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5 Star Hotels Have Gone To The Dogs: LA Dogworks
They say that all dogs go to heaven.
Well, here in LA it seems they can spend their life on this earth in heaven as well.
LA DOGWORKS is Los Angeles’ first exclusive dog Mecca. Our state-of-the-art, 7,500 square foot retreat boasts:
• 2,500 square foot indoor dog park
• exclusive spa treatments: aromatherapy and hydrotherapy
• dental hygiene
• grooming
• unique retail experience
• education
• training
• car service
• day care
• boarding
Recruiting leading industry professionals to create a pleasant and contemporary aesthetic; LA DOGWORKS is equipped with ultra-modern technology to ensure the highest level of health and safety for dogs of all shapes and sizes.
Our five-star membership resort, located in the heart of Hollywood, is an American Boarding Kennel Association (ABKA) member, and has required all staff to become certified pet care technicians through the ABKA.
Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, our professionally trained and certified staff will be at your dog’s bark and call.
For additional information, click here.
(323) 461-5151
Do All Those Posts and Comments On Sites Really Affect Sales?
Below is part of an article from Trendwatching.com on what they've coined as Transparency Tyranny-the effect of online consumer reviews, habits and posts in regards to marketing and sales.
Really interesting. Read on....
Remember the promises of flawless matching of supply and demand, and limitless consumer power, when the web burst onto the scene a dozen years ago? While the last few years didn’t disappoint (consumers are already enjoying near-full transparency of prices and, in categories like travel and music, near-full transparency of opinions as well), 2007 could be the year in which TRANSPARENCY TYRANNY really starts scaring the shit out of non-performing brands. Why? For one, 1+ billion consumers are now online, and the majority of them have been online for years. They're skilled bargain seekers and ‘best of the best’ hunters, they're avid online networkers and they're opinionated reviewers and advisors (tripadvisor.com now boasts 5,000,000+ travel reviews).
1+ billion consumers are now online and the majority of them have been online for years. They're skilled bargain seekers and ‘best of the best’ hunters, they're avid online networkers and they're opinionated reviewers and advisors. And there will no shortage of future contributors and viewers, especially with younger generations weighing in heavily; those that are born to the web, to whom contributing online is a given. Simply put: there will be many more consumers posting reviews, and they will increasingly consider them an integral part of their relationships with brands and businesses.
The non-competitive and the downright incompetent have very few stones left to hide under: never before have consumers’ purchase decisions been so strongly influenced by all kinds of transparency. In fact, TRANSPARENCY TYRANNY now rules:"Old economy fog is clearing: no longer can incompetence, below-par performance, ignored global standards, anti-social & anti-eco behavior, or opaque pricing be obscured. In its place has come a transparent, fully informed marketplace, where producers have no excuse left to underperform. TRANSPARENCY TYRANNY for some, TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH for others."
TRANSPARENCY TYRANNY | Facts and figures
Some numbers to convince those execs in your organization who still don’t see the TRANSPARENCY TYRANNY deluge coming…
- 80% of online shopping time is spent researching products rather than buying them. (TechCrunch)
- 71% of online shoppers read reviews, making it the most widely read consumer-generated content. (Forrester)
- In a test of product conversion with and without product ratings by customers. Conversion nearly doubled, going from .44% to 1.04% after the same product displayed its five-star rating. (Marketing Experiments Journal)
- 60 percent of online shoppers provide feedback about a shopping experience, and are more likely to give feedback about a positive experience than a negative one. (JupiterResearch)
- User-generated ratings and reviews are the second most important site feature behind search. Retailers who adopt ratings and reviews as a differentiator and retention strategy will gain market share. (JupiterResearch)
- In a study of 2,000 shoppers – 92% deemed customer reviews as “extremely” or “very” helpful and ~ 71% used keyword searches to find products. (eTailing Group)
- 59% of their users considered customer reviews to be more valuable than expert reviews. (Bizrate)
Only 26% of the 137 top retailers surveyed offered customer ratings and reviews, but 96% of them ranked customer ratings and reviews as an effective or very effective tactic at driving conversion. (Forrester)
63% of consumers indicate they are more likely to purchase from a site if it has product ratings and reviews. (CompUSA & iPerceptions study)- Conversion rates are higher on products with less than perfect reviews (less than 5 stars) than those without reviews at all, indicating that the customer feels that the product has been properly reviewed by other customers. (Burpee)
- 39 percent of those who bought from sites with reviews cite the reviews as the primary factor influencing the purchase decision. (Foresee Results Study, 2006)
Doll Face. Awesome Animation By Andy Huang.
Doll Face follows a machine's struggle to construct its own identity. The machine with a doll face mimics images presented on a television screen and ultimately self-destructs from its inability to adopt a satisfactory visage. Created in its entirety by Andy Huang, Doll Face presents a visual account of desires misplaced and identities fractured by our technological extension into the future.
Andrew (Andy) Huang is currently a senior Fine Arts major and Animation minor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Andy's past animated work has been showcased at the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and his latest independent short film "Doll Face" has been selected as part of the Official Selection at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, as well as the Electronic Theater at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston. Since the completion of "Doll Face" in December 2005, Andy, now 22 years old, continues animation work for Root Films, a production company in Los Angeles. You can see Andy Huang's other work at: http://www.rootfilm.com
Houses Worth Visiting. The Flat Pak Exhibit
SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
Above: Marmol Radziner's Desert House
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Above: Alchemy Architect's wee House
Buy admission and event tickets at tickets.com
Coachella Going Hollywood?
The crowd at day one of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, in Indio, Calif.
As rumored, Scarlett Johansson joined a reunited Jesus and Mary Chain for a performance of “Just Like Honey,” which played as the credits rolled during Ms. Johansson’s film “Lost in Translation.”
Bjork's new touring ensemble features backup singers playing an array of horns and plenty of electronic equipment.
Coachella: View From the VIP Trailer Park
by Jeff Leeds for the NY Yimes
Indio, Calif. – If performers are going to come all the way out here, they might as well experience the desert lifestyle, which in this part of California often involves spending time in an RV. Coachella approximates this experience by stowing its artists in a sort of upscale trailer park tucked away on one side of the polo grounds. Virtually every performer, from the co-headlining Red Hot Chili Peppers on down, spends time here, idling between the rows of trailers (they are spruced up with white picket fences and little lawn tables for entertaining guests).
above: Red Hot Chili Peppers at Coachella
A tent housing a masseuse sits at the end of one row, and in the center of the encampment is a shaded lounge stocked with sofas. Coachella regular Cameron Diaz sat on the grass sharing a drink with three companions, while Courtney Love sat at a table inside CSS’s fence and seemed intent on making a point about what she described as two of the best albums of the 1990’s (unclear on which ones she meant).
above:Francis Healy of the band Travis
Artists who walk out toward the VIP area pass by the tent of Andrew Haagen, the festival’s resident photographer. Mr. Haagen, who briefly emerged the other day holding two sticks of incense, spends most of his time shooting portraits inside. He displayed some of his handiwork, including pictures of Flea and Lady Sovereign, on the grass outside.
Of course, the later in the day it gets – and the closer to the performances of the headliners – the more the camp resembles the Hollywood club circuit. Lindsay Lohan, wearing a thrashed T-shirt and carrying a packet of cigarettes, rolled in Sunday around 9:30 p.m. – about an hour before the reunited Rage Against the Machine took the stage.
Above:Revelers cool off in a "mist tent."
Coachella, take heed: you just went mainstream.
...and from the SF Chronicle:
Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Jason Statham and Adam Brody gave the three-day Coachella Festival some real star power, as they headed out to the California desert to catch acts like Bjork, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the reunited Jesus & Mary Chain.
Diaz joined Barrymore and Alba backstage on Friday but appeared to be solo as she wandered around the VIP area before the Red Hot Chili Peppers' performance Saturday night.
Wearing all white and a pair of beige knee-length boots, Diaz spent 15 minutes trying to avoid the star spotters backstage, while frantically texting friends.
Johansson actually took to the stage -- she performed "Just Like Honey" with the Jesus & Mary Chain on Friday night. The song appeared on the soundtrack to the actress' hit film "Lost In Translation."
"The Transporter" star Statham rocked out to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, while former "The O.C." actor Adam Brody chilled out with friends backstage.
Among the other movie stars spotted at Coachella were Danny De Vito, who was at the festival for the second year in a row, porn star Ron Jeremy, who introduced controversial rocker Peaches on Friday night, and Scottish actress Kelly MacDonald, who joined husband Dougie Payne and his band Travis backstage on Saturday night.
Above: A NON-celebrity enjoys the event.
Funky Find of The Week:
Lucha Libre Accessories
What fun!
Metallic leather hand crafted compact pocket mirrors, coin purses, trinket boxes and CD cases with Lucha Libre Mexican Wrestling Masks!
Just click here to buy them.
Death Becomes You
24 Skull Items
Okay, so goth is back in a big way and skulls and crossbones are appearing on even the most unlikely items.
here are just a few on the market!
See more of my Death Becomes You - cool things with skulls! list at ThisNext.
Don't Your Napkins Deserve Them? Hip Porcelain Napkin Rings
I stumbled upon these wonderful porcelain napkin rings by Dinner-ware. They've got many fun mod designs, but what is really struck me are these 'monogrammed' porcelain napkin rings at 10$ a piece. Get your initials, spell out words, do 'hugs' and 'kisses'...whatever, all and every initial is a fun design-see below.
So what are you waiting for? buy them here.
They Look Good Enough To Eat.. Wait, You Can Eat Them!
Monica Passin, president and chocolateuse of Painter Girl Chocolates spent over two years learning to work with chocolate as an art medium: desiging and painting molds, creating recipes, tasting and sharing, selecting the finest ingredients, and getting chocolate all over her guitars. Art-inspired chocolate. Chocolate- inspired art. A complete experience.
ANIMAL PRINT CHOCOLATES: THE ZEBRA
mmm... 2.5oz of dark chocolate with notes of vanilla and spice. "stripes of white chocolate. reminds your taste buds of espresso with whipped cream. made from pure belgium chocolate.
ANIMAL PRINT CHOCOLATES: THE SNOW LEOPARD
2.5 oz white chocolate with refreshing pure lemon and "spots" of dark chocolate. the lemon and dark "spots" balance the sweetness of white chocolate. Made from pure Belgium chocolate.
ANIMAL PRINT CHOCOLATES: THE CHEETAH
2.5 oz blend of milk and white chocolate create a wildly delicious flavor. its creamy texture melts in your mouth, and you are left with "spots" of dark chocolate that melt more slowly. made from pure Belgium chocolate.
ANIMAL PRINT CHOCOLATES: THE WILD PONY
dedicated to those with a passion for horsed and the pleasures of a great milk chocolate bar. 2.5 oz with "spots" of white chocolate. made from pure Belgium chocolate.
At $10.00 a bar, they make a nice gift- or dessert! Buy them here.
Product Pick Of The Week: Viteo's Outdoor Furniture
I am in love with Viteo's outdoor furniture-as well as the interesting imagery on their website (the full launch, not the quick launch). The very cool product above was a Red Dot Design Winner. An outdoor shower that is activated by the weight of the individual who steps upon it.
Take a look at some of their fabulous imagery (someone at Viteo is a very hip designer)and their beautiful products from their site:
There's no shortage of fabulously designed outdoor products on their website, check them all out here!