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The Spectrum Awards competition is open to all individuals living in North America. You do not have to be a member of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) to enter.
Any jewelry produced after October 2003, and not previously entered into an AGTA competition may be entered. Entries must be finished pieces; no drawings will be accepted.
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Damaged fabrics made of precious yarns, stained tablecloths, old lace, and prayer rugs with worshipped-in holes are among the objects that end up in Luisa Cevese's hands. The Milan-based designer, who is known for fixing fabric remnants in resin for her Riedizioni line of bags and shades, has now begun transforming damaged textiles into more rarified art objects, mats, and rugs.
It was by chance that Cevese came upon the idea for the new pieces. "One time I got some remnants from a company, and I also received this very beautiful eighteenth-century textile with gold embroidery," she says. "They came from a sacred textile company that makes fabrics for priests."
The company is just one of many that supplies Cevese with silk and tie remnants for her Riedizioni line. She fixes these leftovers in large sheets of resin then cuts them into handbags, change purses, floor mats, place mats, and blinds. The industrial process--which Cevese started about 15 years ago--not only reclaims waste from the factory floor, but also creates products that are each slightly different because she only loosely controls the placement of the random scraps.
The arrival of the antique fabric sparked a new idea. "Getting that textile was purely accidental, but something clicked," Cevese says.
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Japan is sending more than 300 athletes and officals to the Athens Olympics, the highest number since the Tokyo Olympiad. Head coach Tomiaki Fukuda says Japan is aiming at 10 gold medals and 24-25 medals overall for the entire Olympics.
These days, the functionality and high-tech design of an athlete's uniform play a big part in the final result, especially in swimming and track and field. In an Olympic event, only 0.01 second or one centimeter can make the difference between a gold medal and nothing at all.
"The trend toward sleek, high-tech uniforms started at the 1972 Games," said sports journalist Masayuki Tamaki. "Swimming has been the most competitive when it comes to new-look designs. Nowadays, uniform manufacturers are all competing with each other to come up with better designs for swimsuits."
Japanese Olympic athletes used to all wear the same style, but that has changed this year. Individual athletes can choose their own designs.
For Athens, swimsuits have been made by Mizuno, Desanto and Asics. Mizuno's swimsuit has tiny protuberances on a part of the breast and shoulder for women that help reduce the resistance of water by up to 3%.
For its new line of volleyball uniforms, Mizuno used a computer to analyze the movements of players, especially during an attacking move. The new uniforms - available in
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Design your own jeans with tons of kitschy character.
You really have to hand it to old Levi Strauss. We've been wearing his denim jeans for 150 years and where would we be without 'em? Cowboys, collegians and Calvin Klein would all be unprotected, uncomfortable and unfashionable.
The five-pocket standard we know and love has been re-created ad infinitum, and this year's models have been dolled up with all kinds of baubles, bangles and beads. Gucci, Valentino and Anna Sui have all gotten in on the act. But couture hippie chic doesn't come cheap. And yet, it seems like it'd be so easy to make.
Don't make a decision between new pants or a down payment on your new car.
For less dough than dinner at your favorite restaurant, you can design those duds yourself.
1. Use your favorite jeans or go the thrift store and buy a pair for cheap.
2. You'll need rhinestones. Lots and lots of rhinestones. Your arts and crafts store will have a great selection. I like the sparkles from Westrim Crafts. They come in a ton of colors and have flat backs making them easier to glue on.
3. Don't forget glue. You must use a good one that won't dissolve in the wash. I like Aleene's Jewel. It is the best for this project. Also available at the craft store.
4. Pinstripe a row of studs down the side seams by dotting the rhinestones wi
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When pop star Jessica Simpson snapped up a striking hand-knit shawl while shopping in Manhattan, she didn't realize she was playing a bit part in Argentina's fashion boom.
Draped over the shoulders of Simpson who stars with her husband, Nick Lachey, on the MTV reality show "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica" the rainbow-colored shawl has become a fashion statement good news for the unemployment-stric ken Argentine economy and the 28 knitters at a factory outside Buenos Aires.
"I never would have thought that my love for shopping could have such a meaningful impact on someone's life," the 24-year-old singer said in a statement e-mailed by her publicist.
The shawl with its unique spider-weblike design is the brainchild of Argentine model-turned-desig ner Cecilia de Bucourt, just one idea of many in a fashion revolution as Argentina struggles out of economic meltdown.
"Since Jessica started wearing my shawls I got more and more demands from her fans who love her style and what she wears," de Bucourt said. "I'd say it tripled my production in just four months."
Joblessness remains in double digits but lower labor costs are boosting the fashion industry and its ambitious designers.
Whether at weekend street fairs in Buenos Aires' swanky Palermo district or in boutiques on New York's Upper East Side where Simpson picked up her
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