Hamara Star House Improvement

Along with so many traditional arts and crafts, the art of lampshade making has almost slipped away and just like a custom made garment, a quality, antique, table lamp calls for a lampshade of the same standing.

In the demanding world of high end interior design, a lampshade must be fitted proportionally and exactly as an inch or two the wrong way can make or break a look.  Carefully measured, hand made work guarantees the harmonious marriage between lamp base and shade.

Lampshades can be made in many materials with silk being the fabric of choice. For the ultimate in luxury furnishings, silk can also be used to line a shade ensuring a professional and polished finish.  This sumptuous textile is available in an almost endless array of colours and is the last word in elegance and refinement.

The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co provide a complete shade design service with every detail discussed, from the choice of finial down to the colour of the frame wire.

A full range of shade styles are available in any shape.  Soft or bonded, knife, box or diamond pleated, ruffling effects or for something really spectacular, a double tiered shade to show off an exquisite oriental lamp.  The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co has a reputation for striking original designs specifically tailored to their one-of-a-kind table lamps.

                                   

The art of hand stitched lampshade making is alive and well at The Antique and Vintage Table Lamp Co!

You are invited to visit their web site at www.antiquelampshop.com

© The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co 2008

Furniture is an integral part of any home and the ideology behind buying household furniture has changed over a period of time. These days’ people don’t just buy furniture for usability purposes only but also enhancing the overall d?cor of a home. There is a variety of furniture available and they come in all shapes, size, and finish. You can choose from the comforting finish of oak wood to the rugged look of pine. One of the radical changes in household furniture is the transformation from wood to plastic and PVC.

But where can you find some of the great furniture? To start with there are several options in the United States. There are plenty of popular furniture manufacturers as well as suppliers who sell some of their catalogued items through their website or even through retail outlets. You can even find furniture from different countries including the famous Moroccan furniture. Most of the top suppliers in the US import authentic furniture from Morocco and other countries.

Most furniture dealers manufacture or showcase their items based on specific customer segments or requirements. Some dealers specialize in selling different variety of household furniture while others specialize in selling furniture for the office, church, establishments etc. You can always find the best price for furniture with a whole seller but the clause is that you need to purchase in bulk. Here are some of the top furniture dealers or whole sellers:

Ashley: One of the leading furniture manufacturers in the US is Ashley Furniture Industries Incorporation. Over the years they have built a brand name that reflects quality. They have several showrooms across the US and they are called ‘Ashley Home Stores’.

Corridor shops

Some of the top corridor shops include:

Furniture Trader: One of the top furniture dealers in the US, Furniture Trader specializes in buying and selling of both used and new furniture. Their furniture catalogue consists of an eclectic and trendy mix of furnishings.

Hickory Furniture Mart: The Hickory Furniture Mart has risen to popularity and created a brand loyalty by providing uniquely styled furniture through their several stores, factory outlets, and galleries. They also in home and office furnishings specialize in rugs and furnishings as well. It’s is a unique shopping paradise that houses around 100 stores and factory outlets. They are open from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm and 1pm to 5pm on Sundays. They will have a fall after market sale this year from November 2 to 4. There are 4 levels in the part and you can purchase from more than 1000 premier furniture manufacturers. It is one of the most unique furniture shopping experiences you will ever have.

Ashley:

Corridor shops is a huge online store that sells a wide range of furniture ranging from hacienda, primitive, Chinese antiques, Mexicana, Spanish, rustic and western. Along with hand made pottery and art from artisans of Southern Mexico, it also specializes in custom-made doors, gates and furniture.

Carolina: Carolina Furniture is one of the mega brands in providing home furnishings and furniture segment. They take a lot of pride in selling some of the most high-end and stylish furniture. Founded in 1975, they have grown over more than three decades. They also offer regular discounts and you can get as much as 30% to 60% off on the manufacturer’s retail price for specific furniture.

W.K. Leach Company: Founded in 1992, W. K. Leach Company is one of the premier wholesale providers for office furniture. They have production units in Northern California and cater to customer nationally. They have a wide range of furnishings that include home and office furniture. Since 1992, they have initiated purchase and resale of furniture for more than 25,000 offices. They are famous for creating workstations and office furniture.

Today’s Furniture: Today’s furniture has one of the largest collections of furniture for living room, dining room, bedroom, kitchen and bar. They offer some of the best furniture at discounted prices. Today’s furniture sells furniture for your living room, bedroom, kitchen etc. They have some great portable bars, but one of the highlighted products is the Napa Kitchen center, which is made of solid wood with a natural finish. They also specialize in different types of kid’s furniture.

Affordable Office Interiors: Affordable Office Interiors is a unique full-service firm that provides used, new, as well as re-manufactured office furniture. Their specialty lies in distributing re-manufactured Haworth system furniture and used Steelcase and Herman Miller systems. Some of the new furniture sold by them includes some big names like Haworth, AIS, Global, Hon, OFS and National.

Nobody saw it coming, but Ugg Boots have certainly taken the world by storm and become a huge fashion craze. Everybody whose anyone is wearing them! Austrailians know that Ugg means “ugly” but these woolly sensations are still everywhere. Wondering exactly how Ugg Boots are made and just what makes them so comfortable?

Genuine Ugg Boots are made from the highest quality materials, including sheepskin hide. You can buy knockoff Ugg Boots almost anywhere, but only the real deal provides the comfort and durability promised by Ugg. If they are not made in Australia then they are not authentic. Ugg Boots are just not made in China, so don’t be fooled. Buying Ugg-style boots that are not genuine will leave you with boots that are far inferior in quality. Translation: uncomfortable and smelly.

Warm in the winter and cool in the summer, genuine Ugg Boots are made from Australian double-faced sheepsking, usually Australian Merino Sheepskin. The highest quality around! Saving a couple of bucks will get you some synthetic fiber that’s not the same.

Some folks wonder if any animals are harmed during the making of Ugg Boots. The short answer is, the sheep is slaughtered. BUT, that sheep was going to be slaughtered for meat to feed people-it is never actually slaughtered to obtain the sheepskin. Sheep farmers obtain a secondary profit for selling the hides in addition to the meat. So, understand that the making of Ugg Boots doesn’t directly harm the sheep.

Sheepskins have to be preserved properly before they can be processed into boots. Tanneries use large vessels called paddles, that hold anywhere from 3,000 to 15,000 liters of salt water and slowly swish the skins around inside. This is a gentle process that takes about 10 days to get the hides properly tanned and ready to be cut for Ugg boots.

Step 1. Tanning/ Processing

The first step in tanning or processing of sheepskin is “Soaking,” which takes about 16 hours to complete. During this process, the skins are thoroughly rinsed in cold water to remove any excess salt or dirt from the wool and pelt. This soaking process is done overnight in a vat of fresh cold water.

The next step in the tanning process is called “Fleshing.” This part of the process uses a fleshing machine which removes any excess fat and muscle tissue from the underside of the sheepskins. This part of the process is essential for allowing more rapid and complete penetration of chemicals in the later stages of processing, particularly during the pickling and tanning stages.

After Fleshing comes “Scouring.” This 30-45 minute segment of the process uses surfactants at high temperatures (around 38 degrees Celsius) and takes care of removing dirt and lanolin (grease) from the wool.

“Pickling” of the sheepskin then takes about 16 hours. Before the sheepskin can be tanned, they have to be ) pickled. Pickling means soaking the skins in a solution of acid and salt. Adding salt prevents any potential swelling of the skins because of the acid. It’s important to lower the internal pH of the skins to somewhere between 2.8-3.0, which will allow the tanning agent to properly penetrate the skin.

The 16-hour “Tanning” step involves using chromium salts which form cross-links with the collagen, thereby helping to stabilize the skin structure and preventing putrefaction or rotting. This step is performed at room temperature, around 25 degrees Celsius, and around a pH of 2.5-3.0. Once the tanning agent (the chromium) penetrates the skin, the process is stopped, and the chrome is fixed to the collagen by raisng the pH to 3.6 using sodium bicarbonate and heating the skins to between 35-40 degrees Celsius. In doing so, the shrinkage temperature of the skin is raised to anywhere between 60-100 degrees Celsius.

Next comes “Wool Dyeing” or “Fatliquoring.” This takes anywhere from 3-4 hours to complete. After the skin is tanned, the wool may be dyed any of a variety of colors. Wool dyeing needs to be done at about pH 4.5-6 and at 60-65 degrees Celsius. Special “pelt reserve agents” must be added to keep the wool dye from staining the pelt. Once the dye is stable, the pH is lowered to about 4.0 to fix the dyes to the wool, and fatliquor (emulsified oil) is added to the solution. Fatliquors are part of leather manufacturing that help to lubricate the collagen fiber and allow them to move flexibly and freely once the skin is dried. This is what makes the leather feel soft.

Drying of the skins then takes 4-24 hours. Forced air dryers are used with the skins stretched across a frame. Drying occurs at 50-80 degrees Celsius.

Drycleaning must then take place over the following 4-24 hours. Either a white spirit (high boiling petroleum fraction) or perchloroehtylene is used to remove any natural fat or grease that remains in the skins.

Following final removal of the pelt grease, “Pelt Dyeing” or “Syntanning” comes next. Back in the paddle (the soaking vessel), the pelts are dyed in cooler temperature dyes (less than 30 degrees Celsius). This minimizes staining of the wool. After the pelt dyeing is completed, syntanning involves using synthetic tanning agents to make the pelts added fullness and firmness. Finally, the skins are dried once more.

Step 2. Finishing

After the lengthy tanning process is complete, the final finishing is done so the skins may be used to make Ugg Boots.

The skins must be conditioned to approximately 20% moisture content. Staking is the process by which the skins are softened and stretched, and a “nappy” surface is added to the pelt.

Final “Combing,” “Ironing,” and “Clipping” then takes place to remove any tangles, burrs, or grass seeds that may be remaining in the wool. The wool is straightened using an iron to remove the natural crimp. Lastly, a clipping machine creates a uniform wool pile at a desired length (usually 12-15 mm).

Step 3. Manufacturing

A “clicking press” is used to cut individual panels from the skins. After being cut to the right size, the panels are then sewn together using special industrial sewing machines. The soles are then glued to the boot upper, and, finally, the Ugg Boots are ready for you to purchase.