COOL SPOTS: MacarOn Café, New York

Designer Desserts to Die For

The macaron lives on!

Sprinkled across several locations in New York is the famed MacarOn Café where sweet morsels of meringue-based heaven are born. It all began with an oven in a small café. Chefs, Cecile and Arnaud, had a vision of bringing the French confectionary cookie to New York in 2007.  They have since expanded to 4 cafes in Manhattan and ship to over a hundred retailers across North America. MacarOn Café has also earned major creds in prestigious publications like the New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine and Elle Magazine 

Haute Macha Green Tean Macaron

Perhaps one of the main draws to MacarOn Café are the seasonal flavors and couture designs offered in the collections. The perfect summer tropical flavors such as pineapple, passion fruit, mango and orange blossom are among some of the sunny bites you'll experience. The macha green tea macaron is almost too gorgeous to eat. Our personal fave is the passion fruit, which takes us back to our caribbean roots.

MacarOn Café is also very trend-forward with the custom flavor options. You can create special flavors for any occasion adding unique element to any event. The boutique confectionary is also releasing its must-have, perfectly-crafted 4^th of July Macaron. 

Macaron Café's 4th of July Macaron

In this food-savvy culture where the hot new it dessert is in one day and passé the next, the macaron has remained relevant. Answer your next sweet tooth craving with the irresistible bites of MacarOn Café. Tell them we sent you!

Gorgeous gift packaging of MacarOn Café

http://MacaronCafe.com
Twitter/Facebook: @macaroncafenyc
Instagram: @macaroncafe

COOL PEOPLE: JOHN BRAMBLITT

THE BLIND YET VISUAL ARTIST

John Bramblitt is not who you would call ordinary. After going blind due to complications with epilepsy in 2001, John, whose dream was to become a creative writing teacher, was crushed. Feeling deeply depressed John discovered the world of painting and the results have been quite impressive:

John had never painted before going blind. Yet after about a year of practice and figuring his way through, John has mastered the concept.

Sold in over twenty countries his art has appeared in print, television, and radio. It’s also been showcased in the CBS Evening News, ABC, BBC Radio, and featured in The New York Times and Psychology Today.

John uses brailed tubes to identify colors and preconceived recipes for color combination. He also paints using his hands as a guide for the paintbrush. By doing this he states that it helps put down better lines on the canvas. John has also used different types of paint and can figure out which is which by their texture. 

Though he is self-taught, he has learned to use raised lines to help guide him through the canvas, giving him a haptic visualization of what the picture looks like.

John Bramblitt is not what you would call ordinary. No, he is in fact exceptional. In his first art show John refused to tell anyone he was blind because he “didn’t want it to affect the way [people] perceived the art.” He has also embraced his condition. This is evident in how he signs each of his pieces where you’ll see two circles with “X’s” painted over them. Absolutely fantastic.

Here is an awesome CBS interview about the man himself:

Bramblitt has demonstrated to all of us that a set back (whether minor or major) does not mean you should despair because we are much more capable than we know. Sometimes it takes setbacks to discover what those capabilities are.

By: Oliver R. Pernt

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COOL PEOPLE: JAMES ROBERTSON

Hard Work is as COOL As It Gets

Our lives are interesting rollercoasters, aren’t they? It is easy to say that all we have to do in life is work hard and that through hard work, we will give our lives meaning. But what about when times get tough? What do you do then? Well, if you’re someone like James Robertson you find a way to keep going.

As a 56 year-old Detroiter, James has most likely had his fair share of hard times, but I’m not sure he was prepared for what was to come. You see he works at a factory in Rochester Hills, which is 23 miles away from his home. And up until about 10 years ago he would take his 1988 Honda Accord to work everyday; but that all changed when the car died on him.

Because of that James had to find another way to get to work, so he started using public transportation. Since the public transportation system could not take him all the way to the factory he worked at, he had to walk the remaining distance. “So what?” – You’re probably asking, “people walk to work all the time”. Well, as true as that may be I doubt they’re walking as much as he is. The closest he can get using public transportation is 10.5 miles. That means James is walking an extra 21 miles every weekday.

Now here at COOL Creative we like to celebrate amazing fashion, art, design, innovation, and such, but we also believe in celebrating amazing individuals. Individuals like James, that continue to show hard work, dedication, and passion for their work regardless of profession or how tough life is. We consider this as #CertifiedCOOL as it gets. Because even though he has to embark in such a journey every weekday he still maintains a perfect attendance record. He has never missed work. And even more so he never complains, simply stating that he can’t see himself not working.

Because of this, the Internet in all of its glory has banded together to create a kickstarer campaign to get him a car, and after only one day over $50,000 has already been raised. If you’d like to be a part of helping this hero of a man, just click here: http://www.gofundme.com/l7girc

The world needs more people like you, Mr. Robertson. You are an inspiration, and in our eyes, #CertifiedCOOL.

By: Oliver Pernt

See more COOL here

TREND TALK: HELLO AFRICA!

A NEW COOL IS RISING OUT OF AFRICA

Africa’s influence in fashion, business and innovation is growing. According to trending watch.com “…Africans are expecting brands to champion, support and cater to the identities they create for themselves.”  The new Guinness ad highlights a society of “elegant” people in the Congo known as the Sapeurs. The video follows these trendsetters who believe in ‘putting more in, to get more out.’ What shapes their identity is not economic status, but creativity and respect expressed through fashion.

Beyoncé on the cover of L' Officiel Magazine

Singer Elle Varner rocks an african teacup dress on-set of video shoot

Solange in African inspired outfit on the cover of Complex magazine

Rihanna accessorizes with African bangles during her 2010 AMA performance 

African Design Makes Waves:

As African-inspired prints & patterns are becoming more popular with fashion bloggers, trend-setting celebrities (like Beyonce & Rhianna), top stylists and designers; Africa is continues to make big waves in fashion and design. African Batik fabrics such as Dutch Wax prints (also known as Wax Hollandais), Ghanaian Kente cloth and Ankara, Kanga (a fabric from East Africa) have been worn down the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris. The Balenciaga collection for spring 2013 featured African fashion influenced by Dutch wax prints and Ankara. H&M included African elements in their 2012 collection developed by the designers of the Italian fashion label Marni.

Recently Project Makowla launched an innovative new service that allows vendors to sell their African-inspired pieces and reach their consumers all over the world in a more direct manner. Now, people can have custom pieces based created with authentic African fabrics. The process is simple. Customers send photos of their favorite design, measurements and their choice of African fabric. A seamstress from West Africa or Ghana will then create the custom piece and ship it directly to the customer.  

Nigerian-born designer Duro Olowu is another example of the impact and cultural reach that Africa is making globally. Olowu was one of the first designers to collaborate with JCPenny and released a limited edition collection in the spring of 2013. Based in London, Olowu pulls influences from his London up-bringing as well as his Jamaican and Nigerian roots. FLOTUS, Michelle Obama, is just one of the many celebrities that have been seen in his head-turning designs. 

Duro 2013 Collection for JCPenny

Another COOL movement, Africa is Now, goes beyond fashion and includes five themes to promote innovative solutions; Africa is Sharp, Urban, Tradition Reinvented, Resourceful and Transformed. As a part of the movement, the Indaba Project has been created to feature works in design, dècor and architecture across the continent. Rebranding Rwanda is is one of the projects in the works under this project. 

Other projects include developing art exhibitions and galleries in Dakar called Dak'Art. International artists are selected from all over the world with the aim of creating a global image. There is also a kickstarter campaign called BRCK which developed the first mobile wifi device built for Africa’s most undeveloped regions.

There are so many more innovative African-influenced projects happening all over  world. To get more information on these #Certified COOL and creative projects, you can visit the official Design Indaba site. You can also get in on all the cultural vibes below with our style edit! Happy shopping and stay COOL.

THE SHOPPING BAG
#CertifiedCOOL AFRICANA FASHION FINDS 

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By: Joanne Joseph, COOL Contributor

GEEK CHIC : 3D Printing Reshapes Fashion Design

By Joanne Joseph

From headpieces to shoes to nail art, 3-D printing has given designers a more technological outlet to display their creative designs to the fashion world. For those who are unfamiliar with the process, 3-D printing allows you to make a 3-dimensional object come to life through a digital file. The creator makes a virtual design of the object that is scanned into a 3-D digital copy, and then printed.

The designers from the fashion company threeASFOUR featured some 3-D pieces during New York Fashion Week in 2013.

threeASFOUR 3-Dimensional Dress

threeASFOUR 3-Dimensional Dress

Ray Civello and Stephen Ma who are leaders in the fashion industry used this technique to design headpieces that were featured at the Aveda Congress 2013. The event honors those in the hairdressing industry and attracts thousands of salon professionals’ worldwide to get educated about coloring, styling and what’s trending in make-up. Take a look at the process in creating these #COOL and innovative headpieces.

3-D printing creates endless possibilities for fashion to push its limits and that is certified COOL.