Showing posts with label article. Show all posts
Showing posts with label article. Show all posts

Sunday, April 17, 2011

FROM OLD FURNITURE TO GARDEN TREASURE

Beautifully-crafted garden benches and bird boxes catch the eyes of shoppers strolling along Newland Avenue in the sunshine.
The craftsmanship belies the price tags, causing many to stop to admire the work before heading inside the shop.
For a bargain price of £55, you can snap up a three-seater garden bench. Cube-shaped planters start at £8 while bird boxes cost the pocket money price of just £2, a fraction of the amount charged in DIY stores and garden centres.
If that’s not enough of a pull, the goods outside Recycling Unlimited have been made from reclaimed timber, broken furniture or old pallets, restored and brought back to life by a team of volunteers.
Unlike media-savvy supermarket chains and major companies, who herald the tiniest of environmental moves, Peter Rowson, of Recycling Unlimited, is quiet and unassuming about its ethos.
“We want to look after the environment,” he said. “We don’t think people should be burying so much stuff into the ground for future generations to live with.”
As well as helping the environment by preventing the discarded wood being sent to landfill sites, every piece has been made by long-term unemployed or people recovering from mental health problems such as depression.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Britney Spears Topless, Hoax?



Britney Spears has again managed to surprise the world with her crazy antics once again, this time posing topless in a garden, the return of her naked boobs. Well, sorta. Britney Spears is seen in several shots covering her nipples with bright red flowers and crouching on a rock in a botanical garden. The topless woman does have some very strategically placed flowers across her breasts so as to make the photos PG-13 rated.
Britney, who is pictured wearing a fedora and sporting sunglasses, reportedly posed for the photographs at a friend’s house last month.

However, the timing immediately caused speculation that the photos are a hoax and were taken on April Fool’s Day. If it is a look-alike she has it down pat all the way down to the trashy outfit.
The Toxic singer, who performed live for the first time in three years on Tuesday (01May07) night in California, wearing a straw hat and over sized shades, dropped her white linen top and posed for the pictures in the front garden of one of her friend’s house using only freshly picked flowers to cover her boobs. Britney who has been in rehab, in trouble with the law and has sacked her manager seems to be finally getting her life back on track.
She caught a ton of criticism for another see through outfit she recently wore out - but in that one at least she was wearing a hot pink bra. The fashion sense was pathetic but everything was covered

Sienna Miller Called Slut and Slag


The “factory Girl” star, Sienna Miller, loathes walking down the road because people verbally harass her. She recently revealed that she has been called a “slut” and a “slag” the public. Sienna who has been linked to actor Jude Law, Josh Hartnett and Hayden Christensen is upset that she cant walk on the street without people yelling slurs at her.

Sienna Miller said: “People say the most horrible things to me like ’slut’ and ’slag’ and it upsets me because I’m not like that. “I’ve never had a one stand in my life. I’ve been in a relationship more or less for the past five years since I was 20, and sometimes people forget this.
“I know how to let it go over my head, but then sometimes you do question why people are saying it.
“But it’s not true.”

It’s good to know that the British babe is clearing the air. It’s hard to be known more for your personal relationships than your actual career.

Paris hilton Wants You in Her Pants


Paris_hillton_jeans_2 Self-described "business woman" Paris Hilton is about to launch a new venture: her own jean line. That's right, soon we'll all be able to get into Paris' pants - for a price. The heiress reportedly met with Macy's yesterday to discuss the project, and apparently they were thrilled with the collection. The best part is - items from her line have already debuted. Remember those dark skinny jeans Paris wore as she paraded out of the clink? Yup, you guessed it - directly from The Paris Hilton House of Hot Denim (not really the line's name). See, she hasn't changed a bit - never a wasted opportunity with this one. If you need hair extensions, you should probably also check out Hilton's new line of fake locks. All you need is a bad case of claustrophobia and a bag of pot and you'll look just like Paris!

Baby Plus Prenatal Education System


Parents who hope to give their unborn child every intellectual, developmental, creative, and emotional advantage will want to take a closer look at BabyPlus Prenatal Education System. Unlike most other programs designed to enhance baby’s potential in utero, this system is actually research-based and scientifically tested. Simply put, BabyPlus is a 6-inch-long oval micro-chip unit that is strapped around a pregnant woman’s belly twice a day, one hour each time. It plays a series of 16 scientifically designed sounds that resemble the maternal heartbeat. As the pregnancy (and the curriculum) progresses, the rhythm increases incrementally. The baby is introduced to a sequential learning process using the only language she understands—Mama’s heartbeat—at a time in her development when she is most receptive to learning.

Fisher-Price Think Pink Bouncer


The Girls Fashion bouncer is a great alternative to the gender neutral bouncers in the market place. The fashion is pink for a baby girl and a super soft pillow cradles baby's head and provides support. It includes a toy bar that has two soft ladybugs with satin wings and a plastic center flower toy with soft goods petals, a cute label for baby to look at, and delightful music that plays when baby pulls on handle. Like all Fisher Price bouncers this version will be a great place to soothe baby and keep her entertained. Includes vibration feature.

Bumbo Baby Sitter - Yellow


The Bumbo Baby Sitter is a uniquely designed new concept that enables a baby between three months and approximately 16 months to be seated unaided in a safe and upright sitting position. As soon as the baby has developed adequate neck and head control, it

THE INTEREST SPIDERMAN MOVIE
























Spider-Man, his Aunt May and wife Mary Jane. Art by Mike Deodato.
Spider-Man, his Aunt May and wife Mary Jane. Art by Mike Deodato.
Spider-Man was conceived as an ordinary person given great power, and the comics detail his civilian life, friends, family and romances as much as his super-heroic adventures.
Some of the more important and well-known members of his extensive supporting cast include:
  • Aunt May – Peter Parker's loving aunt, who raises him after his parents die. After the murder of her husband, Peter's Uncle Ben, May is virtually his only family, and they are very close.
  • Gwen Stacy – Peter's college girlfriend, who is tragically murdered by the Green Goblin.
  • Betty Brant - Secretary at the Daily Bugle who was once in love with Peter
  • J. Jonah Jameson – the irascible publisher of the Daily Bugle newspaper. While he employs Peter Parker as a photographer, he is also Spider-Man's greatest critic and largely responsible for the public's distrust of the hero.
  • Joseph "Robbie" Robertson – Editor-in-chief at the Daily Bugle, a moderating influence on Jameson, and a father figure to Peter after Uncle Ben's Death.
  • Mary Jane Watson – originally merely Gwen Stacy's competition, MJ eventually became Peter's best friend and wife.
  • Flash Thompson – Peter Parker's high school tormentor, later one of his closest friends. Due to brain damage, he suffers amnesia and regresses to his bullying personality.
  • Harry Osborn – Peter's best friend in college, who eventually follows his father's footsteps and becomes the second Green Goblin, which destroys him.
  • Black Cat, Felicia Hardy – a reformed cat burglar who was Spider-Man's lover and partner at one

3 Pack Snack Trap


Plates & Utensils Mossworld The Snack-Trap is the best way to keep your child's snacks in the cup, instead of on the floor. Designed by a mother, the Snack-Trap lets little hands into the cup while the perforated top closes back up as soon as the snack i

Miracle Blanket - Green with Beige Trim


At last, the perfect swaddle made easy! Miracle Blanket earned the "thumbs up" from the Good Housekeeping Institute. Uses no velcro, zippers or other confusing adjustments that can scratch baby and one size fits all. New research shows the benefits of swaddling to calm baby and help ensure longer sleep but the Miracle Blanket makes it easy. It truly is amazing. The Miracle Blanket is made of the highest quality (and cozy) materials available and is stitched with great attention to detail. The Miracle Blanket helps baby sleep on his back to reduce SIDS concerns and clinical studies prove that proper swaddling can often eliminate colic symptoms. Yet most blankets do not provide for a secure swaddle and baby often manages to squirm loose. The Miracle Blanket is easy to use and keeps baby snug. Pediatrician recommended. What are parents saying? "I love this blanket! It has saved me countless hours of sleep and crying. I recommend it to all of my expecting friends in my playgroup." -- Sharon - MN "I was at my wits end when I was introduced to the Miracle Blanket. The first night that I used the blanket, Makena slept four straight hours. By the third night of use she slept six straight hours. This blanket is a lifesaver!" Heather Brady - CA What do the pros say? "...Our more experienced maternity ward nurses were skeptical at first, but now even THEY are asking for more! The new parents ay it's a Miracle!" Director of Women's a Children's Services at UCLA Medical Center "We just put our one month old son down for the second night wrapped in The Miracle Blanket. He seems to love it. He slept six hours straight last night, followed by four hours straight after a quick feeding. You can't complain about that at 1 month! My friend is a pediatrician and she and I are goinig to be recommending the Miracle Blanket to our patients!" Family Practitioner in Arizona

Smithsonian-inspired Furniture collection


The Smithsonian collection from Bernhardt Furniture is based not only on pieces owned by the popular museums in Washington, D.C., but also on the structures themselves. The pattern in the glass front of a china cabinet, for instance, is based on a window in the Castle, the original museum dating to 1855.
The sleek and surprisingly contemporary Campeachy leather chair and ottoman is based on an early 19th-century piece that Thomas Jefferson discovered in New Orleans. The Legacy sleigh bed was inspired by a pictured discovered in the Cooper-Hewitt library of the Smithsonian, which houses books on the decorative arts.

Irish Furniture, Gutsy and Ebullient, in a Book and a Sale



Christie’s sale of English furniture on Monday in New York includes some 18th-century Irish antiques, each carefully notated in the catalog with a typically Irish winged-harp symbol. The harp is helpful, because it can be difficult to identify 18th-century Irish antiques.
Even experts become confused, but help is on the way. Yale University Press has just published “Irish Furniture,” by Desmond FitzGerald, an expert in Irish antiques, and James Peill, a furniture specialist at Christie’s New York. The book has been in the works for more than 40 years.
“In the 1960s, when I was a curator at the Victoria and Albert, there was practically no Irish furniture there,” Mr. FitzGerald said. “It was not regarded as having any importance, but I started buying it for myself.

FROM OLD FURNITURE TO GARDEN TREASURE


Beautifully-crafted garden benches and bird boxes catch the eyes of shoppers strolling along Newland Avenue in the sunshine.
The craftsmanship belies the price tags, causing many to stop to admire the work before heading inside the shop.
For a bargain price of £55, you can snap up a three-seater garden bench. Cube-shaped planters start at £8 while bird boxes cost the pocket money price of just £2, a fraction of the amount charged in DIY stores and garden centres.
If that’s not enough of a pull, the goods outside Recycling Unlimited have been made from reclaimed timber, broken furniture or old pallets, restored and brought back to life by a team of volunteers.
Unlike media-savvy supermarket chains and major companies, who herald the tiniest of environmental moves, Peter Rowson, of Recycling Unlimited, is quiet and unassuming about its ethos.
“We want to look after the environment,” he said. “We don’t think people should be burying so much stuff into the ground for future generations to live with.”
As well as helping the environment by preventing the discarded wood being sent to landfill sites, every piece has been made by long-term unemployed or people recovering from mental health problems such as depression.

Wicker furniture popular from ancient Egypt until now


Wicker furniture has been used since the ancient Egyptians, but most of today’s collectors are buying pieces made in the 1800s and 1900s.
In the early 1830s, a Boston grocer named Cyrus Wakefield was watching ships unpacking cargo. Bundles of rattan wrapping were discarded. He thought it might be suitable as a material for furniture, especially chair seats. After experimenting, he developed braided wicker furniture and even had ships import more cane and rattan. His Wakefield Rattan Co. was founded in 1855.
Heywood Brothers, founded in 1861 by Levi Heywood, was the largest chair company in the United States by 1870. The company began making wicker furniture in 1875 using rattan bought from Wakefield. The two companies merged in 1897.
Many styles of wicker furniture were made, including Victorian, Arts and Crafts, and Art Deco. Plant stands, easels, fishbowl-planters, shelves, baby carriages, wheelchairs, cribs and even lamps and lampshades were made. The wicker was shellacked, stained or painted.
Today, collectors pay the highest prices for wicker with elaborate curves and intricate designs. They also favor the unusual.
Clifton Indian ware

Unique furniture from locally salvaged trees


When the massive elm tree outside Joan Murray’s Madison Park home came down with Dutch elm disease, Murray and husband Mark organized a wake so the neighborhood could mourn the leafy, 100-foot giant boasting 120 rings. (They counted.)
But Joan Murray didn’t have a plan for the tree’s afterlife — not until Jim Newsom showed up and proposed one.
Newsom owns Urban Hardwoods, a Seattle furniture company that does custom work and builds elegant tables and other pieces using mostly locally salvaged trees. Back in 2003, when Newsom explained his company to the Murrays, he asked for the elm, offering in exchange a custom-built table. The Murrays agreed. Their 4-foot round table now sits near a window overlooking the spot where the tree stood. The rest of the tree went to two homes on Orcas Island, while some lumber is still waiting to be made into tables.
“It’s like good karma,” Joan Murray said. “I love that we can sit at that table and remember the tree

Antique or not, small furniture is what she seeks


Marcia Wilk has a soft spot for small things — especially small furniture. She has about a dozen pieces spread throughout her Grosse Pointe Park home.
“It’s not dollhouse or child-size it’s in between,” she explains. “It was made by carpenters and woodworkers as a craft to show off their work. It didn’t really serve a purpose, although many people mistakenly think these items were salesmen’s samples.”
Wilk has been collecting the wooden pieces about 20 years. She purchased her first piece — a small icebox — many years ago while living in her native Pennsylvania. Since then, she’s picked up chairs, dressers, desks and other examples

Fast Piece of Furniture



Jeff Nelson likes to sit down. That’s a natural position for a drummer, sure, but it’s also the only theory that explains why the former member of the High Back Chairs is now drumming for Toledo, Ohio’s Fast Piece of Furniture. Or maybe it’s just that he likes singer and guitarist Tony Lowe’s dusky voice and jangly songs, which coaxed the D.C. legend out of retirement. Adventures in Contentment, the group’s debut, doesn’t confine itself to the living room, touching on garage rock (“Can I Believe in You?”), bedroom psychedelia (“Miles From Nowhere”), and chamber pop (“Out of Time”). Underpinning it all is an appealing sense of wide-eyed melancholy and optimism despite all evidence to the contrary. Lowe’s tales of relationships that have gone wrong, are going wrong, or almost certainly will implode if you give him half a chance can get a little claustrophobic, but his band’s gentle power pop sure sits easy. Fast Piece of Furniture performs with Everyone But Pete and cobbler at 9:30 p.m. at Iota Club & Cafe, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. $10. (703) 522-8340.

Antique furniture destroyed in factory fire


A fire at a factory in Tauranga over the weekend destroyed many valuable pieces of antique furniture.
Eight fire crews spent six hours putting out the fire at the furniture restorers Cartmill & Parish on Saturday night.
Tauranga Fire Safety Officer Ken McKeagg said the restoration area was completely destroyed, as well as all the furniture inside.

Old-world quality furniture that’s built in Windsor Heights


New furniture is easy to find. Antiques aren’t exactly scarce. But some people want a chair or a sideboard to perfectly match a roomful of antiques, or a chest of drawers that exists only vaguely in their imaginations, and those are the customers Kyle Smith is looking for.
Smith started his woodworking career as an Iowa farm boy near Audubon. At 28, he operates a start-up business, Smith Co. Artisans, out of his home in Windsor Heights. In between, he studied the craft of furniture making at the University of Rio Grande - it’s not where you think; it’s in Ohio - and worked with period furniture makers in Philadelphia.
Walk into his house and you’re surrounded by wonderful examples of Smith’s talent. Many pieces feature hand-carved details defining them as the work of a man who has thoroughly developed his skills. He’s in the midst of making and installing a fireplace surround, complete with carved flowers, as part of transforming the main part of the first floor of his home into a showroom.

Good wood on antiques


One place to appreciate the real, rare red sandalwood furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties is to visit the China Red Sandalwood Museum.
Almost 20,000 visitors took advantage of free entry to the museum on May 18, International Museum Day, where they enjoyed the genuine antique furniture and reproductions.
Squatting in front of a Ming-Dynasty cabinet, Gao Jianhua, a furniture enthusiast from Shandong Province, used a magnifying glass to study the detailed patterns carved on the furniture. “Ming furniture features flat backs decorated with straight or curved wooden patterns and is sometimes embedded with marbles,” Gao said.