Hat Trick Magazine September 2012

September 2012

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Autumn Fashion Preview Volume 1 | Issue 2

Hat Trick Magazine

Interview

THE ART OF STATEMENT LIGHTING www.kandabi.com

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+44 (0)131 667 7915

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INJECTING TRUE CHARACTER INTO YOUR SPACE THE 4TH MONKEY - Mind Your Own Business Stunning laser-cut Perspex wall luminarie with handcrafted tassels The three wise monkeys are a pictorial maxim.

Some simply take the proverb as a reminder not to be snoopy, nosy and gossipy. “See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil” perfectly encapsulates the mantra “Mind Your Own Business” and is also used to describe someone who does not want to be involved in a situation.

Historically, and found today in every Japanese temple, there was a fourth monkey, covering his crotch, who symbolises the principle of “Do no Evil” which was banned from Europe in the Middle Ages. Kandabi wanted to pay homage to it, so it has been abstractly depicted in this piece by a deliberate placement of the light source in the middle monkey’s abdomen.

+44 (0) 131 667 7915 IN INJECTINGinfo@kandabi.com TRUE CHARACTER

www.kandabi.com

~Äçìí Hat Trick: It’s a sports metaphor for three achievements by a single player in a game. It can also refer to a magic trick, seemingly producing something impressive from nowhere. We like to think that we came about, as a result of a combination of the two. Hat Trick Strategies is a firm based in the UK and a presence within the US and parts of the EU. We aren’t about gimmicks, but about quality for our customers and sharing what we know with others in the industry, especially within the realm of strategic services, project and portfolio management and corporate change. We also offer those services to registered charities and non-profit events, free of charge, to help them maximize every penny they raise.

Having worked in some of the biggest transformation programs within the UK and US, seen what works, what doesn’t; what sells and what didn’t quite get the job done - and we’re still learning. Moreover, throughout our careers, we’ve benefitted from a strong network of professionals on the journey to becoming competent change professionals and business women. This is just our way of giving back what we took, coming up in the game.

Since the late 90s, too many were left behind by a technology-driven age, where less was made with hands and ‘lingo’ prevailed. On the other polarity, we have told young people to ‘degree-up’ now, while the job market is poor, producing more graduates and post-graduates than ever who fall into the “overqualified, under-skilled” trap. With complicated and seemingly endless routes into employment, many of which offer no guarantee to an actual paid position, throw into the mix a challenging economic situation, children (or simply, life!) and it can be difficult for many to know what skills are valued in the workplace. For those who finally get there, how does one progress up the ladder?

In sharing our skills and expertise, we help close that gap for those ‘learning to fish’, while recognizing those who have achieved their dreams. It is with the spirit of knowledge sharing that this monthly e-zine is produced, in hopes to create a network dedicated to professional development, best practice and knowledge sharing, across business industries. We welcome your involvement; consider yourself cordially invited.

mìÄäáëÜÉÇ=Äó Hat Trick Strategies Ltd cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions, articles, manuscripts or photographs. While every care is taken, prices, details or availability are subject to change and Hat Trick Strategy Ltd cannot accept responsibility for omissions or errors.

We reserve the right to publish and edit any letters or correspondence received. Photography in this publication consists of original, licensed and works for which express permission has been obtained by the contributor, directly.

DISTRIBUTION This publication is electronically distributed, with coverage in England, Wales, Scotland and North America.

Special thanks to CIPD, CIMA, BPP Professional Education, London Fashion Week.

©Hat Trick Strategies, 2012 All Rights Reserved Hat Trick Strategies, Ltd Unit 4, Vista Place, Coy Pond, Ingworth Road BH12 1JY Poole, Dorset, U.K. content@HatTrickMagazine.com www.pinterest.com/ hattrickonline

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Team Michelle Fitz

Editor-In-Chief

Sarah Alt

Copy Editor

Jill Warren

Photography Editor

Semant Jain

Photo Journalist

Michael Hartley

Graphic Designer

Shalanda Turner

Fashion Editor

Marina BerBeryan

Celebrity Stye Expert

Karen Salmansohn

Self-Help Editor

Amber Hamilton Henson Home & Garden Editor Tanya Jackson

Food Editor

Mina Muirhead

Health Editor

Patricia Bayne

Opinion Editor

Cherie Brooks DeBurger Opinion Columnist Joseph D. Phillips

Business Editor

Charlene SanJenko

Wellness Editor

Christine Ritter

Social Media

Nina Nuru

Social Media

Lorraine Hill

Global Planning

Suzanne Perry

Broadcast Media

Patrick Dati

Special Advisor

Sorelle Amore

Columnist

Rosie Mazumder

Columnist

Our team consists of professionals at the top of their field, many of whom can be found elsewhere online! Please be sure to explore the hyperlinks associated with their names, for great blogs, businesses and more, from this elite and talented group!

Cover Stories: Learn about Frida Larios, artisan of the Maya language

cêçã=íÜÉ=ÉÇáíçê This month, my word! We have been so busy adding content and improving the magazine! I hope the effort shows. From the arrival of Oprah columnist and happiness guru, Karen Salmansohn, to our resident cosmetic chemist, Brittany Harper-De Staedtler from PETA-approved bath & body range Posh Brats.

Other new additions include seasoned opinion columnist, Cherie Brooks DeBurger, who, after winning a battle with cancer, has learned a thing or two about the value of laughter (and will keep you at it!), and also our new Health Editor, Registered Nurse, Mina Muirhead, who will help shed some light on issues concerning your health.

Remember, you can write to our Editors and Columnists via content@HatTrickMagazine.com I’m proud to have such amazing contributors as part of my team, and on behalf of us all, please know we welcome your comments and feedback.

Michelle Fitz Editor-In-Chief

CONTENTS

Lil Nipper Snappers Cartoon ........................ 11 Scoping Your Project .....................................12 The Buzz ........................................................17 Who Are You At Work? ................................. 18 What Amber Loves ........................................22 Interview with Frida Larios: New Maya ..........28 Spotlight On Women In Leaders.....................38 Confessions Of A Hollywood Stylist ............. 46 NotSalman.com Inspires You ....................... .

49 Ask Patti .........................................................50 Column: Musings From A Life Lived Well ......54 Shasie’s Picks: Autumn 2012 ........................58 Office Wear Into Night: Get The Look ............64 Teeth Whitening Naturally, Posh Brats ...........66 Get The Perfect Eyebrow, Pin Up Passion ....68 Charlene SanJenko Builds Strong Women ....70 Like Magnolias: Southern Cooking ................72 Health Matters: Childhood Obesity Month ......73 A Bit Quackers ...............................................77 Your FREE Issue: Cake Masters Magazine .....80 A Couple of Editor Roles for Grabs..........137 London Fashion Week Info ..............138

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CONTENTS

Hat Trick ts or Concerns: Questions, Commen com

azine. content@HatTrickMag

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Study for a degree through CIMA CIMA has partnered with three UK universities to offer students the opportunity to get a degree while also studying towards their CIMA qualification.

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Hat Trick Endorsed. CIMA is a global qualification, respected in a variety of industries and an excellent investment if you’re looking for a leadership-driven, strategic qualification.

Register As A CIMA Student!

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Louise Golbey

For further information, tour dates and more, please click here Click Here for iTunes!

Click Here for iTunes!

Click Here to Watch the debut video of How it Is Page 10

www.louisegolbey.com

Joey Phelps & Michael Phelps Cartoonists Hat Trick Magazine

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Scoping Your Project by: Joseph D. Phillips Business Editor

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Projects fail at the beginning, not the end. As a project management consultant, the biggest problem I’ve seen in organizations is a lack of understanding what the project is to achieve. I don’t mean just the big picture of the project, I mean the specific things that will need to be created, implemented, and configured in order for the project to be done. These little things pile up. And piles get ignored. And the deadline isn’t moving. If you want your projects to be more successful, and I know you do, then you need to define exactly what the project is to achieve and then go do it. I’m really talking about defining the project requirements and the project scope as early in the project as possible.

The project scope statement is a document that defines what the project is, the project deliverables, and the work that the project team (and likely contractors) will have to do in order to create the identified project deliverables. The major purpose of the document is to communicate with the project team, the project customers, and the project stakeholders a common understanding of the project’s purpose, goals, and objectives. The project scope statement, as I’ll dive into one moment, also serves as a launching board for additional Page 13

planning by the project team and the project manager.

The project scope can be a large document or a simple one or twopage manifesto. So how big does this thing have to be? Here’s a heuristic you can rely on: larger projects typically require more detail than smaller projects. In other words, the bigger the project the longer it’s going to take to create the project scope statement, and the more information you’ll need to include in the document.

I admit I’m painting some large brush strokes here. Most organizations are going to have project scope statements available from past projects – that’s part of your organizational process assets.

There’s nothing wrong with using a past project’s documents as templates for your current project – work smart not hard. And if your organization has never, ever completed a scope statement before? You’ll need some additional planning time to create the project scope statement. Don’t be surprised if your project scope statement goes through several rounds of revisions – it should. So what exactly does a project scope statement include? I’m glad you asked, otherwise this list would be just silly.

Here’s all the stuff that a project scope statement should include: • Project objectives. Objectives are the goals of the project – the measurable, quantifiable goals of the project. Think of time, cost, quality, technical requirements, blueprints, and product acceptance criteria. I stress the word quantifiable – avoid loose terms in your objectives such as fast, good, satisfaction, and other subjective terms.

What’s fast to you may be slow to your customer. If you can attach a metric to it you need to.

• Product scope. Remember the product scope – the vision of what the project will create? The product scope and all of its features and functions are included here.

• Project requirements. Let’s face it, your project will have some requirements. You can identify a project requirement as anything that “must” be met, kept, or deliverabled. The project must not exceed $750,000. The project deliverable must be able to interface with SQL, Oracle, and Access. The project deliverable must be blue.

Requirements are often, if not usually, tied to the product scope and the project objectives.

• Project boundaries. These are things that are considered out of project scope.

For example, we’ll create and compile the new software for you, but we will not create the CD image and ship the

software around the world for you. A project boundary may also identify areas where the project should not overlap with other lines of business or projects. For example and electrician may have a boundary created for him to install the high-voltage wiring, but not the lowvoltage wiring – such as network cable and home security systems.

• Project deliverables. Isn’t this obvious?

It’s the product that the project will be creating. But wait a minute professor, there’s also ancillary deliverables – the project documentations, the project management plans, the project communications, contracts, and all the other historical information the organization reaps as a result of the project. Bonus!

• Product acceptance criteria. You want it when and it has to do what? Easy enough – it’s the criteria the project manager and the project customer both may use to determine the success of the project.

• Project constraints. A constraint is anything the limits the project manager’s options. You must be done in two years.

You must not exceed four million dollars.

You must use COBOL. You must use Indiana limestone. Anytime you see the word “must” or “demand” then you know you’re dealing with a project constraint.

Technically, all projects have at least three constraints: time, cost, and scope.

• Project assumptions. An assumption is anything that you believe to be true, but you haven’t necessarily proven to be true. For example, in construction an assumption is often made that summer months are better than winter months for building. Or you may assume that the software you’re creating will work just peachy with Windows Vista. Or you assume that all of your project team members are happy to working on your project. As you can imagine, assumptions can become risks.

• Initial project organization. Who’s who in your project. This portion of the project scope statement defines the project manager, the project team, the project customers, and any other project stakeholders. You may also identify the reporting structure in this portion of the project scope statement.

• Initial defined risks. A risk is an uncertain event or condition that may have a negative (or sometimes a positive) effect on the project. I’ll talk a bunch more about risks later in this section. Hold your horses!

• Schedule milestones. A milestone is a non-timed condition or event that shows that the project is making progress. For example, finishing the foundation could be a milestone. Milestones often end a phase of the project and allow the next phase of the project work to begin.

• Fund limitation. Unless you work for some wonderful organization, your project is going to have a funding limitation and a reconciliation process to identify where the monies for the project have gone.

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• Cost estimate. Everyone wants to know how much your project will cost. The cost estimate and the supporting detail for that cost estimate is included in the project scope statement. I’ll address the process of creating a cost estimate in just a bit. I promise.

• Project configuration management requirements. Remember the phrase “features and functions” and the product scope? This section of the project scope statement defines the level of control the project manager (and often by proxy the organization) will place over the project change control requirements. Changes to the product scope will result in changes to the project scope.

• Project specifications. This section of the project scope statement identifies any of the specification documents such as regulations, requirements sheets, blueprints, or the like that the project must comply with.

• Approval requirements. Someone, an individual or a committee, must sign off on the project when it’s completed. This section of the project scope statement defines the requirements for the project to be approved.

The project scope statement is a cornerstone of the project. It serves as a guide for all future project decisions, and the project manager and the project team must protect the scope from unapproved changes as the project moves through execution. The project scope statement is the written version of what’s commonly called “the project scope” or just “scope.”

Author Bio Joseph Phillips is a leader in the project management and adult education community. He is a PMI-certified Project Management Professional, a Project+ Professional, and a Certified Technical Trainer. Phillips has consulted on project management, business analysis, and adult education for hospitals, architectural firms, manufacturers, and information technology consultancies. He’s consulted organizations on project management framework, process engineering, change management, and the principles of project management.

As a leader in adult education, Phillips has taught organizations how to successfully implement project management methodologies, information technology project management, risk management, and other courses. He has taught more than 10,000 professionals through seminars, conferences, and presentations in the United States, Belgium, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. He is a member and of the Project Management Institute and speaks often for chapter meetings throughout the world. He has taught for Columbia College Chicago, Vincennes University, and Ball State University.

Phillips is the author of several top-selling books, including IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish, PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide, CAPM/ PMP Project Management Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Project Management for Small Business, Vampire Management, The Lifelong Project, and others. Contact Joseph Phillips

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Click Here To Preview PMP Boot Camp Before You Buy!

HSBC cannot seem to catch a break. The bank is facing yet another allegation, this time over whether it assisted US taxpayers in avoiding taxation through Swiss bank accounts. This, after a separate and ongoing investigation as to whether Europe’s largest bank allowed Mexican drug lords, rogue states and terrorists to launder an estimated sum in the billion-dollar range.

The London Olympic games came to a close with closing ceremonies reportedly watched by 26m Brits, an an estimated global audience of about 4 billion!

The US unemployment rate rose to 8.3% in August, despite 163,000 new jobs in the economy for July.

The UK unemployment rate fell to 8%, its lowest in a year, partially due to temporary job opportunities stemming from the Olympic Games. It was the biggest increase in a quarter since 2010 and remains at the highest level since 2008. (ONS)

Prince Harry was caught on camera playing strip snooker in his Las Vegas hotel room.

Best comment across the media outlets? Our hat’s off to Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who told the BBC, “I think it'd be disgraceful if a chap wasn't allowed to have a bit of fun in Las Vegas. The real scandal would be if you went all the way to Las Vegas and you didn't misbehave in some trivial way."

Madonna is said to have called for an end to the long-standing ‘feud’ with Elton John, making a special dedication at her concert in Nice.

This, following comments allegedly made by EJ about her ... ahem ... scant attire.

Reality TV star “Snookie” reportedly had a baby boy this month, Lorenzo.

No word on his spray tan as yet.

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by Sukh Pabial Careers Editor

Who Are You Page 18

At Work?

There’s been a lot of work done around persona’s we adopt when at work, how it differs to the home environment, and how it differs when we’re with friends. Some people will pretend to be someone in order to fit the environment they’re on. Some people will not know how to act in a certain environment and display behaviours which are either atypical of them, or atypical to others. Some people enjoy their environment and go on to be who they are naturally.

to have a career, a proper job and learning about themselves, what they’re good at, and what they’re bad at. They have little awareness of what any of this means, yet. We will all know that this is an ever continuing journey, and is a constantly changing landscape.

Ask someone who has been in a job for life, like many civil servants, and the vast majority will be in roles that have served them well in order they can live a happy life of some description. Self-development may have happened along the way, and Recently, I was part of a discussion progression may have happened along the way, but by and large it’ll be where the question was raised keep your head down type attitude “how do you help the quiet people be heard in organisations?” It was a and get on and do a good job. good question, which made me think about what we’re trying to get Consider when someone goes from the question. It brought me to through a change in their personal life. This changes their outlook actually consider a different dramatically. They forget who they question, which in turn addresses are, let alone what they’re coming to this question. How do you be your work for. People die, houses get authentic self at work? damaged, personal items get stolen, marriages break down, it’s all a big That, for me, is a very different mess. And it screws with your head question with quite a few something chronic. How in the world considerations to bear in mind. are you meant to operate normally In a recent exit interview, I asked when all this happens? the question, have their personal You remember when Bob got talents been utilised and developed? The person in question promoted above Bertina? That started with us as a junior, and after caused a whole host of politics at 3 1/2 years has decided to move on work. Unexpected stress for one collective, unexpected joy for to a different company for a another. Somewhere in between, different role. For them, they are just starting their journey of learning friction and challenges that in some Page 19

cases helped work to happen, in other cases acted as a direct barrier. Ugh. So my initial question becomes quite difficult to answer. How do you be your authentic self at work?

And what does it mean to be authentic? And who cares if you’re being authentic? And does being authentic mean you’re actually working at your best? And is being authentic actually beneficial to the company?And what responsibility does an organisation have to help you be authentic?

What responsibility does an organisation have to help you be authentic? Interesting. We (as in organisations) will try to help you have a good recruitment experience. We will try to ensure you are onboarded well (read this post by @JulesJ85 for a good account of where this goes wrong).

We will try to have good performance management systems in place. We will try and think about how we reward and recognise your efforts so that you can feel motivated to do more work for us.

Isn’t this enough? If we’re able, we may try and offer some learning and development so you can feel like you’re being invested in. Are we now also meant to try and help you be authentic?

What personal responsibility is there to be authentic at work? If I’m a generally positive person, and all Page 20

smiles and sunshine, why is this a more acceptable set of behaviours to display? What happens when I’m down, feeling grumpy and generally angry at the world? That’s me being authentic too, so why should I have to play down the set of accompanying behaviours? And what if I don’t agree with the way projects are being managed or the way a team is doing their work, am I not meant to comment and contribute?

How about when I’m actively supporting a change to happen, regardless of how it seems it will be received by others?

Now, I’m all bought in to the idea that we should be authentic at work. The problem is, very few of us understand what this means. Further, few of us will make the efforts for it to happen genuinely. Most will just carry on and do work, because that’s all they need to do. I’m mindful the self-help books will espouse that authenticity is the key to success. There are, though, a set of behaviours which enable authenticity to happen.

So, my take home message? Be yourself. At your peril.

Working with Sukh I’m available for consultancy and associate work in the field of learning and development and positive psychology. Read on for more details…

Learning and Development. My chosen career path for the last ten years, and I’m not stopping yet. Designing and developing solutions to make workplaces successful through the skills and abilities of their people is the core role of any L&Der. I take this seriously and am actively involved in being a key part of the continuing thoughts and developments in this field. I’ve done everything from interpersonal skills training to management training to leadership development to basic behavioural skills like time management. It’s all interesting, but importantly it’s about getting it right for the business. I’ve developed L&D strategies, been involved in culture change initiatives, delivered whole programmes, and more.

Raising self awareness. This is what I live and breathe. We can all learn about ways to influence and encourage others to do things, but until you learn about your own style and what this means for you, how can you expect to do the former? In learning about your strengths, and your weaknesses, you gain strength of mind and conviction that you have a clear path ahead of you. This is what I will help with, and I’m qualified in the MBTI and 16PF to help you.

Conversation. That’s what I help to enable. I’m a collaborator, facilitator, and interested in the challenges you’re facing. Through bringing people together, ensuring the right conversation is taking place, and bringing to front of mind better ways of working with others, I want to be part of making it happen.

Making things happen. That’s what I enjoy too. People can achieve great things, either on their own or with the collaboration of people around them. I will use what I know to help you make things happen. There are good ways of achieving your goals and ambitions, and there are bad ways. The good ways mean you enjoy the work you do, you have a reason to be motivated, and the output you produce will be better. The bad ways mean none of that happens, and generally things are very selfish. I’m in the camp for doing things the right way.

I can be contacted for consultancy and associate work on any of the above. Have a look at the About Sukh page for contact details.

Sukh Pabial is a learning and development professional and if you like what he says, he writes a regular blog.

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By: Amber Hamilton Henson Home & Garden Editor

What Amber

Loves

Let’s accomplish a few tasks all at once with this article. I’m going to tell you a little story about how a couple (my husband, Mitch, and I) bought a house for $37,500 and sold it for $255,000. My friends and family that have kept up with us for years through Facebook have seen and heard this story, but knowing roughly what our annual income is, Mitch’s new co-workers recently wondered aloud as to how we can afford to live in the house in the neighborhood that we do, now. I’ll answer that with this post. Second, I’m seeing A LOT of blog posts linking to other blogs linking to other blogs that show home improvement, restoration, DIY projects, real estate transactions, and more. I thought that having already gone all the way through the process once, our story and what we did may be of some value to others currently going through the process.

Basically, we bought an old house (built in 1902) that was a few blocks beyond the borders of the “Governor’s Mansion Historic District” in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. Mitch and I were newly weds. I was 18. He was 22. We saw the huge space and had a dream.

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Overall, the neighborhood was pretty rough (high crime, condemned houses, etc.), but there were these little dots of inspiration, too. Within a block or two, one or two houses were newly remodeled/rehabilitated houses, a couple were under construction, and few dilapidated ones had “for sale” signs. So, even though the condemned houses and old-homes-that-became-boarding-houses still outnumbered us by far, there were indicators that a change COULD be possible. Our friends and family openly said that they thought we were crazy to choose to buy such a rough house in such a rough area. We knew we weren’t.

While simultaneously attending college full-time and working as a receptionist full-time, I started planning and tackling projects. Mitch, with the help of his dad, brother, and my brother, worked tirelessly.

My grandmother was a saving grace, gifting funds multiple times. Among the very first projects we tackled were to take down all of the metal bars on the doors and windows in order to give the house a “friendlier/homier” feeling, having a professional security system installed, and putting a pretty new roof on the place. The house was structurally sound, but every surface of the interior needed

to be replaced. Interior plaster, floors, ceilings, and fixtures had to be replaced, the second story had been stripped all the way back to just the framing beams, for the most part, and the big front porch was about to completely fall off, it seemed. The yard was barren and empty, except for one lovely, mature pecan tree in the backyard.

For many years, we really didn’t have any sort of hobbies or spare money to spend on anything other than updating our old house.

See, while lots of people took out big construction loans, refinanced after every project and kept their projects fully mortgaged, we didn’t. We saved and paid for each project one at a time, acting as our own general contractor and hiring professionals as needed for central heat/ air conditioning, new electrical breaker boxes, and rough plumbing. Mitch and I insulated, hung new drywall, painted, installed floors, built closets, built bookshelves, installed all of the outlets/ switches/lighting, installed all of the tubs/ sinks/toilets, re-built the front porch, built fences, installed landscaping, and more.

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(Above) The Henson’s former home, restored When we bought the house, we thought we would tackle it all in a year or two.

However, since we took a pay-as-we-go and DIY approach, it was actually a decade before it was all done.

Interestingly enough, the more changes that we and the few others kept making were encouraging to the rest of the neighborhood and potential buyers. One by one, almost all of the houses in the area began to change. Real Estate prices went up. Crime went down. The boundaries of the “Governor’s Mansion Historic District” that were/are controlled by the Capitol Zoning District Commission were extended to include our house!

Did I mention that during those years spent renovating, Mitch worked full-time and took on automotive restoration projects for profit, I graduated with two degrees, we had two daughters, and were expecting a third daughter when we decided to sell it? The addition of a third child soon to arrive and the needs of our growing daughters who wanted neighborhood pools, bike paths, room to roam, access to a newly constructed public school, and so forth are what ultimately necessitated the sale of our beloved house downtown.

Important message here. See the photo that shows the floorplan of the house and Page 25

so forth? I believe that in a “buyers’ market” you have to do whatever it takes to help sell your house, if you’re truly motivated to sell quickly. In Arkansas, most online real estate listings do not include a floor plan, but in the event that a buyer might see our house on the internet first, we wanted it to be memorable and for them to be able to envision the spaces. Seeing how the rooms actually connect and flow from one another is very

different than using just photographs and trying to imagine how it may be laid out. It paid off. Our buyer was from out of state, saw it online, wanted to see ours specifically, even though it was a cluttered market with several other homes similar to ours, he chose to visit ours and wrote an offer. I never had the opportunity to ask, but I’d guess that being able to see the floor plan was a tremendous help and a deciding factor as to which houses were worth taking the time to visit.

(Dear Readers, Include a floor plan of your home with your photographs when you are selling your home online.

Taking the guesswork out of it all for your buyers and real estate agents instantly creates a degree of familiarity and comfort with a piece of property compared to those that forget to include the floor plan. I used Adobe Illustrator to create ours, but a simple sketch to scale by hand would get the job done, too, or you can probably hire a local graphic artist or college student inexpensively to visit the property, measure, and create an illustration for you.

Having an illustration of the space plan/layout of the house is also a useful reference for other agents that show your home! When we were buying our new home, we were astounded at how few listings included floor plans on their marketing materials. Online, it was impossible to guess how much square footage was wasted by hallways or what sort of distance existed between bedrooms and bathrooms. Furthermore, without a copy of a floor plan in hand, going to an “open house” where potential buyers outnumbered agents can be like walking around in a maze sometimes. Rooms get overlooked or viewed twice, etc. Include a floor plan. If you’re in central Arkansas and looking to buy or sell, I recommend the services of Scott Heffington. Having him represent our house as a selling agent was fantastic. We will be using his services again in the future.)

Okay; Mitch, my husband, just read my draft of this article and isn’t convinced that my descriptions of the work we did adequately portray how dramatic the transformation of the old house really was. So, on that note, I’m adding a few before/after photos. It would be nice to have more “before” pictures, but we don’t. We were so focused on improvement, we just didn’t think to take many “before” photos.

(Dear Readers, TAKE BEFORE PHOTOS! You’ll be glad you did!)

The next picture shows the old house in the beginning, then when it got a new roof, then years later after it was painted, storm windows added, landscaped, fenced, new slate pathway, etc., etc. The right side shows the upstairs interior views as it was when we started versus how it was when we finished the master suite level of the house.

I miss my house. I absolutely love my new house and new neighborhood, but even if I say that I PROFOUNDLY miss my old house, old neighbors, and the friends we made along the way downtown, it is an understatement. It was a great house, with great memories inside, and a style that was completely of my own design. We’ve been in our new house for almost two years now. It is a fantastic house. It is primarily a brick and stone exterior, which means a lot less maintenance than our old painted

wooden house. It has a great familyfriendly floor plan, the craftsmanship of the finishes are great, and for the most part, we really like the fixtures throughout the house. The previous owners were the ones that commissioned its construction, so as a result of being a custom home, it came equipped with lots of bonus features and meticulous attention to detail. I’ll start showing you some of this in future posts.

We’ve made a few changes, too. We’ve painted most of the interior, built a wall of bookshelves, swapped a few fixtures, changed bedroom carpet for new wood floors, etc. It’s still a work in progress. I’ll post photos of these new projects soon and tell you about a few major projects that we still have planned! Stay tuned!

Last photo shown is a photo of our new house in our new neighborhood.

Thoughts? Questions? Please, visit my blog or email me directly

Your Friend,

Amber Page 27

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Businesswoman Artisan Preservationist

Frida

by Shalanda Turner Fashion Editor

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Suzanne Perry, Loving Life! beach volleyball. From 1996 until 2003 me and my partner were reigning Central American champions traveling in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour across Europe and South America. Beach volleyball was my passion, but design 1. Tell us a little bit about yourself? was equally as inspiring and important to I think it is fair to say that I am a multime, I had learned that since my school tasker extraordinaire. I went to a private days, so I never ceased to do either. It German School in San Salvador where I wasn’t easy as it meant waking up at 5am was raised (strange thing I know, but it every day for practice so that I could was only a block away from my parents have a full day of study, while I was house.) My peers in school always finishing college, or designing, while I remember me painting greeting cards was managing my design studio. Then in with a full set of large-format paper, 2003 I moved to London to study a brushes and temperas displayed on my masters degree in communication design desk while paying attention and in one of the most prestigious design participating in a lesson about heavy German, Bertolt Brecht-type literature–all schools in the world: Central Saint at the same time. I was attracted to both: Martins College of Art & Design sponsored by the government of El art and sports since I was a little girl.

Salvador through a sister fullbright From five until fifteen I was a gymnast scholarship programme. I had already representing my country at international lived on and off in London and the west events. I then moved on to indoor volleyball where I was part of the national coast of England while I was completing team for five years and finally settled with a bachelors degree in Graphic Design at Frida Larios , International Indigenous Design Network (INDIGO) Ambassador, designer and creator of a new pictographic language.

a bachelors degree in Graphic Design at University College Falmouth,but this time I was to live the full London life-changing experience.

greeting cards for valentines and mothers day to my school mates. I knew I wanted to become a graphic designer then, but never knew I would be taken beyond that initial call and become so passionate 2. What was the inspiration behind your about my culture and its application in different disciplines. Some people take New Mayan Language Art Project?

It was London that inspired me. Being far time to find out their intent in life, some people never find out, and I feel incredibly away from my home country, but at the grateful that I have always been guided to same time being so close to one of the mecca’s of contemporary art and culture do what I love. brought me close to my own roots.

My mother has been a flower designer Central Saint Martins College of Art & and artist, she has always had an eye for Design was two blocks away from the what is aesthetically enhancing in her British Museum in Holborn, which holds environment and a love for nature. My the most beautiful carved lintels in the Maya world from the Yaxchilán site. Being father is a master in fito pathology (study in touch with both: thousands of years old of plant diseases) who researched the natural balance between insects and and at the same time the most crops. I think this is why I have a contemporary art expressions sparked systematic and organic way of the idea of reviving the dead Maya approaching design. I can actually say I hieroglyphic language. do come from a family of artists and sporties. Gabriela Larios the sister who There were other important motivations follows me, is an illustrator and surface too. As an educator to first year Graphic Design students in San Salvador in what designer living in London. She is also a former national El Salvador team was my first Professor position at the representative in cycling. My "little" sister young age of 26, I discovered that they Andrea Jeffcoat lives in Nashville, TN. She were tending to imitate northern graphic styles. Like in many design disciplines the studied ceramic jewellery art and is a Zumba instructor. norm is to look to what is fashionable in the western world, rather than sourcing 4. What was your discipline in Art from your own native background. Au contraire, natives have been discriminated School? Like I mentioned above, my in the Meso American region (modern bachelors degree was in Graphic DesignCentral America) for centuries since my thesis at University College Falmouth Spaniards’ colonial times. When a was also a culturally rooted project. My teenager wants to say to another that masters degree was in Communication they are being “uncool” they say: “No Design with an emphasis in typography seas indio! (don’t behave like an and historically relevant wayfinding. My indigenous.)” This tells us a lot of the masters thesis was my New Maya inner sentiments towards our native Language project which was originally ancestors. I am hoping my project is a inspired by the content of a UNESCO humble inspiration to those young World Heritage archaeological sitee in El designers so that they too start looking Salvador buried under volcanic ash for inside their local heritage for innovation.

1500 years and unearthed in the 1970's-similar to the Pompei in Italy 3. When did you know that you wanted archaeological park. to be an artist? Ever since I was in masters middle school. I would sell hand-painted After our Central Saint Martins Page 31

After our Central Saint Martins masters exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, I continued to evolve my project--like many of my talented peers who have also been awarded for their own unique projects.

I taught Digital Surface Design for Textiles as part of different fashion related courses. Because of my graphics background and Adobe Creative Suite software knowledge I was able to guide their digital creative process. I was always impressed by their innate ability to It's been eight years now since I express patterns using crafted or digitally conceived the New Maya Language and it generated visual resources. You can see has certainly developed into a multiple some of my students surface designs avenues project that has life in: sign, outcome in this video on my YouTube typography, surface, fashion, accessory, channel. and educational toy design. It even has the potential to become an iPhone app to 6. How do you currently define the teach children about the Maya language. relationship between art & fashion.

All the art and design fields are blending In my vision: It has no limits. I am willing these days, there are no boundaries as to expand it as far as my imagination brands look to provide their audiences takes it with the intent of making my with unusual ideas. Collaborations culture (or a part of it) known to the world, between bloggers and fashion designers to my fellow Meso American citizens, and or between actors and musicians, for to the living Maya themselves. example, are at the order of day. It would be nice to see even less common 5. What kind of classes did you teach at collaborations that brought awareness the London College of Fashion? about cultural, social, health and

environmental issues to the mainstream public. Only major brands have the power to access a truly worldwide audience and they need to be even more conscious of their role and how they influence even the youngest minds these days.

7. Where can we find your book on the New Maya Language?

The 115-page, 100% hand-bound New Maya Language book is printed on thick 160 gsm water-colour paper, and translated in four languages: English, Spanish, Maya, and visually. It beautifully compiles and decodes the New Maya Language project. The first chapter explains the complex original Maya hieroglyphic language. The second chapter's large illustrations provide the formula for each New Maya Language pictogram. And finally, the third chapter showcases various design applications used by governmental and private entities.

Renowned Peabody Museum, Harvard epigrapher Alexandre Tokovinine describes the works in my book with these words: “Even though there has been a growing body of scholarly works devoted to the subject of Maya calligraphy, few artists systematically sought their inspiration in Maya letters beyond mere reproduction of certain glyphs and glyphic patterns, usually in the context of contemporary indigenous art. Frida’s project stands apart as an attempt to explore and reinvent Maya calligraphy as a symbolic and aesthetic system from an artist’s viewpoint. The New Maya Language creates its own world that blends Maya imagery and symbolism with Frida’s unique vision in a series of artworks which would make an ancient calligrapher proud.”

The book can be found at the Centre for Typographic Research at the Central Page 33

Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing; at the White House in Washington DC, at the Embassy of El Salvador in London and Paris; at the Museum of National Identity in Tegucigalpa; and in the hands of private collectors in Chicago, Paris, London, etc.

It was the only Latin American typo-work selected for exhibition with 80 other from around the world, at Beijing Typography 2009 at the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, China.

artist today can claim to master all these disciplines.

9. How can people learn more about you and your artwork and where to purchase?

The homepage on my website showcases the whole collection of pictograms. This is the series applied to paintings, prints, fashion, accessories and toy products.

I have a permanent gallery and Frida It can be purchased at Hacienda San Larios boutique with my original artworks Lucas in the Copan Maya archaeological at Hacienda San Lucas located in the site in Honduras and be custom ordered major Maya archaological site of Copån online through my website: Ruins. Online, Pinterest is becoming a www.fridalarios.com/book.htm. good place to view and purchase my paintings and products too: http:// Libros San Cristobal, a fine press located pinterest.com/fridalarios. Photos of in Antigua Guatemala, will be crafting by artworks displayed on collectors’ homes indigenous hands and publishing a limited around the world can be viewed on my edition of my book with movable type in blog http://fridalarios.wordpress.com.

2013. This edition will be sold in various When you want to order people contact solo exhibitions I will be holding starting us directly through the contact form on this November and on my Facebook page my website. so keep following!

10. Tell us more about the INDIGO 8.Do you have artist that you look up group? to? If so, please tell us? Frida Kahlo, and INDIGO is the International Indigenous not because of the name! But because Design Network a branch of ICOGRADA she developed a visual surrealist the International Council of Graphic movement that has indirectly influenced Design. INDIGO is an open platform that Latin American literature (Gabriel Garcia connects both Indigenous and non Marquez, Isabel Allende et. al) to date.

Indigenous designers worldwide in an effort to explore traditional design and its And of course: the Maya artists. They contemporary interpretations. INDIGO were renaissance men. Surely comparable facilitates discussion, initiates to Leonardo, Rafael, Michelangelo, who collaborative projects, exhibitions and were not only fine artists, they were conferences but also showcases other architects, sculptors, interior designers, relevant initiatives from all over the world. poets, and even engineers. In other It seeks to understand design that is words: liberal innovators. And so were the inspired by or rooted in Indigenous Maya artists who were Royal scribes and culture, traditions, imagery, lifestyle, etc. book keepers. In being so they held the knowledge of what they had to write We believe indigenous design should be a about: history, politics, astronomy, present and future reference to designers mathematics, and art in general. Their who look to produce sustainable design beautiful calligraphic works are quite concepts. Contemporary designers need unknown to a non-Mayanist audience. No to consider his or her local heritage at the Page 34

time of designing窶的NDIGO encourages and reinforces this notion.

My role as an Ambassador for INDIGO is to create an environment for the exchange of knowledge and ideas. I offer the network local access and insights, help shape projects and initiatives. I am very active within the network of Ambassadors. I am currently a member of the Sarawak, Malaysia International Design Week 2012 programming committee and other committes key to shaping the vision and future of INDIGO. 11. When did you know that you wanted to use your art to help people?

My projects, not only New Maya Language, have always had a cultural component. We used to run a design agency in San Salvador and London with my sister and our projects were used as case studies in various publications because they represented the Central American graphic spirit and style.

12. What are your future project plans? Any more language projects?

As always, I am multi-tasking galore. I just had a baby (two months old today!) and I have another wonderful three-year old. That would be enough for anyone, but not for Frida. I spent 2011 coming up with nine (yes only nine, but each one could be a whole thesis) new pictograms inspired by the Maya concept of the universe: the sky, the earth, and the underground. That is all I can say about them because they are still confidential and under a special key locked website. From this series I am woking on a collaboration with Pattern People to create surface designs. Potential clients interested in this collection should contact us. I am also working on prototypes for a new jewellery collection based on this same concept. Collaborations seem to be what is driving my 2012 and 2013.

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One of the most exciting projects coming up is a collaboration with my sister Gabriela Larios, Alexis Rodríguez (a Cuban graphic designer) and Latinotype.com to release two new Central American feel typefaces.

We have a series of exhibition engagements with my talented photographer,husband Tyler Orsburn. The exhibition is called New Maya Life and shows both his intimate portraits of living Maya people and my New Maya hieroglyphics. It will be shown from November 2012 - February 2013 at the Honduran Museum for National Identity (Museo para la Identidad Nacional) accompanying a major University of Pennsylvania Maya exhibition called Maya 2012: Lords of Time; at the Embassy of Mexico in Guatemala; and at the John James Audubon Museum in Kentucky in 2013.

And lastly, yes, I actually have a new language project. This one in collaboration with Zelda Harrison, a fellow INDIGO Ambassador. We will be hosting a workshop titled: Reinterpreting Malaysian Iconography into Contemporary Design Products during the ICOGRADA [International Council of Graphic Design] International Design Week in Sarawak, Malaysia from October 15 -21, 2012. For those interested in attending this fabulous INDIGO event you can sign up here:www.sarawak.icograda.org.

Thank you Frida for taking the time to let us know all about yourself! Be sure to follow Frida and all her ventures via the following sites: Browse: http://www.fridalarios.com Subscribe: http://fridalarios.wordpress.com Follow: http://twitter.com/fridalarios Like: http://facebook.com/LariosFrida Interest: http://pinterest.com/fridalarios

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NOTE: "It has been conventional for linguists to use "Mayan" with final "n", while archaeologists, epigraphers, and historians usually use the term "Maya". I shall use these distinctions in this online Maya Dictionary. The term "Mayan", therefore, refers to a Mayan language, be it a modern language, a reconstructed "proto-"language, or the language of the hieroglyphs (which is now commonly referred to as "Classic Mayan"). "Maya" refers to such things as Classic Maya civilization, Maya writing, Maya ritual, etc."

Source: FAMSI.org: The Classification of Mayan Languages by Peter Mathews

Were you a spectator at London Olympics 2012? (lucky devil!)

Or perhaps you enjoyed supporting your country and would like to share your experience. Please write to us at content@HatTrickMagazine.com and tell us what you thought!

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Spotlight: Women Shelly Lazerus Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide chairman Shelly Lazarus has been working, as she would say, ‘In the business I love,’ for more than three decades, almost all of that time at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

Joining the organisation at the tail end of the fabled Mad Men era in advertising on Madison Avenue, New York and rising through the ranks of account service, Shelly has held positions of increasing responsibility in the management of the company, including president of O&M Direct North America and Ogilvy & Mather New York; chief operating officer of Ogilvy North America; and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

Shelly serves on the boards of several corporate, philanthropic and academic institutions: General Electric; Merck; New York Presbyterian Hospital; the American Museum of Natural History; the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy; the World Wildlife Fund; and the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School, where she received her MBA in 1970. Shelly is the wife of Dr George Lazarus, a New York paediatrician, and mother to their three grown children.

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In Leadership Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Brought to You By cimaglobal.com/women

Significant milestones in the industry ‘I think the thing that strikes me about the era portrayed in Mad Men is the role of women,’ she says. ‘The fact that women were only present in those days as housewives, help maids, secretaries and sex objects is striking when you contrast it to today, where I’d say most marketing and advertising organisations are probably 50% male and 50% female.

There has been an extraordinary change that has happened over the last 20 years.’

The paucity of women CEOs at Fortune 500 / FTSE 100 companies With regards to the lack of women serving as CEOs at Fortune 500 / FTSE 100 companies, Shelly states: ‘Of course you have to be concerned when you just look at the figures but I think it’s also fair to keep some perspective. When I first came into the business world in the early 1970s I used to be the only woman in the

room – a long way away from conversations about women CEOs! ‘The amount of progress that I have seen just in my professional lifetime has been remarkable. But you still have the issue of low women leader numbers so I think it’s good to be impatient as well. Keep life in perspective – but continue to be impatient.’

What can be done?

She feels that for things to improve further more talented women must be prepared to fight hard for the opportunities to rise through the ranks. ‘It is a bit of a numbers game and you have to have a big enough pool of women who are willing to stay in, play the game, fight the fight and put in the time and the travel, etc, but we have to get the numbers up,’ she says. ‘If there is anything that concerns me it’s the number of extremely talented and capable women in their 30s who are choosing by their own will, and happily, to leave the Page 39

workforce to go home.

‘It’s wonderful women take a break but the more go home the smaller the talent pool’ ‘On one hand I think it’s wonderful that women feel free enough to make these choices because that’s the ultimate freedom, to say: ‘I understand that I could be a CEO, but what I’d prefer to do is to go home and take a break now in my professional career and spend time with my children.’ I think it’s wonderful that women feel free to do that.

‘On the other hand the more women who opt to go home the smaller the pool is going to be.

When you are thinking of a pool of potential CEO candidates it’s not that large so we have just got to figure a way of getting women to want to stay in the game.’

Balance between work and family life Balance between the two great priorities of work and family life is, Shelley, believes, something not easy to attain, but she states: ‘I don’t think boards should be sympathetic to balance. That’s not a board issue. The board issue is retaining talent and making sure that the environment in which the talent works is as conducive to success as possible.’

‘I’m positive that unless you are passionate about the work that you do, you’re never going to achieve balance’, she continues. ‘You have to find something that you love to do, that you can be passionate about. You’re going to love your children, you just know that, so Page 40

professionally, if what you do is anything less than scintillating, exciting, fulfilling, your life is never going to be in balance. If, in fact, it’s frustrating, tedious and not engaging then the balance will never be right and you’ll resent every minute that you’re away from what you love: your children.

‘You need to trust people to do what is necessary to deliver’ ‘One of the things I have found is that you can fit into your life all those things that you love to do, but you can’t fit in so easily what you find tedious. If you love your children and you love your job it all becomes do-able, you just have to figure out the balance day to day. I think many people who are challenged in finding balance and who are unhappy with how their work-life balance pans out don’t like their work life particularly.’

Employer policies to support female advancement Shelley believes in creating a meritocracy in the workplace, judging people by the results that they achieve and by the contribution they make. ‘It’s not a question of hours, it’s not a question of ‘did you work last night and tonight’ or ‘are you free to work on the weekends?’ she says. ‘I think if you want women to be successful you have to trust the person to be able to figure it out for herself.

‘I think you need to continue to trust people to do what is necessary to deliver what you need from them and stop paying attention to things like how many hours people are in the office for or whether they are available for a 7am conference call.

If you start to introduce these, what I think are extraneous evaluation criteria, it’s going to make it hard for people who are trying to juggle a lot of things.’

Being a role model for businesswomen: a burden?

She may be held up a role model for businesswomen everywhere, but Shelley modestly states she is ‘pretty non-plussed’ by the fact.

‘One of the things that made it easy for me was that there were no role models. When I came into the business I just had to make it up! So there was a self-conscious aspect to what I was doing because I was never trying to live up to what anybody else was doing.

Everything I do just kind of comes naturally and right out of what I value and what is important to me.

‘I knew I was going to that school play: it was important to me’

‘I’ve said to women for years that I’ve never snuck out of the office when I’ve had to do something with my kids; I walked right down the centre aisle, always. That’s who I was; I knew it was important to me. I knew I was going to that school play at 11.05 on a Thursday morning. The school play never lasted more than 25 minutes though! I could be back in the office by noon and what difference did it make? You don’t have to hide.

‘I think you need the self confidence to say ‘this is who I am, this is what I do and if you want me to keep on working here you need to trust me enough that I will get done what needs to be get done, but I’m going to do it on my own time.’

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Held in check by children?

One reason often cited for the relative lack of women in senior executive roles in large companies is their potential absence from work in order to have children. Research from the Cranfield school of management in 2008 suggested that there are not only fewer women in senior roles in financial services compared to other parts of the industry, but those women that did rise to high positions were also less likely to have children. Does this mean that in order to rise to the top in banking as a woman it is necessary to put a family on hold or forgo it altogether?

For Weir, the answer is a definite ‘no’.

She has children herself, and believes that maternity leave can be managed successfully with the right planning, although she understands that having a key decision-maker absent from a business for an extended period does bring challenges.

‘Having children needs better planning and compromise. When I had my last child I was on the board of Kingfisher, a FTSE 100 company, and I was off for only four months. Any longer might have been problematic,’ she observes. ‘It requires give and take. It is harder to take maternity leave at middle management level, before you get to the board, as you may come back to the company in a different role.

‘Life is about compromises and tradeoffs. In middle management now more men take time off to have kids, so increasingly it is a non-gender issue. It is more about work-life balance, which is an issue for any executive. 20 years ago it might have been acceptable for male Page 42

executives to see their family very little, but that is not so now.

‘To be a senior executive you have to make trade-offs. You can’t have everything. You may not be able to get home to pick up your kids from school, especially if you manage a large number of people.’

Work-life balance: a challenge for men too

It is sometimes said that women have to become more like men to succeed in many industries and get the recognition they deserve. Whether or not this is true – and opinion is divided on this matter – it is certainly true that male executives are now also expected to be more involved on the home front, no matter how senior they are. Balancing work and home life is a challenge for any executive, regardless of gender.

‘Boards are interested in what an individual can do for the business’ ‘Senior roles require commitment, so you can’t have an expansive work and personal life, but it is a choice. In my view, it is misleading to think that you can have it all. Do women have to give more at work than men? Perhaps, but it may be intrinsic to them rather than because there is pressure from their organisation. I work long hours, but so do my male colleagues, so increasingly it is not a gender issue,’ says Weir.

‘There must be give and take. You can’t miss meetings because the nanny hasn’t turned up.

Boards are interested in what an individual can do for the business. If you bring a lot to the business then it can be more flexible.’

Overall, she notes, ‘In my experience, employer policies should support all executives to have a better work-life balance. Valuing what an

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Page 46 MarinaBerBeryan.com

These amazing lambskin coffee sleeves were featured on the Vogue Russia website!.

Given as a commemorative gift to guests who purchased a pair of Uggs at a recent charity event in support of Natalia Vodianova “Naked Heart”, these made us wonder ... what else could be the perfect compliment to make an outfit cute and seasonal?

There are a variety of really fun coffee sleeves on the market, many of which are available on sites like Etsy or via online retailers. Last year, even Jimmy Choo got in on the fun! Here are some cute ones we’ve found in our search for some “stepping into Autumn cuteness” to add into your style file!

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You know her from her inspirational books and posters Karen Salmansohn, Oprah columnist and happiness guru, has launched a brand new shop and now YOU can get her best loved posters, and slogans featured on handy notebooks, mugs, tank tops and more!

Believe/Materialize Keepsake Box

Jr. Ringer Tee “More love in the world please”

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by Karen Salmansohn Self Help Editor Page 49

by Patricia Bayne Opinion Editor

AskPatti “Hi Patti, I'm 25 and we live in Nantucket in the summer right near the beach. It's beautiful. I also love swimming. But I also want my nails to look nice in the summer, too, along with a great tan of course. I was just wondering if you have any cool ideas about nails. I don't use acrylic nails, I hate the smell and I think it ruins your nails after a period of time. So, any ideas?”

Nails in Nantucket Dear Nails, I think it's great that you don't use acrylic nails.

They can cause problems for your nails including dangerous infections. A girlfriend of mine, tragically lost her aunt from a Staph infection just two days after having her acrylic nails changed.

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Back to your question. Keep up on your pedicures.

A good tip is to match the color of your pedicure and manicure. Pink shades of polish are good colors for summertime. Even if you choose pink, you still have a wide range of selections with dark shades, light shades or even those with glitter. Here are some great ideas to experiment with on your trip!

Patti

Reverse French Manicure & Two Color Applications You can literally go to town picking your two colors, but like when designing a room or choosing an outfit, be sure to choose colors from the same palette. In my opinion, black and gray polishes that were all the rage this year are better suited for fall and winter.

Keep up on your pedicure to avoid one major Toe-Pas!

A bronze color looks beautiful on your nails and toes with a tan.

(Right) Golden Sand by Chanel

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“Hey Patti, We’re taking advantage of some early Autumn flights and that means we’re hitting the beach at a cheaper price!

However, that means that I’ve got a month to tone up for the vacation I didn’t expect to be having this time of year!

I' have a fairly decent body. But I really would love any tips you may have to tone up fast for a quick beach body. My girlfriends and I are taking an all-girls getaway in about a month, and I want to look as good as I can on the beaches of Cabo San Lucas. PLEASE help!” Ten pounds Trulie

Dear Trulie, Don't worry, as you said, you HAVE a good body. We have a month to work with!!

I know you have seen in many magazines, especially the “Fitness” types, ways to work out with hand weights….so if you have those, you are set in that area, follow their instructions! Ok, some other ways: 1. Drink lots of water, it hydrates the skin, which makes it appear more supple.

2. Have oatmeal in the morning with fresh strawberries or bananas. I prefer strawberries, less fattening. The oatmeal WILL hold you over until lunch.

3. Eat a light yogurt for lunch, a salad, and you can sprinkle cheese and nuts on it for taste, if you wish.

4. Eat fish and a dark vegetable for dinner. Cut out as much fat as you can.

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5. Do 30 minutes of aerobics a day. NO, you do NOT have to join a gym. Just put on your favorite walking/jogging shoes and walk quickly. You can even break it up, 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes in the evening.

6. Crunches are great for women who LOVE their bikinis, so do crunches every other day.

7. A week before your vaca….buff your body in the shower, use a good buffer and body scrub (can be bought at Target, some stores in the mall sell them).

8. To look as though you have been tan, get a self-tanner at the drug store. Put it on like lotion to moisturize your skin.

Make sure you get the right color to match your skin tone.

9. ENJOY AND HAVE FUN! (SEE, EASY PEASY!)

Patti Patti is a former guidance councilor, and a graduate & post graduate from the University of Pittsburgh. Readers may submit questions to content@HatTrickMagazine.com with the subject “Ask Patti”

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CLICK!

by Cherie Brooks DeBurger Opinion Columnist

Musings From A Life Lived Well Back To School

Well summer has come and gone especially in the lower grades, and it is once again the start of a which in turn result in some of the new school year. For some best stories about our kids. parents this, not Christmas, is considered the “most wonderful A teacher was helping one of her time of the year”. With five students get ready to go home at children of my own my house the end of the day when she changes from a three ringed noticed a problem with his shoes. circus to an eight hour oasis of “Your shoes are on the wrong feet,” peace and quiet. she told him. The boy looked up at As the children file into the her and smiled saying, “You can’t classrooms, some for the first fool me, I know these are my feet”. time, the teachers take over the In one kindergarten class all the shaping and molding of their little kids were sitting in circle time on minds. Teachers sometimes get the first day of school. The more than they bargained for, Page 54

teacher was explaining how they would be doing things and some of the routines they would have. She told the children if any of them had to go pee just to hold up two fingers. One of the little girls in the class promptly asked how that was going to help.

One of the funniest stories I have heard is about a pre-school teacher. She was pregnant but decided not to tell the children in her care because they were so young. Another reason she didn’t tell them was to avoid getting into a conversation of where babies come from with some of her more curious students. None of the kids paid any attention to her increasing belly size until one day near her due date when one little boy was leaving and he asked her why her belly was so big. Hoping he would not want any more detail she informed him there was a baby in her belly. The little boy looked at her and walked out without saying another word. The next day when his mother was dropping him off he started to cry, this was very unusual for him and his mother pulled him aside to see if she could find out what was bothering him.

The boy informed his mother that his teacher had eaten a baby yesterday and he was afraid if she got hungry again she might try to eat him.

Sometimes it's better not to know what your child says, one of the rare times when I consider ignorance to be bliss.

A few years ago I was with my son Leo on a field trip with his second grade class. Four mothers (including myself), the teacher and twenty-five seven year olds entered into the local museum.

For the billionth time they were told not to touch anything as we passed by glass cases of irreplaceable antiques. We entered into a section that displayed many items they had been made by the local glass factory.

This establishment was one of the first factories in our town and was one of the main employers for the people who lived in and around our area before it's door closed in 1999. I could feel my muscles tense as twenty five sugar high, rambunctious children swarmed into the area.

There were glass tumblers, gavels, guns, almost anything you could think of beautifully crafted, polished and placed so that the lights could magnify the exquisiteness. We came upon a very large wine bottle that had obviously been made for decoration because of its unusual size. As the children oh'd and ah'd about how big it is my son enthusiastically said "Wow that could get my mom a lot more drunk then regular!"

What made it even more hilarious was that I didn't even drink alcohol and as I heard myself informing the other mothers of this I realized I was only making it worse. Can someone please direct me to the nearest hole so I can jump into it?

Oh to be a fly on the wall and just be able to listen all day to the crazy things these teachers must hear. Sometimes I wonder, or should I say worry, about what my kids say in school but it can’t be any worse than what the other kids say ‌.. I hope.

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THE ART OF STATEMENT LIGHTING

www.kandabi.com

info@k

INJECTING TRUE CHARACTER INT

89 Causewayside, Edinburgh (Scotland) EH9 1QJ Eva Hammerson is a Spanish professional interior designer based in Edinburgh, with a passion for lighting, vintage finds, and mid-century-modern iconic design. After the successful launch of Kandabi, her quirky brand of statement lighting wall luminaries, Eva was itching for the right space to branch out onto every aspect of home interiors including lighting, furniture, accessories and wall art. Destiny, for the shop ‘found’ her, not the other way round, put the most perfect environment and opportunity in her hands to painstakingly and lovingly restore a jaw dropping Georgian space into a dream retail space in a sought-after and ‘left-bank’ area known as Causewayside in the South side of Edinburgh, Scotland.

“After pealing 7 layers of vintage wall paper, I came across the original wall plaster and found the most incredible luminescent turquoise swirls of colour ever imaginable. I nearly cried with joy for it is precisely what gives my shop a highly distinctive and unique signature look. Next, I found an antique original stone fireplace in the back room no-one knew existed, which will provide a warm live fire in the winter, adding extra cosiness and much needed warmth in this northern climate”.

Eva Hammerson’s shop is not really a shop, it’s a ‘private world’ where everything on display is up for sale, including its owner whose services as a professional interior designer can be put to the very best use. “Being Spanish, I wanted to create a true ‘Mi casa es su Casa’ (My home is your Home) welcoming feel-good factor. I think I have succeeded judging by the number of clients who sit comfortable in the sofa playing the guitar, taking inspiration from artfully displayed objects or having fun with my Spanish maracas”. Eva’s goal is to encourage people to be far more adventurous and have fun when decorating their homes, with a ‘no rules’ instinctive approach to putting interior schemes together. “I believe that if you only buy what you absolutely love, your home will somehow come together, pulled by the invisible but powerful thread of your personal taste. My mantra is follow your instinct and be brave for your house is an extension of your persona, and thus a blank canvas waiting for you to put your own unique stamp on it. The most successful interiors are always those with an eclectic mix of vintage and contemporary furnishings, which results in a more relaxed and authentic aesthetic, and avoids that ‘too studied’ and contrived show-home look”.

*****

Rated 5 Stars By Industry Experts For

Whether you are looking for that one-off unique piece to inject individuality and character into your space, or a special present with authenticity and ‘wow factor’, visit

Magazine

www.kandabi.com

info@kandabi.com

+44 (0) 131 667 7915

Shasie’s Picks

by Shalanda Turner Fashion Editor

Hi Everyone! Fall is upon us! To some of you this may be sad, but to me, I relish it! Fall is my favorite time of year because I LOVE Fall Fashion.

Something about boots, sweaters and cute outerwear really does it for me!!

From color palettes to apparel, here’s what’s trending this Fall/Winter 2012.

Burnt Orange — Don’t just wait for Halloween to wear your orange garments and accessories. This color is hotter than ever in a darker hue than normal.

Eggplant — Shades of eggplant will be taking front and center.

Variations of this shade will be everywhere, in every store, on everything.

Royal Blue — I like to call this shade electric blue. This is a FABULOUS color this fall. Blue is everywhere, it’s the new black.

Peach — Yes, we’re still neutralizing with khaki’s, soft pinks, and peach. Though the darker jewel tones will dominate peach will still be around.

Deep Teal — Not ready for electric blue? Try teal, a classic jewel tone shade.

Primrose Yellow — Distancing from neon yellow, this darker or mustard-yellow falls right in line with burnt orange as one of the warmer jewel tones for the Fall.

Venetian Red — What would Fall be without red? You’ll see darker hues of red on garments from coats to dresses, to accessories and makeup.

Cerulean — Another shade of blue you say? Yes! Blue might be the second most popular color this Fall, in all shades.

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Venetian Red

Burnt Orange

Primrose Yellow

Deep Teal

Cerulean

Royal Blue

Eggplant

Peach

Autumn 2012

Color Palette

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Picks & Trends Winter White

1.

3.

Big Coats

4.

Jewel Tones

Body Contouring

2.

5.

Full Skirts

7.

6.

Black & Floral

8.

Winter White

Leather

1. Michael Kors Chesterfield Melton Wool Coat 2. Winter White Kitten Heels, Ann Taylor 3. Houndstooth Ponte Peplum Dress, Bebe 4. Pleated Bodice Dress, Express 5. Fantasy Skirt, Zara 6. Ella Dress in Floral Brocade, JCrew 7. Rebecca Taylor Pleated Leather Mini Skirt 8. Michael Kors Grayson Large Logo Satchel

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Link

Chic Days, Fierce Nights For women on the go, the hardest choice in the morning can be selecting clothing which is professional and smart during the day, yet easily converts into sexy and chic at night. Calvin Klein has long been known for his streamlined shape and simple palette, which compliments and enhances a woman's figure, but leaves plenty to the imagination.

A perfect example for a classic ‘day into night’, this black and white shift dress will have admirers following your every move in the boardroom and long after you’ve left work behind.

Photojournalist: Semant Jain, PhD Fashion writer: Dara Avenius Page Page 64 64

If you’re looking for an option which is just a bit more ‘swanky’, yet still classic night (into mor ning?), newcomer designer Daisy has got you covered. With a perfectly ‘on trend’ one-shoulder sleeveless top, with a bit of sparkle and slinky, figure hinting fit, a woman in this dress can't help but captivate the room without saying a word!

Page 65 Page 65

Posh Brats Brittany Harper-De Staedtler Beauty Editor

Teeth Whitening Naturally T

here was a time when if you wanted whiter teeth, it seemed that the only option was to go to the dentist and have the teeth bleached. Now there are numerous tooth whitening products on the market that you can use at home. But both of these options involve using potentially dangerous chemicals, and they can even make teeth very sensitive, replacing one problem with another more serious one.

Not only are you looking at the expense of these treatments; many of them just don’t work. I personally have a basket FULL of products for teeth whitening that just didn’t live up to all the hype. You see, I am a coffee drinker and when I say ‘coffee drinker’ I mean that I can pretty much have a cup of coffee in my hand from morning until night.

Therefore you can just imagine how much all this evil bean consumption can stain the teeth.

I spent hundreds looking for the best products to whiten my teeth and always ended up tossing the product into the basket under the bathroom sink. As a Cosmetic Chemist by trade I finally did what I should have done all along......look for natural and effective ways to whiten my teeth.

Below you will find a few natural, inexpensive and highly effective ways to achieve that brighter smile!

1.) Some fruits are excellent tooth whiteners. Strawberries, for example, can be rubbed directly on teeth or mashed up and brushed on. The inside of an orange peel is also great for whitening. You can rub it directly on your teeth, or make a paste of dried orange peel and ground bay leaves to brush on. A mixture of lemon juice and salt also works well. *Using fruits should only be an occasional treatment as overuse could causes teeth sensitivity* 2.) Use baking soda. Many of the toothpastes on the market include baking soda in their ingredients because it is so effective. But you don’t have to buy a special toothpaste. You can mix baking soda with a dash of salt and add a little hydrogen peroxide or vinegar to make a homemade tooth whitener.

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3.) There's a growing body of evidence indicating that eating a small amount of cheese after a meal can potentially help to prevent tooth decay and promote enamel strength, Glosman says. Along those same lines: "Milk and yogurt keep teeth sparkling and cavity-free because they contain the minerals calcium and phosphorus, which promote the remineralziation of tooth enamel," says Lisa Drayer, M.A., R.D., author of "The Beauty Diet: Looking Great Has Never Been So Delicious."

4.) Snack on lots of crunchy vegetables and fruits, like celery, apples, carrots, and such. These foods will help to dislodge plaque and keep food particles from sticking to your teeth and staining them that way. This is more of a preventative measure.

5.) Coconut oil (solid oil or fractionated liquid) is a super way to whiten your teeth very quickly. Make it part of your tooth cleaning regime. Take a mouthful of coconut oil and swish around your mouth like mouthwash. Pull it through your teeth and really take your time. It’s best to do this for a full 2-5 minutes. Once you spit it out then clean your teeth with a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide/vinegar. Add a drop or two of peppermint oil to really freshen your breathe and don’t forget to brush your tongue too!

Coconut oil can be found in some grocery stores, most health food stores or many places online.

Whitening your teeth does not have to be expensive, and you don’t have to use harsh chemicals. By using preventive measures and natural remedies, you can make your smile brighter without harming your teeth in other ways.

Toothpaste Recipe ★

★ ★ ★

2 tablespoons coconut oil 3 tablespoons baking soda 1/2 small packet of stevia powder (opt.)

20-25 drops of peppermint essential oil*

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Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl, using a fork. *Add about half of the amount of peppermint oil to start, and test the toothpaste to see how much you want/like. * You can also use essential oils like cinnamon, spearmint, clove and lemon. Always start with a few drops and then taste to see if you prefer more. Don’t make it too strong as you wouldn’t want to irritate your gums and over sensitize your teeth. ** As long as you keep this in a sealed container it should keep very well as there are no ingredients in it that could cause bacteria growth.

All of the ingredients are naturally anti-bacterial!

by Sorelle Amore Columnist

By

Image Copyright Sassy Studios

The Good...The Bad...The Ugly...

Click Here & Follow MY Website!

Eyebrow Shapes

The perfect eyebrow shapes can create such a huge impact on your face. Keeping your eyebrows neat and well-shaped will contribute a great deal in framing it. With your eyebrows, it can help draw attention to your eyes and can also accentuate the features.

That is why most women prefer to have it done professionally. Let's face it, not all of us are gifted with the talent to properly shape our eyebrows so why don't we just give in and let the professionals do their magic? It won't hurt and it'll be worth it in the end.

To Watch Click Here!

Pin up models are beautiful but they even look more beautiful because of their well-shaped eyebrows. It just shows how they take care of themselves and they clearly evoke the idea of being a beautiful and seductive woman. Next to the eyebrows, their cat eyes and their red lips are included in the three main features that is always emphasized on their faces and these features made their trademark. Page 68

The Contenders...

Over-Plucked Eyebrows

The Big ‘M’

Too many women go for this shape! As you can see, this shape is very thin. This not very ideal and sometimes this shape occurs when the plucking is not done correctly. Sorry to be blunt...reminds me of a hooker look :(

This particular shape is named big ‘m’ because of its arch which is the same shape as the letter ‘m’.

Additionally, it is more raised, unlike the normal eyebrow shape which is a bit lower than this.

The Clown It is called the clown because it has its similarities with the clown's eyebrow. It gives a woman a surprised look!

Reminds me of some scary cougars I have seen out and about...

The Downhill

Straight Edge

Triangle This eyebrow makes women look really harsh.

Balls of steel (hehe)...not sure that is such a good thing...

Why is this considered as the best shape of eyebrows? This is because it is very proportioned, has the right amount of thickness and curves and can match any face shape. So, for women out there, THIS MUST BE YOUR EYEBROW INSPIRATION! Now, are your eyebrows flat, downhill, triangle, clown-like, over-plucked or resembles the Macdonald's golden arches...? Or do you have the best shape of eyebrows?

If you don't...get them professionally looked at. You must. I have been there too thin, too thick and finally after studying pin ups managed to get the perfect pin up eyebrow...

The name for this shape perfectly described the look of this eyebrow. It is downhill because as you can see, it starts high and at the very edge, it is not proportion anymore because it is resembles a kiddie slide. Why look so sad for all the time, lady?

Its minimal curvature gives the name straight edge or flat. Noooo expression...ever.

I can't tell you enough how much it has made a difference to my look...and people notice the difference...massively.

Oh and one more hint...it's preferable that you pluck rather then wax because if you wax too much, the elasticity in your skin decreases and you will get droopier eyes sooner.

Oh and one more thing...eyebrows are sisters - not twins.

Don't try to match them exactly the same. Most of the time this is not The Best Eyebrow possible and this pursuit for perfect symmetry will drive you to insanity.

Page 69

Align and Focus This Fall: Fresh Starts, Fit Habits, Fat Loss & New

Beginnings

Maybe it’s because I’m a Virgo (yeah Virgo’s!) or perhaps it’s because as a kid I was always such a keener to start a brand new school year, but I’ve always,always loved Fall. It’s the crisp air, bright autumn skies, vibrant colours and palpable energy. Fall means a fresh start.

It’s time to focus, organize and align your actions with what you most want to accomplish by the end of the year.

For most people, summer fun means a little more relaxation around your eating and exercise habits, a little less structure than your normal regime. And that’s okay, life is meant to be cyclical.

However, if summer fun starts to slide into Fall, you aren’t doing yourself or your potential any favours.

So how do we ensure that doesn’t happen? Let me introduce you to the Power-of-3 Sleek & Sexy Success System: Simplify your system! The Power-of-3 Sleek & Sexy Success System uses no more than three techniques or actions at a time, allowing you to master them and move on. Any more than three causes overwhelm and inefficiency. Proven strategies drilled down for you to the basics of what works – simply and successfully!

1

Meal ideas with no more than 3 ingredients and a 3-minute prep time; 2 Exercise combos with 3 moves performed in 30 minutes per session 3 times per week; Page 70

3

Setting 3 small yet powerful goals each week that keep you Committed, Motivated and Inspired to performAccountable Action – the 3 keys to success!

Follow me on Facebook, as I share Powerof-3 meal ideas and exercise combos with my Facebook friends.

Knowledge vs Practice: As you head into Fall, you’ll see many, many promises of diets, programs and memberships that will get you fit.

If there are so many answers out there, why are there so many people who haven’t found success with their goals? Why are there rising rates of obesity, depression, debt? The answers are out there – the knowledge, info and expertise but what we haven’t mastered is the application of this knowledge into our daily lives. We’re not ‘doing it’. We aren’t practicing what we need to on a daily basis to get what we want. How can we keep this practice so simple, easy, fast, effective and seamless that it becomes a habit not an effort?

Master these three keys to success and you’ll be well on your way. Without them, it will be yet another failed attempt: 1. Understand the WHY: Getting clear on the nucleus of your motivation exponentially multiplies your chance of success. Goal-setting is great but most people fail because they aren’t clear and passionate about the WHY. 2. Keep It Simple: Simplify your system! Use no more than three

techniques or actions at a time, master them and move on. Any more than three causes overwhelm and inefficiency.

3. Reconnect and Recommit Daily: In order to filter and focus on what you most want and keep it a priority in your life, you need to reconnect and recommit to it daily.

EFFECTIVE EATING: The Simple Structure Here are the Top 3 Habits to master in terms of eating effectively to produce goals. Once you master these 3 principles, then move onto The B List.

The A List: 1. Drink more water: Minimum 1 litre per day. If you’ve been drinking 1 litre, double it.

2. Eat smaller meals more often: Ask yourself, what’s the protein in this meal? What’s the fibre? Follow the ‘never hungry’ rule.

3. Cut the crap: Allow yourself one cheat meal per week and 1 treat (ice cream, candy, chips, whatever your ‘junk’ is). Other than that, cut all the empty calories. And yes, sugar is the devil.

My FREE Gift to YOU this Fall: Simply follow me on Facebook and let me know you’d like a copy of my CSJ’s Top 10 Fat Loss Tips. You’ll be glad you did. Also, one of the new Facebook followers this Fall will receive a complimentary enrollment in my 12-week online fitness transformation, the Sleek & Sexy Success System. It is by far the most convenient and straight-forward way to get yourself focused, aligned and organized for a successful Fall starting with your physical goals but going so much further from there. To be drawn early October. All the very best!

Be sure to check out my BRAND NEW eBook in the Ask Patti Column!

The B List: 1. Replace 1 meal per day with 1 protein shake.

2. Start vitamins.

3. Eliminate ‘fluffy’ carbs and focus on ‘fibrous’ carbs.

Page 71 Page 71

Like Magnolias

Classic Southern American Recipes

by Tanya Jackson Food Editor

Sweet Iced Tea

A classic Southern beverage which is both inexpensive and refreshing, and one the whole family will enjoy. s the one thing that makes a meal truly southern. If you go to a restaurant and ask for tea and they don't ask "Sweet or unsweet?" Get up and walk out.

Southern Sweet tea is the best thing for those hot days, (you know what I mean at 100 degrees and 80 percent humidity) to really refresh your body.

Ingredients ✓1 container to boil water ✓1 container to steep tea ✓1 to 2 quarts of water ✓1 family size tea bag( 7g of Orange Pekoe and Pekoe cut black tea) ✓1 1/2 cups of sugar ✓Lemon slices or wedges ✓Gallon size pitcher or container Page 72

Fact

Pekoe Tea: A grade of black tea consisting of the leaves around the buds.[Chinese (Amoy) pek ho : pek, white + ho, down, fine feathers.]

When used outside the context of black tea grading, the term Pekoe (or, occasionally, Orange pekoe) describes the unopened terminal leaf bud (tips) in tea flushes. As such, the phrases "a bud and a leaf" or "a bud and two leaves" are used to describe the "leafiness" of a flush; they are also used interchangeably with pekoe and a leaf or pekoe and two leaves. Wikipedia If this is too much info for you then just enjoy what years and years of investigating and businesses have put together as Iced Tea Mix.

1. Begin with Me!od: fresh cold water. Bring to a rapid boil. Do not, and I repeat, do not use an aluminum pot to boil your water. I use my teapot because it can whistle and let me know it is boilin' hot. When we go to Hot Springs, Arkansas to visit relatives, I always get large 10 gallon jugs of the hot water. My son likes the cold water, but I think the original hot water makes a better tea.

When you see your water in a rolling boil or hear the whistle of your tea kettle, it is time to make the delicious brew. I use a family sized tea bag, 7g of Pekoe tea, because it makes the strength I like: really, really strong.

2. Place your container in the sink, where your tea will be prepared. I use a plastic pitcher, because it won't shatter when you pour the boiling water into it. (Guess you can figure out I have done that foolish stunt at least once.) Pour the water in first-then put in the tea bag.

3. Remove tea bag out and stir in 1 1/2 cups of sugar. The hot water will melt the sugar. Stir and stir until you don't feel the granules anymore.Fill up the 2 quart pitcher with cold water.

4. Add warm water in a gallon pitcher, especially if it is glass to prepare it for warm liquid. Pour your steeped sugared tea into the container/ pitcher and fill to top with cold water.

You can keep this in the fridge, for about a week. (But nothing is as fresh as fresh.)

Your brew should be clear as beer.

You should be able to see through it.

5. Add ice and a wedge of squeezed lemon and you have the best thing yet for hot summer days.

➡ To avoid that tin-flavor you get in some restaurants, never store your tea in a metal container.

Leave it alone. You have to leave it alone so it can steep and get out all the good flavor.

Page 73

Health Matters

by Mina Muirhead, R.N. Health Editor September is Childhood Obesity Awareness month. As a Registered Nurse and mother of 2 young children this topic is very important to me, as it should be to all of us. The percentage of children aged 6-11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12-19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period. This means that 23 million children and teenagers in the United States are either overweight or obese. That staggering number makes it an epidemic. Overweight and obesity are the simple result of “caloric imbalance” – too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed. But this epidemic isn’t simple at all.

Childhood obesity is affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.

Page 74

In 2010 Michelle Obama launched the “Let’s Move” national campaign.

The program focuses on four main areas of concern: getting parents informed about nutrition and exercise, improving the quality of food in our schools, making healthy food more affordable and accessible for families and focusing more of physical education.

When I was a kid my dad would limit our TV time to 1 hour a day. I remember how awful and mean I thought this was. But there is some merit to the idea. Today children 8-18 years of age spend an average of 7.5 hours a day using entertainment media, including TV, computers, video games, cell phones and movies. Studies have shown a direct correlation of increased media time with increased risk of obesity. My 11 year old son is an avid computer gamer. I will admit it can be easier to just let him play his games rather than dealing with the frustration that

comes with the constant battles of limiting his screen time. Some days I am better at this than others.

price tag associated with obesity is enormous.

As health care and insurance costs continue to rise the added cost of I am happy to see increased illness related to obesity will have accountability with our schools. We a substantial effect on what we all are a long way from having perfect pay. Overweight and obesity are food presented at our school associated with increased risk for cafeterias. But at least it seems we many types of cancer, including are heading in the right direction. breast, colon, and pancreatic to This past year I have seen name a few. It also increases your improved food choices in my kids’ risk of heart disease and diabetes. school. But more than half of public Right now it is costing us $150 billion schools in the United States still a year to treat obesity-related offer sugar drinks and less healthy illnesses. foods for purchase.

Most importantly, we all want our I feel having healthy food more children to grow up healthy and affordable and accessible is one of happy. We want them to be active the main problems facing the and have confidence. I encourage obesity epidemic. In some lowereach of you to make thoughtful income, rural or minority decisions regarding your health and neighborhoods there may not be a the health of the children around you. supermarket selling healthy foods Become educated about what is in nearby. It makes choosing healthy your food. Ride your bike food difficult when the most instead of walking. Start with the accessible place to buy food is small choices in everyday life; teach either at a convenience store or those choices to the small ones fast food chain. around us. They will listen.

Most kids fall short of the References: recommended 60 minutes of U.S. Department of Health and physical activity a day. In fact, only Human Services. 2008 Physical 18% of students’ grades 9-12 met Activity Guidelines for Americans. this guideline. Several factors could Washinton DC: U.S. Department of contribute to this problem, lack of Health and Human Services; 2008 exercise programs in school, no safe or appealing place to play or Centers for Disease Control and be active. Also when you are Prevention. State Indicator Report on watching TV you are not moving Physical Activity, 2010. your body. I often think of Mina graduated with honors with her BSN Newton’s Law of Motion, an object that is in motion tends to from the University of Northern Colorado stay in motion, an object at rest in 1997. She is a member of the American tends to stay at rest. That Society of Laser Medicine and Surgery. includes us!

Have a question for Mina? Please write to content@HatTrickMagazine.com and The obesity epidemic will include “Mina” in the subject field. eventually affect all of us. The Page 75

The Olympics Are a Reminder That To Achieve Our Goals, It’s EVERYTHING to do with training, stamina, drive, and most of all, the belief that it is possible.

Page 76

A Bit Quackers

by Andrea Valentine

Two blondes walk into a bar chanting "51,51." A few moments later a group of blondes join the others, also chanting "51, 51." By this time, the bartender is getting curious. Two more blondes enter the bar and join the others, "51, 51." One blond is holding a picture frame and sets it on the table as the blondes gather around it, still chanting "51, 51." So finally the bartender goes to see what's going on. He asks, "Why are they are chanting "51, 51?" One blonde showed him a 24-piece Cookie Monster puzzle and said, "We put this together in 51 days when the box says 4-6 years!"

Page 77

Proudly Serving Scotland & The United States by Appointment For rates, bookings and enquiries, please contact us.

Page 79

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ISSUE 3 AUGUST 2012 ISSUE 3 AUGUST 2012

B AKING ~ DECORATING ~ S H A R I N G Inside: Stenciling Ma"erclass...

Sugarveil Cheat Tutorial

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

THE BATTLE OF THE MIXERS

The story behind the HUGE gypsy wedding cake!

Great British Bake Off SPECIAL!

WIN TICKETS! EXCLUSIVE Meet Manisha Great British Bake Off

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

B AKING ~ DECORATING ~ S H A R I N G

CONTENTS

In this issue...

Vintage Cupcake

Welcome from Rosie ~ Page 3 Competition Great British Bake Off Obsession ~ Page 4 WIN Cake and Bake Show Tickets ~ Page 9 Interview with Manisha Parmar ~ Page 10 Scroll moulds feature ~ Page 16 Stenciling Master Class ~ Page 20 Snake Cake Craze ~ Page 26 My BIG fat Gypsy Wish List ~ 28 The Battle of the Mixers ~ Page 30 You and your mixers ~ Page 32 DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET Wed$ng SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS Pinboards ~ Page 55 RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

15 17

Sugarveil Cheat Tutorial

12

Wedding Cake Special

35

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CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

B AKING ~ DECORATING ~ S H A R I N G Hello everyone, welcome to our August newsletter!

For those of you who don’t know, this is what I look like... and for some of you who do know - I hate having my picture taken, so you won’t find many of me on my page!

Anyway, enough about me.

Following on from the feedback we received from our last newsletter, we have decided to move away from the basic “school newsletter” format to a more glamourous magazine type format.

We have spent a lot of time on the design and presentation of this issue, and hope you like the more modern, fresh, updated look.

Baking ~ Decorating ~ Sharing is the Cake Masters motto, and we aim to deliver onDONEC each of these elements ARCU RISUS DIAMinAMET everything we do through SIT. our CONGUE Facebook TORTOR page CURSUS and magazine.

RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

The aim of our monthly magazines are to highlight all cakey news over the last month; showcase your amazing cakes; include informative features and above all, sharing caking and baking knowledge!

See this newsletter as a bit of a round up, incase you might have missed something on Facebook- let’s face it, I am not sure Facebook works all the time anyway- I am still having problems seeing my own posts let alone other post from pages I follow- boo!

I am in awe of all the caking and baking skill out there and I will do my best to “shout out” all the amazingly talented cakers by featuring you in my magazine.

Enjoy leafing through the featured wedding cake pages in this issue as there are some beautifully designed pieces and I really enjoyed putting this part of the magazine together.

Special thanks to all our contributors this month, especially Manisha Parmar from the Great British Bake Off, who gave us an exclusive interview for all Cake Masters fans.

Let me know what you think of our new look, I would love to hear from you!

Rosie x 83

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

The Great British Bake Off

Obsession

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Every Tuesday evening at 8pm the TV is mine for my GBBO fix.

There is nothing that gets in my way, and the most central spot on the sofa is reserved for me!

I am sure I am not the only one that behaves like this on Tuesday evenings, and I am positive that when each episode is over, a small void appears in your life, that not even a slice of cake could fill!

I love watching the contestants baking under immense pressure, producing awesome flavour combinations and gorgeous looking cakes.

Not sure if it is something that I would do...not sure that I work so well under that much pressure, and piercing blue eyes!

Over the next few pages we have gathered the details of the current contestants and have included their Twitter, Facebook and Blog links so that that you can stalk them online too :p 84

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

Introducing the Contestants Stuart Last year he made his own three-tiered wedding cake, much to the surprise of his mother-in-law. He’s a fan of creating new flavour combinations. His wife admits he reads recipe books in bed at night.

Twitter Facebook Website DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Manisha She came back to live in in Leicester when she was 13. Her passion for baking passion began when her mum showed her how to make a Victoria sponge. Her strengths are classic English biscuits, cakes and pastry, but she also makes some Indian biscuits and cakes too.

Twitter Facebook

Brendan To date, the 63-year old has made 90 of them and is still going strong. He always dreamt of pursuing a career in baking and now, semi-retired, bakes as a hobby.

Twitter

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CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

James He started baking with his granny and is currently studying medicine in Scotland. To James, medicine is similar to baking as it involves marrying science and nurture.

Aside from his studies, he’s reached grade eight in classical double bass.

Twitter Website

John DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS ofSIT. baking re-started with a RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

His love vengeance three years ago, when he left home to study. His love of French patisserie is his main inspiration.

Twitter Facebook Website

Natasha She admits that she has a vast baking portfolio because she gets bored of making the same things over again.

VOTED OFF: Week 1 Twitter Blog

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Peter His love of baking is well known at his children’s school and, with a reputation for excellence, the requests flood in for everything from school fetes to wedding cakes.

VOTED OFF: Week 2

Ryan He loves fusing Western baking with lesser known Asian flavours and new techniques he’s garnered from his travels.

Twitter Website Blog

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Sarah-Jane She mainly makes cakes, biscuits and desserts and so admits her family’s waistlines suffer for her hobby. Her husband is a vicar, so his congregation also benefit from Sarah-Jane’s talents.

Twitter Blog

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Danny She exercises several times a week to work the baking excesses off. She says that she’s taking part in the Bake Off because she really wants to test herself.

Twitter Blog

Victoria DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS baking, she loves needlecraft, RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Aside from knitting and things you can share with others. She’s a fan of different shaped bakes like square or rectangular tarts and loves a good excuse to buy a nice piece of baking equipment.

VOTED OFF: Week 3

Cathryn She once promised a friend an 80th birthday cake, but had forgotten that she’d arranged a girl’s night out the night before.

She arrived home at 1.30am, and was baking till 4am to get it done in time. She’s also a messy baker - her husband can tell when she’s been baking because of the trail of floury footprints to the kitchen Twitter Blog

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Win tickets to the

Cake & Bake Show 2012 We loved the first episode of the Great British Bake Off and want see your cakes with hidden designs for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the show in London.

Please send your entries to bookings@cakemasters.co.uk deadline is the September 9th 2012.

Below are some of your entries so far...

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

The Cake & Bake Show 2012 22nd 23rd September what to expect...

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Manisha Parma Great British Bake Off Series 3 ~ Contestant Tell me a bit about your passion for baking

Other than baking what are your hobbies?

“Baking is like floa7ng on clouds, I find it so relaxing, even when working with the most complicated of recipes!

“I love baking with children and I love going out with my friends and spending 7me with family.

I am a lover of wine and all cake.”

Baking has become a passion for 8 or 9 years now. I remember when my mum showed me how to make my first vanilla tray bake, and from then onwards I’ve been baking something every weekend, ranging from very small items like biscuits or something huge like a yummy chocolate tart.”

Tell me a bit about yourself background and family “In my family there is my Dad, two brothers and my sister who is now married. My mum past away 4 years ago... so life has been difficult and a bit lonely.

This is where baking has turned my life around -­‐ it just brings me so much happiness even if it doesn’t turn out absolutely perfect.”

What made you apply for the great Bri7sh bake off TV show?

“Umm I actually don’t know why I applied! Maybe because I had seen the programme before and thought I could do some of the bakes shown. At the 7me I felt quite confident and friends and family encouraged me so I was able to pluck up the courage to apply.”

Did you ever think that you would make it through to the end stages?

“Oh my cupcakes! Never in a million years did I think that I would be one of the 12 finalists out of 7000 people who applied.

It was an amazing feeling that, YES, I am actually good at something.”

Even though the days were really long, I loved every minute!

Standing side by side with Mary and Paul was such a delight, wai7ng in an7cipa7on for their replies a_er each bake was exci7ng but very nerve wracking.”

Most people like to bake DONEC RISUS DIAM to ARCU relax, how did AMET you find SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS it baking under pressure RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE and interroga7on of the judges?

“I love baking under pressure, however, some of the bakes were disastrous. The interroga7ons was quite nerve wracking. It is like your heart is in your mouth and you can’t swallow!

However when they gave good comments it felt great, but when the bad comments came... you felt very sad...”

Con7nued >>>

What was the most exci7ng part about being part of the show?

“I thought the most exci7ng part of the show was the filming. I absolutely loved it!

Manisha’s Mum

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What was the hardest part about being in the show?

I am very fond of Ryan, who is one amazing baker with a lovely funny personality.”

“The hardest part of the show was when things went wrong and not really being able to do anything about it.”

What are your current plans for now and the future?

What did you think of Mary and Paul?

“My current plans are to finish my childcare degree. Although I would like to work for a famous well known chef as a baker.

“Mary was lovely she really KNOWS her stuff, very warm and loveable.

Paul... well he was just adorable!

He was very honest and knows what he is talking about.”

I would also like to open up a Baking School for children, which would be great as baking can have a great influence on children.”

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE Manisha and Ryan

Which contestants did you get on with the most?

“I got on really well with all the contestants.

John,Cathryn, Sarah-­‐Jane and I, had a few nights together with the friendly help of Prosecco.

Next Week E

PISODE 4

The bakers fa ce

sweet tooth.

Starting off w tortes, the ba

ith a tempting

kers then face

This time it's a

caramel, and expected.

three challeng

es all designed

for a

array of deca de the technical

ntly rich challenge.

mainstay of F rench baking, the crème for some ther e's more wob ble than

Proceedings

are rounded of f with a mamm challenge to pr oth six hour oduce a might y sh ow stopping laye meringue. But red who will claim th e ac colade of Sta Baker and who r will hang up th eir apron for th time? e last

Follow Manisha online:

Twitter Facebook Manisha in the GBBO recipe book

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Tuto%al CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

From Allison at Let’s Eat Cupcakes

Sugarveil Cheat

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Special thanks to Allison from Let’s Eat Cupcakes for being one of our contributors!

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Let’s eat cupcakes tutorial

Step 1 Roll out your fondant thicker than usual and cut out a disc using a cookie cutter.

What u n eed: * Rejuve nating sp irit or vo * Small dka art brush * Textur es lace w raps from Edible C reators L td * Sugar flair whi tener * Rolling pin * Cookie cutter * Cupcak e

Step 2 Place your fondant disc on a texture RISUS DIAM AMET mat from DONEC EdibleARCU Creators then roll SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS very firmly.

This will leave you an RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE imprint.

Gorgeous lace imprint!

Mats from Edible Creators

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Let’s eat cupcakes tutorial

Step 3 Use your cutter to reshape the imprinted fondant and place directly on to your cupcake gently shaping as you do not want to stretch the impression!

Step 4 Mix your whitener and rejuvenating spirit(of vodka) together and lightly brush over your fondant which will bring the lace imprint to life.

Voila!

If you would like to include one of your tutorials please contact us at bookings@cakemasters.co.uk

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET

This technique was SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS developed

by AUGUE Carinas Cupcakes using sugar veil mats. Allison from Lets Eat Cupcakes adopted it to use texture mats from Edible Creators as a cheaper alternative.

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COMPETITION TIME! Win 2 sets of lace texture mats In association with Edible Creators

Win 2 sets of lace texture mats A massive 7 mats in total by emailing us your best vintage cupcakes!

Please enter into one of the following two categories:

Bake for Fun DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET This category is for people who do not sell cakes at all.

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Bake for Business

RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

This category is for people who have their own cake Facebook pages and sell cakes, even if it is not your main source of income.

The reason why we have two categories, is so that we can give everyone with all abilities a chance to join in.

-Please send only one photo of your entry -Please email your photo to bookings@cakemasters.co.uk -Please ensure you give us your name and business name, and Facebook page name so we can place these details next to the chosen entries in our next magazine!

-All entires to be sent to Cake Masters by Sunday 16th September -ONLY ONE ENTRY is allowed

Good Luck!

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Scroll moulds feature!

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

So pleased with my sculpted scroll moulds from Marvelous Molds.

Purchasing just a few of the flourish moulds allow you to make fantas7c designs and are so quick and easy to use.

Our video tutorial can be viewed here!

Have a look at the huge collec7on at The Cake Decora7ng Company.

Scroll Moulds Collec7on

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My

big FAT

GypsyWed$ng Cake

By PETER ROBERTS of Centre A2rac5on Cakes 2 Remember of Liverpool and St Helens

“It was quite a challenge when I was asked to do a seven foot tall cake by a travelling family.

r ee h t s f wa l e ad e s t m i d n n g y a ivor desi th h i s e w a k ca k es e w a k c a The c oses r ep e e h n d e T e very galore. pale gr er e h d s e with scatter rose r u rls. a lo s e l o a p c l et in ysta se p r o c r with and e r the and

up and finish off at the venue. The customer was very happy with the proposed idea and were JANICE & TOM very excited!

We agreed on a price and I then set to work. Fruit cake The customer originally wanted the cake eight foot was for the base as sponge tall and four foot wide! My cakes around the base head started spinning and I would be too so_ and said, “I don’t think that will would simply not hold the fit through our door”,when weight of cake above it.

Sponge cakes were used for the customer simply (9YEA RS) the top L7E ers. replied, “Can’t you 7lt the ANNABEL cake upwards?”, I just Every one that knows me, looked at my mum in knows how organised I am! disbelief! You can imagine I phoned all the relevant the visions going through suppliers and ordered all my head at this point. I said the equipment, boards and that I was sorry, and that I icing, leaving nothing to go cake that large would not amiss -­‐ everything was work. Instead I suggested a checked and double seven foot cake(!), where I checked! would do it in stages and set

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Firstly I had to bake the fruit cakes. The problem was that I didn’t have a oven in the shop large enough to fit the cakes! I asked a friend who I went to college with if I could use his oven in his bakery, he was only too happy to help.

also wanted a spacer on the boiom of the cake so that she could have flowers around the board where the cake was simng.

I used a number 4 tube to pipe swags under each rose, I then over piped with a number 3 tube.

Most of the other designs on the cake was using a number 2 piping tube in order to give a more delicate look.

I then had to make all the roses.

As this was such a big cake, the roses had to correspond with the size of all the cakes. I thought that five inch roses for the boiom 7er and four inch for the remaining 7ers would be the best.

I found covering the cake to be a challenge as it was so deep which made it very awkward, but a_er a bit of delibera7ng, I knew the icing would not cover in one piece so I came up with the idea to cover it in stages, rolling out strips of icing and placing the icing on the cake and carefully smoothing it out. I am a terrible perfec7onist so it had to be right as I hate seeing joins. It took, would you believe 65 kilos of marzipan and ivory coloured icing, guess you can now say I am now officially a body builder!

A_er three extremely wide and high cakes I needed a cup of tea!

My arms were like jelly a_er all that rolling out. The boioms of each of 7er were polystyrene dummies with cakes placed on top, this helped keep the weight down; I also baked a lighter fruit cake which also helped with keeping the overall weight of the cake down.

I had three specially made drum boards reinforced to take the weight of the cake. The customer

There were five addi7onal sponge cakes to be placed round the base of the cake, Hazel , my sister and I worked together to get them covered with icing,

Luckily we have a large sugar cra_ shop and we have designed our own style of spacers, that have hard tops and so_ enough sides to place wires in them.

“I did most of the decora5ng in the shop, using royal icing for a lot of the finishings, trying to keep it from looking tacky! The design itself was mostly my input... you don’t want to know what she originally wanted... I tell you, it was tacky galore!”

The part I enjoyed the most was the top. I loved doing the top vase as it was completely made out of JANICE & TOM had le_ sugar and the customer me to create it in my own way. I love it when the customer says this, and I can allow my imagina7on run wild. I was originally going to opt for just roses, but as I was half way through pumng the spray together, I wrapped some sugar paste around it and hey presto L E (9YEA RS)how there ANNABEL it was, I can’t tell you pleased I was with the end result.

The day arrived for me to take the cake to the venue and it really was all hands on deck. As I was so busy, I got my mum Joan to dust the rest of the roses green, she looked like the jolly green giant when she had finished!

Jayson and Josh from the shop helped me carefully load the cake in to my van, it was so heavy. I needed two vehicles to carry everything as we had a lot of equipment and all the cakes, including the five, 12” round sponge cakes; all the iced roses and petals, including the extra large reinforced drum boards.

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When we arrived, we set to work at once. First I set the largest drum board which had flowers all they way around it. We then placed the first 7er on top of this.

Next we placed the second 7er -­‐it was so heavy, I was lucky to have Jayson and Josh there to help. The top 7er was placed by myself. I really thought the cake might collapse with all the weight!

All that was le_ to do was finish the cake with decora7ons. We had a good rou7ne going while I

stood on the table as Mum and Jayson passed me the finished flowers and the crystal pearls.

Once finished, the customer agreed to view the cake at the venue. She was completely delighted with the cake and all the 7me and effort I had put into crea7ng her cake. I got a hug and was told she wanted another cake in two years 7me if the price was same, I NEARLY FAINTED!“

JANICE & TOM

ANNABEL L E (9YEA RS)

See more of Roberts work at Wedding Cakes Liverpool or visit their online shop at http://www.centreattraction.co.uk/n_shop.php 99

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Stencil tutorial ~DUSTS

It is really easy to stencil on cakes to make fabulous designs. Follow our easy tutorial to have a go yourself!

What u n eed: * Fondan t * Soft pa int brush * Rolling pin * Trex * Sugar flair dus ts * Stencil * Cookie cutter

Step 1

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET Soften some fondant and roll it out SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS to about a NISL, pound coinAUGUE thickness RISUS LUCTUS

Step 2 Place the stencil on top of the fondant and roll over the stencil to secure it to the fondant

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Stencil tutorial ~DUSTS

Step 3 Take a tiny amount of Trex and rub over the stencil

Step 4 Take some edible dust on a soft brush and lightly dust over the stencil

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Stencil tutorial ~ DUSTS

Step 5 Gently peel away the stencil

Step 6 Cut away excess fondant using a cookie cutter and place onto a cupcake ~ SIMPLES!

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Stencil tutorial ~BUTTERCREAM

Step 1 Soften some fondant and roll it out to about a pound coin thickness.

Place the stencil on top of the fondant and roll over it to secure the stencil to the fondant.

Step 2 Take a small amount of buttercream and spread over the stencil.

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Stencil tutorial ~BUTTERCREAM

Step 3 Apply only a very thin layer of buttercream to the stencil, scraping off any excess buttercream that is not required

Step 4 Taking one corner of the stencil, peel away from the fondant

YAY!

Step 5 Finally cut away any excess fondant with a cookie cutter and place on top of a cupcake!

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Stencils

Chandelier Stencils set of 3 ￡9.99

Damask Stencils ￡12.99

Scroll Stencils set of 5 ￡19.99 105

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

Snake Cake Craze!

So you must have seen this awesome cake from North Star Cakesincredibly realistic, superb attention to detail and even a tweet from the Ace of Cakes man himself!

Is there anyone out there who hasn’t seen this cake!? Photos of this cake have been shared right across the globe and we caught up with Francesca Pitcher, the creator to find out more.

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Meet Francesca...

Tell us about North Star Cakes...

North Star Cakes is a bespoke baking business, my client's tend come to me if they are looking for something unique and personal to them.

I'm very par7cular about the ingredients I use as I firmly believe that great ingredients produce a great tas7ng cake. The cakes not only have to look beau7ful but the flavour is equally important and should meet with expecta7ons. I also cater for food intolerances and some of my clients come to me specifically for that reason.

I'm very lucky to have a loyal clientele of repeat and referral business.

Tell us more about the cake and who it was for...

Tell us a bit about yourself...

“I trained as a fine ar7st with a specialism in pain7ng and sculpture. A_er leaving university I worked for a private art collector before moving into fine art auc7oneers. I feel privileged to have worked for a couple of the top fine art auc7oneers in the world based in London.

I le_ the art world behind when I had my first child, a daughter Claudia who is now six, and I have since had a son Dylan, three. During those late night baby feeds I used to watch 'Ace of Cakes', a fabulous TV cake show based in the US and wished I could have that job. I'd always made birthday cakes but it wasn't un7l last year that I started to take my cake making more seriously and tried to make as many cakes as I could to prac7ce my skills, in fact my daughter's Rapunzel birthday cake last July was my first proper cake.

The snake cake was made for my daughter Claudia, her birthday was on 29th July and she wanted to have a Halloween themed party and she wanted a cake to match the theme. I was racking my brain as to what I could make, then on a recent visit to the zoo I suggested a snake.

She loved the idea, and when we got home we looked at images online and decided on a yellow snake -­‐ the Burmese that everyone now knows.

The interest in the snake cake really took me by surprise-­‐ there was so much discussion about it and so many shares, I've no idea how many blogs, posts and newspapers its been in all over the world, I'm s7ll trying to find them all. The buzz about the cake was overwhelming and the comments have been brilliant but the real high point for me was when Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes -­‐ the owner of the bakery in the 'Ace of Cakes' TV show tweeted out a picture of my cake on 7th August to his 40,000 followers with the word 'AMAZING!!!' -­‐ I joined twiier just to see it for myself!

My company North Star Cakes began trading in October 2011.

Photo credit: Kerry Ann Duffy Photography

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WISH LIST

Oven thermometer £5.79 Most ovens are not really ever at the temperature that they are displaying- they tend to be several degrees out. This problem can be easily fixed with a cheap and cheerful oven thermometer which can be hung on your oven shelf.

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Blue Union Flag Apron £7.49 With the Paralympics starting it it going to be Olympics fever all over again! We are so looking forward to it and even have closing ceremony tickets- so exciting!

Set of three dove cutters £8.50 Buy a set of three PME dove cutters, perfect for vintage and wedding cakes!

100 disposable savoy 21” piping bags £3.50 These are the piping bags that I use for piping buttercream on my cupcakes. Good quality and100 on a roll which lasts you ages- cheapest we could find are on good old ebay!

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WISH LIST

Oven thermometer £5.79 Most ovens are not really ever Isomalt sticks £10.99 atClear the temperature that they are displaying- they tend to be Easy melt isomalt several degrees out.which This can be poured can intobe moulds problem easily creating fixed with clear sugar decorations. a cheap and cheerful oven Awesome stuff! thermometer which can be hung on your oven shelf.

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Pink Cupcake Courier £24.99

Blue Union Flag Apron £7.49 Pale pink cupcake courier which officially holds 3x12 cupcakes With the Paralympics starting it but I manage to squeeze in an it going to be Olympics fever all extra 18 cupcakes in between over again! We are so looking the spaces! forward to it and even have closing ceremony tickets- so exciting!

Set of three dove cutters £8.50 Buy a set of three PME dove cutters, perfect for vintage and 10 Gourmet Food Pens £18.99 wedding cakes and cupcakes!

A set of 10 pens that can be used for finishing touches to 100 disposable savoy 21” piping sugar decorations. Best used on bags £3.50 dried fondant.

These are the piping bags that I use for piping buttercream on my cupcakes. Good quality and100 on a roll which lasts you ages- cheapest we could find are on good old ebay!

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CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

The Battle of the MIXERS

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KitchenAid vs.

Kenwood 110

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

Our opinion....

I am still deciding which mixer to buy.

Can you believe it...I have never owned a stand mixer because I simply don’t know which one I want. Before carrying out the research for this article, I felt that if I bought the Kenwood over the KitchenAid I would be disappointed when I got home...and vice versa!

Yes, I drive myself insane when going shopping! I am one of those people that will think about purchasing something...but then wont buy it- come home and be so annoyed at myself for not getting it! So enough about my weird shopping habits and back to mixers.

I scoured the internet for hours looking through many different reviews and reading through what seemed like thousands of testimonies on Amazon regarding personal customer experiences.

Having gone through so much content, it appeared to me that one mixer did come out slightly on top each time. I was on a mission to find out some of the differences and here is a summary of things that might help you choose which one you will go for, and YES ,I will be letting you know my final decision on the Kenwood vs KitchenAid debate.

KitchenAid - Available in 28 colours - Retro look - Mixer bowl comes with a handle - Blender attachment needs to be bought separately - Used in pretty much all cooking shows on TV- just good product placement marketing though?

-There are said to be complaints about after sales service with KitchenAid - Power cable sticks out of the machine - Expensive

Kenwood - Mainly silver although the KMix is available in approximately 11 colours -Sleek modern design - Mixer bowl has no handle - Blender attachment comes included - Better customer services and easier to find parts for machines, even the ancient ones!

- Power cable runs through the machine - Cheaper

So from the above, there isn’t really much in it.

There isn’t really anything there that makes one machine stand head and shoulders above the other.

A lot of the reviews said that the first machine you start with, tends to be the machine you stay with forever.

However, the thing that pushed me more towards one machine over the other were the MANY reviews regarding people using Kenwood machines dating back to the 70s and 80s - even the 50s and were still going strong making the odd replacement for parts which are amazingly still readily available.

I think design is a big thing as the machines look so different. There was a lot of love hate going on in the reviews that I read and it is just down to personal preference.

I personally feel you get more value for your money with Kenwood, and I like the modern design over the retro look. Also that face that so many ancient machines are mixing away gives me some comfort of reliability.

Overall, I feel a sense of relief that I have made up my mind that it is KENWOOD all the way.

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Some of you and your mixers...

Jess Moss

Emma’spongecake Constant

Mamma Jamma Cakes

Mon Cottage Cupcakes

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Kelly’s CakeAway

My Cake Away

Suhaav 112

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

Some of your mixers...

Sweetie’s Cakery (Cake of Trowbridge, Wiltshire)

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET Signature Style Cakes SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Lynda’s Celebration Cakes

Thanks for letting us share some of your mixer pictures!!!

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OUR CLASSES Recent student cakes from Rochelle!

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M么n Cottage Cupcakes

Cupcake decorating classes ON ANGLESEY Learn to decorate beautiful cupcakes in our classes suitable for all skill levels.

We run lots of different themed classes and would make the perfect gift for someone. *Kids parties and groups catered for too*

07811783901

enquiries@moncottagecupcakes.co.uk

www.moncottagecupcakes.co.uk

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Wed$ng Cake Special FEATURING YOUR BEAUTIFUL CAKES DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Hello everyone, welcome to our August newsletter!

For those of you who don’t know, this is what I look like- and for some of you who do know, I hate having my picture taken, so you won’t find

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Cakes by Minel

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

I have been following the stunning bespoke wedding cakes from Cakes by Minel for some time, a worthy cover photo for our feature.

These cakes have been clearly made with careful thought, combining detail from wedding

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'e li(le Cherry Cake Company Stunning simple design with bold peacock colours cascading delicately down three deep tiers of cake.

The Little Cherry Cake DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

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CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

**W#h upon a cupcake**

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Pretty in pink, with perfectly perched beautiful bold roses.

Wish Upon a Cupcake

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Sweetcheeks Bakeh$se

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Lovely beach related three tier wedding cake.

Just the right number of shells dotted around, with delicate royal iced piped nets cascading all three tiers. Beautiful work!

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%e Hazelnut Bakery

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

One of my all time favorite wedding cake designs. Love the use of deep purple for the flowers and clothing detail for the groom.

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Bella To&a

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Beautiful hand painted floral design, on top and bottom tiers of cake.

So elegant and beautifully sophisticated.

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Cakes by Nina Camberley I love different designed weddings cakes, especially this one. Focal teapot with hand crafted teacup cakes. Beautiful work!

Cakes by Nina Camberley

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Iced Dreams DOWNHAM Elegant and sophisticated three tiered cake with beautiful pink blossoms decorating the tops of each tier.

Iced Dreams Downham

One of my all time favorite weddings cakes.Love the use of deep purple for the flowers flowers clothing detail for the groom.

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Scrumpti$s Cakes

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Beautiful chocolate wrapped layered cake decorated with fresh berries and flowers.

Scrumptious Cakes

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Ka'ryns Cakes

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Beautiful and elegant three tiered cake, decorated with a fantastic spray of sugar flowers. Lovely!

Kathryns Cakes

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Roxy Rara

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Chocolate wrapped cake, adorned with beautiful fresh berries.

Gold detailed chocolate rose finishes off this fantastic cake!

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Rosebud Cakes

My favourite indian inspired wedding cake. A beautifully decorated saree cascading down three tiers of cake. Love the gold detailing around the cake and 126

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

Fancy Cakes by Linda

Action packed and fun James Bond themed wedding cake. Love the One of myplane all time favorite crashed in the side of the weddings cakes.Love use just of cake. Another favorite the of mine, deep purple for the flowers fantastic!

Fancy Cakes by detail Linda for the flowers clothing groom.

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Fancy Cakes by Linda

Another cake by Linda, superb design- bride and groom combined cake. Clever and beautifully created, I just love the way the board has been decorated and incorporated into the design of the bottom cake-

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Coco Blossom Chocolates and Cakes

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

Chocolate and fresh fruit combination with transfers used for detailing the corners. Lovely alternative to the usual chocolate wraps!

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CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

Cupcakes by L$#e

Beautiful shades of blue pastels with gorgeous vintage sugar pieces and beautiful ruffles cascading down four tiers of deep sponge.

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PetiteSweet ~Cake B)tique

CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

DONEC ARCU RISUS DIAM AMET SIT. CONGUE TORTOR CURSUS RISUS NISL, LUCTUS AUGUE

Love the colour combination on this cake. Beautiful green hand painted leaves with deep garnet coloured painted flowers and sugar roses - just a stunning cake.

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GemCakes

Three tiers of white chocolate cigerellos finished with chocolate fans and roses.

Uniform colour creates a beautiful finished cake!

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CAKE MASTERS MAGAZINE ~ AUGUST 2012

Doro’s d (cup cakes)

Something different but refreshingly simple- NAKED sponge decorated with fresh fruit and flowers, finished with a dusting of icing sugar. I love this!

Doro’s d. (cup) cakes

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'e Chocolate Strawberry

Last and by no means least, one of my favourite wedding cake designs with beautiful words adorning the sides of a three tier wedding cake.

Love all the work from this

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are you following our boards?

Cake Masters Boards

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To Do Book T ra Tickets in Pen re fill Cat Fo s od

Charlotte

Katie

Have Your Say! Write to the Editor or any of our writers on content@HatTrickMagazine.com We are also seeking an Entertainment Editor and a Technology Editor. Email us for more information.

Page 137

BREAKING: The Rock Vault Dozen will see twelve jewellers invited to design a ring created from up to an ounce of the precious metal, Palladium. These rings will be showcased, as well as their full collections, in a dedicated exhibit as part of the BFC’s Rock Vault, sponsored by the International Palladium Board and curated by Stephen Webster, during London Fashion Week this September. Read full press release.

Spring/Summer 2013 Dates | Shows & Exhibition Friday 14th September - Tuesday 18th September

SHOW TICKET REQUESTS Tickets to catwalk shows and presentations are issued at the discretion of each designer. Please contact the designer's press or sales contact directly for tickets. Contact information can be reached in the links below.

DOWNLOAD: Show contacts | Mail merge for buyers | Mail merge for press www.londonfashionweek.co.uk | www.britishfashioncouncil.com

Page 138 Copyright Š British Fashion Council, All rights reserved.

Situated over two floors of Somerset House, the London Fashion Week Exhibition takes a curated style, with a focus on creating a tailored and visually merchandised feel to the showcase. See the list of designers confirmed so far, including 20 new designers.

Exhibition Opening Times 10.00 - 19.00 (early closing at 18.00 on Tuesday) Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA The provisional show schedule for SS13 is live.

Philip Treacy will be joining Preen by Thornton Bregazzi and rag & bone as new designers on the schedule.

Anya Hindmarch, Moschino Cheap and Chic and Richard Nicoll will now all be showing in a full catwalk slot.

New presentations on the schedule include Lucas Nascimento and Marques'Almeida (as part of NEWGEN), Huishan Zhang and Willow.

See the schedule | Print the schedule Page 139 Copyright Š British Fashion Council, All rights reserved.

Copyright Hat Trick Strategies, 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED