Vietnam Emerging As a Major Wood Product Trading Partner

A surging demand for Vietnamese furniture has created a large market for US wood products and woodworking machinery. Vietnamese manufacturers are rushing to fill the void as Chinese furniture exports dwindle due to US antidumping petitions. As Vietnam's furniture industry grows, so too does its demand for logs, lumber, woodworking machinery and technology. Vietnam’s expanding wood processing industry relies upon imported wood. Total timber imports to Vietnam reached US$250 million in 2003, and significant growth is expected.

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Used But Not Used Up

Gene Miller

Some DIY Maintence will put Used tools back in Main Stream Operation: Professional grade tools are made to withstand long hours of use and abuse. Many home shops have a number of Professional grad tools but for the most part most home shops have tools that are some what less in quality. No matter what grade of tool you have none of them are made to be the "last tool you will have to buy". What is nice is that for the most part the average grade as well as the professional grade tools are designed and built to be reparied which will translate into many years of service. For the home shop items such as pads, electric cords, on/off switches and motor brushes can be easily replace and done so without a huge pinch in the pocketbook.

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Tripping On Mindfulness

Maya Talisman Frost

One of the ironies of mindfulness is that it's still possible to be forgetful, klutzy, or even distracted while doing our best to pay attention.Why? We are choosing where to focus and so there are, by necessity, bits of information that aren't getting the full laser treatment. It's simply not possible to be mindful of everything all at once. That's the beauty of it. You can shine your mental high beams on, say, fully connecting with every person you talk to today. While being very aware of your interactions with others, you might trip on the edge of the carpet.

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The Best Advice This Week I Got From My Barber

Timothy Spaulding

I went to my barber a few days ago. We talked about his hobby, which is playing poker, and his nephew who is a boxer, and about my job and my kids, etc., etc. I told him where my son, a high school senior, wants to go to college. It is a rather expensive private school in the city where we live. Jerry, my barber, said he knows several people that attend and work at this college, and that he believes it is an excellent school.

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Pepper-Passion. Know a true pepper lover? Chances are you do.

Every family has one or knows one: the passionate pepper lover. The truly passionate have found their guru and so have wood lovers. Both appear when Pepper-Passion owner, D. B. (Bruce) Morgan, opens his booth at local art shows and sets out his hand crafted Peppermills and gourmet peppercorns.

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Time Management

Joe Cirillo

Can’t find the time for time management? You’re not alone. Most of own at least one book on time management, many of us own several but all the books in the world won’t help us alleviate our problem, in fact in an ironic sort of way collecting time management books will only serve to increase our stress level instead of lessening it.It’s important to understand the value of time but the answer is not to try and cram in more than will fit! It’s pretty easy to let time management linger in the back of our minds as something we should do, but simply can’t find the time. Does this sound familiar? A long morning run before watering and weeding the plants, before going off to an eight-hour work day (plus commute time), a lunch meeting, a 3 p.m. presentation where you’ll need to be fresh and alert, a dental appointment after work, grocery shopping, cooking, an evening tennis game, reading, TV, thinking guiltily about that craft or woodworking project you started in 1998…. And what about unscheduled time-wasters, such as searching fruitlessly for the right-size coffee filter? Or reluctantly taking that phone call from an old windbag friend who has won more talk-a-thons than you have won tennis matches?If this sounds like a day in your life – or if you wish your schedule could be this “relaxed,” then you have hit the wall, and have probably bounced off it a few times.

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Breaking Plates to Build a Community

KP Tiles (www.KPTiles.com) has grown by becoming a one-stop shopping network that serves the needs of designers, artists, teachers, students, suppliers, and others that in one way or another are involved with mosaic art and installation. Mosaic tile supplies are not easily acquired in one place or cheaply, which is surprising given the popularity of the medium. Mosaic tiles are used in a variety of progressive ways for interior design because they are functional and at the same time lend themselves to creative expression.Kristen Phillips started KP Tiles because she found it difficult to find affordable materials and services for her mosaic art and crafts projects. She says, “When I did find what I needed, supplies were often limited and I found myself trying to outbid other people on e-bay, but it was really difficult to get the mosaic tile I wanted cheaply, so I started to make my own.” That was a wise decision because Kristen was soon selling batches of tile made from broken plates, and it was difficult to keep up with demand. As her tile business grew, interested surfers who browsed the KP Tiles website asked Kristen questions about where to find other materials and products for their mosaic projects, such as uncut tiles, unique or unusual tiles, and mosaic surfaces ready for tile and grout work like mirrors and tables.

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