I came to this conclusion (cited above) after renovating my home-office and noticing how my productivity skyrocketed to a level I never knew existed. It was only after I got myself a more comfortable chair, a bigger desk and a nice desktop lamp that I started to understand how I willingly undermined my workflow with my previous setup.

Designers, developers, writers, and anyone who spends a considerable amount of time in front of their computers should pay attention to effective workspace design. For some, effective could mean a really comfortable chair and a minimalistic setup, for others, whose jobs may be more creative-driven, a heavily personalized scene is required to max out their potential.

In this article we’re bringing you a huge collection of some of the most inspiring, productive, and impressive workspace designs we’ve ever seen. But not only that, we’ve also listed some workspace design tips that will help you become better inspired and more productive.

1. Keep Your Desk Clean & Tidy

A cluttered desk is the deadliest of all sins in workspace organization and a great way to clog up your inspiration. Get rid of unnecessary items so you can focus more on the task at hand. Getting distracting objects out of your eye-sight and placing the monitor as your primary attention target will help you procrastinate less and do more.

2. Room Lightning

This is perhaps the most prominent aspect in all of the wonderful workspaces featured in this article. If you’ve been blessed with a room that gets enough sunlight, proper design will help you take advantage of it without the glaring effects. If you’re working from your basement though, a nicely designed desktop lamp is necessary to reduce eye-strain.

Editor’s Tip: fluorescent will kill your creativity!

3. Choose a Decent Chair & Adjust it (Mind Your Posture)

The chair you’re sitting on is the most used item in your workspace, even more than your computer! You can (and probably should) go frugal with any other item in your workspace, but spending a few extra bucks on a comfortable, durable chair will be your best long-term investment. Be kind to your back.

Editor’s Tip: Adjust your chair so you’re not constantly slouching with your shoulders forward.

4. Mouse-Pad & Ergonomic Keyboard: Don’t Hurt Your Wrists!

People who spend long hours working in front of their computers may develop CTS: “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome”, which comes with a long list of painful symptoms and is caused by pressure overload on your median nerve (the nerve passing between your wrist and hand). Make sure you’re using an ergonomic keyboard, and that you have a mouse-pad with wrist-support. Your wrists should always be straight (never bent!) while typing/using your mouse.

5. Keep Necessary Items Within Reach

One of our previous tips commands eliminating all unnecessary clutter, but another surefire way to interrupt your thought process and workflow is spending time and effort looking for something to write on or write with. Always have a pen, a notepad, and necessary work-related items within arm-reach.

6. Go Cordless, or At Least Tangle-less.

Take a look at the workspaces in this article, notice any cords in most of them? And no wonder: good luck going back to your design or copywriting project after spending 10 minutes untangling five different cords so you could finally move your mouse cursor. If you can’t afford a cordless keyboard or mouse, take care of the cords’ visibility and placement.

7. Your Desktop Matters, too!

Your digital desktop, that is. Keep it as icon-free as possible and get yourself an inspiring desktop wallpaper every once in a while. The “less clutter = more productivity” rule applies here as well.

Editor’s Tip: Minimalism can be great, just make sure you don’t remove day-to-day essentials

8. Your Workspace is Yours, Make it Your Own

Your workspace should feel comfortable and look attractive to you; after all, you’ll spend much of your time here. Well-adjusted room temperature, humidity and fresh air flow are a good start. From there, it’s up to you to create the ideal working conditions that make you comfortable: what kind of lightning do you prefer, dimmed or strong? What color should it be? Should the wall behind your screen be bright or dark? Clean or filled with artwork and photographs of your loved ones?

9. Music & Noise

We’ve included music and noise together because sometimes music can become a distraction. If, however, there’s a specific genre that helps you stay focused, build a long enough playlist so you don’t have to deal with it while working. Eliminate other noise disturbances and maintain a peaceful working environment.

Note: All images  were collected from Deskography.org

Michael McLeod

Desmond Arsan

Pavel Ciorici

Mark Nutter

Christoph Spiegl

Oliver F.

Dimo Trifonov

Brian Cajulis

Andreas Maks

Wladislaw Sokolowskij

Vince

Mike Svensson

Jason Schuller

Drew Tempelmeyer

Christoph Spiegl

Azrul Arifin

Jason T

Robb Hohmann

Michael Hetherington

Matt Zanchelli

Maik Fahldieck

Kai Müller

Txuma Campos

Klaus De Buysser

M .

Travis Isaacs

Remon de Vries

Josh Janssen

Robin Papa

Thibaut Ninove

Conclusion

Truly motivating inspiration is hard to come by these days, and if your workspace looks or feels anything like mine before the renovation, you’re doing more than enough to clog up any bit of creativity that would’ve found its way to your head. Take a look around you, are you inspired? Comment below and let us know! Please don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS-feed and follow Inspirationfeed on Twitter+ Facebook (100% Spam Free!) If you enjoyed the following article we humbly ask you to help us spread the word by sharing this article with your peers!

LED Planter by Konstsmide

Buy $14.95

Dear Photograph by Taylor Jones

We all have moments we wish we could relive. We’d give anything to skid down the toboggan hills of our youth, to breathe in the smell of our children as babies, or to spend just one more minute with someone we’ve lost. Dear Photograph provides a way to link these memories from the past to the present, overlapping them to see how the daydreams of our memories collide with our current realities.

The idea is simple: hold up a photograph from the past in front of the place where it was originally taken, take a second photograph, and add a sentence of dedication about what the photograph means to you. The results, however, are astounding, which is why millions have flocked to dearphotograph.com and thousands have submitted their own Dear Photographs.

Buy $12.99

Solar Powered Boombox by Eton Rukus

The Eton Rukus Solar is a portable Bluetooth sound system with a high-efficiency solar panel, so you can play your tunes all day long. Take it out to the park, to a tailgate, or use it at home with this self-powered sound system.

Buy $150

USB Power Strip

Universal USB Charger 10 plugs fit most mobile devices. Assorted random- pink; green; blue & orange.

Buy $15.49

On The Rock Glass Set

Final Touch has created this special glass with a rock formation in the bottom which creates a natural liquid motion increasing the nosing of aromas. Included is silicone ice mould to create a solid ice ball that outlasts traditional ice cubes. The shape of this glass makes rolling the ice ball easy without spilling. A slight hand movement rolls the ice ball around the rock evenly and cools your favorite beverage to perfection.

Buy $20

Mr P Tape Dispenser

Mr. P does pilate-style sit-ups using a roll of tape.

Buy $35.00

The Murf Watch by Nixon

No more fiddling with miniature turn dials; the Nixon Men’s Murf Watch is designed with an extra-large push button screw crown for extra style and convenience. High quality Japanese quartz arm movement ticks around the face which displays hour, minute, and LED light. The Murf’s large square face is half covered with a stainless steel giving it a unique look that stands out. Keep Nixon’s sharp style safe on your wrist with its butterfly clasped stainless steel band.

Buy $399.95

The Avengers USB Sticks

2012 Avengers Marvel Sticks: Iron man, Thor, America Captain, Hulk.

Buy $39.99

iPhone Fan

Brand new cool dock fan for your iPhone iPod iPad # The Fan is rotatable, and the wing is soft, so it is safe. It is a most popular iphone gadgets this summer!

Buy $6.25

Hammer Screwdriver Combination Tool

Gam’s Claw Hammer and Screwdriver Combination Tool provides six tools in one: a hammer, a claw, and four screwdrivers. In this model, the two largest screwdrivers have a Phillips head. This tool has solid brass handles and tempered steel blades and is rust resistant.

Buy $16.00

iPhone Pinball Magic Game

The Pinball Magic accessory is the most realistic experience your iPhone or iPod touch has ever known. Realistic machine cabinet with folding legs for easy transport and storage. Download the free app from the App Store online store.

Buy $31.22

Android Robot USB Device Charger

Andru is a spectacular phone charger made especially for Android phones, though he’ll gladly charge any phone or USB-powered device. His included cable has a micro-USB plug, but you can use your own if your device requires it. Let him keep you company at your desk, playfully tousle his antennae, tell him your problems.

Buy $25.00

Pocket Projector for iPhone 4

Pocket Projector for iPhone 4 Devices. Easy to usejust dock your iPhone 4 device and project on any surface. Our Pocket Projector for iPhone 4 is perfect for on-the-go travel entertainment. Its super-bright 15-lumen LED projector lamp ensures clearer, more brilliant images than other pico projectors. 640×360 native display resolution projects up to 50″ images. Focus adjustment lets you control image clarity while the integrated 0.5W speaker delivers the audio. Great for keeping kids entertained with their favorite videos on the road! Rechargeablepowers your device, too! The Pocket Projectors built-in 2100mAh battery charges via USB connection with the included cord. When fully charged, the projector may also be used as a back-up battery for your iPhone 4 device. Take your video to go with our Pocket Projector for iPhone 4.

Buy $209

LawnBott SpyderEvo Lawnmower

The LawnBott LB1500 SpyderEVO robotic mower makes mowing the grass a thing of the past. Simply stake down the included perimeter wire around your lawn and any areas you don’t want to cut; flower gardens, landscaped areas, swimming pools, etc. Place the LB1500 SpyderEVO in the yard and turn it on, that’s it.

Buy $1,799.00

Duck Tea Infuser

Enjoy preparing a delicious cup of tea with this fun floating ducky tea infuser from RSVP. Fill this little ducky’s mesh infuser halfway with coarse tea leaves and place in your tea cup. Once the tea leaves are saturated the duck will float upright. When not in use, the duck ‘floats’ on a blue water base. This infuser makes a great gift for any tea aficionado.

Buy $9

Bolt Action Tactical Pen

Brand New Boker Plus CID .45 Cal Ball Point Pen with a sleek Titanium Gray finish. Overall length 5″ (12.7 cm). Features a bolt action mechanism and click open and close. The flat pen head provides a secure thumb rest. The clip integrated design (CID) offers the advantage of easy placement in your pocket. The sturdy clip has minimal give to provide a comfortable draw resistance in normal tactical or denim pants pockets. The body of the pen is hard coat anodized aluminum. Designed by Rainer Wenning and knife maker Thomas Braunagel who have put a twist on tactical writers. Black ink cartridge and a black gift box with concealed magnetic closure is included.

Buy $47.99

Green LED Faucet Valve Night Light

A great attention-getter for guests, and it gives off ample light to use as a night light. This would make a perfect gift for that handyman, contractor, landscaper, or hard-to-buy-for person.

Buy $8

MacBook Air Compact Mirror

Macbook Air Mirror has no sophisticated technology, but it is Apple big fans’ must-have item.

Buy $11.98

Money Stacks Backpack

Sprayground The Money Stacks Backpack in Black,Bags (Messenger/Utility) for Unisex. The only thing you will get asked is, “Where did you get your bag?” Be prepared to carry in confidence!

Buy $50.00

Nixie Tube Desk Clock

Release your inner geek! Nixie tubes were considered cold cathode tubes filled with neon gas with a wire mesh anode and a set of very intricate cathodes in the shape each of the numerals to be displayed.  The tubes mount in a unique double set of boards that can be easily integrated into your own enclosure or equipment. Unlike today’s digital displays that run on a few volts, these Nixie tubes have an anode voltage of 180VDC, and the clock should not be displayed turned on without a suitable enclosure! Ouch!

Buy $139.95

Picnic Table Condiment Set

Buy $15

Handtrux Backhoe

These unique sandbox sized dirt machines look and work just like the Big Iron and with the patented handraulic power-grip hidden inside each machine, you can really do precision digging and excavate sand, loose dirt and mud! Ages 4+

Buy $16.26

Spilt Milk Bowl

Fred and Friends. Designed like an accident in progress. Spilt Milk will add a splash of fun to your table. It’s made from soft, flexible silicone that’s practically indestructable. 6-inch by 3-inch, perfect for a helping of Cheerios.

Buy $13.06

Portal 2 Bookends

Wherever you’re going (or wherever you’ve been) its nice to come home to a tidy and organized book shelf. These 6-inch tall bookends don’t just look good, they are fully functional! This would greatly for your gaming room to hold up video games.

Buy $32.95

Samurai Sword Letter Opener

Stainless Steel Samurai Ninja Sword Letter Opener with Plastic Stand.

Buy $9.99

Morning Bytes… Toaster

Mealtime and snack time will never be the same! The Original 5-in-1 Tasty Baker is a unique all-in-one table top appliance that will bake muffins, quickbreads, cakes, brownies and pancakes/waffles in one compact unit. It can even cook donuts and eggs! Using virtually any liquid batter, your food will bake in about one third the time in the 7 kid friendly molds. Promote healthy eating with yummy whole wheat pancakes in your kids favorite shapes. The adjustable thermostat control, cool touch housing and non-stick baking plate will make this a must have for every day treats, family parties, play dates and all special occasions! Finicky eaters be gone! Bonus batter scoop and cleaning brush included.

Buy $45.51

Garden Zombie

It’s a post-zombie world, and if we want to live in it, we have to learn to live with them. Everybody walks around with large caliber weapons, swords, and cricket bats now, but every now and again you see the so-called “domesticated” zombies. These de-toothed and chained shamblers are useful for all sorts of tasks – from carrying your groceries to scaring off those nasty neighborhood kids.

Buy $89.99

Retro Duo Portable NES/SNES Game System

The Retro Duo Portable Game System is pretty much the dream configuration for any retro gamer. Not only can you play solo, but it also hooks up to full-sized televisions as well. It also comes with two extension controllers enabling tag-team, two-player gaming. In addition, the extension controllers work with the embedded screen on the main unit or the TV-out display. This means that you can play Super Mario Kart head-to-head in the backseat or in the basement on the big screen.

Buy $98.74

Star Wars Chop Sabers

Show off your Star Wars fandom while eating! Its like combining your two favorite things!

Buy $18.39

Zombie Head Cookie Jar

Delicious chocolate chips braiinnnz. Do you think that if zombies had enough presence of mind to cook, that they’d bake things out of brains? We can imagine there being zombie bakeries, where they whip up brain-shaped cupcakes with frosting made from blended parietal lobe. OMG, delish. Are you hungry all of the sudden? We are… Just crack open this zombie head, reach inside, and grab some cookies.

Buy $37.95

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Anyone, and I mean literally anyone, is able to make their own shirt. I could design a shirt today, and get them printed tomorrow, if I really wanted to. But creating a brand is completely different! A brand is an experience, and a line of products that share a cohesive idea (ie. branding). Here’s a couple things you should consider before starting a clothing brand.

Are you resourceful?

The most common emails I receive are, “Where do you get t-shirts to print on?” and “Where do you get labels to sew into your t-shirts?” The thing about this is, I can easily just email them back and say “I get my shrits from here, and my labels from here” and everyone would be happy and the earth would continue to spin, but that’s not actually helpful at all. If you’re a brand owner, you have to know how to find your own answers.

And seriously, a question like “Where do I get embroidered labels” can be answered with a single google search. If you type in “custom embroidered labels” into google, you can find 435,000 results leading you in the right direction. If you can’t do a single google search by yourself, that tells me that you’re just lazy, and you shouldn’t be running a brand. If you’re that kind of person, I honestly don’t really want to help you. Call me an asshole, but that’s the truth.

Do you have knowledge about design or business?

It’s quite difficult to build a brand without having experience or knowledge about either design or business. I get plenty of emails saying that they have a great idea that could potentially make a lot of money, but that means absolutely nothing to me. People have “great” ideas everyday, but it’s all about execution. What knowledge do you have to be able to execute a great idea?

If you’re a designer, you’re probably able to see how a collection comes together, and keep a consistent vision. If you’re knowledgable about running a business, you’ll probably have an understanding how to manage, scale, and sell a brand. Ideally you want to be both, or have a partner that can handle whatever your weaknesses are.

Are you mature enough to run a brand?

I started my first clothing brand when I was 15 years old. And you know what? That brand sucked. I’m not saying it wasn’t a good experience, but I really wish I had done a little more research when I was at that age. When you’re still in high school, you’re often times overzealous about these sort of ventures, and you have a big ego, so you think you’ll become super famous. You want to show off to your friends that you’re doing some cool shit that no one else is doing at your age.

But honestly, you’re most likely not mature enough to actually run a clothing brand, and due to your lack of experience you’re probably going to fail. I get a lot of emails from high school students who are prospective clothing brand owners, but they just don’t have the maturity to execute. You probably don’t have funds to start, and you probably don’t have too much design experience and/or business experience either.

What I would recommend is that you practice drawing and designing as much as you can, and come up with a strong game plan. In the mean time, you can learn about the silk screen process by printing your own shirts that you can sell to your friends or whatever, but don’t think about starting a full-fledged brand until you’re truly ready. If you’re not ready, you’ll just end up with holes in your pockets.

Are you patient?

I find that a lot of kids want to start clothing brands, because they think that there’s some sort of potential for a rockstar-meteoric success waiting for them. That really couldn’t be farther from the truth. Unless you’re friends with really really famous people, or have a huge amount of money for marketing, no one is really going to care about your stuff. So you have to be extremely patient, and organically grow your brand. For some people it might take one year, and for others it might take 10 years.

It really depends on how patient you are and how willing you are to keep improving your product. Obviously, if you have a piece of shit product, regardless of how long you’ve been running your brand, no one will care. Also, people have different perceptions of what a successful brand is. If simply running a brand is your goal, then good for you. If becoming a major retailer all across America is your goal, that’s cool too. I would establish early on what your goal is, so that you can plan ways of approaching it.

Are you passionate about the industry?

If you’re serious about starting a brand, you have to eat, breathe, and dream about it. You have to be constantly thinking about new products and new ways to improve your brand. I always carry a sketchbook with me in case I want to jot down an idea or do a quick sketch. If I don’t have my sketchbook, I draw on a napkin or whatever’s around me.

You never know when inspiration strikes, so you always have to be ready. Research, research, research! If you’re starting a clothing brand, you have to have an understanding for why other brands are successful. Look at art, high fashion, paintings, graffiti, books, and basically anything that can inspire you. You have to be completely passionate, and live for your brand, or it will fail!

Hopefully this article has been helpful. Remember, starting a brand is not the same thing as printing a shirt. A brand is something that needs to be planned, researched, understood, and perfectly executed. Don’t rush into anything, and be patient. Good luck!

Also, if you would like to see my work, you can check out my recently launched Kickstarter project for my t-shirt line for Lowdtown. http://kck.st/LSRfST The project will be ending on June 9th, 2012.

We hope you enjoyed this article! We would love to hear your feedback, so please don’t be shy to comment below! For more inspirational articles be sure to subscribe to the RSS-feed and follow Inspirationfeed on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook! If you appreciate our work, please share this article with your peers!

By far, 3D rendering has served as boom to construction and architectural professionals. If you are an architect and wish to give your client a rough idea as to how the product of your design would look like, you can go for 3D rendering. The client will definitely be impressed with the presentation and would get a better insight into what you actually planned for him. 3D rendered architectural walk-through will help your client to understand how each room of the said construction would look like.

You can make your own 3D rendering architectural videos or photographs or go in for professional help.  The various types of 3D rendering methods include non-realistic wire frame rendering that is done through polygon-based rendering, or advanced methods like radiosity, ray tracing or scanline rendering. The 3D rendering can be done from 3D applications like AutoCAD or sketches or even scanned copies. The end-result would be an alluring life-like image. As mentioned earlier 3D rendering can also be video format in the form of walkthroughs. To give an added effect to your 3D rendered images or videos, you can put in some lighting effects that would make the end-result almost tangible.

There are a myriad number of perks that come with opting for 3D Architectural rendering; some of them are listed below:

• A clear picture of what an architectural project would look before the actual construction starts
• Minimize errors in the design
• Boost your project life cycle and the subsequent productivity
• Get a better control on your project and understand the progress and significant stages

An architect or an interior designer can’t imagine designing a space without using 3D rendering. It helps them present and pre-visualize everything before your home or building or your restaurant is being built. Most of the clients wanted not just a 3d rendering image but they would also want a photorealistic look. Photorealistic rendering is the art and science of producing images that imitate real life scenes as much as possible. Photorealistic rendering technology make your presentation more engaging, informative and exciting.

You can easily incorporate real-life elements such as surroundings, people, lighting, vegetation, color and texture for your renderings to get all of them closer to reality. ArchiCAD, Revit Structures, 3D Max and Adobe Photoshop are preferred CAD software in work with today by architects, inside designers, property developers as well as contractors. These architectural renderings are most commonly used as promotional content in brochures and ads.

Hand drawn renderings are now being slowly phased out of the architectural design process due to inclusion of sophisticated CAD application and technicians. For the aim of communicating their designs to be able to clients architects are increasingly depending upon rendering services to manufacture virtual representations in electronic digital platform using photo-realistic visual architectural 3D rendering or the whole scale architectural fly through/walk-through.

We hope this information has helped you understand this field a little better. With the advancement of technology, 3D software is beginning to be utilized far more than pencil and paper. Also with commercial 3D printing soon to become reasonably affordable, you can expect ideas coming to life much more quickly. Now just imagine if we were born 100 years ago…yep this job would be much harder.

We hope you enjoyed this article! We would love to hear your feedback, so please don’t be shy to comment below! For more inspirational articles be sure to subscribe to the RSS-feed and follow Inspirationfeed on Twitter+ Facebook! If you appreciate our work, please share this article with your peers!

After finishing school, Gilmore relocated to San Clemente, California, where he took up work for FourStar Distribution, resizing print ads for C1RCA Footwear and Forum Snowboards. It would serve as his introduction to the computer and lay the foundation for a career in digital art and design. Andy Gilmore’s extensive list of clients includes Wired Magazine, The New York Times, Fast Company, Wallpaper*, Warp Records, and yes, Ghostly International. He currently lives and works in Rochester, New York.

Note: All Rights Reserved by Andy Gilmore.

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Google made an update early in 2011 and another one in March of 2012, which caused a large amount of low quality content to drop from their search engine rankings. This really magnified the need for high quality content for most bloggers and webmasters.

High quality content can shoot your website or blog back up to the top of the Google rankings and will give your readers what they desire. If you want to gain traffic, continue to make money online and build a long-term successful online business, then your content must fit the new standards of the industry.

Here’s what you need to do to get your content up to par:

Ditch the Keyword Usage

Before the Google updated happened, most would choose a main keyword and sprinkle it throughout the content. Usually it was used once per 100 to 150 words or a density of 3% to 8%. This worked very well, but now it doesn’t.

Instead of using a main keyword throughout your content, you need to write with a theme in mind. Use your main keyword in the title and only where it fits within the content. You want to use many related keywords that fit with your theme as Google now rewards this type of content.

Write Useful Content

Stop writing for the search engines. Has Google ever come to your website and made a purchase? Write for the human beings that will read your content and you will see better results. If they are searching for “classroom chairs“, then your content better give them the answers they need about this subject.

Longer is Better

As long as you don’t just stuff your content with fluff, you want to write 800 to 1,200 words per blog post, article or webpage. Longer content is ranking better and can give the reader more of what they need instead of just a little bit of information. If you continue to dish out short posts and articles, you won’t get the ranking you want.

Shorter Paragraphs

We all learned that when we took English in grade school or high school that each paragraph should start and finish a thought. However, this doesn’t fit when writing content online.

Those surfing the internet find large paragraphs difficult to read and it looks like more than it really is. They will skip right past it. But if you write shorter paragraphs, they are more likely to read your content.

Conversational Writing over Perfect Grammar

If you check your articles with a spelling and grammar check, then you know some things show up that don’t make sense. Grammar is not the most important part of your writing. Make sure you don’t misspell words or misuse them, but don’t worry so much about your grammar. Write in a conversational way just like you are talking to a friend.

Use these five steps, and you can create better content that will rank better on the search engines.

Now that you know more about online content creation, you can write content about anything, even classroom chairs. Post written by guest blogger Mary.

We hope you enjoyed this article! We would love to hear your feedback, so please don’t be shy to comment below! For more inspirational articles be sure to subscribe to the RSS-feed and follow Inspirationfeed on Twitter+ Facebook! If you appreciate our work, please share this article with your peers!

Deemed the cultural or often arts quarter this designated area in a particular city is thriving with artists, galleries, theatres and dance halls. These areas are often encouraged by public policy-making and planning, including the injection of money into these areas. However, at the root of them is the artists and creative’s themselves. This acts as a honey-pot affect and once creative people settle there it only serves to pull in more like-minded people who strive to push creative boundaries. Let’s take a look at a selection at these unique cultural hubs.

America: NoHo Arts District, Los Angeles

Formed in 1992 by the current business owners, this North Hollywood district is home to contemporary theatres, art galleries, cafes, and shops. “NoHo” not only denotes its location, but also plays off the famed “SoHo” Arts District of New York City. The area has been described by some as a cocktail mix of bohemian and yuppie. NoHo boasts over twenty theatres and the neighbourhood has an urban, electric feel. In fact NoHo is regarded as a major performing arts superpower and in its theatres you can view classic plays as well as modern experimental works.

One of these amazing theatres is El Portal which was opened in 1926 with its amazing art deco marquee on display for all to see. You will often see actors rehearsing their lines on the sidewalk as dancers practice their steps and guitarists play their songs. The area incidentally has the largest group of music venues west of the Mississippi which undoubtedly is a natural attraction to aspiring musicians.

Another very popular spot in NoHo is the Millennium Dance Complex which in the past has hosted regular guest sessions from the likes of Janet Jackson and Britney Spears. Although the district is relatively young, it has big regeneration plans as beautification efforts by the LA Community Redevelopment Agency are in the works and is set to entice even more people into the area.

England: Shoreditch, London

In the borough of Hackney, Shoreditch and its surrounding Spitalfields, Dalston and Hoxton are all full of hidden bars, galleries, parties, theatres and artists. Notable famed residents adding to its creative desirability included playwright Harold Pinter and poet Edgar Allan Poe, and more recently artists Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. In the past ten years this area has been transformed from being a particularly cheap real estate area, which attracted hoards of poor artists, to becoming the centre of the art world. The artists that settled here generated a vibrant, creative culture which regenerated the area.

Now thriving, a gallery such as Joplin’s ‘White Cube’, which occupies the south side of Hoxton Square is well-known for its large-scale exhibition openings. No longer is a Mecca of seedy and gratuitous strip clubs and hesitant locals, Shoreditch now more synonymous with skinny jean wearing trendies who rave about music so cool it hasn’t even been recorded yet. You will find a lot of graffiti here as most of these wall artists feel that this canvas is their God-given right to use and they shouldn’t be challenged on its legality. Speculative property investment has seen larger than life glass buildings multiply as the fashion conscious seek a place they can identify with.

Damien Hirst is one of many famous artists that moved in to Shoreditch. Tracey Emin can also be found at either Shoreditch House (a private members club where you will also often find rock musicians, supermodels and hollywood A-listers)or at the Golden Heart pub on Commercial Road.

Australia: Melbourne, Victoria

Australia has a long history of film production, visual arts and music. Melbourne is recognised as the arts and culture capital. Along the Southbank area are a series of galleries, performance venues and spaces in the heart of the city. All of the venues in Southbank are publicly funded which helps to project that community feel. There isn’t a “luvvy” attitude but rather a sense of ‘everyone welcome’. Once an old, neglected and mostly industrial area, Southbank is now an integral part of the creative fabric of Melbourne life.

In the early 1990s Southbank was subject to urban renewal aimed at stimulating development in a period when Melbourne was experiencing an economic downturn. Southgate’s landmark “Ophelia” sculpture by Deborah Halpern has been used to represent Melbourne in tourism campaigns. In 2009, The MTC Theatre Complex and combined Melbourne Recital Centre won the Moore Stephens Award for public buildings which was the country’s highest award for a building. More developments are planned and this modern vision for arts in Melbourne increases the cultural presence for the entire state.

China: Beijing

Beijing’s “798 Art District” is located in the northeast of Chaoyang District. The area consists of a number of galleries, design studios, art exhibition spaces, studios, and fashion shops. After the deconstruction of factories in the area in the 1990s low rents drove the influx of many artists and contemporary art institutions which gradually formed an artistic community. This artistic rebirth has allowed the area to host a number of notable high-profile exhibitions, including Wang Wei’s “Temporary Space”. Since the opening of the Beijing Tokyo Art Project in 2002 the district’s popularity has exploded with a huge increase in design companies, high-end tailors and galleries opening.

In keeping with the area’s “community spirit”, most galleries do not charge either exhibitors or visitors. There are display works from many foreign contemporary artists as well as local. There has been a host of periodic arts festivals in the last two to three years which all last around three weeks. Here you will witness performing artists sharing the stage with various eclectic musicians. The fame of the 798 district continues to attract visitors from around the world as a superior alternative to any tourist brochure.

Italy: Bologna

This is Italy’s newest art district. Based near the Reno River; this area of the city has previously had a successful industry in manufacturing. However, now it has made the move to something of a more creative nature: modern art and design. Being named as European Capital of Culture in 2000 allowed the city to raise money to transform a deprived area and turn it in to the “Factory of the Arts”. This then paved the way for art galleries, design shops and lounges to pop up around the area. The Bologna Museum of Modern, a purpose-designed centre of modern and experimental art, was re-opened in 2007 as a response to the interest in the area.

Once a slaughterhouse, the “Cineteca” is a centre for film research and restoration. Fans of the silent movies can rent DVD’s of the early Charlie Chaplin films as the great man’s movie archives are housed here. There are also connecting buildings which are named after the Lumiere brothers who were the pioneers of public movie theatres.

Note: A Cities Beating Hub: Creative Districts of the World was researched and written by on behalf of HotelClub; where you can find beautiful rooms for your creative journey.

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To break this down, almost four olympic sized pools could hold all the gold that has ever been mined. Also, if everyone on earth were to get their fair share in the world’s gold total, each person would receive five gold rings!

One major question is, how is this mined gold used? Just around 52 percent goes to the jewelry trade. Then, 18 percent makes up the total holdings of the world’s central banks. The rest fall to investments and industrial use. Gold is a powerful thing, and India leads the way at about 745 metric tons of consumption!

Note: Click the image to view full size.

From: Number Sleuth

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Email

Most people prefer to send quick emails rather than make phone calls. For your virtual office, you consider a cloud-based email service such as Gmail or Microsoft Office 365. Even if you have a domain-specific email address, forward that address to Gmail and vice versa. With Microsoft Office 365, you can set-up an email address with your own domain that is stored online. The biggest advantage of cloud-based email is that you can access your email from any computer with Internet access. Many mobile phones also support email access. Additionally, all emails are stored on the company’s servers so you do not have to worry about any.

Access to Files

You need to be able to access important work related files. Unless you work for a company that has a virtual private network (VPN) or some kind of remote access system, you need a cloud-based storage system like Sugar Sync to be able access your work. Online storage providers like Sugar Sync allow you to access your documents from any computer through a web-based account system. Many will also synchronize the files to one or more computers so that you can keep your documents organized.

Faxing

Most people do not have a dedicated fax line in their home office, so they use their landline for both. This can become tedious because you have to know when a fax is coming in before you can turn the fax system on. The better option is to sign up with an online fax service that allows you to send and receive faxes via the Internet. There is a wide variety of options out there, but you want to find a solution that is completely Internet/email based so that you have access to your faxes from anywhere.

Messaging

Sometimes you just need to have a conversation with someone to get things done, but talking on your phone and trying to multi-task on your PC can be a hassle. The best way to solve this communication program is to use an instant messaging program like Yahoo! IM or AOL Instant Messenger. For people who need more advanced options like full video conferencing, many people use Skype. With Skype, or a similar program, you have full visual and audio communication with your colleagues and even hold virtual meetings.

Task Management

Even the best of us occasionally forget things and a hardcopy appointment book is only as useful as how often you check it. It is a good idea to use a virtual calendar program like Google Calendar or Microsoft Office 365 to remind yourself of important meetings, deadlines, and tasks. Ideally, web solution that works with your mobile phone is ideal so that you can get emails while you are on the go.

There is a reason people talk about how hot cloud computing is right now. The ability to do so many things over the Internet is changing the business landscape. Employees and freelancers have access to many free to low-cost software solutions online that allow them to be just as productive as they are sitting in front of their desks, yet they can work at a soccer game, while taking care of a sick relative or while traveling. Whatever your needs are, it is easy to find ways to make your virtual office more productive.

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I feel that if I was to go anywhere on an excursion without a camera, it would make that excursion null and void. What is the point of going anywhere if you cannot capture it and take a piece of it home with you?

Museum Interlude

I like to go away to a place where there is a strong, rich art culture. I like to compare theirs to ours and get inspired by theirs too. I once went to The Algarve when I was an art student. On Christmas Day I discovered that a local art museum was open so we went along to it! There was a lot of contemporary post-modern sculpture assembled with abandoned scrap pieces of metal and car-pieces. This was fascinating for me as it closely aligned with my own practice at the time.

Seven Years Later…

Fast forward 7 years and I have a long history of getting away as much of the year as possible. But the current state of the economic climate rules this kind of freedom out for a lot of us. So being stuck in England with no holidays to look forward to can really bring out the dullness in someone!

So after much contemplation I decided that I needed to take the plunge and live somewhere else. After weighing up the pros versus cons of many places, I decided that The Algarve was the place for me. It is an up-and going place for artists to reside, there is a rich arts heritage, there is stunning scenery, and the property is reasonably priced. This is a decision that can’t be taken lightly as wherever you move to you will be spending the majority of your existence there.

The key things that we should look for when we re-locate are:

• Beautiful surroundings: Our happiness pretty much depends on it! No matter what negativity life presents to us, when we are faced with beautiful scenery, we feel like the severity of any situation loses its edge. Also from an artist’s point of view, our photographs would make pretty bland souvenirs if it weren’t for these! It’s important to build a rich memory-bank so you can re-live it whenever you want to draw from an inspirational source.
• Outlets for your interests: If there are lots of opportunities to indulge in whatever your hobbies are then this is, to be honest, 90% of a good re-location decision. For example, if you love to go on frequent walks in the countryside, then you will probably see your move to a noisy urban town a mistake!
• A good community. Bad neighbours can make your life a bit hellish no matter how stunning the scenery is so it is worth doing some research on your chosen location before settling there.
• (Relative) peace and quiet: It is in the stillness of the day that our thought-trains can do the most travelling. I have always found that it is a healthier position to be in if your base is serene rather than chaotic. Then if you want some noise, go away from your base to find it safe in the knowledge that the place you return to is your tranquil haven.
• Space: Getting a private home not only gives you the sense of peace mentioned above, but you have your own space and plenty of it.

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