Posted by Elena del Valle on August 24, 2016
A Lumé bikini
Photos: Lumé
Paula Daza was born in Colombia and raised in the United States. As a young woman she decided she wanted to raise funds for people in her country of birth. In 2014, she founded Lumé Swimwear, a Katy, Texas based company Daza describes as “a 100 percent ethical luxury fashion brand that combines fashion, art, and giving back.” Lumé makes swimwear, beachwear, mochila bags and shoes from nylon and spandex in Medellin, Colombia and sells the vast majority, 90 percent, to customers in Europe. She hopes to grow her domestic market share.
The company, which Daza says follows fair trade practices and supports underprivileged children, offers 49 styles, including men’s trunks, ranging in price between $140 and $170 each. A page on the company website features photos of people with sewing machines in the background holding signs that say “I made your clothes” at the top. At the bottom there are photos of adults and children some of them holding toys. Lumé donates 10 percent of proceeds to the JuanFe Foundation (juanfe.org/en/). To date donations have reached $4000.
Paula Daza, owner, Lumé Swimwear
When asked about her company’s charitable donations Daza said by email via her publicist,“…and every summer I spent it in Colombia and would see the need of the people, the homeless children without shoes, the poor living in slums and it would just break my heart. I promised myself at that young age that one day I would find a way to give back to my native country in some way how ever little it may be.”
Before establishing her own company Daza worked in merchandising, buying and developing and launching other brands and designers. After many years in the fashion industry in New York City she found a path to follow through on the promise she had made herself. Overcoming a period of life changes led her to decide she wanted to start fresh by pursuing her three passions in life: fashion, art, and giving back. That in turn prompted her to establish her company.
Euphoria, a painting by Edgard Medina, served as inspiration for Lumé products.
Lumé beachwear inspired by art by Edgar Medina
To make its swimwear products Lumé transfers the original paintings of artists into prints for women who like fashion and art, seek to be unique while at the same time like purchasing items that are sustainable and eco-conscious. In exchange the artists receive a 10 percent license fee and exposure for their art. The 2016 collection features the work of two artists, including Edgar Medina whose art appears above. Medina is a Houston, Texas based abstract painter originally from Mexico.
“The process of picking artist to collaborate with is a very organic process, many artist write to us and some we have found by seeing there art work first,” Daza said when asked how she selects the artists she works with for the designs. “We also look to work wth artist that are involved in their community, it is important to work with artist that share that same vision of giving back and helping other through art. It is important for us at Lume to work with artist that are both an exceptional artist with unique work and at the same time philanthropic, because that is at the core of our co mission.”
“The reason I participate in this model is because I liked the idea to have my work in swimwear collection,” said Medina by email. “But, what made me fall in love even more is the charity work behind Lume Swimwear. A percentage of the sales goes back to a charity of choice. As an artist, I am very committed to give back to my community and help others in need through my work. I am so blessed to be able to give back to my community through my work. It is so satisfying to see the proceeds from a sale of an Edgar Medina original go to help a child with cancer, provide medical services to low-income teens or send a child with Muscular Dystrophy to camp. It is very important to me to give back to the community in honor of all that I have achieved and overcome in my own life.”
According to his bio, Medina originals have been shown across the country at galleries in Chicago, New Orleans, Santa Fe and Houston; and Medina has been a featured artist at Art Chicago, The Los Angeles Art Show, Art Santa Fe and Red Dot Miami. He works out of his studio space in Montrose within Native Citizen, which features his gallery where clients can visit him at work.
Posted by Elena del Valle on May 18, 2016
Click to enlarge
Photos: Ecosia
Ecosia, a Berlin, Germany based search engine, has between 2 and 2.5 million monthly active users who submit about 750,000 searches a day. The company’s search results and ads are powered by Bing. What makes the company special? In a world where it seems everyone is driven by greed alone, Ecosia donates 80 percent of its monthly profits ($50K to $80K each month) to planting trees in Brazil and Burkina Faso. Where the search engines keep track of users and their habits, Ecosia doesn’t.
“We don’t engage in any long-term saving or selling of personally identifiable user data,” said, Christian Kroll, chief executive officer and founder, Ecosia, by email when asked about the company’s privacy policies. “We believe that our users’ data and their privacy should be protected.”
Most of the search engine’s users are based in the Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) region, where the company has captured 10 percent of non-Google users, followed by France and Spanish speaking countries, according to Kroll. Going forward he and his colleagues see the biggest potential in English speaking markets, and hope to eventually capture 2 percent of the global search market.
“We see Ecosia as a tool that allows users to capitalize on a daily habit (in this case searching the web) and do good without any further cost or effort on their side,” said Kroll. “We want to inspire others to come up with more business ideas like that and encourage them to use a share of their profits to support a good cause by proving that it’s actually possible.”
Christian Kroll, chief executive officer, Ecosia
“I decided to move to Berlin because it was closest to my family and offered (and still does) great opportunities for tech and green start-ups,” he said when asked about his choice of base. “The rent is very affordable, there are many creative and highly talented people from all over the world and people generally seem very open to topics like sustainability and shared economy.”
The entire Ecosia team is based in Berlin. There are 15 people, most of them full-time workers. Kroll founded the company in 2009 after traveling extensively. Despite several attempts it was not possible to speak with Kroll by phone in time for the publication of this note. Long term, the company aspires to plant 1 billion trees and end deforestation.
Posted by Elena del Valle on February 18, 2016
Apple Watch
Photo: Apple
Less than a month after I bought a new Swiss made watch it stopped working. I contacted the manufacturer per the warranty instructions to discover the company had been purchased by another watch seller. Dozens of calls, emails and faxes and a month later I’m still waiting for my repaired watch to arrive. As I think of replacement options and future purchases a smartwatch has crossed my mind. If a traditional watch under warranty was such a hassle what would a smartwatch offer?
Thinking of acquiring your own bit of wrist software bling? If you plan to buy a smartwatch you will be among 6 percent of Americans who own one, according to Watches and Jewelry US, September 2015, a report by Mintel. Researchers at the company believe by 2020 sales of traditional and sport watches could suffer since 21 percent of survey respondents who bought a watch in the previous year said they were very interested in the smartwatch trend. Among men between 18 and 34 years old 37 percent said they were interested.
“There is a very real possibility that smartwatch sales could cannibalize sales of other watches over the next five years,” said Diana Smith, senior research Analyst, Retail & Apparel at Mintel. “This scenario assumes that the current smartwatch buzz manifests into sales that can withstand momentum as more functional apps are created, more developers launch new products and prices come down. It also assumes that sport watches continue to grow in light of consumers’ heightened interest in using them to track their fitness levels and compete against others in various forms of exercise. An ideal situation for the smartwatch sector would be one where smartwatches (and sport watches) lift the entire category, while traditional watches – which comprise the majority of total watch sales – remain at least steady.”
U.S. retail sales of watches and jewelry may have been $79.3 billion in 2015, up 1.6 percent over the previous year. Slow growth may continue through 2020 to reach a combined total of $88.6 billion, and Mintel researchers believe watch sales will reach $9.5 billion in 2015, gaining 2 percent over 2014. Based on an estimated growth rate of 4 percent year-over-year (YOY), the market could reach $11.5 billion by 2020.
It is worth noting that traditional watches were favorites among respondents to the Mintel survey, where 31 percent of men and 30 percent of women preferred them. Among the survey takers 25 percent, including 32 percent of older Millennials (consumers aged 29-38), said they buy watches mainly as a fashion statement
Posted by Elena del Valle on February 10, 2016
Changes in labour market security 2007-2013- click to enlarge
Chart: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
How is your job satisfaction? If your answer is average, it is not surprising. If the quality of your employment declined in the past 10 years you are not alone. What makes a good job and how do individual countries measure in that category? Seeking to answer these questions the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) examined job quality from the following perspectives: Earnings quality, job market security and work environment quality.
For earnings the organization’s researchers looked at earnings and their distribution across the workforce. For job market security they examined the risk of unemployment and its expected duration. When considering the quality of the working environment they looked at the incidence of demands and resources and the combined potetntial of high demands and low resources that result in job strain.
The best performing countries are Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland. They are followed by Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States display with average performance. That means than when examining the three job quality measures, they countries display no more than one outcome in the top-10 or the bottom-10 of the ranking. At the bottom of the list are Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain and Turkey.
The OECD data also reveal significant differences across groups of workers. Young and unskilled workers generally have the worst performance in terms of employment and have lower earnings and considerably higher labour market insecurity and higher job strain than other segments. Women’s employment rates are much higher than men’s while at they are paid far less than their male counterparts. On the up side, they are less likely than men to suffer from job strain.
Job quality dropped in the past decade. The crisis affected the number of jobs and their quality. Earnings quality decreased in two thirds of the OECD countries, especially in Greece and the United Kingdom; job market security worsened in most OECD countries, especially in Spain and Greece.
The mission of the OECD is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The organization, based in Paris, France, was established in 1961. It has 34 member countries, 2,500 staff and a budget of 363 million euros.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 20, 2016
The StockPKG office is in Dana Point, California
Photo: StockPKG
While some speculate and worry about another recession, the management of StockPKG, a Dana Point, California discount business supply company founded in 2012, is hoping for triple digit growth. That was the growth the company experienced in the previous three years. To further the likelihood of such growth the company plans a catalog launch in March and hired Driven PR, an integrated marketing communications company.
The distributor plans to add 35,000 products in 2016, totaling 75,000 in all, as well as offering educational and consulting resources for those looking for assistance when starting or growing their business. The company has 25 employees and foresees growth in the sales and customer service teams. By the end of 2016, the company expects to have a national network of up to 75 employees.
“Our mission is to be a one-stop-shop for all business supply and flexible packaging needs for businesses and customers all over America,” said Sean Rudner, owner and president of the company, by email via a Driven PR representative. “We offer consulting services to businesses with complex packaging needs who may not know where to go or how to best service their customers. StockPKG’s customer service representatives are educated and always available to consult with businesses about their packaging options. We genuinely care about our customers and are passionate about seeing their businesses grow.”
The top sellers are Shipping Mailers, Clear Stand Up Pouches and Stretch Wraps. In addition to StockPKG’s online marketplace, the company offers consulting services to businesses with complex packaging needs. Powered by Global Plastic Supply, the company serves businesses nationwide through its website, by phone or in person.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 4, 2016
Jaime Escalante US stamp
Photo: United States Postal Service
Following the recommendation of its Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, the United States Postal Service will issue a self-adhesive Forever Stamp to honor Bolivian born educator Jaime Escalante, probably in the summer of 2016. December 31, 2015 would have been his 85 birthday.
Press materials from the Service describe Escalante as a “beloved and charismatic California educator (who) used unconventional methods to inspire his inner-city students not only to learn calculus but also to pass Advanced Placement tests in the subject. With his colleagues at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, he proved that students judged to be ‘unteachable’ could master even the most difficult subject.”
The design of the stamp with a 49 cent price features Escalante in a digital illustration meant to resemble an oil painting. The illustration is based on a 2005 photograph taken by Jaime W. Escalante in a classroom where his father had taught. The average print run for Forever stamps is in the 20 to 30 million range. The print quantity for the Jaime Escalante Forever Stamp has not been announced. The Postal Service is promoting the stand alone stamp (not part of a collection) through print, TV and broadcast as well as mainstream media, Hispanic media and social media.
“There is no advertising budget,” said Roy Betts at the U.S. Postal Service Corporate Communications office via email. “The Postal Service typically promotes new stamps through media channels and in-store retail messaging in local Post Offices.”
Born to schoolteachers in La Paz, Bolivia Escalante learned to teach by trial and error and by imitating the methods of teachers he had admired as a student. In 1961, Escalante spent a year in the United States as part of President John F. Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress, a program to improve relations between the United States and countries in South America. As part of the program, Escalante attended classes in Puerto Rico and traveled to schools around the country to study their methods.
In 1963, Escalante received his immigration visa and arrived in the United States. He came alone, planning to find a job and housing and then send for his family. Because of his limited English, he had difficulty finding employment. Eventually, he found a job mopping floors in a restaurant, enrolled at Pasadena City College, and brought his wife and son to California. Since his Bolivian teaching credentials did not transfer to the United States he had to start his education from the beginning.
He received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from California State University in 1973 and then won a prestigious National Science Foundation scholarship, which allowed him to study full time and earn his teaching credentials a year later. He quickly found a job at Garfield, a school in crisis with high dropout rates and gang violence, and in jeopardy of losing its accreditation.
Fame came to Escalante in an unexpected way when in 1982, 18 of his students took the Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus Exam. After they, Mexican Americans from a low-income area of Los Angeles, all passed and seven students received fives, the highest score, the ETS College Board accused 14 students of cheating and requested that they retake the exam. Twelve of the 14 did, and all passed the second exam, a different version from the first.
Their story made the national news, making him and his class instant heroes and led to the making of the movie Stand and Deliver. That same year, publication of Escalante: The Best Teacher in America, a book by Washington Post reporter Jay Mathews, brought him additional acclaim. Later Escalante showed how math is used in real life as part of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series Futures. In 1988, Escalante won an award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. In 1999, a year after he retired from teaching he was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. He died on March 30, 2010.
The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee is a group of private citizens with “a passion for American history and a love of stamps, who are appointed by the Postmaster General of the United States.” They are: Gail Anderson, partner, Anderson Newton Design; Peter Argentine founder, Argentine Productions; Justin Bua, artist and creator of genre known as “distorted urban realism;” B. J. Bueno, founder, The Cult Branding Company; Cheryl R. Ganz, author; Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research, Harvard University; Janet Klug, chair, Philatelist; Carolyn Lewis former chief executive of Texwood Furniture Inc; Harry Rinker, antiques and collectibles appraiser; Maruchi Santana, founder, The Brand Extension Katherine C. Tobin, Ph.D., commissioner, U.S. – China Economic and Security Review Commission; and Donna de Varona, TV sports commentator.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 1, 2016
As the New Year begins we take this opportunity to wish you the best for 2016 and thank you for visiting and following us in 2015.
Posted by Elena del Valle on December 9, 2015
Millennials have a higher preference for fresh produce than non-Millennials.
Photo: HispanicMPR.com
As older generations decline Millennials are growing and are expected to continue growing over the next five years. Millennials represent one quarter of the population of United States, making them the largest generation at present. At the same time Millennials are highly diverse as a generation. Among Millennials 21 percent is Hispanic, according to Mintel, a data and market research company.
Divided into younger and older Milennials this generation is marrying later, saving money, going to school and or starting a family. They shop differently, like different products, and have different attitudes about food than previous generations, and their income ranges from below average to about average, according to The Millennial Impact: Food Shopping Decisions US, September 2015, a Mintel report.
A Mintel survey indicates that only 47 percent of Older Millennials and 35 percent of Younger Millennials surveyed said they trust large food makers. Among older millennial’s 77 percent wish food manufacturers were more transparent about how they make their products while 70 percent of their younger contemporaries said they wish the same thing. Among non-Millennials 69 percent wished food makers were more transparent about the product that they make.
Millennial’s like shopping for groceries and specialty stores and online, and according to Straight to You, a Mintel Trend, they prefer that products be delivered to them. Both younger and older Millennials have a higher preference for fresh produce than non-Millennials.
Posted by Elena del Valle on November 11, 2015
Sergio’s Mahi Mahi
Photos: Sergio’s Restaurants
Twenty percent of sales at Sergio’s Restaurants, a Florida company of Cuban franchise restaurants, are to customers with special dietary needs or preferences. The company caters to people who care about what they eat, be they vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant, or paleo-friendly. For example, by the end of November 2015 the restaurants will serve all-natural, hormone and antibiotic free, Wagyu beef fed a vegetarian diet from Jackman Florida Natural Wagyu Beef in Clewiston, Florida.
Citing a Lactose Intolerance: Information for Health Care Providers, a 2006 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development publication that estimates 50 percent to 80 percent of Hispanics suffer from lactose intolerance Sergio’s Restaurants recently added products for people who suffer from lactose intolerance.
“Sergio’s is always thinking outside of the box in order to better serve our customers – and this means making more options available,” said Carlos Gazitua, chief executive officer, Sergio’s Restaurants, via email when asked about why the restaurant chain caters to customers with varied needs. “We respect everyone’s diets.”
Sergio’s dishes
Its La Flaca menu offers healthier alternatives to customers including cauliflower rice, baked (instead of fried) dishes and recipes with coconut oil. Some La Flaca dishes are Grilled Chicken with garlic, herbs, and pico de gallo rice; Mahi-Mahi with pico de gallo; and Turkey Picadillo with Lean, Cuban-Style ground turkey.
Target customers range in age between 25 and 50. Staff reach out to customers via Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, and Instagram. The restaurants appear on NBC Miami for Food Presentations and competed in the Tampa Cuban Sandwich Showdown. Founded in 1975 in Westchester, Florida by Blanca Cabrera, Gazitua’s mother, and her mother, Sergio’s has six restaurants and two cafes in South Florida. They are independently owned.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 9, 2015
WalletHub’s Most & Last Ethno-Racially Diverse Cities
Image: WalleHub
It is no secret that the face of America is changing. Immigration, native births and mixed ethnicity marriages may be among the factors leading to a growing racial and cultural blending across the country.
Since 2011, more than half of children born in the United States have been part of ethnic or racial minorities; and by 2020, the total minority population may grow to 40.7 percent from 30.9 percent in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
To get a glimpse of the situation today, Richie Bernardo, personal finance writer, WalletHub, and the folks at his personal finance website researched the topic and consulted 12 academics (six men and six women). With their help he identified what could be the “most ethno-racially and linguistically diverse landscapes.” He compared 313 of the most populated cities nationwide with three criteria in mind: diversity by racial and ethnicity, language and United States region of birth and produced 2015’s Most & Least Ethno-Racially Diverse Cities, a short report.
The report concluded that four of the 10 most diverse cities are in Maryland, and two are in California. They are: Gaithersburg, Maryland; Jersey City, New Jersey; Germantown, Maryland; New York, New York; Oakland, California; Spring Valley, Nevada; San Jose, California; Silver Spring, Maryland; Renton, Washington; and Rockville, Maryland.
At the bottom of the list two of the bottom ten are in Wisconsin. They are: Birmingham, Alabama; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; O’Fallon, Missouri; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Duluth, Minnesota; Warwick, Rhode Island; Parma, Ohio; Oshkosh, Wisconsin; and Livonia, Michigan.
Interesting findings include that although Laredo, Texas has the highest concentration of Hispanics, 95.2 percent, the racial and ethnic diversity of Oakland, California is four times higher than in Laredo. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, has the highest concentration of whites, 90.6 percent. Detroit has the highest concentration of blacks, 79.1 percent. Miami has the highest concentration of Spanish speakers, 69.4 percent; and Honolulu has the highest concentration of Asian- and Pacific Islander-language speakers, 32.6 percent.
