


Hwang Sun-jun is considered as something of a maverick for his age. He likes to go to cocktail parties and match accessories including brooches with his suit. Some people may find his fashionable clothes weird but Hwang, county manager of Swarovski Korea Ltd., says it's a big part of his job. A key ingredient of the success in the business, including jewelry sales, is reading customers' minds. "You should be able to know what women really want..." said the 47-year-old entrepreneur who started his career in the insurance industry as sales manager.
Since the Austria-based crystal jewelry manufacturer launched its business in Korea in 2000, the Korean operation of Swarovski has become the second biggest market in Asia after Hong Kong and it's one of the top five worldwide.
With a total number of almost 60 shops in major department stores and duty free shops, Swarovski stores have sprouted up in downtown Seoul. Hwang aims to double the total sales revenue and increase the number of shops to 75 in the next five years. Last year, the total revenue at Swarovski's Korean operation reached as much as 34 billion won, more than 10 percent up from a year earlier. The target customers for Swarovski in Korea were those in their mid-thirties and fifties until recently but the twenty-something career women also have become big buyers for the stylish crystals jewelry. "It used to be a brand for middle-aged women but it seems to have a wide appeal among the young Koreans," said Hwang.
During the event, professional models showcased wedding gowns with an 'audacity' theme that were designed and created by regional fashion students from several universities. Judges selected the Award winners from the eleven finalists, based on criteria including originality, innovative use of Swarovski Crystals, use of fabrics, colours and trimmings, construction and final presentation.
Esmod student Mojeh Ashemnia, 25, was crowned as Swarovsky Young Designer of the Year, based on a nouveau-style design that combined modern elegance with sporting practicality. Fawaz Daker, 27, also an Esmod student, was awarded runner-up for his bridal design that was modern, feminine and incorporated his Arabic heritage.Another Esmod student, Nada Abdel Khalek, 27, was crowned as Swarovski Innovation Award Winner, for her innovative use of Swarovski gioielli on a mini-dress designed for a rebellious bride.
The YDY Award, currently in its eighth year, is intended to help young designers develop their skills by encouraging innovation in fashion design and is sponsored by Swarovski, an international leader in crystal design and manufacture. The growing popularity of the event confirms many industry insiders' beliefs that the increase of fashion-oriented events in Dubai is supporting the fashion industry's maturation from a passive consumer to a vigorous advocate of the latest trends.
Many of us can relate to that nagging feeling that the new neighbors who just moved in next door are somehow, well, creepy. It’s nothing you can put your finger on at first, just little things here and there that leave you with that uneasy impression.
I had creepy neighbors once. I never really saw the parents and the older daughter, but the little boy, 10 or so, was practically living in my house, adopted by my teenaged kids. He was a sweet boy, too precocious for his age, and I got the feeling that he much preferred our home to his own. He would stay late, until I told him it was time to go, and from the little replicas he dropped here and there, I could tell he hated going home. Once, someone actually called asking if he was with us and ordering him to come home. I could see straight into their windows across the way, and saw the father (or as I eventually learned the mother’s boyfriend) greet him angrily and send him upstairs.
There was hardly any activity most of the time. The two women were nowhere to be seen, but the man would occasionally pace around the living area, talking on his cell phone, frequently coming out onto the patio for a cigarette. He was heavy-set and antisocial, never acknowledging us, and something about him gave me the creeps. I decided it was time to do some amateur sleuthing. I didn’t know his name, but I had the man’s cell phone number stored on my caller ID, so I opted for the reverse cell phone lookup.
One can find out a lot about a person via reverse cell phone lookup: the owner’s name, age, place of residence, names of relatives – a lot to piece together a profile – and if you want to dig further, additional reports can enlighten you about their background, criminal records and business profile. There it all was – never underestimate your intuition – the man was dangerous, with many violence-related convictions. I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to speak to the police, since I didn’t have a legitimate complaint. I decided to wait, certain that something would come up eventually, because something just wasn’t right with that household.
I didn’t have to wait long. Two days later I came home from work and my kids told me that the neighbor went berserk and pulled his gun on the whole family, and they asked for an asylum in our home. Great! I discovered the boy, his mother and older sister crouching in my basement. They told me they were trying to leave and he wouldn’t let them, and begged me not to call the police because he is in the mafia and will kill us all if we involve the police. They swore he doesn’t know they are at my house, begged to just spend the night and promised to be gone in the morning. I felt torn between fear, compassion and the nagging feeling that I should call the police anyway. I fed them dinner, gave them extra blankets, and we all went to bed. They left very early in the morning, presumably to return to New York from where he lured them away with grand promises. I never heard from or seen them again, and the scary guy was soon gone too.
I hope they made it to safety and he left them alone. I also hope to never have neighbors like that again. Most of all, again and again, I receive proof that when in doubt, trust the reverse cell phone lookup service at http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2436402.









Telekom Austria TA AG, the fixed net company of the Telekom Austria Group, concentrates primarily on the Austrian market and offers its more than 2.3 million residential and business customers an innovative product portfolio comprising voice telephony, Internet access, data and IT solutions, value added services and wholesale services. About Swarovski:
For more than 100 years the Swarovski brand has been a synonym for inventive talent, poetry and trendsetting crystal technology. The consistent further development of its unique grinding competence made Swarovski the leading manufacturer of cut crystal as well as of natural and imitation jewels. Since its founding in Wattens, Austria in 1895 Swarovski crystals has been an independent family-run company. The Swarovski Group has roughly 26,000 employees in more than 120 countries in the world. In the course of its history Swarovski realized numerous innovations and inspired trends in areas such as jewelry, fashion, accessories, lighting, interior decorating and culture, as well as in industrial research and development.
The expressiveness and creative potential of the company are rooted in the rich cultural heritage of Central Europe and are supplemented by the ability to link science, industry and art. The name Swarovski earrings is a synonym for first-class craftsmanship, quality and creativity worldwide.
AS an innovative design company that produces crystals, apparel and tech lifestyle products with High Street fashion sense.The company’s development speed up . Headquartered in Dallas, Metallo Design manages a portfolio of brands across Europe, Asia and the Americas. The ethos, design and spirit of the company are to combine fashion and trends with functional products to meet the style needs of a wide range of consumers.
Gilty Couture designs apparel, fashion and lifestyle accessories. The brand is timely, fun, glamorous, elegant and sexy. Consumers are tired of boring and want a change. Gilty Couture is their answer. With collections that include gold, silver and Swarovski crystals, Gilty Couture is sure to please the individual that demands luxury as well as style and function. Learn more at:http://www.swarovskicrystalsstore.com . Go toGilty Couture press roomfor images and press materials.
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Apple, iPhone andiPod are registered trademarks of Apple Corporation. Swarovski is a registered trademark of Swarovski earrings. Gilty Couture and Gilty Couture Wardrobe Box are trademarks of Metallo Design LLC. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.


