Chic Adventures on Sales for Christmas and New Year 2009
Posted by in Uncategorized on December 17, 2009
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Eichler Homes Inc: the California Modern- Then and Now
Posted by in Uncategorized on December 14, 2009
Joseph Eichler was a California developer with a very particular, social vision. As millions of soldiers returned home from World War II, Joseph was determined to create a better living environment for the common man. He envisioned modern homes that incorporated various architecturally distinct elements that would appeal to the average family- and an average family income. When Eichler homes were first on the market, their average sale price was $12,000.
Eichler Homes, built over 11,000 homes in Northern California and three communities in Southern California, along with 3 homes in Chestnut Ridge NY. These homes came to be known as “Eichlers” and changed the California lifestyle.
The essence of the Eichler design was inspired by Joseph’s two year stay in a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. He wanted to bring some of similar features from that home, such as indoor-outdoor living, to the middle class. He wanted to build homes with that open, flowing, modern style of architecture.
In 1949, Joseph founded Eichler Homes, Inc. He first hired the Bay Area architecture firm of Anshen and Allen to create these affordable modern homes. The firm came up with houses that had an open plan, post and beam construction, whole walls of glass, and radiant heating. These were features you might have found in an expensive, custom-built home at the time, but certainly not in a house built for the masses. At the time, this would have been an insane concept to most developers, who would not have seen the sense and profit in hiring architects to design tract housing. But Eichler had ideas on how to make his vision a reality.
It was through careful refinement, that Eichler honed his manufacturing process. He was able to produce homes in a cost-efficient way. As in an assembly line process, he had parts constructed at a central location and then shipped to the building site. He also made use of standard building materials in a creative way.
Joseph Eichler was savvy to the dawning of a new age of post-war marketing in the 50’s. He launched a sophisticated and aggressive marketing campaign to introduce his homes to the American public. For the first time in advertising history, homes were featured alongside models, posing as homeowners- looking happy and perfect in an Eichler paradise. In today’s housing market we are inundated by such imagery. But up until then, architectural photography had been traditionally stark and cold. Eichler had his mind set on presenting these homes as fresh: warm, livable and desirable.
Eichler homes seemed destined to attract niche market. Despite his efforts to appeal to the masses, the homes were never popular on a wide scale. At the time they were built, they attracted an interesting subset of people– architects, engineers, designers and modern arts lovers. Although he did not get the mainstream popularity he was aiming for, Eichler garnered a slew of awards for his work: The Life Magazine Award of Merit in 1953; the National Association of Home Builders Award in 1954; Living Magazine Award in 1955; and the American Institute of Architecture Sunset Magazine Award in 1956, 1957 and 1959.
Today there is a great resurgence of interest in the Eichler home and an almost cult-like following by those who dwell in them. Eichler’s original design elements have withstood the test of time. Flat, low sloping roofs, open-plan living, the blurring of the lines between indoors and outdoors with atrium’s, window walls, skylights and sliding glass doors- these elements have an appealing and classic California modern character. And these are just a few of the features that make Eichler homes so very popular today. Classic Eichler materials have also come back into vogue: Radiant heating, cork floors, wood paneling and vinyl tile.
Of the 11,000 original Eichler’s built, many are in the San Francisco Bay Area: San Francisco, Sacramento, Marin County, the East Bay, San Mateo County, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and San Jose. The Southern California Eichler communities are in Orange, Thousand Oaks, and Granada Hills. Recently a decision by the National Park Service has placed two Palo Alto subdivisions on the National Register of Historic Places. The 243-house Greenmeadow tract, and the 63-house Green Gables enclave, are the first subdivisions ever to be placed on the register. Eichler homes, beyond the ongoing flux in housing trends, will now have permanent historic value.
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Alternative Investments: Arts & Antiques
Posted by in Uncategorized on December 11, 2009
While many people put their money into stocks and bonds, one way to enjoy growing your wealth is to get in on the alternative investments of art and antiques. Not only do you get to have fun of hunting for hidden gems, if you know what you are looking for, you can almost certainly sell your finds for a profit.
It’s all about timing – Investing in art and antiques sounds like it would require some elite knowledge, but this alternative investment isn’t that hard to get into. There are a variety of places to find these pieces. You can find them in auctions and antique shops, but if you purchase art and antiques this way, you may be paying a premium. How quickly are you hoping to make a profit? If you intend to hold onto the items for a decade and enjoy them in the meantime, you may be able to make a return on your investment. If you are hoping to sell them as soon as possible, however, it is very likely that you will only break even or even lose money on the deal.
Finding merchandise – Knowing where to look makes a huge difference in the alternative investments of art and antiques. If you have the time and the passion, start scanning flea markets and garage sales. It’s amazing what sorts of items appear in these venues for next to nothing. If you find a quality item, you can hold onto it or sell it immediately for a profit. Purchasing in this manner, however, requires a good deal of base knowledge. It may be best to specialize in one subsection of the market (such as furniture or pottery, for example), so that you can spot reproductions and damage in a specific type of item. Garage sales generally sell their items as-is, and while the seller may be on the up and up, they also may not know if their item is a fake.
Investing in modern art – Purchasing from known reputable sellers is a great idea, but again, you’re likely to pay top dollar for the item. One possible way to make a tremendous return is by investing in art. Finding modern art to purchase can be very risky. It’s hard to know what items will increase in value, how much, or when, but if you find the right artist, you can make a tremendous return on your money. If you have the cash and the desire to risk it, however, investing in modern art may be for you – especially if you’d like to enjoy the paintings in the meantime.
Finding alternative investments such as art and antiques can be a sound way to invest your money. By thinking through how much time and research it will take, as well as how quickly you can turn the investment around, you can find the best method for you. While many people enjoy the risk of investing, you can also add the pleasure of finding beautiful objects at a great price, making investing as much of a pleasure as a necessity.
Comments and questions are welcome, but because of the volume of email, personal responses are not always possible.
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Alternative Investments: Arts & Antiques
Posted by in Uncategorized on December 8, 2009
While many people put their money into stocks and bonds, one way to enjoy growing your wealth is to get in on the alternative investments of art and antiques. Not only do you get to have fun of hunting for hidden gems, if you know what you are looking for, you can almost certainly sell your finds for a profit.
It’s all about timing – Investing in art and antiques sounds like it would require some elite knowledge, but this alternative investment isn’t that hard to get into. There are a variety of places to find these pieces. You can find them in auctions and antique shops, but if you purchase art and antiques this way, you may be paying a premium. How quickly are you hoping to make a profit? If you intend to hold onto the items for a decade and enjoy them in the meantime, you may be able to make a return on your investment. If you are hoping to sell them as soon as possible, however, it is very likely that you will only break even or even lose money on the deal.
Finding merchandise – Knowing where to look makes a huge difference in the alternative investments of art and antiques. If you have the time and the passion, start scanning flea markets and garage sales. It’s amazing what sorts of items appear in these venues for next to nothing. If you find a quality item, you can hold onto it or sell it immediately for a profit. Purchasing in this manner, however, requires a good deal of base knowledge. It may be best to specialize in one subsection of the market (such as furniture or pottery, for example), so that you can spot reproductions and damage in a specific type of item. Garage sales generally sell their items as-is, and while the seller may be on the up and up, they also may not know if their item is a fake.
Investing in modern art – Purchasing from known reputable sellers is a great idea, but again, you’re likely to pay top dollar for the item. One possible way to make a tremendous return is by investing in art. Finding modern art to purchase can be very risky. It’s hard to know what items will increase in value, how much, or when, but if you find the right artist, you can make a tremendous return on your money. If you have the cash and the desire to risk it, however, investing in modern art may be for you – especially if you’d like to enjoy the paintings in the meantime.
Finding alternative investments such as art and antiques can be a sound way to invest your money. By thinking through how much time and research it will take, as well as how quickly you can turn the investment around, you can find the best method for you. While many people enjoy the risk of investing, you can also add the pleasure of finding beautiful objects at a great price, making investing as much of a pleasure as a necessity.
Comments and questions are welcome, but because of the volume of email, personal responses are not always possible.
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India’s First International Art Fair
Posted by in Uncategorized on December 2, 2009
An astounding 10,000 art enthusiasts walked in to witness India’s First International Art Fair, India Art Summit™ 2008, firmly establishing it as a one stop destination for art in India. With an overwhelming mix of art collectors, artists, critics, curators, students and art enthusiasts from across India and overseas, the Summit achieved exactly what it set out to – making art, and the knowledge of art, accessible to a widespread audience. Commercially speaking, the fair clocked in a record sale of approximately 50%, with the 34 participating galleries selling over 280 artworks worth Rs.10 crores approximately. Given that the total value of the 550 artworks on display was approximately Rs. 20 crores, India Art Summit has emerged as one of the most successful first editions of any art fair across the world.
Contagious in it’s atmosphere, the enthusiasm of visitors could be gauged by the number of hours they spent at the fair, with some of them visiting it on all three days. Heartfelt discussions on art ensued between seasoned members of the art fraternity and fresh art enthusiasts, in all corners of the fair. Many veterans from the art fraternity made an appearance after a long time, to meet old acquaintances and friends and see the latest on offer. Works of upcoming artists were encouraged, appreciated and bought by many.
A sense of camaraderie could be felt between all participating galleries as they visited each others stalls and discussed the art industry in general. Almost every gallery exceeded their expectations in terms of the exposure and networking opportunities they had with seasoned collectors, first time buyers and art enthusiasts from across the world. Most galleries sold a sizeable portion of their displayed artworks and additionally received numerous bookings and commissions. Sculptures and installations sold almost as well as paintings, signalling a new trend.
The panel of speakers and choice of topics at the Art Forum also drew many accolades and was deemed as amongst one of the best such initiatives of its kind, internationally. Overall the discussions were adjudged to be frank, transparent and meaningful. All speakers and participants have evinced interest to come again next year and the Art Forum is slated to be much more inclusive from a global perspective in 2009.
Mr. Sunil Gautam, Managing Director, Hanmer MS&L commenting on the fair said, “It is great to see that India Art Summit has emerged as the most inclusive collaborative art platform in India in it’s very first year. We believe that this initiative is a step in the right direction to put India on the global art fair circuit.”
Mr. Philip Hoffman, Chief Executive, The Fine Art Fund said “The Indian market is very important in the global art scene and this fair is a major step. I can imagine this to be major fair in Asia competing alongside London, Miami and Basel in the next 5-10 years. The sales results of the fair seemed very impressive by comparison to other fairs in their first year.”
With all eyes now on India, event producers Hanmer MS&L, have announced plans to schedule India Art Summit 2009 between 19th – 22nd August’ 2009 in New Delhi. Next year, the fair is proposed to be over three times bigger and applications are already pouring in from across India and world. While in the first year, the focus was largely on Indian art and Indian galleries, the second year will see participation from galleries across the world showcasing a sizeable array of artworks from different parts of the world.
(India’s Modern and Contemporary Art Fair)
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Art of Quesstioning
Posted by in Uncategorized on November 29, 2009
A question may be either a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or else the request itself made by such an expression. This information is provided with an answer. The most important word in this definition is the “information”. Human have always tendency to seek information and this curiosity to gain the information was the main cause of human evolution. Evolution was not accident, human was destined to evolve. The most powerful thing that distinguish human from another creatures is the ‘consciousness”, or the ability to evaluate or ability to analyze or more subtle we say human’s ability to ask questions. From million years millions of humane have been asking millions of questions. Questions arise when people reflect on their lives and their world. Questions are part of almost all civilizations.
What is the art of questioning?
Questions are not only asked for information exchange, questions are asked also for introspection. The main purpose of questioning is learning and application of learning for improvement. We can call it way of learning and subsequently way of improvement. Thinking provides the conceptual tools for understanding how the mind functions in its pursuit of meaning; art of questioning employs those tools in framing questions essential to the pursuit of meaning. The main question comes here that why questioning is important in learning? Compare the mind with a huge library that contains millions of book shelfs and book shelf contains books. When we ask the question, mind creates a blank book shelf in the library and then we start to fill that book shelf with books since mind doesn’t like the blank book shelf. Again consider the mind as a big library; a right question will give you right information. Art of questioning is a technique to asked series of question in a structured way for improvement. Art of questioning contains different type of questioning techniques like open and close ended questioning, probing questioning, leading questioning, and rhetorical questioning that are used in different situations.
Art of questioning in literatures
If we see the all ancient great literatures we will come across that all contains the style of questing. These all literatures start with a question and ends with an answer. The very earliest religious writings in ancient India, the Vedas, which date from around 1500 BC, in a formal sense, are hymns to the gods, but as many scholars pointed out That style is dialectic, authors asks lot of questions and gratify them with the answer. One of the greatest intellectual heritages in Indian literature is “Upanishads’. Vedas are in ambiguous style but the intellectual knowledge of Vedas reaches at its extreme in’ Upanishads’. Upanishads were also written in question-answer style.
“This world is seen by eyes but who gives the power to eyes to see?” a one of the classic questions, asked in Upanishads or a way to teach about the absolute ?
Bhagawad Gita is considered the most intellectual literature in contemporized world. The style of Gita is also question-answer based. Arjun asks the question to Krishna and Krishna replies him but one of the most significant question that was underestimated by many scholars was the question asked by Dhritrasthra to Sanjay. Gita starts with a question, when Dhritrastra asks to Sanjay “What my son and Pandav’s sons are doing in the battleground”. If somebody reads Mahabharata thoroughly then he will find that this is the only instance when Dhrirrashtra makes distinction between his sons and Pandu’s sons apart from this he always use “my sons’ expression for Pandavs, here author wanted to convey that a seed of “Moh (attachment)” had formed in the mind of Dhritrashtra and at the end Arjun says my moh has been vanished. Again, a classic way to express through questioning how author used art of questing to express the message. Gita is not exceptional almost all great literatures used art of questing to express the message weather it was the tales of Vikram-Betal or The works of al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali and other Muslim logicians, or budhist philosophy or the work of Chinese philosophers Confucius, Mozi, “Master Mo”, that was credited with founding the Mohist school, whose canons dealt with issues relating to valid and invalid. The works of Greece writer Homer, written in the eighth century BC, contain mythic stories that use gods to explain the formation of the world by questioning-answering. When we thrash out the role of philosophers to develop the art of questioning the greatest name comes in mind the Greek philosopher Socrates.
Socrates Questioning
Socratic Questioning is disciplined questioning that can be used to pursue thought in many directions and for many purposes, including: to explore complex ideas, to get to the truth of things, to open up issues and problems, to uncover assumptions, to analyze concepts, to distinguish what we know from what we don’t know, and to follow out logical implications of thought. The key to distinguishing Socratic questioning from other questioning is that Socratic questioning is systematic, disciplined, and deep, and usually focuses on foundational concepts, principles, theories, issues, or problems. Socratic Questioning is often referred to in teaching, and has gained currency in as a concept in education particularly in the past two decades.
Socratic questioning illuminates the importance of questioning in learning (indeed Socrates himself thought that questioning was the only defensible form of teaching). It illuminates the difference between systematic and fragmented thinking. It teaches us to dig beneath the surface of our ideas. It teaches us the value of developing questioning minds in cultivating deep learning.
The art of Socratic questioning is intimately connected with critical thinking because the art of questioning is important to excellence of thought. What the word “Socratic” adds to the art of questioning is systematicity, depth, and an abiding interest in assessing the truth or plausibility of things.
Art of questioning in Management
Manufacturing
A prominent author in the area of manufacturing improvement advocates the use of Socratic questioning in resolving apparent contradictory requirements of a process. Eliyahu M. Goldratt and his series of books “The Goal” give a particular focus on how to use this method to avoid compromises that satisfy neither side in a situation of apparently contradictory needs. This use of the method is a key element in his Theory of Constraints. This book focus on a plant manager who is continuously passing through the anguish of under performance of plant and the he meets to a person and then that person teaches him how to run manufacturing plant efficiently but the most interesting part of that learning was that he never teach any lesson to plant manager he just ask questions on questions and force that plant manager to identify the constraints and then to remove that constraints
Process Improvement
Various quality tools were formed on the basis of questioning, Checklist, 5W1H, Why-Why analysis are some name to few, infect why-why analysis sheets has become the part of quality culture of many world class companies. The theame behind the why-why analysis is the any problem can be solved if we can find the root cause of that problem and we can find the root cause if we ask five times “Why” to that problem. Although the 5-Why problem solving technique has been popularized by the Japanese, this common-sense concept has been around for quite some time:.
Business Strategy
Peter Drucker is considerd the most prominent management thinker of the modern management world and his most important contribution to the management is his five classic questions. The five questions posed below come from Peter Drucker, one of Management’s top scholars and a prolific writer who when he died in 2005 at the age of 95, was still writing. Drucker maintained there are five questions you must answer before constructing a mission statement; they show up often in the business literature in different order and with different terms, but essentially he’s saying that you have to know who your customer is and how your business is going to meet their needs. These five questions are-
1. What is our business?
2. Who is our customer?
3. What is of value to customer?
4. What will our business be?
5. What shouls our business be?
Sales management
The questioning technique becomes two ways when it comes to sales management while in the other areas of management the purpose for questioning is introspection while in the sales it is used for information acquisition and negotiations. At the time of pursuing MBA, I learnt 10 skills of effective salesperson from my teacher and out of them first one was “Salesperson listen more and talk less and ask many questions”. Most people trying to sell talk too much. “They’re good talkers – they must be salespeople” or “all you need to be a salesperson is the gift of the gab” are often heard misnomers. If you are talking you are not listening! If you do not listen you will never find out enough information about the prospect.
THE FUNNEL TECHNIQUEThis is a questioning technique used by salespersons to keep “on track” as they guide the prospect towards service or product offering once they have uncovered the needs.The technique relies on you using the prospects own words back to them and you must take notes. You will need to remember what the prospect says both now and possibly well into the future so do not rely on your memorySTEPS OF THE FUNNEL TECHNIQUEThere are four steps to the technique but that does not necessarily mean that it will always be only four questions:1. Motivate – Reason for asking the questions2. Open neutral questions – to get non-specific, un-biased information3. Open leading questions – to get specific, biased information4. Summary and/or get commitment with closed questionsQuestioning using the funnel technique is one of the most powerful selling tools available today. The key to its success is to practice using it.
India Art Summit 2008 – India’s Modern and Contemporary Art Fair
Posted by in Uncategorized on November 23, 2009
Today, Indian art is greatly appreciated both internationally and within the country, annually growing at 30-35%. The current Rs.1500 crore art market has grown by nearly 485% in the last decade making it the fourth most buoyant art market in the world. Indian art has burgeoned into a mega-business at home and worldwide, with artworks fetching unbelievable prices, ranging from a few lacs to crores of rupees. The total auction market size of Indian art has changed from $5 million in 2003 — just five years back — to nearly $150 million this year. In the European circuit, Indian art is today commanding a value which is 300-400 % higher than what it was 4-5 years ago. Famous Indian artists like Tyeb Mehta’s work fetched a record of $1.58 million at a Christies’ auction in New York and F.N.Souza’s artwork was sold for $1.36 million at Sotheby’s auction in New York, breaking new price records in sales and auctions the world over. The overwhelming appreciation of Indian art is coupled with the ever increasing spending power of the high net worth individuals in India. According to the latest study by CapGemini – Merrill Lynch, India has the second-fastest growing HNI population in the world, growing at 20.25% p.a. The interest of this burgeoning HNI population of India as well as international players has led to the emergence of a full fledged industry around the arts, giving birth to a range of support businesses and huge investment opportunities. Today, for the first time in Indian art history, there is a Summit that pledges towards the development and business of art, bringing together all stakeholders to a common platform – India Art Summit™ 2008.
India Art Summit™ is a unique effort to bring together the Indian art community at a collaborative platform – the first of its kind. This has emerged as the first international fair of modern and contemporary art in India. The Summit recognizes the range of stakeholders supporting the business and development of art and invites participation from both India and overseas. The three day summit will attract leading artists, galleries, art funds & auction houses along with reputed commentators and art critics from across the world. India Art Summit™ is a pioneering initiative to help internationalize, organize, upgrade and regularize the art market in India by providing a common platform to engage and network with artists, art lovers, collectors & other industry associates. We believe that this platform will fortify lasting partnerships between the Indian artists’ community, art support businesses and the ever growing investor base in the country. Founded as an annual event property hosted in Delhi in year one, the Summit endeavors to enhance the cultural profile of a city that aspires to become a major centre for the global art market.Hopefully this Summit will pave the way for greater knowledge and access to Indian modern and contemporary art.
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Finding African American Art
Posted by in Uncategorized on November 20, 2009
If you’re looking add African American art to your home, you need to know where to find it.While it might seem like an easy task, finding prints or paintings that are authentic and high quality isn’t always simple. There are three main venues that you can use to find African American art, however, but each has its advantages and disadvantages. Here is what you need to know.
Galleries are the first place to go when you’re looking for authentic pieces that are displayed by the artists themselves. You can also find an assortment of up and coming artists that are showing their work, enabling you to find an African American art piece while it’s still new and not as valuable as it will become. You can find these galleries by looking in your local phone book or simply talk to the curator of your local modern art museum. By talking to the museum, you can get an inside scoop as to where this art can be found. The only downside to galleries is that they can be difficult to find at first, and the pieces of art can be very expensive. Sometimes, these pieces of art will not grow in value, so you are taking a risk when buying newer pieces.
With online stores, you can gain access to a number of great prints, paintings, and sculptures that are hand created or reproduced pieces of African American art. These pieces are sometimes easier to locate online as they can be found in mass numbers as well as through a number of retailers. You can also find a wide variety of styles and prices to fit your home and your budget. The main concern with buying art online is that some of the pieces may not be produced by who the seller says they are produced by – in other words, you can find some that are fakes. However, if you take the time to investigate the seller and determine whether or not they are reputable, you should have no problems with your purchase.
Another option that the internet provides for buying African American art is online auction sites. These sites tend to offer an easy way to find specific time periods of art as well as numerous pieces that are for sale at any given time. By allowing you to bid on the works, you will be able to set your price and your limitations on that price. These sites also offer safe payment options as well as options for larger ticket items. The main concern with these sites is also the authenticity of the pieces of art. Since you’re not always able to investigate the background of the seller, you may be spending a lot of money for something that isn’t the real thing.
Finding African American art has become easier in today’s age of the internet and many local galleries, but when you’re shopping, you need to be careful that what you’ve paid for is what you’re actually getting in return.
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