tests. The researchers came to the conclusion that the tested electric vehicles are comparable to conventional safety vehicles.


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San Francisco, CA, December 16th 2020, ZEXPRWIRE, Fairbanc, the Silicon Valley-based FinTech that offers credit to the unbanked in Southeast Asia, just received backing from Columbia Business School’s student run impact fund Microlumbia. This new financial backing comes on the heels of recent investment from 500 Startups and Indonesian billionaire Michael Sampoerna. Earlier this year, Fairbanc also sealed deals with large multinational FMCGs like Unilever to offer data driven PayLater option to the unbanked micro-merchants who buy Unilever products.
“Fairbanc’s financial tools are at the cutting edge of innovative solutions aimed at delivering rudimentary financial services to the 1.7 billion people on the planet who lack even a bank account. Our team at Microlumbia is proud to back Fairbanc and its management team to help unlock credit to women and unbanked merchants using its proprietary technology and data science innovations,” says Ryan Fauber, the Chief Investment Officer of Microlumbia.
Microlumbia is a non-profit fund within the aegis of Columbia University that supports financial inclusion in underserved communities around the world, while educating and inspiring the next generation of impact investors. “We build and maintain strong relationships with our investees and believe in enabling them to develop and grow to scale,” says Wineeta Paul, Co-President of Microlumbia. Fairbanc is also working with Columbia University’s Data Institute to help analyze FMCG transaction data to unlock credit using advanced data science and machine learning.
According to a joint study published by IFC and McKinsey, the total unmet need for credit by all formal and informal micro, small, and midsize enterprises in emerging markets today is in the range of $2.1 trillion to $2.5 trillion. Providing them with the basics of credit is one of the great challenges and opportunities of the century.
Fairbanc founder Mir Haque / Photo credit: Fairbanc
Fairbanc, founded in 2018 by Mir Haque, a Wharton MBA and a second time founder who previously worked for many of the well-known global companies including Google, Adobe, McKinsey, and Deutsche Bank recently became winners in the Most Inclusive FinTech category by Inclusive Fintech 50, a Financial Inclusion platform backed by Visa and IFC.
Around 80% of the Fairbanc borrowers are unbanked and around 70% are women merchants.
Where banks saw risk, Fairbanc saw an opportunity.
“The speed and size of the micro-merchant transactions make it challenging for banks to service this segment because their transactions tend to be small and largely not traced,” Khailee Ng, the managing partner of 500 Startups, a US based venture fund that invested in Fairbanc, said.
By partnering up with large consumer brand companies and only offering productive loans to purchase high margin products like Unilever, Fairbanc expects to reduce loan default risks significantly while scaling quickly by leveraging the consumer brand’s large merchant network.
Fairbanc relies on data science and machine learning to automate credit scoring and risk monitoring, allowing it to provide loans instantly, according to a statement. The startup says the service doesn’t require collateral, credit history, smartphone ownership, or digital literacy. Instead, credit can be accessed through a one-time passcode sent to merchants via a text message.
After completing the initial test of its service in Bangladesh in 2019, the company rolled out the platform with Unilever Indonesia through startup program Unilever Foundry. It claims that participating outlets saw a 40% growth in sales through the program, and over 1100% year over year growth in merchant counts.
Fairbanc’s founding team includes many FinTech veterans like the former CTO of Kiva, a San Francisco based microcredit platform that operates in 77 countries and disbursed $1.4B in microloans, and Thomas Schumacher who co-founded California based emerging market microloan giant Tala that recently closed a funding round at $800M valuation.
Fairbanc Indonesia Team / Photo credit: Fairbanc
With its new capital, Fairbanc plans to make a bigger push into Indonesia, a country that hosts the fourth largest unbanked population globally, with 95 million adults still lacking a formal account at a financial institution. However, with a growing middle class, an increasingly tech-savvy youth population, and a regulatory environment encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, Indonesia is now home to the most billion-dollar tech start-ups in Southeast Asia (including Bukalapak, Go-Jek, Tokopedia, and OVO), boasting a range of e-commerce, ride-sharing, media distribution, and financial services.
Mir is convinced that Indonesia offers Fairbanc the right backdrop to bring about a scalable solution that can be replicated in many other emerging countries to address one of the greatest challenges and opportunities of the century: providing the millions of merchants with the basics of credit to help fuel economic revitalizations in order to uplift millions of poor merchants out of dire poverty.
(Syndicated press content is neither written, edited or endorsed by ED Times)


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Jack Rabba, founder of Rabba’s Fine Foods, has been shortlisted as a top 75 finalist for this year’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards.
Presented by Canadian Immigrant magazine, this is the 13th anniversary of the national awards program celebrating the inspiring achievements of immigrants.
Voting to determine the Top 25, now open at canadianimmigrant.ca/top25, closes on September 17.
“I am honoured by the recognition,” said Rabba, founder of Rabba Fine Foods. “Since setting foot on Canadian soil, I’ve valued my adopted country’s openness, the rights it guarantees its people, and the generosity and friendliness of all my fellow Canadians. I’m happy to have had this opportunity to work hard and, over the years, to do my best to give back to my neighbours. If I can inspire one single immigrant to overcome the obstacles they will inevitably face, I would be overwhelmingly pleased.”
Rabba immigrated to Canada in 1966 with only the promise of a clerical job at a hotel and the clothes on his back. After marrying his wife Ingrid at Toronto’s Old City Hall while they were both on their lunch break, he soon took a position as a convenience store manager. By working long hours and saving, Jack gathered enough money to put a down payment on a small convenience store of his own in the heart of Toronto. Soon, he was able to help his parents and siblings join him in Canada and managed to carry the weight of his family, while building a successful neighbourhood business.
As his business grew, he realized customers were looking for more variety and so he began to expand the store. In 1985, he renamed the chain and Rabba Fine Foods was born. Today, the network features 35 stores across the GTA that are open to 24/7.
Under his leadership, the company has introduced a growing number of Tim Hortons locations within Rabba markets, established a partnership with Paramount Fine Foods, and started to consolidate its community giving efforts under a new umbrella–the Rabba Roots Community Program. From helping refugees to men’s, women’s, and children’s shelters around the city, Rabba regularly offers food and essential supplies to those in need. Recent examples include funding to help ICU units at Trillium Health Partners, nutritious meals for school-aged children across Canada through the Toonies for Tummies program, partnering with Good Shepherd Ministries/Shelter to donate meals to Toronto’s homeless men during the Super Bowl weekend, and donating feminine hygiene products to Mississauga women’s shelters.
The 25 winners will be announced in November 2021 in Canadian Immigrant and online at canadianImmigrant.ca.


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24 February 2015
A high-flying video and marketing firm is using the latest in remote-controlled technology to help business soar, following a grant from Velocity Business Support.
Dynamics Media, based in Stony Stratford, has used the £1,500 funding towards its purchase of a state-of-the-art ‘drone’, which allows them to add captivating aerial filming and photography to their existing video work.
Managing director Jason Higgins identified the potential of drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in early 2014, and later that year became the first pilot in the region to qualify to use UAVs for commercial filming and photography, gaining both the required BNUC-S pilot qualification and full permission from the Civil Aviation Authority. The new aerial division, called Aero-Dynamics, was officially launched in January 2015.
Dynamics Media has embraced the technology to become pioneers in their field, with the Velocity grant enabling them to purchase the equipment, safeguard jobs and grow their business through increased revenue streams.
The drone has already been used to film commercial and residential property, corporate videos, events and surveys.
Jason said: “Using our UAV allows us to film everyday things from a new and highly engaging perspective”.
“Instead of using camera dollies or hiring cranes and helicopters that cost thousands of pounds, we can record broadcast-quality footage at a fraction of the time and cost,”
Aero Dynamics’ clients can also watch the UAV footage as it happens via live video links, with colour video screens on the ground displaying what the drone sees as it flies.
“The drone can also cover large areas of otherwise inaccessible outdoor terrain with ease, including over water filming, which would not otherwise be possible without huge expense,” he said.
“The results always deliver the ‘wow’ factor – so we’re always excited to get the footage back to the studio”.
Velocity’s £1,500 grant was processed within weeks of meeting business adviser Emmanuelle Clément, who helped guide the company through the application stage.
Mr Higgins added: “The grant was reasonably straightforward to apply for, and our Advisor Emmanuelle was very enthusiastic and helpful right from the first meeting.”
With UAV filming now forming a key part of the company’s video sales strategy, Mr Higgins is convinced more firms will be using aerial filming for their marketing projects.
He said: “Until recently, this type of amazing footage was reserved for Hollywood films or big budget productions, but drones have changed all that.”
Velocity Business Support and its qualified, experienced Business Advisers are available to help businesses in a number of ways, through one-to-one support, grants and free business workshops.
Advisers are widely connected to national and regional government organisations as well as the private sector, and are able to signpost businesses to sources of grant funding or make personal introductions to individuals or companies that add value to businesses.
To find out more about how Velocity could help you, call 0300 01234 35, visit www.VelocityBusinessSupport.com or follow us on Twitter @VelocityGrowth.
You can view the UAV filming website at: www.Aero-Dynamics.co.uk


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The CEO of health and nutrition company ViSalus Sciences beats a posh path when he travels.
How the Accel Partners executive keeps her cool on two coasts.
The Rosetta Stone CEO shares his travel survival tips.
The greatest basketball player ever has only gotten busier since his playing days.
Shoppers around the country braved the crowds to get their hands on the best Black Friday deals.
The SC was the car that re-introduced Mercedes-Benz as a global luxury car icon.
Driving a replica of the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, the first internal combustion automobile.
This year, more Cyber Monday sales than ever start well before Monday. Here's where to shop if you don't get your fill on Black Friday.
This year's best Black Friday deals include some Apple products and a free Samsung smartphone.
This 1951 Delahaye represents the end of an era in gorgeous French car design.
The Polaris Slingshot drives like a car with the excitement of a motorcycle.
The downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey and ISIS terror attacks in Paris demonstrate how geopolitical threats can impact the global markets.
2015's best in tech included some truly stunning innovations.
|Adele's '25' sells record 3.38 million copies in first week|
|Airlines saved $11 billion on fuel. You saved 8 bucks.|
|Raspberry Pi's $5 computer sold out online in a day|
|Donald Trump's denial challenged by reporter with disability|
|Gold price plummets to almost 6-year low|


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A group of young Kamloops entrepreneurs is sharing space, ideas and enthusiasm as members vie to become the next high-tech success story.
Kamloops Innovation Centre opened its doors earlier this year on Tranquille Road and is now home to about a half a dozen start-up companies specializing in technology and life sciences.
The private centre received financing from a variety of sources, including Western Economic Diversification and the National Research Council. It is working with Kamloops-based Interior Science Innovation Council.
Co-creator Jaethan Reichel said the innovation centre aims to serve as an accelerator to help entrepreneurs who have skills and ideas but lack business experience and capital. It opened in February and has taken the past year to ramp up.
Similar offices exist in larger centres. Reichel said the goal is to develop and maintain high-tech businesses here and banish the notion that entrepreneurs must take their ideas away from Kamloops to succeed.
“I moved here from Calgary about two years ago,” said Reichel, a business development director at iTel Networks.
“At the time it felt like if you had successes, you had to leave. We want people to know it’s an option.
One of the ideas already in motion is the creation of Scott Foubister, a Thompson Rivers University physics graduate who
opted out of grad school to pursue his business idea.
Foubister was awarded a scholarship to attend the University of Waterloo’s graduate program in quantum computing.Instead, he decided to pursue the development of a software program to help university students learn vocabulary in their respective disciplines. He originally created it to help himself learn terms in physics.
The program, called Vocaba, was piloted at TRU, where Foubister was assisted by an industry-university liaison. Eventually he connected with the innovation centre, where he is now based. At the innovation centre “the goal is to accelerate companies and that’s great,” Foubister said. He is currently working to expand the number of classes and institutions using Vocaba.
“We want to expand beyond TRU (where about 300 students are slated to use it in January). There’s options for high school, government and in commerce for product knowledge.”
Foubister has also entered the New Ventures B.C. competition.
Once entrepreneurs are accepted into the business accelerator, they receive mentorship, listen to guest speakers, connect with potential investors and work together in a community.
The centre offers meeting space, shared reception, phones — all the typical trappings of an office but shared by a group of entrepreneurs.
“It’s much better than working in your basement alone,” Foubister said.
Reichel said members also come together for events, including a “hack night” where they work together to develop a space battle video game.
The Kamloops Innovation Centre is looking for new members to share creative enthusiasm, ideas and business services. It operates a website at www.kicstart.ca.
“We can do more. We’re looking for people. We want to put as many creative people in the space as possible and see what comes out of it.”


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Band Of Brothers
Backstage at Doo.Ri last week, Orlando Pita made a bold statement. “I have a feeling the headband is going to have a big moment this season,” he predicted only two days into the Fall 2012 shows. And he did his part to make sure the trend had legs in New York, adding thin black elastic bands to heavily back-combed “big hair” at Carolina Herrera and tying bejeweled satin ribbons to teased-up and brushed-over faux bobs backstage at Oscar de la Renta to complete the illusion of “a young girl playing dress up.”
Now that the fashion pack has settled in London, it appears as though Sam McKnight has taken up Pita’s cause. The super-stylist whipped up texturized “bohemian” chignons, which he restrained with thick, twisted black bands at Clements Ribeiro this weekend before repeating the feat backstage at Moschino Cheap And Chic with similarly twisted satin strips in a bevy of pastel colors, which he placed around sixties-era beehives. But the biggest sign that Pita just may be prophetic came last night, when Alexa Chung adopted the look for Emma Hill’s star-studded Mulberry party. Whether Milan and Paris will follow Chung’s lead remains to be seen, although that “it’s on” seems likely. Stay tuned.
Photo: Courtesy of Mulberry; Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com


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Today, Marc Jacobs is making a major statement about beauty: He’s opening his first store dedicated solely to the category.
Located at 385 Bleecker Street in Manhattan, the nearly 500-square-foot space showcases the designer’s 121-stockkeeping-unit color cosmetics collection — which also bows at Sephora’s 330 freestanding North American doors today — as well as his fragrances with Coty Prestige. RELATED STORY: Marc Jacobs Launching Beauty at Sephora >>
The space was once used by Jacobs as an accessories store, but Robert Duffy, president of Marc Jacobs International and the designer’s longtime business partner, noted that Jacobs felt strongly about doing a makeup store because the category is one that Jacobs is “extremely passionate” about. It joins the designer’s Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Bookmarc and Little Marc stores on Bleecker. “Bleecker Street is my laboratory,” Duffy said with a smile; retail is his baby.
The space was designed by Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects. “I wanted [the store] to look like a jewel box, so the back is mirrored, ” said Duffy. Sephora’s custom-designed Marc Jacobs gondolas are fit into a vitrinelike space at the back of the store, with rounded glass pieces on either side lending an Art Deco air. Above the gondola is a mirror emblazoned with the Marc Jacobs Beauty logo.
Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects created the heavy black granite table, which is the store’s centerpiece and where makeup artists — who have all been trained at Sephora University, the retailer’s educational program — will work on clients. Hanging over that table is a custom black and white chandelier created by Kacper Dolatowski. “I wanted it to feel a little more fragile in here,” said Duffy. “I didn’t want it to be heavy, even though the table weighs 20 tons.”
Off to the left, Jacobs’ fragrances are presented on a wall display, with a Guy Lefevre-designed vintage table below with an assortment of makeup bags made of fabrics from Jacobs’ fall ready-to-wear collection. A large close-up of a model’s face fills another part of that wall, and Duffy noted that eventually more product displays could replace it. To the right of the makeup is a large vitrine with Marc Jacobs sunglasses. Two walls are windowed most of the way around, with abundant natural light pouring in. Duffy noted that the color collection and custom-designed fixtures will open in 11 additional Marc Jacobs locations today in Bal Harbour, Fla.; Boston; Chicago; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; New York; Provincetown, Mass.; San Francisco, and Savannah, Ga.
There are currently about 300 Marc Jacobs stores globally, and Duffy noted that the company is embarking on a major U.S. expansion plan in 2014. One of the first will be a “very large” Fifth Avenue flagship for Marc by Marc Jacobs, Duffy said, although he declined to give the exact address. Next will be a large Collection store on Madison Avenue. “We’ve never had a flagship store in New York City,” said Duffy. “I’ve always opened smaller stores, like on Mercer Street and Bleecker Street. Now, LVMH is determined to help us achieve this dream.” Leases are being negotiated in many cities but following New York, Duffy hints that Washington, D.C., Southern California, Dallas and Miami will be near the top of the list.
While Duffy and Sephora declined to discuss sales projections, industry sources estimated that Jacobs’ color collection could do $15 million at retail from August through December and $20 million at retail in calendar year 2014. The makeup line is expected to launch in Europe in 2014 as well, said Duffy, with the Middle East and Asia to follow.
Could more Marc Jacobs Beauty stores pop up? Duffy doesn’t rule it out. “It depends on how it does,” he said candidly. “When we launched Bookmarc, I thought it would be the only one, and then we opened one in L.A. and in Paris and in London. And we’re about to open one in Tokyo. At practically every store I’ve underestimated the amount of people who will come.” He also hinted other licensed categories could one day come, including fine jewelry and furniture.
As one of the most recognizable models in the world, Christy Turlington Burns has an insider’s view of the fashion industry and the allegations of sexual harassment swirling around it. “I can say that harassment and mistreatment have always been widely known and tolerated in the industry. The industry is surrounded by predators who thrive on the constant rejection and loneliness so many of us have experiences at some point in our careers,” Turlington told WWD, along with her suggestions for how the modeling world should protect younger women and men. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. (📷: Tony Palmieri) #wwdnews
@asics America has tapped a new brand ambassador: famed DJ/record producer @steveaoki. This initiative is intended to set the tone for the new brand identity and philosophy and will include partnerships with influencers and in-store and off-line activations that will continue into next year. This is Asics’ most significant marketing effort in two decades, and is expected to attract younger consumers to the brand. #wwdfashion
24-year-old Jean Prounis is redefining the rules of jewelry. Formerly a studio assistant to Jemima Kirke and a design apprentice at Ghuran, she focuses on handcrafted subtleties and ancient goldsmithing techniques. “There was a really sterile feel in the environment and I wanted to have jewelry with character that shapes how you wear it everyday,” Prounis said. Each piece is hand made in New York, either by Prounis or three other jewelers in the district. #wwdfashion
“These collections continue to build on that vision, empowering differently abled adults to express themselves through fashion,” said @tommyhilfiger of his line of adaptive apparel, which launches today. The line consists of 37 men’s and 34 women’s styles based upon the pieces from the spring Tommy Hilfiger sportswear collection. #wwdnews
“Stranger Things” is getting a new cast member for season 2. Meet @sadiesink_, the 15-year-old who will be joining the Netflix series for its new season. You may recognize her from “The Glass Castle” with Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson, but the Texas native’s next role goes in an entirely different direction. She describes her character, Max, as “a rough and tumble skater girl [who] becomes friends with the boys at school.” The second season debuts on October 27. (📷: @jgreenery) #wwdeye
Amid the Harvey Weinstein controversy, there’s another sector that’s being put under the spotlight for sexual abuse: the modeling industry. While rumors about abuse and sexual harassment of female and male models — and the photographers, agents and others who perpetrated it — have circulated within the fashion world for years, model @cameronrussell started posting stories from models on Instagram last week about abusive situations they’ve encountered — from sexual harassment and molestation to attempted rape. Over 75 have weighed in so far. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews
To celebrate its 16th anniversary, @dylanscandybar tapped designers and celebrities to create mosaics out of candy. The mosaics will be auctioned off to support the philanthropic cause of each participant’s choice. Pictured here is the mural created by @aliceandolivia's Stacey Bendet. For a first look at some of the other artwork being unveiled tonight, go to WWD.com. #wwdeye
The annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Pacific Palisades this weekend drew Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laura Dern and more. See pictures of the star-studded event on WWD.com. (📷: @chelsealaurenla) #wwdeye
In his new book “Hollywood Royale,” Andy Warhol’s Protégé Matthew Rolston celebrates the Eighties revival of Hollywood glamour. Featuring more than 100 portraits taken by Rolston from 1977 to 1993, the book contains photos of icons like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and @drewbarrymore, pictured here in 1991. “Hollywood Royale,” out today, will be accompanied by an exhibition opening at Los Angeles’ Fahey/Klein Gallery on March 1. #wwdeye


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Farmers market eases rules for vendors
May 26, 2005
Main Street Steamboat Springs has decided to make it easier for farmers to get to market this summer.
Main Street manager Tracy Barnett said she has relaxed the rules for vendors in hopes of attracting more of them to the organization’s fledgling farmers market. The nine-week series of outdoor sales kicks off June 18 in the parking lot of the Routt County Courthouse adjacent to Eighth Street. The market will run every other week, on the first and third Saturdays of the month. June 18 also is the day when a portion of Lincoln Avenue will be closed for the annual Mustang Roundup car event.
“The rules had been pretty stringent,” Barnett said. “I’ve been advertising like crazy, and I’ve sent out 30 applications. And although I’ve talked to 20 interested people, I’ve only received two (applications) back. People don’t want to commit.”
Relaxed participation rules should remove some of that hesitancy, Barnett predicted. She estimated that the market needs about 20 vendors to achieve critical mass and become a legitimate attraction.
Ideally, the farmers market will feature regional agricultural producers and people who sell indigenous crafts. Food and beverage sellers will be considered. A panel reviews prospective vendors to make certain they fit the concept of the market.
Jonathon Hieb of Sweet Pea Produce has agreed to serve as market manager and will conduct sales there, Barnett said. She said she has received strong interest from a producer of organic beef, an elk rancher, a bakery and a flower grower. She also hopes organic eggs will be available.
Original guidelines for vendors called for 18 straight weeks of farmers markets, with each vendor required to attend at least a dozen of them. An annual fee of $75 was required, with a weekly booth fee of $25.
Now, those requirements have been relaxed. Vendors will be allowed to take part in as many or as few of the markets as they wish, with no annual fee. However, the booth fee has been increased to $35 a week. That’s needed to meet the cost of promotional efforts and necessary services such as portable toilets, Barnett said.
The starting time for the Saturday market has been moved to 8 a.m., and the market will remain open until noon.
Main Street’s goal is to attract more pedestrians to the downtown shopping district.


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Making a splash again in the technology sector, ROHM is showcasing its ideas and products under a simple but effective concept: ‘Challenge tomorrow with your imagination.’
This is taking place at CEATEC 2015, Asia’s biggest technology fair, which is being held October 7–10 on the outskirts of Tokyo at the Makuhari Messe. Using the Technology Innnovations Corner serves as the hub for its showcase, ROHM is focusing primarily on presenting its semiconductors for use in automobiles and factory automation.
At the ‘Collaborating to Challenge Corner’, which has been received tremendously well by guests and journalists, Rohm is presenting how it is utilizing its products to work together with a wide range of companies and other types of organizations in innovative ways.
Among these, three innovations have really stood out:
1. ORIZURU – the flying paper crane
One of the most popular presentations at ROHM’s booth has been the company’s showcasing of a drone-like paper crane. Ultra-lightweight with flapping wings, this origami paper crane left spectators amazed as it debuted in a flight demonstration through the event’s halls.
Made possible through ROHM’s collaborative efforts with Tyoukogata Hikoutai Lab, the idea behind ORIZURU was to celebrate the unique Japanese culture behind paper cranes, which are beautifully crafted and a symbol of peace in Japan. While at the same time respecting the tradition of paper cranes, ROHM and Tyoukogata Hikoutai Lab sought to incorporate latest technological innovations and bring this symbol of peace to life.
In order to achieve this, a specially designed, SD card-sized microcomputer was used in combination with paper almost identical to that which is used in traditional paper cranes. With a span of 70 centimeters while weighing all of a mere 31 grams, the crane was controlled through the Lazurite unit.
Collaboration partner: Tyoukogata Hikoutai Lab (超小型飛行体研究所 )
2. The Karakuri Playing Music Robots – a musical, technological delight
Collaborating with robot company Yukai-kogaku , ROHM hosted a live performance from the Karakuri Robot Music Group, which delighted an eager crowd of onlookers.
Appearing in a formation of six, the robots performed music through a built-in microcomputer. With a built-in accelerometer and air pressure sensor, the wielding of a conductor’s baton by one robot sees its fellow robots able to adjust and match this with their musical tempo. The various musical styles and charming idiosyncrasies of the robots’ performance brought smiles to the crowd.
Collaboration partner: Yukai-kogaku (ユカイ工学)
3. The Tokimeki Sensor – a different take on palpitation sensors
One of the most popular experiences at the Rohm booth this year has been the Tokimeki palpitaiton sensor. Imagine getting your love professed by both a two-dimensial character and an actual human being – which would make your heart race? The visitors at CEATEC 2015 were able to experience just this, and with surprising results.
An idea that originated as an April Fool’s joke in a Facebook post, ROHM this April announced that it had developed a device that can measure your feelings when being told the magic words: ‘I love you’. While the posting was a mere farce at that time, the headlines that it generated eventually resulted in this becoming an actual reality as TECHMAC Inc. stepped in – making unorthidox use of one of ROHM’s light sensors with a unique algorithm.
Animation characters in Japan are commonly referred to as ‘two-dimensional’, while reali-life humans are called ‘three-dimensional’. This has produced a popular argument among Japanese in terms of preference: two versus three dimensions. At CEATEC 2015, ROHM set out to find the answer via the sensor, with the results being collected online. While there are no plans at present to make this device available for sale, the unique technology that went into making it is currently being put into practice as part of a variety of other projects.
Collaboration partner: TECHMAC Inc. http://techne-magic.co.jp/
CEATEC 2015 has seen ROHM unveil products and devices in mind-capuring fashion – thanks to its innovative collaborations with a variety of companies. From this point on, ROHM is setting out to further challenge itself and the market as this technological innovator pushes the world’s technologies ever further forward.
More images and videos：here


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Severed goat heads, bloody and besieged by flies, lay side-by-side on a butcher’s slab. A dozen lethal serpents, coiled and poised to strike, wove back and forth before a snake charmer in the Marrakech souk.
We have to admit that this isn’t anything particularly “green” about this see-saw, but it does harvest the movement of people to make music. And that’s just downright cool. A temporary installation designed for last year’s Marrakech Biennale, The Rise and Fall blends architecture and art to question how people occupy spaces and how those spaces […]
Icelandic artist Elín Hansdóttir has combined mud and mirrors in this unusual interactive eco-art exhibit for Morocco. Designed as part of the Marrakech Biennale earlier this year, the earthy installation features pillars of mud and straw organized into a spiral design that is then fronted with mirrors that reflect the exhibit itself and the surroundings.
Renowned French designer Sandrine Dole wanted to find a way to recycle piles of rubber lying around Marrakech while simultaneously elevating the local community and its numerous cottage industries. Some of the main design challenges included separating the piles of dirty rubber from other waste and then turning them into something not only beautiful but […]


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As of 4:15 p.m., the Nasdaq is down 3.22%, the Dow Jones is down 0.70% and the S&P 500 is down 1.71%.
The New York Stock Exchange opened lower on Tuesday, bolstered by poor corporate results impacted by inflation and rising interest rates heralding a slowing economy.
At around 14:15 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 0.70%, the Nasdaq index, with a strong tech tone, was down 3.22% and the broader S&P 500 index was down 1.71%.
“The good feelings that made Monday’s recovery possible were overwhelmed by Snap’s warning,” Briefing.com’s Patrick O’Hare said in a note.
The parent company of the social network Snapchat indicated Monday after the IPO that its revenue and results for the second quarter are expected to come in below the lower end of the range originally announced.
In early trade, the platform plunged 40.12% to $13.45.
From Meta (-9.33%), to Alphabet (-7.39%), to Pinterest (-25.34%) and Pinterest (-25.34%), the entire sector became in the wake of the Santa Monica (California) group of advertising-dependent social networks and sites swept away Twitter (-3.35%).
“It is a warning sign that companies themselves will cut their advertising budgets because they think they will make less money in the near future,” responded Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services.
As for the distribution sector, a new spate of figures confirmed that it has been suffering from rising prices, which is shrinking its margins but is also beginning to hamper consumption.
For example, ready-to-wear brand Abercrombie & Fitch (-26.90% to $19.54) was despondent after releasing a quarterly loss, while analysts were expecting a small profit. The group has also lowered its margin targets to reflect the increase in sourcing and transportation costs.
“It is very difficult to overlook the fact that the business cycle is deteriorating rather than improving,” Gregori Volokhine stressed.
Electronics chain Best Buy (+3.13% to $74.86) also reported sales and profits below the prior-year period.
The retailer has lowered its targets for its 2023 fiscal year, which ends at the end of next January.
Ralph Lauren was swept up by this recent seller (-2.36% to $88.80) despite better-than-expected results, thanks in particular to growth in Europe and the dynamism of online sales in North America and Asia.
“Nothing escapes the fact that headwinds caused by inflation are affecting absolutely all sectors,” Gregory Volokhine stressed. “Unfortunately, the interest rate hike only benefits one sector, that is the banks. Everything else in the economy suffers.”
On Monday, JPMorgan Chase (+0.58% to $125.32) said it was more bullish on its 2022 and 2023 results.
In this pessimistic climate, defensive stocks, ie stocks that are traditionally less dependent on the economy, were in demand. Coca-Cola (+0.83%), Johnson & Johnson (+0.77%), Merck (0.55%) or Procter & Gamble (+0.68%) have all made progress.
Also among the few companies that did well was Zoom (+0.91% to $90.14), which reported slower growth but raised its earnings target.
Sentiment was further dampened by the 16.6% fall in new home sales in April in the United States, surprising analysts who had expected a modest 1.7% decline.
After months of mimicking the movement of stocks, an unusual phenomenon, the bond market once again played its counterpoint role and was favored by investors.
The US 10-year Treasury yield fell from 2.85% to 2.75% as bond prices, which moved in the opposite direction to their interest rates, rose.
#Wall #Street #plummets #disappointed #corporate #results


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Ivoclar Vivadent has named two new executive vice presidents for its North American operations.
Chris Holden has been appointed executive vice president -- chief administrative officer. Holden will be responsible for marketing, technology, Canadian operations, and other departments.
Sarah Anders has been appointed executive vice president -- chief sales officer. Anders will be responsible for sales in the U.S. and Canada.


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Thailand’s Trakarn Thangthong is this season’s Asian Class Champion of the 2017 FIM Asia SuperMoto Championship with 211 points. However, home rider Khairi Zakaria stole the limelight with a grand closure to a solid win of Moto 2 taking his points tally to 203 point just 8 points ...
As 2017 draws to close, Boon Siew Honda (BSH) today hosted a year end gathering session for members of the media to test ride the RC213V-S at Sepang International Circuit. BSH also revealed its plans moving forward to 2018 during the gathering session. BSH had announced on their ...
The Tech3 Racing Team is pleased to announce a new collaboration with SC-Project in 2018. The Italian exhaust manufacturer is set to equip the Mistral 610 machines of Remy Gardner and Bo Bendsneyder from the upcoming season in the highly-competitive Moto2 class. SC-Project, leader company in the production ...
TVS Motor Company unveiled the TVS Apache RR 310 to the domestic and international markets. The RR 310 boasts of superior performance and riding dynamics, combined with a powerful, expressive design. “The launch of TVS Apache RR 310 marks a major milestone, for TVS as it ushers in ...
Livery for Takaaki Nakagami’s RC213V MotoGP bike was unveiled at Honda Racing THANKS DAY 2017, held at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi, Japan on December 3, 2017. Nakagami is joining LCR Honda IDEMITSU to compete in the FIM* MotoGP World Championship premier class for the 2018 season, challenging ...
Boon Siew Honda (BSH) officially announced the opening of 4 Honda BigWing store in Malaysia from January 2018, an exclusive one-stop sales and service centre for Honda Big Bikes with models ranging from 250cc and above, at the Malaysia Autoshow 2017, ...
i-Moto i-Workshop is aimed to guide bikers and motorcycle owners on how to maintain their ride. Its FREE for specific Brand or Model that we are going to conduct the i-Moto i-Workshop. Limited seats are available. ...
Sometimes when a poorly maintained motorcycle will give many problems. You don’t have to have to be a mechanical to know-how to perform simple home-servicing tasks; with some decent tools and a little common sense, that what you need to keep ...
Been three years since Kawasaki introduced the unique forced induction Ninja H2 and Ninja H2R, Kawasaki now introduces a new Supercharged motorcycle featuring the 2nd generation balanced supercharged engine; the Ninja H2 SX. The excitement and characteristic power delivery of a 200ps supercharged engine is now brought to ...
Following the recent incident flood tragedy in Penang, i-Moto send instant food, mineral water and daily necessities to the victims who were impacted by the flood in Penang. Delivering to Extreme Performance at Perda Utama, Seberang Prai, to Tommy Soo of ...


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J-Si and Ana from KVKI’s Kidd Kraddick Morning Show at Geek’d Con 2019 [VIDEO]
Here is how Geek'd Con, now in its fifth year, is described by its creator, Greg Atoms:
Geek'd Con is Shreveport's biggest comic and pop culture event, and it will return this August for the show's 5th anniversary. The event will once again be at the Shreveport Convention Center in Downtown Shreveport. This year's show will be on August 16th-18th.
J-Si and Ana will be available alongside all of our other fabulous guests on Saturday, August 17th, from 11 am - 4 pm. Stop by, say hi, get something signed or take a picture with them! Don't worry, we'll give them the chance to hang with the other celebrities like Trish Stratus, Michael Rooker, Richard Brake and the infamous coffee cup from Game of Thrones before the show so they will have plenty of time for YOU!


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When it comes to owning a business, it has to provide a service to the public or others in the industry. When it comes to owning a unique business, it tends to fill a gap that is missing in a similar industry, but at the same time stands all on its own as a service that’s different to what is typically seen.
In Frederick County, there are a variety of unique businesses that are thriving in the area due to the proximity to Baltimore and Washington D.C., but also because these business owners see a niche market in Frederick.
Some believe distinct businesses do so well in Frederick because it is symbolizes how different the county is.
“It’s the whole entrepreneurial spirit here,” said Helen Propheter, director of the Frederick County Office of Economic Development. “When you have a community that embraces different business ideas and different passions, as long as you can successfully market that passion and people get what that unique business is, it makes sense and it’s welcomed into our community.”
Propheter said the more diverse the business community is, the better, adding that the community speaks to who Frederick County is when it comes to embracing entrepreneurship, small businesses and startups.
One diverse business, Discount Fabrics USA in Thurmont, sort of started as an accident. The owner, Valerie Teske, was a mathematics and economics professor at the New York Institute of Technology. She had a friend in Tennessee who owned a fabric store and asked for Teske’s help in selling some of the fabrics.
Soon after, a truck full of fabric pulled up at Teske’s home. Teske, knowing nothing about fabric, put an advertisement in The Washington Post to sell the textiles which generated a lot of inquiries. She ended up selling almost all of it without measuring the fabrics or knowing what to charge.
Her friend in Tennessee then sent her more fabrics to be sold, and the rest is history.
“I learned really quickly that some people are fascinated by fabric,” Teske said. “I learned a lot about fabric and opened a small store and then opened a storage warehouse and bought a bigger building. I still see the same people coming that came in the 1990s.”
Discount Fabrics USA has been opened since 1994 and offers more than 7,000 upholstery and drapery fabrics in a 13,500-square-foot warehouse on N. Carroll Street.
Teske said the fabrics sold in store come from countries such as Belgium, Thailand, Canada and New Zealand. Others are 100 percent American made and come from South Carolina, Georgia and other southern states.
Fifty percent of her customers are walk-ins, and she said people have visited the store and not found what they were looking for.
“That happens when they don’t really know what they’re looking for,” she said. “But anything can be ordered from the store.”
For being a unique business she’s “surprised” at how successful it is, explaining that people travel far and wide to come to her store.
“We’re sort of a touristy spot,” she said.
Many customers, she explained, visit relatives in the area, especially around the holidays, and come and visit the store “because where else can you play with fabric?”
“People regularly drive here from New York oddly enough,” she said. “And I know they sell fabric in New York.”
One lady recently traveled from upstate New York just to come to the store, she said.
“I asked her if she was visiting somebody and she said, ‘no, I just need fabric and I want to be sure it was right,’ and that’s pretty common,” she said.
“I’m not a fabricholic,” she continued. “I’m not vested in it, but I’ve learned to appreciate it as I’ve learned a great deal about it for over 25 years. I can’t say I’m as emotional about it but some people come in and they get so emotional about fabric. They’re touching, feeling it and hugging it and tearing up.”
Another unique business owner fell into the business after she had many different jobs that just didn’t feel right. Carolyn West loved to clean and declutter spaces, so she started Organize Me Frederick.
With her business, West goes into a client’s home or business, organizes a certain room and gets rid of the extra, unwanted stuff. Most of the client’s unwanted belongings are donated.
“People usually call and say that they’re fed up with the stuff in their house,” she said. “They don’t really know what to do with it or how to go about decluttering, so I come in and help them sort through the stuff that they want or don’t want to keep anymore.”
West, who started the business in July, said it remains successful because “people don’t like to declutter their own stuff.”
“They just don’t like getting overwhelmed, and for me it’s not something that bothers me,” she said. “I can walk into a room that’s full of stuff where the client just closes the door and walks away and can’t deal with it. I can get in the zone and focus and work without getting overwhelmed and wanting to stop.”
Organize Me Frederick services Frederick County and up to 30 miles outside of county lines. West said she currently has about 30 clients, adding that some are repeat customers. A room can take a few hours up to a whole day to organize, depending on the quantity of clutter.
When she tells people about her business, she said people assume she spends a lot of time buying storage containers and shelving units.
“Honestly,” she said. “People always ask me, ‘wow, so you buy a lot of shelving stuff?’It’s not really that. It’s more of getting rid of people’s stuff and working with what they already have and not spending more money.”
But when others mention that they’ve never heard of such a business, they say they can use her service in their own home.
“It’s something that people don’t know that they need until they find me,” she said.
Perfect Little Bites is a unique spin on a catering company that services the county and its surrounding areas. Owner Chris Spear is an in-home personal chef for couples and small parties who want a different dining experience than they'd receive in restaurants. He also offers in-home interactive cooking classes where his clients help make not just one food item but a multi-course meal they get to eat afterwards.
Spear decided to be an in-home personal chef because he always wanted to own a restaurant but noted they're expensive ventures.
“I want to bring the restaurant experience to people without all of the baggage that comes along with that,” he said. “I worked for a catering company about 15 years ago and they only did big parties. People would call all the time and say, ‘can you do an anniversary party dinner for two?’ and they just weren’t interested in doing it.”
The catering company then offered him extra money to cater smaller parties.
“After just one I thought, ‘maybe I could make a job of this doing small parties in home,’ and it just kind of hung in the back of my head,” he said. “When we moved to Frederick in 2007 I thought that this seemed like a great place. Frederick is a food city, it’s both in the D.C. and Baltimore markets and I just started thinking how I could do that thing where I could bring a restaurant experience to people’s homes.”
He started the business in 2010 and provides all of the cooking equipment, china and linen for the class or dinner experience.
“That’s where I wanted to stand out,” he said. “I really like to say that I provide a restaurant experience in your home. And if you think about what that means, you go in a room and the table is set with silverware and linen napkins and it’s plated in a nice way and it’s served to you at the table, that’s something I wanted to do."
He has no set menu and offers a variety of different cuisines. To learn more about the client’s palette he sends out a questionnaire that asks questions about how adventurous they are when it comes to trying new foods, spice level, foods and cuisines they love and hate and any dietary restrictions.
With that information, he builds a menu on those answers and then sends a menu proposal with a bunch of different selections within a course.
He said customers can also have a mixed-cuisine menu that consists of an Italian starter, a Mexican entree and a Cajun dessert.
“I always said if you can go downtown and find it in a restaurant, i’m not interested in making it,” he said.
These businesses are just a sample of what the community doesn’t expect, which is what exactly makes them unique and successful.
Rick Weldon, president of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, believes that uncommon businesses are simply a reflection of the community’s diversity. He added that those entrepreneurs who open these businesses have to have a level of creativity and don’t accept the word “no” as a first response from a potential lender.
No matter what the unique business is, Weldon said they succeed because they’re “a little bit younger and a little bit hipper,” something that the older generation wouldn’t have prioritized or expected in the “typical business community.”
“It’s not like the standard small town where you expect to have a specific set of retail businesses and restaurants and bars,” he said. “I think people like things that are a little bit out of the ordinary and a little bit creative.”


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The Royal Welsh Show begins today at Llanelwedd, with warnings over the future of the beef industry here on the agenda.
Meat Promotion Wales says supermarkets and other retailers are stocking too much beef from outside the UK, having gone back on pledges to stock more British meat after the horsemeat scandal.
It says the amount received by farmers in Wales and around the UK has fallen meanwhile, with some paid up to £300 less per animal compared to last year.
The Welsh Retail Consortium, which represents retailers here, has responded by saying that beef prices are related to wider market conditions, and are projected to rise later in the year.
“Large quantities of imported beef products are now present in some UK retailers and we must presume – for want of a better explanation - it’s because it’s a penny or two cheaper than our own produce....The big danger for our industry is that some farmers will feel they have little choice other than to get out of beef altogether and that will be a tragedy, not only for our industry, but also for the consumer....Our message to the entire retail trade is simple - use our products or lose them."
More top news
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Shares of AMMO (POWW 1.18%) tumbled hard this week, falling 14.5% compared to the market indexes, which were essentially flat, on no specific news to the company.
In fact, the ammunition manufacturer issued an earnings update for the second quarter stating it expected to report quarterly sales of $51 million, a 400% increase from the year ago period.
AMMO's decline continued one that began at the start of the month following its first-quarter earnings report and the FBI's report that criminal background checks on potential gun buyers through its National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) plunged 15% from the year ago.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation says background checks adjusted to remove those performed on existing concealed-carry permit holders and other anomalies in the FBI's raw data indicate they are actually down 22% year over year and the so-called "Biden bump" is not over.
AMMO's first-quarter results, however, showed revenue was higher by more than 400%, suggesting this rate of growth is not necessarily a one-off event.
AMMO wasn't alone in seeing its stock fall as gunmakers Smith & Wesson Brands and Sturm, Ruger were down month to date 22% and 10%, respectively, while fellow ammo maker Vista Outdoor was off about 14% for the period.
The sell-off may be premature. While the year-over-year decline in background checks seems alarming, in fact gunmakers and ammo makers are still reporting outsized demand for their products. Last year was a massive year for sales, with millions of people choosing to buy their first-ever firearm, so the comparables the companies are going up against are difficult to surmount, but demand remains elevated and there is still a big shortage of ammunition that will persist for some time to come.
That indicates AMMO will be able to continue growing at a heightened rate and the decline in its stock may not be warranted.


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Top tips for getting the most out of a decision to attend a conference by following up, contacting leads, and using social media.
A conference veteran provides insider tips to help startups get the most out of conference attendance, including around booth messaging, pitches and clothing choices.
Cultivating teachers as digital ambassadors for your startup product is a smart move that can help spread word of mouth recommendations.
Susan Enfield runs a high-profile district in Washington state, and wants you to understand what superintendents are up against in procurement.
In the startup world, every dollar counts. So is it worth it to go to a conference? Are some more important to attend than others? Here’s how to decide whether to go or not.
K-12 education leaders say the products they purchase sometimes don’t live up to the sales hype. Here’s how to manage expectations and avoid miscommunication.
In the first six months of 2017, just over 6.8 percent of K-12 teachers opened marketing emails, up from 5.5 percent in all of 2016.
Businesses that sell technology and education services in the U.S. are being invited to apply for a June trade mission to Colombia and Peru.
The SXSWedu conference, a huge gathering of educators and tech entrepreneurs, runs this week, from March 5-8, and Education Week reporters will be on the scene.
Publishers’ net sales in the school market fell slightly, to $2.8 billion, during 2017, according to the Association of American Publishers.


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Renault's 'The French Exchange' campaign might be over two years old now, but it just can’t stop winning awards. Fresh off the back of scoring a British LGBT+ Award for the best brand campaign, last month the work also won gold at The British Arrows 2021. Today, The Drum catches up with Renault's brand director Adam Wood and Publicis•Poke creative director Colin Byrne to discuss its legacy and why Renault doesn't just want to be another car brand that plays it safe when it comes to creativity.
A bittersweet story of a three-decade romance, when Renualt's'The French Exchange' arrived in 2019 it offered a raw depiction of what it's like to fall in love with your childhood friend, with the added complications of it being same-sex.
It was an instant hit. Praised for its authentic depiction of a lesbian love story that spans a lifetime yet didn’t feel clichéd – it also coincided with the car brand celebrating 30 years of its Clio hatchback model. It was both pitch-perfect and made you want to buy a Renault at the same time.
Listening to Wonderwall on repeat while I consider buying a Renault pic.twitter.com/LHatfTzqHX
— Mia (@marielouise_82) November 11, 2019
“The most important thing for us is that we always show a diverse representation of our customer base,” explains brand director Adam Wood on Renault's mission to push boundaries in the car category. “All brands have a responsibility to act in a way that shapes society in a positive way. We have a role to play in evolving perceptions.”
There has historically been a lack of queer representation in mainstream media and advertising. According to a 2019 report from Channel 4, people from the LGBT+ community feature in just 3% of the adverts in the survey, despite making up at least 6% of the UK population. With one in six Gen Z adults now identifying as LGBT+, representation efforts must dramatically improve in order to keep up with a rapidly changing society.
Renault and its long-term ad agency Publicis see themselves as LGBT+ allies. As far back as 2003, 'Gay Cop' sent pulses racing, while in 2010 it was delivered an ad ban for its provocative Twingo spot. This was followed by 'Gay Marriage' in 2012 — an ad that featured a surprise wedding between two men.
“We are acutely aware that the last thing we want to do is something that conforms and plays safe. We don't want to create something that just looks like a car ad,” insists Colin Byrne, creative director at Publicis•Poke, who worked closely with Wood on The French Exchange. “Things are changing and Clio has accelerated that change.”
“We've always been a brand that likes to disrupt the status quo. To be brave and not conform to the car category,” Wood adds. “We don't want to produce unremarkable and derivative work.”
“Times have changed,” the tagline reads. “Twingo, too” concluded the gay marriage ad - a technique Renault has mastered over the years, using society's progression as a metaphor to talk about its cars improving.
“The challenge we faced with The French Exchange was how to make sure we got the right balance. The ad has to deliver in terms of product exposure, alongside a narrative that is clearly an analogy for the Clio progressing through time,” explains Wood.
“We are acutely aware of diversity and inclusion,” says Byrne. To hit the right chord, Byrne relays the importance of ensuring diversity is considered at every part of the process.
“Make sure representation is at every stage, both in terms of hires, right the way through idea generation. It should be a representation of society - an accurate depiction.”
Woods adds that seeking diverse feedback is also important. Throughout the work, the team worked alongside Égalité - Publicis Groupe's employee network for LGBT+ professionals and allies who helped to guide it.
“The biggest test of this ad was is it authentic - is it a believable love story? There was nothing tokenistic about it at all. It was a believable, heartfelt story and that’s why it got the emotional reaction that we wanted.”
“We want to continue depicting diversity as much as possible – it’s an ongoing legacy that will continue on a global scale," he says, confirming that more diverse, considered work is on the way in the future.


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COLUMBUS, OH – Columbus 2020, the 11-county regional economic development entity, today announced the hiring of Victor Thorne as managing director, strategic development.
In his new role, Thorne’s mission will be to grow the Columbus Region’s reputation as a preferred and optimal location for the world’s most promising entrepreneurs to launch and turn their innovative ventures into profitable and sustainable world-class enterprises.
“Victor brings a background of both investment and operating management experience to Columbus 2020, spanning Fortune 500 corporations to entrepreneurial ventures,” said Kenny McDonald, chief economic officer, Columbus 2020. “He will be a tremendous addition to our organization.”
Thorne began his career at Morgan Stanley and has consulted for Lucent Technologies’ Supply Chain Networks and Coffou Partners, a retainer-based executive search firm. He most recently was a director at TechColumbus and the Ohio TechAngel Funds, the largest angel investment network in North America.
He also is co-founder of Broadline Capital, a global investment management firm which received the industry award for Asia Venture Deal of the Year, named by Private Equity International (PEI) in 2008. Thorne also co-founded the leading provider of supply chain management and intelligence solutions to the trillion-dollar food system. Creating the industry’s first SaaS electronic supply network, the company became an innovator in the automation of core business processes. It was sold to Accel-KKR and Abry Partners in 2007.
Thorne completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, earned his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and participated in Harvard Business School’s Executive Program on Supply Chain Management. He serves as a member of the boards of directors of five technology companies in Central Ohio, the Board of Trustees of the Columbus Academy, and the Executive Board of the Chicago-based non-profit Jobs for Youth.
About Columbus 2020
Columbus 2020 is a bold public-private partnership that leverages the strengths of the Columbus Region’s talented workforce, small and large businesses, research and academic institutions, and international connections to ignite economic growth and build a healthier, more sustainable future for Central Ohio. The initiative grows our economy by ensuring that our existing companies are growing and thriving, that the world’s leading companies are attracted to the 11-county region, that innovations are cultivated and commercialized, and that our civic infrastructure is continually improving to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving world economy. For more information, visit ColumbusRegion.com.


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Big budget action movies with big stars have traditionally been the bread and butter of Hollywood studios. Now, with films like “Red Notice,” Netflix is trying to make its mark on that blockbuster territory. “Red Notice” stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, and is on track to become Netflix’s most-watched movie, but is that popularity on streaming enough to capture the cultural conversation the way a theatrical release might?
Netflix is hoping it’ll be able to launch franchises based on star-filled PG-13-rated films like “Red Notice,” but kicking off multiple movies requires tons of marketing, and it helps if there’s some familiar intellectual property — something Netflix doesn’t have a lot of at this moment.
The streaming giant also seems to be looking to improve the quality of its movies. In a recent New York Times interview, Netflix’s head of original scripted films said, “If you have the budget to make 14 movies and you only have 11 great ones, let’s just make 11.”
That’s a nice enough idea, but perhaps too late for “Red Notice,” which is only rated 35% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.