Making A Cheap Holiday To Tenerife Even Cheaper – A Guide To The Fine Art Of Haggling

Tenerife is famous for its markets, and of course there is nothing quite as satisfying as haggling yourself to a bargain. The trouble is that many Brits abroad are too afraid to try their hand at bartering, fearing that bargaining their way to cheaper prices will make them seem cheap or break the traditional British reserve. In this guide, I shall explain the cut and thrust of the wonderfully addictive game of market bargaining, but first a few tips on where to find the best markets in Tenerife…

Torviscas Market and Los Cristianos are perhaps the biggest markets in Tenerife, and a great opportunity to brush up on your haggling skills. It also boasts the biggest range of products to get your teeth stuck into (figuratively speaking) – clothing, fashion, books, electricals, jewellery and even property! Obviously, you don’t want to get too wrapped up in the haggling and end up buying the latter, but in terms of range of goods to buy, these two cannot be beaten.

On Friday mornings, the Golf Del Sur market is a good choice for those staying nearby. It’s quite new, but is already picking up in terms of popularity with a varied number of stalls offering an interesting mix of goods. The night market at Los Abrigos offers a unique atmosphere, and despite a smaller selection of stalls offers a nice range of beautiful jewelery. Finally the African market at Santa Cruz is a site to behold: made up of over 300 stalls of fresh produce, this is the perfect place to practice your bartering – just don’t take too long, because the tastiest fruit and vegetables tend to go very quickly!

So now you know the best places to try haggling in Tenerife, the question becomes how it is done. Here’s the best advice I’ve got to ensuring you bag the best deal…

1)Know the market

Whilst it can be tempting to throw yourself in at the deep end and start haggling over every item that catches your interest on the first day of your Tenerife holiday, it actually pays to spend a little time getting to know the general prices of the island. Spend a few hours making a wish list of items you’d like to pick up, and assessing how much they tend to go for – work out what is and isn’t a reasonable price before you start your first haggle.

2)Be polite and keep your sense of humor

Haggling at a market is supposed to be fun, and you won’t improve your chances by being surly and rude. Keep it slightly playful and you’ll be more likely to avoid offense and score the bargain you’re looking for.

3)Be ready to walk away

Walking away is actually a very important part of the haggling dance. If the bartering has reached an impasse and the merchant is refusing to drop the price any lower, don’t be afraid to walk away. If it looks like the merchant is going to lose the sale, he may well follow you with ‘one last offer’.

4)Convert the price into your own currency

This sounds obvious but you need a good handle on the currency before you begin. Tenerife uses the Euro, so get your head around a rough conversion rate before you begin – loosely, £1 is equivalent to 1.5 Euros, so bear this in mind – you don’t want to haggle for ages only to eventually work out you were arguing over pennies!

5)Hesitation is your friend

Your best friend in the exciting world of haggling isn’t actually your words, it’s the absence of them. Show some hesitation in responding to an offer, and your merchant may quickly produce a better offer for fear of failing to close a sale. Don’t overuse the tactic or it will be seen through quite easily, but hesitation is perfect because it implies you’re tempted, and will make the seller think he’s nearly there. This is best used when approaching a price you’re willing to pay.

6)Bargaining isn’t just about price

The price is the main thing naturally, but extra value doesn’t need to simply come from a few quid knocked off! Extras items and services can be used to barter – agree to pay the price suggested, if your seller agrees to throw in another item you’re interested. If the bargaining has become stale, this is a good way to reignite the discussion and bring you closer to a bargain to brag about!

7)Dress down

Appearance shouldn’t come into the haggling experience, but it really does! Put yourself in the sellers shoes: If someone comes to you saying they can’t afford to spend more than £8 on the vase, are you more or less likely to believe them if they’re wearing an Armani suit and Rolex wrist watch? Dress down, and don’t give the impression that you have the money to pay their top price if you want to secure the best bargain.

8)Point out imperfections before you begin

It’s a standard rule that you play down the item you’re interested in purchasing before a price is first named. If you mention the uneven paintwork on a vase before asking the price, the seller is just more likely to name a more reasonable cost in the first place, which makes bartering them down that little bit easier…

9)Set a maximum price you’re willing to pay

Before you start the process, think of what you’re actually willing to pay, and what you’d like to part with. By setting a maximum and ideal value, you can have clear boundaries to work in, and can accurately assess whether you’re likely to reach a price point you’re happy with. It will also ensure you don’t feel disgusted at how much you’ve paid later, thinking you got a bargain at the time.

10) A facial expression is worth a thousand words

I mentioned earlier the power of silence in producing a swift drop in price, but that only tells the aural side – visuals also play a huge part in the bartering process, and while keeping your poker face when a superbly low offer is handed your way is important, looking skeptical, horrified or even laughing at a bad offer can be just as powerful. Sometimes such a reaction can prompt a price drop without you even having to open your mouth (though obviously it helps with the laughter) so bear this in mind if an opportunity arises.

Haggling is a great way of making a cheap holiday to Tenerife even cheaper! The most important thing about all this is to have fun though. I wouldn’t recommend you try haggling too much on items you really want, because it will seriously limit your ability to ‘play the game’ effectively with that all important bargaining method: walking away and looking elsewhere.

source:
http://www.articlecity.com /articles/travel_and_leisure/article_3151.shtml

Miniature Painting - Art Through the Ages

As an artist, Rebecca Latham as well as her mother, Karen, and sister, Bonnie, strive for detail in their painting. Studying with a Flemish master, they have developed their styles for painting extreme realism. Their works, both large and small, are painted “in miniature”.

Early Beginnings

Miniature painting is a traditional style of art that is very detailed, often referred to as painting or working “in miniature”. Because of their origins as illuminations, they are also painted to have as smooth of a surface as possible. (It is also suggested that miniature art may have been influenced by the medals of ancient Rome as well) Miniature art can be traced back to ancient Egyptian manuscripts on papyrus scrolls. Monks are also often highlighted for their contributions to early miniature painting with their beautifully illuminated manuscripts such as the Celtic Book of Kells and England's Lindisfarne Gospels (both of which measure around 9" x 12"). Some early manuscripts contain miniature paintings on their pages that depict beautiful arrangements of life sized flower arrangements on their borders. The history of miniature painting is also seen throughout the world in various other cultures.

Miniature painting began out of necessity for illustrating documents and manuscripts to aid those reading them during a time when many were not able to, before printing was invented. The miniature helped to convey the story and meaning of the written word. Therefore, the art of miniature painting is directly connected to the book arts. The various sized illuminations (pictures) were cut out of these books or documents so that they could be carried more easily. Later, developing from the carried miniature, portrait miniature artists were commissioned to paint small portraits – paintings that were used as we use wallet sized photographs today. These sizes of miniature paintings became popular with collectors and are often referred to as “hand held miniatures”. Portrait miniatures were painted in larger sizes as well, for example master miniaturist, Nicholas Hilliard, Peter Oliver, and Sir Charles William Ross all painted works that were of a larger size.

Sizes

Miniature painting is sometimes confused and assumed that the pieces must be small or depict subjects on a smaller scale to be considered miniature art, though this is not the case. It is helpful to keep in mind that the origins of the term "miniature" have nothing to do with a size. The word miniature comes from the terms 'minium' (used for the red lead paint used in illuminated manuscripts) and 'miniare' (Latin for 'to color with red lead').

Miniature painting is a style and technique of painting, and as such, a wall sized work could be painted “in miniature”. Authors of the Yale University Press publication, “The English Miniature” have stated that miniatures have been painted large and some works are even considered to be gigantic. Numerous faculty members of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London confirm that miniature paintings are not restricted to smallness. Larger sized miniature paintings are documented throughout history and are recognized today, though painting larger works in miniature is more difficult and time consuming than a smaller piece if the same attention to detail is observed. Miniature art is also unique in that it was and is often used on objects, such as the Russian lacquer boxes that are beautiful examples of Russian miniature painting.

Exhibitions

Today, there are miniature art societies in western society to help promote and preserve traditional miniature art and the “spirit of miniature”. Their exhibitions feature the hand held miniature paintings (or sculptures) and each exhibition has its own unique guidelines and rules for artists showing in their exhibit. Some of these rules limit the size of work to be no larger than a set square inch. Others limit the size of a subject, such at the 1/6th scale rule that a subject may not be painted larger than 1/6th of it's natural size, or the 2” rule, that an object in the painting may not exceed 2”. Scale rules were initially put in place as a guide for artists starting out in miniature art. There are also many framing restrictions for society miniature works as well. All of these rules are put into place by each show for their own individual and unique exhibitions, and do not define what miniature art is.

Artists painting miniatures throughout history were not restricted in their artwork by scale as their subjects were painted to any measurement or scale that the artist deemed pleasing to the eye and their patrons, for both manuscripts and other miniatures. Subjects that are naturally small in size, such as butterflies and insects, were painted life sized. Thus the 1/6th scale rule that is used by some shows and societies today unfortunately causes a bit of confusion to those new to the art form who commonly assume that is it a part of a mechanical criteria of the miniature's definition. The world's experts in miniatures do not recognize the rule as legitimate, and view those embracing it as unknowledgeable, and dismiss them.

The term "miniature", as it addresses miniature painting, is often confused with "miniaturize" and some miniature art exhibitions do not refer to miniature as it's initial meaning of techniques, but rather the size of the painting (miniaturized painting). They are two very separate descriptions.

Miniature painting is an art form that is very rich in history that continues today by artists from around the globe. The beautiful ornamental qualities of the miniature should be preserved whether it be the intricate large pieces, or intimate hand held works.

Many thanks to Joan Willies RMS, the Victoria & Albert Museum, & Patrick Noon.

source:
http://www.articlecity.com /articles/hobbies/article_1126.shtml

The Gallery of Life - What is the spiritual purpose of fine art prints as greeting cards?

Greeting cards. Have you ever really pondered our real intention when sending greeting cards? Of course, you might reply. We want to celebrate; we want to offer inspiration; we want to console; we want to communicate. We often choose landscape photography or nature photography as the basic foundation of our greeting as these scenes display a fabric of life that is both beautiful and peaceful.

Yet, our intentions with greeting cards can have a spiritual purpose. Our greeting can inspire a be-attitude: be happy, be hopeful, be courageous, be comforted, be aware that you are not alone. These are all attributes of character development and reminders of our strength and courage during times of celebration and during times of adversity. Ultimately, greeting cards connect us to each other as immediate family, extended family and a global family.

So, when choosing unique greeting cards, have a new level of consciousness concerning its potential. The magic of your selected beautiful scene and inspirational thoughts may literally be your contribution to change our world, and make it better, one person at a time.

source:
http://www.articlecity.com /articles/self_improvement_and_motivation/article_6182.shtml