Beauty and The Beads

While the wars outcome hardly hinged on this battle, it was nonetheless a significant loss for the Confederates.

The Cow Army in Fort Meade was supplying cattle for food to the Confederate troops, said Priscilla Perry, executive director of the Fort Meade Chamber of Commerce. This battle halted that, forcing the Confederates to look elsewhere for cattle.

Participants will stage a re-enactment of the battle Saturday and Sunday at the Fort Meade Outdoor Recreation Complex, along the Peace River. The event is part of the communitys third annual three-day heritage festival, which includes homemade crafts, entertainment, living history exhibits and a folk music festival. Representatives and volunteers with the chamber are organizing the event.

This marks the second year for the battle re-enactment, Perry said.

It was so well received last year, she said, and its important that people know the role Fort Meade played in the Civil War.

In 1864, the Union Army marched into Florida to shut down the food supply to Confederate troops. On April 7, Union soldiers clashed with the Confederate Army near the area where Bowlegs Creek splinters from the Peace River, just south of Fort Meade.

After a brief skirmish, the Confederates, including Bartow benefactor Jacob Summerlin, retreated back to Fort Meade. A Confederate soldier, James Lanier, died in the battle.

But the Union Army wasnt finished. A month later, on May 19, they returned to burn Fort Meade to the ground, leaving only a log officers quarters as a remnant of the fort. That building was dismantled 40 years later.

Terri Davies, an organizer of the re-enactment, said about 150 re-enactors will participate in the battle.

They are dressed in period-appropriate apparel, which is made of the materials that were available at that time, she said. There are civilian re-enactors, as well. Our goal is to be as historically accurate as we can.

Along with the battle, the group will have an encampment with sutlers, which are tradesmen or vendors with period-correct stores under canvas tents, Davies said.

They have books, toys, furs, leather goods, clothing and handcrafted antique beading, she said.

Living history exhibits in the encampment include cooking demonstrations and musket firings.

The heritage festival opens Friday at 10 am with living history exhibits, crafts and food vendors. Saturdays events include entertainment beginning at 10 am The re-enactment will take place at 1:30 pm, and entertainment will continue until 7 pm

A second staging of the Battle of Bowlegs Creek will begin at 1:30 pm Sunday.

Admission to the event is free, but theres a $5 charge for parking. Returning guests pay $2 to park.

The Fort Meade Outdoor Recreation Complex is located on US 98 East in Fort Meade, at the Peace River bridge.

 More Images »  At Dior, lush, full skirts harkened back to 1947, although some were transparent.Photograph by: PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN ?GETTY IMAGES, The Gazette

He has created sets featuring a merry-go-round of giant pearls and bows, an underwater fantasyland and a starry night at Place Vendôme, all inside the Grand Palais. But haute couture soared to new heights at the Paris shows for spring and summer this week as Chanel maestro Karl Lagerfeld constructed a 250-seat aircraft with a 50-metre runway and fluffy clouds projected overhead on which to present an all-blue collection. And the clothes were wearable: boat-necked suits, day dresses with dropped waists, subtly embroidered evening frocks.

Armani Privé, Versace Atelier, Jean Paul Gaultier and Dior also hit the catwalk this week, showing many styles perhaps destined for the Oscar red carpet. Dior quelled anticipation that a successor to disgraced John Galliano was to be named soon. It appears that Bill Gaytte, with good reviews for this second haute couture effort, will remain in place for the time being.

Here are excerpts of reviews.

Chanel: “But forget the plane. What truly dazzled were the clothes, all in blue. Mr. Lagerfeld said there were more 150 different shades of blue in the collection, which consisted of about 60 outfits. There were powder and sky blues, warm violet blues, electric and royal blues, midnight and navy.” Cathy Horyn, New York Times

“The chic severity of the short dresses, which were suffused in couture details and quintessentially Chanel, was offset by hairstyles that looked like they had been caught in an engine tailspin.” Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune.

Jean Paul Gaultier: “The late pop singer’s (Amy Winehouse) musical spirit and bad girl fashion sense were all over the runway. ‘No, no, no,’ sang the four male Afro-American a cappella singers who kicked off the show, using Winehouse’s husky battle cry ‘Rehab’ as a backdrop to 1950s and ’60s-inspired looks. Sporting pink, red, blonde and black beehives, the leggy models with thick cat-eye eyeliner sported lots of lace, sequins, peeka-boo skin – and even cigarettes.” Alexandria Sage, Reuters

Dior: After a rigorous, correct and undeniably “Dior” show, this question must be asked: Is the elusive successor on the doorstep?

In every sense, this show on the first day of the brief couture season was Dior Light. There was not much personality or charm, yet a careful rendition of the codes of the house, including houndstooth check created with embroidered beading. The lush, full skirts, which shocked the world in 1947, would have given those postwar women the vapors if the skirts had shifted transparently over the legs, as in this 2012 summer show. Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

Atelier Versace: With its highsparkle, sexy pizzazz, this collection had two primary targets: the Hollywood awards set (Versace’s most recent coup was Angelina Jolie at the Golden Globes) and a solid, growing client base in Russia, Hong Kong and “of, course, the Middle East.” Women’s Wear Daily

“Dazzling decadence was the watchword, with strips of metal plated with real gold circling the dresses like luxury body armour, around a shoulder, across the back or down the side of the ribs.” Agence France-Presse

Armani Privé: “The first cheers went to the U.S. actress Jessica Chastain, who found out live during the show she was nominated for an Oscar as best actress in a second role for The Help. Did Chastain spot something to wear up the red carpet next month? Quite possibly – if she is planning to go in green: the couture collection sent out by Armani Privé feted vivid greens in all their glory, from aniseed to apple, weaving in a subtle reptilian-theme.” AFP

Elie Saab: “Which one to choose for the red carpet? All eyes were on Oscar contender Bérénice Bejo, co-star of the French silent movie The Artist, as she sat front row. The Lebanese designer – a favourite of the red-carpet crowd – sent out a roll-call of evanescent gowns fit for an ‘empress’, all in shimmering, semi-sheer layers of white and gentle pastels. Asked after the show if she was on the lookout for a dress to wear down the Oscar red carpet – and if she would be wearing Saab – Bejo replied only with a smile, but she praised the collection as ‘wearable.”‘ AFP

SPRING COLOUR BLASTS

Jolts of orange and electric yellow are hitting the shops now, with pastels on the horizon.

View a gallery of spring runway trends at montrealgazette.com/style

the ultimate in fashion

Haute couture week wrapped Wednesday and we’ve got the best looks from Chanel, Gaultier, Armani and more picked out for your perusal. montrealgazette.com/style

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette   

UK shoppers are embracing technology, and at a faster pace than many other countries, a survey of global shopping habits by KPMG has suggested.

Seventy-seven per cent of British shoppers prefer to buy goods like CDs, DVDs, books and video games online – compared with 65% globally.

But when it comes to mobile banking, consumers in the UK are more reluctant than those in other parts of the world.

KPMG surveyed 9,600 consumers aged between 16 and 65, across 31 countries.

When buying goods or services, the majority of customers (both in the UK and globally) now said that they look at social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and online review sites.

Downloading Apps

From buying goods on their mobile phones to keeping up with friends on social networks, consumers are increasingly reliant on a range of technologies that perform important – yet often overlapping – tasks, said Tudor Aw, KPMGs European head of technology.

DIY Beading: Get Crafty and Think Outside the Box!

By: Melissa Stern
Updated: January 5, 2012

US shopping centers had their first
net gain in occupied space in four years as consumer confidence
and job growth began to strengthen, Reis Inc. said.

Neighborhood and community shopping centers (BBRESHOP) — usually
anchored by grocery stores, drugstores or discount retailers –
had a net increase of 3.18 million square feet (295,400 square
meters) in the fourth quarter, the most since 10.1 million
square feet in the last three months of 2007, the New York-based
real estate research firm said in a report today.

“While this represents welcome news, we remain wary about
pronouncing a turnaround until we observe a few more quarters of
improvement,” Victor Calanog, Reis’s head of research, said in
the report. The fourth quarter tends to be the strongest period
of the year for retail leasing, he said.

Confidence (CONCCONF) about the economic recovery grew last quarter
amid reports showing that job creation is accelerating. US
employers added 300,000 workers in November and December,
pushing the unemployment rate down to 8.5 percent, the lowest
since February 2009, according to the Labor Department. Consumer
confidence reached an eight-month high in December, according to
a Conference Board index.

Vacancies at shopping centers averaged 11 percent in the
fourth quarter, unchanged from the previous three months and up
from 10.9 percent a year earlier, Reis said. The fourth
quarter’s rate was the highest since 1990, when it was 11.1
percent, and was driven up by the 1.89 million square feet of
new retail properties that came to market, the researcher said.

Asking Rents Rise

At regional and super-regional malls (BBREMALL), landlords’ asking
rents rose to an average of $38.92 per square foot from $38.81
in the third quarter and $38.79 a year earlier, according to
Reis. Vacancies declined to 9.2 percent from 9.4 percent in the
third quarter, the highest since Reis began publishing mall data
in 2000. The rate was up from 8.7 percent a year earlier.

Retail landlords have struggled since the recession that
ended in 2009 as weak sales cut tenant demand for space and
competition from online stores grows. Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD), the
biggest US department-store chain, said last month that it
would close as many as 120 locations after four years of
declining sales. Gap Inc. (GPS), the country’s largest apparel
retailer, plans to open more stores outside the US as part of
a plan to generate 30 percent of sales from international
markets by 2013.

Discount retailers are helping to shrink some of the
vacancies, Reis said. Dollar General Corp. (DG) said Jan. 3 it plans
to open 625 stores in the US this year.

“Some retailers are aggressively pursuing expansion plans
because there are deals to be had for retail space,” Calanog
said in the report.

Vacancies haven’t changed much for most of the past two
years largely because new supply has been restrained, he said.
About 4.9 million square feet of new shopping center space was
completed last year, compared with 4.5 million finished in 2010,
which was the lowest figure in Reis’s 31 years of data.

“Any recovery for shopping centers remains precarious,”
Calanog said.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Hui-yong Yu in Seattle at
hyu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Daniel Taub at dtaub@bloomberg.net

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A Tempe retail center anchored by Whole Foods

Whole Foods
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was purchased by Kimco Realty Corp.

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for $10.5 million.

The New-York-based Kimco, a real estate investment trust, bought the property from College Park Shopping Center LLC and CP Shopping Center II LLC.

Located at addresses from 5114 to 5158 S. Rural Road, College Park Center was nearly 98 percent occupied at the time of sale. In addition to Whole Foods, tenants include McDonald’s, Hamp;R Block

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, Verizon, Edward Jones, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Starbuck’s and Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches.

The center was built in multiple phases during the past 40 years with a major renovation completed in 2007.

The sales side of the transaction was handled by Cassidy Turley brokers, including Senior Vice Presidents Ryan Schubert, Michael Hackett and Cliff Johnston and Vice President Brent Mallonee.

Jan Buchholz covers commercial and residential real estate, construction, architecture and transportation.

By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,

New Delhi : The chill still hangs heavy in the air – misting the brick and mortar facade of Dilli Haat in the capital. It is almost noon. Comrades in-arms Jennifer Mulli and Millicent Seela, both from Kenya, are inured to the mist or the freezing bite in the air.Their nimble fingers fly on swathes of Indian hand-woven silks as they learn their first needle strokes of the traditional kantha – a stitch from the lush plains of Bengal.

The Kenyan craftswomen are in an open air classroom experiencing the centuries-old heritage of Indian embroidery and textiles at a crafts exchange programme, Handcrafting Promises, between Africa and India.

The programme hosting 18 craftspeople from Africa is a cultural diplomatic initiative supported by the ministry of external affairs at the 25th annual Dastkari Haat Samiti.

Jennifer Mulli, director of Katchy Kollections (under a Kenyan crafts label, Jiamini), bead weavers by tradition, says she is looking at different types of beading from India.

India has a wide variety of beading traditions and we want to find out how bead crafts from the two countries can complement each other, Mulli told IANS.

Mulli is also taking part in the dyeing workshops at the crafts fair. I am learning the use of natural dye because we still use chemical dye in our country. Most of our weavers and craftspeople do not know the process of extracting natural dyes but we have all the spices and natural spices and flowers that are used for colours in Kenya, Mulli
said.

Mulli and her mate Millicent are keen to tie up with Indian artisans to develop their range of brassware.

We also craft in brass, but India has richer brassware. We want trade partners in the brass sectors as well as in silver carvings, Mulli said.

Horn carving is common to both India and Kenya. Indian craftsmen have been sculpting in ivory, buffalo, deer and rhinoceros horns for centuries like African craftspeople, who craft a bigger spread of horn artefacts and jewellery culled from many more animal species, the crafts resource person from Kenya said.

But in India, horns are carved differently. This is a craft we want to look at… how it is done in India. We also want to learn Indian weaving, Mulli said.

Mulli has adapted many traditional jewellery into contemporary accessories to make for comfortable wear. We have culturally changed our indigenous beaded chokers crafted with wires to leather and bead designer wear which does not hurt the skin. Our traditional wire and bead necklaces are stiff and uncomfortable.

We loom our beads on leather so that they resemble fabrics. The colours of our beadware are more subtle and Western unlike the earthy African shades so that the market can identify with the jewellery, Mulli said.

Necklaces in Africa traditionally had no pendants, the craftsperson said, explaining the process of design transformation. But we have introduced pendants in our bead necklaces to suit modern fashion tastes, she said.

Mulli has a large clientele in Holland, Britain and the US.

Most of the craftspeople are women in Kenya, but craft is not taken seriously despite the fact that it is a potential income generating business. We are looking for government recognition, Mulli said.

Mulli and Millicent work with the disadvantaged youth and women in the villages of Kenya, helping them find self-employment. We develop our products with them. And we have taught many of them how to make beads as well as mix and match designs, Mulli said.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)

CASEY PAGE/Gazette Staff

Souther and her friend and fellow jewelry maker Diane Gneiting
work on their beading projects in Souther’s studio.

A visit to Kara Zoellers website, savingbydesign.com, features inspirational home decor and jewelry from Uppercase Living, as well as beautifully crafted layer cakes fashioned out of diapers and towels for an ideal gift for a new mom or bride-to-be.

But before these lovely designs come savings, on everything from applesauce to streaming movies to hair-care products, allowing shoppers with even the most hectic schedules to keep a few extra dollars in their pockets.

In addition to the website, which has been live since June, Saving by Design has a daily email blast and Facebook page with more than 7,000 fans. While Ms. Zoellers savings have become a passion for her and her followers, the Mountaintop resident never envisioned becoming a couponing guru.

An area native, Ms. Zoeller attended Kings College, then moved to New Hampshire where she conducted cancer research for Dartmouth College. After a few years, she and her husband returned to Northeast Pennsylvania, where she worked for Sanofi Pasteur.

Im a biology major. This was nowhere in my future, Zoeller said with a laugh.

When her first child was born, she planned to return to her job, but found it difficult to leave her son every day. The new mom started a part-time job fielding call center calls from home.

We couldnt afford for me not to work. I knew I had to work and do something, Ms. Zoeller said.

Saving on staples

In addition to her customer service job, Ms. Zoeller tried to save money on products her family used, cutting coupons for diapers and groceries from the Sunday paper.

I always clipped coupons, but I didnt use them the way I know how to use them now. It was casual couponing, she said.

Around the same time, a cousin introduced Ms. Zoeller to the idea of extreme couponing, which makes it possible to get a cartful of items for next to nothing. Ms. Zoeller was skeptical, but figured shed give it a try.

She still remembers her first time, standing in line at the drugstore with an overflowing cart, nervous about her turn at the register. When Ms. Zoeller finished checking out, she ended up getting $90 worth of products for around $15.

From then on, I was hooked. I really got into it. I love it and it saved us tons, she said.

As Ms. Zoeller continued to build her couponing skills, friends, family members and even strangers would stop and ask her how she worked her money-saving magic. At first, she put together a cheat sheet. Now, that cheat sheet has grown to a website, blog and full-time job.

In addition to sharing hot deals, savingbydesign.com shares printable coupons and offers coupon basics to help visitors learn about different types of coupons and coupon lingo, along with where to find coupons.

Its a fun, family-oriented blog. It really saves people time so they dont have to find their own deals, Ms. Zoeller said.

While shes glad that shows like TLCs Extreme Couponing have alerted people to the money-saving potential of clipping, she worries that it might actually turn people off, leaving them convinced that they have to spend every waking moment clipping and searching the Internet. Though savingbydesign.com is Zoellers job, for the average shopper, saving money doesnt have to be. By putting in as little as two to three hours a week, people can keep a lot more money in their pockets, she said.

I think that people really dont know how much they can save. Its not a few dollars. Its a few hundred dollars per month, she said.

You dont have to be a super-couponer overnight. Once you see how much money you save, its easy to get hooked. That could be a beach vacation.

For Ms. Zoeller, couponing has allowed her to be a stay-at-home mom to her two children while helping to provide for her family during a tough economy. In addition to being a full-time job and a way of life, couponing is also fun.

Even if I won the lottery, I wouldnt go into a store and pay full price, she said.

Bundles of bargains

Jenna Urban of Dunmore is also a super-saver, but she doesnt think of herself as an extreme couponer.

Im a realistic couponer. I really consider myself a mom who uses coupons to save money, she said.

A big part of the way Ms. Urban saves money is by stockpiling items she and her family use regularly, everything from diapers to deodorant.

A technology teacher, Ms. Urban started searching for ways to save money while home on maternity leave. She started couponing and following different blogs.

Ms. Urban was already sharing deals with people she knew when a friend suggested that she could use her IT background to create a savings blog of her own.

Now Ms. Urbans sharing has turned into a business through her website, bucktownbargains.com, which has gained national attention with savings tips and product reviews. She also has more than 11,000 Facebook fans. Shes featured as the Bargain Mom every Wednesday on WBRE-TVs PA Live.

Though Ms. Urban loves to save, shes generous with her advice.

Start small. Pick a couple of items, even if you pick one to three items you use every day. Try saving just on those items, she said. Try to add on gradually, otherwise it can become so overwhelming, your head is spinning.

Ms. Urban also recommends shopping online for everything from toys to toilet paper.

Shopping in pajamas is convenient, she said, particularly for moms of small kids. Many online retailers have free shipping, and it offers the luxury of reviewing your cart and avoiding impulse buys, she said.

Finally, Ms. Urban advises savers to have a plan for what theyll do with all that extra cash.

Save with a purpose. Have a goal in mind, she said.

Faaborg, Denmark — A new Eldan Recycling mining tyre recycling system can turn huge waste mining tyres into reusable rubber granulate, powder and clean steel wire. This tyre recycling equipment enables processing whole car and truck tyres including super singles, earth mover tyres, OTR etc. De-beading of the tyres will not be required prior to processing in the Eldan recycling systems. The company uses a modular approach, which cover all customer requirements on equipment to process at different levels down the recycling road, ie production of shreds, chips, granulate and powder – all having their own platform within recycling.