Coral Update

I found Wolf Hilbertz's technique for growing corals very interesting. A team of researchers on Vabbinfaru island in the Maldives submerged a huge steel cage called the Lotus on the sea floor. The 12-metre structure, which weighs 2 tonnes is connected to long cable which supplies a low-level electric current. The electricity triggers a chemical reaction, which leads to calcium carbonate coming out of solution in the water and being deposited on the structure. Corals seem to find that irresistible, perhaps because they use the same material to grow their protective skeletons, and the Lotus has been so thoroughly colonised by coral that it is difficult now to make out the steel shape beneath all the elaborate shapes and color. Really amazing!

Useful links:
www.wolfhilbertz.com
www.mrc.gov.mv

Random Thoughts

There really are two very different philosophies on how to buy estate jewelry. One is buy everything that comes your way at a price and then try to move a lot through the trade and only keep the pieces you like best. Another is to be selective and buy only things that you really feel you're willing to live with for a while, because you are going to live with them for a while. We tend to opt for the second of those options. We try to buy things that we think are really great examples of the period. We don't want to buy lesser pieces with lesser stones and lesser quality manufacturing because, in the end, those are not what we want to represent to our clients.

- Benjamin Macklowe
www.macklowegallery.com

Spot on.

Why Consumers Buy Fakes

Peggy E. Chaudhry +  Stephen A Stumph's opinion piece on fakes was educational and insightful. Thank you.

Why consumers buy fakes
1. Quality and performance. Consumers would buy a fake if they thought it was just as good as a legitimate product.
2. Cost. Consumers would buy a fake because they cannot afford a genuine product.
3. Sentiment. Consumers would buy a fake because they do not like the big businesses that make the authentic products.
4. Ethics. Consumers would buy a fake because they do not think it is illegal or immoral to do so.
5. Ease. Consumers would buy a fake because it is easy to obtain.

What companies can do
1. Fakes Are Poor Substitutes.
2. Pirates Are Not Robin Hoods.
3. We’re Not Faceless Corporations.
4. Push Ethical Concerns.
5. We’re Making Things Tougher.

Studio Gorm

I was really impressed with the concept of living kitchen modeled on nature's cycle by the brilliant designers from Studio Gorm. Hats off to John Arndt + Wonhee Jeong!

Useful link:
www.studiogorm.com

Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller

Meet Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller, the Arianna Huffington of the Iranian art world + the social connector for many artists. www.ltmhgallery.com

Horse Tradin'

Horse Tradin' by Ben K. Green is an important book that will help you understand why the market fluctuates so much from minute to minute, day to day + lessons in bargaining, deception, marketing, human relations, self awareness, and economics. A must read.

Sensate: Bodies And Design

Designs via the human body. I liked it.

Useful links:
www.sfmoma.org/multimedia/videos/359
www.alexschweder.com/work/sac_of_rooms.html

Heard On The Street

If you want to find one good gemstone you need to research 10. If you want to find 10 good gemstones you need to research 100. Now be realistic. Who is going to research 100 gemstones? Who has the time, energy, resources, knowledge +++ to play on this field? Really. Most of us are involved in other things such as running a business, earning a living, holding together a fragile marriage +++. You know what you need? You need management. Money management that is. So true!