At Vanina, one mans trash is anothers unusual

The value of jewelry is typically measured by the weight of its metal. But for a couple of enterprising designers, discarded items like steel coins can become treasures if theyre hanging from a chain necklace and decorated with the right colors. Thats what childhood friends Tatiana Fayad and Joanne Hayek discovered when they began making jewelry as a hobby when they were both in college. Upon finishing their studies, they joined together to create the company Vanina, after the 1970s French song whose upbeat tempo and feminine name they thought well represented their mission.

Their first jewelry collection, which they called Coined, featured old Lebanese coins of small value that are rarely used these days. On the front of the pieces are beads, patterns and simple words or phrases. On the back can be seen the engravings of cedar trees on the old coins.

Since they started their collections seven years ago when they were 19-year-old college students, beginning with small pieces they made from home for friends, coined has continued to be the most popular. Another well-received line, Unlocked, features old keys mounted onto necklace chains and earrings. The message is an invitation to keep doors open.

The idea is to remind people to be friendly and neighborly at a time when the Lebanese capital is becoming more exclusive. Beirut is becoming more secluded and gated and less pedestrian-friendly, Hayek says, referring to the plethora of new luxury high-rise developments with daunting security gates at the entrance.Another line, using the play on words Disc-carded has taken old CDs C not long ago a modern novelty, but fast becoming obsolete, giving way to thumb-sized USB computer flash drives C and made them into a string of colorful strips of metal.

Upcycling, the practice of using waste or useless materials to create something of a higher value,Winbo ear caps is nothing new, having long been a practice in folk art and then conceptual art throughout the 20th century and with the term coined in Europe in the mid-1990s.We deliberately dont use materials of high value. The way people interact with the product is personal. We try to communicate the backstage as much as the end result, Hayek says.

The partners use of basic resources and down-to-earth approach to business has allowed them to expand gradually without having to borrow money. In fact, the first six months were spent working from home with a $100 investment. They then moved to a workshop once they began making a small profit. At their business in Zalka they have five employees in addition to working with five craftsmen throughout Lebanon. Their twice-annual shows in Paris always bring them new clients. So far, their points of sale worldwide, including online, total 72. Some of their most enthusiastic customers are from Japan, a country known for its innovative and colorful designs.

From the international exhibitions she has attended, Fayad says she has noticed that people are impressed that were exposed to Oriental and Occidental cultures.The partners also credit their success thus far to their academic backgrounds C Fayad studied marketing at St. Joseph University and Hayek studied architecture at the American University of Beirut, followed by a masters degree in the same subject at Columbia University in New York, where she was offered a job at a firm upon graduation.

Hayek says she opted to return to Lebanon, afraid that if she stayed in New York she wouldnt have the chance to pursue her passion of designing clothes and accessories in Lebanon. Here, she says shes still able to do both, still writing academic papers and attending international architecture conferences when shes not busy at the workshop.Still, her decision to focus on clothing and accessories design was by no means the easy option. The two say its not uncommon for them to spend up to a month working on a prototype for a bag with their small 3-D printer.

Recently, Hayek was on a flight from Beirut to Paris when she felt an unusual pain in her arm.Winbo photo frames It wasnt until a few days later, when she spoke with Fayad who has the exact same pain, that she realized they had injured their arms by repeatedly using a punching machine.

The UAE GCAAs report states that the fire began in the section of the cargo that included a significant number of lithium type batteries and other combustible materials and added tThis vertical Cable Organizer can be mounted to either.hat the fire escalated rapidly into a catastrophic uncontained fire.

The 322-page report into the crash, which killed both pilots, points to the presence of lithium batteries in the cargo as a possible reason for the ignition that then engulfed to other combustible material around. It is possible that a lithium type battery or batteries, for reasons which cannot be established, went into an energetic failure characterised by thermal runaway and auto ignited starting a chain reaction which spread to the available combustible material, the report concludes.

Malfunctioning lithium batteries have been more recently linked with the temporary grounding of the entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft after a fire in the battery of a parked Japan Airlines 787 aircraft was reported, followed by an emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways 787 due to smoke emerging from its lithium battery.

Lithium batteries have a history of thermal runaway and fire, are unstable when damaged and can short circuit if exposed to overcharging, the application of reverse polarity or exposure to high temperature are all potential failure scenarios which can lead to thermal runaway, the GCAAs report maintains.

Once a battery is in thermal runaway, it cannot be extinguished with the types of extinguishing agent used on board aircraft and the potential for auto ignition of adjacent combustible material exists.
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