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Week 02: January 08-January 14, 2019

TRAVEL: THE WATERFRONT BEACH RESORT DRIFT SPA

(HUNGTINGTON BEACH, January 07, 2019) The Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach, California has opened its Drift Spa, which is 8,000 square feet of nine treatment rooms. The treatment menu offers organic and natural products. Men and women are separated with their own lounge and spa facilities, such as spacious locker rooms, luxurious whirlpools, as well as, eucalyptus and lavender infused steam rooms. In addition, there is a vitality bar with tea elixirs, juice bar, enchanting spa garden with outdoor fireplace, and seasonal herb wall. The Drift Spa was designed to engage the five senses for the ultimate spa experience.



"Every step of your journey with us – from the pre-treatment seashell release that carries your worries out to sea to the healing Himalayan Salt Stone Sauna – takes you one step closer to calming the mind, body and soul," declared Jennifer Reich, Spa Director.

Signature treatments at the new Drift Spa include the Drift for Two couples massage with a Coastal Foot Bath, Himalayan Salt Stone Massage and the Vitamin Sea Brightening Facial. Professional treatment lines used at the spa include Naturopathica, Elemis, emerginC Scientific Organics, and Spa Ritual.

SOURCE: The Waterfront Beach Resort

ENTERTAINMENT: ARTPRICE - TOP FEMALE ARTISTS



(PARIS, January 08, 2019) The top 5 artists (by auction turnover) born after 1978 include three women. The top 5 female artists in 2018 based on auction turnover include (1) Yayoi Kusama (1929-) with $102,532,176, (2) Joan Mitchell (1926-1992) with $83,925,120, (3) Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) with $66,666,700, (4) Cecily Brown (1969-) with $32,480,908, and Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) with $24,616,761.

(1) Yayoi Kusama (1929-) with $102,532,176 is an 89-year old Japanese woman who has spent 40 years living in a psychiatric hospital. She is known for her obsessive creative practices. This is the fourth year in a row Kusama has been at the top for highest auction turnover. In 2018, twenty-one of her works fetched above $1 million including 15 in Hong Kong, 3 in New York, 2 in London, and 1 in Seoul.

SOURCE: Artprice.com

FASHION: SWIMWEAR MARKET TO REACH $33 BILLION BY 2026

(ALBANY, January 09, 2019) Transparency Market Research released a Swimwear Market report focused on industry analysis, size, share, growth, trends, and forecast between 2018-2026. The compound annual growth rate is forecast to be 6.2%, during the 2018-2026 period. In 2017, 731 million units in terms of volume stood within the market with Europe having 31% swimwear market share.



The swimwear market is influenced by an increase in health awareness led with swimming, due to its healthy, low-impact sports activity along with physical / mental benefits. Swimming provides a full body workout using all muscles. Vacations to beaches, resorts, and theme parks also drive the swimwear market. E-commerce is growing the swimwear market, due to affordability prices compared to offline channels. Nylon dominated the swimwear market, since it is lightweight and provides a smooth comfortable elastic fit. Women had 70% market share as an end-user in 2017. Key players within the swimwear market included LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, L Brands, Inc., Perry Ellis International. Inc., Pentland Group plc., Arena Italia S.p.A., ASICS America Corporation, Swimwear Anywhere Inc., Wacoal Holdings Corporation, and Hosa International Limited.

SOURCE: Transparency Market Research

HUMAN RIGHTS: ACLU OF TEXAS AND ACLU BORDER RIGHTS CENTER STATEMENT ON TRUMP’S VISIT TO MCALLEN

(MCALLEN, January 10, 2019) President Trump visited McAllen, Texas in an effort to pressure Congress to support his demand for a US-Mexico wall.

Astrid Dominguez, director of the ACLU Border Rights Center, had this reaction:

“The only border crisis is the one created by President Trump for political gain at the expense of the rights and the lives of migrants who have the right to seek asylum at the U.S. border. The crisis created by this administration also harms the people in our border communities, who have rallied to provide migrants with needed humanitarian aid and overwhelmingly oppose Trump's wall obsession. Additional barrier construction would devastate our homes and environment, result in massive land seizures by the federal government, and stand irreparably as a monument to hate and xenophobia. Trump’s repeated lies portraying the border as dangerous are racist and echo the rhetoric of white supremacy, not facts. His DHS's policies and misrepresentations of the border are hurting families and resulting in more deaths at the border. Congress, including border state Senators, must act consistently with good governance and public opinion and continue rejecting Trump’s wall extortion.”

Michael Seifert, Border Advocacy Strategist for the ACLU of Texas, added:

“If the President were serious about his investigative trip to the Rio Grande Valley, he would take time to speak to people who live alongside the border wall. We would tell him that he has created a humanitarian crisis in our region that has terrorized our children, embarrassed us before the world, and threatens our region’s fragile economy. His hysteria and his lies about our region have made visitors afraid to come to some of the most beautiful and safest communities in the nation. A large, expensive border wall like the one President Trump has come to our community to promote will only hurt our communities. Congress should undertake robust oversight into DHS’s illegal actions at the border and refuse to give a raise to this rogue agency.”

SOURCE: ACLU

MUSIC: 24TH ANNUAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION

(FORT LAUDERDALE, January 14, 2019) Call for entries by songwriters and composers for a chance to win $50,000, merchandise, and radio airplay are now accepted by the 24th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. Songwriters can enter into pop, rock / alternative, R&B, hip-hop, folk, jazz, and instrumental to name a few out of 15 song categories. USA Songwriting Competition Honorable Mention winner (2017 Competition) and finalist (2018 Competition) Lucy Kalantari of New York, NY is nominated for a Grammy for "Best Children's Album". Her album "All The Sounds" by Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats are nominated for the 2019 Grammy Awards.

SOURCE: USA Songwriting Competition