#aviation themed office furniture

[aerodesignart]

AERO-DESIGN

Website: https://en.aerodesignart.com

Address: Business center B 28 Op der Haart L-9999 Weiswampach, Luxembourg

AERO-DESIGN, spearheaded by aeronautical artist Agnès Patrice Crepin, specializes in creating unique aviation-themed furniture and artworks. Established in the early 2000s, the brand pays homage to the French aeronautical heritage. After the passing of Agnès's husband in 2011, she collaborated with Florence Ramioul to expand the concept. Their creations, crafted from parts of fighter and civilian aircraft, include high-end aircraft furniture, monumental sculptures, personalized trophies, numbered collection watches, and jewelry. AERO-DESIGN's products have captivated enthusiasts, collectors, and major aeronautical groups like Airbus and Dassault Aviation.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aerodesignart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aerodesignart

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aerodesign_art

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aerodesigns

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aerodesigncollection/

Keywords:

aviation furniture

aviation themed office furniture

bespoke aircraft furniture

aviation decor near me

bespoke aircraft furniture near me

aeronautical art pieces near me

collectors aviation items near me

custom aviation accessories near me

unique aircraft part creations near me

aviation themed office furniture near me

luxury aviation decor near me

exclusive aviation art collections near me

high end aviation furnishings near me

aviation decor luxembourg

luxury aircraft furnishings in luxembourg

aeronautical art luxembourg

custom aviation accessories luxembourg

unique aircraft part creations luxembourg

aviation themed office furniture luxembourg

bespoke aeronautical gifts luxembourg

high end aviation furnishings luxembourg

collectors aviation items luxembourg

exclusive aviation art collections luxembourg

mobilier aronautique luxembourg

dcor aviation de luxe luxembourg

souvenirs aronautiques luxembourg

ameublement aviation haut de gamme luxembourg

objets collection aviation luxembourg

meubles de bureau thme aviation luxembourg

designs intrieurs aronautiques luxembourg

aviation furniture luxembourg online

aeronautical sculptures store luxembourg

aircraft material design shop luxembourg

aeronautical sculptures

aircraft interior decoration

custom aviation trophies

limited edition aviation watches

aeronautical jewelry

aircraft part sculptures

unique aviation themed furniture

aviation heritage art

aircraft material design

luxury aviation decor

personalized aircraft memorabilia

aeronautical art pieces

aviation inspired home decor

custom made aviation accessories

aircraft component artwork

high end aviation furnishings

collectors aviation items

unique aircraft part creations

luxury aircraft component designs

bespoke aeronautical gifts

custom aviation themed sculptures

high quality aircraft furniture

artistic aviation creations

innovative aircraft part designs

luxury aviation themed decor

exclusive aviation art collections

unique aeronautical interior designs

[servyxtechnicalservices]

Facilities Management in UAE: A Comprehensive Guide to Key Services

Title: Facilities Management in UAE: A Comprehensive Guide to Key Services

Introduction

Facilities management plays a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless operation and maintenance of various establishments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). From aviation and hospitality to retail and government institutions, the need for efficient facilities management services spans across diverse sectors. In this blog, we will delve into the primary services offered by facilities management companies in the UAE, with a special focus on keywords and the supply, installation, and repair of clay roof tiles with suitable steel structures.

Facilities Management Services in the UAE

Facilities management services in the UAE cater to a wide range of sectors, each with its unique requirements and challenges. Here are the primary sectors where facilities management services are crucial:

Aviation: The aviation industry demands top-notch facilities management to ensure safe and efficient operations at airports, maintenance facilities, and cargo terminals.

Hospitality: In the UAE's thriving hospitality sector, facilities management services are essential for maintaining luxury hotels, resorts, and serviced apartments.

Banking: Financial institutions rely on facilities management for the upkeep of their branches, ATMs, and corporate offices.

Retail: Retail outlets require facilities management to create a comfortable shopping environment for customers while ensuring the safety and functionality of the premises.

Shopping Malls: Large shopping malls in the UAE require comprehensive facilities management to handle crowd control, security, and maintenance.

Telecom: Telecom companies depend on facilities management for the maintenance of their network infrastructure, data centers, and communication hubs.

Residential: Facilities management services are vital for maintaining residential properties, including apartments and villas, ensuring a high standard of living.

Commercial: Office complexes and business parks need facilities management to provide a conducive work environment for employees.

Infrastructure: Facilities management plays a key role in maintaining critical infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels, and public transportation systems.

Government: Government institutions require facilities management to ensure the functionality and security of public buildings and facilities.

Education: Educational institutions, including schools and universities, rely on facilities management to maintain classrooms, laboratories, and sports facilities.

Leisure and Entertainment: Theme parks, theaters, and entertainment venues depend on facilities management to create enjoyable experiences for visitors.

Clay Roof Tiles & Steel Structures

One of the specialized services offered by facilities management companies in the UAE is the supply, installation, and repair of clay roof tiles with suitable steel structures. The UAE's climate and architectural preferences make clay roof tiles a popular choice. Here are some key aspects of this service:

Clay Roof Tiles Types:

Natural Half Round Portuguese Type

Marsigliese Type

Antique Types

Mediterranean Smart Type

Fully Brown, Flat Tiles Type

Coppo Tiles Type

Tuscany Coppo Type

Glazed Type

Matt Finish Tiles

All Accessories Tiles

Partition, Gypsum & False Ceiling Decor: Facilities management companies also specialize in false ceiling contracts, partition installation, gypsum work, and false ceiling projects of varying scales. From small homes to multinational office setups, these professionals provide top-notch services, ensuring comfortable and aesthetically pleasing spaces.

GRC & GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastics and Glass Reinforced Concrete): In addition to roofing and interior work, facilities management companies in the UAE offer repair and home maintenance services. This includes washing machine repairs, furniture assembly, water leakage repairs, tile flooring installations, and general handyman services.

Metal Fabrication: Metal fabrication services include the supply and installation of stairs, handrails, cat ladders, spiral ladders, louvers, roofing structures, and other metal components. These services cater to a wide range of industrial and commercial needs.

Waterproofing and Special Coatings: Facilities management companies also provide waterproofing solutions and special coatings. These include chemical-resistant paint and coatings, polyurea coatings, protective metal coatings, polyurethane coatings, and fluoropolymer coatings, ensuring the durability and longevity of structures.

Pergola and Gazebo: Standard aluminum pergolas with wooden slats and wooden gazebos are popular choices for outdoor spaces in the UAE. These structures not only provide shade but also add a touch of elegance to gardens and outdoor areas.

Parquet Flooring and Decking: Wood flooring services, including installation and estimating, are also part of facilities management offerings. Parquet flooring and decking services cater to both residential and commercial spaces, enhancing aesthetics and comfort.

Conclusion

Facilities management services in the UAE cover a wide spectrum of sectors, ensuring the efficient operation and maintenance of various establishments. Specialized services like clay roof tile installation and steel structure supply are essential components of the facilities management landscape. By focusing on these services and keywords, facilities management companies in the UAE can effectively reach their target audience and provide the necessary support to diverse industries across the region.

[bigyack-com]

Ascott Opens First Citadines in Osaka, Japan

Ascott has expanded its already considerable portfolio of serviced apartments in Japan, with the opening of its first Citadines serviced residence in Osaka. Ascott is operating the property through a master lease agreement with Toshin Development Company Ltd, a subsidiary of the Takashimaya Group. Located near the Namba Station, Citadines Namba Osaka is in a vibrant financial, retail, and recreational hub within close proximity to tourist hotspots. Guests can easily visit nearby attractions such as the Dotonbori, Kuromon Market, Osaka Castle, Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. Mr Tan Lai Seng, Ascott’s Regional Manager for Japan & Korea, said, “With Japan’s thriving economy and inbound travel market, we see great opportunities to expand in the country where we have a strong portfolio of over 5,000 units across more than 30 serviced residences, hotels and rental housing properties in nine cities. Our properties have been performing well at an occupancy rate of 80% to 90%. Upcoming major events such as the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and Osaka-Kansai World Expo are expected to boost demand for our lodging properties, including Citadines Namba Osaka.”

Citadines Namba Osaka signifies a successful transformation from a department store into a serviced residence. It is part of the Takashimaya Higashi Annex, an integrated development which also comprises offices, shops and Takashimaya Historical Museum. Paying homage to the heritage building’s roots as a department store, Citadines Namba Osaka has taken on a modern Art Deco design that evokes nostalgic memories of a department store of the past, with concepts of fashion and shopping being weaved into different parts of the property, furniture pieces, signages and artwork. The old-world charm of the marbled column lobby is accentuated by intricate details such as acanthus motifs, ornate carvings, decorative travel trunks and elevators with dial indicators retaining the original design used in the building years ago. In collaboration with Takashimaya Osaka Department Store, cosmetics, fashion accessories, handbags and shoes in showcases are displayed at the reception  area. Along with a carousel-themed children’s playroom and an industrial-themed restaurant with a vintage car, they all add to the quaint and playful vibes of the design. The Citadines serviced residence offers 313 units with varied apartment types to cater to guests on short and long stays. Guests can make use of the on-property facilities such as restaurants, gymnasium, meeting rooms, launderette, children’s playroom, as well as a residents’ lounge with a kitchen. Besides Citadines Namba Osaka, Ascott also operates seven other serviced residences in Japan. They are Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo, Somerset Azabu East Tokyo, Somerset Ginza East Tokyo, Somerset Shinagawa Tokyo, Citadines Central Shinjuku Tokyo, Citadines Karasuma-Gojo Kyoto and Citadines Shinjuku Tokyo. Next year, the company will open lyf Tenjin Fukuoka as well as Ascott’s first property in Yokohama, another Citadines property, in 2023. See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Ascott, Citadines. Headlines: Pictures from Ascot United vs Hanworth Villa  SHOW DC Hall to Give Bangkok's MICE Industry a Significant Boost  IHG Signs First voco Hotel in New Zealand  OYO Signs Global Distribution Agreement with Sabre  Hong Kong Cancels Chinese New Year Carnival  NAC Orders 20 Airbus A220 Aircraft  IHG to Launch Customer Insights Portal for Large Enterprises  Cathay Pacific Reports December 2019 Traffic  Duetto Appoints David Woolenberg as CEO  Phuket to Host Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) 2020 in June  Sabre and Accor to Create Unified Technology Platform for Hospitality Industry  Groupe Couleur to Manage RWC 2023 Official Travel Agent Selection Process  Two Senior Global Marketing Appointments at IHG  ANA Begins Autonomous Electric Bus Trial at Haneda Airport  China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines Cancel Flights to Wuhan, China  Rosa Wong Joins Hotel Alexandra HK as Director of Event Management  Four Seasons Madrid Now Accepting Reservations  UK Military Flight Training System Orders 4 More H145 Helicopters  Sabre Forges 10-Year Partnership with Google  Accor Expands Pullman Brand to Rotorua, New Zealand  Korean Air Reveals More Details of New SkyPass FFP  Airbus to Produce A321 Aircraft in Toulouse, France  Cornelia Mitlmeier Joins Four Seasons Dubai as Resort Manager  Hotel Alexandra Appoints Daniel Chan as Executive Chef  SITAOnAir Acquires GTD Air Services  Boeing Hoping for 737 MAX Ungrounding in Mid-2020  1.5 Billion Int. Tourist Arrivals in 2019; UNWTO Forecasts 4% Increase in 2020  Hong Kong Airport Handled 71.5 Million Passengers in 2019  Ascott Opens First Citadines in Osaka, Japan  Thai Airways Appoints New Chairman  Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit to Take Place 9-10 Feb  PATA Forecasts Over 971 Million Int. Visitor Arrivals into Asia Pacific by 2024  Green Light for Garmin G5000 Avionics Upgrade on Learjet Aircraft  Four Seasons Silicon Valley Installs High-Tech AI Gym in Select Rooms  Assistance Requests for Airline Pax with Intellectual Disabilities up 762%  Accor Opens Mercure Resort in Vung Tau, Vietnam  Vietjet Launches Flights Between Dalat and Seoul  FlyArystan Reports First Year Load Factor of 94%  Amadeus Looks at How Technology Will Shape Airports of the Future  CALC Signs Purchase Agreement for 40 A321neo Aircraft  Daniele Polito Joins Four Seasons Seoul as Boccalino's Chef de Cuisine  Charlotte Svensson to Join SAS as EVP and CIO  Airbus Helicopters Appoints Head of External Communications  Ascot: Pictures from Matchbook Clarence House Chase and Raceday 2020  Mövenpick Resort Opens in Cam Ranh, Vietnam  Sky Bridge Delivered to Final Position at HKIA  Airbus Performs First Fully Automatic Vision-Based Take-Off  Manchester Signs Tourism Collaboration Agreement with New York City  CWT Appoints Scott Hace as Vice President - Enterprise Strategy  United to Launch CRJ550 Shuttle Service Between Washington and New York  Perth Airport to Upgrade T1's Aerobridges  Thomas Krooswijk Appointed GM of Four Seasons Marrakech  American Appoints Brian Znotins as VP of Network and Schedule Planning  Pools - World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Chile 15-16 February  British Airways to Refresh First and Club Lounges at Chicago O'Hare Airport  Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways Expand Codeshare  Onyx Signs Second Amari Hotel in China  Air Canada's First Airbus A220-300 Enters Commercial Service  Hyatt Signs Regency Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Bangkok to Host 30th Global Summit of Women in April  One Championship Appoints Jonathan Anastas as CMO  IHG Signs Deal for 1,200+ Rooms in Thailand; First Hotel in Chiang Mai  HK's Airport Authority Appoints Ricky Leung as Executive Director  Trenchard Makes Donation to Aerobility - The British Flying Charity  Chu Yuet Hung Joins Four Seasons Hangzhou as Director of F&B  Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals Down 14.2% in 2019  Hotel Ritz Madrid to be Rebranded by Mandarin Oriental  Sabre Appoints Karl Peterson as Chairman  Muralilal Armugum Joins Aloft KL Sentral as Director of F&B  Traxof to Automate Talent Acquisition of Airbus' IM Organisations  Vie Hotel Bangkok Selects Organika Products for Renovated Spa  Europ Assistance Opens Office in Bangkok, Thailand  Gulf Air Partners Etihad Guest  Team GB Selects British Airways as Official Airline for Tokyo 2020  Emirates Targets Chinese Travellers with Trip.com MOU  Thailand: Did Strength of Thai Baht Affect Number of Arrivals from UK in 2019?  AirAsia to Launch Flights Between Penang and Chengdu, China  Marriott Appoints Bart Buiring as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer APAC  Airbus' BelugaXL Enters Service  Vietjet Launches Flights from Can Tho to Taipei and Seoul  Air New Zealand's Chief People Officer Resigns  Whitbread Installs Defibrillators in 800 Premier Inn Hotels  Air France Invites Customers to Vote for Preferred Carbon Offsetting Project  Calhoun Becomes President and CEO of Boeing  Accor to Take Over 581-Room Hotel in Rayong, Thailand  Travelport Appoints John Elieson as COO  Full Roll-Out of myCWT China to Commence in Q2 2020  Terry Kavieris Returns to Bali as RM of InterContinental Bali  Eaton Hotel in Hong Kong Earns EarthCheck Gold Status  Mandarin Oriental Launches Tea Roasting Experience in Taipei  Chubb Partners Grab to Launch In-App Travel Insurance in Singapore  Steady Growth Forecast for Mainland China Hotel Markets in 2020  Artyzen Hospitality Signs Habitat Hotel in Yubei, China  Pictures from Ascot United vs Colliers Wood United on 11 January  What Does TAT Have Planned for Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) 2020? Exclusive Interview  Aviation: Stable Passenger Demand Growth in November  CWT Appoints Dale Eastlund as VP Supply Chain Partners  Dassault Falcon to Hold M&O Seminars in 8 Cities Around the World  Expat in Phuket Donates Two SV14 Dinghies to Disabled Sailing Thailand  Bangkok to Host Asia Destination Film Forum on 30 January  Wizz Air Becomes First in Europe to Deploy SITAOnAir's ACARS Over IP Service  Airbus to Increase Aircraft Production in USA  Sanlorenzo Appoints Simpson Marine as Distributor for Bluegame Yachts in Asia  Global Air Freight Demand Down 1.1% in November 2019; APAC Down 3.7%  IHG Expands Thailand Portfolio with Holiday Inn and Suites Siracha Laemchabang  Asia Pacific Airlines Flew 30.3 Million Int. Passengers in November 2019  SilkAir to Cease Flights to Kolkata, India  Biman Bangladesh Airlines Launches Flights to Manchester, England  EmbraerX and Elroy Air to Collaborate on Unmanned Air Cargo  FCM Strengthens Innovation Programme with Shep Investment  Artotel Appoints Yulia Maria as Group Director of Marketing Communications  Japan, Singapore, S. Korea and Germany Have World's Most Powerful Passports  Yangon Int. Airport Implements SITA's Airport Management Solution  Air France to Launch Twice-Daily Flights Between Paris-Orly and Munich, Germany  ANA to Enhance Service at Airports in Japan with Portable Translators  Yvette Thomas-Henry Appointed GM of Four Seasons Resort Nevis  Hahn Air Enters 2020 with 40 New Partner Airlines  CWTSatoTravel Partners US Military's Spouse Employment Programme  My Emirates Pass Gives Passengers Special Discounts in UAE  Visitors to Singapore Must Now Register Unmanned Aircraft  India's Vistara Airline Appoints APG as Online GSA in France  BOC Aviation Orders 20 Airbus A320neos  China Airlines to Launch Direct Flights to Chiang Mai, Thailand  Green Light for Vietnam Airlines to Expand Codeshare Agreement with Delta  All Hi Fly Flights Now Single-Use Plastic Free  Air India Renews Distribution Agreement with Amadeus  Mandy Goh Joins St. Regis Langkawi as Executive Chef  Spirit Airlines Signs Purchase Agreement for 100 Airbus A320neo Aircraft  Hamad Int. Airport Served Record 38,786,422 Pax in 2019  British Airways Starts Offsetting Carbon Emissions on All Flights Within UK  Marriott Opens Second JW on Hainan Island, China  Airbus Partners Aston Martin for Special Edition Helicopter  Dassault Aviation Appoints Charles Wemaëre as VP Worldwide Spares  Boeing Appoints Niel Golightly as SVP of Communications  Jayson Goldstein Joins Four Seasons Boston as F&B Director  Vietjet Takes Delivery of Two More Airbus Aircraft  Two Executive Appointments at Bombardier Aviation  Air India No Longer Available on Sabre GDS  Thailand Targets Tourism Revenue of 3.18 Trillion Baht in 2020  Pictures from Ascot United vs Banstead Athletic on 4 Jan 2020  Gen Z - Airbnb's Fastest Growing Market for Experiences in Asia Pacific  Air Canada Takes Delivery of First Airbus A220-300  AirAsia Launches Flights Between Kuala Lumpur and Dalat, Vietnam  Cebu Pacific Orders 15 Airbus Aircraft, Including Up To 10 A321XLRs  American Airlines and Royal Air Maroc to Codeshare  New Immigration Requirements to Help Solomon Islands Fight Measles  Vietjet Launches Danang - Singapore Flights  American Express GBT Forecasts Stable Air Prices in 2020  Etihad and Kuwait Airways to Codeshare  PAG and Inmark Purchase Grand Hyatt Seoul  British Airways and Iberia Achieve IATA NDC @Scale Certification  Seaplanes in Thailand? Interview with Dennis Keller, CBO of Siam Seaplane  Seven HD Videos from IATA Airline Industry Retailing Symposium 2019 in Bangkok  Vietnam Airlines Signs EngineWise Service Agreement with Pratt & Whitney  Future of Airline Distribution and NDC - Interview with Yanik Hoyles, IATA  Cambodia Airways Interview with Lucian Hsing, Commercial Director  HD Videos and Interviews  Podcasts from HD Video Interviews  Travel Trade Shows in 2019, 2020 and 2021  High-Res Picture Galleries  Travel News Asia - Latest Travel Industry News  Read the full article

[mrcoreymonroe]

PlaneTags — A Bit of Aviation History in Your Pocket

Dave Hall holds the very first PlaneTag; he used it as a keychain long enough to nearly wear the design completely off the thing.

While visiting the Los Angeles area a month or so ago, I dropped by the headquarters of MotoArt Studios in Torrance, Calif., maker of cool aviation-themed furniture and the originator of the PlaneTag, for a tour and some conversation with owner and founder Dave Hall. I’ve purchased several of his products over the years, including a polished propeller and quite a few PlaneTags, so I was excited to see his operation.

It feels like these products have been around for a long time, but Hall explained that while the idea for making keychains out of old aircraft skin came to him more than a decade ago, the tags have only been on the market for a few years.

Dave Hall helps one of his crew move a table that’s being built in his studio

“We had a small section of P-51 Mustang skin, and I decided to take a section and make a tag from it. I decided to call it a PlaneTag — it’s small enough to connect to a bag or suitcase, or even put in your front pocket on your keys. That first piece of aviation history sat in my pocket on my key chain for years before I actually had the sense to kick off the idea,” Hall said.

This year’s Black Friday marked the three-year anniversary of what’s become his flagship product. “We started with six PlaneTags: the 767 Gimli Glider, a 747, DC-9, A320, B-25, and a DC-3,” he said. He used the existing MotoArt mailing list, which included contacts dating back to 2001, to promote the new product to existing customers. “It was an instant hit,” he said. His online shop now lists close to 30 different types of aircraft tags, including hull No. 1 of the B-1B bomber.

Hall in the lobby of the MotoArt studio

The process of making the tags is relatively straightforward, varying in complexity based on the assembly intricacies of each particular aircraft type: a section of hull, wing, tail, or aileron is cut from the aircraft, the aluminum outer skin is removed from the framing, then the tags are die-cut from the larger sheet, cleaned, and finally engraved.

The process of actually acquiring the old aircraft parts, however, is a different story.

“There’s something magical about discovering an old airframe or boneyard,” Hall said. “With commercial aircraft we have some great relationships with not only fleet managers at commercial airlines, but also recycling companies who scrap the planes. The vintage aircraft is mostly on leads that people send us.  It’s always exciting to get a email that says, ‘Hey — did you hear about that plane parked out in the middle of nowhere that’s going to get scrapped?'”

PlaneTags on cards, ready to be sold and shipped

Better late than never, Hall has started to save one example of every tag – he’s missing a few early ones

Tags being prepared for custom engraving

MotoArt has been designing what Hall describes as “aviation functional art” for 18 years. “We rescue old airframes and create incredible pieces that are mostly used for conference tables, executive offices, and reception areas,” he said.

The cockpit of a Piasecki helicopter

A section from an Aloha Airlines 737-200

It’s an AvGeek candy store

The shop is filled with aircraft parts

Hall said it’s simpler for his craftspeople to build new spars for furniture pieces than to restore old ones

A section of Boeing 737 windows

Hall shared a bit of MotoArt’s backstory. “It started two decades ago when the scrap aluminum guy came by our sign company yard to pick up our recycled material. On the back of his truck, he had an old WWII solid aluminum propeller. We tried to talk him into selling it but he refused,” he said.

Hall shows off a stack of tags that are in the middle of the manufacturing process.

“We found out where he got it from with a quick search of a couple local propeller shops: come to find out, they were scraping hundreds of old aluminum propellers because there was no longer a demand for them and recycled aluminum was at a high. That’s when the idea came up: let’s take a shot at creating a company that would rescue old airframes before they are destroyed and create something unique and fun with them.  No one else was doing it and we saw a market,” Hall said.

A section from an SR-71 vertical stabilizer, waiting to be converted to PlaneTags

“Everyone damn near laughed at us when we started in my garage. Vendors wouldn’t sell to us, and my neighbors laughed, thinking I was building an airplane,” he said. Now the business is in a dedicated building and has about 20 employees.

Motoart’s Torrance, Calif., headquarters

It wasn’t until men’s magazine Maxim discovered his hobby and did a two-page centerfold editorial in 2002 that things started to really take off.  After that, Hall said his company was featured in a large wave of print stories as well as television spots, which eventually led to a 2004 Discovery Channel show called WingNuts. After that, he said, it seemed like everyone was making airplane furniture.

Hall’s company does a fair amount of work with airlines, such as creating PlaneTags for their employees and special customers as perks. “This past year,” he said, “we rolled out a program to commercial airlines that seems to be a winning formula for everyone: we donate a large percentage of each PlaneTag sale to the airline’s charity of their choice and offer their employees a discount.” Those airlines include Delta, American, United, Virgin Atlantic, Allegiant, and China Airlines. 

The post PlaneTags — A Bit of Aviation History in Your Pocket appeared first on AirlineReporter.

from AirlineReporter https://ift.tt/2Gj388y

[connorrenwick]

Friday Five with Michael Kovac

In 1988, Michael Kovac founded Kovac Architects – now Kovac Design Studio – and started working on commissions for high end health clubs, commercial spaces, and detailed residences. Aside from architecture he’s also passionate about industrial design and lighting, and is currently directing the studio’s work on a line of lighting for production and a series of furniture pieces that will be available in limited releases. Growing up in an Air Force family in Maine, early travels to Okinawa as a child, and various kinds of aviation have made there marks on Kovac’s work. Eventually his family settled down in Las Vegas and he attended the USC School of Architecture on a Trustee Scholarship. Early on in his architectural career Kovac had the chance to work in the office of modernist Jerrold Lomax, lending another type of influence to his style. These days Michael spends a lot of time outdoors with his wife Karina, as well as mountain biking, standup paddle-boarding, and downhill skiing. They reside in Sycamore House, the firm’s first LEED Platinum project, where their love of nature and sustainable living can flourish. Today Kovac is sharing five of his favorite things with us for Friday Five!

1. Bicycles Bicycles have always represented independence and exploration to me. They allow me to indulge my curiosity, following faint trails and little-used roads, traveling at a pace that is a sweet spot between walking and zipping along in a car. I hear the sound of babbling brooks and bird song, smell a farmer’s fresh-cut hay, and can stop at a local cafe when the mood strikes. The exertion of climbing and pedaling mile after mile clears and recharges my mind, which is fundamental to my sense of wellness. Bicycles also appeal to my passion for great industrial design, as they combine one of the most efficient modes of transportation with exquisitely shaped carbon frames and gearing mechanisms that would make a watchmaker proud.

2. Water Water is endlessly fascinating to me with its ever-changing moods, as it morphs from tranquil to tumultuous, luminous and transparent to dark and reflective. Being from coastal Maine, some of my early formative experiences were watching waves crash on the shore, then rushing in and out of fissures between the rocks, recharging small pools that I would crouch next to, observing myriad small creatures going about their lives, unaware of the vastness and power just outside their tiny universe. The smell of the ocean water back home instantly brings back these memories.

A favorite quote of mine on the subject, by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, is: “No man steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.”

Photo ©Laurian Ghinitoiu

3. Gottfried Böhm’s Pilgrimage Church in Neviges, Germany One of my earliest profound architectural experiences was a visit to Gottfried Böhm’s Pilgrimage Church in Neviges, Germany. This design reflects many of the themes that still resonate with my firm’s work today: sequence, anticipation, compression/expansion, manipulation of scale, organic forms, and most of all, masterful control of both natural and artificial light.

4. Biomimicry Nature has been refining and perfecting plants and animals for millions of years, and in this process waste and inefficiency are not tolerated. Out of necessity form follows function, often with more beautiful results than anything humans can create. What better place to look for solutions for today’s challenges?

5. Science Fiction As a teenager, I spent innumerable hours reading the masters of science fiction – liberating my mind from the restrictions of our known reality, open to all possibilities, and speculating on what the future of technology would have to offer. The cover art of these books was often as inspiring as the tales within, and the movie poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey left more of an indelible impression on me than virtually any painting hanging in a museum possibly could have at the time.

via http://design-milk.com/

from WordPress https://connorrenwickblog.wordpress.com/2020/01/10/friday-five-with-michael-kovac/

[bountyofbeads]

Carlos Ghosn Flirted With Hollywood, Then Delivered a Plot Twist https://nyti.ms/2rKEtDk

Carlos Ghosn Flirted With Hollywood, Then Delivered a Plot Twist

The fallen auto titan held early discussions with a movie producer before his audacious escape. The film’s villain: Japanese justice.

By Ben Dooley | Published Jan. 2, 2020 Updated 5:28 p.m. ET | New York Times | Posted January 2, 2020 |

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn, the fallen head of the Nissan-Renault auto alliance, didn’t know much about making movies, but he seemed willing to learn.

Sitting in his rented home in a tony Tokyo neighborhood one day in December, he walked John Lesher, a Hollywood producer behind the Oscar-winning 2014 Michael Keaton film, “Birdman,” through the plot of his own story, describing what he sees as his unjust imprisonment by Japanese officials and his struggle to prove his innocence, said people familiar with the discussions.

The theme was redemption. The villain was the Japanese justice system.

The talks were preliminary and did not get far, the people said. And in any case, Mr. Ghosn was preparing to deliver a shocking plot twist.

Mr. Ghosn, who was facing a trial later in 2020, fled Japan for Lebanon this week, avoiding criminal charges of financial wrongdoing. All the elements of a Hollywood-style thriller are there: a private plane whisking a fugitive into the sky, multiple passports, rumors of shadowy forces at work and people in power denying they knew anything about it.

Mr. Ghosn’s conversations with Mr. Lesher could offer a glimpse into his thinking in the days before his escape from a country that had kept him under heavy surveillance for months.

As court proceedings dragged on, Mr. Ghosn studied the cases of prominent defendants who had fought Japan’s justice system. He became convinced that he could never get a fair trial in Japan, with its 99 percent conviction rate, people who know him say.

Authorities around the world are only beginning to piece together the details of his escape.

Officials in Turkey detained seven people who they believe helped Mr. Ghosn flee, according to Turkish news outlets, including the state-run Anadolu news agency. He left Japan late Sunday aboard a business jet from Osaka to Istanbul Ataturk Airport, where he boarded a second plane and flew to Beirut, they reported. Four of the seven people detained in Turkey were pilots employed by a private aviation company, two were employees of a company that provides ground services to aircraft, and one was a manager of a private cargo company, according to the Turkish reports.

Once in Beirut, Mr. Ghosn met Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, and spoke to him about his legal issues, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting who requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss it. Mr. Aoun has denied the meeting.

In Japan, official silence continued as the authorities appeared to be looking for answers. On Thursday afternoon, Japanese prosecutors raided Mr. Ghosn’s two-story house in a leafy Japanese enclave of central Tokyo, just doors down from the home of the billionaire SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.

Mr. Ghosn’s Japanese defense attorneys said they had been holding his French, Lebanese and Brazilian passports. But the Japanese national broadcaster NHK, citing anonymous sources, reported that a judge had allowed Mr. Ghosn to carry around a copy of his French passport in a locked case.

It is not clear exactly when Mr. Ghosn began planning his escape. But his meeting with Mr. Lesher was one of several that he had during his last months in Tokyo as he contemplated the ending to the story of his fight against the Japanese justice system. In discussions, he wondered whether a movie could make him more sympathetic to the Japanese system.

He also wanted to learn how others had fought, even if they lost. In July, he met with Jake Adelstein, an American journalist who closely covers the Japanese criminal justice system, to discuss the prospects for his trial.

Mr. Adelstein had recently published a book on Mark Karpelès, the former head of cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, who spent over five years in a bruising fight with Japan’s legal system after being charged with falsifying data, embezzlement and breach of trust. In March, Mr. Karpelès was found guilty on the first charge and received a prison sentence of two and a half years in prison, suspended for four years.

Mr. Adelstein said Mr. Ghosn had grilled him about the trial, seeking parallels with his own case and trying to understand the prosecutors’ approach.

“I told him, ‘They don’t care about justice, Carlos; they care about winning,’” said Mr. Adelstein, who wrote about Mr. Ghosn in The Daily Beast this week.

“The best-case scenario,” he said, “is you get a suspended sentence.” In the worst case, he warned, the 65-year-old Mr. Ghosn could be stranded in Japan for the rest of his life.

Mr. Ghosn also reached out to Takafumi Horie, an entrepreneur who was sentenced to two and a half years in jail after a conviction on violating securities laws.

In a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday, Mr. Horie said Mr. Ghosn had made an appointment through a third party to meet him in early January.

“He wanted to ask my opinions,” he said. “I still haven’t heard any of the details, but unfortunately, our dinner date was canceled.”

Speaking through a representative, Mr. Horie declined to comment.

Questions had swirled around the handling of Mr. Ghosn’s case from the moment Japanese prosecutors first detained him in November 2018.

Mr. Ghosn and his lawyers have argued that the arrest was a corporate coup aimed at stopping him from orchestrating a merger between Renault — controlled by the French government — and Nissan, one of the crown jewels of Japan’s auto industry.

Before he was released on bail, Mr. Ghosn spent weeks in solitary confinement, where he was subject to interrogation by prosecutors without his own lawyer present, drawing harsh comparisons with how executives held for financial crimes are treated in the United States and elsewhere.

Mr. Ghosn’s lead lawyer on the case, Junichiro Hironaka, and his team spent months condemning Japan’s system of “hostage justice,” as part of a public relations strategy aimed at questioning whether it was possible for Mr. Ghosn to get a fair trial in the country.

Regardless of the truth of the accusations against Mr. Ghosn, he found himself at a severe disadvantage as he prepared for trial.

Ultimately, Mr. Ghosn was arrested and indicted four times, detained and repeatedly interrogated for more than 130 days. As a condition of his bail, he was forbidden from almost all interactions with his son or wife, who prosecutors feared might help him tamper with witnesses.

His lawyers accused Nissan of becoming close to the prosecutors. For months, Nissan’s efforts to cooperate with the investigation were led by Hari Nada, a top official at the company who is expected to be a key witness against Mr. Ghosn. Internal documents from Nissan showed concerns within the company that the arrangement had created deep conflicts of interest, potentially compromising the investigation’s results.

The company has said the investigation was handled appropriately. Prosecutors, who accused Mr. Ghosn of underreporting his compensation and temporarily shifting his personal financial losses onto Nissan’s books, have defended their handling of the case.

Despite the challenges, Mr. Ghosn continued to insist that he would prove his innocence in court. In the months leading up to his escape, he spent most of his time at Mr. Hironaka’s office, preparing for his trial, according to people familiar with his movements.

In his off hours, he lived in a Tokyo rental with bare walls and little more than a stair-climbing machine for furniture. Neighbors often saw him shopping for groceries at the local import market or eating croissants at his favorite French cafe around the corner. His daughters visited frequently, and his excursions with them — which took him as far afield as Japan’s ancient capital, Kyoto — became fodder for Japanese reporters.

But the former chief executive, who had once traveled the globe as easily as most people go to the corner market, chafed at the unaccustomed restrictions on his movements, according to people familiar with his thinking.

As conditions on his bail, cameras above his door surveilled his comings and goings. His phone use was restricted, and he was not allowed to use the internet outside his lawyer’s office. And most egregiously, for him, in recent months the court allowed him only two brief phone calls with his wife, while lawyers listened in.

Throughout it all, he remained determined to defend his innocence in court. But his attitude took a dramatic shift on Christmas Day, according to a person familiar with his thinking. A Japanese court had just denied a request by his defense team to spend the holiday with his wife.

Instead, he found himself in a Tokyo courtroom, where his lawyers argued with prosecutors over the details of his upcoming trial.

During the session, Mr. Ghosn learned that the case could be tried in stages, potentially making it drag on for years. This led Mr. Ghosn to assume that the Japanese intended to force him to confess or to hold him indefinitely, the person said.

“When you look at the situation Mr. Ghosn was put in, it seems likely that his decision was driven by a feeling of despair,” said Nobuo Gohara, a former prosecutor who now works as a defense lawyer.

Now back in Lebanon, Mr. Ghosn may be hoping to get his Hollywood ending.

Preparations are being made for a news conference in Beirut next week. Mr. Ghosn and his attorneys are expected to raise the idea of facing a trial in Lebanon instead of Japan, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions.

Lebanon, at least, may be receptive: Salim Jreissati, a top government official, told a local paper this week that he had asked Japanese officials for Mr. Ghosn to be handed over to a Lebanese court to be tried under international anticorruption laws.

Reporting was contributed by Makiko Inoue and Eimi Yamamitsu from Tokyo; Emily Flitter from New York; and Ben Hubbard from Beirut, Lebanon.

*********

Turkey Questions Pilots About Carlos Ghosn’s Escape From Japan

Mr. Ghosn, the former Nissan and Renault chief, fled Japan to avoid trial and arrived in Lebanon this week.

By Elian Peltier | Published Jan. 2, 2020 Updated 3:23 p.m. ET | New York Times | Posted January 2, 2020 |

Turkish authorities on Thursday questioned seven people, including four pilots, about the role they may have played in helping Carlos Ghosn make his escape from Tokyo to Beirut, offering new clues to his mysterious flight.

Elsewhere, prosecutors raided Mr. Ghosn’s home in Tokyo, a Lebanese government minister said the public prosecutor had received a “red notice” — an alert that’s akin to a wanted poster —  from Interpol, and a French official said authorities there would not extradite Mr. Ghosn if he were to travel to the country.

Four days after Mr. Ghosn triumphantly announced his arrival in Beirut, law enforcement officials and authorities were left grappling with the legal implications of the former automotive executive’s stunning escape, whose details remain shrouded in mystery.

Mr. Ghosn, the former chief executive of Nissan and Renault, left Japan on Sunday to avoid trial on financial misconduct charges there, though his movements were supposed to be strictly limited while he was free on bail. He turned up in Lebanon, saying he had escaped the “rigged Japanese justice system.”

The Lebanese justice minister, Albert Serhan, said on Thursday that the public prosecutor had received a red notice from Interpol related to Mr. Ghosn’s case, according to the state-run National News Agency. Such a notice is issued for individuals wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

An Interpol red notice is often portrayed as an international arrest warrant, but it is essentially a diplomatic request seeking help apprehending a fugitive. Interpol itself has no arrest powers and foreign governments are not obligated to comply. Interpol does not comment on specific cases, the agency said.

A red notice “doesn’t carry any weight other than being a notice,” said Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond. “It’s not a charge, it’s not saying Lebanon needs to arrest Mr. Ghosn.”

Mr. Ghosn, who has not appeared in public since he announced he was in Lebanon, issued a statement Thursday that seemed aimed to protect his family from any legal jeopardy.

“There has been speculation in the media that my wife Carole, and other members of my family played a role in my departure from Japan,” the statement said. “All such speculation is inaccurate and false. I alone arranged for my departure. My family had no role whatsoever.”

Mr. Ghosn was joyous and especially happy to be reunited with Carole, said a friend of Mr. Ghosn’s, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation. He said Mr. Ghosn’s children were expected to gather in Beirut and that “some of them are there” already. He said it was a relief to see Mr. Ghosn so happy because “he had not been for a long time.”

Hours earlier, a French government minister said authorities there would not extradite Mr. Ghosn, a citizen of France, if he arrived there, “because France never extradites its nationals.”

“That’s a rule of the game,” Agnès Pannier-Runacher, a junior economy minister, told the news channel BFM.

In Turkey, the authorities detained seven people suspected of helping Mr. Ghosn escape, according to news outlets there. He reportedly left Japan late Sunday aboard a business jet from Osaka to Istanbul Ataturk Airport, where he quickly switched to another plane and flew to Beirut.

Much about his flight remains unknown, including how he was able to escape surveillance in Japan, how he arranged his flights to Lebanon, and whether he was helped by any other countries. The French foreign ministry declined to comment on reports that Mr. Ghosn had used a French passport to enter Lebanon.

Mr. Ghosn, who has been charged in Japan with an array of financial crimes while chairman of Nissan, was born in Brazil to a Lebanese family, grew up mostly in Lebanon and has lived most of his adult life in France. He has passports from all three countries, though his lawyers in Japan have said that they held the documents.

Turkish news organizations, including the state-run Anadolu news agency, reported that the planes that delivered Mr. Ghosn to Istanbul and Beirut were operated by MNG Jet, a Turkish company that offers chartered flights on business aircraft. Flight tracking websites confirm MNG flights matching Mr. Ghosn’s reported path.

Four of the seven people detained in Turkey were pilots employed by a private aviation company, two were employees of a company that provides ground services to aircraft, and one was a manager of a private cargo company, according to the Turkish reports.

An official at Havas, a ground services company that operates at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, confirmed that two of its employees were in custody for questioning in the case but said that they were expected to be released later in the day. A person who answered the phone at MNG said no one was available to comment.

It was not clear whether anyone in Turkey knowingly aided Mr. Ghosn, or if he used some kind of subterfuge to avoid detection, like traveling under an alias.

The Bombardier Global Express jet that reportedly carried him to Istanbul is owned by a Turkish company, STE Havacilik, which denied any involvement in his escape. An executive of the company said that when it was not using the plane, it rents the jet to MNG, which uses it for chartered flights. Such arrangements are common with business jets.

In Japan, prosecutors on Thursday raided Mr. Ghosn’s sprawling, two-story house in an exclusive neighborhood of central Tokyo. After about four hours, around a dozen men — most of them wearing black suits and surgical masks — carried out heavy black briefcases and other bags, ignoring questions from journalists who followed them.

Officials in Japan have expressed their outrage over his escape, but Mr. Ghosn said he would speak to the news media “starting next week.”

In Lebanon, Mr. Ghosn may face legal trouble for having visited Israel, an enemy state. Under Lebanese law, it is illegal for citizens to visit Israel, and even foreigners who have been there are supposed to be banned.

On Thursday, three lawyers informed Lebanon’s public prosecutor that Mr. Ghosn had committed a crime by visiting Israel. He reportedly visited Israel in 2008, while an executive for the Renault-Nissan alliance.

One of the lawyers, Jad Tomeh, said the three were “shocked” that Lebanese parties that back the “resistance,” or the struggle against Israel, had been silent about “this type of security breach.”

It was not immediately clear if the authorities would respond. A Lebanese-French-American filmmaker was briefly detained for visiting Israel when he arrived in Lebanon in 2017, although he was not charged with a crime. But in November, Lebanon jailed an American-Lebanese man who had joined an Israeli-backed militia in Lebanon during the country’s civil war and was accused of running a prison notorious for torture.

In Lebanon, which does not have an extradition treaty with Japan, Mr. Ghosn is seen by many as a folk hero, a favorite son who studied in France’s most prestigious schools before embracing a successful career in the automobile industry.

Mr. Ghosn remains widely respected in France despite the accusations that he underreported his compensation, shifted personal financial losses to Nissan, and used funds from Renault to organize parties at the Palace of Versailles. French officials would not comment on how Mr. Ghosn was able to flee Japan or whether he had a second French passport.

On extradition, Ms. Pannier-Runacher said, the same rules apply to Mr. Ghosn as to any French person. Nobody is above the law, she added, but “French citizenship protects, and is protective of its citizens.”

A flight to France would be risky: Mr. Ghosn would have to pass through the airspace of several countries that could arrest him.

Asked if Mr. Ghosn had fled to save his life, Ms. Pannier-Runacher said that although his living conditions in Japan were unpleasant, his life had not been threatened. Even so, she seemed amazed by the unfolding drama.

“I’m hesitating between novel-like and … I don’t have the words to describe this escape,” she said.

______

Matt Apuzzo, Ben Dooley, Emily Flitter, Ben Hubbard and Amie Tsang contributed reporting.

[allahabadphoto]

Huge Job Opportunity

This is a fascinating reason for why you should opt for an interior designing course. As an interior designer you get chances to work in diverse sectors and varieties of industries. This variety may include Factories, Automotive, Aviation, Airports, film sets, real estate, advertising, media, event decoration, homes, offices, restaurants, education sector, health industry, public spaces, library, religious spaces, Theme Parks, Gardens, Airports, Malls, Bars, Hotels, Tourist Places, temple, and churches, resorts, galleries and museums etc that too in different departments like Architecture, Civil engineering, mechanical engineering, Decoration, Event management, Styling and Marketing etc.

Creativity, imagination, and innovation

Choosing an interior designing course and working in the same field will provide you with immense possibilities to express yourself creatively, use maximum of your imagination, and propose innovative ideas in design on a regular basis. More creative, imaginative, and innovative you become, more project will come on your way.

Potential for entrepreneurship

If you are opting to go out on your own, working as an independent interior designer and setting up your own firm, then you could enjoy the freedom of being your own boss. Hence, choosing an interior designing course becomes a smart career move.

Developing Skills

Interior design will allow you to develop your creative skills, as well as your business skills. You will learn how to design to meet a client’s brief and also look at the financial side, including budgeting. This will give you an idea of how you would create your own business with considerations to planning and strategies.

Growing Demand

People’s efforts to increase their living standards and lifestyle has also made them focus on the interiors of their homes and offices. Nowadays, people are working to add aesthetic value to their homes and there is a constant need for new furniture and decors.

Creative course

If you like anything creative, or you are one of these people that can’t stay away from decorating the house or room regularly then this course is for you. In this course you will look at different colour schemes, think about what goes well together and which fabrics to use, depending on your client’s needs. You will also be studying creative colour charts, mood boards and drawings to improve on your ideas.

Photo by Vidal Balielo Jr. on Pexels.com

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Photo by ALEXGTACAR on Pexels.com

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

  Related Topics: interior design courses, interior design courses fees, fashion designing course in mysore, interior design mysore, certificate courses in mysore, one year courses in mysore, interior design courses online, interior design courses in bangalore,

Why study Interior Design? Huge Job Opportunity This is a fascinating reason for why you should opt for an interior designing course.

[melissadownslovestravel]

9/11-9/24

Holy cow. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. This post will most definitely not cover all that’s happened but I hope to give some sort of life update.

After getting back to McMinnville we really just hung out.We were not ready to start job searching as we were still in limbo and not yet in Portland so we found other ways to fill our time.

Tuesday mainly included getting my Oregon license! Woot woot. I am officially an Oregonian. We also saw a movie at an awesome old theater that included $1 slices of pizza.  

Wednesday was my birthday and thanks to Leo and mom and pop, it was a beautiful day of celebration. My parents had sent me a present in the mail and had a gorgeous orchid delivered to Jenny and Philippe’s for me! I told Leo that for my birthday I wanted to be in France. Leo’s uncle is from France. Leo, Jenny and Philippe all speak French with each other and my learning is not going well. Still, it makes me crave more French culture. Plus, all the wine! So because we weren’t flying to Paris he made my birthday a French theme. This did include breakfast in bed, though not necessarily a french breakfast. It also included a trip to a stunning winery called Domaine Serene Winery. The man helping with our tasting was so kind and gave us multiple free tastings. One of them was a $100 bottle that I now desperately want, great! Regardless, the tasting and views at the tasting room were phenomenal.

Afterward, we went to dinner at a French restaurant with J&P. We ate authentic French food. The owner was French and he was constantly chatting with our table (though I couldn’t understand most of it). It was a lovely night for my birthday.

Unfortunately it was still a kind of sad day, it was the first birthday really away from my parents. Normally my mom would find a way to come see me at work or school with a coffee treat in hand. I was missing that but thankful for all Leo had done for me.

Thursday was unfortunately a day of setting up new insurance. How horrible.

Friday was an exciting day. We went into Portland because we were going to get our apartment keys. We were told we couldn’t move in until Sunday still but that we could just get the keys. Turns out, we got the keys and went in the apartment. They told us it was ours as soon as we wanted! This was the first time seeing our apartment in person as we were so happy with it! It was exactly what we had wanted. We still weren’t moving in until tomorrow.

Saturday we packed up allll of our stuff from J&Ps and made our way to the new place! As we were leaving McMinnville we stopped to get food and the car battery died! Ugh. We needed a jump and luckily a state trooper helped us and soon enough we were on our way again. Phew. Tonight we would just be sleeping on our camp gear because all of our other belongings were in the uhaul. Still, we were in our apartment!

Sunday through Wednesday were mostly spent unpacking. J&P came Sunday to help unload the Uhaul. We started to put together furniture and organize our tiny apartment. We have less then 600 square feet but we have a ton of storage in closets and so it hasn’t been a problem. They designed the apartment really well. These days also included a few trips to Ikea and Lowe’s to get some new furniture. We have also been searching thrift stores for rugs and other smaller items.

We did get a couch from Ikea. In order to avoid the delivery fee, we stuffed half of it in the car and Leo left me at the warehouse to take it home (I would not fit in the car). An hour later he returned for me and the rest of the boxes. But we got it home and set up a couch without any major arguments.

The rest of the week included more small unpacking, exploring and job searching. I have applied for about 4 positions now. I found another connection at a women’s health clinic as someone Leo knows from Viroqua knows a doctor at the same clinic! How fantastic. I am still waiting to hear on the applications but fingers crossed. On Thursday we biked to Mt. Tabor, more of a hill only 2 miles from us. From this hill, we had a perfect view of Mt. Hood and it was a fantastic reminder of where we live. Another fantastic reminder was when we came home and a block from our place we stopped at a brewery! Our first one and so close to us!

Saturday we went back to McMinnville. The Smithsonian had free admission and there was a museum of aviation and space there. It was actually very fascinating. We got to see and go inside the Spruce Goose. It is a massive airlift flying boat made of birch wood. It was built for WWII but was never actually used. Look it up if you haven’t heard of it! As we were going through the space part, someone pulled the fire alarm and our trip was cut short but we figured we’d be back.

We then went to Jenny and Philippe’s. Jenny is out of town for about 3 weeks and Philippe is busy with harvest. He works at Northwest Vineyard Services as a viticulturist. We were picking up their dog Beatrice to dog sit for about a week. While there, P decided it was a good time to come explore the vineyards with him. I had never tasted a wine grape off of a vine.

We went to his main office where I sampled 3 main grapes. Pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay. He taught me so much about the health of the grapes and vines and also how to tell when they are ready to be picked. We ate way too many grapes but it was so fascinating and tasty. Before getting here, he has offered me a part time job and now I was regretting not taking it. I wanted to learn more and more about wine making. There was so much science involved and I do love science. We then went to another vineyard and tasted more pinot noir grapes. Pinot noir is my favorite kind of wine so I was really loving it. Plus, the grape clusters were absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to go back and learn more.

Today we continue catching up on all sorts of things and continuing to organize and decorate the apartment. We are still needing a few more pieces of furniture but in general it feels really nice. Also, our couch pulls out into a bed and we cannot wait to have visitors. Everyone is officially welcome to visit! From now on, I will most likely not be posting on the blog though I may every once in a great while. Please feel free to email me though!

[mrcoreymonroe]

PlaneTags — A Bit of Aviation History in Your Pocket

Dave Hall holds the very first PlaneTag; he used it as a keychain long enough to nearly wear the design completely off the thing.

While visiting the Los Angeles area a month or so ago, I dropped by the headquarters of MotoArt Studios in Torrance, Calif., maker of cool aviation-themed furniture and the originator of the PlaneTag, for a tour and some conversation with owner and founder Dave Hall. I’ve purchased several of his products over the years, including a polished propeller and quite a few PlaneTags, so I was excited to see his operation.

It feels like these products have been around for a long time, but Hall explained that while the idea for making keychains out of old aircraft skin came to him more than a decade ago, the tags have only been on the market for a few years.

Dave Hall helps one of his crew move a table that’s being built in his studio

“We had a small section of P-51 Mustang skin, and I decided to take a section and make a tag from it. I decided to call it a PlaneTag — it’s small enough to connect to a bag or suitcase, or even put in your front pocket on your keys. That first piece of aviation history sat in my pocket on my key chain for years before I actually had the sense to kick off the idea,” Hall said.

This year’s Black Friday marked the three-year anniversary of what’s become his flagship product. “We started with six PlaneTags: the 767 Gimli Glider, a 747, DC-9, A320, B-25, and a DC-3,” he said. He used the existing MotoArt mailing list, which included contacts dating back to 2001, to promote the new product to existing customers. “It was an instant hit,” he said. His online shop now lists close to 30 different types of aircraft tags, including hull No. 1 of the B-1B bomber.

Hall in the lobby of the MotoArt studio

The process of making the tags is relatively straightforward, varying in complexity based on the assembly intricacies of each particular aircraft type: a section of hull, wing, tail, or aileron is cut from the aircraft, the aluminum outer skin is removed from the framing, then the tags are die-cut from the larger sheet, cleaned, and finally engraved.

The process of actually acquiring the old aircraft parts, however, is a different story.

“There’s something magical about discovering an old airframe or boneyard,” Hall said. “With commercial aircraft we have some great relationships with not only fleet managers at commercial airlines, but also recycling companies who scrap the planes. The vintage aircraft is mostly on leads that people send us.  It’s always exciting to get a email that says, ‘Hey — did you hear about that plane parked out in the middle of nowhere that’s going to get scrapped?'”

PlaneTags on cards, ready to be sold and shipped

Better late than never, Hall has started to save one example of every tag – he’s missing a few early ones

Tags being prepared for custom engraving

MotoArt has been designing what Hall describes as “aviation functional art” for 18 years. “We rescue old airframes and create incredible pieces that are mostly used for conference tables, executive offices, and reception areas,” he said.

The cockpit of a Piasecki helicopter

A section from an Aloha Airlines 737-200

It’s an AvGeek candy store

The shop is filled with aircraft parts

Hall said it’s simpler for his craftspeople to build new spars for furniture pieces than to restore old ones

A section of Boeing 737 windows

Hall shared a bit of MotoArt’s backstory. “It started two decades ago when the scrap aluminum guy came by our sign company yard to pick up our recycled material. On the back of his truck, he had an old WWII solid aluminum propeller. We tried to talk him into selling it but he refused,” he said.

Hall shows off a stack of tags that are in the middle of the manufacturing process.

“We found out where he got it from with a quick search of a couple local propeller shops: come to find out, they were scraping hundreds of old aluminum propellers because there was no longer a demand for them and recycled aluminum was at a high. That’s when the idea came up: let’s take a shot at creating a company that would rescue old airframes before they are destroyed and create something unique and fun with them.  No one else was doing it and we saw a market,” Hall said.

A section from an SR-71 vertical stabilizer, waiting to be converted to PlaneTags

“Everyone damn near laughed at us when we started in my garage. Vendors wouldn’t sell to us, and my neighbors laughed, thinking I was building an airplane,” he said. Now the business is in a dedicated building and has about 20 employees.

Motoart’s Torrance, Calif., headquarters

It wasn’t until men’s magazine Maxim discovered his hobby and did a two-page centerfold editorial in 2002 that things started to really take off.  After that, Hall said his company was featured in a large wave of print stories as well as television spots, which eventually led to a 2004 Discovery Channel show called WingNuts. After that, he said, it seemed like everyone was making airplane furniture.

Hall’s company does a fair amount of work with airlines, such as creating PlaneTags for their employees and special customers as perks. “This past year,” he said, “we rolled out a program to commercial airlines that seems to be a winning formula for everyone: we donate a large percentage of each PlaneTag sale to the airline’s charity of their choice and offer their employees a discount.” Those airlines include Delta, American, United, Virgin Atlantic, Allegiant, and China Airlines. 

The post PlaneTags — A Bit of Aviation History in Your Pocket appeared first on AirlineReporter.

from AirlineReporter https://ift.tt/2Gj388y