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Christmas is right around the corner. Simply picturing the warm glow of candles and the shimmering stars on Christmas trees makes one feel happy. By selling amazing Christmas decorations in YOUR store, you will extend the happiness to every customer and bring the warm thoughts of Christmas swarming through your mind into reality. What are your customers looking for? And what do you want to stock in your warehouse this year? In this article there are some basic tips that might give you a little helping hand.

Artificial Christmas trees

Many online stores sell artificial Christmas trees. For traders, the benefits of artificial trees lie in the convenience of delivery and their long shelf life. For buyers who decide to go with an artificial or fake tree, they are saying goodbye to the annoying creatures, shedding needles and oozy sap dripping into the carpets. Nowadays artificial trees come in various styles, materials and colors. And you have tons of options over natural and flocked looks, traditional and contemporary styles, green and colored branches. When purchasing, compare prices of Christmas trees in terms of size (or height), material and the number of bulbs if any.

Christmas lights

When preparing lights for storage, decide the length and the type of the lights you want. There are many different designs on the market: clear, colored, small, large, decorated, icicle, garland, and snowflake lights, etc. Estimate how much of what type of lights you can sell during the holiday. It is important to tag the strands of different lengths and types so that you can find them for your customers in seconds. If you have old lights in stock, test them before selling and discard those that appear to be malfunctioning. Do the same to the new ones to make sure they all work well in your customers’ hands.

Christmas figurines and dolls

Either given as gifts or used as decors, figurines and dolls are undoubtedly lovely additions to your Christmas collection. You can largely boost your Christmas sales with unique items that distinguish your store from your neighborhood. They can be chunky Santa Claus’, glaring crystal towers, warmly dressed dolls, and luminous lawn decorations that help create Christmas atmosphere. By browsing online stores, you will find abundant of items of this kind. And their prices might just be surprising as well. What you should do is to draft a list for your storage and place orders in advance of the big day.

Click here to view Christmas decorations.

Images courtesy of Google

Tags: Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas trees

3G is a wireless technology that provides high speed network connectivity. Combining the capabilities of a phone, PC, and a TV, it has turned the previous 2G world into a multi-media centric world. Instead of scrutinizing technical terms and figures of 3G, we will look into how a normal mobile phone user can benefit from it.

1. Always-online services (users only pay when sending or receiving packets).
2. GPS and turn-by-turn applications
3. Real-time blogging or video blogging on Myspace and other sites
4. Fast download or receiving of large files such as faxes, videos and PowerPoint files
5. Video conferencing
6. Streaming audio and video
7. Global roaming
8. Other customized services

The 3G technology is bringing about a bundle of new services for mobile phone users, which is no doubt a great opportunity for the wireless service providers. Which of the services will be the winner of this new generation of networks? What do you think? Tags: 3G, mobile phone

A month or so ago when we heard that Topshop was due to launch a make-up collection, we were pretty darn excited – and intrigued – by the whole shebang. Fast-forward to today and we the wait is over: it’s landing in stores as we speak.

And where better to hear all about it than from the proverbial horses mouth – that’s Lizzie Dawson, just so you know.

“Well we started out really simply by imagining what pieces would go into our ideal make-up bag and we came up with a Core Range of bronzers, skin tints and glow that we know girls are going to love using every day,” Lizzie tells Topshop’s Inside Out blog of the line she’s created for the store. “Then we had the most fun ever with the Trend Collection, which is limited edition and comes out every three months. We went to loads of festivals and got a real sense of this thirst for newness in the air. Make-up looks change as often as garments do, so we took our cue from Topshop clothing and came up with products that we already totally adore. It’s all about colour colour colour and getting really creative with glitter pots and kohl pencil and lashings of mascara!”

And it’s not just Lizzie who’s raving about the range. Sophy Robson of Sophy Nails – just about the coolest nail girl in town, FYI – is a fan of the nail polishes. “The colours are great and consistency easy to use, especially for that price… how can you go wrong!” she wrote on her blog.

We’re sold: great products, great price point, and all wrapped up in ultra cute polka-dot and striped packaging. Yes please.

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The high-waisted short is hot for spring summer and we’ve fallen in love with this pair from Chloe which are guaranteed to give any pair of legs a short cut to Spring style. If we had the cash to splash on these ￡740 beauties we’d be wearing the brown linen shorts with a palate of khaki and beige mixed with crisp whites to keep the look fresh. Add a pair of Chloe ankle strap wedges and you’d have muted-military chic down to a tee – perfect for Spring-time.

The good news is that tailored shorts in a host of khaki tones are all over the high street, so you don’t have to spend a fortune to get that signature Chloe look. We’ve found these gorgeous cotton shorts from River Island which are in the exact style of our Chloe favourites. Mix with a pair of tan strap sandals and beige and khaki separates and these pleated shorts will look just the part in your designer inspired outfit.

We’re especially loving the double strap belt on the River Island pair that gives them a real designer feel. And for just ￡24.99 the high waisted khaki shorts are a steal compared to the Chloe pair at ￡740, and look just as good. Get them now from here.

“You would never have seen men walking around in shorts here. I think it’s inappropriate, actually. We’re all sweating. That’s what happens; you have to sweat sometimes.”

— Calvin Klein gives Style.com some sartorial advice while in the Hamptons. If he deems shorts too casual, let’s hope Marc Jacobs didn’t attend in one of his signature skirts.

Alexander Tibbets Michelle Obama, flanked by G. Wayne Clough (left), secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and Bill Moggridge, director of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

Design had its day in the sun on Wednesday (and a hot sun it was, with temperatures in the 90s) in Washington, D.C. The winners of the National Design Awards, sponsored by the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum — along with the finalists and jury members — attended a Teen Design Fair at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, where a sort of speed-dating setup had more than 400 students hopping from table to table learning what is like to be, say, a graphic designer (from this year’s honoree in communication design, Stephen Doyle) or an interior designer (William Sofield, another honoree). One juror, Jenna Lyons of J. Crew, drew a crowd at her table, as did the fashion guru and keynote speaker Tim Gunn, who advised the students, “Whatever you do, do it 150 percent.”

Micah Walter Stephen Doyle, winner of the National Design Award in communication design, with a group of students at the Teen Design fair.

Afterward, the N.D.A. winners and finalists were honored at a lunch at the White House. The first lady, Michelle Obama, who is the honorary patron of this year’s awards, strode into the East Room wearing a hot pink tunic and pants by Isabel Toledo, and gave a speech in which she used a quote (one of President Obama’s favorites) from Miles Davis — “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there” — to describe what designers do. “You find solutions that we never thought of,” she said. Party favors for the event consisted of View-Master 3-D viewers (designed by Charles Harrison, the 2008 N.D.A. Lifetime Achievement winner) with discs of images of honorees’ work, but that didn’t stop some people from sneaking off with the afternoon’s real trophy — embossed paper hand towels from the White House restrooms.

Alexander Tibbets At the White House lunch, Karen Weissman, the architect Clive Wilkinson (center), an N.D.A. interior design finalist, and Fast Company editor Bob Safian try out the event’s souvenir View-Masters.

Fashion fans with an eye for a bargain and an even better memory will remember us telling you last year that H&M would be launching a shoppable online store sometime this year – well that time, dear friends, has come. Almost.

On 16th September, H&M will open its virtual doors to eager online shoppers looking to snap up some fast fashion pieces – and they’ll find plenty. All the latest clothing, accessories and homeware collections will be available from www.hm.com, meaning a quick fashion fix that your bank won’t regret in the morning will never be far away again.

And if you haven’t already, we suggest you sign up to H&M’s newsletter, because according to Elle UK, those that do will get a sneak peek a week before the site officially launches. Privileged or what?

So, as we count down the days until our online shopping days can become a whole lot cheaper, we’re listening out for further confirmation from Zara – they promised us the same, remember?

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Tamara Mellon OBE:
Chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo and all-round fabulous footwear fiend Tamara Mellon, is set to receive an OBE following the announcement of the Queens honours list last weekend. Find out which other figures from the world of fashion have been recognised in the list here.

Isabella Blow’s fashion collection sold Privately:
Fashion fans hoping to get their hands on a piece of Isabella Blow’s wardrobe this September will be disappointed – the collection was sole privately at the weekend. With over 90 pieces from Alexander McQueen, 50 Philip Treacy hats, shoes by Manolo Blahnik and a whole lot more besides, the collection from the late style icon and all-round fashion muse was due to go up for public auction in September, but has instead been sold privately. Read more here.

Marylin Monroe’s Gown sold for ￡213,000:
If you thought diamonds were a girls best friend, then you’re mistaken, because going by the final sale price of Marylin’s famous pink number, we think you’ll find it’s a dress that’s this girl’s best friend. Yes, Marylin’s dress surpassed it’s original estimation by a massive ￡43,000, going for a final ￡213, 000. Read more here.

Victoria Beckham is a Cartoon Character:
From Spice World the Movie to an Ugly Betty cameo to….Sponge Bob Square Pants – it seems that the only way is up for Ms. Beckham. Yes Victoria will be immortalised in cartoon form for a new role as a Queen in kids’ favourite Sponge Bob Square Pants. We can’t wait. Read more here.

Cristiano Ronaldo in Armani Ads:
What makes the World Cup bearable? It’s the promise of Cristiano Ronaldo and the knowledge that he looks so buff underneath that shirt. Yes he’s got his kit off again for the second instalment of the Armani advertising campaign. Read, or should we say see, more here.

Known for his luxurious and youthful designs, Jason Wu is one of the hottest names in fashion. Having dressed Michelle Obama for her cover in vogue as well as the all-important Inaugural Ball, Wu has recently been launched into style stardom. However, not content with being the go-to designer for America’s first lady, Wu has drawn his attention to other areas of design: this time involving technology.

The relationship between fashion and technology is becoming increasingly apparent. We continue to witness the introduction of mobile applications from fashion houses and retailers; are bombarded with a huge choice of stylish accessories for all our gadgets and progressively see fashion insiders understanding and using social networking as a means of communication with today’s online culture.

Wu however, has taken the idea of fashion and technology to another level by designing a gadget himself, in collaboration with General Imaging. Ladies and gents, I introduce to you the new digital camera: Create by Jason Wu.

Launched as a way of merging style and simplicity within the world of compact digital cameras, the Create by Jason Wu is a sophisticated and advanced model that boasts a sleek aesthetic as well as an easy-to-navigate menu. Fully-integrated with a retractable USB and in-built software that makes charging and transferring photos to your computer fuss-free, this wires/memory card/battery-free compact has truly been created with the user in mind.

Of equal importance to the camera’s technological abilities is, of course, how it looks. Wu has captured the elegance of his collections by incorporating different textures – including a luxurious leather front panel – and has succeeded in creating a timelessly chic yet simple-to-use gadget for fashionistas on-the-go.

The Create by Jason Wu digital camera is set to hit shelves at the end of this month and will be available at all good high street photography stores for ￡169.

We’d love to say that we could afford to splash out on a Judith Leiber clutch whenever we fancied a novelty, crystal-embellished treat, but the reality is, that’s probably never going to happen. In fact, we’re still trying to work out how Lily – the four-year-old – wound up with her very own Judith Leiber cupcake purse, which she carried for Carrie’s wedding in the first Sex and the City movie.

But never mind that, because we’ve just stumbled upon a little sparkly something from the luxury accessories brand that won’t dent our credit card so much: the Judith Leiber fine-crystal embellished keyfob.

We’re not usually ones for accessorising our keys with designer gear but this little cupcake is too adorable to ignore. No, it’s not going to outshine little Lily’s, but it’ll tie us over until we manage to scrape enough together for something as bling as the Zebra clutch.

￡225 / $295 from Net-a-Porter.