More than half a century after the company first began trading in Georgetown as a small dry goods store AH&L Kissoon Ltd. is still seeking ways of consolidating the position it has long held as a leader in the local furniture industry and Hemraj Kissoon, their key figure in what is now one of the largest manufacturing, trading and investment enterprises in Guyana is not inclined to be modest about the company’s achievements. He promotes the Kissoon brand with the zeal and confidence of a man who knows that the company’s success inheres in its longevity and the reputation it has established in one of the more competitive pursuits in the manufacturing sector. Read more…

Sisters Amie Sikes and Jolie Sikes-Smith knew there was no time for tears. The duo had spent several months last year designing young country sensation Miranda Lambert’s tour bus on paper. And now the owners of the Junk Gypsy Company, the catchall boutique of vintage clothing and kitschy furnishings in College Station, had only two weeks to do their first-ever finish-out before delivering it to Ms. Lambert in Nashville.

The women, known for their rock star-cowgirl style, got the assignment to design the bus one night while in Los Angeles with Ms. Lambert. Ms. Lambert had been a fan of their aesthetic, and their families had become close. The singer was spending more time on the road, playing about 300 dates a year, and was leasing a new tour bus. Her mom, Beverly, wanted it to feel like home and asked the sisters and their mother, Janie, to dress it up in the cowgirl-glam look that is the Junk Gypsies’ signature.

Of course, there’d be problems. Like the fact that the bus company was hesitant to turn over a vehicle to a couple of novices with no real interior design experience. “They were worried it would be ugly and that they’d have to gut it and never use it again,” said Ms. Sikes. But the sisters didn’t mind. At least at first. Read more…

Westgate Interiors, which supplies luxury decorative fabrics and trimmings to the decoration and design trade, is launching an extensive collection of elegant bedroom ensembles, decorative pillows, table linens and accessories at the International Gift & Home Accessories Show at the Dallas Market Center, which runs from June 22 to 25.

“Westgate Interiors has successfully developed an international luxury brand in decorative fabrics and achieved 30 percent top-line growth in North America in 2006,” explains David Li, chief executive officer of Home Furnishing International, LLC, the parent company of Westgate Interiors, American Decorative Fabrics (ADF) and Home Fashions International (HFI). “It is a natural extension of our business to leverage this high-profile brand in the finished product and gift markets.”
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Tip-toeing to the tipping point of sustainable buildings and a solar future. That’s one way to describe current activity in local construction.
While most homes and commercial buildings constructed over the past few years rarely go above mandated codes for energy efficiency, some daring developers are pushing the envelope.
Taking risks. Using innovative building practices. Sketching the promise of near-Zero Energy construction for the Georgia coast.
“I’m a plant man.” That’s not only a definition of himself, it also defines Gregg Bayard’s philosophy. A burly former forester and horticulturist, comfortable under a fine patina of dust from a roadway under construction, he and his business partner Curry Wadsworth, with 20 years experience as a landscaper, are turning a heavily wooded, former fishing camp on Salt Creek into a housing development overlooking — and preserving — the marsh. Read more…

When the School for Visual Theater was established in Israel and festivals for “Visual Theater” began to multiply, I used to ask for the sake of argument, “Is there such a thing as non-visual theater?”

I admit I dissembled a bit, because the name “Visual Theater” is supposed to emphasize the visual dimension of stage creation, thereby stating that the verbal and linear (plot development, if such a thing exists) elements are secondary. From the outset, the visual element in theater was always the most important. Read more…

There are good office chairs and bad office chairs. Badly designed chairs are bad for backs, and over long periods of time can permanently damage the spine.

Bad chairs can also lead to aching arms, shoulders, and legs and can reduce the circulation of the blood. Unstable chairs can cause accidents and injuries.

Obviously such chairs do not fulfill the employer’s obligation under Occupational Health and Safety law to provide a safe workplace.
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What happened the last time you walked into a store intending to buy furniture? Did you make a purchase? Or did you leave discouraged?

A recent survey of 2,500 households for the trade journal Furniture/Today estimated that $47.5 billion was lost last year because consumers didn’t find what they wanted when they shopped for new furniture. The biggest percentages of nonpurchases were for futons (50 percent), motion sofas (43 percent), curio cabinets (42 percent) and dining room sets (40 percent.)

Think price is the obstacle? Not always. Industry pros say the furniture-shopping experience is far more complex, a combination of emotional and merchandising experiences. Read more…

The organizers of the 25ª International Trade Show for the Furniture Industry (Fenavem) want to attract Arab importers to business roundtables at the Brazilian Furniture Buyer Project, a Brazilian export incentive program organized by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) and the Brazilian Furniture Industry Association (Abimóvel). The event, to take place between August 06 and 10, in São Paulo, hopes to attract 20 importers from five continents.
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The IFDA (International Furniture Design Fair Asahikawa) has been held every three years since 1990.

It is considered an important occasion for furniture makers in Asahikawa to exchange ideas with designers from Japan as well as from other parts of the world.

The International Furniture Design Competition, the main event of the Fair, serves as an indicator of the future of wooden-furniture designs. Read more…

Award-winning Maryland web design firm Blue Water Media (http://www.bluewatermedia.com) is pleased to present a custom real estate website for new land development company Craftsmen Developers. Craftsmen Developers sought out real estate web design due to their land development services, and the result is a website reflecting Craftsmen Developers’ professionalism and creativity. And the new website will be the basis for bringing in continued business for Craftsmen Developers.

Craftsmen Developers wanted the web design to be high-tech and creative, yet elegant. Blue Water Media’s web design team took their stylist desires and turned something conceptual into something tangible: a website utilizing an earthy color scheme to compliment their main service combined with custom-designed icons bringing a creative edge to the site. The above elements are all the superficial elements that work well with the site architecture, which provides an easy route to information for visitors, including home builders, land investment firms, and financial institutions. This simple and effective site architecture is imperative for visitors to find pertinent information quickly and efficiently. Read more…