| Modernage furniture stores to close
The venerable retailer is closing its seven Florida stores, which have been outfitting South Florida homes and condos since the 1940s.
Billboards have been put along Interstate 95 advertising a going-out-of-business sale at the stores, which include locations in Boca Raton, Oakland Park and Pembroke Pines.
Those sales begin today at all locations except the one in Oakland Park, which will start slightly later than the others, said Roy Hester, vice president of Planned Furniture Promotions, which will liquidate the inventory.
Sales have been declining at Modernage, which was hurt by the active hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 and increased competition from City Furniture, Rooms to Go, Ashley Furniture and El Dorado Furniture.
"Florida had no Ikea stores," said Hester, referring to a trendy European brand that plans to open in Sunrise this summer.
CAL STONE: They're selling downtown Northville
For nearly seven months, I've been trying to sell my house in Charlotte (between Lansing and Battle Creek). It ain't happening. In fact, by most accounts, the entire state and, slowly, the rest of the country are singing similar blues. But it's a different tune heard downtown Northville, according to Kathleen McLallen, Amy Zubor, Anne Smith and Beth Russo. .
Manufactured Landscapes (Canadian Version)
It'll test your patience at times, but that certainly doesn't mean Jennifer Baichwal's Manufactured Landscapes (2006) isn't worth your time and attention. This slow-burning documentary combines striking images by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky with footage shot at the original locations, creating what some might call a "moving exhibition". This series of photographs includes landscapes and people directly affected by industry---and though the initial idea came to Burtynsky in Pennsylvania over 20 years ago, it flourished more recently in enormous Chinese factories like the one above. The latter environment sets the tone for Manufactured Landscapes; during the opening sequence, a camera pans across the massive factory floor for roughly eight minutes. The scope of the workers' production is fully realized but never explained in detail; more than anything else, it simply shows consumers how their consumables are made.
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