Paper Dress For Your Tush

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATTENTION: FASHION AND LIFESTYLE EDITORS

Editor’s Note: Photos and behind-the-scenes video are available at: http://www.toletta.com/paperdress

TOLETTA launches the world’s first couture paper dress made from disposable toilet seat covers.

MARCH 23, 2011 – EDMONTON, ALBERTA. Who says the fashion industry is in the pooper? Today, fashion designer Laura Dreger showcased her talents by making the world’s first couture paper dress from disposable toilet seat covers. Tissues courtesy of TOLETTA – Ottawa manufacturer of luxury paper toilet seat covers.

TOLETTA was recently featured on The Doctors TV Show and in Marie Claire Magazine.

The Doctors TV Show: http://bit.ly/hC55sF
Marie Claire Magazine: http://bit.ly/dxMz7x

“The dress took me over 100 hours to make and required more than 520 seat covers. When the idea was presented to me I said yes because I knew it would be fun and unique. Besides, it’s not every day that I get to be the first in the world to make a paper dress from disposable toilet seat covers.” Said Dreger.

Lindsay Goff, the campaign’s model, is a up and coming fashion model who is competing for Miss Canada 2011 and the face of Lady Venom Cosmetics. Gina Cicero, makeup artist and owner of Lady Venom Cosmetics, handled the art direction, make-up and styling. Amanda Diaz was the photographer, Brad Palomo handled the video production and Kristen Ernst did the hair.

“There’s nothing sexy about public toilets. But when you mix high fashion with a product like this amazing things can happen. As a professional make-up artist, I often work on a set and the only toilet around is usually a nasty public toilet. I carry tolettas in my Louis Vuitton Artsy bag because you never know what’s on that toilet seat. These cute little travel packs are a “must-have” purse accessory.” Said Cicero.

TOLETTA is a niche product that markets to women ages 20-45 who care about their personal hygiene in public bathrooms. A percentage of the proceeds go to Breast Cancer Research (pink packs) and Child Poverty Awareness (blue packs). Tissues are made from large sheets of 3ply toilet paper which are 20% larger and 42% thicker than other brands plus they’re flushable and biodegradable. Each pack contains 5 toilet seat covers and retails for $2.49 – $3.49 USD.

“Since our company’s launch in 2009, we have already sold more than 40,000 packs and have distribution throughout North America, Europe and Africa. We can now focus on selling into large retail chain stores thanks to our new exclusive distributor for North America – Perma Brands.” Said Caine Ruckstuhl, co-owner TOLETTA.

TOLETTA is available at http://www.toletta.com and can also be purchased from a growing number of retailers across Canada and USA including Amazon.com, Ricky’s NYC and AVEYOU Beauty Boutique. You can also find tolettas in select retailers throughout United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Nigeria, South Africa and Australia.

ABOUT TOLETTA
TOLETTA is the world’s first premium brand of purse sized travel packs of paper toilet seat covers. Tissues are flushable, biodegradable and made from large sheets of 3ply toilet paper. Each seat cover is 20% larger and 42% thicker than other brands. A percentage of the proceeds is donated to social causes (pink for breast cancer and blue for child poverty). TOLETTA is available in 10 countries. For more information visit: http://www.toletta.com

ABOUT PERMA BRANDS
Perma Brands Corporation is a leading developer and distributor of personal care, beauty, bath and gift items in North America. Providing a full range of services, Perma Brands works with retailers to source, supply, distribute and merchandise high quality products. Perma Brands wholesales to retail chains, beauty supply outlets and premium independent retailers. Other products distributed by Perma Brands include: Bentley Organics, Bella Brushes, Kent Brushes and Bronnley Soaps. For more information visit: http://www.permabrands.com

Interviews: Laura Dreger, Gina Cicero, Lindsay Goff, Amanda Diaz and Caine Ruckstuhl are available for interviews upon request. Please contact: caine@toletta.com

Editor’s Note: Photos and behind-the-scenes video are available at: http://www.toletta.com/paperdress

 

Free Domain Names from UpperLink

In order to populate the .NG Registry with Active domains, Upperlink Limited is giving out 50,000 domains free. This promo will be on till the end of February or till the 50,000 free domains are exhausted.
This means that your open domains will not be paid for during this period.

Upperlink is giving out:

Free Domain Names
Free DNS
+
Complementary Services
Up to 50 free emails (7 GB Capacity each)
Free Website Builder and Tools
Free Hosting

However, there are conditions attached.

Please see the Terms and Conditions below.

Terms and Conditions
1. NIRA’s Domain Name Policy applies to domain registration.

2. Domains will be registered under the .NG extension for example for my domain to be registered on .com.ng will be registered as mydomain.com.ng.

3. The offer applies only to open domains .com.ng, .org.ng, .name.ng, .mobi.ng, .sch.ng

4. NIRAs policy on premium names stand please see NIRAs premium domain name list. Domains listed in this category cannot be registered, such domains will be auctioned.

5. For multiple year registrations only the first year will be charged. Subsequent years will be paid for, this means that if you’re registering for 5 years, the first year will be free, 4 years will be paid for.

6. Registrants of the offer must ensure that their domains are ACTIVE and constantly updated with web content, squatting and domain parking will not be tolerated, such domains will be deleted.

7. No domain name may be used, directly or indirectly, by any site that contains and not limited to fraudulent, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, offensive, obscene, infringing, or threatening content. NIRA reserves the right to delete the domain if discovered that they are used for such activities.

8. The renewal fee of N1,500.00 must be paid by the registrant on a yearly basis to sustain the domain after the first year (2011 which will be registered free of charge).

9. Registrants must agree at the time of registration that, to the best of their knowledge, the name they are registering does not violate trademark law in Nigeria.

Do take advantage of this offer and register your ACTIVE domains NOW.

To sign up for free domains Click Here

http://www.upperlink.com.ng/web/?page_id=1

Send a mail to freeedomains@upperlink.com.ng for more details

NOTE
If you have already registered you can register new companies and tell others.

2011 Expectations

Wow it’s 2011 and at Today’s Naira, we’re thankful that we made it into the new year. We also thank our readers who made 2010 a fantastic year for us. In 2011, we’re mapping out new ways of keeping you informed and aware about important decisions you will need to take during the year. We need to re-educate our minds on the importance of imbibing financial frugality, investing wisely and saving for the rainy days.

So, what are your new year resolutions? Are they different from last year? I have put an hold on resolutions. Rather I always write down my goals and objectives for the year in the recess of my mind. That way, I tend to achieve my goals more quickly. Last years’ goals were all achieved short of all and I hope to nil this one in 2011.

For 2011 these are our plans for our readers:

• We intend to highlight on a monthly basis, entrepreneurs in different fields with special emphasis on SMEs (small scale & medium enterprises). If you are a business owner and would like us to showcase your ideas and business on this page, do get in touch with us.
• We’re also searching for individuals who’d like to intern with us by writing an article on various informative fields. Think you’re the one, give us a buzz.
• You have a great product and would want to get the word out via ‘product reviews’, then you should be talking to us.
• Above all in 2011, we’re getting back into financial shape and all the resources you require will be provided on this page.

Adios and we’re out.

Travel Documentary Scholarship

Kick start your documentary career by going on assignment into the Amazon with documentary producer Trent O’Donnell (who filmed the Positive Footprints series screened on Nat Geo Adventure Channel).

You will take part in a special project with Gap Adventures, exploring the Amazonian jungle and homestaying with the indigenous Quichua community.

Working alongside Trent O’Donnell as he makes a documentary on Sustainable Tourism, you will be mentored to help find your story and create your own short video documentary.

You’ll also be accommodated by our friends at Hostelworld.com both pre and post trip.

The lucky scholarship recipient will have their documentary considered for broadcast onNat Geo Adventure! That’s right – the holy grail documentary makers work their whole lives to achieve !

Your assignment brief

You will be joining Bruce Poon Tip (Gap’s founder) as he revisits Ecuador’s spectacular Andean Interior and Amazon lowlands. It’s been 20 years since the first Gap Adventures trip was run in the Amazon and alongside Bruce you will gain unique access and insight into the lives of the Quichua community understanding how sustainable tourism has positively impacted their community.

You will also see first hand how the Footprints Network can make a difference to communities in need as Simon Monk (founder of WorldNomads.com and the Footprints Network) visits a project providing schooling equipment to the local Quichua primary school.

Homestaying in the Amazonian jungle with the Quichua community, you will work alongside Trent as he mentors you on how to find and film your own story.

Who can apply

* Anyone can apply – this is open to film students, lovers of film or anyone who’s trying to build a career in documentary making!

* Minimum age 18 with a current passport.

* You should be a mad-keen auteur with a lust for adventure and burning desire to be a documentary maker.

* You must be fit and healthy as moderate levels of trekking are involved.

Apply now

If you want it, you’ve got to show it. To apply you need to:

1. Compile a 3 minute video documentary in English based around the theme; ‘Local Encounters’. Your ‘local encounter’ may be from your travels or somewhere closer to home. You should explore how this encounter changed your perspective on the world. The theme is open to interpretation, so be creative! The documentary may be compiled from previous travel videos you’ve shot.

It’s up to you to convince our judging panel through your video that you have the spirit for adventure and passion for filmmaking to be chosen for this scholarship. Our judging panel will be looking for;

* The ability to convey a strong narrative within a short time-frame
* Originality
* A visually engaging story
* A candidate whose passion for documentary filmmaking makes them an obvious choice to benefit from this professional mentorship opportunity.

We strongly recommend you look at the previous winners (below) to give you an idea of the quality we are looking for. Entries compiled solely of still shots will not be considered, you need to demonstrate your skill with the moving image.

2. Upload your video : Go to Youtube.com to upload your video

3. Add your video to Worldnomads.com: Create a journal and fill in the entry form, then follow the simple instructions to upload your video into the post. In under 200 words tell us about your video;

- What inspired your subject matter?

- How did you plan your piece?

- What challenges did you face?

- What is your ambition as a documentary maker?

You will be judged on what you write as much as your video submission, convince us you are a worthy candidate !

One entry per person.

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Watch  2009 winner’s documentary

Watch  2008 winner’s documentary which has been broadcast on Nat Geo Adventure.

Entries close August 1, 2010

(midnight, Australian Eastern Standard Time)

Only Women Can Understand

When you have to visit a public toilet, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it’s your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied. Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.
You get in to find the door won’t latch. It doesn’t matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern ’seat covers’ (invented by someone’s Mum, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your bag on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn’t – so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mum would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!), yank down your pants, and assume ‘ The Stance.’

In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake. You’d love to sit down, but you certainly hadn’t taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold ‘The Stance.’
To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother’s voice saying, ‘Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!’ Your thighs shake more.
You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday – the one that’s still in your bag. (Oh yeah, the bag around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time).. That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It’s still smaller than your thumbnail.

Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn’t work. The door hits your bag, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your bag topple backward against the tank of the toilet. ‘Occupied!’ you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course.
You bolt up, knowing all too well that it’s too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper – not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you’re certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, ‘You just don’t KNOW what kind of diseases you could get.’

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.
At this point, you give up. You’re soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You’re exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks. You can’t figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.

You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman’s hand and tell her warmly, ‘Here, you just might need this.’ As you exit, you spot your boyfriend, who has long since entered, used, and left the men’s toilet. Annoyed, he asks, ‘What took you so long, and why is your bag hanging around your neck?’
This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public rest rooms/toilets (rest??? You’ve GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom/toilets in pairs. It’s so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your bag and hand you Kleenex under the door!

Public Toilets

A necessary evil you might say depending on your job profile. For those of us who are marketers and sales people, it’s a convenience you cannot do without on a daily basis. Sometimes, the toilets in my office might not be in a proper state of cleanliness for some days. To ease myself, I would make do by dashing off to the nearest hotel or fast food outlets.  

Even at its cleanest, I’ve never been able to establish skin contact with the toilet seat. I’m a bit wary about toilet disease out there such as ‘Demartitis’ – which causes skin irritation around the buttocks and upper thighs leading to painful and itchy skin eruptions if not treated properly. Often, I slouch or apply strip of paper around the toilet seat before I can use it. So, while I was out today, I came across an innovative product for doing the public toilet thingy. It’s a product called ‘TOLETTA’. I spotted it at Cran Pharmacy, Ibadan and had to buy a pack for myself. I learnt its’for women who are tired of crouching, using strips of toilet paper, or trying to use cheap and flimsy paper toilet seat covers, to protect themselves from germs.

Inside the pack are 5pcs of folded tissue paper (a bit thicker than your usual tissue paper, designed in the form of a toilet seat). You unfold the paper and spread it over the toilet seat. This ensures that your skin does not touch the seat. Which is a blessing and quite innovative for women and men alike. For a man using a public toilet, you still have to contend with the occassional splash, which can lead to other degenerative disease.

I would definitely be buying this product again once I exhaust what I’m currently using. It’s a life saver for life’s expected emergencies.

On a lighter note, when using these public toilets, do you take note of the scribblings on the door? From people in search of financial assistance to those seeking for Sugar Mommies and Daddies, the list is endless. A higher percentage of these scribblings come from those wishing to render sexual services in return for a standard fee and what amuses me is the boldness these individuals exhibit by scribbling their phone numbers on the door. I mean, what are we turning into?