#provincial cotton

[admk-sarees]

[omgthatdress]

Robe à la Polonaise

1780s

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"The element of eighteenth-century fashion that we think of first is probably the court style. This linen dress of great beauty, and also of simplicity, provincialism, and even a degree of vulgarity compared to court dress, is most instructive. The bodice and skirt sewn together constitute a robe; a matching petticoat is worn underneath. Heavy linen, almost of a diaper weight and of great tactility, will always feel luxurious, but it also bears a common touch. Likewise, the floral appliqué is clumsy and garish, rather oversized for the dress, especially when compared with such refined examples as the embroidered cottons of the 1780s and 1790s of court style. But this country cousin possesses her own charm, and the dressmaking is sure. If a few roses loom too large and the reinforcement with metal sequins strikes one as grossly vernacular, one must remember that even high style in the emerging age of fashion plates and periodicals is not uniform and does not always conform to our ideal of good taste."

[the-kr8tor]

Seafoam on the shore

Pairing: Pirate! Hobie Brown x fem! Reader

Word count: 2.8k

Tags: Use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader (except for her clothing), CW drinking, CW food mentions, TW injury.

Between the Devil and the Sea Masterlist

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CHAPTER 1 >>> CHAPTER 2

You run as fast as you can, your feet flying off the muddy uneven streets. Huffing while a local copper yells at you to stop, his yells get more exhausted every second he chases after you. So far he isn't even near you, one of the few benefits of staying at a provincial fishing town is that the police are either too out of shape to catch you, their bellies round, definitely full of ale. Or they simply don't give a damn about a pickpocket, muttering to themselves how they're not paid enough to do a city cop's job.

Losing your balance, you silently curse at your worn down work boots. Sliding off the ground, skidding off down the streets, disturbing the hustle and bustle of the market. You hit a vegetable cart along the way, wood splintering, scratching your arms. Cabbages and carrots fly off, there's yelling and screaming around you and your legs are aching from the impact.

“Sorry!” You yell back to a disgruntled vendor.

He curses at you and your entire family for ruining his sale. You take a mental note to pay him back somehow when you're not currently occupied.

Digging your heels in, you come to a halt, you're lucky enough to get a hold on a lamp post. Glancing behind, you don't see the cop running after you but you're not taking any chances so you enter a tight alleyway. You know this village like the back of your hand, you have to or else seeing the inside of the jail would be waiting for you in the future.

Knowing there’s a pipe somewhere along the walls, you run your muddy hands along the bricks, the cramp walls touching your back and chest, you stop when your nail hits something metallic.

Your ears perk up at someone snitching, “fuck” without hesitation, you climb up the rusty pipe.

Hands digging into the metal. It creaks and groans, but it seems like lady luck is on your side when you reach the top with no problems.

Hearing hurried footsteps down below, you immediately lie low on the roof. Hiding yourself from his gaze. The cop glances around the alley, scratching his head, confused as to how you escaped without a trace.

“Damn” he mutters, completely winded.

You smile to yourself as he leaves. The sun bares at your back, cotton blouse sticking to your skin. Needing a bath is an understatement.

Standing up, you carefully tread the roof, avoiding floors that look damaged. You definitely don't want a repeat incident of what happened six villages ago. You can never get used to the view from up high, the sea blends in with the orange sky, melting together, blues, greens and reds mingle in harmony. The setting sun paints a picturesque scenery, draping everything it touches in its heavenly light.

Ships and fishing boats float above the waves as if they're dancing to the sound of the water splashing on its wooden sides.

Your hands instinctively reach for the necklace hidden under your blouse. Fingers tracing the etching of a flying bird that you know like the back of your hand.

Despite the open sea, you can't help but feel trapped. The docks beckon you over to somewhere you can't remember, somewhere where you can rest in peace, somewhere across the deep dark treacherous sea are people you can call your home. People who may have been looking for you all this time. Their faces are but a blur in your mind, voices a mere echo lingering in your heart. The pendant leaves a circular indent on your palms as you grip it tight.

Is it possible to miss someone you don't even remember?

Your train of thought gets interrupted by movement from a ship floating along the dock, a large sailboat whose wood differs from each one of its structures. You can tell from how some of it is painted gold and silver like the ones on royal ships, it looks like it was hastily hammered into regular oak with intricate carvings. Some wood blends better together, dark timber melding with ashen wood. Three cannons are lined on the sides, its metal having seen better days, no longer glimmering in the sunlight.

From where you're standing, the figurehead on the bow looks peculiar, like nothing you've ever seen traveling along coastal towns. A fierce creature with sharp teeth opening its jaws, eyes wide and alert. Its red scaly skin adds to its terrifying image. What's more peculiar is the lack of flag flying on its mast. An unknown ship from an unknown place tickles your curiosity.

You slink back down on the roof when a woman emerges from below deck, her blond hair shining under the sun. Another much taller one follows behind her. Raven colored hair flowing in the soft wind. They seem to be arguing, but you're completely bewildered as to how they're allowed to sail. All this time, you can't believe that you can actually step foot inside a boat, moreso sail on it.

This changes everything, you suppose.

You leave the roof, letting the women argue amongst themselves. Expertly hopping from awning to canopy, you land at your final destination, the White Salmon pub.

Jumping down, you land on a cart full of broken fishing nets, it's a miracle that you weren't tangled under all the mess.

Entering the rowdy pub, the smell of ale and pickled fish enters your nostrils. A bunch of sailors sing off key in the middle, too drunk to care about the ruckus they're making. You try to blend in with the drunk crowd, hiding behind people, weaving around them to sneak past the bar and upto the stairs leading up to your room.

“Oi! did ya think I wouldn't notice ya?”

You stop just about the foot of the stairs. Groaning in exasperation, quickly taking off the bandana tied around your face to conceal half of your face. You try your best to put your best smile, turning your charm up to a hundred.

“Hi, aunty Janet” you walk towards her like a child caught with their hands inside the cookie jar. “I got the butter you asked”

Janet huffs, eyes narrowed, her brows furrowed. You place the stick of butter in front of her like an offering to appease an angry God.

“Please don't tell me the coppers will be knocking on my doors again”

“That was one time! Besides I actually paid for this one” you push the butter towards her with your finger. She stares at it like you're giving her contraband.

You give her one charming smile, she sighs, taking the butter from the counter. “You're on thin ice, Y/N. Don't make me regret taking you in.”

“That was a year ago and look, I'm still here!”

“A year and a half, I counted because with every shit ya manage to pull, a strand of my hair turns white.” she points at her hair that's almost completely white. “This used to be black”

“I know, I'm sorry. I just need to–”

“To what? It always seems like you're hiding shit from me and Thena” She tries to hold your hand on the counter but you flinch away.

“Won't happen again, I promise.” A clear lie on your part, you'll just have to be better at sneaking. You vault over the counter to roll up your sleeves, clean yourself up and put on your apron.

“When will you learn, girl?”

“When the king sentences me to death himself!” grabbing an empty tray, you start clearing a nearby table. Janet pinches the bridge of her nose.

After dodging rowdy customers and a flying pint, Thena takes a break with you in the tiny corner of the tavern. She unabashedly sighs loudly, smelling of ale and lavender she hastily rubbed on to mask the scent of alcohol.

You side eye her with a tired smile, Thena sighs again, louder this time, a few patrons gaze your way.

“Alright, what's wrong?”

“Oh nothin' it's just Arthur's back again and he hasn't even glanced my way”

You flick your eyes towards the blonde patron nursing a pint, his green eyes meet yours, he smiles with his yellow teeth and you look away immediately, not from embarrassment, no, but from how you don't want his eyes on you.

Why in the world is Thena so smitten by someone like Arthur who comes and goes into the pub more than he goes inside a bathroom?

“You could do better, Thena. One that actually brings in coins instead of using them all in the pub or a brothel.”

“I know,” she sighs once again. Leaning closer to your side so you slide further away. “But he's the fittest bloke here though” whining, she puffs out her cheeks.

As if some divine comedy, Arthur beckons you over with a twist of his hand. You internally cringe.

Thena gasps, “I think he's finally taking notice of me!” She stands up, sauntering over to his table with the confidence of a newborn deer.

Before you could rescue her though, Janet yells at you from the other side of the room. “Get back to work, Y/N!” She signals with head, pointing towards a table by the corner.

You groan, lumbering your way towards the customers. His large back is turned away from you, brown hair neatly slicked back, clothes looking too neat and expensive for a dingy pub like the white salmon. His companion thumps her head on the wall lightly like she's trying to get water out of her ears. Her hair is cut short, glasses over her almond shaped eyes, clothes equally looking expensive but less neat than her large companion.

Her lips turn upwards once she sees you. “Finally some service” she stretches her legs out, noting how she's wearing trousers instead of the usual frilly skirts rich women wear.

“Sorry, what can I do for you?” You put on your customer service voice that's laced with mild annoyance. The man sits still like a rock, his back still turned away from you.

“Fish and chips, some pickled eggs and a pint.” She glances at her friend before groaning with a sly smirk. “And he'll have plain porridge, no seasoning, just porridge. It's better if it's days old. Right, Miguel?”

The man huffs, craning his neck to look over his shoulder. The single candle light on the table illuminates his chiseled face, turning his eyes crimson.

“A pint will do” his voice is gruff yet calm.

There's alarm bells ringing in your head, the tray falls from your shaking hands. Your heart thumps louder than the clanking metal.

“Careful there, it's bad to drink on the job” His friend’s comment falls on deaf ears as you stare at the man before you. His expression doesn't change except for how his eyebrows lift slightly.

It's been years, surely he doesn't recognize me as an adult, right?

You clear your throat, mustering the best smile you can do. “Sorry about that, I'll get your orders right away” leaning down to take the tray from the sticky floors, your necklace slips out of your blouse, the gold shimmering in the candle light.

He could burn you with just his stare.

Walking briskly, clutching the tray, its metal is uncomfortably cold on your skin. The pub seems to get louder and louder with every footstep, the laughter and rowdy singing makes you dizzy. Janet calls after you as you run up the stairs to your room.

Thinking fast, you lock the door, pushing your dresser to further lock it. Your mind races to the floorboards beneath your threadbare bed. With your bare hands you hastily take the wood out revealing a hollow hole containing your possessions.

There's loud booming footsteps climbing up the stairs. Followed by his voice calling your name.

“Fuck” without thinking, you take the bag from its hiding place, slinging it over your shoulder before you cross the small space to the window.

“Y/N, Please!” He keeps calling after you. “Let me just,” thump, “fuck!”

That's your signal to jump down.

Landing on your heels, you feel your knees aching from the fall. You hear your bedroom door slam open with a force that surely broke its hinges.

You run like you've ran from him like last time.

Suddenly, you're thirteen years old, weaving through the forest, vines prickling your legs as you wade through the thicket. White lilies are but a blur as tears flow freely from your eyes as you keep running without a destination.

Why? Aren't you enough? Did she not love you like you thought she did? What did you do to deserve being abandoned twice?

You're back to the present when he yells your name again. Your heart pounds loudly on your ribcage, lungs burning, you feel like you're about to collapse.

His companion also runs after you, screaming your name desperately.

But you have the upperhand. Using the moon as your guide, you climb up a house, its bricks protruding out of the walls, the place you used to climb to practice, but now you climb it to save your own skin.

Running from roof to roof, you feel a presence behind you. His thunderous footsteps echo into the cold night. You don't dare look behind.

The woman follows you from the ground, her heels clicking on the uneven sidewalk. “Y/N! Wait up–shit!” Without looking down, you hear her fall.

He screams your name again, the same one she called you back then.

You run furiously, jumping off the side only to keep running towards the docks. Panicking, you see a ship leaving the docks, its fishing net left hanging on the side. Without thinking, you make a break for it.

Sprinting on the old docks, you leap the huge gap. Miraculously, you take hold of the net, clinging to it with all your might. Entering the net, you ignore the smell of fish, watching as the place you once called home gets smaller and smaller.

You say goodbye to Janet, who kindly took you in without asking for anything in return. Who gave you a job and a room so you don't freeze and starve outside. Who took care of you when you fell ill to the cold.

You say goodbye to Thena, the only friend you've ever had, the longest friend you've ever had. The same Thena who taught you how to sew and mend your own clothes. Thena who taught you how to throw a punch when a handsy sailor tries to touch you.

Thena whom you've grown accustomed to calling you her sister.

You say goodbye to the fishing town you've only recently called your home.

You say goodbye to the man at the docks who's staring at your fleeing form, whose eyes are narrowed, almost pleading for you to come back.

A/N: There's no Hobie appearance in this chapter yet :( (next chapter though 👀)

Hope you like it, thank you for reading!

[chinesehanfu]

【Historical Reference Artifacts】:  

Portraits and Mural of Women in the Late Yuan-Early Ming Dynasties

Chinese Ming Dynasty Yongle period(1360–1424) Hanfu Relic: 长袖夹衣&素纱单裙

Yuan Dynasty Clothing Relics: 妆花凤戏牡丹纹绫夹衫,Unearthed from the tomb of Wang Shixian(汪世显)'s family in Zhang County,Gansu Provincial Museum Collection

Yuan Dynasty Clothing Relics: 印金团花图案夹衫

[Hanfu · 漢服]China Late Yuan to Early Ming Dynasties Traditional Clothing Hanfu Refer to Portraits and Mural of Women in the Late Yuan-Early Ming Dynasties

Typical styles of Han ethnic Women in the Late Yuan and Early Ming Dynasties

And it seen that the jacket has a certain connection with the jacket of the Southern Song Dynasty to some extent as blow:

Cotton jacket unearthed from the tomb of Huang Sheng(黄昇) in the Southern Song Dynasty in Fuzhou

Chinese Southern Song Dynasty Painting<仙馆秾花图>,Collection of National Palace Museum, Taipei

_______

📸Recreation Work: @-盥薇-

👗Hanfu: @YUNJIN云今

💎Earring:@江琛复古生活馆

🔗Weibo：https://weibo.com/3942003133/N6t86nHOM

_______

[mariacallous]

Partial list of the books that Helene Hanff ordered from Marks & Co. and mentioned in 84, Charing Cross Road (alphabetical order):

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice, (1813)

Arkwright, Francis trans. Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon

Belloc, Hillaire. Essays.

Catullus – Loeb Classics

Chaucer, Geoffrey The Canterbury Tales translated by Hill, published by Longmans 1934)

Delafield, E. M., Diary of a Provincial Lady

Dobson, Austen ed. The Sir Roger De Coverley Papers

Donne, John Sermons

Elizabethan Poetry

Grahame, Kenneth, The Wind in the Willows

Greek New Testament

Grolier Bible

Hazlitt, William. Selected Essays Of William Hazlitt 1778 To 1830, Nonesuch Press edition.

Horace – Loeb Classics

Hunt, Leigh. Essays.

Johnson, Samuel, On Shakespeare, 1908, Intro by Walter Raleigh

Jonson, Ben. Timber

Lamb, Charles. Essays of Elia, (1823).

Landor, Walter Savage. Vol II of The Works and Life of Walter Savage Landor (1876) – Imaginary Conversations

Latin Anglican New Testament

Latin Vulgate Bible / Latin Vulgate New Testament

Latin Vulgate Dictionary

Leonard, R. M. ed. The Book-Lover's Anthology, (1911)

Newman, John Henry. Discourses on the Scope and Nature of University Education. Addressed to the Catholics of Dublin – "The Idea of a University" (1852 and 1858)

Pepys, Samuel. Pepys Diary – 4 Volume Braybrook ed. (1926, revised ed.)

Plato's Four Socratic Dialogues, 1903

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, The Oxford Book Of English Verse

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, The Pilgrim's Way

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, Oxford Book of English Prose

Sappho – Loeb Classics

St. John, Christopher Ed. Ellen Terry and Bernard Shaw : A Correspondence / The Shaw – Terry Letters : A Romantic Correspondence

Sterne, Laurence, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, (1759)

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Virginibus Puerisque

de Tocqueville, Alexis Journey to America (1831–1832)

Wyatt, Thomas. Poems of Thomas Wyatt

Walton, Izaak and Charles Cotton. The Compleat Angler. (John Major's 2nd ed., 1824)

Walton, Izaak. The Lives of – John Donne – Sir Henry Wotton – Richard Hooker – George Herbert & Robert Sanderson

Woolf, Virginia, The Common Reader, 1932.

[no-side-us]

The Invisible Man, Ch. 19 - Certain First Principles

This chapter isn't the one that gives the full explanation of Griffin becoming invisible, but it does offer a few glimpses before that.

“I went there after I left London. You know I dropped medicine and took up physics? No; well, I did. Light fascinated me.”

First we learn that Griffin studied medicine before dropping it for physics. I'm not sure exactly, but I assume being a doctor would have offered both financial gain and some degree of social status, which is why I assume Griffin would study it in the first place.

“Optical density! The whole subject is a network of riddles—a network with solutions glimmering elusively through. And being but two-and-twenty and full of enthusiasm, I said, ‘I will devote my life to this. This is worth while.’ You know what fools we are at two-and-twenty?”

He was twenty-two when he decided to devote himself to the study of light and optical density, a subject that evidently brings him a lot of joy. We don't really know much about Griffin's likes or wants, other than maybe cigars and a desire for isolation, so the fact he decided to study light out of his enthusiasm for it is insightful. He's a nerd for this sort of stuff.

"Either a body absorbs light, or it reflects or refracts it, or does all these things. If it neither reflects nor refracts nor absorbs light, it cannot of itself be visible..."

Proven, I think, by the scientific explanations Griffin details. I don't think the story needed these paragraphs, but including them makes the story more immersive. Plus, they're easy to follow, and we later learn that Griffin did teach students, so we sort of get a glimpse into his teaching style, which is fun.

It's also one of the few moments where Griffin is sort of in his element and content, talking about something he loves to a friend with whom he shares both education and history.

"And not only paper, but cotton fibre, linen fibre, wool fibre, woody fibre, and bone, Kemp, flesh, Kemp, hair, Kemp, nails and nerves, Kemp, in fact the whole fabric of a man except the red of his blood and the black pigment of hair, are all made up of transparent, colourless tissue."

I love how creepy this line is. The shift from natural materials to the elements of a human body, the repeated "Kemp" only after the human parts are being named, just the reduction of a man into malleable fabric, it's great.

"Oliver, my professor, was a scientific bounder, a journalist by instinct, a thief of ideas—he was always prying! And you know the knavish system of the scientific world. I simply would not publish, and let him share my credit."

I sometimes see posts about academia lamenting the state of scholarly publishing, and how all the money just goes to publishers, and how easy it is for studies to be misconstrued in mainstream news. Anyways, it's regrettable to see that something like this existed back then, though at a smaller scale.

"In all my great moments I have been alone. ‘One could make an animal—a tissue—transparent! One could make it invisible! All except the pigments—I could be invisible!’ I said, suddenly realising what it meant to be an albino with such knowledge."

The line "In all my great moments I have been alone," sounds like the sort of thing a person who is always alone would assume. That, coupled with him mentioning his albinism a sentence later, suggests to me that discovering invisibility isn't just interesting due to his own skin condition, but also that the fame it would bring him would up-end his social status as an albino.

"And I, a shabby, poverty-struck, hemmed-in demonstrator, teaching fools in a provincial college, might suddenly become—this."

This chapter really does round out Griffin's character. Him having been in poverty is in line with his current issues with money that we've seen, and being the TA for a professor he hates while also teaching students who he finds stupid is consistent with how much secrecy and isolation he desires.

“Money,” said the Invisible Man, and went again to stare out of the window. He turned around abruptly. “I robbed the old man—robbed my father. “The money was not his, and he shot himself.”

There are a few implications to these lines. First, Griffin has prior experience being a thief, even before being invisible. Second, he seemingly had no qualms about robbing his own father, which tells me their relationship wasn't exactly great. A quick search tells me that most parents of kids with albinism do not have it themselves, so I'm sure Griffin being an albino played a role in that relationship.

Also, the money didn't belong to Griffin's father in the first place? I always wondered what this meant exactly. Did Griffin's dad also rob someone? Was he like a banker, holding someone else's money? I don't think we ever get a clear explanation for this. Regardless, it caused him enough stress for him to take his own life. What a way to end a chapter.

[franciskirkland-deleted]

pls tell us about your take on spamano im on my hands and knees 🙏🧎

just dropped a long post homie <3 but im going to shove random headcanons at u now thanks for enabling my current hyperfixation. also sorry i accidentally posted this before it was ready so i had to take it down and fixed it teehee :3

• i feel like they'd get married on a yacht. i also love when they have a provincial lil life on a farm in the countryside but i just i have this vision of them in their tuxes on this classy ass boat over calm waters on a clear summer's day, popping prosecco with all their guests cheering and toasting them 🥺🥺

• when asked what his favourite part of one another is, toni would say some gay shit like "the way your eyes twinkle when you smirk" and lovi would just be like. "your ass"

• lovi is more uptight about cleanliness but he usually can't be arsed to actually do anything about it. toni can be forgetful and kinda messy, leaving the most random stuff out and making their house cluttered. aka they're both lazy. but they try to split chores pretty evenly and have scheduled cleaning days to make sure their space doesn't get out of hand. they put on their lil aprons and listen to music and always end up dancing 🥺🥺

• they're the couple who will call each other from across the entire house when they need something. toni puts on his sweet voice and lovi screams back at him.

• when antonio serenades lovino with his guitar and soulful singing voice it actually evokes tears in the man. this is not easy to do. we've seen lovino cry in canon but i actually think toni is a wayyy bigger crybaby.

• lovino is a cruel tease; antonio is a coy tease.

• their styles and sizes are pretty similar, so they share clothes often. lovino's fashion sense is slightly more polished, but he's also the kinda guy who sits around in his underwear. except on special occasions, antonio usually dresses more for comfort (think lots of linen and cotton) but of course he looks stunning in anything.

• so as a catholic i'm biased but i do view them (also north italy and france) as devout catholics. their home is covered in intimidating religious imagery. italians do not play when it comes to bleeding crucified jesus figurines.

• antonio is clingy and hates being apart from his husband for too long. they're not allowed (read: can't cope) to eat without one another. no matter how late it'll be after a long day, they need to sit down for a home cooked dinner together.

[fatehbaz]

Was Turkey and its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, always the land of [sedentary villages and commercial agriculture]? [...] What kind of historical processes generated this socioeconomic, political, and environmental transformation in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey? [...] Gratien [...] [narrates] a hundred-year-long (1850s-1950s) clandestine history of state-led “agrarian conquest,” villagization, and commercialization of agriculture in the muddy but fertile lowland of Çukurova (historical Cilicia) and its mountainous hinterland in southern Anatolia. [...]

The frontier in Çukurova, Gratien argues, was a “frontier of the state,” “a settlement frontier,” and an “ecological frontier.” [...] [T]he Ottoman state and its varied practices of governmentality played an engineering role in remaking the rural world, while [...] forced sedentarization (iskan in Turkish) policies were imposed on the region’s pastoralists [...] whose livelihood depended on seasonal migration between the lowlands and highlands. [...] [A] mesh of old and new [...] “[...] forms of resource extraction, and environmental understandings” appeared “in tandem with the processes of state-building [...] and commercialization.” [...]

The mobility of people connected the lowland to the highland pastures, pastoralists to livestock, migrant laborers to cotton, merchants to global capitalism, Muslim refugees to trans-imperial warfare, mosquitos to dreadful malaria, the “rebels” to the mountains, and finally technocrats to the swampy Çukurova.

---

Transhumance migration, referring to seasonal migration between northern and southern pastures, is the first and perhaps one of the most common forms of mobility embedded in this region. [...] The fresh upland air, known as yayla in Turkish, was a green sanctuary for locals [...] during the hot summer months.

During the mid-nineteenth century, the dynamic of this seasonal relationship to lowland swamps shifted with the imposition of Ottoman modernist reform policies intended to turn Çukurova into a “second Egypt” through cotton production. As a result of provincial reforms and the growing centralization capacity of the empire thanks to the Tanzimat reforms (1839-76), the Ottoman state began to forcefully settle the local pastoralist communities that were seen as obstacles to state-led agricultural development projects in the region and as a potential labor reserve for the cultivation of cotton on the “fertile lands” of Cilicia.[5] Ottoman reformists viewed “settlement and cultivation” as “the only antitode of the malarial wastelands of the Ottoman countryside” (p. 58). Gratien chronicles widespread “malaria, cholera, and other diseases” as outcomes of resettlement and villagization and argues that from the 1850s onward these [...] resulted in "high mortality" [...].

---

Though the Ottomans’ forced sedentarization policy toward pastoralists and resettlement [programs] [...] were both designed to increase the commercialization of agriculture in Çukurova, they operated differently as instruments of the imperial state. Sedentarization included state-perpetrated violence in the form of massive military campaigns. Resettlement of refugees involved the strategic settlement of new loyal citizens among indigenous communities of the region whose own loyalty to the empire was seen as suspicious. [...] During the early twentieth century, [...] hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed during the Adana massacre in 1909 and then the Armenian genocide in 1915. With the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians from their historical homelands into Syrian deserts for “putative security concerns,” Çukurova’s fertile lands, villages, and towns in Adana province were instead “permanently settled” with [...] [those] who were identified as “Turks” by the nationalist government (p. 143). This was the second wave of an Ottoman demographic engineering project that started in the 1860s [...] in a region once heavily inhabited by Ottoman Armenians and Muslim pastoralists. [...]

---

Gratien carefully investigates state-led violence against pastoralists instrumentalized by the massive military campaigns of the Fırka-i Islahiye (Reform Division). [...] By consistently incorporating folk songs, laments, and oral accounts, Gratien not only eloquently displays pastoralists’ forms of resistance and resilience against the Ottoman reform movement in Çukurova but also masterfully narrates perceptions and worldviews that have been silenced in the state archive. [...]

---

Text by: Zozan Pehlivan. "Review of Gratien, Chris. The Unsettled Plain: An Environmental History of the Late Ottoman Frontier". H-Environment, H-Net Reviews. August 2023. URL: h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=58142. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[elceeu2morrow]

OCTOBER 25, 2022 BY TIM INGHAM

Did you happen to find yourself in a provincial German discotheque in the early 2000s, somewhere betwixt Berlin and Dresden, watching Rednex – and we say this with a modicum of charity – ‘perform’ Cotton Eye Joe to a wide-eyed dancefloor?

While you were there, did you notice a 19-year-old woman, stood to the side of the throng, with a handbag suspiciously stuffed with tens of thousands of Euros?

If so, we do hope you were polite to her. Because she went on to become one of the most influential international executives in the global music industry.

Today, Dominique Casimir is Chief Content Officer at BMG, and sits on the board of the Bertelsmann-owned music company. Most importantly, she oversees BMG’s ‘repertoire’ (that’s publishing and records) operation in 17 separate territories, including Central Europe, Latam, and the UK. Or to put it in a more succinct way: Casimir runs BMG’s entire music operation everywhere outside North America.

Twenty years ago, such professional heights must have seemed a long way off for Casimir, who had moved to Berlin as a teenager with the initial intention of becoming a doctor. Within a few months, she’d pressed pause on these medical ambitions, and found herself studying an aimless mix of subjects at university, while waitressing in her spare time to pay the rent. One day, a realization hit her: “This leads to nothing.”

Following her innate passion for music, she signed up as an intern for a German talent agency that specialized in booking shows for Swedish pop acts. It was an eye-opening introduction to the music business.

She spent most of her time in a van, “picking up acts like Rednex and [nu-disco trio] Alcazar, and taking them to shady discotheques for playback performances – multiple venues in one night. When we got to each show, I’d been told to [accost] the venue owner: ‘No one goes on stage until the money is in my handbag!’”

This precarious lifestyle was a thrill for Casimir until one December night, still in her teens, she found herself arranging an emergency helicopter to the local hospital. The lead singer of Rednex had succumbed to a life-threatening fever… in a minibus driven by Casimir… which was stuck on the Autobahn… because of an avalanche. Casimir was out of money, out of phone battery – and very nearly out of a lead singer of Rednex.

Somehow, Casimir made it back to her parents’ house in Hamburg that Christmas. And far from being scared off the music industry, she decided to double down. 

Returning to Berlin that New Year, Casimir launched her own successful independent booking and management company – keeping her contacts from Swedish pop-land, while also branching out into management of young German rock bands. She made enough waves over the next half-decade to impress Fremantle, a Bertlesmann-owned TV content company, who hired her to handle sync licensing and music publishing agreements in 2007. 

A year later, her work caught the eye of Hartwig Masuch, who had just become CEO of the ‘new’ BMG, a startup music company backed by Bertelsmann capital. (The ‘old’ BMG was no more, after Universal Music Group acquired its publishing assets in a USD $2.19 billion deal in 2007.)

Today, outside of the major music companies, BMG is arguably the largest music publishing and recorded music entity globally. 

In the first half of 2022, BMG turned over EUR €371 million, up 25% year-on-year, with 40% of that revenue figure coming from recorded music and the remaining 60% from publishing. Its repertoire across publishing and records includes all-time classics from Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Tina Turner, through to modern releases by the likes of George Ezra, Kylie Minogue, Jason Aldean, Slowthai, Lewis Capaldi, Mabel and Louis Tomlinson.

Remarkably, Hartwig Masuch says that BMG had achieved its 25% YoY revenue uplift in H1 2022 “with virtually no hits” – his point being that BMG’s primary focus is not on achieving global chart-toppers, but instead on amplifying the prospects of all its repertoire, regardless of audience size. 

As head of BMG’s repertoire outside the US, Dominique Casimir oversees music that is responsible for around 50% of her employer’s worldwide turnover. 

Many of her most notable moves to date have come in her home nation of Germany. In August, for example, BMG swooped for Telamo, Germany’s largest independent record label and a specialist in Schlager music (often described as Germany’s equivalent of country music in the US). As a result of that deal, BMG now stands as one of the largest label groups in the German market.

Casimir has also personally been at the forefront of BMG’s investment in three significant areas of live music. During the pandemic, she led the majority-acquisition of German live music promoter Undercover. She also led BMG’s backing of the stage musical Ku’Damm 56, which has sold over 200,000 tickets to date, and was recently extended to the end of February 2023.

Most recently, Casimir took the wraps off BMG’s latest foray into live entertainment: The firm has booked out Berlin’s most renowned theater, the 1,600-seat Theater des Westens (TdW), every night until the end of 2024. 

BMG, in conjunction with Bertelsmann, will pack that theatre with live content each week, with a view to emulating the Vegas/Broadway-style ‘residency’ successes of artists in the US such as Bruce Springsteen, Adele, and Celine Dion.

Here, Casimir explains what her early experiences in music taught her about treating artists and why she believes BMG has cracked the right way to do deal-making with artists – as she reveals an interesting theory for why the music industry continues to obsess over weekly charts…

YOU STARTED LIFE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AS A TEENAGER, SITTING IN SPLITTER VANS WITH SWEDISH POP ACTS AND GERMAN ROCK BANDS. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU LEARNED DURING THAT TIME THAT STILL RESONATES WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE TODAY?

Definitely. As a manager [in the early noughties] I saw a totally unbalanced, unfair and super-weird situation: The artist would be putting their entire life into this, and you had the industry – whether that was live or record companies – making all the money and calling all the shots. 

That triggered something in me from minute one. There was this tone from the music industry during that era: We have the power; you, artist, are small. Now shut up while we overrule you, because we know better.

I met lots of anxious artists who were so busy trying to make their A&R at the record company happy. They were delighted when one of these ‘super repertoire’ people from the label visited the show. To the artists, it felt like these label people really could open the gate of magic at a major music company. But that was actually when the trouble would really start!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TROUBLE?

I believe that the most important thing you can have when you’re starting a [commercial] discussion with an artist is clarity. Clarity on what it is we can achieve together, but also clarity on agreeing on a realistic picture – sometimes, a reality check! – on what the best case scenario looks like at the end of a project.

That means not promising the sky and everything in it just to get an artist to sign to you. Because what happens in that scenario is you enter into an ‘us and them’ relationship. Record companies might think [when the artist signs with them] that they have ‘won’ a deal, but if you haven’t invited clarity and honest discussion into the room, you will be left with a huge amount of pressure. And, soon, you will be left with the blame game.

The moment you create a relationship with an artist where there is ‘you’ and not ‘us’, it just won’t work.

Artists are not always super-predictable – that’s part of the reason we all love them so much. But when they know who they are, you can all agree together what the goals are and what the goals aren’t. When they’re willing to get into the ‘boat’ with their [record company partner], when you’re in it together, there is no blame game. You have a recipe for success.

ISN’T THE ‘PROMISING THE MOON’ ELEMENT OF RECORD COMPANY DEALS WITH ARTISTS VERY OFTEN BECAUSE THE ARTIST INVOLVED HAS A LIKELIHOOD OF RELEASING A CHART HIT – OR ALREADY HAS ONE ON THE WAY?

Yes. I know you noticed Hartwig’s comment about BMG not requiring a hit to grow 25% in the first half of this year. That is the new music industry. 

Of course it’s nice for every artist to have a hit, and we’ve had our fair share. But hits come and go, and for some of them [the record labels] massively overpays. Some artists have just one hit in their career, and it’s not even a super-hit. 

You can’t live off that forever, but it might cost you everything because of the way your deal is structured; if that deal, for example, is completely predicated on you having a second hit, with massive expenditure [baked in] at radio. If you don’t get that second hit, you’re toast. 

Think of it from the artist’s perspective: The industry often doesn’t talk nice about artists who don’t get that follow-up hit, especially if a lot of money has been spent trying to get it, and artists know that. A huge part of this industry still spends all its time and attention – and a lot of its money – playing that hits game, and it leads to bad incentives. 

Traditional record label A&R is like cooking spaghetti: throw 10 pieces at the wall and hope one sticks. Those pieces of spaghetti are artists! It needs to change. There are so many ways of making a living for an artist today. Even though it remains really hard to do so, focusing on just the hits and the recorded music charts – in an age when 600,000 new songs a week are going on to streaming services – isn’t a sensible strategy.

WHAT IS A SENSIBLE STRATEGY?

Our perspective is to look at artists and ask: Is there an interesting brand here, an interesting story we can use our expertise to grow around the world?

As an artist, you need as diversified an income as possible – Covid proved to all of us that just relying on live income can quickly be disrupted. It’s not about just living off your vinyl sales or D2C, or Spotify, or ticketing; you need to understand which income streams work best for you, and turn up the volume on all of them.

We don’t just promote records anymore – we promote artist brands.

WHY DO YOU THINK SO MUCH OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON CHARTS AND HITS? SURELY THAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE UNDER YOUR ARGUMENT; THERE MUST BE A SOUND ECONOMIC REASON FOR IT?

One of the reasons I’m so thankful I started out in live is that I got to witness that ‘live moment’ – when eveything you’ve worked on together as a team is realised. You hear the audience; it’s such a direct and satisfying reaction.

That’s something you don’t get when you work in a record company. That’s one reason I think the charts remain so important to friends and colleagues in the record industry – charts are a mirror that tell a team: ‘You’ve done something successful.’

But the truth is the charts only reflect a small proportion of the music industry, and even if you do have chart success, it should only be one part of a much bigger story.

That was made clear to me from the first minute of being interviewed to join BMG. Hartwig was very strong and opinionated: we need to apply expertise and systems to what music IP is, and what an artist identity is. That’s the goal. And we need to do it while being honorable, transparent and offering the best level of service – not overruling or overpowering because ‘we know best’.

WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS WHEN YOU MET HARTWIG?

He was busy choosing the new BMG logo at the time! I remember him turning around and saying, ‘Why do you want to join this new music company.’ And I said: ‘Actually, I’m not really sure why the world needs another major music company.’ That got him going!

He looked and me and said: ‘I will tell you why…’ And that was followed by Hartwig in full inspiration mode: What he wanted, why he thought artists and songwriters deserve it, and the type of people he wanted around him to make it happen. 

SINCE MAY, YOU’VE BEEN CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER OF BMG, OVERSEEING ALL REPERTOIRE OPERATIONS OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA. WHICH MARKETS AROUND THE WORLD ARE YOU MOST EXCITED BY FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE?

Mexico, and Latam more generally, stand out. We announced we would launch BMG Mexico earlier this year, we’re in the process of getting it up-and-running and it is already so much fun. There’s tremendous growth, of course, in LatAm [territories] with many of them growing by more than 30% per year for three years in a row at this point.

Streaming and digitalization of the LatAm markets is generally very advanced. But on the other hand, other parts of the industry – the live business, brands, merch, the sync business – all have room to become much more relevant, and I think we as BMG will really make a difference to that.

YOU MENTION LIVE: BMG HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES INTO LIVE IN ITS HOME MARKET IN THESE PAST FEW YEARS, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR MAJORITY ACQUISITION OF UNDERCOVER, AND MORE RECENTLY WITH YOUR TWO-YEAR RESIDENCY OF THE BERLIN THEATRE WHERE YOU’VE SEEN SUCCESS WITH THE KU’DAMM 56 MUSICAL.

Germany is a good country for us to test things. It’s the fourth biggest music market in the world, and in some years it’s the third [overtaking the UK]. 

What we’re trying here with Bertelsmann, is to ask: Can we extend what we do in rights management in music to the live business? Because from a marketing and promotion and storytelling perspective that idea makes a lot of sense. We’re very good at that in [music rights]. And then another thing we’re very good at is financial transparency, and I think there’s a need for that in the live world. And we found a company [in Undercover] just like us. The first meeting I had with [Undercover founder Michael Schacke], he said: ‘We are about fairness and 100% transparency. Our artists can come and audit us anytime.’ 

One big annoying needle in every artist’s foot in live is the consumer data. There’s a huge amount of valuable fan data created in the process of selling tickets, but it’s often difficult for artists and managers to access that information. We are trying to crack that open with some artists, and get the fullest picture possible of their fanbase, so we can really optimise their income streams.

Our involvement in live concert promotion is the opposite of a ‘360’ deal structure: We offer live promotion and agency services on an opt-in basis to our [recorded music and publishing] artists. We hope those artists do opt-in, because we think we’re offering a lot of added value. But it’s their choice and if it doesn’t suit them that’s fine.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST STORIES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY THIS YEAR HAS BEEN THE REVIVAL OF KATE BUSH’S RUNNING UP THAT HILL VIA A STRANGER THINGS SYNC OVER THE SUMMER. WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THAT, AND HOW EVEN THOUGH IT’S A ‘CATALOG’ RECORD, IT EXPLODED LIKE A NEW STREAMING HIT AMONGST MILLIONS OF TEENAGERS WHO WERE HEARING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME?

It’s a beautiful dynamic, and it’s not about ‘catalog’ or ‘frontline’. Kate Bush is an icon and an iconic brand. The question for this new generation of consumers, and those in the music business working to maximize this moment’s potential is: What’s the core of the brand? Why why did she have such a cultural impact? What’s the essence of this artist’s appeal? 

I translate that to what we’re doing with Tina Turner [whose music interests BMG acquired last year]. What is the essence of why people feel so strongly and so connected to Tina Turner (pictured)? We’re talking about a premium brand here, and a brand that comes with very strong emotional attributes attached to it. Obviously, it’s about the music, but it’s about more than the music.

So, again, that’s the question: Why was an artist so culturally impactful in the first place? Once you can answer that, you go from there.

[sunnysssol]

I wanted to talk a little more about this piece, specifically to add some more context and some more headcanons. … And yes, this may have been a long segue to simply make a post about fashion. This post is also quite long! I started writing this when that post first went up, then I supplemented everything with examples and sources and kept rewriting so so many points as I went along sjbfjf. Please know that i'm not an expert! Please feel free to correct me, but please do so politely. Everything is under the cut <3

To begin with, the era is the 18th century. Sewing machines are not really a thing yet, so clothing was, naturally, handmade. Tailoring was a must, but other factors such as structure provided by one's underclothes and how often garments needed and could be washed played significant roles as well. For example, the shift or chemise was a long rectangular garment, usually made of cotton or linen. It served as one’s primary undergarment and so was washed the most often. This was a garment worn by men and women in different styles. And though it’s described as an undergarment, it’s usually men’s shirts as well. You can think of the shift or chemise as a pre-modern equivalent of a white shirt or a camisole top, only these were longer and roomier. The cotton or linen material was easy to wash, inexpensive, and provided the wearer with an extra layer of warmth and protection.

Beginning with Alfred, I wanted his clothing to feel like the “in-between” being his father’s son (thus the red undertones and the ruffles on his cuffs) but also, considerably more “provincial”. While they considered themselves British, the British in the mainland thought that the colonists were "uncouth", or lesser than those in the mainland. When the British began to impose more taxes upon goods created in Britain that were being shipped off to the colonies, many colonists who could no longer afford it turned to creating their own versions of things, such as fabrics and tea, using materials and resources available to them. This would likely be more obvious if it were Francis I was comparing him to, but Alfred’s clothing is still a subtle callback to English nobility who usually preferred a more “modest” style of dress compared to the more extravagant French style of dress. The lack of extravagant embroidery commonly associated with the 18th century in popular zeitgeist is intentional. Going through with a comparison, the red in Arthur’s clothing is far richer and more of a true red than Alfred’s, which looks a little more like a maroon color. And perhaps it’s the cravats or the scalloped hems of the ruffling on Arthur’s outfit, but overall I wanted to give a fancier, “vampire”-ish vibe for him (and Wilfred by extension!). I can also more easily picture someone helping Arthur get dressed with the ruffles (the ones on the cuffs were usually add-ons!) as opposed to Alfred.

Arthur’s hair is also more “neatly” styled than Alfred’s. I honestly debated a little whether to put Arthur (and everyone else) in a powdered wig, which would’ve been historically accurate, but ultimately decided against it for artistic purposes but also out of practicality as both Arthur and Wilfred are very practical men. Practical men currently at war, too. It is important to note that not everyone wore powdered wigs, many people simply opted to powder their hair itself, especially towards the end of the century. A prominent example is George Washington, who was a natural redhead who simply powdered his hair instead of wearing a wig. Though it’s cheaper than wigs, it was still a messy and time-consuming process and often required the help of another or multiple people. The process itself was done by coating the hair in hair lotion typically created from some type of animal fat or oil and fragrance, then the hair was dusted with powder. White or gray were the most popular colors, but there are some records of black, brown, blue, pink and other colors being used. After that, it was styled however one saw fit. I believe Alfred’s “messier” hair contributes to the overall “dressed-down” vibe but at the same time, the lack of powder is also indicative of his age. Young people weren’t usually expected to powder their hair or to wear wigs, thus the lack of powder on his and Suzie’s hair.

Speaking more on hair, Suzie’s is quite the attention-grabber, considering it’s quite elaborate when compared to the men’s low ponytails. But, it’s still not exactly “100% extravagant snobby noble realness” either, since as a colonist, Suzie would have been surrounded by women who wore their hair in a similar way. She then would’ve stuck to that as opposed to how nobles in mainland Britain might’ve. I mentioned before that wealthy people of this time would’ve had attendants dressing them, but didn’t mention it for Suzie. I believe Wilfred personally thought of the possibility of Suzie not having access to anyone to assist her whilst he was training her for her role, so he elected to limit the size of his household in Massachusetts to only a handful of people, including any tutors Suzie might’ve had. And even then, these people were replaced semi-regularly. He wanted Suzie to become independent and to learn and get accustomed to these things as quickly as possible. So it’s likely that the lack of any other fanfare to Suzie’s hair and clothing is because she’d styled and dressed herself.

Her clothing is also a lot less extravagant looking compared to the iconic elaborate and very distinctly shaped gowns of the time, and this is because this particular style of dress is, well, English. Aptly named “robe à l'anglaise”, this was the common style of dress amongst British nobility, and this extended to the colonists too. It’s close fitting at the front and the back, the bodice and stomacher tapering in the middle. Compared against the robe à la française, there’s no long train of box-pleated, loose fabric at the back (ex. a and ex. b), and the silhouette formed mainly through layers and only subtle padding instead of hoops or panniers. The pattern is based on this, English in origin. Her dress was likely shipped in, specifically for this occasion. Suzie at this time (roughly 16 years old) would’ve already learned how to sew thanks to her special upbringing, but a tailored gown created by a professional seamstress as opposed to a handmade one would create a better impression upon the son of a lord, wouldn’t it? And, I felt very cheeky for this one, but the only reason I chose to put her in a blue dress is… well. Though her alliances remain firmly loyal to the empire up until the midpoint of the Revolution, just think of it as a bit of a subtle foreshadowing of events ;p

And finally, there’s the main focus of the piece itself-- the handshake. This exchange could’ve been a signing of papers. A curtsy and a kiss on the back of the hand, maybe. Or even a quiet exchange unbeknownst to them, only to be then imposed upon them like a death sentence. But instead, it’s a handshake. Alfred and Susannah met in person, quite literally saw each other eye-to-eye, exchanged names and purpose and shook on it. Suggesting not just business and mutual benefit, but also peaceful intent, the handshake is a gesture among equals. The sealing of a bond or a mutual oath. Showing the other that one means no harm, that their hands hold no weapon. And should they ever hold one, may it not be against the other. With this, they are agreeing to work together, through the good and the tough times, though they don’t say this outright. It’s understood silently later on, as they both begin to find their place among the tumult of one another’s life and the tides of history.

 … And for a final comment, drawing Alfred with considerably less beef than usual was very strange. He’s not a twink (this dog doesn’t know how to draw twinks in the first place!) but he’s not quite at his final, full 100% USDA-Graded Prime All-American Beef™ form just yet either. Very strange indeed!!!

[retropickens]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: APRIL CORNELL Pink Natural Harvest Fruit French Country Floral Table Runner.

[trastornadosrevista]

TURF presenta "POLVO DE ESTRELLAS"

El primer programa interestelar de entrevistas y shows musicales, conducido por el mismísimo Joaquin Levinton. Bienvenidos al episodio 1 con Milo J:  "PASOS AL COSTADO"

Reinventándose una vez más, viviendo un excelente presente, totalmente vigente y aggiornado, Turf vuelve a sorprender con un nuevo desafío: un álbum de sus más grandes éxitos con colaboraciones de lujo. Se trata de Polvo de Estrellas una mega producción sonora y audiovisual, un gran show de TV compuesto por varios episodios, cuyo anfitrión es nada más ni nada menos que Joaquín Levinton quien con su gran carisma sorprenderá a los invitados con ocurrentes preguntas, un concepto que sin dudas será espectacular como su nombre lo indica, cuya dirección audiovisual está a cargo de Gonzalo Llamas Sebesta. Nuevas versiones de sus clásicos interpretadas junto a artistas de diferentes generaciones y estilos celebrando el repertorio de la banda, sus hits imbatibles.

Como primer adelanto, el episodio 1 “Pasos al costado” junto a Milo J, producida artísticamente por Nico Cotton, estará disponible desde el miércoles 2 de octubre en todas las plataformas.

"Pasos al costado" editada originalmente en el disco "Para mí para vos" en el 2004, considerada como una de las 50 mejores canciones del rock argentino de la década del 2000 y cántico por excelencia utilizado por las hinchadas de fútbol de Argentina, Uruguay, Brasil, México y hasta en Japón; es el tema elegido para dar el puntapié inicial a esta nueva producción discográfica, nada más y nada menos que junto a Milo J, cantante y compositor argentino de sólo 17 años, talento indiscutido de la nueva generación de artistas en Latinoamérica, quien aportó su impronta al tema y lo elevó a otro nivel.

Con respecto a la idea de invitar a Milo J a colaborar en este single emblemático, Joaquín Levinton expresa: "Mi acercamiento con la música de Milo fue a partir de lo que hizo con Bizarrap cuando me llamó muchísimo la atención la letra, lo que él tenía para decir, empecé a escuchar sus canciones y realmente me emocionaron. A raíz de eso lo fui a ver al Movistar Arena y conocí a Milo y su pandilla. Luego comenzamos a encontrarnos en otros ámbitos y empezamos a conocernos más. Cuando con Turf nació la idea de hacer este disco, la primera colaboración que pensamos inmediatamente fue en él". 

Próximas fechas Turf:

12/10 Harlem Festival, Santa Fe

13/10 Fiesta Nacional de La Cerveza, Villa General Belgrano

26/10 Festival Bandera, Rosario

14/11 Malandar, Sevilla, España

15/11 Mon, Madrid, España

17/11 Kafe Antzokia, Bilbao, España

22/11 Zero, Tarragona, España

23/11 Madison, Valencia, España

24/11 Razzmatazz, Barcelona, España

6/12 Fiesta Provincial de la Cerveza, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza

15/2 Cosquín Rock, Santa María de Punilla, Córdoba

23/3 Lollapalooza Chile

[bookmytour01]

Dubai's Shopping: From Traditional Souks to Modern Malls

Picture yourself waking up in the morning and strolling through the crowded mazes of both open air markets involving bargaining of spices, gold and textiles; then having the option to shop at some of the world's largest malls in the afternoon.

Shopping enthusiast, brace yourself for this amazing destination on earth – Shopping destination in the world – Dubai. Whether this will be your maiden trip or you are a frequent flier, Dubai shopping is something that you will definitely not forget.

But what makes a shopping experience in Dubai different from any other parts of the world? So, let’s start exploring numerous and unique shops, ranging from traditional souks and modern shopping malls.

Exploring Traditional Souks

The old fashioned Dubai souks are a good insight into the cultural history of the city which provide a clamoring provincial encounter. For instance, the Gold Souk is not only a market, but it also represents the nickname of the city: the “City of Gold.” There are lined shops housing gold jewelry, diamonds, and gems, which have master designers making beautiful patterns to represent Dubai’s love for luxury.

Onwards, find your way to the Spice Souk, a portion of the bazaar filled with the smell of saffron, cinnamon , and other spices. The spices are brightly coloured and sitting in a lively environment this souk is a must see for all those interested in great food and amazing photographs. The purchase price is also negotiable – it is expected from the buyers!

Another worth visiting is the Textile Souk in Bur Dubai which also boasts different fabrics, pashminas and other local costumes. The shop sells various silk, cotton, and embroidered textiles and is especially recommended for fashion and design enthusiasts.

Luxury Shopping Destinations

Dubai shopping malls owe this to this simple fact that Dubai is associated with luxury. The Dubai Mall, the largest shopping mall in the world , which attracts millions of domestic as well as international tourists is a tourist attraction in its own right.

This mall has more than 1200 outlets, a skating rink, Dubai aquarium and the most stunning Dubai fountains, by which one can easily get lost. Whether you are a fashion conscious lady hunting for designer wear by Chanel or Louis Vuitton or one who likes to dine in the best restaurants then shopping can only be better experienced in The Dubai Mall.

Another well-known shopping district is the Mall of the Emirates, which features Ski Dubai – the Middle East’s first indoor skiing slope. Of course, it is possible to ski in the desert – only in Dubai. This mall is a complete blend of luxury outlets and the most recognized retail brands, thus frequented by the population and guests of the city.

For luxury shopping go to the Dubai Design District (d3) which provides a limited list of designers’ boutiques and art galleries. d3 is mostly associated with creative industries, which is where the concept of fashion shopping has its roots.

Bargain Hunting in Dubai

Contrary to what many might think, Dubai is not only all about glamor; it’s also a shoppers’ paradise especially with good things coming cheap. People visit the Karama Market in search of the overwhelming variety of souvenirs, leather ware and copies of expensive brands for a relatively cheaper price. This is the one and only market to fine tune your bargaining skills and get those great discounts.

Also, the Dragon Mart is another popular item on the list of cheap places to shop in Seoul; it is a giant shopping mall that sells electronics, home utensils, furniture, and almost everything at a throwaway price. Affordable yet stylish is the shop of choice when one is in Dubai; Dragon Mart boasts of having over 3,500 shops for all your shopping needs.

For those who are fashion conscious, The Outlet Village is the place to be because they are selling brands at cheaper prices. Promoting up to 90% off in designer labels, this is a large Tuscan themed mall in Jebel Ali whose allure is fashion lovers.

Unique Boutiques and Artisan Shops

Apart from the glamor and glitz of the large brands and outlets that dominate the shopping scene in Dubai, the city also boasts of small and Independent boutiques and artisanal stores.

For creative shops, arts, fashion and fine art you should visit Alserkal Avenue in Al Quoz where you will see independent retailers’ mini malls with pop-ups, artwork of Arabic artists and furniture makers. This is a perfect bookstore to come and see unique pieces from jewelry made by hand to contemporary art.

But there is one more colorful oasis that has not been unveiled, yet, and it is a weekly farmers’ market called Ripe Market. Here, one can buy organic foods, local seasonal vegetables, and fruits as well as visit local artists and pick unique handcrafted food and other products while enjoying local music festivals and activities that are good for families.

For those that enjoy a personal touch of Dubai shopping with an impressively luxurious edge, visit The Galleria in the Jumeirah region. It is a small retail center with unique shops, where many of the brands represented maintain their own studio and workshops. Whether it is custom-designed diamond jewelry or designer clothes, The Galleria gives shopping that is one level up more personal.

Shopping Festivals and Events

With festivals and events, Dubai adds an extra dimension of shopping to the shopping cities. The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is the largest shopping festival in the city with millions of people attending the event annually. DSF is usually conducted in the months of January and February and it included great discounts passing through raffle draws as well as entertainment in turning the city to a shoppers’ haven. Not only is DSF about shopping, it is about great fireworks that follow fireworks, fashion shows and much more.

One of the famous and liked ones is the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) that is held during the Summer. DSS has working vouchers for all stores known across the malls of Karachi, and fun activities such as drama shows, awareness programs and Quests for children.

For this category of people, there is no better event to attend than the Arab Fashion Week. This fashion exhibition is biannual and features wear from the most popular Middle Eastern designers; many fashion lovers from across the globe attend it.

Conclusion

Dubai is a city that still has a traditional face and at the same time a very modern one. While Dubai’s traditional markets represent one extreme of the city’s shopping typology, the spectacular ultra-modern Dubai malls represent the other.

Whether you are looking for a good sale or just an enjoyable shopping trip where you just love to find an unusual item, there is something for everyone in Dubai. Well, next time you’ll feel the urge to go on a shopping spree in that colorful piece of paradise, don’t just go down to the sites, but be a part of the dynamism and energy of Dubai.

After all, in Dubai, or at least in shopping malls of this wonderful city, shopping is not just a process, but a memory. When in Dubai, visit these malls, along with going for a evening desert safari with BBQ dinner and much more.

[angiehomes83]

Elevate Your Home with Premium Rugs & Carpets

A very much picked floor covering or rug can change a room, adding warmth, surface, and a hint of luxury. Whether you're hoping to refresh your residing space or add an assertion part of another home, putting resources into premium rugs and carpets is a choice you will love. Here is a manual for grasping the advantages and picking the right one for your home.

Why Pick Premium Rugs and Carpets?

1. Quality and Strength

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Step by step instructions to Pick the Right Premium Floor covering or Rug

1. Think about the Room

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Really focusing on Your Premium Floor covering or Rug

1. Customary Cleaning

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Direct daylight can blur the shades of your mat over the long haul. Use window medicines to shield your floor covering from delayed openness to daylight.

End

Putting resources into premium rugs and carpets is a magnificent method for upgrading the excellence and solace of your home. With their strength, stylish allure, and added warmth, they are an immortal option to any stylistic theme. Take as much time as necessary to pick the ideal piece that mirrors your style and supplements your space.

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Marketing Abaca Fiber: Insights from Caraga Region Farmers

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the marketing practices and the profitability of establishing Abaca in the Caraga Region. A total of One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty-Six (1256) farmers, Seventy-Seven (77) traders, and three (3) processors were interviewed as the respondents of the study. Their names were obtained from the Philippine Fiber Development Authority (PhilFIDA) and the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) of the concerned municipalities of the Region. Data gathering activities included interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs), and stakeholder forums were conducted to validate and gather additional information. The said Focus Group Discussion and Stakeholders’ Forum were attended by the farmers, officers in various cooperatives, traders, representatives from the regional line offices, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Municipal Agriculture Offices (MAO), Academe, Provincial Agriculture Officer. In the Caraga Region, abaca traders are situated in Agusan del Norte 28 or 36.36%, Agusan del Sur 25 or 32.47%, Surigao del Sur 24 or 31.17% and no traders in the province of Surigao del Norte. The one who sets the price for abaca fiber is the trader/buyer 99.28 % and only 0.71% sets by the farmer. The means of contacting buyers are referrals by the farmers 32.96%; traders will come to the farmers 27.46%, recommended by the Local Government Unit (LGU) 23.88%, and traders who are known by the cooperatives 15.68%. The buyers’ requirements in buying abaca fibers are quality 63.69% and volume 36.30%. Traders engage in buying Abaca for more than 15 years or 38.5%; 1-5 years, 30.12%; 11-15 years, 18.07% and 6-10 years, 13.25%. The means of transporting abaca fiber is through motorcycles 43.37% and hired trucks 56.61%. The estimated monthly volume sold is 1- 5 metric tons or 92.77% and 6 – 10 metric tons. The farmer’s Abaca fibers through Barangay or Municipal Traders, Cooperatives/Consolidators, Baling and Grading Establishment, Processors, and exporters. The issues and concerns for the traders are the following: classification and grading of fiber, cheating abaca bundles where stones inserted to increase weights, abaca fiber not adequately dried, and piles of Abaca are mixed with other fibers. The profitability of abaca farming for 1 hectare /year is the average of P48,000 for a typical farm, while for a good farm is P115,200 – 192,000.

Introduction

The "Manila hemp," known internationally for its world-class fiber, continues to be one of the priority agricultural commodities of the Department of Agriculture (DA). The Philippines supplies more than 87.4 percent of the total abaca fiber market and earns more than $111.33 million in global abaca trade annually (PCA, 2017).

In 2022, as per PhilFIDA data, Caraga ranked third among the top abaca-producing regions in the country with an estimated 10,000 metric tons (MT) of fiber production, next to Bicol Region (1st) and Davao Region (2nd).

Abaca is in great demand in the world market today because of its lucrative value in industries such as making security papers, paper money, ropes, insulators, and other handicrafts. The most important part of the Abaca is the stalk which is the source of the fiber. Abaca fiber is superior to all other natural fibers because of its great strength and its resistance to the action of water. It is three times stronger than cotton, the most potent natural fiber. 

The country’s overall fiber production is estimated at 62,640.63MT, remaining the top abaca-producing country, supplying 85% of the fiber demand in the world.

Pulp, which accounts for 69.2 percent market share of the abaca exports, has reported earnings of $ 79.4 million or an increase of 11.7 percent. Abaca cordage, which grabbed a market share of 10 percent, fell to $ 11.4 million. Fiber crafts exports also fell 67.3% to $3.7 million (The Philippine Star, 2016). The pulp manufacturing industry is the leading end-user of abaca fiber, followed by cordage manufacturing and fiber craft industry. It was reported that due to the increasing use of abaca fiber in specialty paper manufacturing, the demand for fiber among pulp manufacturers is constantly surging, and the trend is expected to prevail in 2014-2019. Among the leading abaca fiber suppliers, Ching Bee Trading Corporation dominates the market in the Philippines, followed by Tag Fibers, Inc. and Selinrail International. 

For the past half-decade, the Abaca industry helped boost the country’s economy from its export earnings with an annual average of P4.7 billion, mainly in the Visayas and Mindanao Islands. Abaca fibers are cultivated across 176,549 hectares of farmlands by over 122,758 farmers. Moreover, in recent years, it has been perceived that aside from the substantial contributions of Abaca to the economy, its utilization can also provide numerous ecological advantages (www.philfida.da.gov.ph, 2019).

With the continuing development of the fiber craft industry in the Philippines, the abaca fiber market has been witnessing a boost due to the growing demand for gifts, toys, and housewares. Moreover, increasing consumer inclination for lifestyle products is further expected to strengthen the growth trend for abaca crafts in the coming years. There are only two significant exporters of abaca fiber in the world – the Philippines and Ecuador, with the Philippines accounting for over 80% of the global production of abaca fiber. In the Philippines, the abaca plant is cultivated across 130 thousand hectares of land by over 90 thousand farmers. 

Asia Pacific was the largest market for abaca fiber in terms of production and consumption over the past few years, and the trend is expected to continue over the forecast period. The Philippines, the world's largest abaca producer, hold a significant market share in Asia Pacific. A considerable portion of produced abaca fiber in the Philippines is internally consumed, while a substantial amount is exported to various countries, including U.S., Japan, and other European countries. The Philippine government supports initiatives to increase high-quality abaca fiber production levels for domestic consumption and export. This is expected to strengthen its market positioning further and open market opportunities for new players over the next seven years (Erie News, 2019).

Thus, this undertaking is critical to fill the data gaps of the recently conducted Value Chain Analysis of the Commodity in the Region. Profiling tells us the actual scenario of how many abaca farmers engaged in this commodity, what support programs they availed in our present administration, what they need, and what other issues and concerns so that our government can also make some intervention programs for our abaca industry.

Major end-user industries of abaca fiber include paper and pulp, fibercraft, and cordage. The paper and pulp industry is the largest end-user industry for abaca fiber, followed by cordage manufacturing and fiber craft industry. Increasing the application scope of abaca fiber in specialty paper manufacturing is likely a critical factor driving demand for abaca fibers in the paper & pulp industry. The rising market for cordage in industrial applications, including the production of ropes for ships, is expected to boost its demand over the next seven years.

Source : Farmers practices in marketing Abaca fiber in Caraga Region

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