Easter is a celebration with a high significance to Christians. But over the time, just like the red and fat Santa Claus has been introduced to traditions by Coca Cola, so has commerce developed around the Easter period and companies grab the opportunity to do some outstanding Marketing actions. Such as designing a special Easter egg for their clients and limiting that edition to certain pieces, so that they make that item desirable and artificially rare.
I must say that, even if also luxury houses do this, I find that some of their results are really amazing. It is, of course, very important with whom they team up so that the eggs not only carry the brand name, but also taste good. I have picked some examples of what can be done, in the following order: Swarovski for 2011, Roberto Cavalli for 2010, Armani Dolci for 2010, Harrods for 2011, 2010 and 2009 and at the bottom of the page, Selfridges' over 1500$ egg from 2009. Enjoy and have a wonderful Easter time!
For those of you still in search for the perfect gift for Easter,...I might have found something for you. The other day I was taking a walk with my friend when we both stopped to visit an Easter Fair in Bucharest, which is located at Sala Dalles. The fair is open 10.00 till 20.00 until the 23rd of April, so even as a working person you have enough time to go there and pick out some lovely gifts for your dear ones.
Besides the Romanian traditionally hand-painted Easter-eggs, you can find a lot of other hand-made items, such as pottery or blankets, there are even artists displaying their self-made jewelry or paintings and you can even get a painting done for yourself. There are also cosmetic products, most of them created on a natural base, and if you have a sweet tooth, you will be delighted to find a lot of goodies waiting for you. My attention was drawn to a stand where there were sugar-crafted gifts, representing flowers, swans, ladybugs, eggs, rabbits etc. ...surely made by a chef confectioner. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of them,...but you can find them at the back of the hall, on the left.
On the first floor, there was another stand which caught my attention.The merchandise was different and very fresh. I am passionate about design and clever ideas of design which make it into our daily lives, not just those who are meant to be put in a museum and looked at as they don't have any functionality. The products displayed at the Easter fair by tanaaa.ro are really special and functional.
Take for example this fantastic jewelry, which is based on strong magnets. I had already seen the one on the left on someone in Bucharest, and it is amazing. You can have a necklace, two bracelets,...or a thicker bracelet, or a bracelet and a ring or a thick ring,...or many rings or a block to play with or.....ufff...there is actually no limit to this. But be cautious! I have been warned this piece of urban jewelry can become addictive.
If you are eco-conscious, then there is also something there for you. Take for example these paper-watches. Yes,...paper! Of course, the mechanism is not paper, but the rest is really eco-friendly and created by an Italian designer called Giuseppe Casillo.
Furthermore, there are these eco-friendly wallets which you can find, designed to last for years and years in your use, with patterns on them or just plain and you can design them. It is also water-resistant, so you can take it virtually anywhere you'd like to.
Of course, tanaaa.ro has a lot more things to discover...this is my friend who was fascinated by some things they have.
I hope I have woken your interest in this stand and also in the fair and wish you find your perfect gifts.
One of today's problem of mankind is the growth in population while the existence of resources is getting lower. This looks probably like a too broad idea and no very specific, but here is where I'm going: young people have to find their place to live with a greater sense of competition than their parents or grandparents had to do, because offer is less. Add to that what is happening to the job market and the current crisis, which makes young people to do more internships and postpone their growth on the career ladder because there is little or no availability of higher or better paid jobs. Also, the bigger percentage in ageing population, makes countries postpone the age of retirement and lower pensions. This has as an effect that elderly employees stay more on a job and therefore occupy an opportunity for a younger person.
This is why young people move away from home later and have a lower budget to spend on housing, space is little, and they have to cope with that. They have to minimize their living space in order to keep costs affordable and to still have a sense of independence. But how should they live? Should they also give up comfort because of the general economic situation? O is there a way?
Luckily, there are designers who have thought about this. I have stumbled upon a video this week which really made my day. And I think I can relate the topic very well to my blog, as this concept of furniture which is presented revolves around the idea of the luxury of space. I imagine a city such as Tokyo is, where there are millions and millions people living on such a little space, that finding innovative ideas for comfortable living is as important as building safe houses.
The company from the video which presents the furniture from various Italian brands is NY-based and talks about Resource Furniture. I hope you will enjoy this video as much as I did. Have a nice Saturday!
From all the cities and places I have visited and lived in, a special one remains in my heart and I remain a part of it. A German song even says "I have a trunk in Berlin", meaning that I still have a part of me and my life there, and it will always remain like that.
The city has a special connection for me for various reasons: while others were having their grandparents next to them while they were little, I always cherished the summers when I went to Berlin and was there with my grandpa. He had a very special approach to things and we travelled a lot when I was there, discovering this and that, going to weekly markets or fairs, to shows in the city, feeling the vibe around us. I also observed things "through his lenses", as he was a passionate and talented photographer and very careful to details. It was a very wonderful time in a very wonderful city. After growing up, I had the opportunity of living in Berlin on my own (and visited my grandfather every weekend), as a student. I still consider it the best city in the world for being a student: you have such great facilities all over the city, libraries and research centers as well as food joints, restaurants, pubs, clubs etc. and it is so cultural and multi-cultural that you are always on the move, you always find something to do for your own tastes and desires and you can hardly ever get bored there. It is also a city full of contrasts, so you can find fully urbanized and modern parts, then ones from the communistic area and then areas filled with nature...you just need to choose!
Berlin is also very young. Through its universities and cultural attraction, it is a great place for people to develop. This is why architects and designers find it a very appropriate place for them to live in,...inspiration is around every corner and the fact that they are extremly tolerant and Berlin is a huge melting pot makes it such a great place. For people interested in fashion, there's the Berlin fashion week and I hope many will make it big!
Berlin was also such a great inspiration, that half of my Master thesis was based on it and on its influence on young people, design, architecture, hotels and how to make a communication strategy on a boutique hotel to be built there. It was a truly amazing research time and so much fun as the city is so multi-facetted...
I think it seems only normal that Louis Vuitton dedicated its new city travel guide to this place of the world. In their also educative and playful manner, they created its presentation video which you can watch here or on youtube:
I can only recommend you this wonderful city, for visiting, for falling in love, for learning, for getting lost, for being found, for becoming you as I don't think there are better places where you'll be appreciated for who and what you are such as this one. Plus, it has such a great "magnetic" power,...once you go there, you always want to go back to visit it again and again and again. While I lived for 6 months in Hamburg, i visited Berlin five times...yet, it does have a (good) power over you, and you will never be disappointed. And one more thing: you'll realize that not even a lifetime will be sufficient for you to discover all its secrets...isn't this mistery such a great thing?
In loving memory of my grandfather, who showed me life in detail and let me appreciate the beautiful things I like now. He has even now such a great influence on my development and I love him for every thing he did and didn't do for me.
After having had an education in Business Administration in Bucharest and Berlin and written the first Bachelor thesis on luxury in Romania, I decided to embark further on the luxury adventure, by doing a Master in Luxury Goods and Services in Monaco, from which I have graduated in June 2009.
I have specialized in Hospitality, but my main focus has been Communication and Marketing in the luxury industry. I have done a communication plan for SBM, the most important company in Monaco, have been an organiser for Amber Lounge and the Elton John Aids Foundation (for an auction), am a winner of an entrepreneurship contest in Monaco (also luxury-related business) and have started recently my work in Product Management at Montblanc International, Category Management Watches.
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