DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here

Enjoying Your DIY Life Here

2011-03-25T02:01:00.000-07:00

The MPG Launches The First In A Series Of DIY Record Label Sessions

2011-03-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

In response to the changing landscape of the Record Industry, more Producers and Artists are looking to start their own record, publishing and production companies. The Music Producers Guild is holding a series of networking events designed to investigate the ins and outs of starting your own DIY record company.

The first successful DIY event was attended by more than 70 people and was moderated by MPG director and producer Tommy D. It was designed to give an overview of the process of DIY. It attracted speakers from AIM, The Musicians Union, BASCA, and some of the MPG's own members who have gone down the DIY route themselves.

The next event will take place at 7pm on March 30th 2011 at Metropolis Studios, Chiswick, London. It will explore marketing and distribution and the panel will include Karen Emanuel from Key Production, Jonathan Quarmby from AWAL, Michael Fuller from AIM, James McGuiness from Absolute Marketing and Distribution, and Tommy D, MPG Director, who says:

"The first DIY event was so informative and well received that we felt that putting on a second event that delves into the mysteries of setting up your own record company was a 'no brainer'. We have a fantastic panel for this one, which will reveal some of the methods of distribution and promotion. If you're thinking of setting up your own operation or are already doing it, this seminar will be invaluable."

Tickets for the event cost 25, with a 25% discount for members of AIM, MU, BASCA, APRS, MMF, Music Tank and FAC. Usual MPG discounts apply - Full Members and Associates with a season ticket: Free, Associate Members: 12.50. Early booking is advised for those who want to secure a place as this event is open to other organisations as well as the MPG, and the previous DIY event was sold out well in advance. To obtain a ticket please visit the MPG website (a further 5% discount is provided for pre-booking on-line).

The panel members confirmed so far include:

Karen Emanuel, Key Production
Karen Emanuel set up Key Production over 20 years ago in 1990, having started in music by booking bands and DJing at college then working for Rough Trade Distribution. Key quickly earned a reputation as a company that produces high quality product on time at competitive prices. Key manufacture all types of product, Vinyl, CDs, DVDs, USBs, merchandise and bespoke and ethically sourced packaging as well as giving its clients free marketing and publicity at www.backstagepassmusic.com

Jonathan Quarmby, AWAL
Originally founded in 1997, AWAL now stands at the forefront of the new media revolution. AWAL has empowered independent artists and labels to take control of their own destinies and bypass the gatekeepers of the old music industry. The function of AWAL is logical and simple. Large record companies have direct deals with iTunes and other digital stores, however these stores cannot deal directly with the hundreds of thousands of small labels and independent artists who want to sell their music on line. Consequently, AWAL acts as a conduit, uploading and encoding the music into the stores then accounting to and paying its clients. AWAL currently represents over 6,000 artists with a catalogue totalling over 150,000 tracks, and has sold over 20,000,000 downloads.

James McGuiness, Absolute Marketing and Distribution
Absolute Marketing & Distribution is a leading provider of tailor-made sales, marketing and business management solutions for independent record labels, single-artist labels and brand-owned music labels. Established in 1998 as Europe's first 'one-stop' label management specialist, London-based Absolute provides everything it takes to run a successful independent record label - from label administration to television advertising.

Michael Fuller, AIM Head of Legal and Business Affairs
AIM, The Association of Independent Music represents over 800 member companies, from the largest and most respected labels in the World, to small start-ups and individual artists releasing their own music for the first time. AIM promotes this sector globally and provides a range of services to members.

Do-it-yourself shows: A 'Creature' feature

2011-03-18T00:09:00.000-07:00

Musical do-it-yourselfers have played a key role in developing Athens culture.
Without them, this city's music scene might never have developed into the vibrant, dynamic indie entity it is today.
The B-52s made their debut live performance at a friend's 1977 Valentine's Day party. R.E.M. played their first show in April 1980 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church - a repurposed building in which Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and others lived at the time.
And more recently, a spot known as the Secret Squirrel long has provided sanctuary for those who refuse to stop partying at 2 a.m.
In the late '70s and early '80s, when the downtown area had fewer venues to accommodate music, DIY shows were an inevitable and crucial part of a scene's existence. But as Athens currently has no shortage of traditional music venues and bars, why bother with house shows nowadays? House showgoers and hosts have their reasons, and lately, live music often is audible around downtown Athens well past closing time at the clubs and bars.
Winston Dangler likes the atmosphere of the DIY concert because it's "more relaxed," he says, with band members talking to the audience and creating a comfort level not possible in a traditional venue.
"It's also more comfortable for bands that are just starting out," Dangler says. Musicians get to play in a pressure-free environment to ease themselves into the world of live performance.
There are restrictions that don't apply to house shows as well - many downtown venues are strictly 21 and up, but a house show generally is open to all ages, giving younger folks with alternative tastes something other than church- or school-related activities to do on the weekends.
Up-close Creature feature
Eddie Lezama and others like him are keeping the spirit of DIY entertainment alive. For a few months now, Lezama and his roommates have been hosting some combination of touring and local bands on the weekends at their house/venue they've labeled "Creature Castle."
Just outside the downtown area off Broad Street, this old and isolated house makes a perfect weekend party spot; there are no sleeping neighbors to be bothered, and the place is easy enough to find for wary newcomers.
Creature Castle doesn't charge a cover. Donations are collected to support traveling bands, but Lezama's main goal is for "people to come out and have as good of a time as they can."
Lezama, who organizes the shows, says the events' high turnouts are due largely to word of mouth.
Sure, flyers are posted and Facebook events are made, but the real excitement springs from an alternative community dying to experience something outside of the status quo.
Even so, "House shows kind of pop up and die off around here," Lezama says.
He cites the recent shuttering of a house venue called Spillage (located on Milledge Avenue) for creating more DIY demand. When the powers-that-be shut down Spillage, Creature Castle stepped up to satisfy the new demand.
Lezama contacted some musician friends from Florida and some local bands to fill the first bill, and word of mouth is bringing more traveling bands to the house.
Rose Dasher, who lives at Creature Castle and relishes the weekly concerts, says she enjoys that "you can get personal with the bands."
"The lack of a stage makes the show more personal and gives it a more powerful impact," Lezama adds.
It's a symbiotic relationship: Traveling bands get a venue and place to crash in one, and people like Dasher are afforded the opportunity to "get really close to and interact" with people from different parts of the country.
A messy Creature
A show last month at Creature Castle featured local acts Manger, Gripe, and Lezama's own band, The Fuzzlers, and certainly appeared to realize the up-close interaction aspect of the venue.
The scene: a tiny room filled with slam-dancing punk rock and metal kids, all moshing on the same floor as the performing band.
Obscuring the division between the performer and the fan, this show had an air of community, camaraderie and comfort that would be difficult to replicate in a downtown club.
Of course, there are drawbacks to hosting shows like this.
Straddling the line between a public and private event complicates the behavioral expectations of fans and bands alike. At the end of every weekend, the occupants of Creature Castle have an enormous mess to clean up, and according to Dasher, showgoers "don't respect your home" like they might respect an established venue or a friend's house.
But Lezama is willing to take the bad with the good. After all, house venues like Creature Castle potentially could spawn Athens's next generation of legendary musicians. Being so informal, creativity takes precedence over everything else in this setting.
"The shows usually end with impromptu jam sessions, which sometimes start good new bands," Lezama says. "Sometimes it's a mess of slop, or something very creative. ... I don't even know what you'd call it ... some sort of explosion that happens after a show here."

By Kevin Craig - Correspondent

• Kevin Craig is a Marquee intern from the University of Georgia's music business program.

Dave Grohl Goes DIY Route For Foo Fighters' 'Rope' Video

2011-03-11T03:48:00.000-08:00

By now, you've probably heard Dave Grohl sum up his directorial body of work as having "lots of hair" (while, at the same time, remaining strangely "waxed").

But despite that assessment — and his work on the Foos' brand-new "Rope" video, which premieres Thursday at 7:54 p.m. ET/PT on MTV and MTV.com — you'd probably be surprised to know that Grohl doesn't really consider himself to be a director at all.

"I'm not a director. I don't even know how to use the equipment, but it's fun to try," he laughed. "[And these days] any kid can do exactly that and have a million people watch it. That's awesome."

He's talking, in part, about the video for "Rope," but also his shot-on-VHS quickie clip for another Wasting Light song, "White Limo," which was filmed in just six hours on an old handheld and has since gone on to eclipse the 1 million-view mark on YouTube. To Grohl, they're basically the same thing: proof that, in this day and age, bands don't have to break the bank to make a video. They just have to have a killer idea (and maybe a cameo by Lemmy too).

"It's nice now that there's not as much importance put on videos as there was in the past. People used to spend, like, $5 million making a video. You think people do that now? They don't," Grohl said. "They get a VHS camera, and they make a video in six hours, and today, over 1 million people have watched 'White Limo,' the video we made with a VHS camera. And it's cool. Anybody can do that. That's f---ing rad."

By James Montgomery (@positivnegativ)

Songtrust Announces Partnership with Myspace Music

2011-03-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

Songtrust announced today a new partnership with Myspace Music to bring Songtrust’s revolutionary music publishing management services to Myspace Music’s industry-leading audience of DIY songwriters and bands.

Songtrust is the first online rights management solution that empowers all songwriters to take control of their music publishing and related rights. By streamlining the complex process of registering song copyrights, collecting royalties, and maximizing licensing opportunities, Songtrust empowers independent songwriters to track how and where their songs are being used around the world.
“Songtrust provides a much needed music publishing administration solution for the millions of do-it-yourself artists on Myspace Music,” said President of Myspace Music, Courtney Holt. “We’re very excited to deepen our relationship with Downtown Music and to promote this new, innovative service that helps songwriters take control of their music publishing.”
“Songtrust was designed to help a new generation of songwriters and artists better manage, protect, and monetize their publishing assets,” said Downtown Music Publishing President and Songtrust Co-Founder, Justin Kalifowitz. “The Myspace Music community represents the largest and most diverse community of DIY artists in the world, and we are thrilled to partner with them in introducing Songtrust.”
Myspace Music will promote the Songtrust service to their entire audience of musicians, showing their continued commitment to offer artists the tools they need to build a more successful career in music.

Contacts

Songtrust
John DeCicco, 917-621-4345
jdecicco@attentionusa.com
or
Myspace Music
Sarah Joyce, 310-969-2802
sarah@myspacemusic.com

About DIYRock.COM

2011-02-14T18:10:00.001-08:00

Hello and welcome to DIYRock.COM, the DIY information source for free. First and foremost we want to point out: WE DON`T WANT YOUR MONEY !!!!! Everything you will find here is free of any charges - no donations, no hidden fees, no paysites or any other twaddle common these days.
This website is for the DIYRock.COM, The pages that I have authored utilize many pictures, because after all "a picture is worth a thousand words". In these pages, you will find a few things that are unique to the web, and information that can be found nowhere else. I hope that what you find here will be useful.
Thanks for reading the DIYRock.COM

D.I.Y. works A-OK for NOFX

2011-02-14T17:57:00.000-08:00

If playing in a punk rock band past the age of 40 is considered strange, don't tell Fat Mike. The 43-year-old lead singer of NOFX still feels like a kid.

"In 25 years, my life hasn't changed at all. Being in a band really is the best job in the world," he says.

His enthusiasm stems, in part, from the success that NOFX has achieved without the help of radio stations or MTV. "That was the best decision we made, never to go to a major or MTV or anything like that," he mentions proudly. "We've always been D.I.Y."
Even without the exposure that most bands seek, NOFX has sold more than 6 million records since forming in 1983, headlined countless Vans Warped Tour stops and toured through places as exotic as the Philippines and Indonesia.

"The Philippines may have been the worst… The show just wasn't that rad," he says, but that doesn't mean the band didn't appreciate the opportunity to play there. "We don't go to crazy countries like that all the time; we just wanted to do it."

Unlike many punk bands that spend the majority of the year touring, financial success has allowed NOFX to take a more laid-back approach.

"We don't tour like normal bands. We tour for three weeks and we take two months off… It's good for our livers."

They're on now, hitting Revolution in Fort Lauderdale Friday night.

The free time between tours means Fat Mike has time to focus on other things. Since 1990, he's headed up his own San Francisco-based record label, Fat Wreck Chords. The label has released music by punk stalwarts like Screeching Weasel and Lagwagon, and also counts among its catalog releases by Rise Against and Less Than Jake. The label has been releasing NOFX's music since the band left Epitaph Records following 2000's "Pump Up the Valuum."

He's quick to mention that Fat Wreck Chords is a labor of love, rather than a profit-driven venture.

"My business plan was never to sign bands just to sign bands to keep business going strong," he insists.

More recently, he's taken advantage of opportunities outside of the music world. He's an investor in a new restaurant in Brooklyn's hip Park Slope neighborhood called Thistle Hill Tavern.

"I just invested because a couple of my friends wanted to open a place," he says.

He also recently purchased a house in Las Vegas which he plans to redecorate and rent to vacationers.

"It's a super punk rock house, one room has six bunk beds in it," he shares, before mentioning the putting green and pool table.

After completing the current tour of the Southern U.S., the band plans to head to Europe in April, followed by more U.S. and Canadian dates through the end of 2011.

With the band's 30th anniversary only a few years away, Fat Mike has become used to the questions about how long NOFX can go on.

"I see no end in sight for the band. It's just too fun and our fans stay with us. We don't work that hard anyway."

Get Up Kids Return to DIY Roots for New Album, Own Label

2011-01-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

Get Up Kids frontman Matt Pryor has his hands full: In addition to a reunited band with a new album on its own label, he has three kids who love to scream while daddy's on the phone.

Even putting his family man status aside, there's no denying that Pryor and his cohorts have come a long way since they led the second-wave "emo" movement of the mid-'90s. After the Get Up Kids' breakup in 2005, members flocked to their own musical projects (Reggie & the Full Effect, New Amsterdams) and established bands (Spoon, My Chemical Romance).

In 2009, the Get Up Kids kicked off a nostalgia-fueled reunion tour in support of the 10th-anniversary rerelease of "Something to Write Home About," during which fans began buzzing about new material. So the longtime Vagrant band -- one of the first acts the label signed after it launched in 1998 -- not only recorded an album, titled "There Are Rules" (Quality Hill, Jan. 25), but also founded its own label.

As much as things have changed, they've also stayed the same: The songwriting process behind the punk-infused record echoed the Kansas City, Mo., band's earlier days, functioning more as what Pryor calls a "democracy" among members rather than with him as its de facto leader. And most tellingly, Quality Hill, the label the act formed with help from former Sub Pop head of A&R and Myspace Music alum Jason Reynolds, recalls the group's DIY roots.

"The Vagrant we signed to in 1999 is a totally different company than it is now," Pryor says. "There were five people working there when we signed, and it's just a bigger company now. [Vagrant currently has a staff of 14.] When the band got back together, we felt like it was a proverbial rebirth for us, so we said, 'Let's take it back to the very beginning -- back to the first thing we ever did,' which was put the record out ourselves."

Reynolds, whom the band first met when he tried to sign it to Sub Pop in the late '90s, was the clear choice for helping establish Quality Hill, Pryor says. Initially, the group wanted to give the record away for free online, and through Reynolds, Myspace Music was in talks to support an ad-sponsored giveaway of "There Are Rules."

"Then I lost my job with Myspace back in January [2010]," Reynolds says. "I kept in contact with the band and I said, 'Look, I can probably help you get this record out. You know, you don't necessarily have to give it away for free.'

"While the band previously had its own Vagrant imprint (Heroes and Villains), launching Quality Hill required expertise, particularly in marketing and distribution, which is through Redeye. Reynolds, who works as a consultant to the label, assists in these realms but insists the band is business-minded. He has hopes for Quality Hill's future, but for now remains focused on "There Are Rules."

"Becoming a record label is something totally different from being empowered and being DIY," Reynolds says. "Talk to the Get Up Kids in a year and see if [they say], 'Hey, that was so much fun, maybe we can help other people.' So many of the indie labels, whether it's Sub Pop or Matador, start out with a band that you love and you want to start a record label to get that music released."

Woodworking and D.I.Y. Show

2011-01-30T15:25:00.000-08:00

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Mass Appeal) - Ever watch those home improvement shows and say "man, I wish I could do that?" Well... you can! Jim Heavey of Wood Magazine shows you, and to tell you about this weekend's Woodworking and D.I.Y. Show at the Eastern States Exposition. It can be about a new project or existing one in the home. Actually, really easy to do. I know that sounds strange but with a few basic lessons and simple tools, anyone can do it. The idea behind coming to the shows and see how it works.
The idea, anybody can do anything in their own home. With a few simple tools and of course, a little education, and the ability to, or the desire to make a mistake that is part of woodworking. These are easy and fireplace mantels add a tremendous look and impact on a home along with boosting the values. I think it is a good project.
I think the first thing is to check with the local building codes to make sure that you understand or they can tell you the distance between combustibles and wood. This is wood, to be honest, it will give the fireplace something to do.
The ideas, that they give you the offsets for that. The second thing is, when you look at magazines, Better Homes and Gardens magazine, when you go through it, looking for fireplaces, you will be surprised to see the number of places they show up in painting diagrams or rug fixes, find something that you like and that will get your mind thinking about what it is you want to do and from there, it takes a simple plan and get busy.
This wood is poplar. Popular by design and definition. Relatively soft wood. I would prefer it over pine,Ii would say. It is traitor, available, all of the big home store. Box stores. Easy to putting to. You can stain it. Finish it to make it look like any wood. For a lot people, this may be less expensive than out of cherry or mahogany and that is the wood we chose.
The process is, getting your design to go. Then using the tools to do it. To be honest, the major of the project is done with a simple router.
There are different designs and styles of these. But generally speaking, a router does it all. What I'll do at the shows, show people how to do use a router. How to do the bits and make a project like this.
Event at The Big E
Friday, January 14
12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

BAY Nate Luscombe

Bouncing Souls are icons of D.I.Y. music scene

2011-01-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

Despite what any of us may tell you now, back then, Springsteen just wasn't punk rock.

No, when I was in junior high, our outsiders' dreams of small-town rock 'n' roll rebellion weren't nurtured by the Garden State's favorite working-class son, but rather its drunken, hyperactive grandkids.

Sunday through Wednesday, Basking Ridge's own Bouncing Souls return for their fourth annual Home for the Holidays run at the Stone Pony. And if you're like me, the shows are not only the decisive punk-rock family reunion, but serve as a chance to thank the boys who changed everything for a cult of music fans who opted to stand tall against the corporate-radio trafficking of mainstream pap.

I was 13 when I first saw the Souls' famous "No MTV" T-shirt — with its blazing red circle-slash through the iconic '80s logo — and I knew right then and there that, whatever this movement was about, I wanted in.

Our answer to "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." and "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle" would be "The Good, The Bad and The Argyle" and "Maniacal Laughter." "Quick Check Girl" would become our "She's the One," "True Believers" our "Born to Run."

Of course, it's easy to see now how the Bouncing Souls' anthems of liberation through rock 'n' roll owe as much to those of Bruce Springsteen as they do to the Descendents and the Ramones. But during those years when it mattered most, vocalist Greg Attonito, guitarist Pete Steinkopf, bassist Bryan Kienlen and founding drummer Shal Khichi were playing something brand new, and it would shape the sounds we lived by.

Attonito said the idea for the annual Home for the Holidays celebration was inspired by Boston compatriots The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, whose "Hometown Throwdown" is a holiday-season staple on the Boston punk-hardcore scene.
"(The Bosstones) always invited us to play, and we weren't able to play for a bunch of years. It was just a cool thing that everyone kind of wanted to be involved in," Attonito said in a 2008 interview. "So we thought, the Stone Pony was kind our home base, in a way. And the idea came that it would be great to create our own thing similar to that. It's not really about Christmas; it's about everyone getting together. That's what it's always been about. So we thought, why not make it a party, just a place for everyone to go and kind of convene?

"It's the ultimate when you have a lovable group that you have that connection with. You're like family in a sense. And we're all an extended family in that way," he added. "You know you're going to run into certain people that you wouldn't run into at any other show. There's so much more involved in a Bouncing Souls show than just the Bouncing Souls show. And that's what's so much fun about it."

Though they may never achieve the commercial success of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the Bouncing Souls always will be icons to an overlooked generation of Jersey-bred, D.I.Y. music fans, and Home for the Holidays is where we band together in loud, proud tribute to our own hometown heroes.
By STEPHEN BOVE

Digital DIY music platform Bandcamp finds its footing with artists like Amanda Palmer, Sufjan Stevens and RJD2

2011-01-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

After six years, a handful of albums and one censorship controversy, Amanda Palmer wanted a way to call her own shots after splitting with Roadrunner Records in April.

After she claimed the label sought to cut or alter shots of her stomach in the video for the “Who Killed Amanda Palmer” song “Leeds United,” Palmer asked to be dropped in late 2008. As fans bared their own bodies in an online protest dubbed “The ReBellyon,” the singer took to performing a song pointedly titled “Please Drop Me” in concert.

When she finally got her wish, Palmer celebrated by offering a free download of a track titled “Do You Swear to Tell the Truth the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth So Help Your Black Ass,” a decision that probably would have made her former label cringe.

Independence has its virtues.

The Dresden Dolls frontwoman-turned-solo artist has joined a growing number of artists who’ve found a home on Bandcamp, a San Francisco-based website and publishing platform that aims to put musicians in better control of their digital sales and online merchandising.

“We really wanted to do everything quote unquote on our own,” said Sean Francis, Palmer’s director of new media, marketing and promotions, adding that they discovered the site in its infancy. “We always had them in the back of our minds for when ultimately she would get off the label.”

In contrast with a number of rules-clad retailers, Bandcamp offers ease and options: free sign-up; a Bandcamp storefront page to add to an existing site or let stand alone; an array of digital download formats (from hi-fi MP3s to FLAC and Ogg Vorbis files) for customers; physical sales and physical-digital bundling; and, perhaps most important, the ability to set prices, from free to a flat rate to a pay-what-you-want donation.

In July, Palmer, married to writer Neil Gaiman, released the “Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele” EP on her website for an 84-cent minimum, enough to cover Radiohead’s licensing and PayPal fees. In its first day of release, she made $15,000 from digital sales and digital-physical packages, with all transactions conducted through Bandcamp. Placed on industry giant iTunes or another e-retailer, the EP would’ve been costlier -- and been disconnected from Palmer’s offers of colored vinyl and limited-edition ukuleles.

“We told people upfront, we’re not doing this on iTunes right now,” Francis said. “We have nothing against iTunes. We just want to see where this takes us.”

According to Francis, fans paid an average of more than $5 for the 84-cent album, a trend of generosity that Bandcamp founder Ethan Diamond said extends throughout the site, even as overall music sales continue to slide.

“I think a lot of it is the fans’ perception that they’re supporting the artist and they want to pay more when that’s what they perceive,” he said. With donations, “fans are paying about 50% more than whatever that minimum is.”

Diamond, who previously led e-mail innovators Oddpost (which became Yahoo! Mail), launched Bandcamp in September 2008 after watching a favorite band struggle with technology as it self-released a digital album.

“I couldn’t get the buy button to work. I e-mailed one of the help links and the lead singer of the band writes me back just sending me a URL to the record,” Diamond recalled. Bandcamp drew its inspiration from intuitive blogging platforms such as WordPress. “[T]here, if you’re a writer, you can set up your own site that’s rock-solid for free. It struck us as crazy that if your artistic output happens to be music instead of text, that your options were bad.”

The site’s relative success -- Diamond said the company is “on our way to profitability” -- comes at a time when many prognosticators have called music retail dead, pointing to touring, licensing and 360 deals as the industry’s next revenue streams.

“We make music for the fans because we love it, but our customers are the music supervisors,” Jeff Bratton of upstart L.A. indie label Cascine Records said last year. “You’re not going to make money selling digital tracks.”

But Bandcamp, with a business model based on taking a modest cut from sales, is betting it can. The site offers more than a million tracks for download from both indie labels and independent artists, with higher-profile acts like Palmer helping to shed light on the service’s long tail.

Whereas bigger labels tend to be restrictive of their artists’ music, among Bandcamp’s most used features is a streaming widget that allows listeners to play full tracks -- not just samples -- on artists’ pages as well as embed them on their own sites and blogs.

“A science blogger heard Amanda’s cover of [Radiohead’s] ‘Idioteque’ and just had it as a footnote. He embedded the player and the next day, [I] found our traffic was vastly increased,” Francis said, noting that the unexpected publicity outdid traffic from music outlets such as Spin and Pitchfork. “It’s definitely very helpful to have the widget that anyone can run with and use how they want.”

Such advantages have made it enticing to bands (and content-hungry music bloggers) looking for alternatives to iTunes and MySpace -- though they do come at a cost. Bandcamp takes 10% to 15% of proceeds, depending on a given artist’s overall numbers. (It also charges minor fees for extras.) ITunes takes 30%, though that number comes with the benefit of a preexisting audience. Diamond said that in December, Bandcamp had more than $530,000 in sales, “and that’s growing quickly.”

“I don’t think it’s in any position to replace iTunes,” said Glenn Peoples, a senior editorial analyst at Billboard. “There’s a benefit to being in the stores where people shop.”

However, plugged-in artists have found that if they build it, fans will come.

In August, long-absent indie-folk singer Sufjan Stevens released his surprise “All Delighted People” EP through the site and watched it sell more than 10,000 copies in its first three days -- good enough for the No. 48 spot on the Billboard 200 the next week.

Stevens’ label, Asthmatic Kitty, then went to bat for the service, encouraging fans in a September e-mail to consider buying from upstart outlets like Bandcamp. On Monday morning, electronic producer RJD2 is releasing “The Glow Remixes” EP as a free digital download exclusively through Bandcamp. The site will also offer a vinyl box set from the artist, who is perhaps best known as the composer of the “Mad Men” theme song.

But Bandcamp remains dominated by unknowns hoping to turn a profit as they share their sounds on their own terms.

“I’m sure there will be more chart impacts over time,” said Peoples. “I think right now the impact it’s making is below the charts, [with] a considerable number of artists who are never going to make the charts. That’s where it’s building its word of mouth.”

Among those acts is L.A. beach-pop quartet the Smiles, an unsigned group of college kids who self-released the “Hermosa” EP through the site last year.

“It’s the best service that I’ve found for musicians,” singer-bassist Will Sturgeon said, picking it over other digital options such as Topspin, a powerful start-up that counts Arcade Fire, Metric and Paul McCartney as clients, and SoundCloud, a streaming/downloading service favored by electronic musicians. Other recent L.A. acts, such as Puro Instinct and Lord Huron, have also released material through Bandcamp, and the site’s “Los Angeles” category is populated with hundreds of under-the-radar releases.

Since releasing their debut EP through the site in May, the Smiles have garnered label attention and had three songs appear on an episode of MTV’s “The Buried Life,” making Bandcamp the primary piece of a complicated pie.

“I like to direct people to Bandcamp because I think it’s the best for us and the best for them. [But] for some people, it’s way easier to buy music off of iTunes still. We’re trying to get everywhere that we can,” Sturgeon explained. “It’s just about being accessible.”
-- David Greenwald
Updated: The original version of this post said that Bandcamp takes "10% to 5%" of a band's sales. The second number should have read "15%." We have updated the post.
Top photo: Amanda Palmer. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin and Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times. Bottom photo: Sufjan Stevens. Credit: Denny Renshaw.

Hollywood Goes Hi-Tech On New DIY Network Show

2011-01-03T19:56:00.000-08:00

After the success of “The Vanilla Ice Project,” which will premiere a second season later this year, even more celebrities are getting in on the home renovation game on DIY Network. Among them are a Kardashian, a “Transformers” star and some “Entourage” members.

The new show “Hollywood Hi-Tech” will follow Hollywood A-Listers as they give their A-List homes a high-tech makeover. Among the celebrities to be featured are Khloe Kardashian and husband/NBA champ Lamar Odom, “Entourage” stars Jeremy Piven and Kevin Connolly, and “Transformers” star Josh Duhamel.

Lifestyle and technology expert Janna Robinson will host the show which sees her joining the celebs for the initial consultation and throughout the makeover process, until they’re outfitted with all the super high-tech gear.

“While other TV shows have occasionally included short segments about custom-installation home entertainment, it’s never been the focus, much less had an entire TV series devoted to it,” said DIY Network programming VP Ross Babbit. "With the launch of Hollywood Hi-Tech (wt), that is about to change, as we bring the latest and greatest technology for the home to a new, nationwide audience.”
While the show won’t premiere until June, attendees of the 2011 International CES, the world’s largest technology tradeshow, will get a sneak peek of clips from the show. The 2011 International CES starts January 6th.

Source: (CNS)

Reporter: Anthony Jones

Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States

DIY Satellite Will Capture Sounds of Ionosphere

2010-12-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

Nancy Atkinson

For a space geek, the ultimate do-it-yourself project would be building a satellite in your basement. Astronomer and writer Sandy Antunes is doing just that, but there’s an artsy side to this project, as well. His satellite, called Project Calliope, will collect data from the ionosphere and send it back to Earth in sound-based MIDI files, allowing music to be created from space. “It’ll be an ionospheric detector transmitting sonifiable data back to Earth,” said Antunes. “Conceptually, it’s a musical instrument in space, played by space rather than just after-the-fact sonified.”

Antunes decided to embark on this project after the commercial space company InterOrbital began offering small DIY, soda-can-sized picosatellites for the reasonable price of $8,000 – which includes the launch.

One of the major reasons for doing the project is to prove that anyone can build a satellite in their basement – although Antunes admits it is also a fairly cheap midlife crisis expenditure, especially when his boss at the Science 2.0 blog, Hank Campbell, decided to pitch in half of the price.

“When people ask, ‘where did you get your idea?’ that misses the mark,” Antunes told Universe Today. “The question should be, ‘What idea do you have?’ We’re at the point now where a single hobbyist can send something into orbit to do something useful. I think this is a new space age way of thinking. I’d like to see if this inspires people to do something cooler than me. To me that is what science is all about.”

Antunes is documenting his experiences on his blog, The Sky By Day. “I’m making mistakes so that other people won’t have to make them,” he said. “Hopefully I can make the path will be easier for others.”

Plus, Antunes hopes to answer the big question of what space sounds like. The sun interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field in the ionosphere, creating all sorts of activity; there are also changes in temperature and light.

“People don’t know what space sounds like,” he said. “You walk to ocean and close your eyes and you can hear the roar of the waves, the rushing of water, the moments of quiet; and you can get a good idea of what activity is going on. But we don’t know have an idea of the activity of space, or the ionosphere, where this satellite is going. Sonifying the ionosphere will give people an idea of the ebb and flow of it – how there are constant events going on, sometimes catastrophic-type events but there is also a quiescent stage.”

When the data comes back to Earth, Antunes will give musicians free rein. “Musicians can take it and rework it, much like how musicians have ambient noise, nature sounds, or whale songs in a piece,” Antunes said, “but in this case they can take sounds from the ionosphere. We are making it royalty free so anyone can use it.”

Antunes said working with the pre-packaged TubeSat Personal Satellite Kit is different than what he initially imagined. The Hubble Space Telescope, it is not.

“It has a power system that’s basically two lithium AA batteries hooked together, a little stick of gum computer chip, and some very fragile solar cells,” Antunes said. “I thought it would be hard science and tricky engineering and unsolved problems, but everything I’m getting is off the shelf. The sensors are plug-ins, so the primary work is integrating things. So there are very different problems from what I thought, but this tells me that you don’t have to have a PhD to put up a satellite.”

The current liftoff date for the first InterOrbital Tubesat launch is March or April of 2011. The company has built the rocket engines and they are now doing testing and test firings.

Antunes knows that testing a rocket has a lot of ambiguity, and he anticipates some delays, as even when he has been part of a NASA project, he has never had a launch go on time. This being the first launch of InterOrbital’s commercial satellite venture, if it blows up, Antunes will get a chance to refly his satellite.

Project Calliope will go into a short-term polar orbit, and last about 6-12 weeks, so it is a short term experience, Antunes said.

But he will be tweaking his satellite right up until delivery.

“I wanted to do something that NASA cannot, and that a University wouldn’t, combining art and science,” Antunes said. “I like the idea of flying something in space whose purpose is to make music until it dies– music from science.”

'DIY retirement' to become common in Britain

2010-12-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

By Chris Malone

New research shows that a large proportion of retirees felt forced to give up work and that the concept of "DIY retirement" could become more common in future.

The government is set to remove the default retirement age in April 2011 and Aviva's latest Real Retirement Report revealed that there is likely to be a change in the trends related to working into old age.

A third (33 per cent) of current retirees felt forced to leave their jobs because they had reached "normal retirement age", the research found.

The firm estimated that almost 700,000 Brits who would normally have reached retirement age in 2011 will have the freedom to continue working if they please.

Many will go through a winding down process known as DIY retirement where 21 per cent will work fewer days, 15 per cent will work fewer hours and 16 per cent will move to a less stressful role.

Eleven per cent will undertake consultancy work and a similar proportion will turn one of their hobbies into an income-generating career.

Aviva 'at retirement' director Clive Bolton said: "The removal of the default retirement age provides people with the freedom to design their own retirement.

"Some people will naturally choose to stop work when they start claiming their state pension, but many are likely to continue working as they genuinely enjoy their roles and gain both social and financial benefits."

Meanwhile, Aviva recently sent more than half a million of its customers tips for dealing with the cold weather.ADNFCR-8000010-ID-800279080-ADNFCR

Diy Troll-sniffing desktop rat

2010-12-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

If you read the YouTube comments (or comments on any site), you’ll notice that trolls surface every now and then to post unwanted comments just to wind people up. It usually takes time to moderate those things and it would be nice to have a visual indicator of such things happening on our desktop. Some folks out there have decided to come up with a cute little bit of hardware to do just that, and it looks like giant rat with glowing eyes. The rat is hooked up to the computer and checks through the incoming comments to see if the comments meet the criteria to be dumped or not. The script used to control this rat checks the feed every two minutes and uses various bits of information to make a decision whether to approve or a comment or not. Sounds like a fun project that would be fun to try before Christmas. check out a video of it in action after the jump.

Pick Punch: DIY guitar picks

2010-12-20T06:35:00.000-08:00

Grant Banks

The Pick Punch looks and functions much like a hole punch except that rather than generating confetti it makes guitar picks! The product website offers guitarists everything they need in one place to get started making their own picks.

“My goal from the beginning of this idea was to make available everything necessary to make your own guitar picks. Information, videos, pictures, tools, supplies, etc. I want it all to be available in one location,” company owner and product designer Von Luhmann told Gizmag. “I always wondered - Why has no one pursued the DIY side of guitar picks? - I could find occasional comments on various websites but no one had really pursued the idea of making it easy for guitarists to make these. There basically were no tools, supplies, or information available anywhere.”

After five years of working through the process of design, patent approval, cad and tooling, the first punch was manufactured in 2009. Currently Pick Punch comes in the traditional or 351 style pick shape which is depicted in the company logo. Upcoming designs will include a smaller Jazz pick, a teardrop pick, a smaller version of the triangle pick, and a version of the mandolin pick.
“We have a blog and also have plans for a forum where guitar players can discuss guitar picks and how to make them. We are even working on plans for a DIY guitar pick making contests complete with prizes such as a free guitar to be given to the person with the most innovative ideas,” Luhmann said.

Electric Six comes home for DIY Street Fair show

2010-09-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Electric Six comes home for DIY Street Fair show"

Since its 2005 sophomore album "Senor Smoke," Detroit's Electric Six has released an album a year, an unheard-of level of productivity these days.

Frontman Dick Valentine said it's because "we need to pay our mortgages," but he added that there's never any problem coming up with the goods.

"There's six of us in the band, and we all write songs," said Valentine, 38 (real name Tyler Spencer), who now resides in New York. "So over the course of a year, all you need is for each guy to write two songs and you have an album. That's not hard. And if somebody does dawdle for an album, the rest of us pick up the slack."

Electric Six's latest, "Zodiac," comes out Sept. 28, accompanied by the group's The Rent Is Too Damn High Tour. The set includes the usual array of danceable rock tracks — including "American Cheese" and "Jam It in the Hole" — and it also features the group's first cover since its 2005 take on Queen's "Radio Gaga," an energetic romp though the Spinners' 1976 smash "The Rubberband Man."

"Another (cover) is something we've been talking about for the last four albums or so," Valentine said. "We felt like it made the record that much more fun, and we were sitting there at the 11th hour without a 'Jam It in the Hole,' without a 'Rubberband Man.' We were looking at what the album's gonna sound like and saying, 'This isn't that fun.'

"See, we'll never release a record before its time. Fortunately for us, that time always seems to be in the autumn of every year. We're like a vineyard."

Electric Six performs at 10 p.m. Sept. 18 on the main stage at the DIY Street Fair in Ferndale.

Welcomes Do It Yourself Expert Bruce Johnson for Minwax

2010-09-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Welcomes Do It Yourself Expert Bruce Johnson for Minwax"

For all you DIY’ers you’ll want to tune in to Designing Spaces as they offer some great solutions to protecting your wood interiors. Joining the show is special guest, DIY expert Bruce Johnson. Bruce explains how working on wood finishing projects is much easier than you think! Make sure you tune in September 5th, 6th and 17th at 9:30am (ET/PT) as they air on WE Television.

Bruce says, “There’s nothing like the beauty, warmth and richness of natural wood in your home. By appearing on Designing Spaces we’ll be able to show viewers just how easily they can take a bare wood piece and with a proper finishing, turn it into a useable furnishing that fits their personal style”.

Bruce recommends Sherwin Williams Minwax® wood stains and clear protective finishes. Follow him as he walks viewers through DIY wood finishing projects from sanding and prepping to applying pre-stain conditioner, and explaining different types of woods to different finishes.

Lysa Liemer, ‘Designing Spaces’ Executive VP of Programming and Chief Operating Officer, says, “We are always exploring exciting topics and trends to inspire viewers to take on all home improvement challenges and decorating dilemmas, and Bruce Johnson, along with Sherwin Williams Minwax® products delivered the perfect solution. Educate, empower, and entertain – that’s what we do at ‘Designing Spaces’ and our audience knows we will always bring them solutions to make every space count and to enjoy the space they live in.”

Bruce shows how Minwax® can be used on a variety of wood projects from furniture and cabinets to countertops and trim. There’s nothing like the beauty, warmth and richness of natural wood in your home. And Minwax® helps make it easier than you think to make all the wood in your home beautiful.

Radiohead turns over soundboard tapes for free DIY concert film

2010-09-13T16:33:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Radiohead turns over soundboard tapes for free DIY concert film"

" Radiohead Live in Praha" -- a fan-created DVD concert film recorded by a group of 50 fans wielding inexpensive video cameras during the band's Aug. 23, 2009 performance in Prague -- is now streaming on YouTube and available for free download.

The Czech fans who undertook the project expertly edited the footage into a compelling document -- a feat that reportedly impressed the band, which in turn allowed the filmmakers to use the soundboard recordings from the show.

The DVD can be downloaded via the project's website, which has been inundated with traffic this week. The film is also streaming -- in multiple segments -- at YouTube.

"Strictly not for sale -- by the fans for the fans -- please share and enjoy," reads a message on the DVD project's website.

Radiohead hasn't released a concert film since 1995's "Live at the Astoria," and hasn't released a live album since 2001.

Embedded below is the film's opening song, "15 Step."

McFly go DIY

2010-09-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - McFly go DIY"

'YURRWANKAS!" shouts Dougie Poynter as he explains a common reaction from Britain's white-van men to his walking down the street. Despite being infuriatingly good-looking, wealthy and successful, this seems about as tricky as life gets for the four members of McFly.

While the band might not take themselves too seriously – the video to their song Transylvania had singer Tom Fletcher mugging along dressed as Nosferatu – they're earnest about trying to take a lead when it comes to having a lasting pop career in the 21st century. In 2004, just as their immediate precursors Busted were imploding, McFly became the youngest band to have a debut album go to No 1, beating the Beatles. Somehow, despite looking about 12 (they're actually between 22 and 25), they've been together nearly as long as Ringo and company, with bass player Poynter having left school at 15 to join the band. Which makes me feel terrible when I ask him if his "Howl" top is an Allen Ginsberg T-shirt. "No, it's AllSaints," comes the innocent reply.

After drummer Harry Judd and Poynter joined Fletcher and guitarist/singer Danny Jones, their first single, 5 Colours in Her Hair, topped the charts, the first in a run of seven No 1s. They sold out arenas, appeared in the Lindsey Lohan movie Just My Luck (Judd's one-night stand with Lohan was cheekily referenced in their 2006 single Please, Please), removed their shirts more often than is polite and earned a fortune in the process. Then they seemed to experience the kind of decline that befalls most pop groups after a good three-year knock: releasing a half-hearted greatest hits, parting company with their label and going decidedly off-radar.

But what could have been the beginning of the end for a band whose teenage fans were beginning to outgrow them actually gave McFly a chance to take their future into their own hands. Miffed by the greatest hits release ("It wasn't really relevant," says Judd), they started their own label and released their fourth album, Radio:Active, through the Mail on Sunday.

"At the time, we were trying to think about how we could do things differently and keep up with the record industry," says Judd of their decision to follow Prince in giving away new material with the paper. It seems to have worked: the newspaper added 300,000 to its usual 2.1m sale with the giveaway. To put that into context, the band's chart-topping second album sold 300,000 in total. They then released Radio:Active properly, and it still made the top 10. The subsequent sellout arena tour suggests the giveaway was a good move – but how about sharing page space with the less enlightened souls associated with the Mail? "Richard Littlejohn? What's that?" says Jones when asked. It probably didn't worry them too much.

Now able to spend daft amounts of (their own) money on music videos and flying stages – the pyrotechnics in the Lies video were supposedly funded by downgrading a flight to economy – the band felt liberated. A run of success abroad, combined with a new musical direction, was enough for Universal to ask them to rejoin the fold. The band agreed to a new 50/50 share deal, in which the label profits from tours and merchandise but the band make more on record sales than the usual 16%. Because Universal don't have to worry as much about losing revenue from CD sales, they've allowed McFly to offer all their music directly from their new website on a subscription basis.

When it launches, Super City, McFly's new web presence, will give fans unprecedented access to the band. The most active fans earn points that can lead to webchats and phonecalls; there are also video guitar lessons, the band's entire back catalogue, and social networks that aim to create a community tied directly to McFly. All this comes for a pocket-money-busting £6 a month, or £50 a year, with the first 100,000 fans being granted "pioneer" status that allows them more goodies. "It's cheaper than an album, and our fans spend so much money on us that we wanted to find a way to give them more access," Fletcher says.

If this digital gamble comes off (and it's a huge if), it could be the music industry's equivalent of Manchester United streaming games on their website. Even if only 10,000 "pioneers" sign up, McFly could still clear hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. It's a larger-scale take on the 1,000 true fans theory, which suggests that a band needs 1,000 paying fans to make a living. So how many people do they think will sign up? "We'll have to find out . . . " says a circumspect Fletcher, who even suggests he'll put demos up on the site before showing them to his bandmates, and that the site will give fans the chance to say what singles McFly should release and what songs to play live.

"We're just going to be completely open and show the fans everything," says Fletcher. "And why not? I think you have to be. The music industry is different now. In the olden days, that distance between you and your idols made it special. But now people are craving information, and you have to [provide it]."

Judging by comments on their videos on YouTube, what McFly's fans also crave is the band without their tops. In order to sate that particular appetite (and to launch the new site), they've made their own 30-minute movie, Nowhere Left to Run; judging by the trailer, it involves some vampire action and lots of shots of Judd sans clothing. "We were referencing people like Michael Jackson when he did Moonwalker. There aren't any rules, really. We just thought it'd be fun to make a movie," says Fletcher.

The video for their new single, Party Girl, is stuffed with clips from the film, and represents a step away from their early teenybopper take on Blink-182. The video whoomphs into life with Lady Gaga-style whirring synths while retaining the guitar-swinging-around-their-heads jollity that originally found them fame. It might well be this change in direction that allows McFly to survive (the song has gone straight on to the Radio 1 A-list), rather than any high-tech fan-corralling. And if all else fails, they can always just keep taking their tops off.

DIY Music Labels Embrace DIY Film

2010-08-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Music Labels Embrace DIY Film"

ON a midsummer night a few dozen people, many in glasses and with messenger bags, gathered at Zebulon, a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to watch a new low-budget movie called “The Builder.” The story of a contemplative Irish immigrant, it moved slowly, driven by atmosphere rather than dialogue, but the audience watched patiently at small candle-lit tables, beers in hand. It was the antithesis of a typical summer-movie outing, but that was sort of the point.

“It’s just great to see people with drinks and candles,” said R. Alverson, the film’s director. “It’s so much more personal than seeing it in a theater.”

Everything about “The Builder” seems personal. Mr. Alverson, a musician-turned-filmmaker, made it with friends and untrained actors for $5,000, including the cost of camera gear. To release it, he turned to Jagjaguwar, an indie rock label in Bloomington, Ind., whose roster of musicians includes Bon Iver, Okkervil River and Mr. Alverson’s former band. Jagjaguwar put “The Builder” out on DVD, organized a few screenings and hoped for the best.

“As a film distributor, we have no experience,” said Chris Swanson, who helps run the label. “We’re approaching it the same way we did music, like, find a nice room and put the work on display in a dignified manner.”

The audience was small, but Jagjaguwar had already agreed to finance Mr. Alverson’s next feature. It views him as an artistic investment: helping him develop his oeuvre is akin to supporting a band from the release of its first seven-inch.

“I realized his artistic voice is far more conducive to film, and if he had a continuum of work, it would have real meaning,” Mr. Swanson said. “And our audience knows how to take it in.”

Jagjaguwar is one of a number of indie music labels and hybrid companies that have turned to film distribution, some following the model laid out by seminal punk labels like Dischord and Touch and Go: stay small and informal, know your audience, and put out stuff you like. In the last few years, both the independent film world and the independent music world have stratified, shrunk by digital sales, a crowded entertainment market and the collapse of major specialty divisions. Money is harder to come by now. But experimentation can rule, and a few players have found that there’s a niche, and a clear overlap, in putting out D.I.Y. music and D.I.Y. film.

“The mediums aren’t exactly the same, but the ways of doing things, getting the word out, I think there’s a lot of similarities,” said David Fenkel of Oscilloscope Pictures, which he founded with Adam Yauch, who is much better known as MCA of the Beastie Boys. “A theatrical campaign is not that much different than going on tour with a musician, and creating an event,” Mr. Fenkel said, calling the evolution from music to film “natural” and “awesome.” In its two-year existence, Oscilloscope has released a slate of attention-getting features and documentaries and even won Oscar nominations for “The Messenger” and “Burma VJ.”

This summer, Drag City, a Chicago label, distributed “Trash Humpers,” the fifth feature by Harmony Korine (the screenwriter of Larry Clark’s “Kids”). “We were very glad to take it on,” said Rian Murphy, Drag City’s sales director, “because it is something new and different, and we like that kind of thing, and because it doesn’t have to do with the record business right now, which is kind of in a bummer.” Drag City, which represents musicians like Joanna Newsom and Silver Jews, bought prints of the film and “made sure they were in constant motion” around the country.

“Trash Humpers” was “not held to the traditional channels for distributing a movie,” Mr. Murphy said, “because we don’t know what those are.”

He added: “If someone e-mails us, and they’re not a complete lunatic, or if they are a complete lunatic, and they have money and a screen....”

As a result, the film has played at a beer bar in Chattanooga, Tenn., a bookstore in Houston and the George Eastman House in Rochester, extending its life beyond the art house. (How many screens? Mr. Murphy didn’t know; the company barely even signs contracts with its artists. “It changes the atmosphere,” he said.) The “Trash Humpers” DVD is due in September.

Working on the film, Mr. Murphy said, helped Drag City answer a question it had lately been pondering: “If you have an apparatus which is designed to meet a demand, does it matter what kind of demand you’re meeting?” In this case the answer was no: cult content is cult content. But that calculation must be tweaked when there is relatively little demand.

Last year Matt Grady started Factory 25, a distribution company that releases vinyl records with its movies. With DVD sales jeopardized by digital downloads, Mr. Grady knew he would need another angle to appeal to consumers, but he didn’t want to sacrifice the physical object. So he packaged DVDs with limited edition LPs. “I wanted to make it cool, like a fetish item that people would want,” he said.

In most cases the album is the film’s soundtrack, but for “Make-Out With Violence,” a teen zombie movie that is opening on Friday at the ReRun Gastropub Theater in Brooklyn, Factory 25 is featuring the music of a band, the Non-Commissioned Officers, formed by the lead actors. The band got together during the shoot and has since toured and played Bonnaroo, the music festival in rural Tennessee.

Still, neither the film nor the group is particularly well known. A typical run for Mr. Grady — Factory 25’s sole employee — means 1,000 DVD-LPs. He needs to sell about 400 to break even. He also sells his releases on iTunes and offers downloads from his own site. His hope is to build Factory 25’s reputation with a catalog of films that would be hard to find elsewhere, keeping collectors in mind. “I’m putting out a black metal documentary — for something very genre-specific, people will want a physical thing,” he said. “I’m definitely looking for titles that have a specific audience, a core following that will want it.”

That is also a goal for Todd Sklar, who borrows from the music world more directly: he takes films on tour. Starting in 2008 with his own movie, a college comedy, Mr. Sklar, 26, traveled around the country in a van with a few buddies, crashing on couches and setting up screenings for unreleased films, including festival favorites. Last year his company, Range Life, took 14 films to 40 cities, using its 1986 Toyota as a mobile office. He has built up a network of cinephile and media contacts at each stop but is still fine-tuning his business plan.

“We make money for the films, but as a company we’re just staying afloat,” said Mr. Sklar, who moved to New York in February. To supplement its income Range Life has leveraged its D.I.Y. credibility to promote movies like the Banksy documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” This fall it will take eight films to 85 cities.

Janet Pierson, the producer of the film festival and conference for SXSW in Austin, Tex., said that it was too soon to tell what might work in the shifting creative landscape but that many were energized by the possibilities. “The music and film business, none of them can count on what sustained them for a number of decades, so they’re all trying to figure out what can we do, how can we connect with audiences,” she said.

As Oscilloscope and countless resolute indie bands show, success can be found on the margins of the mainstream. “It’s about taste,” Mr. Fenkel of Oscilloscope said. “Finding films and releasing films because you want to release them and you want to do right by them, and that’s what the priority is.”

Vanilla Ice Gets DIY Reality Show

2010-08-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Vanilla Ice Gets DIY Reality Show"

Graeme McMillan

Finally, the DIY Network has a reason to exist. The network has announced its latest home improvement celebrity: Vanilla Ice. Yes, that Vanilla Ice. Hopefully it’ll be better than his cameo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2.

Ice will head up the obviously-titled The Vanilla Ice Project, which’ll follow him renovating his Florida mansion for 10 half-hour episodes, focusing on – and I’m quoting the press release, here – his “passion for home renovation.” Yes, that always-clear, always-present passion for home renovation. Who else remembers his follow-up to “Ice, Ice Baby,” “I Loves Me Some Norm Abrams”?

The new series debuts this October.

DIY Touring With A 'Zombie Jazz' Band

2010-08-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Touring With A 'Zombie Jazz' Band"

Patrick Jarenwattananon

Why don't more jazz groups tour the U.S.? The simple answer is that it's hard to be paid adequately to do so; the complicated one details just how hard it is. But in the rock world, artists more frequently hit the road in the face of financial uncertainty, even along the do-it-yourself/house show/tiny venue "circuit" if necessary. Sometimes, you see jazz or jazz-influenced groups doing the same thing; sometimes, they even come out ahead.

Careful readers remember Adam Schatz as one of the proprietors of Search and Restore, the concert presenter and online resource for New York's jazz scene. (Interview here and here.) He's also a saxophone player. And he recently went on a month-long, coast-to-coast tour with one of his "zombie jazz" bands, Father Figures.

Schatz and four bandmates — all recent or soon-to-be graduates of New York University — booked the tour themselves. They raised a bit of initial capital, played mostly rock clubs, stayed with friends and family and criss-crossed the country in a minivan. (You can find updates from the road at their blog.) Their music isn't quite jazz in the way many would describe it, though it comes from jazz-trained musicians; hear a track from their self-titled debut below.

Thinking that he would be a good person to talk to about the unique rigors of a DIY tour by an improvising group with two saxophones, I caught up with Schatz over Instant Messenger following the tour. Below is our conversation, edited for grammar and format.

Patrick Jarenwattananon: So, like, why, dudes?

Adam Schatz: It needed to happen. This summer seemed like the only time we could go for it as a band where no one knew who we were. But we still wanted to play our music across the country.

I also wanted to see how folks in cities that weren't New York responded to our music. New York is supremely spoiled with its heavy supply of adventurous improvised and creative jazz music. Which is definitely part of where we're coming from, but I knew that some of the places we were playing didn't have any community for that music at all.

PJ: How do people in New York respond to your music? I presume, also, that a lot of the shows you've ever put on are attended in large part by people you know ...

AS: It's true, first and foremost we have friends in the audience, but we've been fortunate to be exposed to some new audiences in New York City. We played at Death By Audio with Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers, an awesome rock group, and that crowd responded supremely to what we were doing. Which I think is modern jazz music crafted for the underground rock scene — a blend of strong melodic adventures, improvisation, with a weird pop sensibility at times. It's never based around solos as much as collective improvisation, creating spontaneous forms and new directions.

PJ: So, to be clear, it's improvised music with jazz instrumentation ... but it's not exactly "jazz" as most people think of it.

AS: Precisely. The term "zombie jazz" seems to fit. Once people hear it, they understand. Plus, it's a great word to get people's attention in the press. I think we got a few writeups on tour solely because we wrote "zombie jazz" in the email header.

PJ: You like this zombie idea.

AS: It's stuck with me since I first started throwing shows. But the zombie energy is a good one. It's not too cerebral. They're more concerned with eating brains rather than spending too much time using one. I think it favors the instinct, and human curiosity, things everyone can get behind.

PJ: So when you say you went on tour, you didn't just go on it — you planned, booked, drove, did it yourself, as it were.

AS: Correct. I did most of the booking myself — our keys player Ross booked some core shows too. We gave ourselves about three months to put it together and I think the whole thing was booked within two months.

It wasn't the first tour I've put together, but it's the longest. Twenty-five shows in 28 days. Mostly in places I'd never been to before.

PJ: Well, there were big cities with large music scenes to be sure, but there were others too, no?

AS: Absolutely, in the booking process I had to research everywhere we were going to find out who the best folks were to contact about shows. And it really exposed which places had scenes for music leaning on the weirder side and which places didn't.

Seattle has an amazing creative jazz scene, and we hooked up with a collective there called the Monktail Creative Music Concern who put us on their Sounds Outside festival with Wayne Horvitz. Their band Figeater played a show with us as well.

But then Portland, Ore. has much less of a scene, and so we played two rock clubs there (both were former funeral homes), and those shows were also really great. The audiences hadn't heard anything like us before, so that was a real treat.

PJ: I was gonna say, I presume you also played shows to crowds which weren't used to weirdo, err, zombie jazz. What was it like?

AS: One thing you get used to in New York is music students describing your music on their terms. But that's not the way the real world is, that's not the way most human listeners are.

PJ: Right right.

AS: So my favorite moment in that regard came in Portland, at funeral home #1, The Woods. An audience member was describing the feeling he got during one of our newer songs, "The Steamship Authority," which starts off with a steady pounding. And he said, "At that moment, I wished I was a rubber ball." And that just totally made my night.

But I think we are lucky in that the sounds we've found for ourselves really do fit into a wider realm of accessibility. So what we get a lot is, "You know, I've always liked jazz, but THIS..." I think we are able to take it to a new level for people who aren't necessarily jazz fans — which is a good feeling.

PJ: Here's another question. How much money did you lose?

AS: We lost no money!!! We did a Kickstarter fundraiser before the tour, because we wanted to make sure we could at least cover gas and potential van repairs, which we got out of the way before we left. So we went into this thing with $1,700, thanks to some serious, serious generosity. And gas came down to roughly $1,400. And we also bought a Kodak video camera to document everything accordingly, so that money disappeared.

PJ: One of them little flip cam guys.

AS: But we sold a bunch of records, and got paid at most shows, and occasionally got paid what we deserved, so we came out ahead. Enough to be able to fund our new record, which we're going into the studio for in September.

PJ: Wow. So you actually got paid enough to cover even food and lodging, and have some left over?

AS: Well, here's the most genius part. Ninety percent of the time we stayed with family or friends of family. We crashed with my grandparents, one of our girlfriends' grandma, one of our moms' college roommates, some aunts and uncles, the whole nine. But every step of the way we were with people who were psyched to have company, and were psyched to cook for us. So we actually spent very little on food and slept pretty great. Most of the time. We only got two motels the entire trip.

PJ: Ah so. Crafty ones, you are. Now, let's mention here, for the sake of launching another point. The money you made on this trip: it probably wasn't at the level that most jazz groups are used to pulling in. (Most jazz groups who manage to tour in the U.S., that is.) But it was probably comparable to that which some unknown rock band doing a similar tour would have made. Is that fair?

AS: That is indeed fair. A few choice shows gave us guarantees ...

PJ: Meaning a guaranteed level of $$.

AS: Yes. We could make as little as $25 on a show — usually it was better, but it all depends. We were going on the good graces of the people who booked us, and no one had heard of us in any of these places. The priority was the journey, the act of just doing it, hoping to reach new ears and not thinking twice.

PJ: Right right. So in light of that: why don't more jazz acts/"jazz" acts do this? I think I can provide the beginning of an answer. One, is that they don't have the business savvy of someone like you, who has been booking shows for years now. Two is that they often have families to support and day jobs/teaching positions to maintain, and it's tough to go on tour at all. Third is that it's not worth it, at that level of pay, for many artists.

At the same time ... well, you finish that sentence.

AS: In the real world, this sort of endeavor can only be worth it if people know who you are. If we had 100 people at every show we would have made plenty of money. But there's not an easy way for music from this world to be spread beyond New York City. Bands will tour to California, but most of the country largely gets ignored.

So step one is bringing the music to more people. Then the audiences will be there and be ready. When we tour again, more people will know of us, and we'll make more money. But ideally we'll have a better vehicle too, as great as it was to race to the coast in my childhood minivan.

PJ: See, that's the way of touring right? Once you can afford to play a nicer venue/use a nicer vehicle/make real, guaranteed bread, you will ... but sometimes that requires an agent, or a manager, or the time to worry about all those details, no? It gets easier, but it never gets easier.

And I guess that's why most bands make records, even if it's a net loss. (Especially now.) They need something such that people actually know who they are. Blowing unsuspecting peoples' minds is fun — but it's not a great way to make a living.

AS: Yeah, but guys aren't making records that they're totally proud of these days. It's in and out of the studio in a weekend. That's why this record is something I'm so proud of — it's been two years in the making!

PJ: Well there you go. Do you "wish," in any sense, that more jazz artists pursued this whole DIY touring thing? What would happen if they did?

AS: Absolutely, but the music needs to make sense. I think a lot of guys would need to take a little gloss off if they did it, so the music would make sense in the rock club setting. We can definitely get loud and crunchy at times. It also helped that we are best friends, so being cramped in a van ... it's all right.

PJ: I wonder about that sometimes. Jazz has all these performance conventions, usually. It's quiet. People applaud after soloing. They're seated.

AS: Yeah. We played a few seated shows, which were cool, but definitely not as fun. Our final show was in Cincinnati. We knew no one there. We were one of two bands in this cave venue called Bunk Space.

PJ: Like an actual cave?

AS: Looked like it. Looked like an underground airport hangar. Curved stone walls. So beautiful. Anyways, there were only 10 folks there when the first band finished, and then as we started playing the crowd swelled to around 30. They were kids who showed up just to hear music.

This wasn't in a downtown area — it was essentially the slums. But people trusted this space for music and they trusted the guy who books it. So they didn't know us, we didn't know them, but the experience was unreal. They loved the music and bought the records and yelled when they wanted to and it was just this incredible feeling. And I thought, "What if it could always be like this? But instead of 30, it's 100 people?" It's not too much to ask, and I think it's highly possible. And I'd take 100 people standing and shouting any day over 300 people sitting.

This tour proved it for me. We were going on nothing and still got something. Imagine what will happen next time, when we're going on something. We'll come back with ... lots of things!

PJ: Haha! Ok. So what final things do you need to tell people about touring?

AS: Avoid fast food. You don't have to eat it. I've toured on fast food before, and this time there was none. (Save for a Starbucks sandwich on the final drive home where we had to eat at a rest stop just because we wanted to get back to N.Y. as fast as possible.) Take at least three months to book the damn thing. And really work on a write-up for the band that will help you stand out. Everyone does something unique musically, so it's about figuring out how to put that in words. It will make booking and bringing in some press a hell of a lot easier.

And lastly, document everything. We filmed and audio-recorded every show and it will be so useful. Aside from just promo stuff, we can study the performances and hear what the music is doing. With improvisation I've found that listening back is priceless.

BBC 6 Music announces DIY Weekend

2010-08-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - BBC 6 Music announces DIY Weekend"

Andrew Laughlin

BBC 6 Music has announced plans to hand over the station's schedule to listeners at the end of the month for a Do It Yourself Weekend.

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend (August 26 to 30), the digital station - which recently increased its weekly audience to 1.19 million - will challenge its listeners to say what they want to hear on the schedule.

The DIY Weekend will start on August 26 for Steve Lamacq's Roundtable (6-7pm), with three listeners being invited for a special Listener Roundtable to review listener-suggested tracks.

Tom Robinson's show on August 27, the Craig Charles Funk And Soul Show on August 28 and Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone on August 29 will all feature more listener-focused playlists.

The weekend will culminate with a 12-hour Bank Holiday Monday Takeover, starting with Shaun Keaveny's Breakfast Show at 7am and running right through the day until 7pm.

Listeners are able to submit their requests on the dedicated 6 Music DIY website right up to the Bank Holiday on August 30.

Jim Jones Goes DIY in Brooklyn

2010-08-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Jim Jones Goes DIY in Brooklyn"

Carter Maness

Brooklyn is well known for both its hip-hop and DIY indie rock scenes, but it's a rare moment when the two convincingly join together to create something truly bizarre. One of those instances took place last Friday during a hipster indie rock and electro-tinged show at a warehouse venue called Death By Audio in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood. In the midst of a bill promoted by a body called Less Artists More Condos, Jim Jones made an unannounced appearance to perform 'Salute' to the venue's sold out and sweaty crowd.

The odd cameo took place during a set by an electro band from Philadelphia called Snakes Say Hisss. Jones, who had been in the backstage-less building for a bit, stepped out during the band's set as the musicians went into the regal fanfare of the recent Dipset comeback single. The crowd, truly puzzled and packed tightly, went nuts after the initial confusion subsided.

Of course, Jones' cameo didn't completely come out of nowhere. Less Artists More Condos has done considerable work over the past year promoting shows at Under 100, Damon Dash's secretive TriBeCa basement venue, and it appears that that friendship is what brought the Byrd Gang leader over the East River in the first place. Dash was the other guest of the night -- watching approvingly from the back of the room as Jones did his thing for the kids.

DIY fashion hits the land of haute couture

2010-08-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY fashion hits the land of haute couture"

Jenny Barchfield

In the realm of haute couture, where seamstresses concoct handmade gowns that cost as much as a car, one atelier has caused a sensation by purveying a different kind of made-to-measure.

Call it do-it-yourself chic.

The atelier, called the Sweat Shop, is a kind of Internet cafe where Singer sewing machines replace computers, and would-be fashion designers and creatively inclined clotheshorses pay by the hour to stitch their own garments.

The brainchild of a Swiss makeup artist and an Austrian clothing designer, Sweat Shop opened in March, as France was still reeling from the global economic crisis and unemployment in the country stood at more than 10 percent.

"It seems like a strange thing to say, but the crisis turned out to be the perfect timing for us," said Martena Duss, the atelier's Swiss-born co-founder. "After years of having this attitude that was all about consumption, people are now about recycling and saving and being creative."

It costs $7.90 per hour to use one of the Singers, but some prior sewing experience is required. For novices, Duss and her co-owner, Sissi Holleis, offer sewing classes five evenings a week. Because home economics classes have long been absent from the French public school curriculum, the lessons are Sweat Shop's most popular offerings, Duss said.

Beginners all start with the same simple projects -- a pillow or a bag -- but after that, clients come with their own fabric and ideas.

"The most frustrating thing for people is that they just don't realize how time-consuming it's going to be," Duss said. "They come in here thinking they're going to make a wedding dress in a single afternoon, and it's like, 'Um, no, that's just not possible.' "
ad_icon

Sweat Shop has attracted considerable attention from French fashion magazines, and 80 percent of its clientele are women 25 to 35 years old, said Duss, adding that, for some reason, "there are lots of men in the knitting classes." The shop also attracts a fair share of people passing through Paris, as well as some veteran seamstresses, such as the 80-year-old Swedish woman who spends nearly every afternoon there.

The shop has already proven a much bigger success than Duss and Holleis envisioned.

"We were a bit nervous because there isn't much of a do-it-yourself culture in France," Duss said. "Maybe it's because there's so much perfection all around, with haute couture and haute cuisine, but French people are generally reticent do things that may not be perfect.

"But now, I think people are eager to express themselves and be their own designer and personalize what they wear. They don't all want to be going around in the same H&M T-shirt," she said, adding that she and Holleis have gotten franchise offers.

"For the moment, we're taking it slow. This is like our baby, so we want it to have time to grow up a little. But we sometimes joke that our goal is to have three stores in three years," she said.

A top destination for the first new branch? Possibly New York, she said.

Deadline extended for do-it-yourself wildlife art benefit

2010-07-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Deadline extended for do-it-yourself wildlife art benefit"

Barbara Curtin

The deadline has been extended a day for those who want to create a canvas to benefit oil-soaked gulf wildlife.

People can stop by Project Space, 150 Liberty St. NE, to buy a small canvas for $5 on Saturday. The summer gallery will be open from noon to 7 p.m. After decorating it any way they choose, they should return it on Tuesday.

The finished works will be sold for $20 each at an event from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Project Space. So far, about 100 canvases are being prepared, according to Barry Shapiro, the organizer.
Proceeds will benefit the National Wildlife Federation.

Thomas Morris Warm weather helps boost DIY salesNew figures have revealed that outdoor DIY sales climbed last month, as an increasing number of consu

2010-07-15T03:14:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Warm weather helps boost DIY sales"

Thomas Morris

New figures have revealed that outdoor DIY sales climbed last month, as an increasing number of consumers acquired leisure and home improvement products in the warm weather.

According to the British Retail Consortium, retail transaction values grew across the UK with a 1.2 per cent year-on-year rise seen in June, despite the 1.4 per cent increase seen at the same time last year.

The body explained that the sun helped sales, even though it was cooler in June this year than 12 months previous.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, DIY expert Jeff Howell recently issued some advice to homeowners seeking to keep cool this summer.

Mr Howell identified ventilation as the key to remaining comfortable in stifling temperatures.

To this aim, he advised DIY enthusiasts to open roof windows, loft hatches and windows downstairs.

Thomas Morris Warm weather helps boost DIY salesNew figures have revealed that outdoor DIY sales climbed last month, as an increasing number of consu

2010-07-15T03:14:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Warm weather helps boost DIY sales"

Thomas Morris

Google launches do-it-yourself Android app software

2010-07-13T05:10:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Google launches do-it-yourself Android app software"

Patrick Stafford

Internet giant Google has released a new piece of software allowing users to create Android apps without requiring any knowledge of complex computer code, but the move has frustrated professional developers.

Some say the decision will only exaggerate the fragmented nature of the Android market, and will create hundreds of new apps no one will buy and spam the app markets even more.

Google announced the App Inventor software in its blog, saying the product will make it "Easy for anyone" to create mobile apps for Android devices.

"For many people, their mobile phone - and access to the Internet - is always within reach. App Inventor for Android gives everyone, regardless of programming experience, the opportunity to control and reshape their communication experience," the company said.

"We've observed people take pride in becoming creators of mobile technology and not just consumers of it."

The company said it had already tested the software in classrooms, and wants non-professional developers to try it out. Users need to fill out a form before they can get started, and should watch an instructional video as well.

The apps market has exploded over the past two years, as developers quit their day jobs to create new and innovative programs. But the one barrier to programming is learning huge amounts of programming code – an obstacle that turns off many would-be developers with a good idea.

But professional developers say this new invention isn't necessarily a good thing for the industry.

Keith Ahern, chief executive of development studio BJango, says while it is good new developers will be able to access the Android market, he believes it could result in a flood of low-quality apps.

"What Apple enjoys is a lot of high quality apps, because the App Store doesn't act like the internet. This type of software will make Google more like the internet, and it could devalue the Android platform even more."
While Apple has been criticised for tightly controlling its App market, Google has received the same criticism for its largely fragmented software and apps culture.

"I think Google just have more work to do to find good quality apps, as they are not as mature in the whole app store ecosystem. Before Google reaches that level I think they have a way to go."

But Rafif Yalda, developer at Melbourne-based studio Lookout Mobile, says this tool will fit a particular need for apps that don't require a lot of polish.

"Not all of the apps need to have a polished user interface like you see on the iPhone. Sometimes in the business there are people still using old languages, and they don't look pretty but they do the job."

"I think this will help those people. It could aid a lot of quality non-robust apps. There's two sides to this, but it's hard to gauge how it will be at this point because the software is so new."

YouTube beauty gurus teach how to do it yourself

2010-07-13T05:09:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - YouTube beauty gurus teach how to do it yourself"

Stephanie Chen, CNN

The techno music thumps in the background, but Michelle Phan's voice is a contrast, soothing like a lullaby. In precisely seven minutes and 33 seconds, if you follow Phan's meticulous instructions, she can transform you into the wide-eyed Lady Gaga from the "Bad Romance" video.

Nearly ten million people have watched this florid romance-inspired makeup tutorial produced by Phan. Some tried to emulate Lady Gaga's dramatic eyes defined by creamy white eyeliner and fluttering lashes. Others clicked on the video just to catch a glimpse of Phan, a self-made styling sensation who reigns as the No. 1 beauty stylist on YouTube.

"I love how one thing can transform the face," said Phan, who lives in Los Angeles, California. "I'm an artist, so I love how just one medium can transform a canvas. Eyeliner can really make a woman's eye more accentuated. A red lipstick can make a woman look sexier."

YouTube officials estimate there are thousands upon thousands of self-made beauty tutorials on their site since its inception in 2005. The company says these beauty videos are revolutionary in many ways -- connecting with millions of viewers, redefining the role of social media and changing the way some novice stylists launch their careers.

"YouTube has become a video encyclopedia of make up," said Sadia Harper, a YouTube manager who oversees the how-to and styling videos.

At just 23, Phan's YouTube popularity has even landed her a gig as a representative at beauty giant Lancôme. Before her videos debuted, Phan recalls applying for a sales job at a Lancôme makeup counter in Florida in 2007.

They told her she didn't have enough experience.

After the rejection, Phan returned to her college apartment, where her first do-it-yourself styling video was born. She relied on a relatively simple combination of her Macbook Pro and basic film editing programs. Phan appears in all her videos as the instructor: a petite, soft-spoken young woman with a versatile face that effortlessly pulls off the wide range of looks she teaches.

"I'm really passionate about makeup, and I shouldn't let one person who said no not let me achieve my dreams," she said. "I thought: 'What do I have to lose?' It was summer vacation, and I didn't have a job."

Three years later, she now boasts about 100 videos on her channel MichellePhan. They are neatly documented, easily searchable and the best part: They are free.

Viewers can learn how to achieve seductive, smoky eyes and kissable cheeks. They can even copy the "Avatar" look by using blue and lavender eye shadows. If it sounds hard, there are no worries. Phan guides them, step by step.

On average, she receives at least a million views for each video.

"These days, social media is a really important place for personal expression of body image and for circulating new ideas on what can be done with body," says Victoria Pitts-Taylor, a professor of sociology at the City University of New York. She has studied how people think about their bodies and the web.
These days, social media is a really important place for personal expression of body image.

--Professor Victoria Pitts-Taylor

Similar to successful blogs about cooking, dining and interior decorating, YouTube videos with styling and makeup advice can be a way for professionals, especially women, to build their entrepreneurial skills, Pitts-Taylor said.

Samantha Maria, who declined to give her last name for privacy, is an aspiring stylist who hopes her videos will help her strengthen her beauty career. Better known as BeautyCrush on YouTube, she considers herself an ordinary 20-year-old student studying in Southampton, England.

Her makeup and beauty videos are inspired by what she sees on the streets, she says. With her charming British accent, she narrates dozens of videos. She says she was recognized once by a stranger who followed her videos.

"I was so shocked, but it was great as the girl was lovely," she said. "I shouted her out in a video because I was still excited about it."

And it's not just how-to tutorials on make up that have garnered the attention of viewers.

Patricia Otegwu specializes in hair and fashion on her channel, BritPopPrincess. She is a 23 year old with an affable smile, who lives in her parent's London home. She had difficulty finding a job in rocky economic times, so she's continuing with her video ventures hoping they will help her launch her own hair products.

"It's an exciting but daunting experience," Otegwu said.

Jonah Berger, assistant professor of marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, said social media can be a creative and promising way to launch career.

"Before social media, you either worked your way through the ranks or you had to know the right people," Berger said. "Social media democratized the progress to some degree."

But Berger points out most self-made stylists don't become famous.
Before social media, you either worked your way through the ranks or you had to know the right people.

--Professor Jonah Berger

For Michelle Phan, standing out from the pack online hasn't been a problem.

Phan laughs when she talks about how her mother wanted her to become a doctor in college for the lucrative salary. But Phan told her mother she'd rather follow passion for makeup. Now, her videos and skin care line allow her to help financially support her mother and siblings.

Despite her internet fame, she still finds time to connect with her fans. She has Twitter and Facebook pages, where she writes back to as many fans as she can each day.

"Michelle you are such an amazing artist you have inspired me in so many ways, to be more creative in everything. thank you for everything :) xx," writes Facebook user Becky Wyburn on Phan's wall.

Sometimes the comments aren't so kind, but Phan, like many self-made stylists online, have learned to take the good with the bad.

"It's like art," she said. "Of course not everyone is going to like a Picasso painting, but at the end of the day, I know I put a lot of thought through the process."

Conservatory Land to Extend Product Range Beyond DIY Conservatories

2010-07-13T05:08:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Conservatory Land to Extend Product Range Beyond DIY Conservatories"

Marketwire

DIY Conservatory manufacturer ConservatoryLand, is to extend their product range with a selection of accessories which their customers can order at the same time as their conservatories or after taking delivery.

The company has struck deals with selected suppliers of conservatory blinds, furniture, floor coverings, underfloor heating systems and other relevant products.

David Bingham, Director of ConservatoryLand says "When a customer takes delivery of a conservatory, it doesn't end there. They typically purchase blinds, furniture and floor tiles as well as installing some kind of heating system to enable them to use their DIY conservatories all year round".

ConservatoryLand describe their new business model as a 'one-stop shop' where their customers can purchase everything they need, all from one place and all at the same time to turn their conservatory in to a usable and comfortable living space.

With the recent introduction of their ConservaBase steel base system, the company is now able to provide the complete DIY conservatory solution from the ground up, including quality conservatories, a quick and easy method of creating firm foundations, and a range of essential accessories to kit out the interior, all in one go.

David Bingham continues "We will only sell high quality products and the deals that we have agreed with our suppliers mean that we can now supply much of our conservatory furniture and accessories at hugely discounted prices and often at a far lower cost than our customers can purchase similar items elsewhere".

The company also states that many of their range of accessories are delivered direct from the manufacturers and can be scheduled for delivery to their customer's homes at a time that is convenient for them, normally after their conservatory has been erected which alleviates any potential storage problems.

ConservatoryLand intend launching their new range of conservatory accessories in the Autumn of 2010 and plan to make them available to purchase online before the end of the year.

For more information about the Conservatory Land range of accessories, contact:

David Bingham

Conservatory Land
Old Mill Park
Mansfield Woodhouse
Nottinghamshire
NG19 9BG

Canadian rockers Arcade Fire maintain DIY mystique

2010-07-06T02:35:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Canadian rockers Arcade Fire maintain DIY mystique"

David J. Prince

The seven members of Arcade Fire, the Montreal band renowned for its fierce DIY commitment and aversion to the record-industry grind, are gearing up to release their first album in four years next month.

"The Suburbs" comes out on August 2 in the United Kingdom and a day later in Canada and the United States. It marks the follow-up to 2006's "Neon Bible" and their 2004 debut "Funeral," which each sold about half a million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Neon Bible" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

The band retains a tight grip on its destiny: it owns its own recording studio, master recordings and publishing rights; licenses those rights to different labels across the globe, territory by territory; refuses corporate sponsorships, private-party gigs and most commercial placements; and calls the shots for every major decision.

It's an approach that serves Arcade Fire extremely well, giving it the ability to manage its affairs in a way that embodies the DIY ethos born in the hardcore punk scene of the early '80s while writing anthemic, cathartic songs and performing them to arena audiences.

Now, with "The Suburbs" about to land in cities and suburbs alike, the band's "new DIY" tactics can serve as a road map for artists of all sizes and styles navigating the 21st-century music business.

"They march to the beat of their own drum, and people really respond to that," says C3 Presents promoter/talent buyer Huston Powell, who booked the band for the first Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in 2005 and will see it return as a headliner this summer. "I wish for the whole music industry there were 10 more Arcade Fires out there."

EIGHT DIFFERENT COVERS

The album will once again come out in North America through North Carolina-based indie label Merge Records, which has a 50/50 profit-sharing deal with the band. It will be released with eight different covers (which will be distributed randomly and not to specific retailers; none will have bonus tracks), with a deluxe version for sale only through the band's website.

Two songs from "The Suburbs" were unveiled on NPR's "All Songs Considered" while brothers and bandmates Win and Will Butler sat for a live chat, fielding questions submitted by fans through Twitter. Another track, "Ready to Start," had its debut on alternative KNDD Seattle, while U.K. DJ Zane Lowe premiered "We Used to Wait."

Before they got married, Win Butler and Regine Chassagne formed Arcade Fire in 2003 in Montreal.

"We were very much a live band," Butler recalls. "It's in our DNA to be a live band -- so when we had a certain amount of local success from being a live band we were able to very slowly fund ('Funeral')."

By March 2005, however, the volume of requests -- for interviews, licensing, show offers and the general day-to-day business of being in a band -- had begun to take more time than rehearsing, touring and actually being in the band. They brought on manager Scott Rodger, Bjork's longtime handler and a member of Paul McCartney's inner circle of advisers.

"What immediately put them into a different league was the fact that they controlled their own rights from day one," Rodger says. "They very cost-effectively made their first album, and then made some strategic deals that would bring in some money for them to buy their own recording studio and be able to be self-sufficient and make their own recordings."

The band also hired booking agent David "Boche" Viecelli, whose Chicago-based company, Billions, had earned a reputation for shrewd bookings and personal artist relationships with bands like Pavement.

After the success of "Funeral," the volume of offers to sign a major-label deal reached a deafening level. Label talent scouts people were dispatched to Montreal with unlimited expense accounts and free rein to offer the band whatever it would take to sign.

"We didn't have any money, so we were like, 'We're not going to sign with you, but if you want to buy us hotel rooms, go for it, we're not going to stop you.' But we were very upfront with their prospects," Butler says. "When anyone said, 'Leave Merge and we'll give you lots of money,' that was never tempting. It got pretty silly at the very end."

MYSTERY MUSICIANS

One result of the close-knit approach is the members' ability to maintain an air of mystique and secrecy about their personal lives. You're not going to find any of them discussing their daily routines on Twitter. Yet even though they've maintained a wall of privacy, the connection fans feel with them is personal and intense.

"I don't know if I'm old-fashioned, but I feel like the fan relationship involves putting out records," Butler says. "We've always really tried to connect with our audience when we play live -- we don't take it lightly to go onstage and play--it's the DNA of what this band does and we couldn't exist in the same way without that."

This summer, Arcade Fire picks up in the live arena exactly where it left off after taking a two-year hiatus. The world tour for "Neon Bible" began in early 2007 with multinight runs at tiny churches in Montreal, London and New York and ended a year later having notched 122 shows (including 33 festivals) in 75 cities in 15 countries.

Until the three, small June warm-up gigs in Toronto and Montreal, the band's only live appearances since the "Neon Bible" tour ended were four get-out-the-vote gigs for then-candidate Barack Obama's campaign in Ohio and North Carolina, and on inauguration night Arcade Fire shared the stage with Jay-Z at the Obama for America Staff Ball at the Armory in Washington, D.C.

The "Suburbs" tour will find the band playing less frequently and in larger venues. "They know that an Arcade Fire show is a cathartic experience for the band and for the audience," Viecelli says. "The band really is laying it out there emotionally onstage, investing a ton of energy and heart, and they realized that if they do that for too long or too much, they can't maintain that genuine performance level."

Amphitheatre shows in Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Atlanta and Columbia, Va., comprise most of the U.S. gigs on the books for 2010. In New York, an August 4 show at Madison Square Garden sold out so quickly that a second show was added the next night. More North American shows are in the works for later this year, and in 2011 the band will do some more overseas touring, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan. But Viecelli expects there will be plenty of leftover demand for more Arcade Fire shows.

Educator moonlights as do-it-yourself novelist

2010-07-06T02:33:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Educator moonlights as do-it-yourself novelist"

Trey Wood, LaGrange Daily News

In a world of do-it-yourself attitudes and abilities, almost no goal is out of reach.

Want to write, record and make money off your own rock album? You can do it, without a record company.

Want to film your own movie in high definition and have it seen by family, friends and strangers all over the world? You can do it, without a major motion picture group.

A Troup County school principal wanted to do something similar in scope. He didn't want to make a movie or write his own album, but some might think the goal would be just as much out of reach.

Long Cane Middle School principal Chip Giles is a do-it-yourself, published author. He already published a compendium of short sailing stories, and now he's an established writer with his own book, "The Conch Killers," about two yacht enthusiasts and Army veterans helping bring back a rich man's kidnapped daughter.

It's a story and a dream six years in the making, ever since Giles' wife, Kelly, started taking night classes at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

"I did not want her to have to go drive there after work by herself, park, face that whole downtown scene at night, so I went with her," Giles said. "While she was in class, I went and sat in the library."

A love of sailing, adventure and Key West, Fla., brought him to some of Florida's greatest crime writers, such as Carl Hiaasen, John B. MacDonald and personal hero Tim Dorsey. All wrote stories involving protagonists with extreme levels of character, part of the reason Giles became so enthralled with the writing style.

"That's kind of a hallmark of the south Florida crime fiction genre is these over-the-top, outlandish characters," he said. "If you're bad, you're really bad. If you're a buffoon, you're a real moron. Everything is extreme, and (there's) a lot of humor in their writing. And I was loving it. I ate it up."

He's not writing or marketing for his middle-schoolers, however. "The Conch Killers" is an adult-aged novel with curse words and violence, but he's already answered a few questions from parents about it.

"It does have words, and middle schoolers don't need to be reading those words," he said. "They need to be reading Harry Potter and Goosebumps and R.L. Stein and, heaven forbid, the Twilight books."

Coming up on his retirement from the National Guard, Giles is going to start spending more weekends writing and doing book signings. He's traveled to Atlanta and across Florida promoting his novel, and it takes up a large amount of his time when he's not being an educator.

"I need weekends now, need weekends to write, need weekends to go do book writings," he said.

"It'd be nice to have weekends to go cut the grass every now and then."

Marketing is a big part of being self-published, and Giles has no one doing it for him. His signings are set up on his own time when he can schedule them, and he's got to hound bookstores to solidify his signing days.

Thanks to the digital age, he sees a lot more online sales with devices like Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle allowing readers to do their reading without books in hand.

"Amazon can buy my books cheaper than I can buy my books. It's just the way it is," he said. "Amazon has changed this market. I'm telling you."

"If I sell a dozen books, that's a good sign," although it's a far cry from his goal of 10,000 book sales, which would make serious publishing houses take him seriously, as Tim Dorsey told him.

For now, Giles will continue doing things his way. He'll take pictures with everyone who buys his book at a signing and give them his personal bookmarks, he'll send them e-mails thanking them for their patronage, he'll go the extra mile to make sure that when he publishes another book, he'll have readers clambering back for more.

"You've got to give people a positive interaction, and it goes beyond just a good book and good writing. There's a lot of people who have good writing. There're a lot of good writing out there," Giles said. "There're a lot of people who write good books who will never be successful because you have to do more."

Trey Wood can be reached at twood @ lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.

DIY House Crashers ambush Ormewood Park

2010-07-03T00:41:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY House Crashers ambush Ormewood Park"

Katie Leslie, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After buying his Ormewood home, Dan Bush confidently drew a giant “X” on the wall of the kitchen, promising to remodel the outdated, cramped and dingy space.

Four years later, the kitchen hadn’t changed much. That is, until Bush and his wife, Caroline, were randomly chosen by DIY Network’s Josh Temple for his show “House Crashers.” The family will be featured in Monday night's episode.

Temple, a high-energy handy host based in California, pounced on the unsuspecting couple last spring as they shopped at The Dump in Atlanta.

“I was like, ‘Why is that guy staring at me? And wait, there’s a light behind him and a camera behind him,’” Dan Bush recalls of the ambush.

The couple, who work in Atlanta's film industry, didn’t hesitate when Temple asked if they would turn over the keys of their home in exchange for a new room. Temple, a licensed contractor, briefly considered remodeling their living area, until he saw the kitchen, he said.

“The impact of this kitchen will be huge," Temple said. "And I didn’t come here to Atlanta just to do a living room.”

That’s not to say the homeowners didn’t have fears, said Dan Bush, a filmmaker.

“I was extremely nervous, but I thought if I get new appliances and the wall out – I can finish it [if they don't],” he said. “I said, ‘Just don’t give me a lime kitchen with a stupid back-splash.'”

With the help of Atlanta-based builders Clear Sky Homes, DIY overhauled the Bushes’ kitchen in three days. Under Temple's direction, the crew and homeowners took out the awkward partial wall and laid out a new, open floor plan. They built an island with a new cook-top and constructed a bar from barn wood. Outdated cabinets and counter tops were replaced. . A stainless steel farmhouse sink and stained concrete floors add to the contemporary look.

As with any project compressed into three days, there were a few snags. The old sink had damaged portions of the sub-floor; time prohibited the crew from replacing all of the old plaster walls; the dishwasher broke within days of installation and some of the wiring was incomplete, Bush noted.

However, even with those hang-ups, the homeowners said the new kitchen has transformed the way they use their home.

"It feels bigger and cleaner. It’s my favorite room in the house now. We eat in there, and hang out in there," Dan Bush said. "They inspired me to take matters into my own hands to take what they had done and expand on it."

To that end, the couple have carried the barn wood motif into their pantry and are now tackling a laundry room makeover, he said.

And in a way, that's exactly what host Temple wants.

“This is not a tear-jerker thing. We just try to have fun," Temple said. "We show people how to do it themselves.”

Highlights of DIY projects from the episode:

* How to prepare and pour self-leveling concrete floors
* Easy cosmetic fixes for decrepit walls and ceilings
* Building a kitchen island from cabinetry
* How to make a rustic counter-top from barn wood

Free Muvizu 3D Software Fuels DIY Animation

2010-07-03T00:38:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Free Muvizu 3D Software Fuels DIY Animation"

Hugh Hart

DIY storytellers hankering to make animated shorts despite an absence of actual drawing skills now have hope, thanks to free software that lets would-be Pixar auteurs put words in the mouths of pre-rendered characters.

Muvizu 3D

(pronounced “movie zoo”) offers a cast of characters awaiting commands to run, jump and walk through prebuilt sets while lip-syncing lines of imported dialogue. The company plans to introduce a new set of characters and background settings every few weeks.

YouTube user Sustic used Muvizu to create the Frankenstein short embedded above.

Muvizu is the brainchild of Digimania’s Matthew Karas. The software, based on videogame engine Unreal Engine 3 and currently in beta, works only on systems that run Windows 7, Vista or XP. To help animators master the easy-to-use program, the Muvizu website provides tutorial videos, discussion forums and collaboration tools for registered members.

Digimania managing director Vince Ryan says the launch of Muvizu means “you no longer need to spend three years learning how to build an animation and another three months rendering it. You can learn how to use this software in a matter of minutes and have a professional-looking clip finished the same afternoon. It’s instant gratification for the internet age.”

PR Maven Claudine DeSola Hosts Do-It-Yourself DJ Party

2010-06-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - PR Maven Claudine DeSola Hosts Do-It-Yourself DJ Party"

Charles Thorp

Have you ever been at a party and disagreed with every song selection the DJ was making? Ever dreamed of hitting the turntables yourself and making the room bounce? PR Maven Claudine DeSola wants to give you that chance at her newly launched party called Spun, where spin-master wannabes get a basic DJ tutorial and the rare chance to pick their own playlist.

Niteside grabbed a moment with Claudine at The Foundation in the Lower East Side where Spun is hosted from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. There, we chatted with the host about where the idea came from, the first mistake young DJs make and how everyone in Manhattan secretly wants to dance to Justin Bieber’s “Baby, Baby.”

Where did the idea come from? Well, when Foundation opened they really wanted some unique events happening during the week. It was a good idea because you really need to do interesting programming, especially in the Lower East Side, to stand out. I have so many friends who are DJs that I thought it might be fun to host a sort of karaoke night but for DJing. I fleshed the idea out with Robbie Bellon, whose opinion I really respect. We came up with a night where people get to take turns at the tables where I teach them how to spin. Many don’t really understand how much is involved with it, but there are a lot of people out there excited to learn.

What have been a few of the great moments from Spun already? We had a really great turnout last time, and I would say that 30 percent of the crowd came truly prepared and really wanted to learn. Some of them had some fantastic playlists and were listening to everything that I told them. If you come in with that attitude there is potential to really walk away with something. Then we had this group of girls come in who were obviously there to just to play around. They were drinking, posing with the headphones on and taking pictures. They probably just wanted to post pictures that made it look like they were DJing a party in the city. We welcome those kinds of people too.

What’s your biggest piece of advice for wannabe DJs? I think that if you really want to learn then pay attention. The great thing about this party versus trying to learn on your own is you have a real Manhattan crowd at the lesson with you. It’s instant gratification. Whether they like the song or not you have that feedback, which is invaluable. You get a real sense of what works and what doesn’t work.

What’s the biggest mistake that amateur DJs usually make? Everybody immediately wants to know how [to] scratch. It’s like wanting to run before you know how to walk. First you need to understand how to drop the beat and transition from song to song. I don’t blame them; when you think of DJing you immediately think about scratching. It’s just what we’ve been taught and have seen.

Who do you admire as a DJ and why? I have a lot of favorite DJs. My favorite house DJ is probably Paul Oakenfold. ... If I’m talking about local New York DJs Jesse Marco comes to mind. Also DJ Cassidy, he is amazing at what he does and has a completely original technique. Of course, there is Mark Ronson, who also does great mixes. On a personal level, I truly admire Josh Madden, who is a friend of mine. I like him because the music he finds is truly interesting. He has such a huge inventory and he seems to find new bands before they're cool. He’s a DJ who will introduce you to your next favorite band -- it’s not just about what you’re hearing on the radio and who’s playing at Coachella.

What was one of the coolest parties that you have DJed? I really love spinning at Fashion Week events. This year I did one in New York that had around 1800 people. Fabulous and a bunch of other people were there, it’s always fun with that kind of crowd there.

How did you start DJing? I always wanted to play an instrument -- mostly drums -- but I don’t have room for a kit. So many of my friends are DJs [that] I realized I’d be foolish not to take advantage of that knowledge pool. They started teaching me and helped me really build up my iTunes library.

Some of your favorite tunes to play right now? I prefer going by what artists I’m into than particular songs. I mean, I have to say New Order. I also like a mix up of Freelance Whales and The Drums. Right now, I love Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros. I play their song “Home” a lot. Kesha’s songs are always requested so you have to have those ready. I’ll also slip some Cobra Starship, Passion Pit and Hot Chip in when I can. Then there is Justin Bieber. I mean, it’s a phenomenon that you can’t deny. When I was at that Fashion Week event I had “Baby, Baby” cued up and all the dudes in the booth with me started saying, “You can’t play that.” Josh (Madden) was there with me and he said, “Do it.” I played the song and the room went crazy -- the girls loved it and I to say that I saw most the guys on the dance floor singing along.

What the best venue to spin at right now? Right now, I’m really having fun at The Foundation. Sky Room in TImes Square Marriott is going to open soon and it’s going to be one the highest rooftops in Manhattan. It was designed by the same architect as the Gansevoort Hotel and it has a great vibe, I look forward to playing there. Paris is one of the most amazing places to work especially during Fashion Week. My dream is to DJ the Karl Lagerfeld party during Paris Fashion Week.

How a do-it-yourself librarian brought a city to book

2010-06-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - How a do-it-yourself librarian brought a city to book"

Alison McMeans

The capital’s first private library started for a simple reason: Aisha Lakdawala could not find anything to read.

“When I first came here 21 years ago, I loved books,” said Mrs Lakdawala, 39.

“But I couldn’t find what I wanted anywhere. When I did find things in the bookshop, they were very expensive. And once I’d read them, that was that.

“I had a few friends, but their choice of reading material was very different to mine. They preferred Mills and Boons, which I’m not into,” she said, referring to the British publishers of romance novels.

Her brother would cart novels over from India when he visited, and she would get her children to smuggle books home from school, to be returned once she had sated her literary appetite.

Then one day, her brother arrived on a visit from India. “My brother came over, and he had brought me some books. I was grumbling about the lack of books here. He asked why I didn’t start my own library.”

His suggestion came as an inspiration, and the rest was to make Abu Dhabi literary history. Mrs Lakdawala found a store and applied to the Government for a licence to run a private library.

It had never been done before. Mrs Lakdawala was forced to negotiate the various rungs of bureaucratic officialdom, explaining her intentions to numerous levels of administrative staff before finding someone who could help.

document.write('');

“I finally spoke to an Indian man who understood me. He said, ‘I suggest you don’t do this, sister. This business is not profitable. Why don’t you start a salon, because then you will make money?’

“I told him it wasn’t the money I was looking for.”

She found herself dragging her entire private collection, along with her brother’s donations to the store, and in 2002, the Al Shaheen library was born.

It had 400 books and four members of staff: Mrs Lakdawala, her husband and her two sons.

Slowly the library began to grow, but the low price of membership – 50 fils for a book and Dh150 for a year’s membership – meant that she had to put a lot of her own money into the project. Members donated second-hand books, and any duplicates were sold for cash that was then ploughed back into the business to buy more stock.

There are now more than 12,000 books in her collection and 400 members who read them.

Last year, she moved to a bigger shop to accommodate her large stock, and hired her first non-family member of staff. “It was too cramped. The books were literally falling on our members,” she said.

At the new library on Hamdan Street, the bookshelves are mounted on rollers so the readers can access the stacks and stacks of books more easily. Her goal is to ensure that none of her members go through what she had to endure when she arrived – a lack of good reading material.

“Whenever a member requests a book, I make a note of it. Otherwise it will be the same story. They need new books to keep themselves in the habit of reading.”

It is a habit Mrs Lakdawala is finding difficult to keep up these days. She still works full-time as a technical co-ordinator while caring for her husband and children.

“I have so many books now, and I don’t have time to read. I only manage one page at night before bed.”

And it is not only her career and the library that keep Mrs Lakdawala busy. She also volunteers at the Indian Ladies Association (ILA). “She does a lot in the community,” said Faeza Banatwala, 24, who works in customer service.

“She won an award last year, and is the most hard-working lady at the ILA. Although she is known for her friendliness, Aisha is developing another reputation – as a workaholic.”

Her husband, Mohammed, 46, agrees: “I feel like she works too much, but she likes working.”

Although the library is her baby, he helps out a lot, both manning the shop at times, and by donating funds from the family purse to keep it up and running.

“The idea was crazy, but it was also a good idea,” he said. “She always loved reading, which is why she wanted to open it.”

The library is her pride and joy, and one day she hopes to expand further, with space for a separate children’s reading area and a book club for adults. In addition to being the proprietor of Abu Dhabi’s first private library, she also has the dubious distinction of possessing the country’s largest private collection of Mills and Boon novels, with more than 4,000 of the titles.

“It’s what my members want,” she said with resignation. “But I still don’t go in for Mills and Boons myself.”

amcmeans@thenational.ae

DIY garage conversion requires careful planning

2010-06-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY garage conversion requires careful planning"

SCOTT KIRK

Mike Hosch has seen them come into Lowe’s: They’ve watched some show on HGTV and are convinced they can convert their garage into living space.

“They haven’t given it enough thought,” said Hosch, who worked as a contractor before his stint at Lowe’s. “They need to talk to a good contractor before they start.”

There are any number of pitfalls in a garage-conversion project — but most surely the biggest one is electrical.

Most garages aren’t wired for anything else except being a garage.

“That’s what ends up biting them in the tail,” Hosch said.

Still, there are some merits in converting a garage into living space.

For starters, it’s quite a bit cheaper.

“Oh, yeah,” said Larry Holmes, a Realtor with Dalzell Realtors. “You’ve already got a foundation, three walls and a roof. Whether or not the conversion adds value to your property is another matter.”

Holmes said, “When you convert something, you add something — but you take something. It isn’t like an addition, which is all positive. Any time you remodel, you should be looking at it long-term.”

A factor that will determine whether or not a garage conversion will add value to your home depends upon the neighborhood, Holmes said.

If the other houses on your block have garages, then probably your house should also have a garage.

However, especially for those who feel cramped in their home, folks might be willing to trade storage space and parking space for just plain living space.

Tracy Adams, a contractor in Abilene, has done several garage conversions, mostly outside of Abilene and mostly at older homes.

“The older homes were configured differently,” he said. “Rooms are generally smaller, and there’s not much closet space.”

Thus, homeowners may have some real needs for more space because the needs of homeowners “have changed over the years,” he said.

One of the more recent jobs done by Adams involved changing a garage into a “man cave” — a cultural phenomenon that has spawned its own cable television show. The one described by Adams involved a large projection TV.

Adams doesn’t specialize in garage conversions — if, in fact, any contractor does. He said he has been contracted to do the work most often by people for whom he has done other jobs.

“Most of our customers are referred or are repeat,” he said.

The advantages of doing the job yourself are obvious. For one, the job most likely won’t seriously disrupt your home life, so it can be done at a more leisurely pace.

And then there’s the cost.

According to doityourself.com, the cost of converting a garage yourself will probably run between $2,000 and $10,000; many online sites place the figure at about $7,000.

A contractor could cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

However, the same website cautions the do-it-yourselfer to consider several things before tackling the project:

n Don’t assume you won’t need permits. This is one case where permission is much more preferable to trying to get forgiveness.

n Don’t underestimate creature comforts. Your car doesn’t need a climate-controlled environment, nor do you really need it if you’re only in the garage to work. However, you may not want to sit in there to watch the Super Bowl in February or the U.S. Open in June if it doesn’t have heating or cooling and isn’t well-insulated. Some people may not want to buy a house with a converted garage, but no one will want to buy one that was converted shoddily.

n Treat the conversion as any remodel. It’s going to be part of your house for a long time.

n Develop a floor plan. Think about the intended use of the area. Additional entry ways into the area may mean more expense and more work, but it may be worth through the years.

n Don’t assume the remodel is going to be simple just because it looked that way on TV. If you don’t have experience, don’t try to get it on this job.

Hosch, the Lowe’s representative, suggests that people contact a reputable contractor at the outset to avoid headaches later. He particularly likes the idea of developing a floor plan.

“Draw it out,” he said. “Don’t just tell him (the contractor) about it.”

There’s one more thing, according to Hosch: Just because you saw something on a network show doesn’t mean you’ll be able to find it locally.

“People will see something used on TV and come ask us about it,” he said. “We won’t have it in stock yet.”

If the lack of that product, whatever it is, keeps you from doing the project yourself — it may just be the best luck you’ve had yet.

© 2010 Abilene Reporter-News. All rights reserved.

DIY garage conversion requires careful planning

2010-06-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY garage conversion requires careful planning"

SCOTT KIRK

DIY garage conversion requires careful planning

2010-06-23T22:35:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY garage conversion requires careful planning"

SCOTT KIRK

DIY garage conversion requires careful planning

2010-06-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY garage conversion requires careful planning"

SCOTT KIRK

Car Wash Businesses Shift to DIY

2010-06-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Car Wash Businesses Shift to DIY"

Maybe you've noticed more and more discount car washes around town. Costing $3 to $5, their machines wash the exterior, and you clean up the interior.

This trend is partly due to the economy, but the ongoing debate over immigration also plays a role.

CleanFreak Car Wash in downtown Phoenix keeps costs down by hiring fewer workers. There's pressure to avoid hiring illegal immigrants -- but in the carwash business, it's hard to find people who are legal who want to do this hard, physical, minimum wage work.

"We managed a full serve wash for a couple months and it was very difficult finding people, they seem to burn out quickly," says Mark McDowell from CleanFreak.

Car washes, like many other businesses, are having to adapt to changes in the economy and the workforce.

FOX 10's Steve Krafft has more.

DIY Network and Food Network Magazine Are Searching for the Worst Kitchen in America

2010-06-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Network and Food Network Magazine Are Searching for the Worst Kitchen in America"

BUSINESS WIRE

Who has the worst kitchen in America? DIY Network, the go-to destination for home improvement television, and Food Network Magazine, the only magazine in the epicurean category to offer unprecedented access to America's favorite TV chefs, are teaming up to find home cooks whose kitchens are cramping their style. Starting Thursday, June 24, homeowners across the country can vie for a chance to win the ultimate chef's kitchen by uploading an image or video to DIYnetwork.com that shows why their kitchen is in need of a complete overhaul. One lucky winner will receive a unique and specially tailored renovation courtesy of DIY Network's home improvement experts and Food Network Magazine.

"We're searching for a homeowner who loves to cook, in spite of having a truly terrible kitchen to do it in," says Kathleen Finch, DIY Network's general manager. "Once we find the worst kitchen out there, DIY Network and Food Network Magazine will combine forces to build a brand new kitchen designed specifically for our winner. We're giving away the ultimate food fantasy."

Hosted by licensed contractor and host Matt Blashaw, the winner's new kitchen will be documented in a one-hour DIY Network special premiering in January 2011. In addition, the winner will receive a lifetime subscription to Food Network Magazine, and will be featured in the January/February 2011 issue.

Food Network Magazine readers and DIY Network viewers have until Friday, Aug. 6, to enter.

Members of the media may also obtain additional press materials, talent bios and show images by registering at DIY Network's online media newsroom. Viewers can also become fans of DIY Network and interact with other home improvement enthusiasts and do-it-yourselfers through Facebook and Twitter. DIY Network is available nationwide on DISH Network Ch. 111 and DIRECTV Ch. 230, and additional cable channel designations may be found by checking local listings and www.DIYnetwork.com/tv.

About DIY Network

DIY Network, from the makers of HGTV and Food Network, is the go-to destination for rip-up, knock-out home improvement television. DIY Network's programs and experts answer the most sought-after questions and offer creative projects for do-it-yourself enthusiasts. One of the fastest growing digital networks and currently in more than 53 million homes, DIY Network's programming covers a broad range of categories, including home improvement and landscaping. The network's award-winning Web site, www.DIYnetwork.com, is a leader in the Nielsen Online Home and Garden category and features multiple resources, including thousands of do-it-yourself home improvement projects, expert advice, how-to videos and images, and user-friendly reference guides with step-by-step instructions

About Food Network Magazine

Food Network Magazine appeals to food lovers of all ages and culinary abilities, offering accessible recipes and tips, as well as unprecedented access to America's favorite culinary stars. Every issue showcases great kitchen tools, food products, new restaurants and a behind-the-scenes look at some of the network's most popular shows. Food Network Magazine is a joint venture of Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation and the Food Network, a unique lifestyle network distributed to more than 96 million U.S. households. As one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, Hearst Magazines publishes nearly 200 editions around the world, including 14 U.S. titles and 20 magazines in the United Kingdom, published through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited. Hearst Magazines is the leading publisher of monthly magazines in the U.S. in terms of total circulation (ABC, Dec. 2009) and reaches 73 million adults (MRI, Fall 2009).

SOURCE: DIY Network

DotMobi Launches DIY Product

2010-06-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DotMobi Launches DIY Product"

Andrew Berg

DotMobi today announced the global availability of goMobi, a product designed to help businesses create and publish mobile websites. The new solution is a do-it-yourself client that allows virtually anyone to create a mobile website.

DotMobi says the product is targeted primarily at small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) as well as mobile developers and designers.

"All goMobi sites use a friendly, icon-based design, and all goMobi sites automatically recognize what handset your customer is using, so goMobi sites make every phone seem like it's a smartphone. Because of this, your customers will always associate your company with a good mobile experience – no matter what phone they're using," said Trey Harvin, CEO of dotMobi, in a statement.

All goMobi websites are hosted in the cloud by dotMobi, so SMBs don't pay extra for hosting or have to worry about other technology aspects.

The product will be sold through third-party domain and hosting services. Denver-based name.com was the exclusive partner for goMobi beta trials and is now the first to market goMobi with their offerings.

"Given the ease and speed that anyone – from tech amateur to design professional – can now build and deploy a mobile website with goMobi, I'm positive that the current boom in mobile Web use will grow tenfold in a short time. Our wildly successful beta of goMobi is strong proof of that," said Bill Mushkin, CEO of name.com, in a statement.

A do-it-yourself spirit blooms on Vashon

2010-06-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - A do-it-yourself spirit blooms on Vashon"

ELIZABETH SHEPHERD, Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Arts Editor

A beloved Island tradition will take place this weekend, as Vashon Allied Arts presents one of the most popular events on its annual calendar — a tour showcasing five exquisite gardens.

The Garden Tour, now in its 20th year, will include live music, displays of garden art by local artists, a silent auction and two seminars by landscaping experts.

In anticipation of all this, it’s go time now for the event: Foliage is being fluffed, plants are being pampered, and weeds are being pulled in anticipation of bustling crowds of garden-gawkers who will descend to take the tour.

Nancy Miracle, co-chair of the event, said months of preparation have gone into making this year’s tour memorable.

“The tour is a lot of fun to put together,” she said, adding that she and other tour planners began work on the event last fall by looking at more than 30 Island gardens.

Several of the gardens that were chosen, she said, will be particularly inspirational because they spotlight the achievements of do-it-yourself gardeners who work largely on their own to create verdant paradises in their backyards.

“Their gardens represent what normal people, who don’t have a lot of professional help, can do,” Miracle said.

One of the gardens that fits this description is the creation of Colleen and John James, who have toiled for the past four years to create a lush spread on their property in Burton.

“It’s a labor of love,” Colleen James said, as she led a visitor down twisting stone paths surrounded by a profuse mix of blooming plants, leafy trees, delicate ferns and exotic ground cover. “It’s so much fun watching seeds come up and grow.”

James recalled how the waterfront property, when she and her family bought it, was nothing but a grassy lawn perched above Quartermaster Harbor.

“It was almost like a blank, prepped canvas,” she said.

James has been certified as a master gardener by King County’s acclaimed Master Gardener program. She’s also a co-leader of Vashon’s group of master gardeners, people who often make themselves available at a table in front of True Value and at the Farmers Market to answer Islanders’ tough gardening questions.

“This is my passion,” James said, as she described how the Garden Tour had collided with other important events in her life, including her three children’s graduations from high school, eighth grade and kindergarten.

Still, she said, being in the tour was worth it and a dream come true. “I think most gardeners aspire to being on a Garden Tour level,” she said.

Another garden in the tour belongs to Greg Elliott, who carved his garden out of a tangled blackberry patch. Elliott, in a phone interview, said he was hustling to prepare his garden for the tour.

“The weeds don’t care, they just keep growing,” he said.

The tour marks his garden’s debut, he noted, even though it has been years in the making. “Everything here happened slowly,” he said. “I just focus on the one spot I’m working on and keep plugging away at it.”

Another garden on the tour features a very personal meditation path created by Sherene Zolno and Rick Skillman, while yet another, belonging to Jonathan Morse, presents a series of connecting “garden rooms,” some of them nestled in deep shade.

The final garden on the tour, belonging to Islander Kay White, is an expansive, park-like setting White and her late husband Bill developed after purchasing the property in 1977.

Tour co-chair Nancy Miracle said ticket sales have been strong, and that she is hoping for a sunny weekend to ensure big crowds.

But she noted that the tour will happen regardless of the weather.

“We’re prepared if it is a little bit drippy — we have canopies,” she said. “We’ll go on, rain or shine.”

Music and art in the gardens

The James garden will host guitarist Mark Wells from 1 to 3 p.m. on both days. Glass works by Kasia Stahancyk will be on display. A plant sale will also be held in the garden.

The Skillman/Zolno garden will host harpist Leslie McMichael from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

The White garden will host Geordie’s Byre from 1 to 3 p.m. on both days. Sculptures by Mike Urban, George Schaier and Robert Fairfax will be shown, along with totems by Dean Hanmer.

The Morse garden will feature guitarist Will Van Spronsen on both days. Artwork will include Jane Howard’s fish, Brian Brenno’s fused glass sculpture, Hans Nelson’s wood bench and Steve Zartman’s sculpture. It is also the location of the garden market.

The Elliott garden will feature sculptures by Barbara Wells, Al Bradley, Dave Erue and Carol Lux. The garden will also be the scene of a silent auction of colorful wooden planter boxes, handcrafted by Island artists.

Tickets and times

Friday, June 25

Garden Connoisseurs, 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $45 per person or $60 including a weekend Garden Tour ticket. The Sunset Garden Gala is sold out.

Saturday, June 26

Garden Tour, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person, are valid both days and include two talks: Planting Roofs and Living Walls, a seminar by Sylvia Matlock, 10 to 11 a.m. at Dig Floral & Garden; and Gardening with Native Plants, a seminar by Greg Rabourn, 1 to 2 p.m. at Blue Heron.

Sunday, June 27

Garden Tour continues, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Carpooling is encouraged. For information and tickets, call 463-5131 or visit www.vashonalliedarts.org.

For an in-depth look at the Garden Tour, visit Karen Dale’s Garden On, Vashon blog at blogs.vashonbeachcomber.com/gardenon.

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Arts Editor Elizabeth Shepherd can be reached at arts@vashonbeachcomber.com or 206-463-9195.

DIY Radio hits Motown for Allied Media Conference

2010-06-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Radio hits Motown for Allied Media Conference"

Jennifer Waits

If I were anywhere near Detroit this weekend I would grab a seat at the Allied Media Conference. Held at Wayne State University, this is the 12th annual conference put together by Allied Media Projects. Sessions focused on media, technology, community-organizing, social justice, and the DIY ethos all began today. With topics ranging from radical comics to culture jamming to creating gender inclusive online games, it’s sure to be a fun conference full of creative and engaged media fans.

Of interest to me, is that an entire conference track is focused on radio. “Radio Active: From the streets to the airwaves” is being coordinated by Prometheus Radio Project and the Community News Production Institute of People’s Production House.

Prometheus is doing a live radio webstream from the event (9 to 5:30 tomorrow and 10 to 1:30 on Sunday), in case you want to tune in to hear what they’ve got in store. Radio sessions will include “Build a Mini Radio Transmitter,” “Radio as a Tool to Transform, Organize and Build Community,” and live broadcasts. Other radio-related sessions include a discussion about “Open Source Internet Radio,” and “Your Phone is Your Microphone.”

Liquidware Releases DIY Tablet Computer Kit

2010-06-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Liquidware Releases DIY Tablet Computer Kit"

Jamison Cush

For tablet computer enthusiasts who believe the Apple iPad is not a true tablet, Liquidware enables them to put their money where their mouth is with a DIY tablet kit.

The Liquidware Beagle Embedded Starter kit comes with everything required to build a Linux-powered touch device, though tinkerers can add Android if they wish, according to Wired.

For $400, Liquidware provides a 4.3-inch OLED touchscreen and a BeagleBoard - a Texas Instruments single board computer powered by a 1GHz processer. Tinkerers also receive a 4GB SD card to boot Angstrom Linux and a BeagleJuice battery module.

Once assembled, the tablet computer will weigh only 8 ounces, sport a USB port and power switch, and run approximately six to eight hours between charges.

According the Liquidware, the DIY tablet is intended for embedded developers working on mobile applications.

DIY Woodworker Teaches Amateurs How To Do Projects At Home

2010-06-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Woodworker Teaches Amateurs How To Do Projects At Home"

Phil Conner

Maybe it’s a sign of the times, but DIY woodworking projects are springing up around the nation. With the economy in the shape it is, many are taking up new hobbies such as woodworking in order to do small projects around the house. Woodworking alone, has seen huge growth in the past couple years, and both Lowes and Home Depot have seen rising profits in the past few quarters.

Woodworking can seem like an impossible task for someone with no experience. Knowing this, a master woodworking craftsmen, who simply goes by “Ted” put together one of the biggest resources ever dedicated to teaching amateurs and experienced craftsmen alike, how to do over 16,000 different projects at home. Ted’s Woodworking Resource has gained national attention, and received the Reader’s Choice Award in 2009 from Fine Woodworking Standard.

Along with giving step-by-step directions, Ted’s Woodworking Resource gives pictures for every step of each project, and includes over 200 full-length videos to follow along to. Ted promises that his woodworking resources will help amateurs and veteran woodworkers alike, and he offers a money-back guarantee.

To find out more about Ted’s Woodworking Resource and Get Your $10 Discount click here.

Ted’s Woodworking Resource is normally $47, but Ted has allowed Mensspot.com to give 100 of our readers a $10 discount. That discount is expected to run out quickly so we’ll try to keep you updated.

Woodworking has also been gaining attention as more people are turning to building their own furniture and fencing instead of paying a higher price for a contractor. Families are also enjoying the benefits of working together on projects. While the economy may not be looking bright for most of the country, there are some who are taking the bull by the horns, and finding simple pleasures in life.

Do it Yourself Hot Wire CNC Foam Cutter

2010-06-19T02:43:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Do it Yourself Hot Wire CNC Foam Cutter"

8linx provides a very detailed web site with step-by-step instructions on how to build your own cnc hot wire foam cutter. The design is a low cost fastest to put together robust steel model that can cut EPS, XPS and EPP foam blocks

8linx provides free information on how to build hot wire CNC foam cutters using parts that are available in most hardware store.

8linx provides a very detailed web site with step-by-step instructions on how to build your own cnc hot wire foam cutter. The foam cutter is designed in a way that there should be minimum drilling, machining or custom fabricating of parts. Most of the parts for building the machine can be found at any local hardware store, such as Orchard Supply, Home Depot, Lowe’s Etc.

The CNC hot wire foam cutters described on 8linx web site can cut EPS and XPS foam (Expanded Polystyrene), EPP (Expanded Propylene), EPE (expanded Polyethylene) and XPE (Semi-rigid Polyethylene foam). The hot wire cuts the foam by melting it before having contact with the foam. A 1LB EPS foam density, for example, can be cut in a speed of 20-35 inch per minute. XPS cuts slower, and is generally smoother than EPS foam cuts. There are, however, some types of foam that a foam cutter is not the choice of use. When in need of cutting Polyurethane foam a blade or a saw machine should be used rather than a CNC foam cutter, unless you are using a foam cutter similar to a band saw with an abrasive wire.

8linx web site emphasizes that while making your own CNC hot wire machine, the design can be modified to almost any size. If a longer design is needed, longer lead screws can be used, preferably large in diameter. A chain or belt driven design is also good while building a longer model. Those longer models can cut, for example, long prototypes, long surfboards, long RC wings, or any larger than usual design.

8linx web site states that the CNC foam cutter size depends on its application. For example, if building a foam cutter for RC wings, a 10” max travel on the Y towers is needed. When building a foam cutter for props, crowns and moldings, a 4’x4’ (XxY) machine is needed. The wire used for building the machine should be a nichrome wire, since a stainless steel wire can break during the cut while using larger foam block. Nichrome wire lasts longer and will not break even when red-hot.

Since it is much easier finding the hardware parts than the electronic parts, 8linx started selling the electronic boards, cables, motors and power supply needed for the machines assembly. Those 4 Axis boards support Unipolar and Bipolar motors.
There are many software types that will be compatible with the CNC foam cutters. FoamWorks is a good choice since it has CAD capabilities. GMFC will need a time module. Mach3 and KCAM are both generic CNC router software. They are both the appropriate software choice while building larger machines, but require generating your own 4 Axis g code using Desk CNC.

For additional information about 8linx web site, please call (408) 454-6163 or email info@8linx.com

About Us: 8linx provides a very detailed web site with step-by-step instructions on how to build your own cnc hot wire foam cutter. The design is a low cost fastest to put together robust steel model that can cut EPS, XPS and EPP foam blocks. Most of the parts for building the machine can be found at any local hardware store. The design can be modifies to almost any size needed and is applicable in many industries, such as architecture, building, packaging, signs, logos, props, surf boards and aeronautics.

Contact Info: 8Linx 1248 Birchwood drive, Sunnyvale CA 94089

Additional:

Company: 8Linx

Country: United States

Contact: Tal Barnea

Website: http://www.8linx.com

Bus E-Mail: info@8linx.com

Phone: (408) 454-6163

Do it Yourself Hot Wire CNC Foam Cutter

2010-06-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

Do it Yourself Hot Wire CNC Foam Cutter

2010-06-19T02:42:00.001-07:00

Do it Yourself Hot Wire CNC Foam Cutter

2010-06-19T02:42:00.000-07:00

Tokyo-based Mod forges a path for DIY publishing

2010-06-19T02:40:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Tokyo-based Mod forges a path for DIY publishing"

Japan Times Via Acquire Media NewsEdge

The arrival of Apple's iPad at the end of last month sent shock waves through Japan's publishing industry. In the ensuing 2 1/2 weeks, dozens of publishers have announced plans to digitize magazine and other content, while others have set up think tanks to ponder their changed marketplace. Even the National Diet Library succumbed to iPad-mania: Its director announced last week that he wanted to start collecting digital books from 2011.

Of course, the revolution in the publishing industry is about much more than Apple's sleek new device. It's about rethinking the way that we fund, produce and consume digital content. It's about sharing content across multiple platforms, about Twitter and blogs. And, most importantly, it's about social networks and how they can be monetized.

Which is to say, of course, that the revolution is about everything that has long been discussed by bright, young, tech-savvy designers and software developers in international publishing hubs such as San Francisco and New York. What's surprising is that one of the more respected voices in that ongoing debate emanates from this side of the Pacific. It's the voice of a 29-year-old Tokyo-based American expatriate named Craig Mod.

Imagine you're an author or a graphic designer. Imagine you want to make a book about something slightly obscure, such as venues for contemporary art in Tokyo. In the past -- say, two years ago -- you would have approached a book publisher and, well, done your best to turn them into local art enthusiasts.

Now, imagine that your pitch worked, your book is published, and it's a success: its 1,500-copy print run is quick to sell out. But suppose it's not quite quick enough to convince the publisher that the book's worth the risk of a reprint.

What do you do? Well, that is more or less the situation Mod found himself in, and his do-it-yourself solution appears to offer some important lessons not only for budding self-publishers, but conventional publishing companies, too.

Mod's book, which he designed (it was written by occasional Japan Times contributor Ashley Rawlings), was called "Art Space Tokyo." He had worked as a book designer in Tokyo for six years since graduating with an unusual double degree in computer science and fine arts from the University of Pennsylvania. "Art Space Tokyo" was his magnum opus, the "superbook" in which he distilled his knowledge to date.

Faced with the possibility of it not being reprinted, or being reprinted but in a reduced form, Mod decided to buy back the distribution rights from the publisher and tap a variety of social-networking tools to raise the funds to do the reprint himself.

A key tool was the U.S.-based Web site Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com), which allows anyone to solicit funding for pet projects. In March this year, among a bunch of funding calls for rock albums, documentary films and more, one appeared for "Art Space Tokyo: iPad Edition + Hardcover Reprint." "The trick with Kickstarter is that you are able to tell prospective backers that they will only have to pay committed funds if the project reaches its predetermined goal," Mod said.

Mod's goal was $15,000. He offered a menu of pledge options: $65 got you a copy of the reprinted book; $100 got you the book and your name in the credits as a backer; and there were several others topping out at $2,500, which got you a guided tour of Tokyo by Mr. Mod himself.

No one forked out for the tour, but it didn't matter. In the space of six weeks, the site had attracted 265 backers and generated a total of $23,790.

Importantly, the average pledge was around $90 -- almost twice what the book would have sold for in shops. "By creating this community, by letting people play a role in the process and putting their names in the book, then all of a sudden I had increased the book's value significantly," Mod said.

Need to publish a book on an obscure topic? There might not be an app for that, but there's a Web site, and Mod's experience suggests that Kickstarter can work wonders.

Of course, to achieve that success, Mod had to draw on a very different skill-set from the publishers of yore ("yore" meaning two years ago). As Mod describes it, the project was an exercise in "determining the monetary value of my online social network." Like many of us these days, Mod has Twitter and Facebook accounts. He also has a blog (or "journal," as he likes to call it). In the months prior to launching his Kickstarter project, Mod had all but devoted himself to nurturing a community of people who were interested in his work. When it came time to generate funds for his publication, hundreds were ready to throw cash at him.

It is this ability to create a monetizable community that Mod sees as the future role of publishing houses. "Authors will choose a certain publisher because they will know that if that publisher tweets to their followers, they will be able to generate thousands of sales," Mod said.

Did Mod care to share any insights on how to create a monetizable social network? "That is the trick," he said.

Last year Mod wrote a review of a new Panasonic camera. More than a review, it was what he grandly termed a "field test" -- in the Himalayas. He started writing it while he was still in the mountains and, by the time he had finished and uploaded it to his "journal," it was 4,000 words long, richly illustrated with photos, and so well constructed that Mod needed to specify that he had no backing from Panasonic (he did, however, make a handy profit from Amazon referrals).

Several months later, Mod wrote a similarly detailed journal entry on the iPad. Another followed on digital books in general.

With each entry, Mod saw his Twitter followers increase by orders of magnitude. His advice for building an online social network? "Write really long blog posts on obscure topics." That, after all, is what he did.

Everyone who signed up for a copy of the reprinted version of "Art Space Tokyo" was promised something in addition: access to a digital copy of the book, which Mod would produce immediately after the print one.

Mod has described the book's digital version as his opportunity to test the digital-book design theories about which he had journalized so successfully.

His theories, in short, have two components. The first is that a lot of the knowledge built up through centuries of design-for-print could be applied in digital-book design, but is not. Typography, column widths and other design elements that improve the reading experience have been neglected in the rush to create interactive content for e-readers, Mod says.

Reinstating that knowledge in the digital age is made all the more difficult by the second component of Mod's theories: transferability. He believes digital books need to be flexible and robust enough to offer equally enjoyable reading experiences on devices of any size.

The answer, he says, is HTML: the bricks-and-mortar format for standard Web sites that, in its latest (fifth) version is able to cater to the same bells and whistles that other more specifically visual formats, such as Flash, have tried for so long to monopolize.

The difference between HTML and other formats generally used with e-readers -- such as Amazon's Kindle or Apple's iPad -- is that it can be read in conventional Web browsers, that is, on pretty much any computer you can lay your hands on.

Mod thinks that in the future it will be essential that each individual book will have to have its own online presence. "You will need to let people search and refer to each work," he says. Locking content up in e-reader-only formats will simply limit the growth of a book's audience -- or in other words, its all-important online community.

That is not to say that all e-books should be made entirely free. "Some publishers will opt just to make portions free," Mod says. But, personally, he sees shareable digital versions of books as the key to selling profitable high-end print editions.

And this is what he has shown with "Art Space Tokyo" -- albeit in reverse: He has sold just 265 print copies of the book, but in the process covered his costs and funded a digital edition (or parts of it). That digital edition, he hopes, will spread like electronic wildfire, dazzling e-readers with its careful e-layout and some of those readers -- just some is enough, as there are no corporate publishers sticking their fingers in the profit pie -- will be tempted to fork out for the premium print edition.

Mod published his journal entry on "Books in the Age of the iPad" in March, and a second entry on "Embracing the Digital Book" a month later.

The comments section of the iPad piece has attracted 355 entries -- a veritable "town hall meeting" on the future of publishing, with participants chiming in from as far away as Norway and Israel. Nevertheless, the obvious truth is that the center of gravity in this debate is the United States. (It was the New York Times' tech blog that ended up featuring Mod's iPad musings, on March 5.) Does the Tokyo-based Mod not feel isolated from the publishing vanguard? "Oh, totally," he said. "Tokyo isn't exactly the most innovative publishing city in the world. You go to San Francisco and everyone around you is talking about the future of media and the future of the book." Mod says he's not sure how long he'll remain in Japan. But one thing's for sure: As long as he's here, his advice should be sought at those local think tanks that are only just getting off the ground.

Copyright (c) 2010, Japan Times, Tokyo Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Gardening and DIY sales up in May

2010-06-19T02:39:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Gardening and DIY sales up in May"

Hayley Burton

Sales of gardening and DIY products rose in May, according to two separate studies by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Responding to the findings of the ONS, which today (June 17th) revealed that overall retail transactions saw a year-on-year increase of 2.2 per cent last month, the BRC said it had made similar discoveries in its own survey.

Commenting on the data, director-general of the representative body Stephen Robertson said: "The sunnier second half of May, combined with discounts and promotions, encouraged spending on clothing, footwear, gardening and outdoor DIY." He also mentioned that the ONS figures were higher than that of his organisation but that they tend to be revised downwards and the BRC expects this will happen again.

Mr Robertson attributed the rise in the sell of televisions to the approach of the World Cup, which Anna-Marie DeSouza – editor of Build It magazine – recently suggested would cause a rush in people buying home improvement products to finish jobs before the celebrations and gatherings that come with the tournament kicked off.

Do-it-yourselfers put the punk back in Ithaca

2010-06-19T02:38:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Do-it-yourselfers put the punk back in Ithaca"

Liz Lawyer

The de facto motto of Ithaca Underground sums up the group's mission: IU organizes shows intended for everyone.

The shows are mostly punk, though they've been known to include acoustic, hip-hop, and indie musicians. Some are local, some are from out of town, most are upstarts, but all are bands struggling to "make it" and grateful for a bowl of pasta and a couch to crash on.

Ithaca Underground is an informal organization of young musicians, venue owners and semi-pro promoters. It operates a website and publishes a zine on mostly punk music, and it tries to help everyone involved, as well as fans, follow the local music scene. The point is just to have a show -- not to turn a profit or launch the do-it-yourself booking agents at IU into the big time, but to provide a place where everyone can come and enjoy the music.

"Hearing someone who's 16 walking out of a band's set and saying, 'That's my new favorite band,' there's little that beats that," said Ithaca Underground's chief organizer, Bubba Crumrine, a punk aficionado who has been known to sport green hair. "Having someone lose their mind and get excited about something I helped do -- that's the reward for me."

The shows are all alcohol-free to ensure they are open to all ages, he said.

"There's never an age restriction. That's really important," he said. Any profit made from a show is put back into organizing more. Anyone who wants to help is more than welcome.

"I consider IU a collective," Crumrine said. "There's more than me running it."

The organization's founder, Jayme Peck, said this wider involvement is what makes a punk scene punk.

"It's definitely a core aspect, a core value," he said. "It ends up really affecting the whole punk scene -- from starting your own shows to starting your own bands or your own labels, from distribution to supporting touring bands from other towns. You end up getting this whole network."

Peck arrived in Ithaca four years ago and, surprised at the lack of a punk scene, set to work on an online forum under the name Ithaca Underground. Peck already had some experience organizing shows in Plattsburgh and Long Island, and the forum spawned a few shows. That soon grew to three or four a month.

Several of these shows found a home at former No Radio Records.

"If you wanted to do a small punk or experimental show (in Ithaca), particularly one where you get, tops, 100 people, your options are limited," said former No Radio Records owner Bob Proehl. "My involvement was to provide a spot."

The shows are cheap, in keeping with the for-the-people vibe, he said.

"The shows are for everybody, so everybody should be allowed in the shows," Proehl said. "You shouldn't be excluded because you don't have $20. I think the ideal (template) for shows should be $5, all ages."

Peck said getting young people involved and making it possible for them to participate is important to the success of any punk music scene.

"Definitely, definitely -- that's sort of who it's for," he said. "I started going to punk shows when I was in high school. It was an important part of my political and social development. I was surprised there was nothing going on here. I knew in the past there had been. ... Making sure it was all ages was definitely a part of it, because it's all about getting the youth involved. If you don't have youth involved, the bottom falls out from under it. There will be nobody starting bands. It's the kids who keep it going."

Information on IU can be found at ithacaunderground.com.

Restaurant and DIY pizza plan for Robin Hood pub

2010-06-15T04:28:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Restaurant and DIY pizza plan for Robin Hood pub"

A FORMER pub in Colchester could become a pizza restaurant which would also sell its ingredients for customers to cook at home.

The Robin Hood, in Osborne Street, could be set for a new lease of life as “a showcase” for food imported from across the world by Harwich-based Flying Trade Group.

The company has filed plans with Colchester Council to convert the pub into a combined pizzeria and deli.

It has allayed fears surrounding its application to stay open until 4am, saying it will not necessarily stay open that late.

Martin Halls, property manager, said: “We’ve put a lot of thought into what we want to do with the building, which has stood dormant for a number of years, and we want to play our part in regenerating the area.

“We want to make it an authentic and affordable pizzeria with a real Italian feel.”

Alongside the pizzas, cooked in a wood-fired oven, the company plans to sell flavoured oils, flour and other ingredients for people inspired to cook. Mr Halls said: “This is something that hasn’t been done in Colchester before and is something of a departure for us, too.

“We’re not a developer, but an importer of world foods, supplying most of the big supermarkets, and we see this as a showcase for some of our products.”

In its planning application, the company has asked for permission to stay open until 4am at weekends, which had raised concerns from neighbours about noise in the early hours. Mr Halls said: “We don’t expect to get permission to stay open until that time and do not necessarily want to, but we have put those hours down to maximise our application.

“We want to have the capacity to change how the restaurant could operate, and if you don’t ask, you don’t get.”

The pub, which has a history as a hostelry dating back to the 1850s, closed down three years ago and was bought by Flying Trade soon after.

The company says its plans will create five full-time and two part-time jobs.

Beijing Woman Uses Portable Do-It-Yourself Parking Space

2010-06-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Beijing Woman Uses Portable Do-It-Yourself Parking Space"

Do you get frustrated driving around looking for a parking space? Or do you just want to avoid paying for parking meters and parking tickets? One woman in Beijing, China has found a way to get around this by creating a parking space on her own.

In a video that is becoming a sensation on the Internet, a driver and his friend filming the scene believe they have found a prime parking spot as the woman gets back to her car and is about to leave her space.

The woman pulls ahead of her parking space but stops and jumps out of car. Did she forget something? Actually, she did. She opens up her trunk and starts rolling up a couple of clear plastic sheets with white painted lines that have been laid out on the ground to create the illusion of the legitimate parking space. She remembers to pick up her crafty parking sign as well!

New York Public Library Begins Offering Do-It-Yourself Interlibrary Loan

2010-06-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - New York Public Library Begins Offering Do-It-Yourself Interlibrary Loan"

Interlibrary Loan provides access to library materials that are not available in NYPL’s collections. We’ve recently redesigned the Online Request Form to make submitting and managing requests more accessible.

You can still approach any information desk for help submitting a request, but you can also create an account and submit your own requests online! This Quick Start Guide (PDF) provides an overview of how to use the new system. When searching for a book using an ISBN, the redesigned form provides enhanced results, including:

+ Confirms NYPL Does or Dosn’t Have Have Material and Also Checks Availability at Other NY Libraries. Estimated Delivery Date (based on Closest Library That Owns Title.

+ Preview Public Domain Titles With Links to Google Books, Internet Archive, and Hathi Trust

+ Link to Amazon.com for More Info

+ Link to a Location to Purchase the item

Source; NYPL Blog

Portland's craft community part of booming (again) DIY movement

2010-06-15T04:17:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Portland's craft community part of booming (again) DIY movement"

Kristi Turnquist, The Oregonian

In a North Portland warehouse space with a high ceiling, drafty open spaces and hip-hop music serenading the morning's projects, Larissa Brown and Stevanie Pico lean over huge pots, as they dip ropes of yarn into dyes made of things like beet juice, black walnut husks and logwood.

The work area is a scrappy maze of wooden drying racks, cooking ranges and huge pots charred by heat. But the results of this labor are skeins of yarn as soft as a baby's belly, silky as just-combed hair, colored in rich shades of indigo, ruby and caramel.

This is Pico Accuardi Dyeworks. Started just under a year ago by Pico and Deb Accuardi, the company sells its naturally dyed yarns to customers all over the U.S., Pico says. It's just one example of the thriving Portland community of crafters, craft businesses, craft designers and craft bloggers who have earned the city a national reputation as a hot spot for all things crafty.

While crafts never went away -- as any trip to a holiday bazaar would testify -- the homey arts of sewing, knitting, crocheting and making things by hand are in the midst of a generations-spanning comeback. And Portland is, not surprisingly, in the thick of it. The do-it-yourself vibe behind the city's music, food, microbrew and creative scenes also is woven into the crafts community.

"The Portland crafts scene is explosive," Pico says. "I think creative people inspire other creative people."

Portland's high crafty profile is part of the reason Hello Craft, based in Washington, D.C., is holding its Summit of Awesome this week at Kennedy School.

The three-day conference offers classes on how to run a business, mentoring sessions, workshops and networking opportunities with artisans and veteran crafters from around the country.

Kimberly Dorn is executive director of Hello Craft, a nonprofit trade association for independent crafters founded in 2008. Dorn says choosing Portland for the second Summit of Awesome -- the first one was last year in Washington, D.C. -- was an easy call.

"Portland seems to be a mecca for crafting," says Dorn, 33.

Helping produce the Summit of Awesome are veterans of the city's crafts scene, including Cathy Pitters and Torie Nguyen, who organize the twice-yearly Crafty Wonderland sale, featuring independent artisans and crafters; and Jen Neitzel, of DIY Lounge, which offers online craft tutorials, kids' camps and other features.

"It's really exciting that the Summit of Awesome is coming to Portland," says Pitters, 42. "There are a lot of people in Portland who would benefit from knowing how to grow their business a little more, and learn from some of the larger crafters out there how to take it to the next level."

Alicia Paulson, one of Portland's best-known crafters, already has an international following of fans who read her blog, Posie Gets Cozy, and buy the patterns and do-it-yourself crafting kits she creates and sells on her site. When Paulson moved to Portland in 1997, the craft revival hadn't yet hit.

"I couldn't find a yarn store in Portland," recalls Paulson, 41, who has a line of accessories, crocheted items and gifts; wrote the book "Stitched in Time: Memory-Keeping Projects to Sew and Share From the Creator of Posie Gets Cozy"; and is working on another book.

The thousands of readers who regularly visit Paulson's blog -- a delightfully comfortable, warm account of her projects, pleasures and domestic life -- would hardly guess that this online oasis came about during a time of pain and uncertainty.

Paulson was working as a book editor for the now-closed Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co. in 1998 when she was struck by a garbage truck on her walk to work.

The truck hit her ankle and foot, and she says "it was 50/50" whether to try to save her foot or amputate. "We chose (to) try to save it, but it was a tough call," Paulson wrote on her blog in 2006, on the eighth anniversary of the accident.

Her toes were amputated, and her foot reconstructed from muscles and skin from other parts of her body.

It was during her long convalescence that Paulson found her new calling. "It changed my life completely," she says now. "That's how I came to crafting so vehemently. I spent about a year basically in bed. I started embroidering, which I had always done. But you never have time to do it normally. But at that time, I had nothing but time."

Paulson left her job as an editor and turned to crafting and blogging as a full-time occupation. She has "complicated theories" about the role crafting has played in her life. "Yes, it was distracting and helped me focus on something beautiful rather than something horrible, which was my real life at that point." She also thinks the practice of doing detailed handiwork may have a physiological component. "Just slowing down, and focusing, and doing the same stitches over and over again tapped into some place in my brain and rerouted all those pain signals in another direction."

Paulson was among the first wave of bloggers whose online work led to a book deal. "A literary agent found me," she recalls. Potter Craft, a division of Random House, was looking for a book on "memory craft," which mirrored Paulson's approach to her blog and the personal stories she shared. The book came out in 2008. Her second book, "Embroidery Companion: Classic Designs for Modern Living," is due out this summer.

Striking a balance between doing crafts for personal enjoyment and as a business takes work. "When you make things by hand for a living, you have to be really inspired and engaged by what you're doing, otherwise it feels like you're on a factory assembly line." Paulson says she focuses mainly on creating patterns, which she sells online. "I don't make too many pieces to sell anymore."

Readers of her blog feel like they know Paulson; her husband, Andy; their cats, Bridget and Violet; and Cardigan corgi, Clover Meadow. Paulson doesn't pay much attention to how much traffic her blog gets, but she says it's around 250,000 hits a month. "There are definitely faithful readers out there, for which I'm very grateful. It's fun to be part of a community."

That sense of being part of a larger community -- and the role the Internet plays -- are key factors behind the rise of crafting culture in Portland.

Consider Diane Gilleland, who took her passion for crafting -- "I like to hybridize things; I'll crochet with wire, or papier-mâché with strips of fabric" -- online. She makes a living by combining digital ventures: CraftyPod, her blog and podcast "about making stuff"; videos; ebooks on social media and marketing; freelancing for online publications; and online classes. Gilleland's online work also led to a book, "Kanzashi in Bloom: 20 Simple Fold-and-Sew Projects to Wear and Give."

Gilleland says she began podcasting in 2005 "as a lark. And it just turned out that I really liked making independent media."

The Phoenix, Ariz., native originally planned to be a graphic designer, because, as she recalls, she listened to the voices that told her there was no way to make a living doing crafts. But after various jobs, Gilleland started her craft-oriented podcast, which helped her make the jump to a full-time crafts career.

"It's amazing how crafts have coalesced here in Portland," Gilleland says. As the scene matures, she says, the challenge no longer is to find like-minded creators -- it's finding enough buyers.

"Our great strength is a little bit of our Achilles' heel," says Gilleland, 43. There are so many crafts makers in Portland that there isn't a large enough local customer base to support them. "I couldn't make a living selling ebooks just to the population of Portland," she says. That's why more designers and artisans are opening Web shops on Etsy.com, the "global marketplace of individual sellers," and selling their work at crafts fairs around the country.

"The DIY culture is alive and strong here," says Jen Neitzel, at home in Southeast Portland. Portland is still cheaper to live in than a lot of other cities, so people can afford to live in places with space for crafting. And rents aren't so high that they necessarily require round-the-clock labor.

"A lot of people have a day job and there's something creative they're doing in the basement," Neitzel says.

Her own creative work involves DIY Lounge, a website that brings together craft culture and video tutorials. In the brick-and-mortar world, Neitzel organizes "No School Art School" classes for kids. Neitzel also runs Knot Ugly Designs, a line of knit, crochet and reconstructed pieces.

Neitzel's co-crafter, friend and fellow Oregon native Torie Nguyen has a line called Totinette. Nguyen also teamed with Cathy Pitters in 2006 to found Crafty Wonderland, the "art + craft extravaganza" that held monthly sales until this year, when Nguyen and Pitters decided to scale back -- in response to the bad economy and the demands of organizing it monthly -- to two big sales per year, one in spring and one for the holiday season.

"We have 500 or 600 vendors who have sold with us over the years," says Nguyen, 32. "We get more and more applications all the time."

Nguyen says the crafts revival of the past 10 years has a lot to do with peoples' desire to move away from mass-produced, big-box consumer culture. Just as Portlanders want to know where their food comes from, she says, they want objects that come with a story.

And never discount the power of rain to fuel creativity. "If it was beautiful here," Nguyen says, "maybe we'd all be outdoors."

Larissa Brown drinks coffee at a cafe near her Southeast Portland home and ponders why crafting is enjoying a moment right now. She acknowledges one common theory: Love of crafts skipped a generation, as mothers who felt liberated from the traditional female roles didn't pass on a love of craft to their children.

When Brown, 42, was attending college in New Jersey, she says she hardly knew anyone else who knit. "I bet if you went and checked at a liberal arts college now, everyone would know how to knit." And, she adds, "We live in Portland, where it's practically a requirement to know how to knit." When she rides the bus home from her two-day-a-week grant-writing job, she says, "I see three or four people knitting. In other places, if you knit in public, people would think, 'There's that weird lady.'"

After she and her husband moved to Portland in 1997, Brown pursued art and craft projects, and came up with a book proposal on knitted art. She got a meeting with Melanie Falick, an editor with STC Craft, an imprint of Stewart, Tabori & Chang. Somebody was already doing a book about knitted art, but Falick was looking for someone to write a book on the "knitalong" movement -- people knitting together, either in person or connecting online. Brown and her husband, Martin John Brown, teamed up to write, "Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together," which came out in 2008.

Brown is working on a second book, which she says feels "a little old-fashioned," in the burgeoning universe of ebooks, online patterns and downloadable do-it-yourself kits.

Brown says the popularity of crafts in Portland is "self-reinforcing": As more people pursue crafts, more stores and online vendors respond to that demand, leading to more interest.

For all the digital components, many things about crafting have stayed the same, Brown says. For one thing, women still make up the vast majority of people involved. "It's hard for me to find men to put in my book," she says.

And the feeling of making something with your hands is as powerful as ever.

"When knitters get together," Brown says, "they sit down, and the first thing that happens is you reach into your bag and haul out what you're working on. Part of you as a human wants to say, 'Look what I made.'"

Solar Do It Yourself Site Gains Popularity

2010-06-10T01:25:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Solar Do It Yourself Site Gains Popularity"

Susan Smith

Solardoityourselfsite.com is happy to announce that it is presently climbing up the popularity ladder. This solar do it yourself system provider comes with a large pool of benefits for homeowners.

There is an ongoing green revolution as the whole world strives to go organic in all possible aspects in life. Since energy consumption is one of the essentials of our daily modern living, continuous efforts are being conducted to help harness energy from natural sources.

One of the best energy sources is the sun. It provides renewable and organic power that is naturally produced without the dangerous waste materials that other sources emit during production of energy.

All these good things have motivated majority of the population to have their own solar harnessing systems in their own residence. This does not only help households in making a difference for the environment but also greatly aids in their own utility costs. In addition to that the government offers great incentives for homeowners who have their own solar energy system in their houses.

To know more about these great benefits, check out www.solardoityourselfsite.com. Members of the press may contact the following information for additional details pertaining to this release.

Name: Susan Smith

Title: Public Relations

Company Name: Justin Harrison Marketing

Address: P. O. Box 311, Mendham, NJ, USA 07945

Phone: +00 1 973 531 4982

Fax: +00 1 973 543 5683

Email: pr@justinharrisonmarketing.com

3-day Brooklyn DIY fest Hillstock happens this weekend

2010-06-10T01:23:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - 3-day Brooklyn DIY fest Hillstock happens this weekend"

Brooklyn DIY fest Hillstock will be returning this year for three days of music from June 11-13. It opens with a Friday show at Shea Stadium that features Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!, the Eskalators, Ava Luna, The Toothaches, Fiasco and more. The second day is a backyard BBQ headlined by Aa, and the third is singer-songwriters on a rooftop.

Both three-day wrist bands ($15) and individual shows tickets ($7) will be available at the shows.

More info on tickets, venue locations, a full schedule of bands and videos from last year are below...

Friday, June 11th
HILLSTOCK KICKOFF PARTY @ SHEA STADIUM
20 MEADOW STREET
BROOKLYN, NY (L-Train to Grand)
ALL AGES - 4:30PM - $7
........................
6:00 PM Mother Courage
6:30 PM Bad Teeth
7:00 PM Rebels Eat Apples
7:30 PM PowerPoint
8:00 PM Zebu
8:30 PM Ghost Mall
9:00 PM Rocky Sullivans
9:30 PM Ava Luna
10:00 PM The Toothaches
10:30 PM Fiasco
11:00 PM No Courage
11:30 PM The Shakes
12:00 AM Eskalators
12:30 AM Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, June 12th
HILLSTOCK BACKYARD BBQ
106 EMERSON PLACE (backyard),
BROOKLYN, NY (G-Train to Classon)
ALL AGES - 10AM - $7
........................
12:00 PM Back Pockets
1:00 PM 2 Ton Bug
2:00 PM The Honey Dos
3:00 PM Tidal Arms
4:00 PM Jacob the Terrible
5:00 PM Kudrow
6:00 PM Flotation Walls
7:00 PM The Wild
8:00 PM Hop Along
9:00 PM Jesty Beatz
9:30 PM Spooktober
10:30 PM Aa
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, June 13th
HILLSTOCK SINGER/SONGWRITER ROOFTOP PICNIC
967 BERGEN STREET (roof),
BROOKLYN, NY (C-Train to Franklin)
ALL AGES - 12PM - $7
........................
12:30 PM Vultures
1:00 PM Young & Old
1:30 PM Saredren Wells
2:00 PM Mercy Choir
2:30 PM The Wooden Sky
3:00 PM Peasant
3:30 PM Stephanie Gandelman
4:00 PM Bigger Princess
4:30 PM Mr Brace
5:00 PM Kate Ferencz
5:30 PM SAADI
6:00 PM ACLU Benefit
6:30 PM Everly Sisters
7:00 PM Rescue Bird
7:30 PM PAPS
8:00 PM Selfish Whales
8:30 PM Laura Stevenson & the Cans
9:00 PM Archipelago

DIY enthusiasts need to ensure they protect against fire

2010-06-10T01:23:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY enthusiasts need to ensure they protect against fire"

Mark Powell

People making home improvements have been offered advice on fire protection by an expert writing for the Daily Telegraph.

David Snell has recommended DIY enthusiasts ensure that Planning Building regulations are adhered to when they convert lofts.

If the project will lead to the house being three storeys tall, staircases must be separated by fire doors of 30-minute fire-resistant construction.

At the bottom of each set of steps, an external threshold must be fitted, or alternatively two FD20 fire doors should be present in separate rooms, which lead to the outside of the building.

Any new entrances to rooms must also be equipped with FD20 fire doors, which must include intumescent strips and self-closers.

Every floor must also be protected against the possibility of a blaze.

Jeff Howell recently wrote in the newspaper that people making home improvements should be careful who they hire to help on bigger jobs, as scams can see DIY fans buying building materials and services that they do not need.

Murphy Bed – Do-It-Yourself Moddi Murphy Bed Fits Any Budget

2010-06-08T01:22:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Murphy Bed – Do-It-Yourself Moddi Murphy Bed Fits Any Budget"

Benjamin Gladwell

Murphy Bed – Do-It-Yourself Moddi Murphy Bed Fits Any Budget. After CBS mentioned the Murphy Bed on their Sunday Morning show, many people are turning to the Internet to find out where they can buy their very own Murphy bed. And although Murphy Beds are a fairly simple concept, they can actually be quite spendy to buy. However, we have found one VERY affordable alternative that involves some inexpensive materials and a little work, but the result is a very cool Murphy bed.

The Murphy bed has been around for nearly 100 years, and provides a space saving option for anyone that needs to have a bed in room that is limited for space. Essentially, the bed just folds flat against the wall when not in use, and then folds down at bedtime.

Although Murphy Beds have been around since 1916, the “cool factor” associated with them is more of a recent development. They can now be found in stylish hotels, and cool modern apartments. Store bought versions can range in price from only moderately expensive, to downright crazy-expensive. For those on a budget though, there is a budget-friendly option that utilizes some basic construction materials, some tables from Ikea, and a little bit of elbow grease.

The Moddi Murphy Bed will please the most demanding modern taste, giving the appearance of a very expensive piece of furniture. However, the entire project can be completed for only a couple hundred bucks.

How some colleges take DIY approach to booking the best bands

2010-06-08T01:21:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - How some colleges take DIY approach to booking the best bands"

Steven Kent

"Some things are just gonna work in Boston that won't fly in Sioux City, Iowa."

That's where we left off last time, with Gorden Schell of the National Association for Campus Activities suggesting that some schools are destined to remain draws for the most cutting-edge acts by virtue of geography and regional flavor.

However, one of the nation's most prominent examples of an indie-friendly, do-it-yourself approach to college concerts resides just a couple of hours down the road from Sioux City, in Grinnell, Iowa. In part two of Money College's spotlight on campus concerts, we'll take a look at how one student concert committee lures the most buzz-worthy independent acts in America using a student-led, ground-up approach to concert organizing.

A quick scan of the on-campus shows at Grinnell College reads like an excerpt from a recent year-end best of from Pitchfork Media or Paste Magazine -- Vivian Girls, Shearwater, Cloud Cult, RJD2, Bowerbirds -- and all of the shows at the school's Gardner Lounge are completely free and open to the public. Grinnell Concert Committee Chair Alex Schechter says his school pays for all its shows ahead of time out of the school's student activity budget, raised from the school's annual activity fee of $340 per student, rather than trying to raise money through ticket sales.

"Other schools don't get the kind of acts we do," he says, "because they're so dependent on ticket sales. We've already accepted that we're not in it to make money at this, so we can use the student activities fee to cover new and more experimental bands."

Singer/guitarist Dante Schwebel of San Antonio's Hacienda told Money College that Grinnell's no-frills free shows offer a compelling reason for a tour stop in Iowa, and says that benefit shows can draw bands to play for less than they might ask otherwise.

"Sometimes there's a cause [the schools] are raising funds for, so you can't really argue with that," he says. "On the other hand, there are some universities that have an arts and entertainment budget and wisely spend it on live music. Grinnell College is one of those. They bring in quality acts and then don't charge students at the door."

Schechter says Grinnell's autonomous, student-run concert committee plays a big part in its ability to book the most popular acts in the indie rock scene. By cutting out school censors and forging its own relationships with labels and agents through direct, student-controlled booking, Grinnell has a reputation as a top college concert draw and maintains a stable of trusted contacts in the music industry.

"We really have no overhead, other than someone to run budgetary issues," Schechter says. "And we deal with booking agents ourselves. If we want to book [hip-hop artist] Why?, we just go to Why?'s agent and start talking. Almost every artist's agent I work with has been thrilled to deal with a school's students directly. Often times, schools will work through a middle agent, and middle agents want to avoid risk. They see that so-and-so played wherever and made money, and they recommend that to other schools. It does create a situation where most schools seem to be booking the exact same artists."

Still, a growing number of colleges book at least their larger shows through such a middle agent -- an entertainment professional who charges schools a fee in exchange for expertise, contacts, and a ready-made list of available acts, complete with price quotes. Although these fees can run as much as 10% of the total booking cost or higher, when I spoke to Mike Geremia, a college middle agent for Main Stage Productions with 27 years of touring and booking experience, he said that schools that try to go it alone can encounter much bigger costs trying to navigate the touring demands of popular acts like Ke$ha or Girl Talk without expert help.

"Schools will say, 'Why can't we do this on our own and save 10%?'" he said. "But they tend to forget things -- a barrier before the stage, or they realize they have to buy a generator two days before the show. When a lot of schools have two concerts a year, with a couple students running it, they may look at an artist's tour rider and say, 'What the hell is a 300-watt three-phase amp?'"

Such concerns aren't necessarily limited to arena-size acts, either. When I e-mailed Canadian Polaris Prize-winning hardcore punk band F****d Up about their most memorable U.S. college shows, guitarist Mike Haliechuk, a.k.a. 10,000 Marbles, mentioned one outdoor concert a few summers ago at a State University of New York campus where the organizers used wooden barricades, not the best idea at a F****d Up show.

"Well obviously the barricades got lifted in two seconds flat," he wrote, "and the sound got cut after about half a song because kids were dangerously getting close to the stage. So we drove like 20 hours to play two minutes of music that day at SUNY."

Alex Schechter of Grinnell, concedes that Grinnell's self-reliance limits the scale of acts the school can bring, but said that bringing in a greater number of up-and-coming artists for intimate shows might benefit its students equally as well. Essentially, it comes down to whether students want the convenience or big-ticket acts playing next to their dorm rooms or value more frequent visits from a diverse cast of ready-to-boil bands.

"We can't get Lady Gaga or Kings of Leon," Schechter says. "But I don't necessarily think that's a loss, because people can drive to a major city and see those big shows. We're catering to something else here, and that's fine. If a band is a bell curve, we try to get them right before they hit that middle part, where they're most popular and in demand."

Web Host SiteGround Adds DIY Website Builder Tools

2010-06-08T01:11:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Web Host SiteGround Adds DIY Website Builder Tools"

David Hamilton

Web host SiteGround (www.siteground.com) has launched a new website package to accommodate users who have no experience in creating a website.

According to SiteGround's Friday announcement, the "Website Wizard" (www.siteground.com/make-website.htm) is a new service conveniently bundled with the company's shared hosting into what it calls the "Make Website" package, allowing any user to setup and manage their own website quickly and easily.

Additionally, the Make Website package provides everything a customer needs to create their first website without any previous design or development knowledge, including a free domain registration, professional hosting with 24/7 support, and even website promotion materials.

"The Make Website solution is dedicated to all those people who wish to have a site of their own, but don’t know how to start," SiteGround marketing specialist Dima Peteva said in a statement. "This package delivers convenience above everything else – the customer finds all they need at one place. Once the customers sign up for the package, they get their hosting accounts activated and a domain registered. Then, they only have to choose the design they like and put some content of their own."

SiteGround provides Website Wizard for free for a whole year, letting customers create a professional looking website without any HTML knowledge and without paying thousands of dollars for web design services.

The Make Website package is on promotion for the first year, starting as low as $5.95 per month.

Many other companies, such as 1&1 Internet (www.1and1.com) and GoDaddy (www.godaddy.com), have introduced website builders. Simple, What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) website editing tools are crucial in reaching small business clients, who may lack the time and expertise to create their own website from scratch.

DIY set to increase ahead of World Cup

2010-06-08T01:02:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY set to increase ahead of World Cup"

Mark Powell

There will be a rise in the amount of home improvement projects taken on as we near the kick-off of the World Cup, according to Build It magazine

Deputy editor Anna-Marie DeSouza said that many DIY enthusiasts will be hurrying to get power tools, building materials and other products to complete projects in time for the gatherings that may come with the football tournament.

"As the World Cup is beckoning, there will probably be a huge rush on to get jobs done and the garden ready for World Cup barbecues and celebrations," she said.

Ms DeSouza expects to see many people out in home improvement stores over the next couple of weeks as the weather gets warmer.

Recent research from the Halifax backs up her claim, finding that millions of men were preparing "dens" – private areas for them and their male friends to relax – in time for June 11th when the first match of the competition will be played.

Harris Brushes are leading the way in the DIY market

2010-06-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Harris Brushes are leading the way in the DIY market"

Harris brushes are offering advice and inspiration on Twitter and Facebook. Just login and enter a search for Harris brushes and become a fan to ask any questions you have about DIY or decorating with ‘How to’ video links and industry insights.

Lookout for Harris brushes giveaways, competitions and other great product offers in the coming weeks.

Lookout for Harris brushes on Twitter and Facebook: http://twitter.com/Harrisbrushes, http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Harris-brushes/383876185294?ref=ts

Show drags DIY scene into the bright lights

2010-06-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Show drags DIY scene into the bright lights"

Eric Lyttle

Dozens of bands perform around Central Ohio on any given night. Many of them aren’t playing in bars, though. In fact, often the locations of their shows are kept secret and given cryptic names such as the Legion of Doom or the Last House on the Left. They’re places only the cool kids know about.

These bands and their patrons like the freedom—freedom from cover charges, freedom from age restrictions, freedom to play or hear what they want, in front of who they want, in houses all around the city. The sites are sometimes referred to in code so landlords don’t find out.

It’s known as the DIY scene, and in Columbus, it’s vibrant.

“It’s a very tight, communal punk/weirdo/rap music scene here,” said Brian Carnahan, whose band, Churches Burn, is part of the DIY underground. “I was just talking to friends in Portland and Philadelphia, and when they come here, all they want to do is go to the DIY shows. I don’t think there’s anything like it in the world.”

There’s one problem with the underground scene, though—it’s underground. By its very nature, it limits growth. There’s no money in it, no mass appeal. So Carnahan and a handful of his DIY friends are turning the scene on its ear, at least for one night, and dragging it out into the bright lights of the public.

Carnahan has organized a concert, involving 11 DIY bands, for Saturday night. It’s not taking place in a house basement or an after-hours arts space, but simultaneously in two neighboring bars—Café Bourbon Street and the Summit.

“The DIY ethos is important—that, ‘I’m going to do this by myself’ attitude,” said Carnahan. “But it can be a hindrance, too, by preventing bands from expanding and trying new things. Whatever your career or path in life, the ideology of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and doing something bigger and better is distinctly American. If you just stay off in your little corner and don’t encourage community involvement, it hurts the whole scene.”

So Carnahan bucked the DIY trend and asked some of his favorite peers if they’d be interested in playing in front of—gasp!—strangers.

He’s dubbed the concert the RamaLamaFaFaFest, after a song from garage-band pioneers MC5. The show will feature six bands at the Summit and five bands at Café Bourbon Street.

Scheduled to appear at the Summit, performing one-hour sets beginning on the hour from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., are Do Chimps Battle, Bridesmaid, Bastards, Tank Destroyer, Alleyes Path and MF Gnar.

Bands appearing at Café Bourbon Street, performing 60-minute sets beginning on the half-hour from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., are Kurt Russell, New Creases, Ignorant Motherfucker, Churches Burn and Necropolis.

“The music is very diverse,” Carnahan said. “Growing up in the punk scene, the one think I hated was going to see five bands that all sounded alike. The bands on this bill are all over the board, from rock to punk to metal to hip-hop.”

Carnahan admitted that some bands were hesitant to leave their DIY shelter for the bars, alcohol and cover charges. But, as he said, “We all feel the scene in Columbus is vibrant and unique. We’d like everyone to become aware of what fertile ground we have here.”

Instead of paying the bands—“If we divided up the door, each band would get, like, $30,” Carnahan said—the bands have agreed to pool their proceeds as seed money toward a larger, future project, including more RamaLamaFaFaFests. Carnahan said he’d like to set up a night at Skylab later in the summer, a workshop that would involve underground musicians and filmmakers in a collaborative effort.

“But that’s just my idea,” Carnahan said, “and I’d like everyone to weigh in and figure out where we go from here.”

Survival kit - Stock up on essentials

2010-06-02T03:18:00.002-07:00

A survival kits is a package of basic tools and supplies prepared in advance as an aid to survival in an emergency survival kit. lifeboats military aircraft, and spacecraft are equipped with survival kits.

In addition, survival kit are used in case of bad weather.

survival kits in a variety of sizes, containing supplies and tools to enable a person with a shelter against the elements basic to help them keep warm, meet their health and first aid needs, provide food and water, the signal to rescuers and help them find their way back to help. Supplies in a survival kit normally contain a knife (often a Swiss Army knife or multi-tool), matches, lighter, first aid kit, bandana, hooks, sewing kit, and a LED flashlight with batteries.

Civilians such as forestry workers, surveyors, or bush pilots, who work in remote locations or in areas with extreme weather conditions can also be equipped with two person survival kit. Disaster supplies are also kept on hand by those who live in areas prone to earthquakes or other natural disasters. For the average citizen to the practice of disaster preparedness, some cities have survival supply stores to maintain the survival of stock.

Turbo Water Ionizer’s at Better Health Innovations

2010-06-02T02:06:00.003-07:00

The Tyent MMP-9090 Turbo Extreme has raised the bar again in the professional water ionization market, Tyent MMP-9090 was just released May 2010.

Tyent Water Ionizer is a powerful antioxidant!

Imagine having the opportunity to tap water and turn it into an antioxidant with a negative ORP (or charge), thus delaying the aging process. In other words, a sharp increase or ORP causes oxidation and therefore aging. The negative ORP of Water Ionizer literally retards the aging process by counteracting this rising ORP. Tyent Water Ionizer essentially renews us at a cellular level.

Water is one of the most important elements in the body (over 80% water). Water Ionizer is fundamentally different from the conventional water. Because the size and shape of the water molecule cluster has reduced in size and shape to change hexagonal, which allows the water cluster to pass through tissue more easily.

It is also because of the small size and shape of water molecule clusters. Once reduced, these water clusters pass through the tissues of the body is much easier and push out toxins and acid waste quite effectively. Water Ionizer have several levels of strength so people who are toxic can begin by drinking mild Ionized Water, slowly drinking it stronger as they acclimate to it.

Detroit Plumbing Contractor Addresses Do-it-Yourself versus Hire a Plumber

2010-05-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Detroit Plumbing Contractor Addresses Do-it-Yourself versus Hire a Plumber"

EMAILWIRE

Detroit plumbing contractor, Larry Mitchell, has seen his share of plumbing nightmares. Many homeowners who wish to save money will attempt to perform their own plumbing repairs. According to Mitchell, there are many benefits to hiring a plumber versus doing it yourself.

“The job is simple…for a plumbing contractor; it can be a nightmare for the average homeowner,” said Mitchell. “I have witnessed the frustration homeowners go through before they call me.”

Larry described a possible scenario of a homeowner replacing a kitchen faucet. “Most people are not aware of the many types and styles of faucets that are available,” said Mitchell. “Just selecting the right faucet can be overwhelming. It must fit your existing sink. How far apart are the pre-drilled holes? Do you have a sprayer? One handle in the center, or two knobs to turn water on and off? Everything must match in order to make new faucet installation easier.”

Homeowners who attempt to do their own plumbing repairs will typically make several trips to the home improvement store before they have all the right parts. “This can be a waste of time and gas,” said Mitchell. “I will arrive at their home with a fully-stocked work van, prepared to complete the job efficiently.”

When the homeowner finally has the right faucet, they might discover the water lines are short or the package was lacking a washer. “This means another trip back to the store,” said Larry.

Larry discussed other things that can go wrong when one tries to fix their own plumbing problems. “You might discover you don’t have the right tools, which means buying an expensive tool that you have little use for. Plumbing contractors have the right tools and they use them daily. Homeowners who try to substitute a different tool could injure themselves, damage the fittings, or just experience more difficulty in getting the job done.”

Considering the problems the average do-it-yourselfer faces with plumbing repairs, Larry Mitchell recommends just hiring it done. “Save yourself the grief and hire a plumbing contractor. Not only will the job get done more quickly, the replacement parts will last longer. Plumbing contractors have access to quality fixtures and supplies that are not available to the public to purchase.”

Larry Mitchell, a Detroit plumbing contractor with over 20 years experience, understands the plight of homeowners who need plumbing repairs. Whether you need all new plumbing and fixtures installed or you just have a small plumbing leak, clogged drain or running toilet, Larry will fix the problem at a fair and reasonable rate. Visit http://detroitplumbing.blogspot.com/ to learn more.

Contact:

Larry Mitchell – Licensed Plumbing Contractor
Licensed – Backflow and Licensed – Medical Gas (hospitals)
18505 W. 8-Mile
Detroit, MI 48219
Tel: 248-356-8001
Email: larry1104@comcast.net

DIY Electric Car Breaks World Record Going 624 Miles on One Charge

2010-05-29T05:43:00.002-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Electric Car Breaks World Record Going 624 Miles on One Charge"

Michael Graham Richard

An electric car went 623.76 miles (1,003 kilometers) on one charge, and on top of that it was a conversion done by the Tokyo-based Japan Electric Vehicle Club, a group of EV enthusiasts. If they can do it, big automakers should definitely be able to do it. Read on for more details on the record-breaking electric car.

The Daihatsu Mira EV's previous record was set in November 2009 when it drove the 345 miles (555.6 kilometers) between Tokyo and Osaka. This new record, which almost doubles the first one, was set in more controlled conditions to try to squeeze as much distance as possible out of the 8,320 Sanyo lithium-ion batteries that powered the Mira EV.

17 drivers relayed themselves and the drive around the track of a training school for auto racers in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki, took 27.5 hours at an average speed of 25 mph (40 kph).

DIY Online Ads and Other Marketing Tips for SMBs on a Shoestring Budget

2010-05-29T05:43:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Online Ads and Other Marketing Tips for SMBs on a Shoestring Budget"

A new category of online ad services starting to emerge - auto or self-generating ads - are another tool for small to medium sized businesses to consider as they market their products and services online.

One example is PlaceLocal, a program developed by PaperG that builds display ads automatically by scouring the internet for references to a neighborhood restaurant, a grocery store or another local business, according to the New York Times. Then it combines the photographs it finds with reviews, customer comments and other text into a customized online ad for the business. It is aimed at small businesses beginning to advertise on the web sites of local newspapers or television stations.

Another example is a partnership between Internet Broadcasting and iPromote, an automated local display advertising platform. iPromote's technology is used to automatically scan a business' website for such content as images, text, logos, headlines and then create advertising packages which includes five different ad sizes.

YouTube

Advertisers that are leery of trying out new technologies, though, have other - existing and proven - options. Leyl Master Black, a Managing Director at Sparkpr notes that YouTube is an often overlooked for building low cost, high impact content, writes Mashable. "E-commerce vendor BigCommerce, for example, is generating tens of thousands of views for its online marketing video series for small business on YouTube," he says.

Local.com, LinkedIn and Facebook are offering better - or just new - local ad targeting, writes Entrepreneur magazine.

CPA v CPC

Also important for budget-conscious SMBs is the movement toward ad pricing based on cost-per-action rather than cost-per-click. "Paying for ads based on CPA means that you don't pay the publisher until you get the action you want from the ad. For example, if you want your online display ad to drive someone to an online store to buy the advertised product, you won't have to pay until someone actually clicks the ad and completes the purchase." Several companies, such as Hydra, have announced an emphasis on CPA tracking and billing, Entrepreneur said.

DiscountVouchers.co.uk Acquires New Vouchers for Summer Weather Wardrobes and DIY

2010-05-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DiscountVouchers.co.uk Acquires New Vouchers for Summer Weather Wardrobes and DIY"

MMD Newswire

DiscountVouchers.co.uk, the popular bargain consumer codes and vouchers site, this week allocated its latest range of codes to help Brits save on leading brand summer fashions. As the UK weather seems to be picking up shoppers are able to get savings on clothing from stores among the 300 and over retailers on the DiscountVouchers.co.uk site.

Bargains abound on men's and women's fashion at outlet White Stuff, where consumers are able to get the new styles for summer through the new DiscountVouchers.co.uk deals. The site this week launched £13 off a Gymnasium Zip Hoody, £23 off Buxham Knit Longsleeved Tops and big savings on women's skirts too.

DiscountVouchers.co.uk this week offers more than clothing for the summer however with new merchant voucher codes available for DIY gear from both B&Q and HomeBase, £15 off camping and caravanning gear at Argos and even £5 off orders of £50 or more at TescoDirect.

Simon Terry, managing director of DiscountVouchers.co.uk, comments, "At present it seems that the UK weather is picking up again and people are looking to improve their summer wardrobes and get hold of other gear on a budget. This week's new deals on our site serve up bargains on essential outdoor fun gear and great styles too."

Famous online store ASOS is also included on the site in the new batch of deals, this being the company previously called AsSeenOnScreen.com. Consumers can get hold of clothes worn by celebrities and movie stars with free delivery on orders over £75.

DiscountVouchers.co.uk is home to a regularly updated range of vouchers and codes for savings at stores such as Boots, Currys, John Lewis, Sainsbury's, Lastminute.com, Dorothy Perkins, New Look and more. The website is searchable by retailer name, latest deal and most popular deal, making it easier for customers to find the best value deals in the shortest time.

To see all the latest discount deals visit www.discountvouchers.co.uk.

About DiscountVouchers.co.uk
DiscountVouchers.co.uk features the latest offers and savings from a growing range of retailers, all updated in real time. Designed to help consumers save money with both leading high street brands and specialist retailers, DiscountVouchers.co.uk offers one of the widest choices of money saving offers.

Part of ASAP Ventures Ltd, the company behind the award winning Carrentals.co.uk price comparison site, DiscountVouchers.co.uk is committed to offering a growing range of the best savings available online.

Do-it-yourself decorator shows off eclectic style

2010-05-22T06:49:00.002-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Do-it-yourself decorator shows off eclectic style"

Mary Beth Breckenridge

When it comes to decorating, Cathy Crampton likes to think creatively.

In her house, precious pieces share space with bargain finds. Old window treatments are restyled and reused. Furniture she's owned for decades gets a fresh twist with new bedding or accessories.

Crampton is a do-it-yourself decorator with a taste for the romantic. Anything that suits her lavish, eclectic style is fair game, whether it comes from a high-end boutique or a discount store.

She and her husband, Frank, will open their home to visitors Thursday as part of
the Bath Volunteers for Service Home Tour. The Cramptons' French country-style home is one of five on the tour, which includes a stop at a garden.

Cathy Crampton has no formal art or design training. She's done some decorating work for builders, but mostly it's ''just a really good hobby,'' she said.

She figures she got her penchant from her mother, who was constantly rearranging the furniture. ''I remember when my dad came home from work, he would never know where he was going to sit,'' she said with a smile.

Crampton takes much the same approach. The entire house is decorated in a neutral palette with punches of red, so she can easily move things from room to room and avoid getting bored with the decor.

Tassels, pillows, books and family photos are abundant. So are clocks, including some that are antiques or family heirlooms.

A railroad clock protrudes from the kitchen wall, a grandfather clock perches on a shelf alongside the main staircase and an oversize reproduction schoolhouse clock hangs on the dining room wall. She points out a tiny clock in the great room, which belonged to her grandmother.

She's also partial to pieces from the furniture and accessories company MacKenzie-Childs, recognizable for their bright colors and whimsical designs. A MacKenzie-Childs footstool adds a splash of cheerful color to the great room; ceramic pieces with the familiar black-and-white checks play off Italian pottery in the kitchen.

The house is filled with fine things, but Crampton is just as pleased with her less expensive items. A grouping of floral plates in the dining room, for example, cost $4 or $5 each at HomeGoods, she said. A pair of lamps from Hobby Lobby brightens the great room, along with pricier examples from the Jackson Township interior-design boutique Laura of Pembroke. A flower-shaped pillow from World Market sits on an accent chair, another HomeGoods find.

She's also a master at making do. She had a few side tables that didn't quite fit her scheme, so she gave them a dressier look by laying decorative mirrors atop them and arranging vignettes on the mirrors. She rescued window treatments from her previous house in Jackson Township, gave them new fringe or new configurations and reused them.

All through the house are unexpected touches, such as a floor lamp in a bathroom and toile wallpaper in the laundry room. Even the loft above Frank Crampton's office is a bit of a surprise. Instead of outfitting it as the usual sitting room or computer area, Cathy Crampton created a music room, with an antique Settergren piano and an old fireplace surround.

The house has plenty of space for relaxing. A sun porch that Crampton calls her treehouse overlooks a patio with an outdoor fireplace, a TV and a pond with a waterfall. The bonus room above the garage — she called it ''the upstairs man cave'' — has a pool table, a media room and its own kitchen.

Other spaces are dedicated to the Cramptons' three grandchildren, Maddie, Drew and infant Jacob Gaume. The older children's artwork decorates a wall in the kitchen, and a suite upstairs is set up just for them. Toys that once belonged to the Cramptons' daughters decorate the room, and the grandchildren's first names hang above a crib.

And, of course, there's a rocker for lulling little ones to sleep. To Cathy Crampton, it's her family's comfort that's most important.

DIY Facebook Fan Page Designs Created with FaceItPages

2010-05-22T06:49:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Facebook Fan Page Designs Created with FaceItPages"

I-Newswire

Facebook Fan Page design service, FaceItPages.com, launches its website to offer do-it-yourself Facebook landing page designs for small businesses, freelancers, bloggers, and other professionals. The service offers a gallery of design styles that users can customize with their own header, logo, images, video, and more.

The company is launching with several designs and plans to continually add more selections in future updates to the service. Customers can browse through the gallery to find a design that best matches their site, branding, or style. By uploading their own branding, photos, content and video, a user can make the design one-of-a-kind. After the design is saved, FaceItPages.com will provide the design code for users to add to their Facebook Public Profile, Fan page, or Business Page.

“With designers and companies currently charging hundreds of dollars for custom Facebook Pages that take days or weeks to create, there is no expedient and cost-effective solution in this high-demand market” says Misty Lackie, founder and CEO of Go Smart Solutions, LLC, creators of FaceItPages. “With the launch of FaceItPages, now anyone can have a lead generating Facebook Page for their business or profile without the high cost or hassle.”

Users must first enable the free Static FBML application on their Page, which will allow them to paste in the design code from FaceItPages.com. FaceItPages designs are offered at $39.99. By contrast, typical Facebook Page custom designs range from $100 - $400. As an incentive for designers, the company is offering a revenue share for designs that are created and chosen to be offered on the site. For each one purchased, the designer will receive 50% of the revenue.

FaceItPages.com was created by the makers of leading Twitter background design service, TwitBacks, and is part of the Go Smart Solutions, LLC family, a company that has been providing self-serve advertising solutions since 2002. FaceItPages.com enables small businesses, freelancers, bloggers, and other professionals to create one-of-a-kind landing pages for their Facebook Fan Page or Profile using a variety of template designs. For more information, please visit www.FaceItPages.com.

CampaignTrac, LLC Announces Launch of New Do-It-Yourself Web

2010-05-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - CampaignTrac, LLC Announces Launch of New Do-It-Yourself Web"

PRNewswire

CampaignTrac, LLC announced the launch of their new web site design package (www.campaigntrac.com) aimed exclusively at municipal, county and local political candidates who don't have the budget to hire expensive web design firms.

CampaignTrac provides candidates and office holders with the ability to quickly and easily create and update their campaign website with personalized messages and graphics, brand their home page to make it their own, build and manage email lists of supporters, and seamlessly accept donations from their supporters.

"CampaignTrac eliminates the 'scariness' of managing and updating your campaign website," said CampaignTrac, LLC VP Raymond Sheerer. "If you can cut, paste, point and click, you now have the ability to be in complete control of your site. It allows a candidate to communicate with their supporters and constituents in a minute-by-minute manner, accept and process donations, build and manage email lists, all right from your laptop."

CampaignTrac developed this breakthrough technology by collaborating with current countywide office holders who did not have the budget to hire an expensive web design firm to manage their site, but wanted to have the access, flexibility and "bells and whistles" that national and congressional candidates have.

"That's really what sets CampaignTrac apart," says Mr. Sheerer. "We listened to what the local and municipal candidates wanted in a web design tool and developed our product to satisfy every possible need of those candidates who simply don't have the budget or IT staff to deal with the huge web design firms. And the best part is that our 24 hour turnaround time gives our new clients a first-class web presence in less than a day."

CampaignTrac, LLC also places top priority on customer service, with a support staff on hand to handle all clients' questions and recommend best practices to increase traffic to their site. They've also incorporated social networking applications into their platform to allow their clients the benefit of spreading their message through Facebook and Twitter.

"When creating CampaignTrac we knew without a doubt that a key component to the future of campaign fundraising lies in social networking…so we asked ourselves, 'Why should that only be for the national and Congressional candidates?' and incorporated the power of social networking into our product."

The BookMasters Group Announces Launch of AUTURO at BEA DIY

2010-05-22T06:48:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - The BookMasters Group Announces Launch of AUTURO at BEA DIY"

Marketwire

The BookMasters Group has announced the launch of a new digital conversion and distribution alternative for self-published authors called AUTURO. With the launch of AUTURO, the company moves to extend its full range of publishing services, creating a competitive global offering enabling the digital production and distribution process for self-publishers to be simple and more accessible. AUTURO will also provide a broader range of options, including sales, marketing, promotion and publicity, giving individual content creators additional tools to enhance their overall launch strategies.

AUTURO:

Offers more competitive revenue-sharing
Presents a broad spectrum of service and production options
Distribution to more than 40 digital outlets, with over 125 by this summer
Access not only to digital, but print and hard copy sales and distribution teams

In commenting, Robert Kasher, Business Development Manager for Integrated Solutions stated:
"There is nothing else like AUTURO on the market in terms of meeting authors' needs to produce professional product and distribute it comprehensively to the consumer."

BookMasters will officially launch AUTURO at BEA's DIY Conference, Monday, May 24, at 10:00am in Room 1E03. Mr. Kasher will lead a panel presentation looking at the opportunities and challenges facing self-publishers who want to launch their book successfully in today's market. With over 200,000 self-published titles being released annually, knowing how to access and reach the consumer effectively, with attractive and professionally competitive product, is the key challenge facing content creators today.

The BookMasters Group is a $100m owner/operated publishing services company established in 1972. Dedicated to providing the highest quality services for publishers at globally competitive prices, the company offers the most comprehensive menu of integrated services available in the publishing industry today. The BookMasters Group handles every step of the publishing process -- from developmental editing and digital production, to book printing, and global distribution, both traditional hardcopy and e-content. The BookMasters Group has been dealing with challenges facing self-published authors since 1981.

Liberty University using DIY FM to expand VA reach

2010-05-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Liberty University using DIY FM to expand VA reach"

Jerry Falwell Jr. has had his been working his broadcast contract-signing pen of late, and now has another deal filed with the FCC to pick up a station that will constitute a territorial expansion from the Liberty University Roanoke-Lynchburg roots.

The station isn’t built, but it does have call letters – they are WHMM-FM, for a facility earmarked for Spotsylvania VA. That town is within the sphere of the Fredericksburg VA Arbitron market.

The seller is Mariamante Academy Inc., headed by Louise S. Desilets. The academy will pick up $145K cash in exchange for the CP.

The station will be a Class A on 88.3 MHz with 2.5 kw @ 266’.

Liberty has been making modest acquisitions in Virginia and in northern portions of North Carolina.

RBR-TVBR note: Now available RBR-TVBR’s ‘2010’ new guide to help chart a course through the treacherous waters of buying, owning and selling radio or television stations.

Click to purchase: "Profitably Buying and Selling Radio Stations," or 1-800-288-4677, ext. 5022 for $49.95, paperback, $39.95, e-book.

Ford Taps Into the DIY Revolution at Maker Faire

2010-05-22T06:47:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Ford Taps Into the DIY Revolution at Maker Faire"

MARKETWIRE via COMTEX

Maker Faire, the world's largest do-it-yourself (DIY) festival, today announced that Ford Motor Company has tapped into the DIY revolution by partnering with Maker Faire Bay Area 2010. At Maker Faire, hackers, artists, scientists, and creatives come together to share their ideas, passions, and projects large and small.

Ford is coming to Maker Faire to meet the 600-plus Makers who are scheduled to share their projects and the more than 95,000 attendees from Silicon Valley and beyond. At the festival, Ford will be able to reach these influential Makers and connect with Maker Faire's creative and innovative audience in a down-to-earth, hands-on way.

"Today the car is the platform for innovation, and what better place than Maker Faire to meet the people who innately understand technology and innovation," said K. Venkatesh Prasad, technical leader, Infotronics, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering at Ford Motor Company.

"Ford has been a great partner and collaborator," said Sherry Huss, director of Maker Faire. "Their spirit of openness and creativity surrounding the American Journey 2.0 and Automakers 2.0 has made them ideal to partner with, and Maker Faire is the perfect place to bring Ford's new ideas because our audience appreciates challenges, effort, and change."

"Collaborations like this one with Maker Faire are very valuable to Ford and our development ecosystem in the long term," added Prasad. "If we're going to lead in shaping tomorrow's web-on-wheels, we need to draw from a top talent pool, and we know Maker Faire has such talent. We invite Makers to come interact with the car and help us shape the future."

Tickets can be purchased online or at the retail locations listed below:

--  Whole Foods Markets: Berkeley, Novato, Palo Alto, Potrero Hill/San
   Francisco, Redwood City, San Mateo and San Raphael
--  AAA offices: Potrero Hill/San Francisco, Lakeshore Plaza, Richmond
   District/San Francisco, Financial District/San Francisco, Daly City,
   San Mateo, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Mountain View
--  Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco
--  Copperfield's Books: Calistoga, Healdsburg, Napa, Petaluma, Santa
   Rosa, and Sebastopol
--  Exploratorium, San Francisco

Do It Yourself SEO Compared to Services offered by Professional SEOs

2010-05-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Do It Yourself SEO Compared to Services offered by Professional SEOs"

What SEO basically consists of is a number of processes that are meant to maximize the traffic that a website gets on the internet from potential visitors. SEO techniques are not something that you can easily learn. They are processes that need time and effort in order to be mastered.

These processes consist of researching keywords and key phrases, creating a search engine website and using link building and marketing to increase the website’s popularity on the internet.

There are two ways in which SEO can be undertaken and these are doing it on your own or hiring professional SEOs. A webside that has undergone SEO has to meet some requirements in order to stand a chance on the crowded online market. They must have unique content and they must establish as many links as possible with websites having similar content.

They way search engines rank websites has changed very much in order to identify malicious content and spamming. If you want to avoid this kind of problems you should make sure you know exactly how search engines work if you want good SEO for your website.

Flooding search engines with hundreds or even thousands of keyword optimized web pages is old practice in our days so no the main importance is given to high quality information and keywords used judiciously.

A novice web master can also offer SEO adequately but there is almost no doubt that a professional SEO is the one most qualified to ensure search engine optimization for you website. You should give lots of consideration to these options and choose wisely which one suits your needs best.

A professional SEO has years of experience so he is up-to-date with all the latest techniques and search engine functions. Professional SEOs usually offer industry contacts that required years to be established so here is another way professional SEOs benefit your project.

Any problems that may appear regarding link building or other complications will quickly be resolved by a professional SEO. The amount of time professional SEOs need to complete your project is significantly shorter compared to how much will take a do-it-yourselfer.

The list of benefits a professional SEO can offer is very long but that doesn’t mean doing it yourself won’t. One of the advantages of doing it yourself is that you have complete and overall control over the creation process of your website.

At the same time by doing it yourself you gain experience and you are also saving money. If you choose doing SEO for yourself you might want to at least consider consulting services that professional SEOs can offer at quite reasonable prices.

Walgreens postpones plans to sell do-it-yourself genetic test

2010-05-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Walgreens postpones plans to sell do-it-yourself genetic test"

For a few hundred dollars you can go online and buy a kit that will tell you everything you want to know, and possibly, things you'd rather not know about your genetic profile.

Genetic test kits have been selling on the internet for years.

Manufacturers say the tests will tell you if you carry certain genes associated with inherited diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer.

"People should have a right to any kind of information about their health," said Jim Woodman, of San Diego-based Pathway Genomics.

Earlier this week, the company announced it would begin selling the first ever over-the-counter personal genetic tests in Walgreens drugstores starting Friday.

That plan is now on hold.

Citing "substantial public interest," the Food and Drug Administration launched an investigation into why the company did not seek FDA approval.

Walgreens decided to delay selling the kits until the FDA and Pathway Genomics sort out what kind of regulation is needed, if any.

Even if the kits eventually do hit store shelves consumers will be left wondering what to do with their genetic information.

Could it cause a couple to decide against having children if they find out they are carriers for cystic fibrosis?

Or could it be the motivation you've been looking for to adopt a healthier lifestyle?

Experts like Professor David Winickoff from U.C. Berkeley say carrying a genetic mutation does not mean you'll actually develop a disease.

"If you care about your future health, the message is: eat well, exercise and have checkups, and lower stress."

Good advice, no matter what's in your genes.

Michigan Chimney Repair Contractor has Tips for the Do-it-yourself Homeowner

2010-05-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Michigan Chimney Repair Contractor has Tips for the Do-it-yourself Homeowner"

Chimney repair can be dangerous work. Hiring a chimney repair contractor can be cost prohibitive for some homeowners. Mark Maupin, masonry contractor and president of Brick Repair, LLC provides tips for homeowners who attempt to do it themselves.

The first step to any chimney repair job is accessing the chimney. “If your chimney is very tall and difficult to access safely, then I recommend hiring a chimney repair specialist,” said Maupin. “Most reputable chimney repair and masonry contractors will evaluate the extent of repairs to be done and provide a free estimate.”

There are several things that can cause problems with chimneys including chimney leaks, creosote build-up that creates a chimney fire hazard and a cracked chimney crown to name a few. Mark Maupin currently specializes in chimney repair. Read his latest blog post for DIY Chimney repair tips at http://chimneyrepairmichigan.blogspot.com/2010/05/chimney-repair-michigan-chimney-repair.html

When asked why he tells people how to do what he gets paid to do, Mark said, “I would rather see the job done right than have to come in and repair a botched chimney repair job later. It’s easier to fix it right the first time. If the repair is easy enough for the homeowner to do it themselves, then I can spend my time where I’m most needed.”

Mark Maupin believes he is doing a great service by providing tips for the DIY homeowner. “It displays honesty and integrity when I’m not hiding behind my knowledge and experience. There will always be someone who needs to hire a professional. As far as I’m concerned, no job is too small, but like most contractors, I prefer to do the bigger jobs. This way, I’m not spending time commuting between jobs.”

Mark Maupin of Brick Repair, LLC provides exemplary masonry restoration to damaged buildings, maintaining cosmetic and structural integrity while beautifying the community through expert handiwork. He provides a satisfying customer experience from demolition and rebuilding to debris removal and clean-up. Mark will provide special care for historical buildings in need of restoration to help communities remain structurally sound and pleasing to the eye. Visit http://michiganchimneyrepair.com to learn more.

Man Utd ace burnt doing DIY Brazilian

2010-05-13T00:31:00.002-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Man Utd ace burnt doing DIY Brazilian"

FANS of Manchester United were last night trying to work out which star burned his TACKLE with hair removal cream - and were pointing the finger at CRISTIANO RONALDO.

The guessing game began when the painful incident was revealed in the club's official magazine.

Come clean ... guessing game links Ronaldo to hair disaster

Ex-United star BRIAN McCLAIR, now the club's academy director, wrote in his mag column: "This made changing the next day a bit awkward."

The source told The Sun: "It is definitely NOT a current first team player."

Ronaldo, 25, went to Real Madrid for £80million in 2009.

Ex-love NEREIDA GALLARDO later confessed: "Cristiano and I took the same time to get ready. I always wax - but he waxed everything."

Ronaldo's agent had yet to comment last ni

DIY paradise at Renegade Craft Fair

2010-05-13T00:31:00.001-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY paradise at Renegade Craft Fair"

Hit the shops at Fifth and Lamar for jewelry trunk show, shoe shopping

Nope, it's not a "Glee" night. So why not do some shopping? Drop by Touch of Sass's spacious new digs at 500 N. Lamar Blvd. (478-7277, www.touchof sass.net). The store, which is owned by Currie Bucher, carries handbags for every occasion as well as jewelry and other accessories. While you're there, meet actress-model-designer Molly Sims – she's on the cover of Town & Country magazine – at 6 tonight during a trunk show for her jewelry line Grayce by Molly Sims. The vintage-meets-modern collection includes necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings from $75 to $250. A portion of the night's proceeds will be donated to global health organization PSI.

Also, find out if Stella really got her groove back by dropping by the newly opened Stella Says Go (500 N. Lamar Blvd. 524-5020, www.stellasaysgo.com), a shoe and accessories emporium started by Amy Filbin and Natalie Rickards. Shoes range from $30 to $300, but the store focuses on mid-range selections. Lines include Miz Mooz, Jeffrey Campbell, Seychelles, Ciao Bella by Corso Como, Chocolat Blu, Klub Nico and Kelsi Dagger. The store also carries bags, belts, hats, sunglasses, hair accessories and jewelry.

Design stationery with Inviting new software

When it comes to wedding announcements, stationery and party invites, customized design is the personality-plus way of staying in touch. With the launch of the Design Bar at Catbird Paper (900 W. 29th St. 512.436.8506, www.catbirdpaper.com), you are now able to create designer invitations on the spot. Customers will be able to confer with an in-house design expert who will input specific choices of invitation style, custom text, ink colors, motifs and type styles into a computer that produces a real-time proof onto a 42-inch flat-screen display. To celebrate the launch of this new endeavor, Catbird Paper is hosting an introduction event on Tuesday, from 5 to 8 p.m., with demonstrations, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and 10 percent off in-store purchases throughout the night.

Learn to refine your crafty ways at fair

If you call yourself a do-it-yourselfer, then venture to the Renegade Craft Fair (renegadecraft.com) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Palmer Events Center (900 Barton Springs Road). There will be more than 150 indie-craft talents from around the country, and you'll get workshops, demonstrations, raffles, live music and a photo booth from the Magnolia Photo Booth Co. During the two-day event, there will be booths with the Austin Craft Mafia and Etsy.com. You'll be able to screen-print a T-shirt with Susann Keohane at the ACM booth. Leslie Bonnell and Jenny Hart will offer textile and fashion-related classes at the Stitch Lab booth. Austin-based Public School will offer advice on design and photography, while the WonderCraft will have workshops on jewelry- and accessory-making in a 32-foot trailer. The event is free and open to the public.

50 years of faculty art at Austin galleries

They've inspired students through lectures for years; now witness the talent of select University of Texas art professors during the Austin Modern event at Austin Galleries (1219 W. Sixth St. 512-495-9363, www.austingalleries.com). This exhibition, in conjunction with Russell Tether Fine Art Associates, Frontiers Texas Gallery, Valley House Gallery and other Texas fine art dealers, celebrates 50 years of artwork from UT art professors who lectured between 1940 and 1990. The featured works, many of which are part of the artists' personal estates or have been exhibited in museums, include those of artists Michael Frary, Everett Spruce, William Lester, McDonald Smith, Loren Mozley and Kelly Fearing. The exhibition dates are Saturday through May 29. A VIP preview reception will take place Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Free to the public. RSVP by calling the gallery at 495-9363.

JumpStart Ventures Announces Acquisition of Portfolio Company DIY Real Estate Solutions

2010-05-13T00:31:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - JumpStart Ventures Announces Acquisition of Portfolio Company DIY Real Estate Solutions"

JumpStart Ventures, which invests in and partners with innovative, early-stage companies in Northeast Ohio, announces that its portfolio company, DIY Real Estate Solutions, a developer of web-based property management software solutions, was acquired by Yardi Systems, a global asset and property management software provider.

As the investment arm of Ohio Third Frontier-funded JumpStart Inc., the non-profit that creates economic transformation by securing resources for and providing resources to entrepreneurs, JumpStart Ventures generated a positive internal rate of return on its investment.

"This positive exit is a great win for DIY's seasoned entrepreneurial team," said Becca Braun, President of JumpStart Ventures. "For us, it shows that investing in early-stage businesses works. While picking winners at this earliest investment stage is tricky business, we know there will be winners that will grow, create wealth for entrepreneurs and employees, and further grow the cycle of success in our early-stage technology community. From an investment and growth standpoint, DIY is one of those winners."

The return on investment will enable JumpStart Ventures to continue investing in 10 to 15 early-stage companies each year.

"What's great about this acquisition is that it's a big win for every party involved," said Bob Lasser, former Chairman of DIY and Managing Director of Danville Partners. "JumpStart Ventures had its first return, DIY will greatly accelerate its growth under this new leadership, and now I'm looking forward to continuing to focus on generating successful results for the Danville portfolio companies and the other Northeast Ohio companies with which I am involved."

The acquisition allows Yardi to offer an integrated, web-based property management system designed for companies that manage 1,000 or fewer units.

"DIY's software offered the perfect complement to our suite of products and the team in place was impressive," said Brad Setser, Vice President of Yardi. "Overall, the company made for a very attractive acquisition. Having both companies' solutions increases the options that will help clients operate more efficiently and competitively."

  JumpStart Ventures has made 60 investments in 47 companies.

About JumpStart Ventures

JumpStart Ventures invests in and forges partnerships with innovative, early-stage Northeast Ohio companies that have the potential to generate $30 to $50 million in revenues in five to seven years. It helps companies accelerate their time to venture-readiness by bundling guidance from experienced Venture Partners with seed investment capital. JumpStart Ventures is the investment arm of JumpStart Inc., a nationally recognized non-profit organization creating economic transformation by securing resources for and providing resources to entrepreneurs leading high potential early-stage companies.

Walgreens To Begin Selling Do It Yourself Genetic Testing Kits

2010-05-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Walgreens To Begin Selling Do It Yourself Genetic Testing Kits"

The FDA will be taking a close look at a new genetic test to be sold in Walgreens stores.

The genetic testing kits would allow people to assess their own risk of various diseases from the comfort of their own homes, and are produced by Pathway Genomics.

The kit is called the Pathway Genomics Insight Saliva Collection Kit and will retail for between $20 and $30.

The FDA plan to take a hard look at the kits, which have not been given approval by the agency.

These kits would be very popular as they would allow people to determine their risk of various inherited diseases, and would be the first to be offered in a consumer environment.

“If a company is making claims about a product that hasn’t been reviewed or validated by FDA, we want to make sure the information to consumers is accurate and the test will do what it says it will do,” said Erica Jefferson, an FDA spokeswoman.

Couple apply DIY approach to Dogpatch loft

2010-05-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Couple apply DIY approach to Dogpatch loft"

Tasha Kelter

Do-it-yourself devotees Courtney King and Roy Crisman do a lot with a little in their Dogpatch loft.

The couple’s approximately 800-square-foot live/work space functions as a home brewery, workshop, library, art studio, office for King’s organizing business and much more.

“We set up our space to support the things we like to do,” King, who founded Full Circle Organizing (www.fullcircleorganizing.com), says. That means camping storage under the stairs, brewing gear above the kitchen cabinets, and a green metal drill press as one of the centerpieces of the loft. The couple use the machine, which was discarded by a neighbor, frequently — and so do their friends.

The home isn’t only a functional space: Crisman and King pack in the guests for parties, clothing swaps and movie nights, where a pull-down projection screen is used instead of a television.

Because furniture and beanbag seating can be pushed to the edges of the lower level, the space doesn’t feel cluttered or crowded, even when it’s full of people.

One thing that the couple couldn’t find space for upon move-in was all their books. So characteristically, they took matters into their own hands and built themselves a wooden loft against the south side of the wall.

The loft was built in three sections over about six months, King said. They tapped into the exterior wall for one side and attached the structure to studs, then added a ladder. Voila: room for books, more cushy seats, and even a container garden.

And when it was done?

“We load tested it at a party,” King says. The structure held 12 people.

Now the library is also an “escape hatch,” a safe, comfortable spot to curl up with a book, enjoy the sun, or get creative.
Crisman’s art is everywhere: on the walls, on a clothesline below a row of mannequin heads with hats and wigs. But it’s not so much about the display, King says: “The reason we have these things up is because we made them.”

Found art adds to the look: a golden-hued icon the couple calls “Our Lady of the Dumpster” and a striking screen print of a woman’s face contrast with Crisman’s abstract work. But because they were rescued, recreated and reclaimed, they all have their space in the organic, evolving character of the home.

Bike Farm offers spot for DIY repairs

2010-05-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Bike Farm offers spot for DIY repairs"

Anne Laufe, Special to The Oregonian

Northeast Portland's nonprofit Bike Farm offers cyclists a great deal for $5: an hour of shop space, access to tools needed to repair a bike, and expert advice from a skilled bike mechanic.

Started in a garage four years ago, Bike Farm has been in its small storefront at 305 N.E. Wygant St. for about two years. The mission of the all-volunteer collective is to educate people about cycling, including how to ride safely and how to maintain a bike.

"It's all about empowerment and demystification and getting people out on their bikes," said volunteer bookkeeper Amanda Bittaker. "I really like (Bike Farm) as a cause. I have a background in economics and think bikes are an economically efficient solution to a lot of problems. And, of course, I like my bicycle."

Bike Farm is supported through memberships ($20 for one month, $35 for six months and $60 for one year) and the sale of used parts donated to the co-op. In an effort to get bikes to those who can't afford them, Bike Farm also has started a pilot build-a-bike program: Work with a volunteer to build three bikes, and you get to keep one.

Hours are noon to 4 p.m. Friday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday. Every first and third Tuesday of the month from 4 to 7 p.m. is Women and Trans night. More information: www.bikefarm.org

Vermont author offers the nation a do-it-yourself fix

2010-05-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Vermont author offers the nation a do-it-yourself fix"

Kevin O'Connor

Vermont writer Stephen Kiernan has read his fill of bad news, from the seemingly endless war and recession to the Oxford English Dictionary's naming of "unfriend" as word of the year.

So why is he sure he has the plan to make it all good?

A journalist for two decades, Kiernan can report how the United States has the highest rates among developed nations of divorce, bankruptcy, obesity, incarceration and lack of health insurance, all as more Americans are trading face time in their communities for Facebook on their computers.

"Government no longer offers the degree of help it once did, the gains of capitalism offer less aid, and we are so disconnected from one another," he says. "We don't have family dinners together, we don't belong to the churches we grew up in, we don't have people over to our houses anymore."

What to do? Kiernan, searching the past four years for people who have devised local solutions to larger problems, has written a new book, "Authentic Patriotism: Restoring America's Founding Ideals Through Selfless Action."

"The public stands on the sidelines, worried but passive, disenfranchised but hoping someone will come along and fix everything," he writes. "Waiting for Washington to solve our problems only exacerbates our passivity. And that is the main problem, underlying all of the others: We Americans today are not agents of our own salvation."

In Kiernan's mind, real patriots don't fortify the country by arming themselves with flags but instead by lending a hand. Ready to talk up his book and accompanying B1 volunteer campaign, the author hopes readers will heed his call to action.

'The central question'

Kiernan, a New York state native who came to Vermont to attend Middlebury College, thought up his latest book while traveling to promote his last one.

Touring the country with his first nonfiction title, "Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System," the author listened to countless people lament the nation's ailments, only to show up at hospices and meet volunteers who, dealing with death, nevertheless drew energy and enthusiasm for life.

The country's biggest problem, the 50-year-old Charlotte father of two realized, isn't poverty, pollution or political gridlock but citizen disengagement.

"The result has been a disconnection of people from one another, and a loss of common purpose," he writes. "The central question of our time, therefore, is how we remedy the situation."

The author believes the answer begins by curbing the politically polarizing arguments between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, supporters of government and free market capitalism. None of them, he says, has hit upon a solution.

That's why he set out to find examples of individual ingenuity — people whose work helps others, can be replicated economically and efficiently, and packs a good story.

'Up in a tree'

Kiernan begins his book with Harold Freeman, the great-great-grandson of slaves who, working as a doctor at Harlem Hospital, created a simple system of clinics and caregivers for breast cancer patients that lowered medical costs and deaths so impressively designer Ralph Lauren donated $5 million for further research.

"Each one of us is gifted," Freeman told Kiernan. "We each need to find our gift, whatever it may be, and we have to develop it so we can create a human benefit from within ourselves. I believe this is the only way to achieve satisfaction and happiness in this life."

The author moves on to recount how Julia Butterfly Hill climbed 18 stories into a centuries-old California redwood tree slated for cutting in 1997. She had planned a five-day sit-in, only to stay 728 until a timber company, facing growing public and press scrutiny, dropped its chain saws.

"No money, no job, no political position, no organization, no media experience, no support staff, no computer or website," Kiernan says. "She just got up in a tree and made the entire world aware."

Then there's the chapter featuring David Goggins, a former 280-pound Navy Seal who, after 11 fellow soldiers died in a rescue mission, decided to run in endurance marathons to raise college scholarship money for his colleagues' surviving children.

Goggins — completing one record-setting 200-mile run in 48 hours — so far has reaped more than $300,000 (and shed nearly 100 pounds).

'What do you got?'

Several of Kiernan's examples benefit taxpayers. More than 70 percent of first-time prisoners released from New York's Rikers Island wind up back behind bars — each costing at least $80,000 a year. But 95 percent of those who receive $7,500 in transition training from the nearby Friends of Island Academy go on to lead productive lives.

"Talk about the crimes that aren't committed, the lives that aren't wasted, the money saved," the author says. "We should be treating every first-time offender in America like that."

Kiernan admits to one problem reporting so many solutions: He had to limit his book to 60 profiles.

"The first draft of this book was twice the length," he says. "I have a very good editor."

Kiernan also has a website — www.authenticpatriotism.com — on which to elaborate. He'll write a blog about role models he meets on his book tour and, on a "B1 Campaign" link, create an electronic clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities. As the author calculates, if every able American over age 10 contributed three hours per week, the nation's nonprofits would gain the equivalent of 19 million full-time helpers.

"All kinds of problems can get solved when you have more people working on them," he says. "We already have enough lobbyists. We do not have enough people building houses for Habitat for Humanity."

Kiernan's 320-page hardcover, published by St. Martin's Press, is set for release Tuesday.

"I fully expect there will be reviewers who won't like this book because of their cynicism." His response: "Mr. Cynic, what do you got? Let me hear Plan B."

For a nation to rally, Kiernan concludes, it first must come together.

"We can say, 'Barack Obama, figure it out for us,' or, 'Congress, come up with some kind of compromise," or we can say, 'We have a stake in this." If we think of America as a great nation, let's behave like that."