Many years ago, when I was younger I was a basketball player and I still remember when I dreamt about having a pair of Converse All Star shoes, which were something almost impossible to have. Al the end of the 70’s, started the import of Converse All Stars shoes and, after a short time, I bought my first pair of Converse shoes. I was really excited as I had exactly the same shoes of my idols, the players of the National Basketball Association.

Since the day Converse shoes were created, they were and they still are excellent shoes. I therefore have found reading the history of the brand very interesting and this is the reason that leads me to write a brief summary, reporting the history of the most important performance basketball sneaker, the Converse All Star.

1908: the Marquis Converse establishes Converse Rubber Corporation. That was the time when basketball was becoming the most popular sport in the United States of America. Since the beginning, the production of Converse has been focused on shoes that could be used to play basketball.
1917: after large investments in research and development, the very first version of the Converse All Star basketball shoe is produced, in natural brown colour with black trim. At the beginning, the shoe was produced only in black colour, and it was the first mass production sneaker in the North America. The sole was a very thick rubber one and the upper covering the ankle was in canvas. Notwithstanding all the researches, the sneaker was not a success.

1921: some say that one day a young basketball player, Chuck Taylor, convinces the Marquis Converse, founder of the brand Converse, to produce a sneaker exclusively designed for performance basketball. Chuck Taylor was not only a fan of the Converse shoes; he was convinced of their potential that he then joined the Converse sales force. He has contributed not only to the promotion of the shoes but also to the improvement of the All Star quality.

1923: the first Converse All Star is created and, as thanks to the work done, Converse adds the signature Chuck Taylor on the ankle patch. The phenomenon of the Converse All Star “Chuck Taylor” was born and it is still alive, as the number of 800,000,000 pairs of “Chuck Taylor” sold all around the world clearly demonstrates!Since that day, the name of Chuck Taylor is on the ankle patch of any Converse All Star.
These unique basketball shoes became, during the years, a real status symbol, both between the basketball players (because they were unquestionably the best basketball shoe of the period) and ordinary people, who has always appreciated the comfort that a Converse All Star provides.  Converse All Star became very popular also in the world of cinema. In many movies, you can see the most popular actors wearing a pair of Chuck Taylor, as well many rock stars love Converse All Star sneakers (also as the refusal to the high priced shoes produced by other companies).Actually, Converse All Star are produced in a very wide range of different colours but the reason of their success is that they have never changed a single feature since the day the first pair of All Star was created - and this will never happen -.

Continue reading Converse All Stars, what a discovery!

Do you know something about furniture? How many kinds of styles exist in our homes? Which are the most used pieces of furniture? Take a look at what I've found out.
Furniture includes plenty of objects supporting various human activities, such as seating and sleeping in beds, holding objects or storing things. Storage furniture often makes use of doors, drawers, shelves and locks to contain, organize or secure smaller objects such as clothes, tools, books, and household goods.
Moreover, furniture can be a product of design and is considered a form of decorative art. Domestic furniture works in fact to create comfortable and convenient interior spaces, in conjunction with clocks and lightning.

Furniture can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Interior design solutions are functional, enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants, and are aesthetically attractive. The interior design process follows a systematic and coordinated methodology, including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process. The needs and resources of the client are satisfied to produce an interior space that fulfills the project goals. Interior designers plan the spaces of almost every type of building including: hotels, corporate spaces, schools, hospitals, private residences, shopping malls, restaurants, theaters, and airport terminals. Some interior designers are architects as well.

What about styles? Styles often follow historic periods. The evolution of interior decoration themes has now grown to mix pieces from different periods. Each element should contribute to form, function, or both and maintain a consistent standard of quality and combine to create the desired design.
I've read that decorators, designers, and architects have been recently re-discovering the unique furniture, which developed around the 1950s from new material created for military applications.
Do you know something more about furnitures now? If you want to have a look at all existing pieces and styles of furnitures, you can easily surf the net and find what piece fits best in your house!

Continue reading Looking for furnitures suggestions?

Between all presents I have recently received for my birthday, the one that I probably appreciate more is the iRobot Roomba. For those who do not yet know this product, iRobot Roomba is a revolutionary vacuum cleaner that, in addition, really catches your eyes as well. In particular, I have received a 530 model, which is equipped with a virtual wall (without batteries) and some spare parts together with the user guide and the instructions’ manual. I have found this appliance very useful and my very traditionalist mother as well is now very satisfied of the easy of use and practicality of the iRobot Roomba.
It is a very user-friendly product as it is all assembled in the package and you may consider it a ready to use appliance because you only need to charge it totally and the work is done. The iRobot Roomba is a disc, 13.4 inches (34 cm) in diameter and less than 3.5 inches (9 cm) high. The disc is equipped with a large contact-sensing bumper, which is set on the front part of the disc, together with the infrared sensor, which is placed on the top front part of the disc.

Some Models of iRobot Roomba:

510	530	570

Continue reading iRobot Roomba is a revolutionary vacuum cleaner

Sunglasses may be considered a very useful support as they prevent your eyes from the damages that the sunlight may cause. Many people find that the sunlight is too strong to bear, especially in case of outdoor activities. The ophthalmologists suggest that you protect your eyes wearing sunglasses each time you are directly exposed to the sunlight.Since the day the first sunglasses were created, they have been often associated to celebrities and actors, who use them to hide their identity. From 1940 on, sunglasses turned into fashion accessories, especially on the beaches. Hiding your eyes has a direct implication in the face-to-face communication as you can cover up your crying rather than avoiding intimidating visual contact as well as showing your detachment from the surrounding environment, which is a behaviour that many people consider very exclusive.
Furthermore, sunglasses may be used to hide eye reddening or dilation and constriction of the pupil, due to the consumption of drugs.

Sunglasses are anyway a valid support to improve the quality of your eyesight, protecting your eyes from glows. Ophthalmologists provide their patients with special mono-usage sunglasses after the administration of certain drops during eye test.
The excessive direct exposition to the UV rays may cause different problems, in short-term or long-term. More and more often physicians suggest that it is necessary wearing sunglasses as protection from UV rays. In addition, the European Union attests with the CE label all sunglasses that follow the regulation related to the quality.

As said above, sunglasses are fashion accessories, and there is only the embarrassment of choosing between the different models that the market offers now.

Continue reading Sunglasses are the best friend for your eyes

Anyone who is used to travel from UK to USA (or vice versa) knows that a simple matter may cause a big confusion. One of these matters is definitely electricity. What in UK works perfectly cannot be used in USA. The reason is that almost one half of the world is using 110 volts electricity whilst the other half is actually using 220 or 240 volts electricity. If you want to resolve permanently this problem (and the related ones) you need to buy a voltage transformer.

For those who are not used to these devices, here you can find some basic information about this electrical device. A voltage transformer is an electrical instrument permitting that an electrical appliance that has been designed to work using 110 volts electricity may be used in places where a different voltage (usually 220 or 240 volts) is normally used.

To give you an example, in UK electricity runs on 220 volts whilst in Japan it runs on 100 volts. Therefore, you could not use your electric shaver (if produced for the UK standards) when being in Japan unless you use a voltage transformer. The transformer simply will turn the electricity usually running on 100 volts up to 220 volts, allowing you to use your electric shaver.
At this point, how does a transformer work? In few words, the transformer converts the voltage of the electricity running to another voltage. The technical term to describe that is "step down/up". Actually, the market offers hundreds of transformers that allow to step up or down the electricity voltage feeding multiple electrical appliances as well. You need to ascertain the wattage of your appliance to calculate the size of your transformer. You can find the wattage description on a label aside of the appliance. Remember that if the appliance works by a motor more wattage will be required.

Continue reading The choice of your transformer depends on your requirements...