Carpet Bags: Classic Style and Practicality

A carpet bag is a distinctively charming bag that is both useful and good looking. Carpet bags have been used for many years, but when Mary Poppins carried a carpet bag in the movie of the same title, these simple bags became famous. These classic bags are as versatile and useful as they are elegant.

Because they are no longer actually made from old carpet, these bags are also often called tapestry bags. Carpet bags have leather and brass details, and they are fully lined.
Modern carpet bags are made from heavy weight tapestry fabrics making them strong and durable while still having their own distinctive beauty and style.

The tapestry fabrics used to create these one of a kind bags are beautifully rich in color and texture. The fabrics distinctive motifs come from all over the world from places like the Middle East, and Asia.

The bag a woman carries says a lot about who she is and it sets the tone of the outfit she is wearing. Carpet bags are not trendy. They are a timeless, classic style that will set the woman who carries one apart. Each bag is individually made, so they are one of a kind with a character all their own. Youll have no need to worry about looking around and seeing everyone else carrying the exact same bag.

The larger, luggage style carpet bags are not just for women. Men with refined taste will appreciate the character and elegance of a carpet bag also.

So whether you choose a carpet bag tote, purse or overnight sized luggage, you can be sure that you will have a distinctive bag that will garner praise and compliments and the question that will follow you everywhere will be, Where did you get that bag?

Evelyn just *loves* bags, and carpet bags are her newest passion. Check out her blog: http://www.carpetbagshop.com, and share her passion.

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The Dangers of Moving Fine Art

There are a number of good reasons why somebody might want to move art work. It could be a museum getting a new exhibit from a foreign country. It could be an temporary exhibition on a world tour. We see also more and more galleries and wealthy individuals acquiring expensive pieces of art and therefore having to move them for a number of personal reasons.

The top most important dangers when moving fine art are:

1. Direct physical forces: shock sustained by a dropped crate full of Faberg eggs or vibration from a bad truck.
2. Incorrect temperature: not planning the route well can cause your fine art to transit from hot and humid places to dry and cold ones, potentially ruining your art pieces.
3. Incorrect humidity: this is of course related to the quality of the packing and the route that is planned for the shipment.
4. Pest issues.
5. Water.
6. Vandals and thieves: fine art is most at risk of being stolen when it is moving, when it is not in the safe compounds of the gallery or museum.

The fragility of art has never been a secret, but it wasn't until the 1970s that art packing and transport got serious, as museums began applying standards developed by the military and the electronics industry to packaging treasures. As art values shot skyward in the '80s, a group of institutional professionals made an effort to codify the tricks of their trade. The effort resulted in "Art and Transit," an international conference held in London in 1991. "If you have ever wondered what happens to the painting inside the packing case when it topples off the tailgate of a truck or is rammed by a forklift, then this was the conference for you," reads a summary by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

Moving art is especially difficult because of the very different nature of all the art. Fine art can be a small 10 by 10 painting and it can be a large 20 meters sculpture that is hanging from the ceiling of a big gallery. You obviously do not attack the problem the same way. Moving fine art is therefore considered as an art in itself because very often the solutions do not come already made in a text book. Experience and creativity comes in handy.

If you are working in this field you can learn more about the mistakes of others and share your experience of moving fine art.

Alex Teo is the author and moderator of http://www.finearts-movers.com - This blog is dedicated to all professionals/or not, that had to deal with the pain of moving fine art.

Alex Teo has worked in the field of specialized moving services for more than 10 years and wishes to share his experience with everybody who might need it.

Anoto
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Animation Art Collecting #1 - What Determines Price

The most common question asked by a person just starting to collect animation art is, "What determines the prices of animation art?" There are six main pricing factors: (1) age and rarity, (2) character and image, (3) studio and film, (4) background, (5) signatures and (6) condition.

The more rare a piece of art the higher the demand, and the higher the retail price. Simple supply and demand. Animation art in all forms was once just considered a byproduct of the final film. As such, they held no value and were thrown away or the cels were wiped clean from the acetate and the acetate was reused.

Almost every studio at some point either sold the original art as novelty gifts for pennies or they gave them away as promotional items. In the early 1980's, studios rediscovered the concept of selling their ORIGINAL artwork, and there was an instant demand. They began to authenticate each new piece with a seal. Buyers were then assured of the authenticity of each piece and the studios were able to archive the art and control distribution.

As prices for vintage material continued to grow, studios started to increase prices for contemporary material as well. The prices of some contemporary pieces have now risen to those of vintage pieces. But there is one major difference between vintage and contemporary pieces - the number of existing vintage pieces is low and will never increase. What is on the market today, aside from what current owners have, is what exists. The number of pieces of contemporary art, on the other hand, continued to rise until recently when computer animation started gaining ground. Each studio has hundreds of thousands of pieces in their archives!

Primary characters command a higher price simply because they are more popular. But prices can vary wildly even for the same character from the same film from the same sequence. The better the image or pose the higher the price. A waist-up image will sell for quite a bit less than a full-figure image; eyes closed for less than eyes open; Ultimately the most expensive cels depict a major character, full-figure, center of the cel, large in height, eyes open, non-profile.

Cels with backgrounds will obviously draw a higher price than those without. Cels applied to key-master, or "matching" backgrounds are most expensive. Key-master backgrounds appeared with the same cel in the same feature. If you looked at the film you would be able to pause it and see that the still on your TV is exactly the same as you see hanging on your wall.

Cels applied to production backgrounds are also more expensive, but less than those applied to key-master backgrounds. Production backgrounds have actually been used in production but not with the same character in the cel. You will see the cel you own in a film, and you will see the production background you own in a film, but you will not see them together in the same scene.

Laser / copy backgrounds add artistic value to a cel, but are not actual backgrounds. These are reproductions of the original key-master background applied as a background to the original cel.

Some collectors seek pieces that are signed by someone involved with the studio or the animation of the film, such as directors, animators, and voice actors. Signed pieces combine two collectibles - autographs and animation art - and as such can be much more expensive than unsigned pieces. Remember that rarity is also a factor in autograph pieces.

The last factor that determines price is condition. Cels are fragile. Many have been repaired in the past (not unusual) and still command a high price. Still others have been trimmed and applied to other backgrounds with adhesive. Depending upon the rarity of the piece these may still command top dollar. Keep your collection in a dry area out of direct sunlight and us only acid-free matting and backing to maintain the value for years to come.

Neil Walsh
Daba Designs
P.O. Box 255
North Olmsted, Ohio 44070
Phone: (440)465-0744
Website: http://www.daba-designs.com/AAC%20site%20F/index.html

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