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'It's a trap!': Star Wars themed wedding photo turns Toronto couple into …
TORONTO — The force was with Leslie Seiler and Paul Kingston the day they said I do. Now, so is Internet fame. The Toronto couple have had to curtail their own honeymoon to deal with the spate of publicity surrounding one of their wedding photos.
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Beverly, MA (PRWEB) March 22, 2013

Kaminski Auctions Spring Modern Auction will feature numerous important modernist artists, including Kipniss, Hepworth, Grau Sala, and Cocteau. Other pieces of interest include Nakagawa pottery, Venini cystal and art glass, as well as a number of fine pieces of modern furniture.

One of the most highly anticipated pieces in the auction is Lot 5369, a sculpture by the British artist Barbara Hepworth. The sculpture, entitled Sphere and Hemisphere, is of polished bronze and features a sphere resting on the flat plane of a larger hemisphere. Hepworth made a number of sculptures investigating the spherical shape. The piece to be offered at Kaminski appears alongside similar works in Barbara Hepworths catalogue raissoné compiled in 1971 by Alan Bowness. The sculpture is estimated to sell for between $ 10,000 and $ 15,000.

The Spring Modern Auction will also include two pieces by the artist Robert Kipniss. Famous for his prints, the artist also produced paintings of simple subject matter in which he instilled the deeper sense atmosphere and experience he sought to capture in his work. The two pieces at Kaminski reflect this harmony of simplicity and depth.

Lot 5002, a still life of a simple cup and spoon in an understated color palette, well represents Kipnisss body of work. The small square still life is estimated at $ 500 to $ 1,000. The other example of Robert Kipnesss work offers an insight into the artists process. A Conté preliminary sketch of a landscape with houses accompanies the finished painting in Lot 5412, demonstrating the evolution of a painting in progress. The landscape and sketched are valued at $ 4,000 to $ 6,000.

Also of significant interest are the works by artists Jean Cocteau and Emilio Grau Sala to be offered in the April 7th auction. Originally from Barcelona, Grau Sala became well known in France for his colorist work in the French Salon Comparaisons. Two Women at a Table captures Grau Salas vivid and loose style, and is estimated at $ 5,000 to $ 8,000.

The piece by Jean Cocteau carries a similar estimate at $ 6,000 to $ 8,000. The writer known for his masterful works Les Enfants Terribles and Orphee also produced illustrations, which often accompanied his poems. The colored crayon drawing to be sold at Kaminski depicts a profile of a face drawn in ink amidst colorful crayon markings, and is estimated at $ 6,000 to $ 8,000.

A number of fine pottery and glass items will join these works of fine art in this exciting twentieth century sale. Among the highest estimated lots is a beautiful large Nakagawa handturned tea jar, wood fired in Shigaraki. The jar, which is signed on the base, is predicted to fetch between $ 1,000 and $ 2,000.

Highlights from the glass selection in the sale include a Venini glass bowl with fourteen pieces of fruit made from art glass, estimated at $ 800 to $ 1,200, and a crystal bowl with a palm design signed Buquet 2001, estimated at $ 1,000 to $ 2,000.

The anticipated modern sale will also feature a noteworthy selection of modern furniture, including a Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller desk made circa 1936, priced at $ 1,400 to $ 2,000, as well as Knoll leather and wood lounge chairs from 1983, estimated at $ 600 to $ 1,000. A Le Corbusier LC4 lounge by Cassina will also be offered for $ 2,000 to $ 3,000, in addition to a Eugene Schoen settee, accompanied by vintage fabric for $ 8,000 to $ 10,000.

One of the most unique items to be included in the sale is a beautiful mahogany model airplane. The sleek large-scale model is beautifully carved and makes a very impressive visual with its ten-foot wingspan. The model is estimated at $ 4,000 to $ 6,000.

All of these captivating lots and more exciting offerings will be auctioned at Kaminskis Spring Twentieth Century Design Auction on April 7th at 10am. Preview for the sale will take place Wednesday, April 3, from 10am to 5pm; Thursday, April 4, from 10am to 5pm; Friday, April 5, from 10am to 8pm, Saturday, April 6, from 10am to 5pm; and starting at 8am on the day of sale.

Kaminski Auctions

Kaminski Auctions, located on the North Shore of Boston, has been serving the New England antiques market for over 25 years as a full service auction house and appraisal service for fine art, antiques and estates.

With two locations in Beverly, Massachusetts, including a new state of the art auction gallery located at 117 Elliott Street, and a historic 1850s barn and office facility at 564 Cabot Street, Kaminski Auctions hosts 25 auctions a year.

In todays highly competitive market of fine art and antiques, Kaminski Auctions provides its customers with bicoastal services and marketing with west coast offices in Beverly Hills and San Diego, California.

Kaminski Auctions offers specialty departments in Asian Art and Antiques, Silver, Glass and Lamps, Couture and Vintage Clothing, Photography and Modern Design . We have highly trained and knowledgable appraisers on staff that will help you determine the true value of your antiques, or entire collections. Free Appraisal days are offered every Tuesday from 10:00am-4:30pm at our 564 Cabot Street location in Beverly, Massachusetts & our 5171 Santa Fe Street location in San Diego, California. We welcome emailed photos of your items!

Contact Harry Morgan – hmorgan(at)kaminskiauctions(dot)com

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Welcome, N.C. (PRWEB) February 12, 2013

NASCAR fans worldwide are excitedly awaiting the kick off of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season Feb. 16 at Daytona National Speedway. But theyre not the only ones champing at the bit for the action to begin. Team sponsors, companies with big money investments riding on the performance of their star drivers, are also eager to get things rolling. Once the green flag is waved, their brands represented on the cars of NASCAR pros in the form of colorful wraps and sponsor logos will attract the attention of millions.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of NASCAR racing, a sport with a following of more than 75 million fans around the globe. Among U.S. professional sports franchises, NASCAR ranks second to only the NFL in television ratings. Its also a multi-billion dollar business, with more fortune 500 sponsors than any other motor sport. All of these sponsors are seeking to reach and influence NASCARs huge audience, and one of the primary ways they accomplish this is through vehicle wraps. The finely-tuned race cars driven by NASCARs top pros have become important advertising vehicles, literally, for a host of major companies, including Budweiser, Chevrolet, Rheem, Caterpillar, Bass Pro Shops, and many more.

Of course, these cars dont wrap themselves. Virtually every major NASCAR racing team depends on a crew of skilled graphics professionals and technologically advanced digital printing equipment to design, produce and install the wraps. One such team is Richard Childress Racing (RCR), which employs a staff of five to wrap the cars of high-profile drivers like Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Paul Menard. The design and production work takes place at RCRs 2,500 square foot Graphics Center, located on the teams expansive campus in Welcome, N.C. After creating and outputting the detailed color graphics on their Roland printers, the crew performs the actual wrap installations at three of RCRs 15 on-campus body shops. In addition to wrapping the teams race cars, RCR also wraps the trucks and trailers that transport these cars to and from various race tracks across the country.

According to David Hart, director of corporate communication for Richard Childress Racing, the quality of each vehicle wrap is vital to RCRs overall success. Sponsorship is the life blood of our organization, and big, bold, colorful graphics are essential for promoting the companies that support us, said Hart. Our wraps directly represent and reflect the brands of our sponsors, so everything has to be perfect. With the cost of sponsorship for a NASCAR Sprint Cup series team at $ 20 million or more, getting the graphics on the car just right, including color-matched logos, is critical.

For this season, RCRs graphics professionals worked on redesigns (variations upon existing wraps) for returning sponsors, as well as completely new wraps for two new Nationwide Series sponsors joining the team for 2013 Shore Lodge and White Tail Resort. Additionally, the crew created a special Honey Nut Cheerios wrap for the car full-time Nationwide Series driver Austin Dillon will use in his attempt to qualify for his first Daytona 500.

The race car that gets the most attention year after year is Harvicks No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Thats our flagship wrap, said RCR Graphics Manager Nick Woodward. The fact that Kevin drives that car has a lot to do with it, but the high quality design and colors of the wrap certainly add to the attraction.

RCRs graphics team take advantage of the off-season to design and install wraps for its new and repeat sponsors. They also work diligently during the season to make sure the wraps look good for every race. That isnt an easy task, considering the wear and tear NASCAR racing puts on these vehicles. Under normal city street conditions, vehicle wraps are durable and long lasting, said Woodward. But NASCAR conditions are far from ordinary its a world of scratches, bang-ups and full-on crashes. We completely re-wrap every one of our cars prior to each race, which means were installing wraps on an average of seven to nine vehicles per week.

Woodward points out that new NASCAR Generation 6 auto body regulations brought about extra challenges, and work, for the RCR graphics team as they prepared for the 2013 season. NASCAR introduced a new set of body style and tolerance rules for this year, so we needed to create new 3-D renderings and design templates for all of our wraps, he explained. The changes were significant, requiring both our graphics crew and our digital printers to work overtime.

To keep pace with these demands, Woodward and his team rely on four Roland eco-solvent large-format printers, including a 64-inch VersaCAMM VS-640 metallic inkjet printer/cutter, and three SOLJET models a 54-inch XC-540 printer/cutter, 64-inch XJ-640 printer, and a 54-inch XC-540MT metallic inkjet printer/cutter. Just about every graphics team in NASCAR has turned to digital printing technology versus paint, said Woodward. A lighter vehicle means more speed, and whereas multiple layers of paint added around 14 pounds to one of our cars, a digital wrap adds only 9 pounds. Being able to easily remove a digitally created wrap to make body repairs is also a big advantage. Instead of having to strip off all that paint, and then re-paint, a removable digital wrap can be peeled off quickly and easily.

Woodward also stresses the importance of dependable equipment when it comes to fulfilling RCRs extensive graphics needs. When were in full swing, prepping for the upcoming season, we dont have time for problems or delays, he said. There are periods when were running our Roland large-format printers 14 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, pumping out the prints needed for our wraps. These machines are reliable workhorses we couldnt get the job done without them.

To learn more about Rolands partnership with Richard Childress Racing and watch videos of the RCR graphics team in action, visit: http://www.rolanddga.com/partnerships/richard-childress-racing. For more information on the complete lineup of Roland products, visit http://www.rolanddga.com.

About Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing (http://www.rcrracing.com) has earned more than 200 victories and 14 championships, including six in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Its 2013 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy Johns Chevrolet), and Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar/Cheerios Chevrolet). Its Nationwide Series program includes Brian Scott (No. 2 Shore Lodge/Armour Vienna Sausage/Fast Fixin/Charter/Husky Liners Chevrolet), 2012 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon (No. 3 Advocare Chevrolet), and an all-star driver lineup on the No. 33 Menards Rheem/WESCO/Armour Vienna Sausage/Hunt Brothers Pizza/Fast Fixin Chevrolet team. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series program will consist of 2012 Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year Ty Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and Brendan Gaughan (No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet).

About Roland DGA Corp.

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif. Roland DGA Corp. serves as the U.S.-based marketing, distribution and sales arm of Roland DG Corp. in Hamamatsu, Japan. Celebrating 30 years of innovation, Roland provides business-critical solutions every day to professionals across the sign, grand-format, sublimation, UV inkjet, digital graphics, vehicle graphics, fine art, medical, dental, photography, packaging, label, engraving and 3D modeling industries. Roland DGA is ISO 9001:2008 certified, and Roland DG is ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2004 certified.

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Ambler, PA (PRWEB) October 24, 2012

Homeowners looking to make smart, energy-efficient investments in their homes should always start with ENERGY STAR® qualified products. Thats the advice of Mark Clement, host of the MyFixitUpLife home improvement radio show and website.

The easiest first step when looking to purchase doors, roofing, windows or any other major product for the home is to request ENERGY STAR qualified products, says Clement, a professional contractor with 20+ years experience. A product that meets ENERGY STAR requirements for a specific geographic area is constructed to help make the home as energy efficient as possible. Using several ENERGY STAR qualified products together can really help ease the energy burden on the home, which can help save homeowners a great deal of money each year on energy costs.

During Octobers Energy Awareness Month, Clement offers these tips for homeowners:

Tip #1 Visit the governments ENERGY STAR website at http://www.energystar.gov to learn as much as possible about energy efficient home products before making an investment in a major product for your home.

Tip #2 – When installing or replacing windows or patio doors, always choose ENERGY STAR qualified, vinyl-framed products like those from Simonton Windows. Vinyl is an excellent insulator, and some of the best windows have fusion-welded corners and multi-chambered construction for increased energy efficiency. When combined with a Low E glass package featuring a dense (but harmless) Argon or Krypton gas fill inside the units, these windows and patio doors can help lower energy bills by keeping a home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

Tip #3 When it comes time to replace your roof, look for a Cool Roof that will help lower your homes overall energy costs. A Cool Roof is measured by two properties, solar reflectance and thermal emittance. EcoBlend® polymer roofing tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes® have been verified by the independent Cool Roof Rating Council to meet or exceed requirements for ENERGY STAR qualified roofing products to reflect sunlight and heat away from the home, helping increase the overall energy efficiency of the structure. These durable, impact-resistant polymer tiles are available in slate and shake profiles in a variety of colors.

Tip #4 If youre constructing a new home, consider an approved green home plan that meets the strict requirements of ENERGY STAR. The House Designers offers an exclusive collection of more than 800 innovative, sustainable designs from leading architects and designers that come in a wide array of architectural styles and home sizes to choose from when building a new home.

Tip #5 – If your front entry door has air leaking in or doesnt close properly, its time to invest in a new door. Stylish and secure, more than 94 percent of the fiberglass doors manufactured by Therma-Tru (including those with decorative and privacy glass doorlites) meet national ENERGY STAR qualifications. For added energy efficiency, homeowners can request the Tru-Defense® Door System* that includes enhanced weatherstripping, corner seal pad, door bottom sweep and profiled sill that all work together to provide strength and stability in the entry door.

    For more home improvement tips, visit http://www.myfixituplife.com.

*See the Therma-Tru website for complete details on the Tru-Defense® Door Systems.

ENERGY STAR is a government program that helps consumers protect the environment through superior energy efficiency and is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Photography:

Contact Kathy Ziprik at 8280-890-8065 or kziprik(at)aol(dot)com.

Kansas City, KS (PRWEB) October 11, 2012

Just in time for Octobers National Energy Awareness Month, DaVinci Roofscapes® has announced that eight of the companys EcoBlend® polymer roofing tiles have qualified as ENERGY STAR® compliant. DaVinci has now become an ENERGY STAR partner and offers the eight EcoBlend roofing options in the companys Slate, Shake, Fancy Shake and Bellaforté product lines.

The independent Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) has verified the testing that the EcoBlend tiles from DaVinci meet or exceed requirements for the ENERGY STAR program inclusion to reflect sunlight and heat away from the home. DaVinci EcoBlend tiles that are now ENERGY STAR qualified include Weathered Gray (in Medium, Medium Light, Medium Dark, Light and Dark) and Gray (in Dark, Light and Medium) colors.

EcoBlend tiles reflect sunlight and heat away from the home, helping increase the energy efficiency of the overall structure, says Ray Rosewall, president and CEO of DaVinci Roofscapes. Higher emissivity and reflectivity rates lead to reductions in the cooling load and, in return, increase energy efficiency. Builders, remodelers, roofers and homeowners interested in maximizing the energy efficiency of homes and other buildings should be requesting EcoBlend tiles to help achieve this goal.

EcoBlend roofing tiles can help property owners save on energy costs, improve the comfort of the structure and mitigate global warming. According to CRRC, homeowners can recognize an average energy savings ranged from seven to 15 percent of total cooling costs by using a cool roof that helps reduce temperature fluctuations inside the home. ENERGY STAR reports that Americans spend about $ 40 billion annually to air condition buildings. ENERGY STAR qualified roofing products reflect more of the suns rays and can help reduce the amount of air conditioning needed in buildings.

A Cool Roof is measured by two properties, solar reflectance and thermal emittance. Both properties are measured from 0 to 1. The higher the value, the cooler the roof. During independent testing, DaVinci EcoBlends measured in a range of 0.31 to 0.36 for solar reflectance and in the range of 0.88 to 0.89 for thermal emittance.

According to the CRRC, another benefit of a Cool Roof is the reduction in air pollution from the emissions of the roof itself will help reduce heat islands around cities and populous areas. These are important considerations for builders, roofing contractors and homeowners wishing to make a positive impact on the environment.

Award-Winning DaVinci EcoBlend Roofing Tiles

Introduced to the marketplace in 2009, DaVinci EcoBlend products have been recognized by both Building Products and HANDY magazines. In 2009 EcoBlend was named a winner in the Second Annual Building Products Green Products Awards competition where just 16 products were recognized for environmental/green friendliness. HANDY magazines 2009 Innovative Award program presented an Honorable Mention Award to DaVinci EcoBlend citing the products initiative, creativity, invention, reinvention and eco-innovation.

Following introduction of EcoBlend in 2009, DaVinci immediately began testing for the ENERGY STAR certification. The company waited the mandatory three-year weathering/testing period (from 2009 to 2012) to verify that EcoBlend products meet or exceed initial ENERGY STAR program requirements for 25 percent solar reflectivity and can contribute to LEED-NC 7.2 Heat Island Effect.

Receiving our ENERGY STAR certification during National Energy Awareness Month puts a perfect focus on the importance roofing plays in the overall energy efficiency of a home, says Rosewall. Selecting an EcoBlend roofing tile helps assure a property owner that they are doing everything possible to create an efficient and comfortable living space that helps to protect the environment and preserve our natural resources.

DaVinci Roofscapes has manufactured award-winning polymer slate and shake roofing since 1999. The roofing tiles are virtually maintenance free and far more cost effective than the natural product. DaVinci leads the industry in tile thickness, the tile width variety and the greatest selection of subtle earth-toned colors. Company products have a 50-year limited warranty and are 100 percent recyclable. DaVinci proudly makes its products in America and is a member of the National Association of Home Builders, the Cool Roof Rating Council and the U.S. Green Building Council. For additional information call 1-800-328-4624 or visit http://www.davinciroofscapes.com.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: Visit the Media Room http://mediaroom.davinciroofscapes.com and click on the Image Gallery.

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