HERBS - THE MAGICAL STORY

Written by Arleen M. Kaptur


Continued from page 1

Herbs grown outside also offer a lot of advantages torepparttar gardener. They mingle with your other plants adding torepparttar 116343 fragrance inrepparttar 116344 air. Some herbs grow inrepparttar 116345 shade, such as mint and chervil, while others enjoy full sunshine. Herbs make great garden success stories. They need very little tending, except for weeding. Your usual gardening practices of watering, cultivating, and fertilizing suits them just fine. They are even cold-hardy, such as rosemary and thyme, that can withstand very low temperatures.

Whatever spices you have been buying to add to your favorite dishes, try growing them yourself. You will always have a fresh supply, they can be dried which gives them even more potency, and they add eye appeal to your decor, not to mention repparttar 116346 room freshening scents they offer for free.

When you are making your gardening plans this year, try herbs. You won’t be sorry and you will find yourself discovering new places to tuck in a plant or two around your garden. There is one caution: They do become habit forming because they are such garden success stories. So,repparttar 116347 solution - share with family and friends. ©Arleen M. Kaptur 2002 Article Responder: rusticliving@sendfree.com



Author of numerous magazine/newspaper articles. Book - SEARCHING FOR AUSTIN JAMES e-Cookbooks, on-line workshops Website: http://www.rusticliving.info http://www.topica.com/lists/simpleliving and many other sites


A beginners guide to marketing images with mats

Written by Jim Fishwick, Manager, MatShop


Continued from page 1

Obtaining mats at wholesale prices: Most photo stores and many large retailers will carry a few sizes and very limited colors, but don’t supply volume. They are also expensive. Larger Art supply stores may have very limited selections of mats in volumes of 25 or so at some discount. To get a true wholesale price, scourrepparttar Internet for companies that cater torepparttar 116342 smaller vendor. Expect to buy in some volume in order to getrepparttar 116343 best price possible. Fifty or more identical mats will get you intorepparttar 116344 price range that will keep your product competitive. A regular 11 x 14 double mat in a local store will cost $4.50 to $6.00. In volumes less that 200, you should pay $2.50 or less. Be careful of highly discounted mats that are not by major manufacturers such as Crescent and Bainbridge. Some of these are not of equivalent quality, and may warp or discolor quickly or otherwise harmrepparttar 116345 image.

Final note on mats: KEEP IT SIMPLE. Do not try to match every image with a different color combination. A color combination that fits several images quite well will meet your needs much more efficiently. One opening size is better than several. Your cost will be reduced, and those images that do not sell will not saddle you with high or useless inventories of mats.

Backings: You will need a backing forrepparttar 116346 mat and image. The backing completesrepparttar 116347 package and protectsrepparttar 116348 image. For regular mats, we recommend manila board or heavier non-corrugated cardboard (for mats 11 x 14 and smaller), and foam core for larger mats. If you use conservation quality mat, your backing MUST be acid-free. Use acid-free mat or acid-free foam core.

To frame or not to frame: In general, do not get heavily into framing forrepparttar 116349 “drop by” market. The customer can pick a frame of their choice ifrepparttar 116350 mat is a standard size. Consider having a few framed pieces sorepparttar 116351 customer can see a finished result, and can buy your framed piece if they like. Aluminum “backloader” frames are inexpensive, and very easy to load, as are clip frames. A thorough search ofrepparttar 116352 internet will find some high quality wood frames at reasonable prices, and custom sizes are often not much more.

Thin plexi glass (1 mm.) is becoming very popular as a replacement for glass. It is much lighter and being very durable is a big plus. It also provides some solar radiation protection for outdoor events or florescent lighting.

Packaging: A covering of some sort is a necessity. A product made for this purpose is a re-sealable polybag. It protectsrepparttar 116353 mat package fromrepparttar 116354 elements and dirty fingers, and also gives a very professional appearance. Some ultraviolet protection is built in to all plastics. These bags can sometimes be found in Art supply stores but frequentlyrepparttar 116355 Internet isrepparttar 116356 only choice.

Shrink-wrapping also works, but requires time and equipment, and is finicky. Shrink-wrapped matted art often has a tendency to bow in hot weather.

Assembly: Taperepparttar 116357 image torepparttar 116358 back ofrepparttar 116359 mat on one long side only. This allowsrepparttar 116360 picture to “breath” under differing atmospheric conditions. Use magic (scotch) tape or something similar. For conservation matting, an acid free tape is mandatory. Photo corners are good, but time consuming. Attachingrepparttar 116361 back torepparttar 116362 mat is not necessary.

Displays: It should not be necessary to have wire racks or other expensive methods of display your product. A white cardboard box neatly cut can be sufficient if presented well. Many larger communities will have stores specializing in acrylic displays, and you may find ready made ones ofrepparttar 116363 right size and shape. Large stationary stores often carry these or may have other cardboard displays to fit your needs. Foam core (3/16”) may be purchased at Art supply stores, and a good utility knife, a glue gun and some imagination can create impressive displays.

How much to charge? A general rule is to add uprepparttar 116364 cost of your mat, image, bag and backing. Add some for labor. If you are going into a show, add a proportional cost for this. Multiplyrepparttar 116365 total by 2 to get a ballpark figure. If you sell through a retailer,repparttar 116366 “norm” is for them to double whatever they pay you to getrepparttar 116367 minimum retail price.

Summary: Selling images in this market is competitive. If your presentation is as good or better than your competitors, thenrepparttar 116368 quality and uniqueness of your image will determinerepparttar 116369 outcome. There is a large appetite for well-done photos, artwork and crafts. Keep it simple, keep your costs to a minimum, don’t expect to get rich, and most importantly, enjoyrepparttar 116370 experience.

MatShop has been supplying mat & framing supplies to photo retailers for 10 years & through the WEB for six. Its customers are artists, photographers, crafters & others who require volume purchases of these products. The purpose of the MatShop.com page is to supply information on all products & to suggest how mats & frames can benefit the specific needs of its customers.

In USA visit: www.matshop.com In Canada visit: www.matshop.ca 1-800-663-7501


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