Shipping 2009 Blog

Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

Buying furniture is just like buying a piece of artwork. The first criteria is to buy something you will enjoy. And full enjoyment of your new furniture means considering your taste, your lifestyle and, of course, your budget

• Discover Antique Furniture

• Identify Antique Furniture & Reproductions

• Research Antique Furniture

Discover Antique Furniture

Before purchasing antique furniture, consider first how the pieces will match your home. If your décor is contemporary, adding an ornate Victorian object might not create the effect you want. Also, think a bit about what your style is and what design periods can help you create the look you like. Then have some fun, mixing and matching your favorite styles.

Identify Antique Furniture & Reproductions

True antique hunters search for beautifully preserved objets d’art, armed with pins, magnifying glasses, and levels. Many other home decorators aren’t as concerned about a piece’s history or authenticity, opting for quality reproductions that are more affordable. Both approaches are fine. Your challenge: making an educated decision based on what’s important to you.

Research Antique Furniture

Becoming knowledgeable about antique furniture takes research, even if you’re focusing on only one aspect of this wide-ranging subject.

Establish value: Many collectors prefer specific eras, styles, and makers, while others have more eclectic tastes. In either case, an authentic piece’s value is most influenced by its condition, rarity, and history.

Get an expert opinion: A trained eye is more likely to find an undervalued treasure (or a clever masquerade) than a novice. Stay informed about trends in the antiques market by consulting important trade publications.

Consider practical matters: Carefully review the size and weight of each antique furniture piece you consider purchasing. Shipping furniture can be a pricey proposition. To reduce these costs, search for shopndeal sellers in your region. Also, look for sellers who use blanket-wrap shipping services.

First The Gates, a large scale public art project, overtook Central Park. Now, Ashes and Snow, a photography exhibit, literally sits atop the Hudson River on Pier 54 near West 13th Street. It is also the largest temporary exhibition space ever created in Manhattan.

Built on an abandoned waterfront pier, the Nomadic Museum, a 67-foot-wide by 672-foot-long, privately-funded traveling museum is made of 148 stacked steel cargo shipping containers. Designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, the exhibition, Ashes and Snow, consists of portraits taken by Canadian-born artist Gregory Colbert.

Elementary school teacher, Heidi Laudien, 38, said she plans to bring her students to the sight.

“I love the idea of a museum made from recycled materials and I want my kids to see that creative part of the exhibit and how it illustrates the transience of the space,” she said.

The exhibit and the museum will be displayed through June 6 in the 45,000-square-foot temporary structure. Afterwards, it will be dismantled and resurrected in Santa Monica, Calif, then off to the Vatican City in 2006, as it continues on its nomadic adventure.

Colbert is no stranger to traveling either. His work features portraits of exotic animals and natives from his visits to places like India, Egypt, Burma, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Ethiopia.

His sepia colored photographs are printed on leather looking parchment paper and held up by wires and hanging on an invisible wall along the lengths of the pier. The scenes depicted include large animals like elephants, whales, manatees, eagles, with much smaller mammals and children.

One photo has a child kissing a cheetah, another shows a man swimming under water with a 55-ton sperm whale, and one has a woman dancing near an adult elephant. These outrageous shots have caused visitors to question how Colbert did it. A volunteer at the museum said Colbert’s process will not be revealed. In a statement released by his foundation Colbert says none of images have been superimposed or digitally collaged. He plans to add new pieces to the show each time the museum moves to another destination.

Lisa Schreder, 25, a Manhattan paralegal saw the posters for the exhibit advertised on the subway and decided to come after work with her boyfriend, lawyer David Sandler, 26.

“I’m as interested in the pictures as the museum itself. It feels like a monastery, soothing and spiritual,” said Schreder.

Sandler was impressed with how the photographs were displayed. He said, “The presentation matches with the pictures and lighting, the water underneath, continues the feeling of water and motion that can be seen in the photos, it feels like the whole thing is floating, like the suspended photos.”

Besides the hanging photographs, there is also a 35mm film, revealing Colbert’s video photography on a big screen. Several scenes include a woman swaying to new age music while bathing with elephants.

Sylvia Wolff, 32, a dance student at NYU’s Tisch School said she liked the pictures more than the movie, because she said, “The pictures are more suggestive and require more imagination.”

Artist and clay sculptor, Stephanie Borgese on the other hand, felt the opposite. “The film enhanced the artwork. It gave the images a sense of motion and place,” she said.

Borgese admits she was overcome by the artistic experience. “I cried a few times,” she said. “They are magical and breathtaking images.”

About the Author

Tara is currently going for her masters degree in journalism at New York University and working in PR. She freelances articles for tri-state publications and writes a daily blog, When Tara Met Blog www.tarametblog.com

When it comes to moving, furniture is some of the most fragile and difficult of household items to properly pack. Whether you choose to hire a moving company or simply a van to do things yourself, whether you are moving a 1000 miles or a 100, proper planning and packing can mean the difference between being devastated and delighted upon arrival.

First remember that furniture is like any other thing in your house, if you want it to arrive safely at your destination, you are going to have to invest in some packing materials. I suggest bubble wrap or heavy plastic wrap for most things, though cardboard and tape can be just as effective.

Large furniture, like dressers, Armour’s, desks, china hutches, etc. should all be completely unloaded prior to moving. Leaving drawers filled with clothing and other items not only puts stress on the furniture upon loading and unloading, it can also make it almost impossible to carry. All glass shelving and removable mirrors should be packed separately to avoid breakage. Remember to wrap glass carefully in both bubble wrap and cardboard.

Most furniture, especially antique furniture, has knobs and handles that can be removed, and these parts should definitely be removed because they are perfect “catching points” to tear other items or get bent or broken. Once these things are safely removed and packed, the furniture item should be wrapped in plastic or cardboard to avoid any scratching or gouging.

When loading furniture, such as tables, desks, buffets, and the like, that have “tops”, make sure not to carry the item by the “top”…often times this can result in damage. Even though it is more difficult, try to grasp the furniture from the base or from a stronger part so that you don’t overstress the materials.

Couches and mattresses should not be forgotten when it comes to “packing”. Moving vans can be very dirty, and if you choose to have movers handle your things, it is unlikely that they will make it a point to wash their hands when handling your stainable items. I suggest wrapping your couch in a sheet, or wrapping it with plastic wrap so that it doesn’t get dirty or damaged, and remember that setting heavy things on a couch can result in denting, ripping, tearing and undo stress.

If you choose to use a moving company, I suggest that you take pictures of all of your furniture before the movers begin handling it. I have a friend who did not do this and unfortunately when her bedroom set, that

In 1871 Holland America Lines began its history as the Nederlandsche – Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatwsschappij. Headquartered in Rotterdam Holland, and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line.

In 1895 the company offered its first vacation cruise from New York and in 1910 its leisure cruise from New York to the Holy Land. In the 1970′s Holland America Line suspended its transatlantic service and sold its cargo shipping division. Vacations became her full time focus. In 1989 Holland America Line became a wholly owned subdivision of Carnival Corporation, the largest cruise company in the world.

Embarkation was smooth and easy. Drop off the bags in bins outside, walk inside, show ID and boarding pass, fill out the health questionnaire, get in a short check in line, show them the credit card you are using, smile for the camera, snap of another picture and you are on board. Probably 20 minutes from arrival to the first mojito on the lido deck. Ive never had a better embarkation.

The last time we were on the Oosterdam was in 2003 when she was brand spanking new and I think someone has taken loving care of this beautiful boat. She is just as lovely today as she was back then. Our balcony stateroom was really nice and has more than enough room for us to move around, store all the clothing etc and relax with a glass of wine as the ocean rolled by.

Ok here we run into the only problem of the entire cruise to date. We were confirmed with late seating and a table for 8. We arrived to a 4 top with one elderly gentleman who was also sailing on his first cruise, with Air America, and had been assured of a large table of like minded individuals.

It was ok, but not the most comfortable evening. A quick trip to the Maitre D the next day fixed us up with a table for 6 with two other couples that were similarly disenchanted the evening before. We had great table mates for the rest of the cruise.

The shore excursions we picked have to rank right up there with some of the best shore excursions we have experienced anywhere in the world. From Cabo San Lucas we went to Todos Santos for lunch at the Hotel California. This is a very interesting drive through the desert of Baja California from the bay at Cabo on the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific Ocean, where the driver stopped at an unscheduled spot because there were lots of whales to see.

The town itself is charming and some of the art work, most notable Rueben Gutierrez is spectacular. By the way the Gutierrez pottery is very reasonably priced. Then it was lunch at the Hotel California which had wonderful food.

In Mazatlan, we signed up for the Shrimp Fest. We went to a lovely private residence, up on a hill overlooking the entire city, with gorgeous gardens and lovely terraces set up for the crowd. They served Margaritas and beer and sodas all day and a buffet of all the shrimp you could eat, in three different styles along with rice and beans and guacamole and salsa and chips and of course tortillas.

A small artisans gallery was on the grounds and my wife bought the most amazing citrine and freshwater pearl necklace and then met the designer of the necklace who offered to make her clip on earrings to go with it and email her when she had designed them.

In Puerto Vallarta, we did Rhythms of the Night and you dont want to miss that excursion! It starts with a one hour catamaran ride to a private beach all lit up with tiki torches and absolutely gorgeous. The catamaran crew put on a show which was pretty good.

Dinner was truly memorable as each party had a table for the number of people they designated. It was a buffet, but there were so many buffet tables set up that there were no lines. Waiters brought you drinks and whatever else you wanted, and then there is a show in an amphitheater. I will admit I was not looking forward to the show because some of the cultural shows are boring, but this one was spectacular. Then we took the catamaran back to the ship with all of the stars, the lights of Puerto Vallarta and finally the gorgeous Oosterdam lit up for the evening. It was great!

The disembarkation was as smooth as the embarkation. Remember way back when I said the rooms werent ready until 1:30? When you disembark, you may stay in your stateroom until they call your luggage tag color. This is great! Then you go to Deck 2, a short line, show your passport, and give the customs declaration to an official. Then quickly pick up your luggage and in our case take the first taxi in line and it is off to the airport. Couldnt have been smoother!

We both work for ourselves and build a cruise web site while traveling. The internet is a crucial part of cruising for us and on the Oosterdam, we had wireless access in our stateroom. You can buy packages from $100 for 250 minutes (40 cents a minute) on up. You can also add more minutes as you need them and if you are on a package and you run out of minutes while logged in, they are charged at whatever rate your package calls for.

This was our 11th cruise in 9 years and I must say, even though we had been to these ports before, this was one of the best cruises we have ever taken!

The price of stamps is forever increasing, albeit by very small amounts every year. In order to understand why this price fluctuates so, we must understand what a stamp pays for. When you buy stamps, you are paying Canada Post or the United States Postal Service to deliver your letter or package. This may seem simple, but by using critical and analytical thinking, we can determine a number of factors that will contribute to the few cents you pay to send love letters, packages, Christmas cards and the like.

The first and foremost reason for the increase of stamp costs is labour. The post office needs to employ people, both to sell stamps, take in packages, and prepare packages for shipping. They must also pay truck drivers to ship the packages, and mail carriers to deliver the mail. The post office actually employs 72,000 people in Canada alone. When wages increase, the post office needs to increase their principle source of revenue. By increasing the price of stamps by 1 or 2 cents each year, they are able to take in millions of extra dollars per annum. The reason that wages often increase is the strong union of Canada Post employees, which have walked out or went on strike 19 times in recent history, due to various concerns about both wages and injuries sustained while delivering mail.

Inflation is also a cause of increased stamp prices. When rapid inflation occurs, it becomes very hard for the postal service to actually make any money, and stamp prices much go up. The reason that Canada Post only increases their stamp prices by such miniscule amounts is because of the sheer volume of letters, parcels and packages that are sent and received through their service each year. Despite the advent of email, “snail mail” is still a popular method of communicating.

The final cause of higher stamp prices are the various other indirect expenses incurred by the postal service. For example, if the price of gas goes up, airplanes will charge more for cargo shipping. This in turn means that the postal service must shell out more money for any packages that require air delivery. As taxes go up, the post office begins to need more money, which in turn requires an increase in stamp prices.

While to many people, stamp price increases are often seen as a greedy corporation trying to make more money, they are actually vital to the successful operation of the postal service to send mail across the globe.