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Using Funeral Templates Will Help With Planning Funeral or Memorial Services

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Whether you’re planning a funeral or a memorial service, funeral templates for programs and services will help you get through the planning process a lot easier than if you’re starting from scratch without really knowing what to do.

The Order of the Funeral or Memorial Service

Funeral services and memorial services really aren’t much different from each other, except that the deceased is not laid out in the casket at the front of the funeral home chapel or church.

Instead, the loved one may already have been cremated and a decorative urn sits in the casket’s place.

And while funeral services may take place anywhere from three to five days following the death, memorial services can be planned for months after the death as the deceased has probably already been cremated.

The reasons are quite varied as to why families may plan a memorial service instead of a funeral, but regardless of the type of service, it’s usually a good idea to start with different types of funeral templates to help plan the service.

Funeral Templates for the Order of Service

There are a variety of services that can be planned, most of which depends on the religious faith of the departed and the family.

Different faiths conduct different types of services so it’s a good idea to speak with the church clergy, whether it be a priest, minister, rabbi or other. They will assist you with planning the order of the services.

If you’re not planning a religious service, there are still a variety of funeral templates you can use to prepare the service. Basically, the service will follow something like this…

  • Greeting by the minister or presenter. This will include an opening message and on behalf of the family, thanking those who have attended to pay their respects. This presentation may also include scripture readings or a secular recounting of events in the loved one’s life but not necessarily from a religious aspect.

  • Offers of remembrance from guests. Time is usually allowed for friends, associates, coworkers, neighbors, anyone in attendance, to present a story or special moment that was shared with the deceased. Some presenters also express their heartfelt condolences to the family personally at this time.

  • Special Music. Musical interludes can be presented after the initial greeting and before the other guests make their presentations. They can follow special readings and they can also be played just before the minister or presenter makes his closing presentation.

  • Closing presentation. In the case of a traditional funeral and burial, the closing presentation often includes information about the interment and an open invitation by the family to attend a reception following interment.

Funeral Templates for Service Programs

Many times there will programs made up and either handed out or available to pick up as guests arrive at the church or funeral home. These folded pamphlets include the order of the service, which is what you have planned to take place and the order in which it will take place.

Often these funeral program templates do not include set time frames other than the time that the actual service is scheduled to start. In addition to the items mentioned above in the order of the service, funeral programs may also include the location of interment and information about the reception that is being held for guests.

Along with the order of events, there is often a special poem or verse and a photo printed on the programs and they may include an obituary as well. There are some funeral templates that provide an area where certain people are mentioned such as pall bearers, soloists, musicians who have played special pieces.

Funeral or memorial programs, if you’re having a memorial service, are simply pieces of 8.5″ by 11″ paper that are printed on both sides and folded in half.

Programs can also be printed on 8.5″ by 14″ paper, or legal size paper, and then tri-folded for a brochure sized program. Either way is fine. It just depends on how much information you decide to include in your program.

There are actually many other designs and sizes of programs that a funeral director will help you with. You can also shop online with a variety of sites that specialize in helping you to design programs and will have many funeral templates for programs available for you to choose from.

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Source by Karen S Musselman

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Don’t Wash Your Chicken – Sanitize It Using An Ozone Generator For Water!

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Don’t Wash Your Chicken, quotes recent headlines from around the nation. These headlines cite the many health risks associated with spreading bacteria all over the kitchen as a result of washing your chicken at home in the kitchen sink.

For years, famous cooks from Julia Child to Martha Stewart have recommended washing your poultry, prior to cooking it, and cookbooks from around the world have repeated this advice.

Recent research from Drexler University in Pennsylvania, coupled with research from New Mexico State University, has suggested that chicken washing can actually result in germs being spread all over the kitchen. Germs are often spread from sink, to counter top, to cheese, to produce and then on to the washer’s t-shirt or clothing spreading deadly germs, and greatly increasing the risk of poultry born illness and disease for the family in the home. A new video was even made and a campaign was begun on the popular National Public Radio show, Salt, teaching the evils of chicken washing.

As honest as these researchers are, and as well-intentioned as the folks at National Public Radio are, they are only telling part of the truth. Only part of the truth you ask?

What’s the rest of the story?

The truth is, most chicken, fish, pork, and beef that is bought from the local store is often covered in bacteria, with chicken being the worst offender. That’s right folks, fowl is often, well, foul! Never fear, there is light at the end of the tunnel though. There is a way to safely wash your poultry and to sanitize it from the bacteria, while, increasing freshness and extending shelf life dramatically.

What’s more, it is inexpensive to do, and by increasing shelf life, it can end up saving the average family a ton of cash over the course of a year from decreased spoilage. What is this new technology? It is actually a very old technology discovered in 1840 and put into widespread use in Europe around 1900. The technology is ozonating water and using it to wash the meat. Using an ozone generator to ozonate water in your kitchen sink you can safely treat chicken, pork, beef, fish or vegetables at home. Using an ozone generator or an ozone machine you can safely kill e coli, kill salmonella, kill campylobacter and kill other common germs safely and effectively.

Ozone is effective in killing microorganisms because it oxidizes their cell membranes. In fact, ozone is more effective at killing a wider variety of germs and pathogens than chlorine. Unlike many other sanitizing agents, ozone contributes no negative environmental impact, because it quickly and easily degrades into simple pure oxygen.

Ozone For Water: Although its use is relatively recent in the United States, ozone and its oxidizing properties were first discovered as early as 1840. By the early 1900’s, France was using ozone to disinfect drinking water, and soon spread to the rest of Europe. Ozone continues to be used in water treatment in both small and large applications. It eliminates germs, heavy metals, and even eliminates fluoride. Because using ozone increases the oxygen levels, many people drink ozonated water for health and wellness.

Ozone for meat: In Europe, ozonation in food processing began taking place shortly after it was first used for water treatment, at the turn of the last century. Only with recent regulatory rulings, has the stage been set for ozonation to make inroads into the U.S. food industry, where adoption of the technology has been slower.   In 1996, the USDA approved the use of ozonated water for washing poultry carcasses, in 1997,the United States affirmed ozone as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

Fruits and vegetables: Ozone bubbled through water disperses the ozone molecules throughout. This ozonated water can then be used for washing berries, fruits, and vegetables. Controlled studies prove ozonated water actually provides greater than 90% reduction of total bacterial counts for fruits and vegetables. Ozonating water kills germs, kills fungi, and kills mold as well as, subsequently, reducing fungal decay, making meats, fruits, and vegetables safer to eat and makes them last longer.

Ozone offers the family another tool in the ongoing food-safety quest. At the same time, it does so in a more environmentally friendly way than many other sanitizing agents. With the spread of germs and disease on the rise,  more families should give ozonation a try.

Not only can you safely wash: chicken, meats, fruits, and vegetables, you can oxygenate the water you drink too. Beware of poor quality cheap chinese-made machines, they often use a diaphragm actuated pump which will quickly wear out after a short time. Ozone generators for fruits, veggies, meat and olive oil are available from companies that make them here in the USA, make sure the one you use employs a heavy-duty piston pump not a cheap diaphragm pump.

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Source by Charles Boday

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Story On Legwear

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People generally look at the face first. The second is the shoes and exactly next to the shoes what one observes are the socks, the safeguards of the feet, which prevent the feet from rubbing against the shoes, give the feet a tender feeling and add some style element in ones attire. As fashion has become more individualistic, every product that gives the look and reflects personality has drawn the attention of designers and fashion experts. From hat to legwear, every item worn by a person adds to the overall persona and appeal. In this varied scenario of dressing, every part of the attire has gained a makeover… legwear being the latest. Now various designing looks are given to the pair of clothing so that they have their own importance inside the clothing.

Knitted hose have been a part of clothing for the past 1,000 years. At the outset it was worn by men and not women. The first stocking knitted on a circular machine was made in 1589. The market has improved since then. The first nylon stocking was made in 1938 and the first tights were made in 1966. Over the years stockings have become less popular and, most recently, knee-highs and ankle-highs have become more popular because women now wear more of trousers rather than skirts.

Nowadays, the use of legwear increases with each season. With the introduction of design aspects in the legwear category and the aim of making one such product changing, the legwear production industry is experiencing a huge demand in the summer time too. Hot Sox, DKNY, Givenchy- licensed by JET, American Essentials- the licensee for Calvin Klein and Michael Kors, Leg Resource Inc., Infinity Classics International etc., are a few products that satisfy the demand of designer legwear. Many departmental stores have special hosiery departments that keep the best brands. Designers like Anna Sui, Marc Jacobs and Dolce Gabbana make legwear collections more appealing.

With many aspects of a jigsaw, the new collection offered on the shelves range from elegant classic and natural appeals to fascinating flamboyant styles. The new legwear styles take into consideration the several demands of the present trend and show off perfect style and beauty. The variety is so vast that legwear has appeared as a hip extension for designers to show their abilities. Since legwear is worn by everyone regardless of age, gender or profession, ¬ there are various designs that are made for each and every segment. The legwear market is gaining a specific space in the market, more so due to skirts and now dresses which have gained popularity as the hot fashion products. Legwear designers foresee a bright future for tights, sheers and socks.

Many producers across the globe are trying to renew particular styles in the legwear category in each and every season and market them for the season. Holiday- specific legwear that are aimed at holiday themes, patterns and designs specific only to the holiday season are now a thing of the past. Today, many legwear manufacturers target socks and sheers as they make a good gift due to its affordability and usefulness. The promotional market is another area where it is considered that legwear can solve the purpose.

Sheer with decorative backseams dotted with red flowers in both black or white or sheer red shapes and floral vine pattern are enormous. Sheer shapes are also being made with rhinestones: rhinestones decorate the backseams and are sprinkled on sheer black colour. Kayser-Roth Corporation in its HUE line, Fine Line Hosiery and The Randalman, NC Company are some of the companies that offer a design element to legwear. HUE came out with rhinestone backseams, tuxedo striped sheers in black or nude, lurex rib sheers, shimmer sheers in black, gold or silver; lace trim tulle thigh highs and stockings with built-in garters.

Traffic- stopping graphic prints, romantic openwork, textured legwear, solid opaque, school girl knee- highs, ladylike sheers and ribbed knits are a few of the latest vogue. Forecasted to hit the fashion field are knee-high socks that are anticipated to become one of the new fashion trends. Knee socks in bias plaids, classic argyles in both traditional and gloomy colours, contrast herringbone, heavy tweed styles, stripes and femme angora openwork are arrived in the market. Feature covers colour flecks, fur pom poms and embroidered stitching. In socks, surface attractiveness is vital with visible textures giving preference over patterns. Moretz has set up sock styles with a various tweed textures. Use of luxury blends with wools, angora and cashmere, and romantic affects continue to be the largest in ladies apparel, which provides another increment to the sale of tights and trousers.

In pink, white and black, there are various categories available with contrasting trim and seed stitching on the top of the feet with a flower around ankles. Tattoo sheer pantyhose, checkered thigh highs, cotton knee highs with bows, lycra mesh stockings, lace leggings, skulls and crossbones midcalves, fuzzy multi stripe, striped tigers, argyle clock, micro velour diamonds, shark bite 3D socks, rugby 3-striped, surprise rib and branches tights are a few sets that perform the genesis of designing element spotted on the ‘essentials’, as accepted by today’s generation. The persistence of beadwork, embroidery and crochet in apparel and accessories compliment the net/ crochet designs and opaque textures used in a sizable way in legwear. Opaques (dark and ribbed) and cable knit tights, men’swear patterns and footless tights are anticipated to have a huge market share.

For many producers, collection of fashion tights covers bold plaid opaques, textured tights in leopard, houndstooth and herringbone, antique openwork, crochet and nets and colourful, crazy tights motivated by Pucci’s graphic designs. Fine Line Hosiery offers many plated tights in diamond, floral heather patterns and ribs. The beauty of legwear is further enhanced with the use of colours in the perfect mix. Browns command the colour palette along with affluent burgundies, warm greens, gold and robust tones. Attractive palettes of blue cover turquoise and teal. Inky blues offer a sophisticated casual look with a laid-back attitude that matches the best with denim wear and offer a break from the khaki family. Colours of inky blues include Rio, Wonder Blue and Midnight. Metallics have become the new mortals.

The new transparent lines of curved hosiery from Hanes are available in many flesh tones that are transparent enough to facilitate consumers to harmonize their skin tones with superior support. Captivating its influence from movement in the beauty industry, which is blowing up with products meant to offer a tanned, shining effect to the legs, Hanes also deals with Sheer Radiance, a line of edge that offers a slightly tanned and shining look to the leg. Leg Resource Inc., which makes legwear for Anne Klein and Via Spiga, among others, is all about facets with zigzags, curlicue motifs and sewn-on lace. Items from Infinity Classics International, a Brooklyn-based producer and marketer of hosiery for Italian line Levante and British import Jonathan Aston cover ultrasheers and sheers; opaques in chevron, spiral or diamond patterns and fishnets in mini and maxi weaves. Silhouettes include a regular growth or an unusual low-rise ‘hipster’ cut.

The legwear market covers only a small fraction of the total apparel business, the US imported legwear worth $ 1.24 billion in 2004. Canada imported $ 120 billion while EU imported Euro 2.66 billion, a 21 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent increment, correspondingly over the previous year. Though, India could raise its share only in the EU market from 1.39 per cent to 1.47 per cent.

US market of legwear

US import of legwear boosted by 20 per cent in 2004

Legwear, including hose, pantyhose, tights, socks, stockings and other hosiery products and a necessary apparel items are quite popular world over. The US imported such items worth $1.1 billion in 2003. The imports rose by about 20 per cent to reach $ 1.3 billion in 2004. Legwear imports add just 2 per cent to total import valued at $ 65 billion of apparel into the US.

Stockings and Tights – UK market

Today’s hosiery market is divided between sales of tights (84%), stockings (3%), hold-ups (4%) and knee-highs (9%).

In 2004 the fine hosiery market was about £250 million; with more than half a million pairs of tights, stockings and hold ups being purchased every day. Legwear is the most regularly purchased item of clothing with women purchasing on average of ten pairs a year. The average price of a pair of tights in 2004 was £1.19; though. In UK Pretty Polly, Elbeo Levante etc are the leader in tights and stockings.

India’s legwear market in the EU’s perception

For legwear in the EU market, China with a contribution of 1.5 per cent was better than India and all others in the Indian subcontinent. Though, legwear imports from China in the year 2003 decreased in value terms by over 4 per cent despite a raise of about 13 per cent in volume terms. Here again, Pakistan with a contribution of over 1 per cent was at number two position and imports of legwear from Pakistan raised by over 46 per cent in the year 2003 as against 2002. Among China and other competitors in the sub-continent, India gained number three position with making 0.55 per cent contribution to the legwear market in the EU. In 2003, import of legwear from India rose by about 13 per cent.

EU a large market for legwear

The market for legwear in the EU is quite larger than the US. The EU imported legwear worth Euro 2.66 billion in 2003, increased by 3.6 per cent from Euro 2.57 billion in 2002. Legwear imports add to the total apparel imports valued at about Euro 83 billion of the EU to the size of 3.2 per cent.

Over the last two years, the business from India has increased significantly. Many producers have got a growth of almost 40-50 percent in their business. Experts believe that the export market of India will keep up provided the manufacturer can produce the products with latest trends with other yarns that are no longer restricted to any particular weather, besides cotton legwear. Though in cotton legwear still manufacturers have to move fast to sustain in a long run.

India has colourful presentation for buyers in Legwear – Cotton still well demanded

Europe is a larger market as compared to the US in legwear with advancement in blends and designs. Though, India has only a 0.5 per cent of share of legwear worldwide with its strong existence in the cotton socks segment.

The US imported legwear amounted to $ 1.3 billion in 2004, while EU imported Euro 2.66 billion worth in 2003. In the subsequent periods, Indian exports raised by about 13 per cent to the US and 38 per cent to the EU in that order. The total quantities exported in legwear from India to the US and the EU accounted to 21.32 per cent and 94.44 per cent respectively, which were cotton legwear. With increased incursion of Asian countries, mostly China, the US Socks Industry is susceptible to rising imports. US manufacturing plus outward processing of socks decreased 13.2 per cent from 2001 to 2003.

Though China escorts offensively with new machines pursued by innovations in yarn, compositions and blends, India has begun building a strong existence with huge exporters investing in socks production and the traditional exporters aiming at expansion. Even foreign investors are peeping at India as a feasible manufacturing hub with application of a variety of yarn blends though cotton remains the key potential.

Colour, prints and new designs were the most accepted legwear fashion for 2005. As many fashion accessories are used in various designs and styles, likewise legwear also has a preference with various designs and looks with many interesting styles. Plains, plating, ribs, links, sports terry, anklet, various motifs are some of the regular designs made from India under the legwear category for both the domestic and the export market. From black to pastel to light colours, there is no substantial variation in the types that Indian producers are offering to both the markets. Besides the stylish and gentle like hosiery, novelty yarns like Lurex in soft colours, short shorties and knee high with delicate embroidery combined with appliqués have made the legwear more trendy and stylish.

At the end of the quota regime, Delta Galil Industries, a foremost producer of intimate clothing, supplying to brands like Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Nike and Ralph Lauren, started a $5 million socks factory in Silvassa in the Union Territory of Daman, Dadra & Nagarhaveli (INDIA). The factory will use over 200 looms plus specific finishing equipment to satisfy a target of one million pairs of socks per month. The company considers that the factory’s production will make $ 15 million with buyers in Europe and the US once it is fully operational. The company penetrated the Indian zone in an attempt to locate low-priced production locations to increase its competitiveness with an objective to develop business.

While this company from Israel observed business benefits in India and entered all the way post quota, Trend Setters, a famous name in garment export from India already has a devoted 100 per cent export production socks unit since 1999. TSI Industries Pvt Ltd, Faridabad, makes cotton, nylon and cotton blended legwear with elastane for kids, ladies and men’s category.

However, since the technology needed to produce ladies leggings is not available in India, the company ventured into cotton lycra leggings apart from its usual products. The total production capacity of the unit is 800 dozen pairs of socks per day. The company functions generally on the design patterns, colours and packaging offered by its buyers. With good output the company intends to put in Matec machines by 2006 to increase production and ranges.

In starting period of time, India made the export as well as the import market with only 100 per cent cotton items. It has also slowly started for other yarn compositions and blends. Some of the new compositions cover polyester, acrylic, wool, nylon, polypropelene and polyester viscose with a maximum of 5 per cent of spandex. Besides others, polypropelene is used only for the domestic market. Other yarn categories are intended both for domestic as well as export purposes. As other fashion accessories are offered in various designs and styles, likewise legwear has left the plain look behind and brought forth various appealing styles.

With a manufacturing capacity of 10,000 per/day, a New Delhi-based exporter of socks, Olympic Overseas Private Limited, produces socks for ladies and gents, as well as stockings. Apart form the common yarn types like cotton and nylon, the company even uses polyester viscose for both the domestic and the international market. The Rs 1.5 crores company supplies to France, UK, Germany and Belgium, working with importers and wholesalers like Benjamin SA, a key importer from France. Olympic Overseas offers only socks. They make stockings for the domestic market but not for international business. According to industry experts International demand for stockings is for fine quality yarn in which India is not that strong. Overseas has offers ‘arguile’ designs (shapes like diamond, rhombus, and triangle) and customized legwear in nearly 20 different styles. There are four set and size of legwear which they offer; the ankle length; the normal size that is 5-6″ above the ankle; then comes the long set that is immediately below the knees and finally stockings. In the international market, long socks are offered in the size of 1″ above the knee.

V. V. Hosiery is another Delhi-based legwear company of Rs 5 crore conglomerate, selling products under the brand name ASTRA. It mainly concentrates on ribs, links, sports terry, anklet and cutter motif styles. In addition to socks for gents, ladies and children, the company also exports stockings to various countries. It generally uses cotton and polypropelene. With a production capacity of 10,000 pairs per day, out of which 50 per cent is exported, the company has recently set up the export business of socks through importers in Dubai. Another hosiery producer who makes socks on demand is Office International Inc., the Tirupur based producer who focuses on children’s winter socks made of cotton with embroidery and prints.

A Mumbai-based trading house, Lee-On Impex exports sports socks for gents to Indian exporters like East Asia Trading and players from Kuwait and Australia. White is the most popular colour preference for the category which they are working for. Dark colours are used for striping. The conglomerate supplies on an average 2,000 pairs of sports socks per day. In gent’s legwear, navy blue, brown, black, light grey, dark grey, white, olive and green are the most popular colours which are in demand. With these shades, other frequent light colours are used for ladies legwear. School socks for children are patterned by shades of white, grey, navy blue and maroon. Pastel and baby colours like pink and rose are the preferred colour combinations in fancy socks.

New products for Winter 05 were remarkable. Many producers have created socks with air passages for Autumn Winter 05. Olympic Overseas has exported their usual products with specialized designs and looks for the season. Seamless stitching on toe, pre-shrinkage and softening finishes and antibacterial treatments were also well demanded in the season.

Fishnet stockings, fishnet thigh highs and micro-net are fashions in the stockings’ market. Generally, nets provide airy comfort to the legs. In addition, a unique type of remedy like beading and ruffling, the international trend for legwear, includes some shoe treatments into legwear like gel bottoms to offer socks more of an athletic appeal. Attractive floral designs are ample in ladies’ legwear. Many international companies who have arrived with these trends are Kayser-Roth Corp., Soxland International Inc, Levante, Hot Soz and Wolford, among others.

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Source by Gaurav Doshi

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London Wasps Rugby Team – A Brief History

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London Wasps were formed 1867 and turned professional (along with many other clubs) in 1999 and compete at Rugby Union. Wasps have enjoyed tremendous success over the years and have a large following of dedicated fans.

Wasps play their home games at Adams Park but have previously ran out in front of crowds at Finchley Road and Loftus Road. Since turning professional they have also played some of their games away from their home ground in locations including the Ricoh Arena in Coventry and Twickenham, the home of English rugby.

In recent years they have won many of the major honours available to RFU teams, including the Heineken Cup, the English championship and the Powergen Cup. They continue to be a major force in the RFU and consistently provide the English national side with some its best players.

Recent heroes include Phil Vickery, Danny Cipriani and Paul Sackey. However, the best and perhaps most decorated player that Wasps have if former England captain and World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio who has been a massive influence on their success, as well as becoming one of the few real household names in rugby.

The Wasps rugby shirts and black with yellow trim for the home jerseys and yellow with black trim for the change kit. These colours have never changed in their entire history, meaning that the Wasps kits are a strong and traditional rugby image.

Undoubtedly Wasps are one of the strongest names in British rugby and with the big names associated with the club, nobody would be surprised to see this continue for long into the future.

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Source by Thomas Baugh

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Antique Victorian Furniture – Getting to Know Rococo

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Serious collectors and dealers of antique Victorian furniture are inevitably familiar with the Rococo style of design. The furniture style of Victorian Rococo, sometimes referred to as Victorian Louis XV or Louis Quinze, started gaining its enormous popularity in England during the 1840s.

Rococo style in general, which went well beyond furniture into architecture, painting and other forms of art, originated in France during the previous century and spread from there to other parts of Europe. In England during the 18th century, Rococo was considered “French taste” and did not take hold as an architectural style. However, the incomparable Thomas Chippendale adapted and refined the style for furniture and brought about a transformation of design in English furniture. Some link the development of Rococo in England to the revived interest in Gothic architecture.

As it developed in the Victorian era of the 19th century, it is often called neo-Rococo or Rococo revival, since it was a style revived from the previous century. In furniture it became hugely popular and proved to be the longest lasting influence on the furniture design of the Victorian era. In the 1840s and especially in the decades to follow, almost every furniture manufacturer in England was making Rococo pieces.

The furniture was both visually appealing and comfortable. Carvings and scrolled lines were delicate but typically not overstated or overbearing. Characteristics of the furniture included curved legs, cartouche backs with scrolled rounded contours, and carvings of flowers, leaves, grapes and birds.

The naturalistic carvings are a predominant feature, and anyone who gets involved with the furniture of this era becomes intimately familiar with them. I just recently saw a Rococo sofa that had birds and a birds’ nest filled with eggs carved into its gorgeous wooden frame. Like Victorian literature, this may not be for everybody. But for those of us who are taken by it, there’s no explaining our admiration.

The makers of the furniture bent and shaped the wood. Favored woods included mahogany and rosewood. Side chairs were prevalent, and antique Victorian furniture collectors today who are looking in particular for Victorian chairs consider Rococo side chairs to be among the most desirable — attractive, comfortable, and collectible.

Sofas were of various lengths. One popular style of sofa had a rounded medallion in the center of the back, with a carving at the top repeated on either side farther down the frame. Graceful love seats had upholstered wooden frames and were serpentine in shape with the characteristic natural carvings on the back and the arms. Also popular during the Victorian Rococo era were the upholstered husband and wife chairs. The husband chair had arms and a high back. The wife chair was a bit lower and armless.

A famous American cabinetmaker who worked in the Victorian Rococo style was John Henry Belter. Belter perfected lamination techniques and became famous for a number of design features, including his preference for rosewood, his foliage, fruit and flowers worked into the intricate details of his designs, his skill in bending wood into serpentine and rounded contours, and his beds with headboards that rose well above the height of the footboards. Belter’s shop was in New York City, but he shipped his work to all parts of the country. So keep your eye out for Belter’s exquisite work, no matter where you are.

Here’s a last bit of information. The word Rococo is a combination of the French word rocaille, which some translate as shell but also contains the sense of loose rock. It indicates the curve characteristic of Rococo style. The word also contains the Italian word barocco, which is our Baroque. The Baroque period was known for its intricacy and elaboration.

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Source by David Mehl

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Four Profit Levers in UK Property Investing

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Whenever you purchase a buy to let residential property for investment purposes, there are only four areas where you can make money which are commonly known as the profit levers. This article assumes that you are buying with a mortgage as most property investors do these days.

PROFIT LEVER 1 – DISCOUNT

Whenever you buy an investment property you should always aim to buy with a discount no matter how small as this will multiply many-fold over the term of your purchase when in conjunction with profit levers 3 and 4 below.

But it is important that when you do your research on your potential purchase, the numbers stack up even without the discount as you should not rely on the discount you might achieve to bring the purchase into a positive position.

Also, you should do your own diligence on comparable properties to ensure that any discount achieved is real and is no due to the price being inflated artificially to enable discount.

PROFIT LEVER 2 – RENTAL INCOME

The monthly rental income is the bread and butter of every property investor and is the gift that keeps giving. This is the money that pays all the bills for the property and the balance, after meeting the bills and putting your contingency into a separate account for rainy day issues, is your profit and can be used as wages for you or saved for future investments.

With rental income, it is important to ensure that you are knowledgeable about the local market rents and to ensure that each year you raise the rent by between 3-5% to keep you in a position to enable future remortgaging of the property

PROFIT LEVER 3 – REFINANCING

Every 2-4 years, you need to look to remortgage your investment properties with a view to releasing a lump sum income from the additional equity generated on your property.

This is achieved as the UK property market grows steadily and the value of a property doubles, on average, every 8-10 years so you are looking at an annual year on year rise of around 8% so after a few years, you can see a significant growth in your property equity.

By drawing out this equity on a regular basis, you receive a tax-free sum which can be used to but other income producing assets like more houses and investments or to use some, or all, of it to treat yourself!

PROFIT LEVER 4 – EQUITY GROWTH

As mentioned above, with the growth in the UK property market, a typical residential property will double in value, thanks to compounding, in around nine years. The equity of 25% that was held initially in the property is retained even with the refinancing activities that will have been carried out.

For a property initially purchased at, say, £100k, there will have been £25k deposit as initial equity equivalent to 25% of the purchase price left in the deal so with the growth in value of the property, this initial 25% will still remain as the equity portion of the growth, but will have also doubled in value to £50k although this money can only be recovered on the sale of the property and would be subject to taxation.

These are therefore the four areas where profit can be achieved on each and every investment property you buy so when you are doing your due diligence, always do your calculations based on these areas of profit.

Remember – you make your money when you BUY a property, not sell it!

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Source by Dave P Thomas

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The Importance of Running Efficient Events

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In the current economic climate, it’s vital that event managers work as efficiently as possible. Managing successful events is a time consuming and complicated process. It can take many years of training and on the job experience for an event manager to become extremely effective at what they do.

One of the issues event managers face is the vast number of activities and processes that are involved in planning and running events. Having the ability to multi-task and being well organised are traits that event managers need to develop and hone as they gain experience in the field.

The benefits of working efficiency are basic:

· Time savings

· Cost savings

· Improved event performance

Drilling down into these areas we can see the details of how and where the efficiency gains can be made:

Saves Time:

It’s important that the event manager has clear and efficient processes they adhere to when running events. Creating processes that others can follow also means that other team members can assist or take over the management of an event with ease. Team members are able to understand quickly what stage of planning the event is at; cutting down on meetings and training sessions.

Many event managers will create and update their processes with each event; learning from their experiences to make the process of managing each event more effective and efficient. Having a set procedure that is written down means the events can be planned and managed far easier – important areas are never missed out and realistic timescales can be easily produced. Having dedicated processes saves time because event managers do not need to create plans from scratch for each event. They can replicate each event process again and again, building on in and improving it with each event.

Being efficient in the event planning process also helps with event analysis. This includes analysing the performance of suppliers – knowing who has been used in the past to supply goods and services and having details of the relationship can help analyse if this relationship is working at maximum efficiency. It’s vital to understand if suppliers standard are falling, and this can only be done if the event manager is working efficiently and monitoring the relationship with each event. It is hugely beneficial for event mangers to be able to use the same suppliers over and over again – sourcing new suppliers is an extremely time consuming process. Additionally having suppliers that let you down can be a huge drain on time as event managers try to resolve the issue at the last minute. So understanding and staying on top of existing supplier relationships is a vital part of efficient event management.

Post event, it’s important for event mangers to be able to quickly and efficiently get management information on that event to analyse the success of that event; was there an increase in delegate attendance, did delegates rate the event highly, did you get a good return on investment (ROI) etc. These are important event metrics that must be analysed quickly and efficiently. A common issue event managers have is that they are so busy planning multiple events, that they do not have time for this important event analysis stage. However, it is only by analysing events that you can help to improve the performance of future events.

Saves Costs

The common phrase ‘time is money’ is extremely applicable in event management. Having an event manager who is efficient at their job, who understands and follows best practice event management processes and who has good relationships with efficient suppliers is a vital part of generating a high and fast ROI. Poor event managers can cost an organisation huge amounts of money through their poor efficiency and organisation.

Working with suppliers and building good relationships can also save money – the better the relationship, the more likely that supplier discounts will be involved. Running efficient events also means paying your suppliers on time – a vital part of gaining supplier discounts and bonuses.

An ineffective event manager will cost an organisation through the mistakes they make. Doubling up on orders, missing vital parts of the process and other mistakes can be costly in terms of the time it takes to resolve, but also through being forced to purchase items at the last minute.

Improved Event Performance

Being able to efficiently run events also has an impact on the performance of the event. Delegates will have an improved experience if it runs smoothly and without errors. Being efficient ensures that delegates have an enjoyable and error free journey – from the point of booking, to payment, registration on the day, experiencing the event and providing feedback.

Events with efficiency issues are likely to be poorly managed, with errors and mistakes causing delegates to have unsatisfactory experiences. Ensuring that you provide the best possible experience for delegates is vital for the success of future events.

Increasing delegate attendance is something many organisations struggle with, and if an organisation has issues over its reputation, due to their inefficiency, that will have a knock on effect on future registrations. A key part of successful events is building up reputation in the industry and generating a long list of loyal, repeat purchase delegates.

Finally, being an efficient event manager also means that they are able to organise more than one event at a time. For companies that are based solely around event organisation, or for companies that just happen to host many events, this is a vital part of the management process. Managers must be able to successful organise the planning and running of multiple events and this can only be done if they are working to best practice, efficient processes.

Improving Event Efficiency

Event managers can help to improve the efficiency of their working practices by making use of event management software. Event software is able to take best practice processes and automate and manage them from one central platform. Removing inefficient spreadsheets from the process and working on a software solution designed specifically for event management had proven to have huge cost and time saving benefits.

Event management software solutions are able to manage all areas of event planning from:

– Website Integration

– Online Registration

– Communication

– E-Invite

– Email

– E-Survey

– Badge Production

– Resource Management

– Management of Financials

– Reporting and Analysis

With the industry being hit with rising costs and lower delegate attendance, it’s vital that companies organising events fight back by being as efficient as possible and continually improving their processes. It is the companies that tackle efficiency issues head on, and employ the use of technology who will ensure their events are successful now and in the future.

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Source by Sarah Beale

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Are You Looking For Some Great Ideas For Small Kitchen Designs?

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Retro Kitchen Designs May Be The Answer You’re Looking For

Are you a fan of the retro look? Do you love the look of whites and reds combined with metal that takes you back to the 1950s every time you see it? Do you have a smaller kitchen and are trying to figure out what to do with it?

If so, you might want to consider exploring some amazing retro kitchen designs that perfectly complement a smaller space. In fact, if you like the retro look, having a smaller kitchen is the ideal situation for creating a unique kitchen with an older vibe.

Enjoying the Retro Look

The retro look has long been popular among homeowners that are interested in creating a sense of nostalgia while making their kitchen look truly unique. In an age where many homeowners are choosing to create kitchens with a contemporary look, going retro is the perfect way to make a kitchen stand out. But, what should be included in retro kitchen designs and how can the look be created while still providing the homeowner with modern conveniences?

Luckily, there are appliances available that have been specifically built with a retro look while still utilizing modern technological advances. In addition, these items are often perfect for small kitchen designs because they do not take up a great deal of space and are the ideal complement to a smaller, cozier space.

With a little creative use of color and decorative elements, you can enjoy a retro kitchen that is a cinch to enjoy. You can even purchase energy efficient refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers that offer the retro look while still helping you reduce your carbon footprint and save on energy bills.

Making the Most of a Small Space

While a smaller kitchen lends itself perfectly to a retro look, it is still important to create small kitchen designs that make the most efficient use of available space. To that end, some elements that can be incorporated into retro kitchen designs while still using your space wisely include…

* Space-saver cabinets that make the most efficient use of the space inside the cabinet
* Keeping counter space clear by including cabinets or appliance garages specifically for storing your appliances
* Letting in natural light as much as possible and using creative lighting to help the space appear larger

The bottom line is that you can create the retro look without having to experience the cramped workspace our mothers and grandmothers had to contend with. By making some smart design choices, you can truly have the retro look without having the uncomfortable retro feel.

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Source by James J. Mahoney

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Pros & Cons of UV Hoods

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Taking steps to be more environmentally friendly has become important to more Americans in recent years, and the green movement has reached nearly every industry.

But when it comes to commercial kitchen exhaust hoods, more environmentally friendly options aren’t ideal for every commercial kitchen, and in some cases they aren’t yet cost effective.

When manufacturers of ultraviolet hood systems touted environmental friendliness, cost effectiveness and reduced cleaning costs, he decided to research the issue further.

UV hood systems have been used in Europe since 1998 and in the U.S. since 2000.

UV Systems- How They Work

Oils and greases used in restaurant cooking processes collect over time in traditional kitchen exhaust fans, hoods and ducts. When these parts of the hood system aren’t cleaned on a regular basis, these cooking materials pose a fire hazard.

UV hood system manufacturers claim that their systems provide a cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cleaning methods because they are equipped with a series of removable grease-particulate extractors, Carter stated in his article.

Other benefits of the UV hood systems:

o No special installation costs or requirements.

o Equipped with self-monitoring capability for fan operation and lamps.

o Does not require wash down.

o Uses less than 300 watts of light for every seven feet of hood.

o Identical maintenance requirements to standard baffle filter hoods, and the filters can be cleaned in a dishwasher when needed.

o Grease is prevented from collecting in ductwork, which helps keep the duct system and exhaust fan clean.

Myths Busted

But for some of these claims, the field realities are different. Commercial hood comapnies believe that routine maintenance costs are more expensive.

UV hood systems require less maintenance than traditional hood systems, according to manufacturers. Where traditional hood systems may need cleaning four times each year, UV systems can be cleaned twice a year. However, the cleaning and maintenance they require is more involved and technical than that of its traditional counterparts. UV systems require servicing by technicians who have been specially trained by the UV hood manufacturers. These technicians must possess specific knowledge on how to arm and disarm the system and how to dismantle and clean the extractors filtering system.

They also disagrees with manufacturer claims that maintenance of these systems is more economical.

They have spoken with manufacturer reps and to the best of their knowledge, the maintenance costs of these systems can be as much as four times the cost of maintaining traditional hood systems.

And although the manufacturers recommend UV hood systems for widespread applications, they aren’t for everyone.

Hood cleaning companies don’t think they would be recommending the right thing to their customer if they said that they were a viable option for everyone because of the costs involved after installation. In my opinion, the product is good, but people should do their homework prior to purchasing the system.

-end-

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Source by Massoud Farazandeh

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Karaoke 101 – Everything You Need to Know About Karaoke

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Karaoke mania is sweeping the world! Have you taken your trip up to the stage yet to belt out your favorite song to those you know and love? If not, you might just find yourself on the singing end of your nearest karaoke system very soon! So what is this karaoke, anyway? What’s the buzz about the newest karaoke player? What do you need to know to be “in the know” about this latest craze? Here are some facts, figures, karaoke lingo, and trivia you may want to know.

Karaoke is a Japanese word, made up of abbreviations of two other Japanese words. “Kara” comes from the word “karappo”, meaning empty. “Oke” comes from the word “okesutura”, meaning orchestra. So “Karaoke” literally means empty orchestra. Karaoke players play the music of the songs, without the lead vocals. So empty orchestra means you get the music without the voices.

The first karaoke system was invented in the 1970’s in Kobe, Japan, by Daisuk Inoue, a musician. He leased his karaoke player for 100 yen, and Karaoke soon became the fun thing to do.

Unfortunately, he did not get a patent for his invention, and someone else went on to patent it under a different name, “Minus-One”. As you see, his Minus-One system didn’t catch on near as well as the catchy “Karaoke”, so Daisuk still got his claim to fame. Word of Daisuk’s new machine spread, and from Japan it has now become wildly popular all across Asia, Europe, and the USA.

Perhaps karaoke players are most popular of all in Finland. Finland holds several world Karaoke records. They have more karaoke bars per capita than any other place in the world. They hold the world record for the largest amount of people singing the same karaoke song at one time: 80,000 people! What song were they singing? Hard Rock Hallelujah! Finland also holds the world record for the longest round of non-stop Karaoke singing: 240 hours!

Imagine that! Now you can use your karaoke system to come up with new world records!

Karaoke Lingo:

What’s a new craze without it’s own specialized vocabulary to go with it? Here are some karaoke words to know:

Karaoke Player – this is the karaoke machine itself. It plays karaoke songs, or music without the words. The lyrics are shown on a monitor so people can still sing the song even if they don’t know the words.

Spinning Karaoke – this is cycling on stationary bicycles while singing karaoke. What a workout!

KJ – this is the Karaoke DJ. He runs the karaoke system, and gets everyone involved. He adjusts the karaoke player to alter the key or the pitch to better match the voice range of the singer, and adds some echo, so that everyone sounds more professional.

Kamikaze Karaoke – In Kamikaze Karaoke, the KJ will choose a pitch number for you, and you have to try to sing the song in that pitch.

Hitokara – means you must sing the song alone.

Karamovie – movie video clips where they leave out the voices

Health Benefits of Karaoke:

And here is great news – karaoke singing releases endorphins! Those are the “happy hormones” that make us feel good!

In addition, karaoke singing releases stress and tension, and helps exercise the lungs. So the next time you want to head off to your local karaoke bar, you can feel good about it!

Newest Types of Karaoke Player:

Now you can get Karaoke Ipods, Karaoke Cell Phones, and DVD Player/Karaoke System combos. China has a Karaoke car. Japan, and now spreading to other countries, has Karaoke Boxes – karaoke system/sound-insulated rooms.

Latest Karaoke News:

Jackie Chan will sing the opening song for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics – KARAOKE STYLE!

Go figure. Maybe there’s something to this karaoke after all. You should try it!

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Source by Christine Durham