#She talks about innovations in color printing as this tremendous thing

[chicago-geniza]

RIP Stefania Zahorska you would have loved glossy high-resolution full-color images incorporated into printed books

[dippedanddripped]

The common party line in the luxury resale market is that authentication is more of an art than a science, something one can only learn through a mixture of experience and intuition. Fashionphile rejects that idea."It's just a science," insists CEO Ben Hemminger.The company puts this into practice by sending every piece that arrives at its Carlsbad, CA campus through a rigorous screening process involving a combination of highly-trained staff and top-of-the-line technology. The whole operation — from the loading dock where employees accept shipments of goods waiting to be authenticated to the brightly-lit room where product gets photographed per precise standards to a locked cage containing hundreds and thousands of luxury pieces — currently exists in the 30,000 square foot building. In the front is a showroom where southern California customers can come drop off their bags to be evaluated on site or pick up a new style they've been eyeing. In the back, there's a large, bright-pink metal ramp, custom-designed by a company that makes playground slides, where freshly-packed boxes zip down to meet delivery trucks. (I ask if I can take a quick ride down it, but apparently that's an OSHA violation, and so I take the stairs.)Photo: Layton Tedrick/Courtesy of FashionphileIt's quite the evolution from Fashionphile's humble beginnings in 1999 as an eBay shop run out of founder Sarah Davis's home, but something she says has been organic from day one. "We've done every single job in the building," Davis says. "There was a point when Ben or I did all of the packing and shipping, photography, authentication, pricing and customer service.""We both love finding out what things are worth — treasure hunt, find it out, sell it for more, that whole arbitrage of used luxury things," Hemminger adds. Initially, Davis was doing this herself, bringing on brother-in-law Hemminger around 2006 when she realized there was an opportunity to grow the business beyond its auction roots. At the time, she exclusively dealt in secondhand Louis Vuitton, having logged hours learning how to authenticate the brand; with Hemminger on board, they aimed to broaden the business, but proceeded very carefully."I figured out authentication on one brand and could handle that by myself," she says. "You don't add the brand before you have the authentication in place. We can't just open a box, go, 'What's this? Oh, let's sell it,' because everything we have is highly counterfeited stuff."Together, they began to familiarize themselves with more designers, starting with Chanel — spending months shopping in stores, buying bags, taking them apart and comparing them with counterfeits until they felt comfortable with the product literally from the inside out. When they were done, they wrote a "guide" to authentication; Davis put together the Louis Vuitton edition and Hemminger worked on the one on Chanel.Photo: Layton Tedrick/Courtesy of FashionphileFashionphile still uses those guides today, as evidenced by the binders collected on the desks of their authenticators packed with laminated pages detailing everything from precise colors and hardware to logos and fonts. And as the brands they accept evolve, taking on new creative directors or aesthetic directions, so, too, do their corresponding guides, which are more living, breathing documents than carved-in-stone laws. Counterfeits are involved in this process, too, as they provide key insight into identifying how fakes are made. When Fashionphile gets an item they deem is counterfeit, they charge the sender a $75 fee ($125 for Hermès Birkins or Kellys) to have it returned to them. Not only has this served to weed out would-be scammers — either people sending in a luxury item for a freebie authentication, something which costs Fashionphile time and money, or counterfeit rings looking to make a score — it has also provided a library of goods for the company to learn from. Inside "The Graveyard" at Fashionphile HQ are dozens of black boxes, each labeled by brand, filled with everything from fake Christian Louboutin shoes to forged Gucci packaging, abandoned by their senders but put to use training Fashionphile employees. While touring the campus, Davis pokes into an office where a handful of employees are gathered around some of Dior's newest styles, examples of counterfeits and a binder detailing what to look for in authentic Dior bags. Training for authenticators is extremely vigorous here: Before an employee can work on their own at Fashionphile, they must undergo 5,200 hours of training in just seven brands; after 6,100 hours, they can work within 21 brands; after 6,460 hours, they can work on 32 or more. It's a process they've dubbed "Fashionphile University."But while the human component remains crucial to Fashionphile's business, they've also added in lots of tech. There's a device that can precisely identify Pantone shades, which is especially useful in authenticating Hermès; equipment that can detect lab-grown diamonds, which can sometimes (but not always!) signal counterfeit jewelry; a machine that can X-ray a bag to reveal the hardware within — another giveaway in particularly well-done fakes. Photo: Layton Tedrick/Courtesy of FashionphileNot satisfied to exclusively rely on appliances readily available in the market, however, Fashionphile is also working on bringing the human element into digital form through in-house innovations. There's software in development which the company says can currently detect counterfeits in three popular classes of bag with 100% accuracy using microframes. There's also a pricing tool which pulls data across key factors (like condition, current inventory, historic shelf life and color) into an algorithm which optimizes pricing, as well as a visualization tool customers can use to get an instant quote on their goods without having to ship it in, which delivers a 95.3% accuracy. This tech also allows Fashionphile to pick up on trends before humans even can. Remember when the Fendi Zucca print came roaring back into fashion? Or when the Dior Saddlebag regained It status? Fashionphile's system registered that those styles were moving faster than normal — so fast, in fact, it couldn't raise the price quickly enough to match the trend. These are all great for customers, of course. But they're also making business faster — and more profitable — for Fashionphile."We've created all these tools to make it so that, as soon as possible, when you walk in our door, you can be fully capable in your position. Our technology is enabling you to get that way faster," Davis says. "There was a time when you came into Fashionphile as a procurement person who was quoting the bags, it took you months to be helpful to us. We've now created tools that make you super-effective within days."Related Articles: Can Technology Keep Fake Handbags Out of the Marketplace? The RealReal's Authentication Practices Are Not What They Seem, According to New Investigation What Goes Around Comes Around Is More Than Ready for the Resale Market Boom"That whole combination of expertise and tech is just really about scaling, because if we were going to stay stagnant and just be a mom and pop, we wouldn't really need it. Our authenticators with no tech can do maybe 20 bags an hour; with these tools, they could probably do 60 an hour," Hemminger adds. "If we're going to be worldwide, and be a $2 billion, $3 billion company, we will probably still have a lot of authenticators, but they would never be able to do that much volume. It [becomes] review versus primary research."It's hard not to be deeply impressed by the level of work and accuracy that goes into this authentication, both on a human and technical level. Their lead jewelry authenticator walks me through two seemingly identical Cartier Juste un Clou bracelets, down to the karat of gold used in the product. The only giveaway? The stamp etched into the fake, which should identify the maker, is slightly different when examined in a jeweler's loupe. Then, I'm told a story about an Hermès Birkin, made by Hermès employees off-the-clock with stolen Hermès leather sold in the black market, identified only when the x-ray revealed that the screws inside the metal feet were wrong. (For me, this all brings about an existential crisis about what, exactly, makes a luxury good so valuable, but that's another story for another day.)Photo: Layton Tedrick/Courtesy of FashionphileIndeed, Davis and Hemminger say that when they have brought luxury companies onto campus to walk them through the authentication process — they can't say who because of NDAs, of course — they've been so impressed that there have been early talks of partnerships. It's just a question of educating these brands, which have been historically unfriendly to the resale market, about the value of consignment, Hemminger explains: "They think we're a problem because of counterfeits. We actually helped them tremendously in showing them how we can help stop counterfeits." "But one of the big benefits that I think some brands are starting to get is that we actually increase sales for brands. No one's buying a new car every two years — that's just the cycle, and you can only do that because you're trading in the old one," he continues. "We think 10 years from now people will just buy more Chanel flaps or whatever, and the new bags will increase in velocity of sales. It doesn't devalue the brand. It just means more people are carrying it."Up until now, the brand's growth has been slow and steady, but with the re-commerce market exploding the way that it has, Hemminger and Davis feel the time is right to ramp up their efforts to lock down the luxury accessory market. They've let the rising tide lift their boat, so to speak, and now they're ready to establish themselves as a primary player in the space."If you Google resellers in our world in 2013, there are a bunch of players that raised money and they're just not here anymore," Davis says. "We've built this really solid foundation — and taking our sweet time doing it, partially to our detriment. We've built this nice little fire; we throw some dry wood and gas on that thing, it's going to go crazy, because it's all solid."Photo: Layton Tedrick/Courtesy of FashionphileRegardless of whether luxury brands get on board, Fashionphile is in expansion mode. In addition to the Carlsbad campus, there's a 100,000 square foot warehouse in the works in New Jersey, all the better to service East Coast customers. There are two standalone Fashionphile showrooms: Carlsbad and New York City. In 2019, the brand took a minority investment from Neiman Marcus and now operates selling studios inside select retail locations — currently, in Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco and Newport Beach, with more to come in 2020 — where customers can get paid on the spot, including the option of a Neiman Marcus gift card. And while Fashionphile is certainly in a good position for cornering the luxury resale market, it's hard to imagine they don't see potential in all the authentication technology they've developed. Davis and Hemminger don't consider mom-and-pop consignment operations as rivals, for example, so they haven't ruled out licensing their apps for a fee. There's talk of making the Hermès color guide available on the site as a resource for customers. Davis even quips at one point that luxury brands should send their employees to Fashionphile University for training. While there are certain things they plan to keep proprietary, they're keeping an open mind for what the future might hold on the tech front."We recognize that there's a cost of sharing the information that we have or the tools that we have — it might help a competitor, or we'll lose a couple of sales," Hemminger admits. "But the other side of it is, by being the authority in the marketplace and being out there with all your information, you become more of a household name, you become recognized for your authority and the brand grows. I think we don't want be too tight-fisted about it because we realize that being generous is a two-way street."

[nvsrworld]

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Literature in any language is a great, plentiful, beautiful Ocean where one gets pearls par excellent!

ENVIUS THOUGHTS had the pride and pleasure of paying tributes to International Multilingual Anthology   POETIC PRISM in  November 2016  viz  IN PRAISE OF AMARAVATI POETIC PRISM 2016!

Again in February this year for EFFLORESCENCE an anthology compiled by Chennai Poetic Circle and released in the CPC Meet!

There used to be a statement running like this about half a decade ago:

“Art and Literature of highest type cannot flourish in a world which is increasingly mechanical and society a rocket!”

But my own experience shows that the above statement has been devalued and demonetized to the extent that more and more  literary works are made, widely in circulation, they have a currency among the public and they are enjoyed as is seen from the increasing popularity of Book fairs in all parts of the country, flourishing publishers all over, skyrocketing readership of magazines- E and print- books  printed and e, literary meets and conferences and so on! POEM HUNTER is a fine example!

In the literary world POETRY has its own exalted position!

When we hear a poem, we may recognize certain patterns, such as a regular beat, a rising rhythm, or a series of rhymes. When we see a poem printed on a page, we might notice another kind of pattern that cues us we are not looking at standard prose: those ragged right-hand margins, indicating the lines must stop there and nowhere else. Whether we hear a poem read aloud or read it on a page, it ought to be clear we are experiencing a special patterned arrangement of language, differing from ordinary speech or prose writing.

Those who have ears to hear and eyes to see a POEM do and can enjoy this genre of literature.

It was my singular fortune that I have come across nice poetic journals for quite some time;  I am not a good poet-though the literary world has admitted me into their respective circles- POET, POET CRIT, BRAIN WAVE, CONTEMPORARY VIBES, METVERSE MUSE, MANDAKINI, KAFLA-INTER CONTINENTAL, YOUNG POET,  POETRY WORLD, GREEN LOTUS, BIZZ BUZZ, BRIDGE-IN-MAKING, CANOPY, POETRY TODAY, POETS INTERNATIONAL, SAMVEDANA, QUEST, KOHINOOR and others.

In most of these journals my poems have appeared many a time.

In Tamil MANA OSAI, KAVITHAI URAVU are exclusively for Poetry.

METVERSE MUSE one of the best and regularly published POETIC JOURNAL is indeed apple of my eyes!

I am connected with this journal of Dr. Tulsi from Vishakhapatnam for a long time and there was a gap of late now renewed.  To manage a journal exclusively for promoting the poets and their creations  needs tons of devotion to the cause, dedication to the purpose, loyalty to the goal and Poet Madam Dr.Tulsi at her age 81 has been blessed with plenty.  One is left to wonder whether such an achievement is humanly possible- possible of seeing in Black and White, the Golden Jubilee issue of  a poetic print journal –with a hefty 400 pages presenting over 1750 Poems in structured verse by World Poets representing over 65 countries along with regular features and photos!

Immediate reaction of this blogger on receiving this issue was as communicated to the Editor:

Respected Poet Editor,

Delighted to receive the GOLDEN JUBILEE ISSUE OF METVERSE MUSE just now. On the first look FINE, VERY FINE, and DELIGHTFULLY FINE! Heartiest congratulations. Probably GODDESS SARASWATHY  compiled through you. May God bless you. I shall write in detail as a Sunday Story in my ENVIUS THOUGHTS in https://nvsr.wordpress.com.

With kind regards.

Yours N V Subbaraman

  First thing-most selfish, I admit was to see whether and where all I find a place in this ISSUE!!!!!!

Yes, my  4 poems find their place on pages:65, 102, 158 and 193-much more than what I deserve!!!

On page 116-my Bio data.

In  selected Readers’ Response from the 2nd to 49th issues:

Pages 153, 363,

Here is  my main poem and Bio data published in the DJI for the kind read of my esteemed viewers:

  Haiku on FLOWERS

Flowers God’s great gift

        Peace and poise, joy sure one gets

Nature moves quite swift!

  God alone designs

Flowers of great shapes and hues

Divinity reigns!

  Smooth and soft as cheeks

Of the new born babes in arms

Flowers on the plants!

  4       Medicines they are

Flowers in His creation

Cure ones pains for sure!

  5    God creates flowers

In gratitude adorn Him

His grace to shower!

    6    Attractive colors

Divine artist alone can

Sure in his powers!

   Planet among stars

Flowers amidst the leaves green

Good among evils!

    Natural flowers

Nothing equals in color

Nor in aroma

.Nature‘s showers

Divine powers!

   Lotus and jasmine

Fine creations of nature

None to undermine!

  10    Rainbow of flowers

Nature’s manifestation

Great Divine showers!

  Flowers in the plant

Plucked by cruel hands withers

Withered man in the grave!

    Dancing daffodils

Nature’s beauty at its peak

Cures well all our ills!

   Rose petals so smooth

Nature’s gift to the mankind

Explains the great truth!

     May flower has blossomed

Heralds the birth of summer

Great multi colored!

   Lotus  greets the morn

Above the water level

Aim high our life’s norm!

  Flowers in colors

Pleasing all the eyes and mind

Beauty in towers!

    Great red carpet laid

By   mayflowers kissing earth

Nature’s gift well paid!

  Poet’s Brief Profile: Bilingual poet N V Subbaraman writes in English and Tamil and is widely known among literary circles in India and abroad. Many literary awards such as Michael Madhusudan Award, Kolkatta, Best Poet of the Year 1998 from the Poets International, Bangalore, Leibster Award and Versatile Blogger Award from the Blogging University, Fellow of the United Writers Association of India Chennai and their Admirable Achievers Award, Expert Translator Award from South Indian Social and Cultural Academy, Chennai, Kavi Nilavu, Seva Rathna Award from Kanchi Mutt, ARIVUK kALANJIYAM award from M T S Academy, Chennai decorate him. Totally he has 37 books published to his credit. He has written more than 1000 Haiku poems. His blog ENVIUS THOUGHTS in https://nvsr.wordpress.com has crossed the view score of more than one lakh and nineteen thousand from 210 countries and he has made more than 1000 posts.

For his blogging achievements he has found a place in the India Book of Records.

    My ward young poet S. Nivetha is  very happy to find her poem published  along with her Bio data recalled here for the kind perusal of my esteemed readers.

SUMMER DAYS WITH MY FRIENDS

NIVETHA

Summer is out waiting for us to wade

Umbrella in my hand to give a shade

Monsoon and rain dreams often at the end

Making a plan to go with all my friend(s)

E very summer day   is to be hot

Roaming in Sun right my mom ever shouts.

  Days pass without our moving out in Sun

Awaiting my friends to share my sweet bun

Yet they find it so difficult to walk

Sitting in a/c room in house and talk!

  Watching at the window I dream of rain

Idea is to go out and get drained

Thinking of the Sun my friends rest at house

Having computer and moving the mouse.

  Making strange ideas – innovation

Yet need support from my friends with passion

  Finding new food stuffs to eat I make now

Reducing fat my aim I bend and bow

Intake of more rest of my summer bad

Evening comes to make my life enjoy

Never my mind should become dull and sad

Declining waste of time and improve a ploy

Sharing my views with friends give a great joy!.

  Miss. Nivetha S is a first year  BCA student of a Chennai local college. She has nice handwriting. She is a good cartoonist. She has a passion for writing English poems and articles. She was the youngest poet to present her poem out of more than 200 poets who participated in the International Multilingual Poets Meet at Vijayawada on 13th and 14th November 2016 and in the Poets Meet organized by Chennai Poets Circle on 29th January 2017 in Chennai.

For her participation in the Vijayawada meet she found a place in the INDIA BOOK OF RECORDS FOR CHILDREN.

  I recollect the earlier issues  and the innovative feature of the GJI (Golden Jubilee Issue) is the Editor’s publishing  important  letters/responses right from the first issue to 49th issue just as the important poems published in the past! A himalayan task at the age beyond sathabishekam age! They have been clasified into foreign poets and Indian poets!

GJI caries 1750 poems from the poets from 65 countries! Mind boggling  figures requiring Himalayan Efforts by the Editor!

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Bosnia

Brazil

Canada

Cuba

Cyprus

Denmark

France

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Hungary

India

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Kazakhstan

Malaysia

Malta

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Pakistan.

Philippines

Portugal.

Romania

Russia

Siberia

South Africa

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

U.K.

U.S.A.

Yemen

Zambia

………………..

…………………..

—————…………..

……………………………………………

…………………………………………………………

Poets are universal; their thoughts are societal; their expressions are enviable; their words and deeds help to improve peace and poise, joy and harmony!

Those who connect the poets from different parts of the world such as Dr. Tulsi of Vishakapatnam, Smt. Padmaja Aiyengar of Vijayawada, Mrs. Hema Ravi and Shri Jayaram Seshadri of Chennai who are all involving themselves with great devotion and dedication to publish Poetry Anthology in a tremendous manner in fact give a shot in the arm for the improvement of the prestige of literary world!

.

I pleasantly recall my communication to Madam Dr.H. Tulsi on receipt of her mail soliciting  contribution of poem for the DJI:

  Respected Editor Poet Thulsi madam,

I am N V Subbaraman, regular contributor to your esteemed METVERSE  MUSE for a decade in those days.  I admired your interest in encouraging young poets by allotting first few pages  for children’s poems. My YOUNG POET has been going as emag.

  My ward S Nivetha got into the India Book of Records for Children for being the youngest poet delegate at age 17 in the International Multi Lingual Poets Meet held at Vijayawada in November 2016.

  My hearty congratulations for your bringing out the FIFTIETH issue of MM.

  Thanks. You have happily kindled my thoughts on the METVERSE MUSE with which I was connected for a decade and more. I have taken quite sometime to respond to your mail as I was trying to lay my hands on the great journal. So far I could on 17 issues and out of the 17, 15 carry my 16 poems-third issue published in January 1997 to 9/2006-3/2007. IMy home library is big and I am tracing the rest.

  With greetings from YOUNG POET and N V Subbaraman!

As advised by you, I attach herewith my poem and that of S. Nvetha my ward for the FIFTIETH issue of METVERSE MUSE  for your kind consideration of including the same in this issue. We will deem it as a great privilege and honor.

NIvetha seeks your blessings for her successful poetic journey.

Thanks and with regards.

Yours

N V Subbaraman

  This way the GOLDEN JUBILEE ISSUE of METVERSE MUSE brought me joy and happy remembrances of the past.

  This issue is very well brought out with thick beautiful cover with a poem “ARTISTIC ART DEFIES DEATH” as a response of the Editor to a point made by Dr. Hyder Nayab. Inside papers are art paper in nice print.  The Anthology-GOLDEN JUBILEE ISSUE OF METVERSE MUSE adds beauty and great value to my Home Library about which I am quite proud of with a few hundred volumes.

  GOLDEN JUBILEE ISSUE! Literature in any language is a great, plentiful, beautiful Ocean where one gets pearls par excellent!