Best offer of the month

You like art and artists, but want something to look at that isn’t so formal as a painting, or something to complement a collection already in place?

Try a calendar of art. They come in a wonderful variety of colors, styles and artists; one to fit your home, office or briefcase. Traditionally they have 13 large paintings, but others have 365 small ones while “planners” may have 50 photographs of colorful art.

There are over 500 “art” calendars to choose from. This number includes, besides named artists like Monet, David, Hooper, or Jacobs, categories like Impressionism, Japanese Woodblock, Folk, Fairy, and Fantasy. It also includes topics like Babies & Children, Ballet, Dance, and Celestial Maps. Of course, there are calendars which mix artists or themes.

Calendars have evolved into a variety of formats. Besides the traditional “wall calendar”, there are 6″ x 12″ “mini wall calendars” and larger “poster” calendars. “Desk” or “box” calendars are 6″ square and have a different painting or photograph for every day of the year. They double as very attractive note pads. For desks there are also “easel desk” calendars which are 6″ x 9.5″ and are made to sit on one’s desk.

A very popular calendar format is the personal or engagement planner. They typically have a new painting for every week and feature art from your favorite artist. They come in hard or soft cover and are made to go in a briefcase or purse. There are also pocket (size) planners which have art on the front cover and small photographs on each page.

You find the best variety and selection via the internet. Enter the right keywords into a search engine and you will get a selection. Instead of search words like “art calendar” use words like: “classic art 2009 calendar”, “2009 Monet painting wall calendar”, “Thomas Kinkade 2009 desk calendar”, or “2009 expressionism poster calendar”. Of course, if you don’t know precisely what you want you can use more general terms to go to a site that will show you some choices.

Some sites give a couple of choices and have you clicking all over to see what is available. Others put all the pictures on one page, or do an index so you can see the variety. The type of calendar will determine your best way to search. “Monet” or “Nouveau”, for example, have 2 dozen or more calendars each; Maud Lewis may show up for a mini and a wall calendar. Each artist or art type will have a different variety of sizes and formats.

Check it out on the internet; you’ll be amazed at what you find. And if you want to give a great gift to a friend, or provide your own persona a touch of class, put an art calendar in your home, office or briefcase. It’s a great way to remind yourself of what you are inside and share a little light with the world.

Bob Cole is the publisher of Advertising Calendar Center which features a section for 2009 Art Calendars He tries to make choosing a calendar more convenient including an index of over 500 art calendars, each listed in at least two categories.

The Sex and the City New York City movie premiere was held on Tuesday, May 27th at Radio City Music Hall. Anyone who is anyone hit the red carpets to view the premiere and then mingle with the socialites at the Rockefeller Center after-party. The party was supposed to be at the MoMa, but apparently it wasn’t big enough. Seriously, how is a museum not big enough!? But anyways, that’s how big this event was in the lives of so many Manhattan higher-ups.

Seeing that the Sex and the City movie’s main focal point is fashion — and brought designers and fashionista-wanna-be’s by the droves to the theaters — everyone’s eye was (obviously) on Sarah Jessica Parker at the premiere. People were dying to see what she would wear. So imagine her surprise when she found out that her beautiful Nina Ricci gown was worn not once, but twice before! Some may say that Sarah Jessica Parker reacted snobbishly, but I highly disagree. When you are viewed as a fashion icon, and all eyes are constantly on you to see what you are going to wear, it is not cool to be wearing a third-hand dress.

Apparently, SJP was assured by the gown’s designer, Olivier Theyskens, that the dress had never been worn. In truth, it had been photographed on socialite Lauren Santo Domingo at the Metropolitan Museum ball gala in New York City less than a month earlier, and was also worn by Lindsay Lohan for a photo shoot in Los Angeles last winter. I fully support Ms. Parker for being just a teensy bit upset.

In all the mayhem I did notice one very glorious thing about Sarah Jessica’s ensemble at the NYC premiere — the necklaces! At her neck, SJP wore three antique necklaces by Fred Leighton — a 19th-century diamond riviere necklace, a 19th-century diamond and pearl fringe necklace and a 19th-century gold diamond snake necklace. You might not be able to find such vintage pieces at your local boutique, seeing as this jewelry is owned by the American Folk Art Museum, but you can bet that the ever-popular layered look will continue to be a trend and that fringe-style gold necklaces will soon be seen hitting the streets!

Alexandra is the Head of Marketing and Sales for Mademoiselle Jewelry – a company that was founded on the principal that jewelry is art. Mademoiselle Jewelry specializes in unique jewelry, sterling silver jewelry, and designer jewelry. Each piece of jewelry is hand selected for quality, uniqueness, and creativity. Mademoiselle Jewelry also carries jewelry lines specifically designed for men and children.