Furniture Stockholm: Find What You're Looking For From Scandinavian Modern To Feng-shui

Interest in furniture (möbler) and design has grown incredibly in Sweden recently and today are just as important as the clothes we wear in terms of how we express our personality. Similar to clothing fashion, Stockholm is at the leading edge of furniture and interior design (heminredning). And being one of the world's most modern cities there is something here for everyone, regardless of your style or your budget.

Furniturebox.se is a web-based company, which sells expensive furniture (möbler) pieces at lower prices. In central Stockholm they have a 500 sq meter store that offers high quality furniture and a real shopping experience. Bolia, with their New Scandinavian Design concept and handmade furniture is a must-see for anyone interested in design and handicraft. Bolia have a renowned design team and give young designers the chance to join them through the Bolia Design Award.

POM or Piece of Mind is a furniture company that starts to conceptualize by asking why products that should exist do not. They then manufacture to bring such products to life. Some of the big players in the Stockholm furniture business are: Stalands Furniture which features timeless designs, DUX beds, and Ekero Möbler.

Lanna Furniture have handpicked a new range after coming away from the recent furniture fair with their customers' opinions and wishlists. With Bromma Möbler you get good strong furniture from around the world and Carlssons Möbler offer great quality furniture from a family which has been in the furniture business for three generations. The company G.A.D. which originates from the island of Gotland also has a strong presence in Stockholm and offers custom furniture.

If you really love home furnishings you should be sure to get to the SoFo quarter of Stockholm. You will discover a thrilling assortment of thrift shops, sample outlets, items crafted with Feng-Shui in mind, and lots of traditional pieces from the middle of the 20th Century, which are extremely popular these days. Naturally, you'll also come across such famous names as IKEA, Mio and EM.

Last but not least, when discussing Stockholm furniture we must mention the Stockholm Furniture Fair, which is the biggest gathering for Scandinavian furniture lovers. Of particular note was the Greenhouse section where new designers and international design schools have the chance to show their work. Running in parallel with the fair is the Northern Light Fair which is Scandinavia's lighting exhibition. by Richard Guilfoyle

Why Malaysian Handicraft ?

Traditional handicraft and souvenir items in Malaysia extend beyond the ordinary key-chain and stationary to include items such as handmade coconutshell products, handicraft jewelry, hand woven mengkuang fans, tribal carrier bags, stylish pottery, shadow puppets, pewter, silverware, brassware, and fabrics of unique designs fashioned into handbags, slip-ons, sarongs, and beachware as well as a host of other decor pieces and functional household items.

To locate items that are truly'Made in Malaysia' simply look for specific objects that you may have heard of; the coconutshell jewelry, the batik sarong, the tribal bamboo blowpipe, the labu sayong gourd-shaped vessel, the fabled kris, the majestic Terengganu hand carved wooden panel, etc. Apart from being of high quality, they are also value for money bargains.

The prices of handicrafts are not standard but vary from one place to another.

Why Malaysian Handicraft ?

It's a simple question for every one because you can find billions of handicraft around the world. The statistic research of Malaysian government at 2003 reported that there were more than 500.000 variants of Malaysian handicraft produced by big factory or small home industry.

Malaysian handicraft is very famous around the world due their unique and classic style with fully art design on it. It is very good for your souvenir to be brought home or as a gift to your friends. There are some beautiful design of coconutshell, wood and stone that you can use in your house. All designed to meet your taste.

All kind of the Malaysian handicraft have their favorable style which they can sell. It's make the consumer must take the decision before buy the handicraft. Usually, before they choose the handicraft they survey some art shop or factory in Malaysia to get the best thing as they wish. by Hamiza Sukor

Exploring Bali Island

Bali is part of Indonesia country and is subject to Indonesian Laws. Bali is the island that located in 8 to 9 degress south of equator between Java Island in the West and Lombok Island in the East. From Java Island, Bali can be reached less than 30 minutes or only two kilometers. Flying time from Jakarta is about 1.5 hours, from Singapore is about 2.5 hours and from Australia is about 3 hours. Bali is the island that recognized as beautiful place, call with name The Gods Island. There are lush tropical forests, pristine crater lakes, fast flowing rivers and deep ravines, picturesque rice terraces, and fertile vegetable and fruit gardens. The beaches in the South consist of white sand, beaches in other parts of the island are covered with gray or black volcanic sand.

As island that located in tropical area, Bali given with many various tropical plant. You'll see huge banyan trees in villages and temple grounds, tamarind trees in the North, clove trees in the highlands, acacia trees, flame trees, and mangroves in the South. For flowers, you can find them in many location with many variety. You'll find jasmine, orchid, water lili and many frangipanies. You must knowing that frangipanies is the popular flower in Bali. They used as decoratins in temples and statues. Frangipanies are also used during prayers, for dancer crown decorations and even put in the ear. For wildlife, elephants and tigers don't exist anymore, they extincted since early this century. But there are so many activities in wildlife area. Bali have various species of monkeys, civets, deers and more than 300 species of birds.

Bali is place that combined the friendly people, uniqe culture, the natural attractions, the large variety of local lifestyle and more. Bali has a special characters of religi with mystic and magics. You can explore the cultural heritage start from the visible thing, there are over 20,000 temples and palaces with many colorful festifals and ceremonies. You can enjoyed the local drama, music and dance. You can find one of the uniqe ritual dance that call Kecak Dance. Kecak Dance is very impressive with its circular chorus of sometimes over 100 bare chested male singer. And for another attraction you will see Fire Dance, Ramayana Dance, Legong Dance and many more.

In Bali you can do more great activities. You can do the water sports like swimming, snorkeling, boat rides, water ski, surfing, and more. You can do all of that activities in Tanjung Benoa, Kuta Beach or Sanur Beach. If you bored with beach and water activities, you can change your destination tours. Now you must try the nature tour. There are Lake Batur in Kintamani village, the high location, is about 5,000 feet above the sea. Another places that you can visit is Besakih Temple that popular name is The "Mother Temple". You can visit to the Bedugul, Sangeh, Ulun Danu, Tana Lot and many more.

For handicraft you can visit the artisan villages of Batubulan for stone carving, Celuk for silver and gold jewelry, Mas with famous wood carving and Pengosekan for painting. You can also visit Art Market Sukowati and bargain for all kinds of handicraft and apparel. For the most art gallery, you can enjoyed Ubud, that growing with numerous art galleries and shop offering paintings, wood carvings, textiles and all kinds of souvenirs. by kilasberita.com

Manglam, a melange of crafts

What you see - A small cottage in Banjara Hills + lots of unique Indian handicraft items + delivery service even to foreign locations = 99.9 per cent foreign clientele. This may not be Math but it sure makes economic sense. Manglam, a handicraft boutique in the city does know the pulse of the expat and the NRI community. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise when Sunil Gupta, the owner of Manglam tells us that for him it is foreign clients all the way.

What you get - Now this shop is stuffed with show pieces everywhere. Enter the shop and on the right-hand side is a small room with lots and lots of show pieces. Most of these are Ganesha and Buddha figurines in various sizes. These are available in white metal, brass and even wood, a large number of which have been sourced from Jaipur and Jodhpur. Our pick from this section - The tiny Ganesha (in a relaxed posture) in white metal, available for Rs. 150 and the gramophone that costs Rs. 12,000.

Move a little beyond this section and you will have more show pieces to choose from. Ignore those (except for the carved marble elephants) and go for the painted Easter egg made of papier-mâché (Rs. 30-100) and the small book-cum-keychain made of hand-made paper (Rs. 100).

Walk up the stairs and you will come across more show pieces lined up on the steps. But what you should look for on the floors above, are the nice antique-looking furniture made of silver and white metal. These cost over a lakh of rupees. So if you have the money and the taste for things unique, this kind of furniture (especially the swing) is worth buying.

Now a large number of products here are from Kashmir, though there are several others from Jaipur, Banaras and other hinterlands as well. Check out the silk and woolen hand-woven carpets here. Apart from that do take a look at the Pashmina shawls, sarees, the huge Ravi Varma painting (imitation) and the wooden Jharokhas.

That's about the products. As far as the service is concerned, the staff is friendly. Now the sales executives may not look like they are the English-speaking kinds. But they sure are the smiling-kinds. And if you think that this may not work with foreigners, their Kashmiri manager, Pervez fills the gap. He can converse in English, has sufficiently good product knowledge and does bring a smile to your face.

Our verdict - This store is perfect for gift shopping - especially when it comes to Indian stuff. The only problem areas with this shop could be the lack of enough parking space (it's bang on the main road) and the high prices. But then again "high" is subjective, especially when it concerns the expat community. One suggestion that we have for Manglam - With the kind of audience that you are targeting, a website with online shopping facility would do wonders. It isn't too late to start. by Metromela

Cultural aura at Lepakshi - Furniture in Hyderabad

What you see - Moving into your brand new home and are looking for extraordinary ways to embellish it? Or scanning the city for an exclusive gift for your loved one? Well, then the Lepakshi Handicraft Showroom is surely the right place to head for.

The huge showroom (thankfully with ample parking space) has a lot to offer and seems to stock something for people of all ages and kinds. These include exclusive art works diligently crafted in metal, stone and wood, traditional paintings, toys, handlooms, jewelry, furniture and objects of daily use. The best part is that these exquisite products can be shipped to any part of the world. Also in the offing is online shopping.

When MetroMela visited it after a hectic drive, we were pleasantly surprised to hear soulful music. Our strained nerves were immediately soothed. The tastefully displayed items, in no time made us realize that our visit to the store was definitely worth our time.

What you get - With products from Delhi, Muradabad, Mysore, Kashmir, Gujarat and various districts of Andhra Pradesh, the handicrafts at Lepakshi reflect a mélange of different cultures and rich traditional forms.

The intricate and complex silver wire craft or Filigree, silver inlay work or Bidriware, embossed sheet metal ware from Pembarthi village in Andhra Pradesh, contemporary home utility objects in brass and copper, utensils made with linear patterns from Budithi village, metal craft from Dokra in West Bengal, bronze-cast and wood-carved figurines, vertical and horizontal panels apart from intricately carved pillars are worth a try, especially if you are doing up your house.

If you are looking for some exclusive gifts for family or corporate dos, do check out the stone and wood carvings, the attractive stone-studded lacquer works, banjara works, metal figurines, the colorful Etikoppaka and Kondapally toys, reasonably-priced Nirmal paintings and silver-coated articles. Based on the size and raw materials used in the making, the prices of these items range from Rs. 20 to a few lakhs.

The hand-woven dhurries and block-printed floor coverings from Warangal are also worth a look. The dhurries are available in various sizes. You could also place a new order if the existing sizes do not suit your needs. The handloom section of Lepakshi does not offer much choice though. There are just about a couple of fabric varieties. These include Mangalgiri and Narayanapet sarees and dress materials, along with tops and kurtis. These are reasonably priced (Rs. 130 onwards) but do not seem very appealing.

Lepakshi also has a huge furniture section in the basement stocking rose-wood and teak-wood furniture. Exquisite miniature temples (mandirs), sofa sets, almirahs, dining tables, rocking chairs, swings, beds etc are all available here. They also make furniture on order. The cost depends on the kind of wood you opt for and the design you choose.

Our verdict - With regard to the customer support at Lepakshi, MetroMela found the sales staff thorough with their facts and figures and very patient. This is in spite of us spending an hour and a half there. In fact, we believe that you may also have to spare an equal duration there if it turns out to be your first visit. Who knows, you may just get to discover the intricate skills of Indian artisans that seem to have got lost in oblivion. by Metromela

Georgian Interior Design - Traditional or Modern Elegance

Whether you have a Georgian period home, or just want a relaxed and elegant feel in your more modern home, a Georgian interior design style is bound to be top of your list.

Georgian design concentrates on simplicity, beauty and proportion. This makes it an excellent choice for any traditional or modern home.

The Georgian interior design style is named after the decorating style in vogue during the reigns of George I through to George IV in England. This covers a time period from 1714 to 1837.

Of course there were many minor changes of style and design through this lengthy period of time. The Georgian style gradually became more decorative throughout the period. So do consider this if your home dates from either end of the time spectrum, or if you need to be historically accurate, for any reason.

You will see strong influences of other periods and design styles in the Georgian interior design style. The main influences on Georgian design styles were: neo-classical (classical Greek and Roman art and architecture), Oriental design, French aristocratic style, Rococo and Gothic Revival.

Georgian interior design relies quite heavily on its distinctive architectural style. The architecture is very decorative, so add plaster mouldings, ceiling roses and rails and friezes.

The Georgian wall was comprised of 3 sections:

The lower part: This was often wood panelled and ended with a dado rail/chair rail at 75cm height (2’6’’) The centre part: This was most of the wall, and was where wallpaper or decorative fabrics were hung The upper part: The upper part of the wall comprised a picture rail, cornice and frieze.

Typical Georgian decorative mouldings are egg and dart, acanthus leaves, shells, scrolls, mythological subjects and beasts from fantasy.

Georgian wall colors were quite toned down and muted. Using heritage ranges of paint is an excellent way of making sure you get the right tones and colors.

Wood work was usually painted in white, or chocolate brown or olive green.

Georgian rooms were quite dark, but it was usual to find quite a few little touches of gold and gilt to brighten the feel a bit.

For wallpapers and fabrics choose beautiful patterns. Typical designs are stripes, urns, columns, oriental designs and ‘Toile de Jouy’.

Georgian rooms were kept very simple and uncluttered. So keep furniture pared down to a minimum. The furniture itself was dainty in style, in dark woods, and with scrolled arms and ‘ball and claw’ feet. All very refined and elegant.

Genuine Georgian accessories are very important to help you get an authentic look. Luckily they are still quite plentiful in antique and flea markets and even eBay.

A great finishing touch is to include a typical black silhouette cut-out photo. This could be a great craft project for the family to enjoy!

Click here for more details on Georgian interior design, including photos and Georgian accessories. by charlotte Sneddon

Make Your Own Soap

Soap making is a rewarding craft. You can feel great knowing you’re making a worthwhile product. Heck, it can even be profitable. Perhaps that’s why soap making is so darn addicting. It’s far better than buying conventional soap at the store.

Store-bought soap is loaded with bad ingredients, garbage preservatives, sodium laureth, sulfate and other stuff. And you’re putting this onto your skin (and it soaks in too).

Some people falsely think homemade soaps can’t produce great lathers. That’s just not true. By adding certain ingredients, you can go to town making your homemade soap lather with the best of them. And it ill be so much better too. Your skin with thank you, that’s for sure. By making your own soap, you’re the one in control. You can use great natural ingredients.

I think making soap just for yourself is reason enough to do it, but homemade soap also makes good, personal gifts. Nothing says I care like a gift basket of homemade soap. You can customize it to the person too. And if you’re more the business type, you can sell your homemade soap to others. Create some samples, give them away and start up your soap making empire!

Once you try great homemade soap, you’ll be hooked. Even if you don’t plan on making your own soap, try some out. You’ll never want conventional soap with all the chemicals again. by Jake Strong

Halloween Decoration Ideas | Great outdoor spookynite Halloween decoration ideas for your home

There are a number of Halloween decoration ideas for the frugal available on the internet, and in books and magazines. Individuals who are frugal simply take the resources that the have and maximize them in order to get the best and most use possible. If you want to save money, and have a blast decorating the inside and outside of your home this Halloween, there are many different ways that you can do so.

Here, we will look into a few Halloween decoration ideas that you may find interesting. One of the first things that you can do is gather some basic cardboard egg cartons and create many different "spiders" to hang in and around the home. This is very easy to do. Below I will detail the steps required to make this type of decoration.

The first thing that you will need to do is take the bottom part of the egg carton and cut out sections of three egg compartments at a time. The middle of the three sections will act as the "head" and "body" of the spider. Now, on the other two sides, you will need to cut strips so that you have four "legs" on either side of the body.

Once you have succeeded in this part of the project, you will want to take some black spray paint and completely color the entire "spider". You should allow about an hour for this project to dry. Then, you will want to add a pair of those little eyes that move around that can purchased in your local craft department for about a buck a piece. Once this has been completed, simply thread in some basic fishing line or thread and add a hook on the top to hang these spooky spiders in various locations around your home.

Now, did you know that there are many Halloween decoration ideas where you can use all those burned out light bulbs that accumulate during the year? That's right! Take about four different bulbs and then get a pot of dirt ready that you can stick the bulbs in. Now, get some craft paint of different colors. Color the bulbs orange and then once that dries, create a "Jack O' Lantern" type face on each. Simple stick the little bulbs down into the pot. This should be short of a long, rectangular shaped one.

Then, take some spray webbing and spray in between each bulb and maybe even on some of the bulbs. That's just a couple of the many Halloween decoration ideas out there for the frugal! Just look around the house and be as creative as possible! by Daryl Plaza

Fine Jewellery Designing

Fine is the term which means the jewellery made out of expensive metals like silver, gold and precious and semi-precious stones, like amethyst, diamonds, amerald sapphiers and ruby. Such classic jewellery can be found in a typical jewellery store. Some sites are creating majority which are providing the articles on making fine jewellery which covers a bridge or skilled artisan jewellery. Those jewellery making often consist metals such as gold or silver, but gemstone, beads or hand-crafted jewellery components are also mostly expected. Generally, these unique styles of jewellery work as small production in a gallery, boutique or exhibition. To become an outstanding jewellery designer, firstly you should learn about fine jewellery design and the basic craft. You ought to know the basics of making it. For instance, you want to learn soldering, casting and metal fabrication. Perhaps, you may proceed with few different courses, but I suggest you to take one or two classes and see yourself. It would be better to sign up as a beginner if you can find a confined school that teaches about jewelley making and designing. You still need to be aware of the basic creation of jewellery to create it aesthetically pleasing as well as convinient to wear, even if you start from a jewellery design job. The thing that you want to do in due course is your another option. Another way to start with manufacture and scheming of fine jewellery would be as a bench jeweler. Usually, bench jewelers are in demand and can earn some decent money. However, it may not be as creative as you want it to be but more often here you will be repairing jewellery. Sometimes, you might have the chance to design jewellery. This might be a nice way to begin if you are planning to own a jewellery shop. The best path is to go to school and obtain a design degree. There are many institutes which are mainly teaching on metal related design classes. Do a search in Google to find the nearest one. After learning about the jewellery creation and the techniques of jewellery making like metal fabrication, soldering, even gemology and gemstones fixing, you will have much better chance to become a designer of fine jewellery. by Sanjay

New Creative Way on How To Make Toys

he techniques are developed by Trans-CraftTM

The 3 steps methodology aims to enable children to make use of the left brain (logical thinking), the right brain (creative thinking) and hands-on (movement) approach. This is a very powerful method to allow children to learn how to make toys and play at the same time. First in the world, you can find only here! The techniques aims to optimize the use of natural biological senses.

You can really build anything with Trans-Craft technique. Learn how to make toy car, plane, action figures and etc. The sky’s the limit. The only limitation is your imagination.

The simple 3 Steps techniques as follows:

Step #1 - Visualization and Imagination Visualization and imagination itself uses the child’s right brain, by having the “end” in mind. Our brains are like muscles, the more we use it the more powerful it becomes. Thus, simply by using imagination techniques, your child is flexing the right brain. For example, your child is visualizing a car with 8 wheels.

Step #2 - Planning and Execution Planning uses the child’s left brain, Trans-Craft developed more then 10 techniques to allow children and adults to think logical ways of using the techniques to fit into their designs. Using simple materials o fabricate the parts and assembling them in a step-by-step approach revealed by Trans-CraftTM. Children learn how to make toy parts using the graphical step-by-step guide.

Step #3 - Assembling and Completion Putting the pieces together using Trans-Craft techniques, a hands-on approach on how to make toys. This helps develop your child’s confidence, self-esteem and determination. As his/ her thoughts are getting close to materialization. You will see the satisfaction on your child's face after the completion. It’s so fulfilling to learn how to make toys.

The materials and tools are commonly available, relatively low cost and can be recycled. This way, parents do not have to keep buying expensive toys for their children.

More information at www.howtomaketoy.com

by Eddie,F

Craft Projects With Mat Board

If you are a crafter, you will be pleased to know that discount mat board makes a wonderful material for many different types of craft projects. Large and small scrap pieces of matboard are all reusable for craft-type applications.

Photo mat board can be used as a beautiful liner material for drawers or the insides of boxes that can be decorated for storage. You can match the colors of your comforter, wall colors, or other accessories in the room to the mat board color. Because acids can have a harmful impact on clothing as well as artwork, you might choose to use bainbridge mat board, which is acid free.

Photo frames have several uses other than as an edging for pictures. Frames, without artwork inside, can be layered empty on a wall for a beautiful statement in and of itself. Frames can also be used to make gorgeous mirrors when you place a piece of mirror inside the frame.

A piece of matboard also makes for a nice desk accessory. Use the matboard to fit underneath and a bit larger than a desk calendar that lays on the top of your work surface. You can select a mat board color that works with the wall and furniture color of your room, and add an artistic touch to a business or work setting.

You can also use framing and matting supplies to create a new type of wall hanging. Find wallpaper in a geographically interesting pattern. Cut the pattern along the edges so that the pattern remains. Glue this onto a piece of mat board and frame it. Hang it in a room that needs a bit of interesting decoration for an artistic focal point.

Foam board is a wonderfully useful type of photo mat board when it comes to craft projects. You can decoupage lovely pictures centered around a certain theme, such as flowers or pets, onto a piece of mat which can then be fitted into a complementary frame.

Frames themselves, although they might be made from plain metal or wood, can be decorated to look great with your particular home decor. Frames can be painted into any color that best fits into the room where you wish to hang the frame. Items that are interesting can be glued onto the frame, such as macaroni shapes, sea shells, or buttons. They may be painted afterward, or not, depending on their look and your taste.

You can use a frame as a base upon which you place other interesting items to create a one-of-a-kind frame. Small branches from a tree or shrub from you backyard or a craft store can be glued along all the sides of a frame to create a nature-inspired look.

Picture framing supplies, including mat board, make wonderful raw materials for a wide range of craft projects. by Susan Slobac