Moving Pictures that Sell

Doug Wolens has been involved with filmmaking for over 9 years. After earning two BA degrees, a law degree, and spending seven years practicing law in New York and California, Doug became a filmmaker in 1993.  He started out working on feature film sets and for commercial production companies, learning the skills necessary to create high quality projects.  At the same time, Doug began making his own independent films.  

His short films, HAPPY LOVING COUPLES (1993) REVERSAL (1994) and IN FRAME (1995) have screened at film festivals throughout the world including Sundance, Seattle, and Mill Valley. 

Doug successfully self-distributed his feature documentaries WEED (1996) and BUTTERFLY (2000) with theatrical screenings in over 80 cities. BUTTERFLY, was broadcast nationally on P.O.V. (PBS’s award winning non-fiction showcase).  Currently, he is working on two new documentaries.

Wolens teaches film classes at San Francisco State University’s Multimedia Studies Program and taught at the Academy of Art College of San Francisco.  He has also been a guest lecturer at Parson’s School of Design, Loyola Marymount, and University of Alaska.  Wolens also acts as a consultant to other filmmakers.

Doug currently serves on the Film Arts Foundation’s Board of Directors and is a juror for the Mill Valley Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival.

Doug is the owner of i-magine media – Moving Pictures that Sell provides a combination of products and services to enhance the marketing efforts small San Francisco businesses, specifically increasing their web presence and branding, in order to capitalize on the new broadband environment.

Create Marketing with MyOwnEzine.com

A message from Stan Smith, owner:

“I grew up in a small country town outside of Portland, Maine, where I had the very good fortune of living near Sebago Lake, a popular summer retreat in Maine.

“In 2003, I retired from a major regional telephone company after 32 years of service. However, I never retired from my life long desire to be self-employed, online and helping others.  When I saw Terri Seymour’s offer to sell www.MyOwnEzine.com, I could not resist the opportunity and the adventure. I bought MyOwnEzine.com in August of 2004.  Since then I have enjoyed meeting and helping many new friends.

“I try to manage www.MyOwnEzine.com with honesty, simplicity and brevity.  I strive to make it your premier resource for publishing your own ezine and for improving your internet marketing.”

Hair Comes the Bride – Unique Wedding Hair Styling

 A Note from Gina Ludwing, owner of Hair Comes the Bride:

“I started Hair Comes the Bride in 1996 after the birth of my son, Tyler.  I always loved doing up-dos, styling hair and doing makeup.  After a short time, I became the lead makeup artist in the Laguna Hills salon where I worked.  I also began getting referred all of the weddings, proms and special occasions.

“The five years that I worked in a salon before starting Hair Comes the Bride were enough to know that my true calling was special occasion styling and makeup. 

“I have done celebrity weddings as well as working in television, commercials and photo shoots in the past but I wanted to find something more consistent in which I could use my talents.  I soon realized that there were a very small number of companies that specialized in wedding hair and makeup.  That is when I decided to start Hair Comes the Bride. 

“After only one season of doing weddings on my own, I realized that I had found my passion.  I absolutely loved what I was doing and I began to quickly book up.  I was soon turning weddings down, so, I began to search for stylists that could help me out.  I realized that Hair Comes the Bride had begun to build a reputation within the wedding industry and it was important that I find stylists that could live up to that standard.  I quickly realized that in order to maintain a certain level of integrity and standard in our work, I was going to need to train stylists to do Hair Comes the Bride’s style of hair and makeup.  We train each and every stylists that comes to work for us, no matter what level of experience they have.  I feel that this allows me to maintain the level of standards and consistency that we have been come to be known by.  

“In 2000, about fours years after I began the business, I decided to bring in a small selection of accessories to offer our brides including a line of hairpins and headpieces that I myself, designed.  The response was overwhelming.  In 2002 we opened the bridal boutique at Hair Comes the Bride in Laguna Niguel.  I have always been a perfectionist and I believe that I have carried over that perfectionism to our boutique. 

“I am proud to say that my designs have since been sold to brides throughout the world and carried in bridal boutiques throughout the United States.  Over the past year, Hair Comes the Bride has also been recognized as one of the leading online sellers of hairpins and wedding accessories.  Last  year, we attended an invitation only “In Style Weddings Magazine” bridal show in Dallas to show off Hair Comes the Bride’s unique line of accessories.

“This year, we are proud to announce the opening of our second location in Beverly Hills.

“I continue to oversee every aspect of Hair Comes the Bride to maintain the high standards on which we have built our reputation.  I love doing hair and makeup and although I am busy with many other aspects of the business (as well as taking care of my two young boys), I still make time to do special request weddings. 

“I truly love weddings and I love every aspect of what I do.  I hope that this shows in my business and in the services and products that we provide.”

The Best French Restaurants are in France

From their website: 

Maurice Graham Henry is the founder and sole owner of DininginFrance.com.  He also owns DININGINPARIS.COM which takes users directly to the Paris section of the DininginFrance site.

Maurice inherited his love of France and French cuisine from his father. As a boy, his father would tell Maurice stories about his frequent travels to France, especially about the fine restaurants and the wonderful food he experienced there. His father, an attorney who is also an accomplished cook, would often prepare French cuisine at home when Maurice was growing up.

This background, along with trips to France and an entrepreneur’s fascination with the Internet, prepared Maurice to launch DininginFrance.com and DININGINPARIS.COM in 2001.  Because Maurice recognizes that not all top tier restaurants are to everyone’s personal taste, his primary goal is to help online visitors determine which restaurants with multiple Michelin stars they would personally enjoy visiting for truly unforgettable meals.

In the past five years, the site has firmly established itself as the Web’s most trusted guide to the very best restaurants of France and the best French restaurants around the world.

Game, Set, Match – Entrepreneur Wins Big!

 

From Startup Journal: 

Caryl Parker is a weekend tennis enthusiast in San Mateo, Calif., who spent 16 years calling on customers for International Business Machines Corp. Eventually that stopped being fun, and it was incompatible with raising four children, so she left the work force for nearly a decade. But she wanted to get back, so last year she launched a tennis-equipment company in her dining room.

Ms. Parker targeted a tiny but lucrative market: the sticky “overgrips” that some tennis players wrap around their racket handles. Overgrips cost a few cents to make, yet they retail for about $2 each. Full of naïve optimism about her prospects, Ms. Parker hoped to turn a drab-looking product into a fashion accessory that might catch the public’s fancy.

Getting started, the 48-year-old Ms. Parker made plenty of blunders. A Taiwanese supplier sold her thousands of overgrips that were too slippery. Her monthly cellphone bill rocketed to $900 because she didn’t switch to a suitable calling plan. And her piecework assembly crew — her husband and four kids — briefly threatened to strike in a pay dispute.

Then, this past spring, everything clicked. Her Hawaiian-print overgrips became a surprise hit at dozens of tennis shops around the country. A new partner helped fix production snags. Now Ms. Parker’s company, HipGrips, is ringing up sales of at least $15,000 a month, while operating expenses are just half that amount.

Making Jam Stirs Up Some Success

cmbsweets was born on a foggy San Francisco morning in a studio apartment sandwiched between the Mission and Twin Peaks.

When Carolina Braunschweig came home from the farmer’s market loaded with a bushel of strawberries, she dipped a few in her morning yogurt. She ate a few more in the afternoon. She gave a basket to her neighbors, and brought a few more to a friend’s house for a barbeque. But there’s only so much a single girl can do with too many strawberries. So she did what any other sensible girl might: grabbed the sugar, one very big pot and a handful of recipes, and out came the first bath of cmbsweets’ jam. Her friends each got a jar; she passed a few on to her unsuspecting coworkers and then brought a batch over to a certain 16th street bar.

The crowd went wild. They wanted more.

Soon Carolina was using that same big pot to cook up apricots and figs and peaches and raspberries and began selling her jam all over town. Now, a year-and-a-half later, cmbsweets’ line of all-natural jams, jellies and sweets includes a dozen flavors — from pomegranate jelly to kiwi-lime-ginger preserves to olallieberry jam— and is available at markets across the country.

While cmbsweets has grown out of Carolina’s studio apartment, its homemade style and flavor hasn’t changed. The company uses only locally grown seasonal fruits, scouring farmers’ markets throughout Northern California for small family farms that offer the freshest, tastiest produce.

cmbsweets’ strawberries, for example, come from Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville. Vince Gizdich’s family has been farming the same piece of land for three generations. The best fruit makes the best jam, and Gizdich’s berries are so good that Sunset Magazine named cmbsweets’ strawberry jam “The Best of the West” in June 2006.

Twin Hill Organic Farms in Sebastapol supplies the fujis for the apple-honey butter, and every batch is sweetened with Wildflower honey produced by Eggman Family Farms in Terra Bella. Kashiwase Farms grows California’s plumpest apricots. cmbsweets adds a touch of almond extract and a bit of sugar to create a jam that tastes as fresh as the fruit off the tree.

All of cmbsweets’ products are made with fruit, sugar and lemon juice— nothing else. Much of the fruit is organic. There’s no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The idea is to make fancy California food without the fancy California food price.

You can visit this great jam-maker online at www.cmbsweets.com.

Alpine World Ascents: Standing at the Top

From their website:

With a flawless safety record, an intimate knowledge of the mountains, and an ability to truly accommodate your goals in the hills, Alpine World Ascents is a step ahead of the common mountaineering guide service.

Markus Beck, owner and head guide, specializes in climbs and backcountry ski trips in Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas. He accomplished the first snowboard descent of Tharpu Chui in the Nepal Himalaya and carries the adventurous spirit through in his guiding on the world’s great climbs and ski tours.

One of an elite few guides in the U.S. with both AMGA and IFMGA certification, Markus has passed rigorous certifications in Alpine Mountaineering, Rock Climbing, and Ski Mountaineering. He is a Swiss-certified Ski and Snowboard Instructor, a certified AIARE Level 2 avalanche instructor, and a backcountry observer for the CAIC. Markus has a Masters Degree from the University of Bern in Switzerland in physical education. He is fluent in six languages.

Corporate Law + Ethiopian Cuisine = Restaurant Owner

After dining in a variety of Ethiopian restaurants, James Wallace, Esq. was convinced that an Ethiopian restaurant could succeed in Pittsburgh.  Selecting the proper location for a unique “ethnic” restaurant was a primary concern.  Complicating matters was Jamie’s actual occupation:  corporate law.

Undetered, Mr. Wallace followed his dream.

The East End, a neighborhood which was on the upswing of revitalization, provided the perfect location. Jamie purchased a vacant building on the border of Shadyside and East Liberty in June of 2003.

During the building’s conversion from a former retail fur store into a restaurant, Jamie spent time in Ethiopia. The bulk of the artwork decorating the walls of Abay is the result of this trip. Abay opened its doors to the general public on June 8, 2004. Jamie has not had a sound night’s sleep since and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Visit their website at www.abayrestaurant.com.

A Caffienated Career

From Oren’s Daily Roast: 

Oren Bloostein is the owner, CEO, and roastmaster of Oren’s Daily Roast. Oren started the business in 1986 at the age of 29. The idea then was to buy the finest green beans available, roast them fresh every day to the most flavorful degree, and sell them at favorable prices to the customer. Today, this idea remains unchanged.

By adhering to these simple ideas, Oren has become a highly regarded member of the specialty coffee industry; appearing on The Today Show in 1994 to show how to brew the perfect cup of coffee.

An active member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, Oren has addressed attendees at the annual conferences in Seattle and Long Beach.

Heather Turner: Web Developer

from her website:

Heather Turner is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has spent over 20 years in the restaurant business. She trained under one of the PBS Series “Great Chefs of America”, Chef Eve Labbe at 4 Star acclaimed restaurant, Le Cheval D’or and has been the Executive Chef at Bellini’s Restaurant, The Cliff House at Stowe Mt. Resort and Harvest Market in Northern Vermont and at The Olde Inn on Cape Cod.

In 2003, Heather decided to make a major career change and start her own business, she had a personal background in photography and the fine arts which she wanted to put to good use.

After developing several websites for friends, it was suggested to her that she try it as a business undertaking. Thus Forfeng Designs was established in November of 2003 as a creative and alternative outlet to the restaurant industry.

She has provided design services for Bed & Breakfasts, Restaurants, Spas, Sailing Charter Companies and a wide variety of other industries. she has taken existing sites and completely redesigned them and has brought brand new sites into existence.