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Need to jazz up that old tie or polish your leather shoes on the fly? What about sharpen that dull razor blade for a quick shave? We got you covered with these 7 DIY tricks every man should know:
1. Clean your leather shoes with olive oil
For shoes you truly care about, use leather oil, but for a quick-fix, olive oil works great.
IMAGE: FLICKR, DREW STEPHENS
2. Sharpen your razor blades with a pair of jeans
3. The use the razor blade to remove fuzz from your sweater
4. Turn a regular tie into a skinny tie
5. Never Iron Again
IMAGE: MASHABLE COMPOSITE, FLICKR
6. Zip Lock your stinky shoes and throw them in the freezer overnight
assemblageSTUDIO
designed the tresARCA house in Las Vegas as a layered structure where
the materials develop as a mass as you go from the basement up, much
like the layers of the earth.
The materials change with each layer giving the home a diverse mix of
textures that reference various rock formations. The top floor is
encased in a mesh screen that is decorative and acts as protection from
the harsh desert sun.
The home is designed to let the residents live both indoors and out
with large windows and doors that open up to let the interior expand to
the outside.
Exterior courtyards were created in different spots with shade
incorporated to protect from the hot sun. I’m loving the swinging sofa
and embedded fire strips that will keep you warm when the sun goes down.
Oh hi there, dreamy pool…
The gourmet kitchen features various sized glass tile laid out in a random pattern going up the entire wall behind the stove.
Grey marble floors contrast with the blackened steel panels on the
walls, which create the perfect backdrop for that amazing painting.
The massive chandelier that hangs in the open stairwell is made up of
tons of lightbulbs that are organically formed into a cascading mass.
It was designed by Annika Newell.
The exterior mesh screen forms all kinds of shadows on the interior.
Deep in the woods near a lake in Wisconsin, this little house looks
like a classic weekend cabin. In some ways, it is: It was built by hand
by local craftsmen with a design inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. But it
also has wheels, so it’s completely portable, and the owner is in the
process of building custom copies for tiny house fans around the world.
The project started when visitors to a small lakeside resort called
Canoe Bay started asking for their own versions of the resort’s
carefully constructed cabins. “I spent quite a few years figuring out
how to put Canoe Bay in a box, so to speak, so we could give it to
people,” says Dan George,
the owner. “And we ended up with what we think is great design:
Efficient, environmentally sensitive, and done in a way that reflects a
real building.”
Because it’s mobile and a certain size–just 14 feet wide and 400 square feet–the Escape Cabin
is technically considered an RV and not a house. That makes it easier
to get a loan to buy it, and helps save on taxes and permitting fees.
And, of course, it means if you ever need to move, your house can come
along.
It can be set up in less than a day. “You go from nothing to a house
in literally hours,” says George. “You may never have built a house, but
it is a very long, painful, expensive process. We live in the 20th
century–we should be beyond some of that. That’s what we’re shooting
for. Make it ubiquitous, easy, completely portable, affordable, and
beautiful.”
Inside, the bedroom can fit a king-size mattress, the bathroom has a
full tub, and the kitchen has a full-sized fridge and stove. “We didn’t
want to make it the rat maze that many modular models are,” says George.
“You jam as much as you can in a little space and hope that you can fit
a human being in there, too. What we try to do is make small spaces
big.”
Designed by architect Kelly Davis at SALA,
the home can hook up to solar power, uses LED lights and low-energy
appliances, and is heated by a high-efficiency fireplace. It’s built by
hand in Wisconsin from sustainably grown wood.
“We care about every detail,” George says. “If you know about
Wrightian architecture, it’s not form follows function, but form and
function are one–if you miss by a half inch somewhere, you can screw up
the whole building.”
Since the design was released earlier this year, at a starting price
of $79,000, the company has been inundated with orders; they’ll soon be
sending cabins to the edge of the Arctic Circle, a volcano in Hawaii,
and the Swiss Alps. Even the prime minister of Aruba has ordered one.
Ultimately, George wants to share a connection to a place where his
family has lived for 100 years. “My first memory as a child is floating
on the lake, fishing with my dad and my uncle,” he says. “It’s in my
blood. It’s a little piece of heaven.”
Amidst headlines touting the success stories of three year old
companies purchased for billions in cash and the seemingly endless news
of another startup raising millions of dollars, I thought it appropriate
to share some broad pointers in case you are looking to enter the world
of start-ups. To start, find something to sell or create something to gather the masses.
People want cool products and services, and they want to communicate
with others. As human beings, we acquire naturally and seek community.
However, getting your message out there can be tricky. With limited time for discovery, most consumers are not trail
blazers. They wait until they are told about something and if they like
the product or service, they will splurge or join in. Unfortunately,
because of the sheer volume of similar services, products or communities
that are vying for the same eyeballs, there is no easy way to attain
brand awareness. Here are some points to help ensure your success. First, find an idea or avenue to offer a product that is lacking or
differs in approach. Most great ideas come from a necessity or
convenience that has not already been properly exploited. This necessity
or convenience can be right in front of you, but we are so used to
doing things a certain way, that we unknowingly overlook these
opportunities. So stop and think, is there an easier way? Next, test the idea or product in a small market such as friends or
family. If it is a hit, try and find a co-founder who compliments your
work ethic and brings things to the table that you lack. While not
imperative, two minds are always better than one. Also, reach into the
depths of your past connections to find someone with solid business
experience. It is always helpful to have an adviser to bounce ideas off
of. Give them a title and a few equity points. Then build the best damn
platform you can to support your idea. It has to be easy to navigate and
purchase from, and you have to be able to connect with your consumer.
Handholding each and every person that comes to visit is imperative. You
are catering to a very skeptical potential customer who will only visit
for a brief time. If they don’t like what they see, they may never
return. You must implement technology or human assets in order to greet
this wary visitor and entice them to stay for a while. Once you pique the interest of your consumer, word of mouth is your
best friend. Word of mouth is best portrayed by a positive experience
whether it is great customer service, fast shipping, or a product that
simply works well. Create a terrific experience and stick with it.
Customers tend to notice the bad before they notice the good. And they
do not hesitate to spread the word when the experience is bad. With so
much choice out there, the customer is king. They have grown to expect
perfection in delivery of services, and rightfully so. This makes your
challenge greater. Of course, you will make mistakes in the beginning.
It is how you recover from them and handle the fallout that ensures your
survival. Build the business, staff it with competent smiles and work
hard to please your user, consumer, guest and critic. Remember, people
want what you have; you just have to make sure they know about it and
then do your best to ensure they enjoy the experience getting it.
Once you have built a product or sales platform and developed a
following, you want to start advertising, engaging social media (the two
go hand-in-hand now-a-days) and PR. Many people have mixed feelings
about PR. It is an effective tool when done properly. However...Continue reading > > >
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