Bean bags have seen a return to coolness in the UK over the past 5 years, with lots of innovation from suppliers and a change in attitudes caused by the availability of good quality beanbag products via the internet. Gone are the days when buying a bean bag meant a trip to the local department store only to be confronted by a display of one or two bean bags that were of indeterminate quality and unclear origin. Today, large online bean bag manufacturers like BeanBagBazaar and even retailers like Amazon offer a plethora of design and size options.

Limited numbers of beanbags in faux leather and some basic colours have been available for years, but bean bags now come in an extraordinary variety of sizes, shapes, designs, prints and colours. If you have not considered a beanbag as a soft furnishing, it is probably time to think about them again. One of the best reasons for doing this is that the quality of beanbags has improved immeasurably, especially in terms of colour-fastness, fabrics and durability.

As we all start to look towards the gift giving season and the difficulties of searching out presents that are both useful and actually wanted, there are two specific areas where bean bags have gained a much greater mind share and make great gifts. I am referring to kids bean bags and gaming bean bags. The detailed analysis of the customer’s needs in both these product areas has resulted in bean bags that are specially designed for their respective markets and, not surprisingly, they are selling in large numbers.

For one major British manufacturer in particular, kids bean bags have been an area of massive growth for several years. To find out a bit more about how they innovate with a fairly generic product, I asked Bazaar Group’s Managing Director, Mark Dolder, what aspects of bean bag design had contributed to this. The first thing that was a big surprise is that they make their kids bean bags only about two thirds smaller than their adult versions, simply because kids are more restless and they have an annoying habit of getting bigger. At a basic level, this means that there is an awful lot of raw material going in. On a more technical front, they have added specific features such as water resistant and stain resistant fabrics so that the bean bags are more durable and can be used safely outside.

Where Gaming bean bags are concerned, it is a completely different approach as they are something that teenagers will tend to look after because it makes more of a statement about them. Generically, these tend to be known as gaming chairs and they are an obviously very recent type of furniture that has an almost magnetic appeal to serious gamers. The introduction of specially designed bean bags into the gaming world has one straightforward motivation for users, according to gaming industry insiders, and that is the fact that the nature of bean bags makes them uniquely comfortable when gamers will often be sat without much in the way of movement for potentially hours on end. To illustrate the excesses to which gamers go, a very popular gaming bean bag from BeanBagBazaar called the I-eX was used by a professional gamer for a full 24 hour continuous review. Mind you, I hope he took a loo break.

With bean bags looking like they’re making a serious comeback, you can at least put a tick in a few boxes in terms of presents for kids or hard core gaming teenagers this year.

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Andy Atkins has been involved in the homewares industry for over 20 years as both a senior marketer and a writer and commentator. Having worked in several international markets across sectors like soft furnishing, tableware and cookware, Andy is able to draw on bags of experience and an eviable network of press and industry contacts. He still holds directorships in two companies in the sector. Over the years, he’s been published in both trade and consumer titles.

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Having recently resigned from my beloved job, I have been doing a lot of online work – work? Well, include playing online games and such! Searching for something else to earn some $ while staying with the kids. I fear that I will not burn as much calories as I did when I have to always go to the office and do my usual routine. Well, here’s a quick run on the number of calories included in…hmmm everything… Take a look!

This infographic is brought to you by QuickQuid.

Did you just upgrade your mobile phone? Do you wonder what to do with the old one?

The generous ones give away their old phones to their relatives or friends. However, if you need extra money, there are many ways to exchange your old phones for cash.

1. Pawnshops. There are certain pawnshops that buy old phones. The downside of selling your phones to pawnshops is that they offer low appraisals.

2. Online Stores. Some people post advertisements  to sell their old mobile phones on E-Bay or Craig’s List. The main disadvantage of dealing with consumers over the Internet is the presence of fraud and bogus buyers.

3. Recycling Websites. These are the most reliable avenues of exchanging old phones for cash. They are tried and trusted and they also offer the highest prices.

Top Dollar Mobile, as featured in February 2011 edition of Good Housekeeping, is rated “Best Overall” from a selection of recycling websites offering the best prices for old mobile phones.

Top Dollar offer the most competitive price value for customers. Being 16 years in the business and having an extensive worldwide sales and distribution network enable them to perform at the top of the market.

They offer fast payment and have the most extensive range of handset models. Payment is surely made to the customers within five working days right after receiving and testing the mobile phone.

After you have placed an order, you will be sent a FREE POST envelope in their Trade Pack with instructions on how to send your phone. They also arrange free courier collection for people who trade in 15 handsets or more.

Top Dollar also actively participates in environmental protection and charity sponsorship. They guarantee consumers that all collected mobile phones, wherever possible, will be recycled in accordance with the international Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive to protect the environment.

The WEEE Directive sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical goods, with a minimum rate of 4 kilograms per head of population per annum recovered for recycling by 2009. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Electrical_and_Electronic_Equipment_Directive)

Top Dollar likewise share a donation agreement with World Vision, a christian humanitarian organization currently working in 24 countries in Africa and 72 others globally to fight poverty and its causes.

Exchanging your old phones for cash not only helps you but also the environment and the less fortunate. What more can you ask for?

Photo from http://blog.topdollarmobile.co.uk

When it comes to bedside lighting there is a strong case for wall mounted bedside lighting over table lamps.  Table lamps can get knocked over in the dark and when they move around it can then sometimes be hard to find the on switch.  They take up room on the bedside table and are an extra thing to have to move when you are cleaning.

Wall mounted bedside lighting is great as you are not going to knock it over, it would take a massive fall to accidentally knock one off the wall.  The on/off switch will always be in the same place and they provide great lighting whilst not taking up space on your bedside table.

Here are some of my favourite wall mounted bedside wall lights.

The brilliant Bestlite BL5 is not only great looking but it is really practical.  Designed by Brit Robert Best the Bestlite is loved by Architects and Designers.   You can now have this practical light in your home.  The adjustable arm means that you can focus the light according to your needs.  If you are reading in bed you may need the light lower and more towards you but if you are just watching TV you may want a less direct light so would simply move the light higher and further back from you.  This light is available in black or white and is easy to fix and use. –

The Flos K-Tribe wall light is a more substantial wall light that despite its fairly large size still looks great as a bedside light.  With an adjustable arm that moves from side to side allowing you to optimise where the light is.  It also has a really handy 4 dimmer light feature meaning you can adjust your light brightness as necessary.  This stylish light is available in bronze, silver or a neutral printed shade.

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My final wall mounted bedside light recommendation is the Momo bronze light.  It is a classic swing arm wall light but with a really modern look thanks to the quirky stepped arm shape.  It is available in matt nickel, polished chrome or bronze with a further choice of black, off white cotton or oyster silk shade. This light is both stylish and practical.

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In recent months and years, more and more women have been turning to “do it yourself” attitudes in the home, foregoing the expense of hiring a carpenter, decorator or electrician -an expense which is now being increasingly seen as needless. A rising number of women are also entering the skilled manual trades, ones which have long been dominated by an almost entirely male workforce.

So why is this change happening all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere? Well, there are a number of reasons, but the principal one is perhaps the most obvious – the recession.

A Woman’s Work Is Never Done

Amid the recession, people are having to tighten their wallets and purses as much as possible, and what better way to do so than by doing your own handiwork, instead of hiring an expensive professional?

Many women are now enrolling on training courses, often at local colleges, to learn typically “masculine” crafts such as decorating, plumbing, tiling and plastering. Many of these courses are free, or at least of low cost, and can be undertaken part time, so that they don’t interfere with a job, so there is little risk involved.

Once the know-how is there, the jobs can be completed on a much lower budget. For example, when it comes to painting the walls, a painter-decorator would likely charge a slightly increased price on the materials involved, on top of a charge for his or her time.

Do It Yourself

DIY workshops and skilled labour training courses have seen an increase in female participation up and down the country. In July 2011, just under 600 women enrolled in classes to learn how to complete tasks like changing the taps and tiling the walls, but this had surged massively by 2012’s enrolment date – up to 3200 in that July!

Although many are doing it simply to save money when improving their homes, a large number of women are also setting up their own businesses in the sector, whether that’s because they’ve been made redundant or just fancied a change of career.

One DIY training firm in South Shields received just one female participant in their 2004 tiling course, but this has rocketed up to 30 each year! Whether it’s to bolster independence or simply to save a bit of money, learning how to do a lot of the manual tasks at home is always a great thing to do – man or woman, you can benefit from the know-how.

DIY Decorating course

If you’re interested in giving it a shot, a number of courses are available to choose from, such as those offered by the DIY School – www.thediyschool.co.uk.

A spokesman for the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting said that “there definitely seems to be more interest” since they launched a campaign in January 2011, aiming to encourage a greater number of women into the industry. “A lot more people [in the handiwork sector] say they are taking on women.”

The DIYschool look to inform and educate on trends/courses/DIY in your home.