Amber The Gift From Mother NatureWritten by Sher Matsen
Amber is a beautiful gift from mother nature. It comes in many different colors - yellow, orange, red, white, brown, green, blue and almost black. It may be transparent or clouded. Transparent tones range from pale to dark yellow, to yellow light brown. Cloudy amber comes in many colors.Amber is fossilized resin of ancient trees that grew in “amber forests”. Through various physical and chemical changes resin becomes Amber. Amber is unique because it is able to preserve organic tissues in it. It is very common to find pieces of plants and insects, trapped in amber making it extremely valuable to both collectors and scientists. A beautiful and fascinating gem! Amber is found in various parts of world. The largest amber deposits are off shores of Baltic Sea. Baltic Amber is most sought after and valuable for making amber jewelry. Baltic Amber has been used for decorative items since prehistoric times. A Baltic amber amulet has even been found in Egyptian tombs . Amber was also very popular in ancient Rome during reign of Neron when: jewelry, ornaments, amulets, and even dice were made from amber. During Middle Ages, amber prayer beads were exported. From 16th century into 18th century item made from amber included jewelry, dishes, buttons, pipe mouth pieces, chess sets and a host of other fine products. The majority of Baltic amber comes from a 400-square-mile area - Samland Peninsula, now known as Kaliningrad region. The Kaliningrad amber mine supplies 99% of Baltic amber. Up until 19th century amber was retrieved manually from sea. During latter part of 19th century operations became much more sophisticated as they began dredging and mining for amber. Since then millions of pounds of Baltic amber have been mined.. A small town in Kaliningrad region has world’s largest amber mine.
| | Anne Klein – the past and the futureWritten by Sher Matsen
Anne Klein – past and futureFashion designer Anne Klein was born Hannah Golofski in New York City. She started as a sketcher on Seventh Avenue in 1938. In 1948 she launched Junior Sophisticates and in 1968 Anne Klein & Co was born. Anne Klein was a fashion pioneer well known for understanding what women wanted. She was known for creating chic, sophisticated, wearable comfortable clothes that women would wear. She designed sophisticated sportswear for young women. She knew each woman’s wardrobe needed a blazer, trousers, and separates. Her designs were very popular within USA. Her clothes were synonymous with American style and were relevant to lives of women she designed for. The sportswear of today has its basis in Anne Klein, who defined what what women’s sportswear should be. In 1968 Anne Klein launched Anne Klein & Co. The company goal was to design and market sportwear separates that could be mixed and matched. She became an industry leader overnight. Anne Klein & Co continued to grow and received numerous honors and award. Just at height of her success Anne Klein died in early 1974 from breast cancer. After years of financial difficulties and ownership changes Klein’s vision has once again become label’s guiding light. The company was recently taken over by Jones Apprale Group with Mark Mendelson taking over as president. Mark recently stated “The purpose of Anne Klein New York collection is to make fabulous clothes.” The company says changes are going to be gradual and subtle. The Anne Klein collection is now being designed by Michael Smaldone. You can find Anne Klein Collection Online At Neimanmarcus http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/template/catB6.jhtml?itemId=cat3650742&parentId=cat000034&masterId=cat000009 Or Nordstrom http://store.nordstrom.com/category/cat_boutique-medium.asp?category=2376778~2372811~2383417~2383694&siteid=d*BO/tAXm6A-fn1GDIWS7xH3c4eapLbpkA
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