Tv Audience of One Billion Watch Olympics Opening Ceremony
July 29, 2012 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
An estimated worldwide audience of over one billion watched the London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony last night (27.07.12).
The spectacular event – masterminded by director Danny Boyle with help from thousands of volunteers – was brought to a rousing an emotional finale with a performance of Beatles classic ‘Hey Jude’ by Sir Paul McCartney.
However, the worldwide audience had plenty to keep them entertained earlier as a host of celebrities and members of the public came together to put on the spectacular show.
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From Queen Elizabeth pretending to jump out of a helicopter with Daniel Craig, in character as James Bond, to Rowan Atkinson making a star turn as Mr. Bean and David Beckham bringing the Olympic torch to the stadium in Stratford on a speedboat on the Thames, viewers were enthralled.
Boyle has received universal praise with The Hollywood Reporter stating “The ballsy choice of Danny Boyle to oversee the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony yielded a unique take on large-canvas nation-themed spectacle that is likely to go down as one of the more eccentric and memorable kickoffs in the Games’ history.”
Dancer Sarah Lane, who performed in the ceremony, added: “The whole experience has been great. “Even when we were rehearsing in a car park for five hours in the rain, everyone’s spirit was really high.
“Danny Boyle was really approachable, which made such a difference. He made everyone feel part of the team and he thanked us all personally during rehearsals.
“I think Danny really captured the spirit of Britain, and everyone was part of the show.
“It was truly magical.”
A fireworks display closed the ceremony as despite the speculation that a celebrity or former Olympian would light the torch, the organisers surprised everyone by choosing seven teenage athletes to light copper petals – brought in by each of the 204 countries – which converged in spectacular fashion to form the cauldron in the middle of the Olympic Stadium.
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Bejeweled bra lifts Birmingham boutique’s sales
July 29, 2012 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
It’s bling meets bra — and a million-dollar marketing campaign.
Birmingham Estate and Jewelry Buyers is selling a very mentionable unmentionable made of gold and diamonds for $1 million. It’s constructed of 18-karat white and rose gold and white, orange, brown, green, pink and yellow diamonds.
Since the Woodward Avenue store unveiled it last month, owner Anthony Aubrey has sold one, though a slightly cheaper model made with black diamonds for $350,000, custom-made in the buyer’s wife’s size. While the bra is for sale — to be worn or displayed as art — it’s also doubling as a marketing tool.
According to Aubrey, who has turned down offers for the bra from jewelers in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, his store traffic has jumped 20%.
“It’s to draw attention to focus on the store. People will see an ad and say, ‘Oh, my God. I want to see a $1-million bra.’ When they stop in, maybe they see a watch or earrings they like. It helps business,” he said.
Aubrey got the idea for the bijoux bra by simply looking around his store. It then took him three months to sketch the design and almost a year, working with 40 artisans, to craft the eye-opener.
“The economy is not the greatest, and I have all these pieces just sitting in my case, doing nothing, and I have an excess of diamonds, so many diamonds sitting around, that I said, ‘I want to make one big piece. It showcases the diamonds,” he said. “It just hit me … How many jewelry stores in Michigan have a diamond bra? Everyone has rings, bracelets, earrings.”
Aubrey said his bra is better than the gold-and-diamond one made famous by Victoria’s Secret, because the lingerie chain’s version is held together with fabric.
His karats-meets-cups creation is all metal, 750 grams for the deluxe model; each diamond is in its own setting, which is then wired together, like mesh.
“I’ve had models wearing it for 10 hours at a time,” he recalled. “It kind of just sits on you. It’s very comfortable.”
But it’s not necessarily the sort of bra that should be burned.
“In terms of things I could be offended by, this is low. This is kind of silly. You spent that much money on a bra? It’s silly,” said J. Cherie Strachan, director of Central Michigan University’s women and gender studies program. “It reflects this larger objectification of women.”
Aubrey dismissed concerns that people living in still-recovering Michigan might not want to see this kind of gilded ribcage topper.
“I’m in Birmingham. I have a high-end jewelry store. I cater to those kinds of clients,” he said.
“For people who come into my store, it’s not out of the ordinary to see something like that. I have a $500,000 perfume bottle that sits in the showcase.”
Contact Zlati Meyer: 313-223-4439 or zmeyer@freepress.com