Haft2Know

The next time you're lacing up for a run and Sir Woofsalot is giving you that sad "but I could come with you" look, you might consider looking into Fetching, Toronto's first fitness bootcamp that you do with your dog. Founder Sal Sloan says she used to feel a bit guilty, heading out for a workout while her dog Chewy had to lay low at home, so she developed a series of fitness classes for owners and dogs to do together. With a number of class options, and an expanding selection of locations throughout Toronto, Fetching might just be at the helm of a human/dog fitness trend.

Here's the link.

Extra kudos go to Fetching's very cool identity, developed by our friends at Archerfish Studio.

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TrendWatching.com presents their annual list of top 10 consumer trends, for 2010. These are trends they feel will help shape global demand next year, and in turn, supply. Themes centre around the end of the recession, pragmatism of goods of services, and of course the environment.

The sociology of the city features high in the list. A hundred years ago, less than 5 percent of the world's population lived in cities. In 2008, that number crossed the 50 percent threshold for the first time in history. In the last two decades, urban population of the developing world has grown by an average of 3 million people per week. What does this all mean to those living in urban centres?

Another familiar one to us is known as 'Tracking & Alerting' - using wireless communication to notify potential customers of what's available, and where - at any given moment. A perfect example of this is this past Haft2Know, about a mobile truck that sells warm cookies and desserts and alerts its NYC customers to its whereabouts by its website, and its Tweets.

The trends are fascinating, and in depth. Check out all ten here.

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In our ongoing quest to find things to custom order on-line, our friends at Hipstery.com might be at the helm of the next wave of custom ordering, which is this. You don't actually design it / choose it / determine it yourself, you merely supply information to the seller, and based on what they discover about you, they select it for you. Hipstery.com will ask you a number of questions including "What's your preferred method of air travel?" and "At the movies, which armrest belongs to you?". Depending on your answers, a t-shirt is chosen to suit you and sent along. The burden of choice can be daunting.

Here it is

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Move over, Kryogenics. Swiss DNA Bank offers a different way to be immortalized.

'Perpetual docs management' is how this company describes what they do. It's an infinite time capsule, and for a one-time starting fee of about $300 USD you'll receive a kit in the mail that will allow you to submit to the capsule any data you may wish - photos, music, stories, your cat's pointilist pieces - as well as your own DNA. And there it will sit in perpetuum below the Swiss Alps, allowing future generations of your own family not only to remember you, but clone one of your own offspring to be your genetic twin.

The infinite link is here

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Here's another way to weather the current economic gales. Blue Star Jets is a company that was originally formed by a group of business executives who realized that not all passengers for private jets actually need to own an aircraft. There was a market for those who were looking merely to lease a jet for a day or a few.

Well now the company has found a way to further cut those pesky private jet fees. It's called 'Share-A-Jet', and it's an online search engine that allows potential customers to look for others taking a similar route, thus allowing them to share the expense of the journey. A regularly updated list of available flights will give you an idea as to where people are going, and uh, what they're paying to go there. Here's the list here.

And be sure to check out the company's Jackie Mason testimonial video. Clearly, jet sharing has worked for him.

http://www.bluestarjets.com

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Everyone knows the pleasure of discovering that someone else loves something you do. Be it Family Guy, or NPR, or a Cinnamon Dolce Latte from Starbucks, there's a hint of serendipity that occurs when a common fave is voiced. The people that invented Brand-Mates.com know this and they developed a dating website based on the fantastic idea that people who love the same brands probably have a lot in common. This goes way past merely matching up people that buy the same brand of moisturizer. It's introducing to each other single folks who believe in the same philosophy a brand expresses. This makes so much sense to me that I feel it should have existed already. But it didn't. Until now. Pay a visit to the site and check it out. It's currently in its Beta phase, but should prove watch worthy for some time to come.

http://brand-mates.com

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If you should find yourself invited to dinner at the White House and in need of a pedicure, you may wish to check out the DC region's latest beauty offering - a foot treatment where tiny carp nibble dead skin off your feet. No, really.

The Yvonne Hair and Nails salon in Alexandria, VA has been offering the treatment for a few months now. Razors have fallen out of favour with state regulators for reasons of sanitation. so salon owner John Ho looked to spas in Turkey and discovered the fish application. After 15 to 30 minutes in a shallow tank with the nibblers, customers receive a standard pedicure, made easier by the soft skin the doctor fish leave behind. Sessions begin at $35 for 15 minutes and patrons describe the sensation as "tingly". Bite back afterward with a trip to one of the region's many sushi restaurants.

http://www.yvonnesalon.com

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There's a new certification program for manufacturers that's recently been introduced by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The SmartWay program is a partnership established between the EPA and the freight industry. Its environmental goals include lowering carbon dioxide emissions by 33 million tonnes annually by 2012. In order for a company's wares to receive the badge, the company must certify its transport carrier network is using only SmartWay compliant carriers. The first company to have received this prestigious new certification was HP. Whirlpool was soon to follow. Watch for other initiatives of this sort to pop up in the years to come. (And while you're at it, check out that good looking logo.)

http://www.epa.gov

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