Futon Blog

As you can see, I’m still on my Japanese furnishings kick, and it’s always nice if I can blend that in with futons in some way. And, a Japanese bedroom is the perfect way to combine two of my hobbies.

The first image above shows a great, minimalist bedroom, with a futon right on the floor. Most likely this is a traditional all cotton style futon as that is more common in Japan. I can really dig that style of living, there’s no clutter all over the place and the design is very clean & simple.

The second image is from a Japanese hotel and also showcases clean design and the use of simple futons. I could definitely see staying a night in that hotel. Could you?

-Enjoy

Often on the Futon Blog, I share useful home products, stylish furnishings, and sometimes talk about whatever I want. Well, tonight I wanted to share a cool digital surveillanceproduct I just found on MobiWatcher.com, a site that carries personal home surveillance products.

Here’s how the service works, via MobiWatcher:

1. Live video or snapshots are recorded by the Camera or web Cam in the monitored spot in case of any the following 3 happens:
   * Sensor triggered. Like doors or windows are breaking, and sensors are triggered.
   * Motion detection. Many IP cameras and web cams have such function
   * Manually operated. Some device comes with remote to mannually trigger surveillance system. It is extremely useful for sensors, children or in emergency.
2. Snapshots are upload to MobiWatcher server so that users can investigate later on
3. Depends on user’s setting, alerts may be sent out as email or Short Message to cell phone
4. Users can check real time snapshots from our website or from their cell phone
5. Users can disarm, re-arm the surveillance system from our website or from their cell phone, or report to 911 after they check snapshot or recorded snapshots.
6. Users can actively view real time snapshots on demand anytime, or control the aplliance from our web site or cell phone.

A service like that should give you a little peace of mind when you’re out, and if anything does happen, at least you’ll know how, what, who, and when it all went down. Sounds nice, no?

Check it out and,

-Enjoy

Over the past few days I’ve really been on a Japanese culture kick, it has to be my increased studies of aikido and kenjutsu over the past few months. So, if you’re a regular to the site you may have noticed quite a few posts featuring work from Takumi and today I’d like to showcase the skill that goes into traditional Japanese post & beam construction. As you can see from the images above Japanese post and beam is very intricate, with numerous mortise & tenon joints throughout. If you have a keen eye, you may have noticed that the holes are square to facilitate wooden pegs for fastenings. No metal is used in the joinery. I think this quote from Takumi pretty much sums it up:

It is not easy to accomplish the level of quality that is typical to Japanese architecture.Hand Planing The working Craftsmen are required to be highly trained, usually by a lengthy apprenticeship, becoming experts in the use of traditional joinery tools and techniques. Much of the work is accomplished with hand tools; saws and chisels for joinery, hand planes for finishing.

New from Norka is a Natural Mattress selection. The mattresses are a bit pricey, but anything eco friendly is, so if you’re shopping for it you already know that. Here’s a quick quote from Norka on the whole eco mattress issue:

Norka Natural Sleep Company mattresses are made with 100% natural and earth-friendly materials. The latex cores are produced from the sap of rubber trees using a natural extraction method that leaves the trees unharmed in their natural environment. The soft, quilted covers are made with 100% organic cotton ticking and filled with 100% pure wool, thoroughly inspected to ensure that no harmful chemicals are used in their creation. With Norka Natural Sleep Co., you can rest easy knowing that you’re sleeping on the very best materials that nature can provide.

As of right now Norka is offering four models at various prices. Visit the link above for more info.

-Enjoy

One of my favorite manufacturers, Norka Woodworking for hitting the second page of the Google search results for the keyword futon. Norka has been around forever and it seems that their IT guy is really doing his job in terns of improving their serps. So congrats to Norka and here’s a little link love from this post to your site.

Check them out, but remember that I sell them too

-Enjoy

There’s one day left to win a free Chinese Poem futon cover! Sign up now, contest ends 05/07/08!

I wanted to follow up on that post on Japanese inspired bedrooms a couple days ago. So, here’s the rest of the Vancouver Addition by Takumi. The house looks great, but I feel that most traditional Japanese homes do. Post & beam, shoji screens, clean lines and natural elements all make this particular style very pleasing. Just look at the intricate details, the whole design is amazing.

-Enjoy

Well, winners that is. Todays the day that I used the Random Integer Generator to chose the two winners of the free ad spot for a month contest. The winners are:

Bimal
and
Mike Touch

Thanks for all the comments, stop back soon to check out the futon blog.

-Enjoy

Today I think I’m going to spend a little time on Japanese inspired building designs. That is where the futon came from after all. The bedroom pictured above looks amazing, the owners kept a minimal feel with modern amenities through out the home. I love the Shoji screens and exposed Japanese style post & beam construction. Via Takumi

-Enjoy

Here are a few of my favorite web design sites this week:

Wis Design: A Very interesting website that explores new furniture ideas and construction.

Blue Hat Seo: Fantastic resource for search engine optimization tips and tricks. With info that ranges from fairly technical to easy to follow there’s something for the novice or professional.

Lastly, Blog Badly: With a wealth of time and energy saving tips written by Max Miroff. Even though he’s making fun of blogs about blogging there’s still some great info.

I always get a kick out my websites live chat feature, it helps me give a personal touch to my customers. Here’s how it works, when a customer visits my site I can see where there browsing and where they came from. If a customer needs help, they can click on the chat icon in the upper right hand corner of the site and I can chat live with them. I can also send a chat invitation to customers who I want to touch base with.

So, now let me get to the point to the post. Today I have seen my former employer snooping arround my sites. I’m not going to elaborate on how I recognize them, but let just say that I know there gig. I find this funny because my former employer, lets call him BIG-R, fired me after I informed him of my intention to start my own futon business in the form of an online store. BIG-R told me that I had no skills, no drive, that he would work “black-magic” on me, and that it was his goal to destroy me.

LOLOLOLOLOL! You should be laughing now too.

Anyway, after all the insults and out downs as well as an attempt at some physical intimidation (while firing me BIG-R got really close to me, he’s a large guy), I find it quite funny that would visit my site so often today. I mean why would he bother with such a a no talent loser right? Maybe I’m not such a loser after all if I’m the focus for the day.

As an aside, I did have a nice chat with one of my former coworkers today. I sent them a chat invite and had a very civil chat. Even though I know this coworker bashed me after he found out that I planned to do my own thing, I still had to be a nice guy and say hello.

I thought you all may enjoy my story, and if you’ve ever been in a situation like that I’d love to hear your story as well. So, feel free to comment and share your story.