An Urgent Warning To All Small Business Owners:
If You Depend On Your Computer Network To Run Your Business, This Is One Report You DONT Want To Overlook!
Youll Discover:
5 critical security measures every small business should have in place; ignore these and you are a sitting duck for downtime, data loss, and other expensive computer disasters.
The single costliest mistake most small business owners make when it comes to backing up their data- read Step #2 in this report and see if you are operating under a false sense of security when it comes to your data backups!
The fastest and easiest way to avoid costly network repair bills while simultaneously making your network run faster, cleaner.
A simple way to protect your network that wont cost you a dime!
09-09-10
From the Desk of: Steven John
Managing Director
Sagari Ltd
www.itmanagedsupportservices.co.uk
Dear Colleague,
Have you ever lost an hour of work on your computer?
Now imagine if you lost days or weeks of work or imagine loosing your client database, financial records, and all of the work files your company has ever produced or compiled.
Imagine what would happen if your network went down for days where you couldnt access e-mail or the information on your PC. How frustrating would that be?
What if a major storm, flood, or fire destroyed your office and all of your files? Or if a virus wiped out your serverdo you have an emergency recovery plan in place that you feel confident in? How quickly do you think you could recover, if at all?
Many small business owners tend to ignore or forget about taking steps to secure their companys network from these types of catastrophes until disaster strikes. By then its too late and the damage is done.
After working with many small and mid-size businesses in the south east of England, we found that 6 out of 10 businesses will experience some type of major network or technology disaster that will end up costing them between 5,000 to 40,000 in repairs and restoration costs on average. That doesnt even include lost productivity, sales, and client good-will that can be damaged when a company cant operate or fulfill on its promises due to a down network.
Whats most exasperating about this situation is that 100% of these disasters and restoration costs could have been completely avoided easily and inexpensively. Thats why I decided to write this report.
I have found that most small business owners have no idea of the importance of regular preventative maintenance and disaster recovery planning because they are already swamped with more immediate day-to-day fires demanding their attention. If their network is working fine today, it goes to the bottom of the pile of things to worry about. In most cases, no one is watching to make sure the back ups are working, the virus protection is up-to-date, or that the network is healthy.
This is like saying youre too busy driving your car on the highway to put your seatbelt on. Taking that simple preventative step doesnt really show its true value until you get into a head on collision; at that point you are either extremely relieved that you had it on or incredibly sorry that you didnt.
The same holds true with your computer network. Obviously the information on the disk is far more valuable than the disk itself. If your company depends on having access to the information stored on your server or PC, then its time to get serious about protecting it from damage or loss.
Why Small Business Are Especially Vulnerable To These Disasters
With the constant changes to technology and daily development of new threats, it takes a highly-trained technician to maintain even a simple 3 to 5 person network. The costs of hiring a full-time IT person are just not feasible for the small business owner.
In an attempt to save money, most try to do their own in-house IT support and designate the person with the most technical expertise as the part-time IT manager. This never works out because this make-shift IT person has another full-time job to do and is usually not skilled enough to properly support an entire computer network anyway.
This inevitably results in a network that is ill-maintained and unstable. It also means that the backups, virus updates, and security patches are not getting timely updates, or may even be set up improperly giving a false sense of security.
Its only a matter of time before the network crashes. If youre lucky, it will only cost you a little downtime; but theres always a chance you could end up like one of these companies:
Auto Body Shop Shells Out 12,000 To Clean Up A Virus
A local auto body shop with multiple locations discovered the importance of preventative maintenance the hard way. Without warning, a virus was downloaded to their server and started replicating and attaching itself to files. This virus corrupted their data, impaired their customer management system, and immediately brought down their Exchange server (no e-mail could come in or go out).
Preventing this disaster would have only cost them 1/25th of the cost (500 per month) AND they would have experienced better performance and fewer problems with their network. Instead, they were forced to spend a whopping 12,000 to remove the virus and restore their network, and that only got them back up and running. Their systems were still not optimized, secured, and updated as they should be.
Two Failed Hard Drives Costs Health Products Company 30,000 and
9 Days of Downtime
The back office of a health products company had two hard drives fail at the same time causing them to lose a large number of critical customer files.
When they contacted us to recover the data from the system backups, we found they werent functioning properly. Even though they appeared to be backing up all of this companys data, they were in fact worthless. In the end, recovering the data off of these failed drives took a team of disaster recovery specialists 9 days and 8,000. In addition to the recovery costs, they also incurred 17,000 in other services to get their network stable.
Had they been properly monitoring their network, they would have been able to see that these hard drives were failing and that the back ups were not performing properly. This would have prevented the crash, the downtime, and the 30,000 in costs to get them back up and running, not to mention the 9 days of lost productivity while their network was down.
Property Management Company Spends 5,000 And Weeks Of Down Time For A Simple Inexpensive Repair
A 10-user property management company was not monitoring or maintaining their server. Due to the overuse and lack of maintenance, it started to degenerate and eventually shut down under the load. This caused their entire network to be down for two full days and cost them 2,000 support fees to get them back up and running. Naturally the costs were much higher when you factor in the lost productivity of their ten employees during that time.
This client did not want to implement a preventative maintenance program so the same problem happened again two months later, costing them another 2,000 and two days of downtime.
Six months later it happened yet another time bringing their total to 5,000 in hard costs and tens of thousands in productivity costs for a problem that could have been quickly been detected and prevented from happening.
The 5 Most Important Things You Should Do To Make Sure Your Company Is Protected From These Types Of Disasters:
While it’s impossible to plan for every potential computer disaster or emergency, there are a few easy and inexpensive measures you can put into place that will help you avoid the vast majority of computer disasters you could experience.
Step#1: Make Sure You Are Backing Up Your System
It just amazes me how many businesses never back up their computer network, OR only keep an onsite copy of their data. Imagine this: you write the most important piece of information you could ever write on a chalk board and I come along and erase it. How are you going to get it back? Youre not. Unless you can remember it, or if YOU MADE A COPY OF IT, you cant recover the data. Its gone. That is why it is so important to back up your network. There are a number of things that could cause you to lose data files. If the information on the disk is important to you, make sure you have more than one copy of it.
Second, its absolutely critical that you keep an offsite copy of your data. No one expects a flood, fire, hurricane, tornado, or other natural disaster. But did you ever consider theft? What if someone breaks into your office and takes every single piece of computer equipment you have? It has happened.
What if a neighboring office catches fire or if a faulty sprinkler system waters your server room? Heres another onsite disaster most people never consider
What if your data becomes corrupt or a tape drive hardware failure erases your data? Again, your data is nothing but a memory. Thats why you want to not only keep an onsite copy of your data, but also an offsite copy. Your data is just too important to not do everything possible to protect it.
Step #2: Perform A Complete Data Restore To Make Sure
Your Backups Are Working Properly
This is another big mistake I see. Many business owners set up some type of backup system, but then never check to make sure its working properly. Its not uncommon for a system to APPEAR to be backing up when in reality, its not. Remember the Health Products Company that shelled out 30,000 to recover data they THOUGHT they backed up? Dont let this happen to you.
Step #3: Keep An Offsite Copy Of Your Backups
What happens if a fire or flood destroys your server AND the backup tapes or drive? What happens if your office gets robbed and they take EVERYTHING? Having an off-site back up is simply a smart way to make sure you have multiple, redundant copies of your data.
Step #4: Make Sure Your Virus Protect Is ALWAYS On And Up-To-Date
You would have to be living under a rock to not know how devastating a virus can be to your network. With virus attacks coming from spam, downloaded data and music files, web sites, and even e-mails from friends, you cannot afford to not be protected.
Not only can a virus corrupt your files and bring down your network, but it can hurt your reputation. If you or one of your employees unknowingly spreads a virus to a customer, or if the virus hijacks your e-mail address book, youre going to make a lot of people very angry.
Step #5: Set Up A Firewall
Small business owners tend to think that because they are just a small business, no one would waste time trying to hack in to their network, when nothing could be further from the truth. Ive conducted experiments were I connected a single computer to the internet with no firewall. Within hours, over 13 gigabytes of space was taken over with malicious code and files that I could not delete. The simple fact is there are thousands of unscrupulous individuals out there who think its fun to disable your computer just because they can.
These individuals strike randomly by searching the internet for open, unprotected ports. As soon as they find one, they will delete files or download huge files that cannot be deleted shutting down your hard drive. They can also use your computer as a zombie for storing pirated software or sending spam which will cause your ISP to shut YOU down and prevent you from access the Internet or sending and receiving e-mail.
If the malicious programs cant be deleted, youll have to re-format the entire hard drive causing you to lose every piece of information youve ever owned UNLESS you were backing up your files properly (see 1 to 3 above).
Good Networking,
Steven John
Managing Director
Sagari Ltd
0844 357 7282
www.itmanagedsupportservices.co.uk
www.itmanagedsupportservices.co.uk/blog
www.sagari.co.uk
www.twitter.com/sagariltd
info@sagari.co.uk
About the Author:
Whenever someone thinks of eloping or having a small quick wedding, most likely the first place that comes to mind, is Vegas. Sometimes these weddings happen because there was too much alcohol consumed and bad decisions came out of it. The worst part of this might be waking up the next morning and finding a wedding ring on your finger and not remembering the events of last night. Getting married at the spur of the moment can sometimes be a huge regret for some people that is why there are Henderson divorce attorneys. If you need to end the mistake you made it is a very good idea to call a Henderson divorce attorney.
Divorce is not something that is fun or easy to deal with. It is extremely important to have legal representation so that you do not get scammed out of anything that is rightfully yours. Sometimes people get married to get money or anything out of it that they did not have before. If the marriage was in fact, a mistake you want to make sure that the other person is not trying to take anything from you because of this. There are people out there that will do such things to scam you and you have to be careful. It is a harsh reality that we have to deal with that people would use you for such horrible things. Even though it is terrible there is nothing we can do except avoid it as best as we can.
The main thing you can do to avoid it happening to you is to not make such a big mistake. Do not get married to someone you do not know because you are intoxicated and do not elope with someone if you are not sure you want to be with them for the rest of your life. It sounds simple but people do stupid things, luckily there are certain people that can help to try and fix such mistakes. Yes it can be done, but it is not extremely easy. It is a long grueling process and if at all possible it is advised to avoid it.
Another thing is the cost of everything. The price you will pay to undo the mistake you made is huge. Some people may not be able to afford it and are therefore stuck in a marriage with someone they hate, or don’t even know. This can be one of the worst situations to be in, having to be in a huge mess of a mistake and having no way out, without paying more money than you have available. It is just impossible for most people.
So knowing that you have a way out is good but knowing the price you will have to pay is a different story, if you are lucky enough to have the amount of money to pay for the attorney and the divorce than it is not as terrible of a situation for someone who can’t, though it is still an awful predicament. This is something to think about when you are considering this kind of marriage.
About the Author:
Connor R. Sullivan has worked with a Henderson divorce attorney for an article he is writing on the topic of divorce. His son had an offer to do a legal internship with several Henderson divorce attorneys during the summer. Unique version for reprint here: How Can Divorce Take Over Your Life.
Brainwave mind voyages are nothing more than meditations. Meditation has been used in various parts of the world since ages to achieve various benefits. However, to perfect the art of meditation is not an easy job. It takes months, sometimes even years to learn it right. One of the best things about this new form of meditation is that it is easy and quick which works well considering that our lifestyle today is quite fast paced and hectic.
What is It?
Brainwave mind voyages are basically experiences which are achieved by listening to recordings that are specifically made to stimulate our brainwaves in order to reach meditative states. These recordings are available in different forms for various different meditative states. They can help you deal with addictions, weight loss, astral projection, lucid dreaming, telepathy and relaxation. The recordings are also available to achieve specific meditation goals and they are known to improve various life areas in a big way. The only thing you would really need in order to make it happen is a headphone set and the recordings. The headphones can help you get the best results.
You Dont Need to be an Expert
One of the best things about brainwave mind voyages is that anyone can do it. There had been a time when it was believed that only masters can reach certain higher levels of meditation. However, this is no longer true. With the help of this unique technology, almost anyone can achieve these meditative states. You would not need years of training and experience to be able to effectively meditate. These recordings can get you to that stage in a matter of minutes. However, before you try this technology you should know that it would not work for everyone. There are a small number of people who would not experience desired results from these recordings since their mind would not be receptive.
Since this is a new technology, you would need to have an open mind when you first try it. Like anything new, it might take some time for you to experience the results. If you are open minded, you would be more receptive and you would experience better results with these recordings. Unlike the olden times, we are lucky to live at a time where access is available to technology which can help us improve our lives greatly. There are quite a lot of recordings that have been specially made to help you experience brainwave mind voyages.
About the Author:
To know more on brainwave mind voyages and to learn more about meditation practices, please visit http://www.meditation-power.com/.
Poker as a form of gambling has been around for almost 2 centuries but has reached new heights with the arrival of its online version. Numerous online casino gambling websites have sprouted in the past few years influenced primarily by the popularity of poker. Nevertheless, online poker didn’t pioneer casino gambling on the internet, as sportsbooks were the first to arrive in the Internet through the mid-90′s.
One of the first online gambling casinos was from Microgaming, which arrived in 1994 and is now a well-known gaming software developer.
The first mainstream online gambling casino was Planet Poker, which was established in 1998. A number of larger and better online casino gambling sites came up after a couple of years. The preliminary rate structure of 5% and a max rate of up to $3 have been the industry standard ever since.
Current industry leader Paradise Poker was established in 1999 and at the same time, Dutch Boyd launched the controversial Poker Spot. Poker Spot was the first online gambling casino group to operate poker tournaments on the internet and continued to implement it up to the point it was struck by a major issue.
By that year, there were around 700 online gambling casinos, while a March 2001 survey discovered that almost 8 million people have gambled their cash in the Internet. A year afterwards, the first millionaire from an online casino was produced. The lucky winner pocketed $1,594,649 on May 30 2002.
Other online casino gambling sites were capable to avoid Poker Spot’s fate using Neteller’s e-cash system. Neteller is currently recognized as having the best funds transfer system for the online casino gambling sector. The e-cash system keeps the player from making use of a wire transfer service or a credit card when depositing in an online poker room.
2001 was a significant year for online casino gambling given the entry of the 2 industry giants, Party Poker and Poker Stars. Party Poker’s overtook Paradise in 2003 as the industry’s best player with its strategic advertising on television.
Additionally, Party Poker introduced Party Poker Million and the World Poker Tour, which have turned into attractions across the US. The intriguing story of Chris Moneymaker also contributed to the popularity ofonline poker gambling. Mr Moneymaker paid a $40 fee to get into a satellite poker contest of Poker Stars.
His victory in the small tournament gave him a spot on the World Series of Poker. Mr Moneymaker beaten 839 other online poker contestants and won the top prize of $2.5 million. That year’s World Series of Poker tournament is still believed to be as the greatest ever staged in its short history.
Mr Moneymaker’s impressing Cinderella story attracted more beginners to know online poker and the game expanded to new territories in 2004.
Online training website www.pokertips.org offers easy to learn advice on how you can play the game. Revenues of online casino gambling firms rocketed during the year, which also saw the entry of new players for example Full Tilt Poker and Noble Poker. Sportingbet’s acquisition of Paradise Poker also opened new doors given the new owner’s status as a listed company. Listing on the stock market has become an option for online casinos to raise funds for development.
Best Online Poker Gambling and Tutorial Sites
Low Limit Holdem www.lowlimitholdem.com
PlayWinningPoker.com www.playwinningpoker.com
Low Limit Omaha
Texas Holdem Poker
Poker School Online www.pokerschoolonline.com
Poker Pages www.pokerpages.com
Poker Performance Psychology
About the Author:
If you want more information on Free Poker Chips, don’t read just rehashed articles online to avoid getting ripped off. Go here: Poker Chips Review
It is very easy to find free insurance quotes online. Every company will offer you exactly what you are looking for and will make you feel that you fell on the right place or the right site. But the big question is how genuine these quotes are. Needless to say, by applying for insurance for your vehicle will give you peace of mind while you are on the road. It will give you and your car protection as well as those people who will suffer from an accident caused by your car.
Obviously, by having the chance to find all the quotes you need online, you are in the right position to find one that would match to your requirements and is also suitable to your income. Now here are some of ways that you could follow to find the best car insurance quotes over the net.
About the Author:
Marvin is an SEO/SEM Professional with broad experience in all aspects of Search Engine Marketing, Organic Search Optimization, PPC Bid management and Social Networking. Worked with various websites and have handled various teams on different web projects.
It is very easy to find free insurance quotes online. Every company will offer you exactly what you are looking for and will make you feel that you fell on the right place or the right site. But the big question is how genuine these quotes are. Needless to say, by applying for insurance for your vehicle will give you peace of mind while you are on the road. It will give you and your car protection as well as those people who will suffer from an accident caused by your car.
Obviously, by having the chance to find all the quotes you need online, you are in the right position to find one that would match to your requirements and is also suitable to your income. Now here are some of ways that you could follow to find the best car insurance quotes over the net.
About the Author:
Marvin is an SEO/SEM Professional with broad experience in all aspects of Search Engine Marketing, Organic Search Optimization, PPC Bid management and Social Networking. Worked with various websites and have handled various teams on different web projects.
An unmatched way to construct one-way backlinks to your site is to hold contests for it. That’s correct; there are websites that have contests in order to attract other bloggers who will post anchor text links on their blogs. Believe it or not; there are websites that set up contests so they can attract other bloggers who will post anchor text links on their blogs. The lucky winner can receive any type of prize you feel like giving away.
Principally, it’s up to you to decide which technique will work for you. Contests give you an opportunity to take control of the anchor link and allow you to choose what text goes in it. On the other hand, possessing an overabundance of backlinks with the same keywords may do more bad than good because the search engines might consider is as link spam. To be uniform, make sure to put a limit on the number of contestants. Just keep it on the down low and scatter your links with a variety of keywords.
Here’s a little know secret for link building – provide your professional expertise in exchange for backlinks. If you already have the know-how of a skill such as SEO, web designing, writing, logo creation, etc, then you already have the necessary means to make something of yourself with this procedure. After discovering your skill set, the following thing you should do is get a hold of well-established sites directly and provide with an offer from your end. Explain to them how you can make their site better and in return all you want is some a credit backlink on their page. This is a way to literally pave your way to quality branding, most definitely if a site that already has a decent audience takes you up on your offer.
It is a fact that you can also leverage blogs into your niche markets. No, this is not about commenting on their posts but it’s more about writing guest posts for them, so that they link back to you. What you’re doing here is adding value to their blog and all you’re asking is a credit back to your website. Those sites with the highest ranking should be your targets so do this often for the best benefit. Is it really that easy and how do I get started you ask? It is simple to find blogs looking for guests to post. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to find these blogs. These sites will soon begin to regard you as an authority and probably invite you back. Even though writing a guest post requires work, on the long run it can give you some really positive results.
So backlink building may seem like a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth the effort.
About the Author:
Dario Montes de Oca is an Internet entrepreneur who has studied and implemented countless online marketing strategies. Don’t make mistakes that will KILL your business, go to http://www.BestBacklinksEver.com to claim the best backlinks ever for UNBELIEVABLE website ranking with SEO!
Getting into the world of real estate investing is no joke it will require knowledge, patience and determination in order to develop the skills that are needed to become successful. For those who would want to enter this particular field of business the first step is always the most important, and the first step in this case would be to learn all you need to know about real estate investing for beginners and how you will be able to gain from it. After doing some personal research, here are some tips that one will surely find useful when entering the real estate investment business:
It’s not as easy as it looks:
Regardless of how other people might say or whatever you might see, hear, or read on television shows or the internet, real estate investment will not be as easy as you imagine it to be. Those that do make it big have taken the time to learn and hone their skills in order to increase their chances at success. If you truly want to make it in this field of business you’ll also need to do the same thing that they did and start at the very bottom of the ladder. Failure is always a constant enemy in this business and your experience and knowledge is the key to defeating it, playing the ignorant businessman just because you got lucky on your first deal will only hurt you in the end so always be prepared.
Take it slow:
Any real estate investor worth their salt will tell you to take things slowly for real estate investing for beginners when starting and it’s an advice that you really should take into heart since they won’t be giving it unless it mattered greatly. Much like learning to run before you could even walk you’re most likely to end up hurting yourself in the process. Newcomers to the game will need to start small in order to minimize the risks involved while trying to lower variable costs at the same time. Purchasing a property that’s already rented out to long- time credit worthy tenants for example can get you to a good start. Once you get the hang of how things work then it’s time to take on bigger challenges. Remember, get past one hurdle at a time, don’t take them all on at a single stride, you’re most likely to fall.
Business plan is a must:
Most, if not all successful businesses and professionals have some form of business plan one way or the other, and the reason for this is simple – they work to your advantage. As a real estate investor, determine what properties you are interested in and calculate how much you’ll be making on them. Put it on paper and see where the possible problem areas will lie, find feasible solutions on how you’ll still be able to get on top even when you encounter these so-called problems. Once you’re plan is laid out, stick to it.
Becoming an real estate investor is not easy, but as long as you are open enough to learn more about how to do things properly, you’ll find yourself in a better position to gain. Remember, real estate investing for beginners won’t be as friendly as you imagine it to be, the business that you’re planning to enter will be as lucrative as any out there, which is why as much as possible you need to be prepared.
About the Author:
To find out more, check out: real estate investing for beginners
If you still haven’t invested time, money and effort to know the latest about trading systems, you must review your reasons why. If you are into stocks and foreign exchange venture, you must always be on the lookout of various tools that can help you decide and strategize better. This goes to everyone, even those who think highly of themselves. You may already be the best one and you may be good with how you move in order to gain, but how long will the winning streak last before you seek out the help of something that can help you in the process?
Useful Data
In every kind of investments, whether it be regarding stocks or on businesses, owners must be able to gain access to useful data that they can use in order to succeed with all their decisions and implementation of plans.
Look closely at your favorite store where you often shop for clothes and other necessities. There must be a reason why it has become your favorite. The store was able to capture your attention and it was successful in making you come and try its products and services. The fact that you are one of its regular patrons proves that their strategies are working. Among these strategies that allowed this store to hook you up as one of its clients is by accessing important data about their target market that includes you. By knowing the kinds of people whom they should prioritize when they are doing their marketing gimmicks, they are able to suit these in ways that made you become what you are now.
But how are they able to get such data? You have to tackle the same route to know the vital information that can help you keep up to date with the latest on your trading quest. The main thing that you must accomplish is rigorous research. You must not stop from learning to be able to arrive at the best sources and information about everything that you want to know about the field that you are playing at.
You are lucky because there are tools that you can use to become a better trader and to be able to come up with better decisions and strategies. All you have to do now is to conduct your research to know what you have to and to find out the best products that you can avail to help you achieve better results on your trading business.
These products are created to monitor all aspects of the trading industry all the time. This way, you can gauge if you are on the right track or if it will be better if you will take another route or postpone your bets on your trading moves.
You may think that you can always rely on other people to give you good advices when it comes to this aspect. But humans have other things to tend to aside from monitoring the movement of the trading industry. They may be able to come up with the right strategies most of the time, but they cannot be that accurate all the time.
To make sure that you will be able to get your hands on the best trading systems available in the market these days, think like how your favorite store thinks. You must never get tired in researching about the matter at hand even if you think you already have the best tool. Many similar products come up all the time and you would want to get your hands on them before your competitors could beat you to it.
About the Author:
Looking to find the best deal on day trading courses, then visit my website to find the best advice on historical stock market data for you.
The magazine editors introduced the products, but it was the celebrities who spread the feverish demand to the masses. Christian Louboutin Madonna created a rush on Tom Ford’s blue satin and velvet Gucci pant when she wore it to the 1996 MTV Video Awards. More recently, Sarah Jessica Parker has brandished an enormous red Birkin on "Sex and the City," and kaching! Status was no longer hooked to what money could buy, but how fast you could buy it. The fashion press trumpeted the waits like gilded trophies. And here’s my disclaimer: I was one of those frenzied magazine editors who not only published these lists, but also, as a consumer, jumped them. By the spring of 2001, after Marc Jacobs had sent a load of graffiti-covered Louis Vuitton monogram down the runway the previous October in Paris, the wait-list phenomenon reached its maddest moment — in retrospect, a presage of demise. Every single fashion magazine featured the in their January issues, but Louis Vuitton did not deliver them until late May. The wait-list hierarchy went berserk. Robert Duffy, the president of Marc Jacobs, insisted the wait list was not engineered, but was the result of production problems. "I couldn’t even get my hands on one, and I work for Louis Vuitton," he said. "Marc couldn’t get one either, and he designed the thing!" The are no longer made. It’s possible to speculate about shifts in culture, but coveting is part of human nature. Here is what people want this season, and if enough of them want it, there will be a list. Marc Jacobs’s bright yellow sequined coat was back-ordered in three sizes at the SoHo store. A purple peasant blouse at Yves Saint Laurent sold out in just days at the New York boutique in July, and when a shipment arrived in October they were all sold to customers on a list. The Tods Carre Shopper, unveiled in magazines in July, still boasts a list of 150 people waiting to spend $1,100 on a medium-size version. "War and recession are not going to slow down the desire for fashion; there will always be demand," said Jeffrey Kalinsky, the owner chaussures Christian Louboutin of Jeffrey in the meatpacking district. "It’s up to us in fashion to create something that will ignite that fire. We have to create fashion’s ‘Harry Potter.’ " " But who is going to wave fashion’s magic wand now? "I don’t think it’s the same anymore," said Patricia Wexler, a dermatologist by trade and fashion fanatic by hobby. "Since Sept. 11 shoppers don’t have the same drive anymore. People are going into their closets. There’s a nostalgia for the familiar. Nobody wants to be trendy." At a new chaussures Louboutin store designed by Rem Koolhaas opening in SoHo later this month, they’re replaying their greatest hits, offering new versions of vintage evening dresses, coats and from wait lists past. And what about that Birkin and its supposed eight-month waiting list? Hermes says it has a production nightmare on its hands; since everything is handmade, reordering is not that easy. The official story is that each Birkin takes 18 hours to saddle stitch together, and that only 250 craftsmen know how to make the . Under French law, each craftsman is allowed to work only 35 hours a week. So, even though 14,000 Birkin have been made so far this year, according to the company, demand still far outstrips supply. Yet, any number cruncher would ask why, in a recession and at $5,300 a pop, the Hermes guys haven’t hired a few more craftsmen to pick up the pace. Do they intentionally go slow to create an impression of scarcity, like the Broadway producer who hired an arthritic box office worker so there would always be a ticket line down the street? An Hermes spokesman said the company has hired more craftsmen to make Birkin . But there is a hitch: Hermes requires each one to train for Escarpin Christian Louboutin five years. Maybe I should consider myself lucky. The Birkin I ordered came in the wrong size. These days, it’s much easier to carry the fantasy of the Birkin than the receipt.
About the Author:
