2008 October 09 « TECHburgher :: Putting some sizzle in the Pittsburgh technology sector.

Archive for October 9th, 2008

Urban Clothing Forged from the Belt

Published October 9, 2008 Something Cool 1 Comment
Tags: art institute of Pittsburgh, Muddy waters, rust belt, Rusty Waters Apparel, urban clothing

Take two Art Institute of Pittsburgh graduates, three Youngstown natives, and a Cleveland State University graduate—mix in a great idea for an urban clothing company. What do you get?

Rusty Waters Apparel.

The clothing line was born out of a brainstorming session between Adam Chizmar and Kate Butler of the Art Institute and Dominic Gatti of Cleveland State University.

“The name Rusty Waters Apparel is a play on the name Rust Belt mixed with a little bit of homage to blues musician, Muddy Waters,” Gatti said.

Rusty Waters Apparel is the voice of the Rust Belt. It represents the significant waterways in North East Ohio and Western Pennsylvania stretching from Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland to the Mahoning and Shenango Rivers in Youngstown to the Golden Triangle in Pittsburgh.

“We wanted to tie together the region through alternative t-shirts,” Gatti said.

For example, there is an I (Heart) Pittsburgh shirt, unique to the Rusty Waters brand. There is also available the popular green and black Suburbia shirt that takes Mr. Yuck to a whole new level.

You can find these shirts at the PTC’s 15 Minutes Gallery in the Pittsburgh Technology Council offices. Price per shirt is $20 at the Gallery.

Attention Java Users: Joffrey’s Coffee 2.0

Published October 9, 2008 News 1 Comment
Tags: Arabica beans, Coffee 2.0, Java, Joffrey's Coffee & Tea Company

Upgrading to the latest version of software is vital for WordPress bloggers, iPhone users, Firefox surfers and other early adopters to stay at the edge. Unfortunately, staying ahead of the technological game can also put them on edge, and that’s where java comes into the mix.

For those seeking a caffeinated solution to make it through the day and night and all hours in between, Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company is launching a new blend, Coffee 2.0 as the perfect compliment to the java-fueled techie. The blend is inspired by the more than 1,500 bloggers who participated in a recent java beta test coordinated by Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company, where they sampled its Jamaican Me Crazy flavored coffee.

Bloggers participating in the java beta test sampling program also filled out a survey about their coffee preferences. Survey results showed 93 percent of bloggers prefer regular coffee, while a mere 7 percent prefer decaf. And, not surprisingly, it was revealed that 35 percent of the blogosphere drinks 2 to 4 cups of coffee per day, and 20 percent have more than 4 cups per day.

Additionally, an open-ended question asked bloggers: “If you could make a new flavor of coffee, what would it be?” The most popular answers were some incantation of a highly caffeinated, extra strong, bold blend of coffee, which inspired Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company to create a new energized blend. But, what to name it? One clever blogger, Eric Friedman submitted the suggestion “Coffee 2.0,” and the name stuck.

Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company’s Coffee 2.0, the specially engineered, highly optimized, flavorful java inspired by the blogosphere, is made from 100 percent Arabica coffee beans hand-roasted to perfection. Coffee 2.0 is the perfect fuel for blogging, coding and gaming and is currently available for purchase.