CITY LIFE - Barbara Kaplan | Melanie Tighe [CITYSunTimes July 2011]

DOG EARED REVIEW

Internet Bookselling Made Easy!

Listen up bookworms and bibliophiles, ever wondered if you could make a living doing what you love? If you’ve ever searched the bookstore and library shelves, you won’t find many books on how to open a bookstore or how to sell books, until now. Local author Joe Waynick’s new book, Internet Bookselling Made Easy! gives up the long-held secrets of bookselling.
Waynick walks you through each step with easy to understand instructions and insights from someone who started his own Internet bookselling business, which still operates successfully today. Learn where to find books, what price to sell them for, where the best places are to sell your inventory and much more.

Internet Bookselling Made Easy!

He’ll show you how to avoid beginner’s mistakes and work book sales like a pro. Whether you’re interested in a part-time work-from-home business or your sights are aimed higher, you’ll find all you need to get started.
Internet Bookselling Made Easy! explains which aspects of the business are work, and which are “…more fun than a mosquito in a nudist colony…” Waynick’s clear writing style, sense of humor and personality come through in a book packed with enough information to get you started selling books within 48 hours of reading it.

Melanie Tighe is the owner of Dog-Eared Pages Used Books 16428 North 32nd Street in Phoenix and a lifelong bibliophile. Visit her at www.dogearedpagesusedbooks.com or stop into the store.

CST logo

Community News for Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Northeast Phoenix, Carefree, Cave Creek and surrounding areas.

CITYSunTimes Web Exclusives July 2011 | Read the full SECTION

CITY LIFE: HomeStyle

Undesign: Big Redesign Jobs Start Simply
Just move something

Q. I am contemplating redecorating my home. I have some furnishings I still like, and other pieces I know I no longer want to live with. I have looked at magazines to figure out what I like now, but I’m confused. The thought of everything I have to consider overwhelms me. Would you please help me understand how to begin the process?

A. All beginnings are difficult, particularly when you are uncertain or attempting something you don’t have the experience to do. Add your emotions about the pieces you are making decisions about, and it can become paralyzing. This happens with many of my clients, so they ask me to help them. The first thing I do is reassure them that they really do have the answers. The answers are inside each of us and that’s why I call it “Interior” Design.
There are times my clients ask me to help rearrange their furnishings, de-clutter their homes or begin a complete design project – and they don't know where to begin. Albert Einstein said, “Nothing happens until something moves,” so I suggest moving an object to another place in the room or house. Immediately, change has occurred. Space has been made and the balance of the room has been affected.
This concept is often addressed specifically with the philosophy of Feng Shui. Once I’ve addressed the issues of feng shui, which is the energy of the placement of pieces, I then use the Bajaro Method to address how the people feel in the room. The two philosophies work well together.
Now you have questions to answer and decisions to make about how to proceed:

Will the space remain empty?
Should it be filled again?
Does more need to be taken away?
How has the room changed?
How does it feel to you?
What more do you want to accomplish?

Think about it. Feel it. I like to call this “undersign” because until we move something or clear a space we cannot fill it. Artists call this negative space. Take away the current design, be it good or bad, and see the difference – feel the difference. Once you see what happens, you can proceed to the next step.

We take the design around us for granted. We don’t think about it. Everything in our environment has been designed. Have you ever looked at a room (or even an individual piece) and thought it’s too much? (Or maybe you feel it’s not enough…something is missing. It can be over or under designed. It can be too much or too little.) It can be someone else’s design or someone else’s taste. The most difficult part is in the beginning. It’s when we have to decide what we like, what we want to live with, and what we don’t want to live with. This might mean having to release pieces we have either purchased or been given.
So as we go through this process, we need some tools. You can go through many magazines, visit furniture stores and showrooms. Becoming aware of all the things that are available and discover what your taste is by exposing it to new ideas and styles.
Another difficult thing is to stay open to design possibilities. Try a new color or style. Mix some of the pieces you have with new pieces that don’t match but might look good together. If you’ve been eclectic in the past, now it might be time to match some things.
Step out of your box and see where those steps might lead you. They may lead you back to the things you originally liked. If you are led back to your original ideas you’ll know and not wonder if you are doing the right thing. You’ll understand yourself and why you have chosen the things you have. They will become “your” design.
Your designs are yours – remember, rooms have no feelings, YOU do!

Barbara Kaplan, IFDA, ASID Allied member, is an interior designer designing for people and their rooms and is the author of The Bajaro Method: Rooms Have No Feelings, YOU Do! To contact Barbara, call 480.998.5088, send an e-mail to barbara@barbarakaplan.com or visit www.bajaromethod.com.