Sublime Journeys-Sustainable Travel

"Luxury Off The Beaten Path"

If you are looking for  a sublime experience through Central or South America, Sublime Journeys offers inspirational adventures that delivers both substance and style.  Choose from themes as Active Adventures, Rainforest Getaways, Breathtaking Voyages, Rainforest Getaways or Romantic Getraways.   While catering to people from all walks of life, they take specialty to the gay and lesbian community.  They offer small group getaways as well as single escapes. They use local & indigenous guides wherever possible to ensure sustainable support for local communities.

Sublime Journeys is the choice for all travelers who want conscientious travel with style. A percentage of all Sublime Journeys profits is donated to local organizations in each country that we operate in that supports sustainable development.

"Our World has many challenges and we strive to forge a connection with many indigenous communities who are frequently marginalized by mainstream society. 

Sublime Journeys uses local & indigenous guides wherever possible to ensure sustainable support for local communities. The gay & lesbian community worldwide has many challenges and shares a connection with many indigenous communities who are frequently marginalized by mainstream society. Sublime Journeys sustainable travel initiatives offer these communities the chance to maintain their cultural heritage while educating others on their cultural identity.

Taking it to the top, Sublime Journeys is committed to responsible and sustainable tourism.  They aim to educate travelers and the diversity of cultural wealth of the places they visit.

Art from Recycled Copper. Call it Eco Art or Just Call It Beautiful

Susan Venable for Maienza - Wilson (Detail)

Recycled….reused….green….eco-friendly….no matter what you call it, Susan Venable’s art fits the bill. For the past 25 years, she has worked in line with her environmental concerns, in a way that treads lightly but shines boldly.  Her steel and copper bas-reliefs have been placed in large public spaces as well as intimate alcoves.  Using steel and copper from re-cycled sources she creates works of art that bring light and interest to the human environment. Susan is one of our favorite artists and is based in Santa Barbara, CA.

Susan Venable"Zen Saga"

Non-objective and reductive in approach, she “weaves” recycled copper wire in the grids using an ancient Peruvian technique and creating something entirely unique.  They are an exploration of structure, surface, materials, and the relationship between them.  Copper is one of the earliest known substances used in art making. There is a wonderful paradox in the use of this ancient earthy material, expressed in a space age form: blending the idea of art and technology….past and future.

 “My inquiry is on a perceptual level, to elicit an abstract response from the viewer.  Not to recall a specific place or object, but to create a transcendent reality. To remind without being specific…..to be contemplative and serene.” 

Susan Venable "Fire Mirage"

Each piece consists of thousands of copper wires, which catch the natural as well as the artificial light to produce a shimmering effect.  The copper wires appearing as thousands of gestural lines, creating a meditative field. Some pieces include non-objective oil + wax paintings. ...To quote Orville Clarke: “Susan Venable’s art plays with our perceptions.  Constructed of copper wire tied to steel grids, looking soft and sensuous, her pieces are actually hard….the surfaces appear to move with the breeze, however they are static.  Their structures and colors give the illusion of natural fabric, yet they are all man-made.  The paradox emerges, for gestural implies quick rapid probing of the unconscious while her methods are slow and deliberate, more akin to Zen than action painting.”

 Susan Venable Moanalani Installation

Acutely aware of further impacting a degrading and exploitive environment, all of the metals are fabricated of recycled material, the bees-wax is a renewable resource, and the painted surfaces are on reclaimed wood.  To achieve an expressive and original art form, while being sensitive to the impact of manufactured art materials is a challenge she enthusiastically embraces. Here is a link to Susan's Site.

Eco-Furnishings Inspired by Nature

Bleu Nature is a beautiful line of furnishings inspired by the sea.  Combining French craftsmanship with raw unprocessed elements, raw linen, hemp and boiled wool.  Driftwood, and wave washed stones are two of the main components in the line and they are gathered by beach-combing.  They combine their finds with polar whites and the end result is clean and organic at the same time. 

CHANDELIERS NATSIG- white lacquered steel and polycarbonate structure availble in weathered plank, carrara marble, lacquered MDF or Linen finish

FOLDING TIKIBAG SCREEN- Lacquered stainless steel and driftwood, designed for outdoor

SOFA PLAZA-Lacquered wood, driftwood and fabric.

ILLU OUTDOOR SOFA-Lacquered stainless stell and untreated raw oak from french forests.

YUNAK BED- Round driftwood and lacquered wood bed

ARTIQ CHANDELIER-Pebbles with metal base

MOUSSE STOOL- Driftwood and Flokati wool seat

Sold exclusively to design professionals. Bleu Nature

Post Author for Globally Gorgeous
Tamara Wallop

Caimeiju: "Selecting a Beautiful Residence" an "American Residence"

Closing the Gap for Chinese Interested in American Real Estate ...

Caimeiju is Simplified Chinese for "Selecting a beautiful residence" or "Selecting an American residence". I came across Caimeiju.com recently while in Hong Kong. I was looking through LP Luxury Properties Magazine (Asia's leading luxury property magazine)  to see how  top of the market properties are presented in a glossy format in the extensive luxury market in China.

I came across a brief article about a southern California entrepreneur, Jeff Toth, who launched Caimeiju.com a division of Language Media Agency Inc.,  a global marketing firm. I contacted Jeff  immediately to further understand what the agency was doing to promote California real estate to Chinese investors and how to they were able to overcome the language and cultural barrier. Within 48 hours, Jeff had answered my questions by simple method of example. Caimeiju had taken a 4.2 minute film we recently completed featuring our 1478 East Mountain Drive property in Montecito and had their team of Chinese Social Media Experts upload it to YouKu, the Chinese version of YouTube. Unfortuneately, YouTube and Vimeo are both blocked in China as are most western blog sites. Caimeiju is helping to solve this problem for us. Go Caimeiju go!

   

Above is our short film of the East Mountain Drive Property, posted on You Tube.
Click to compare YouKu to the YouTube video below. Click here 视频.

Realizing that I was referred to him by reading LP Luxury Properties Magazine and also that Gregg and I were in Hong Kong, Jeff recommended to us  that we meet with the advertising and marketing director, Michelle Dagenais at LP Luxury Properties while in Hong Kong. Jeff made the introduction and we met Ms. Dagenais at Cafe Causette at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel conveniently where we were staying The result of that meeting will be an editorial feature on the East Mountain Drive Property in the July issue of LP Luxury Properties Magazine as well as likely advertising commitments from our side. The magazine focuses only on properties that are for sale and only very high end, top of the market luxury properties. This property is listed with Sotheyby's International Realty for $28.5 Million US. SuzannePerkins.com  

Additionally, the Caimeiju Team posted a photo blog about the property on  Caimeiju.com as well as on Sounfun, Sohu.com, Sina mini blog, and Renren. All of these sites are accessible from mainland China and multiplying our exposure. 
http://blog.soufun.com/27088163/9949566/articledetail.htm
http://blog.soufun.com/27088163/9949599/articledetail.htm
Jeff demonstrated to us how the Caimieju team was able to immediately present our marketing collateral (expensive marketing collateral) to a  new market, previously untapped because of the language and cultural barrier. The relevance is simple, the Chinese are buying property in America because it is a great value to them now, however the Chinese investor goes about it differently, shall we say more empirically. Caimeiju.com is a portal to present Californian properties, American properties in a format that is more useful to the Chinese and in their language presented in a more culturally relevant manner.  

Adventure and Opportunity for Art Collectors: Art HK 10- May 27-30 2010

ART HK is the leading showcase for international Modern & Contemporary Art in Asia with over 150 galleries participating from 29 different countries.  ART HK reflects Hong Kong’s ‘Gateway’ status in presenting a unique opportunity for collectors to see and buy work of a quality and geographical diversity not available anywhere else in the world.

Exhibitors are a strong line up of high-caliber International galleries.  Accessibility remains a key priority with introductory guided tours and workshops for aspiring collectors and works available for as little as US$1,000 right through to US $10 million.

CANstruction 2010-Design Build and Feed the Hungry

CANSTRUCTION 2010-4th Annual Chicago Design/ Build Competion

ACANemy Awards Tonight, Thursday May 13 at the Chicago Merchandise Mart 6-8:30

A unique competitive spirit engaging the design/ build community of Architects, Engineers, Contractors and Real Estate Professionals while also feeding the hungry.

Put on by The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago's Food Bank.

Some of last years 3rd Annual Projects..

Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center- The Greening of Shanghai

If your planning to go to Shanghai this year there are over 200 new buildings in Shanghai for the World Expo 2010, a collaboration of architecture from countries all over the world.  With the theme being "Better City, Better Life". While in Shanghai one Museum not to be missed  is the Urban Planning Exhibition Center, also known as the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum. A museum of the "Master Plan" for Shanghai and includes an exhibition on "the Greening of Shanghai".

The Museum, completed in 2000 and designed by Ling Benli of ECADI, is a striking, modern six -story building made of micro-lite glass at the eastern end of People's Square.   The highlight and centerpiece is on the third floor.  A vast model spanning the entire floor of what Shanghai is to be in 2020.  Patches of green amongst endless skyscrapers. Clear plastic models indicate structures yet to be built. 

The exhibition includes the Green Plan for Shanghai which is also the theme for the World Expo 2010.   Eco Singapore's COOL IT  blog did a nice job of  bullet points of exactly what this entails:

       *World’s largest “eco-wall”: A vast expanse of rooftop solar power panels feeding electricity to pavilions within the Expo

        *A zero-carbon hall which uses solar and wind power and which also houses a “zero-carbon” restaurant that converts food waste into fuel and which uses the nearby Huangpu River as a heat sink to moderate the temperature within the hall (although this may have severe consequences if water is pumped back into the river after cooling the hall, and has the potential to alter the river ecosystem and marine life)

        *Over 1000 clean energy vehicles powered by fuel cells or electricity. These include buses and cars that will transport visitors around the site. This, coupled with the encouragement of walking around the park instead of taking public transport, is expected to save 10,000 tonnes of fuel and cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 28,400 tonnes.

        *Shanghai boasts China’s largest 5MW solar power system which can power up to 80% of the Expo’s lighting (but whether it does, and will… is yet to be seen)

        *The shutdown of 3000 factories to clean up the city’s severe air pollution

        *The development of 4 parks to act as the city’s “green lungs”

        *“Green” theme of the Expo has seen some pavilions such as Japan’s purple silk worn installing flexible solar cells to power operations. In addition, Switzerland’s pavilion has a rooftop alpine meadow made from biodegradable materials like soybean.

The World Expo's main concept of the "Green Guideline" is "to carry forward the concept of ecological advancement, provide relevant suggestions and guidance to visitors, participants and operators in terms of ideological progress, standard of behavior and management supervision, take into full play the joint efforts of the entire society, promote Expo 2010 Shanghai China to be an environment-friendly and resource-saving “Green Expo”, and develop the theme of “Better City, Better Life”.

Get a 360 degree impression as  a video takes the viewer flying through Shanghai in the future.  Maybe as if you were magnetically levitating on  a magic carpet as  is proposed on the forth floor where future transportation is displayed; including magnetic levitation, subway and light rail trains.

Take a look at The 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and some featured Pavilions in previous post .

2010 World Expo Shanghai - Notable Pavilions- Architecture & Design

UK

Heatherwick Studio Architects

The concept is an unwraped package reflective of a visit to a UK public park. Open roof, open space mixed with a series of walkways through a "Green City" and Open City"  London is 40 percent "green", making it the largest green city in the world.  It features an opportunity to invest in nature and save seeds to protect the future.  The Seed Cathedral is formed from 60,000 slender transparent rods, each 7.5 meters long.  They act as fibre optic filaments in the day, drawing light in. Rods are embedded with lights to brovide a glowing light at night.

 

POLAND

WWA Architects

The concept is Human, Creativity and City, featuring giant paper cut-outs of flowery designs to reflect the combination of Polish Architecture of modernity and folk art.

 

DENMARK

Big Architects

The concept takes the best of living on Copenhagen featuring spiral knot tied bicycle friendly infrastructure equip with 1500 eco-friendly two wheelers for vistors to use to explore. At the center, a pool featuring the Little Mermaid, a famous landmark of Denmark.

United Arab Emirates

Foster and Partners Architects

The concept is a sand dune representing the symbolic feature of the desert landscape shared by all seven emirates.  It is one of the largest pavilions at 20 meters in height, enclosing 3000 square meters with a 400 person capacity.  This is a truly recyclable pavilion as it will be dismantled and moved to a permanent location.

BRAZIL

Fernando Brandao Arquiterura e Design Architects

A visual journey of screens display insight into the lifestyles of Brazilians optimism and passion for life.  Visit beaches, the Amazon rain forest, football and do the Samba.  Also features renewable resources as 45 percent of all Brazil's resources come from renewable sources.

ISRAEL

Hiam 2 Dototan Architect

The concept is the "Whispering Garden", which greets visitors as they enter the building.  Trees begin to "whisper" in both English and Chinese when visitors walk close to them.

SPAIN

Barcelonese Studio Architects

Covered in rattan mats, a very modern yet traditional building featuring the running of the bulls, flamenco dancers and football matches. Feel the floor rumble beneath you as a stampede of horses go by while watching flamenco dancers.

"Better City, Better Life" -World Expo 2010- A Sustainable Shanghai

Following John and Gregg as they travel to Shanghai and to the kickoff the the 
World Expo 2010. 

Appropriately, the theme of Expo 2010 is "Better City, Better Life," representing the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments. This theme represents a central concern of the international community for future policy making, urban strategies and sustainable development. In 1800, 2% of the global population lived in cities. In 1950, the figure raised to 29%, in 2000, almost half the world population moved into cities, and by 2010, as estimated by the United Nations, the urban population will account for 55% of the total human population.
The quest for a better life has run through the urban history of mankind. Through different sub-themes, Expo 2010 will create blueprints for future cities and harmonious urban life styles, providing an extraordinary educational and entertaining platform for visitors of all nations:

*Blending of diverse cultures in the city

*Economic prosperity in the city

*Innovations of science and technology in the city

*Remodelling of communities in the city

*Interactions between urban and rural areas

Opening week staged a series of cultural events including a performance parade and displays of intangible heritage including fireworks displays, Tea Culture Show, Acrobatic Show and a Brand New Show.

The emblem, depicting the image of three people-you, me, him/her holding hands together, symbolizes the big family of mankind. Inspired by the shape of the Chinese character"世"(meaning the world), the design conveys the organizers' wish to host an Expo which is of global scale and which showcases the diversified urban cultures of the world.

The Mascot "Haibao" is created from the Chinese character " 人," which means people, the mascot embodies the character of Chinese culture and echoes with the designing concept of the emblem of World Expo Shanghai. Using the Chinese character as the mascot of an international event is an innovation.

Stay tuned for future post on the incredible architecture of the Pavilions.