(Photo courtesy of Tentrr) The Utah Division of Parks and Recreation has teamed up with Tentrr to create 48 campsites across five state parks this season, including East Canyon (pictured). Designed as a bridge between a campsite and a hotel, sites are set away from other campgrounds. They feature an already set-up tent, a queen bed set on a raised platform, chairs and a rudimentary shower and toilet, among other amenities.

The camping options at Utahs state parks can be as colorful as the terrain theyre set in. In addition to loops with standard tent or recreational vehicle spaces, campers can choose more creative ways to sleep near pink sandstone cliffs or thick green forests. Tepees, covered wagons and even hammock structures from which up to eight people can sway each night are on the menu.

We in Utah state parks, we like to be on the cutting edge of state parks, said Mike Long, the concessions program manager for Utahs state parks. We like to try to offer things other states arent offering and adopting.

This year, Utahs Department of Natural Resources is experimenting with yet another option, one that may be perfect for conscientious social distancers.

Starting this week, five of Utahs state parks will install a total of 48 canvas tents at new, often remote, sites. The tents will sit on a raised platform. Inside, campers will find a queen bed frame with a memory foam mattress and a heater. Another six-person pop-up tent will be provided for extra guests, along with Adirondack chairs, a fire pit, grill, picnic table with storage, benches, sun shower, and a camp toilet.

Tentrr, a New York-based company that has sprung up as the Airbnb of camping, will furnish and oversee the tents and equipment. Tentrr has made a business of installing similar setups on private land since 2015. It approached Utahs division of parks and recreation last fall about putting its tents in the states parks in part because of the states reputation for being open to ideas as untamed as the lands it manages.

We were told Utah is ready to try new things and excited to try new things, Tentrr spokesperson Anna Sides said. So we said, Lets do it.

Parks carving out space for the tents include Fred Hayes at Starvation, Steinaker, Red Fleet, East Canyon and Wasatch Mountain State Park. Utah will be the second state to experiment with the ready-made sites. Maine first placed some on its public lands last year.

The sites originally were intended to be a gateway camping option for people who otherwise would stay in hotels either because they dont have camping gear or dont want to hassle with hauling in and setting up the equipment they do have. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, however, they may find a different clientele: those dedicated to sheltering in place but weary of looking at their own walls.

For tent campers, traditional campgrounds can contain a host of coronavirus pitfalls. The distance between sites is often minimal and containing kids into one can feel near impossible. In addition, they typically require the use of communal bathrooms and showers. Such high-touch areas are proven hotspots for spreading the highly contagious virus.

Though they are rudimentary the shower is a solar-heated bag of water that can be hung from a tree and the toilet is a stylized seat connected to a compostable waste bag the Tentrr sites give campers private facilities. Most of the new sites are also billed as more remote, though camp managers in Steinaker near Vernal and East Canyon near Ogden said they are better described as an extension of existing campground loops (which could make those showers really interesting).

In addition, Tentrr is hiring someone at each park to manage the sites and clean them thoroughly, Sides said, from the zipper pulls to the bedposts. She said the tents will sit empty for a day between groups of visitors as an added precaution.

Long said all state park campgrounds are undergoing extra cleanings. Otherwise, now that residency restrictions have been lifted, its business as usual.

As far as actual campgrounds, we havent seen the need yet to make any actual adjustments. Most places are spaced so there is some room, he said. It depends on the new normal going forward, we may have to make some adjustments.

But If people can come, we want to welcome them to.

In the current climate, thats a rare invitation.

Utah is one of just 15 states allowing camping in its state parks, according to the camping website Campendium. Of the six states that border Utah, only Arizona is also welcoming campers. Just five national parks are allowing camping, the Beehive campground at Glen Canyon being the nearest exception. In addition all Army Corp of Engineer campgrounds, nationwide, are closed.

In total, Campendium estimates 40% of all its listed campgrounds, which include many in chain campgrounds, national forests and on BLM lands, have shuttered or delayed opening. Thats down from a high of 46% on April 20.

Last weekend at Red Fleet and Steinaker, revenues were 3.5 times greater than during the same week in 2019, according to Josh Hansen, manager of the two parks. Both campgrounds were at or near capacity and day-users were turned away for a few hours at Red Fleet to comply with restrictions implemented late last month to address high visitation.

This year it was [packed], Hansen said. People wanted to get out. Theyd already been home.

He estimated at least half the people who visited the parks, located about 20 miles from the Colorado border near Dinosaur National Monument, had come from out of state.

Utah will likely continue to see crowds at its parks until other states begin lifting their quarantine orders, or even afterward. Demand for campsites has been on the rise over at least the past five years, increasing 6% between 2017 and 2019. So even if the new ready-made campsites dont provide a secluded getaway, they will at very least relieve some of the pressure.

Long said the tents will be evaluated in 2021. If theyve proved popular, other state parks may install them. If they arent, they will be removed.

The tents can be booked through Tentrr or via the state parks website. With a $140-per-night price tag, compared with $35 for a tepee and $15 for a basic tent site at Red Fleet, though, campers who book them will be paying for the novelty.

Adam Tobey, a co-founder of Arcadia Guided Outdoor Education, which often provides guided excursions to children from lower income families, is skeptical they will make camping more accessible.

I think the idea behind it is in the right area. I am just not sure if it will actually increase access, he said. I feel like most people who can go outside, in terms of having the financial ability to recreate in an outdoor setting, if they want to do it theyll just go to Walmart and buy the tent and sleeping bag and Coleman stove.

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Camping in Utah's state parks may have gotten safer but the upgrade will cost you - Salt Lake Tribune

The Hamptons summer rental season, which traditionally runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, got off to an unusually early and frantic start this spring.

As New York City and the surrounding region closed down in response to the coronavirus, many residents fled to their weekend houses in the Hamptons or signed leases for properties there so they could shelter in place outside the metropolitan area.

Brokers say the result has been a frantic competition for desirable properties, with some renters fearing they could be left out of the market for the first time in years. On the other hand, some of those fears may be tempered by owners who dont typically rent out their homes looking at the market and deciding to jump in.

Sheryl Carlin Jenks, a sales agent at Douglas Elliman, is currently trying to place a dozen customers in seasonal and summer rentals in the South Fork communities that make up the Hamptons, from Westhampton Dunes to Montauk.

People who are looking for seasonal rentals are concerned there will be less rentals for them to choose from because so many rentals started in March or April, Ms. Jenks said. There is not less inventory; there are just more people looking to rent.

While she is still getting calls for the traditional Memorial Day start, many renters wanted to move east by May 1, and numerous people have already extended their leases, she said.

The pace hasnt let up for landlords or agents, with many of these renters new to the Hamptons and quite happy once they are able to settle in.

This is definitely a health crisis, not a real estate crisis, Ms. Jenks said.

In mid-April, when the coronavirus made living in their Manhattan co-op increasingly untenable, Dan and Jessica Aronson and their two sons, ages 8 and 9, decamped to Remsenburg, a hamlet in Southampton with nary a stoplight. They rented a six-bedroom, three-bath house with a hot tub, pool and tennis court sight unseen for $11,000 a month, planning to stay through the end of May.

Late last month, concerned that New York City wouldnt open up enough to enjoy it, Mr. Aronson, 47, who is working remotely in his insurance brokerage job at Marsh & McLennan, extended the lease for another $10,000 to the end of June.

We didnt get to go on our Turks and Caicos trip in mid-March, Mr. Aronson said. A lot of that got turned into this. A week on an island turned into a vacation home for weeks and weeks. Now, with summer camps unlikely to open for their sons, the Aronsons are considering extending through July.

We are absolutely loving it out here, said Mr. Aronson, who is enjoying the novelty of getting in the car and driving to get groceries. I dont know how I will transition back to city life. Not having to go into an elevator to go outside is life-changing.

OutEast.com, a Hamptons portal, reported that nearly five times more renters contacted agents in April than in April 2019. On hamptonsrentals.com, 1,070 rentals are listed for the Memorial Day to Labor Day period, while 271 rental listings appear on mlsli.com, the multiple listing service of Long Island. At the low end, a one-bedroom cottage with a private yard in Westhampton is available for $24,200 from Memorial Day to Labor Day. At the high end, a 10,000-square-foot, nine-bedroom, fully furnished modern oceanfront house with a tennis court in Quogue is asking $1.5 million for the season.

Cody Vichinsky, co-owner of Bespoke Real Estate, reported a feeding frenzy of rental activity, with transactions up 30 percent from last year, including several million-dollar seasonal deals, some for two weeks and others stretching until the end of the year.

We are definitely in a landlords market, Mr. Vichinsky said, with rental agreements frequently exceeding the asking price and homeowners who previously didnt rent their homes jumping in.

Rather than the usual price negotiations, some renters have increased their budgets several times in order to find a rental that worked for all their needs with all the amenities they wanted, said Aimee Fitzpatrick Martin, an associate broker with Saunders & Associates.

For example, Ms. Jenks said that tenants who love the beach usually dont care as much about having a pool, but with the possibility of social distancing measures or closures continuing to affect beaches, people want pools.

Bidding wars have ensued. Susan Breitenbach, an associate broker with Corcoran, had an offer on an oceanfront home for $300,000 for March and April. Before we got the lease, we had another bid for $400,000, she said.

Dottie Herman, chief executive of Douglas Elliman, compared the current market to the one after 9/11, when there was a big surge out here.

The demand will be great and the supply will be limited, she said. We are searching for rentals. They are hard.

That is partly because some locals who usually rent their houses for a month each summer, counting the rent as income, are choosing not to this year, Ms. Herman said.

While many homeowners were pleased to earn extra income for the usually quiet months of April and May, Ms. Martin said, they were also concerned about the possibility of these renters not leaving their home. That was further complicated by the states new moratorium on evictions, which is in place until at least June 20, as well as new rental laws imposed under New Yorks 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. Whereas Hamptons landlords are used to collecting the entire summer tally up front, now they can collect one months rent at a time. And the evictions freeze applies to short-term rentals.

Jill-Mandy Voutta and Carlo Voutta of Jersey City, N.J., were tired of being cooped up in a two-bedroom apartment, and signed a lease to rent a Hamptons house beginning May 1.

Then they learned the previous tenant wasnt going to move out on April 30 as scheduled because of the Covid situation, and because of this they cannot be evicted, said Ms. Voutta, 35, an assistant to an interior decorator. Now I started from zero again, she said, hoping an online listing for a $10,000-a-month, renovated 1930s fishermans shack on Davis Creek in Southampton Town, would pan out instead. In the end it did; the Vouttas made a deal on May 2, and moved in. The price will go up to $12,000 a month in July.

Full-season rentals had been on the wane the past few summers, said Gary DePersia, an associate broker with Corcoran, with renters opting instead for two-week stints, monthly or a la carte rental periods, say, mid-July to mid-August, planned around other summer activities. This summer, everyone has been doing full season, July to Labor Day, Mr. DePersia said.

Typically when brokering a seasonal rental, Mr. DePersia might hear from the homeowner a couple of times over the summer, and after the rental ended. This season, with their usual vacations canceled, landlords are realizing they have to stay home and compete for a place in their own local market.

If they are renting out for $400,000, they want a much cheaper place, Mr. DePersia said.

Lori Shabtai had been planning to spend the summer in Los Angeles with her daughters and granddaughter, so she asked Mr. DePersia to rent out her seven-bedroom, eight-bath, shingle-roof home surrounded by 17 acres of wildlife reserve in Water Mill from July 15 to Labor Day.

Along came Covid-19. The renters asked to move in two months early. Ms. Shabtai agreed, then realized she didnt want to fly or even be in an airport. With her children sheltered in place, she wouldnt be able to visit her granddaughter anyway.

Suddenly in need of her own Hamptons rental, Ms. Shabtai scoured online listings. For $50,000 to $70,000 for the season, she couldnt find a three-bedroom house with a heated pool, at least not in towns I want to live in, she said. Donning a mask, gloves and protective booties, she bucked the virtual route and toured around 30 houses.

It was like, Oh my god, what did I do?, she recalled. I didnt rent this house so I could be spending all the money renting an inferior house, she said. (Though she wouldnt divulge the price, last summer her own home was listed online for rent for $295,000 from July to Labor Day.)

One possible rental lacked a pool heater. Ms. Shabtai offered to put one in, but the owner demurred. Ms. Shabtai moved on, only to learn that the owner installed the heater herself, then jacked up the price by $15,000. Another home, asking $85,000, didnt match the chic online photos, filled instead with dusty furniture from their grandmothers garage.

In late April, Ms. Shabtai found an off-market gem in Southampton, a three-bedroom house decorated beautifully, with a heated pool. Its just perfect and I can bring my elliptical there, she said, declining to reveal the tab.

One of the priciest deals so far this year was for $2 million to rent Sandcastle, the 11.5-acre Bridgehampton estate owned by Joe Farrell, a builder, from the end of March to Labor Day. Besides the bowling alley, golf simulator, skateboarders halfpipe, spa and Jacuzzi on the lower level of the 17,000-square-foot house, the property includes a pool, tennis court and baseball diamond.

Mr. Farrell, who moved his family into a newly completed modern home nearby, said he has rented 10 houses this season, some new builds and others that he rents every year. Despite the financial climate, there wasnt a lot of negotiating, and early renters paid summer prices. Some haggled for gym equipment, pool tables and Ping-Pong tables, he added.

With rentals in short supply and people wanting to go places within driving distance, Ms. Herman of Elliman predicted that people will look to buy.

You will see a surge of homes selling this summer, she said.

Mr. Vichinsky concurred. At the ultra high end, rental prices are up 20 percent over last season: It is cheaper to buy and carry a home than to rent a home because the rental rates have gone so crazy.

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As Summer Nears, the Hamptons Face a Feeding Frenzy - The New York Times

STROLLING HIS REMOTE, 5-acre Seabeck property, where it smells like fresh-cut Christmas every single day, Makoto Imai imparts his craft, and the practiced, intensive process behind it, one structure at a time. Though old, noble trees mark the perimeter in most directions, his home and its scattered outbuildings, technically, are not in the woods. Still, its hard to imagine anywhere more woodsy.

The Backstory:The true story finally comes out for a true master craftsman

Makoto (hed prefer we call him Makoto) is a true master craftsman of traditional Japanese woodworking and construction. He uses no nails, no bolts, no screws just precisely aligned, gorgeous joinery, and hand tools carrying 8,000 years of history that he brought from Japan. Over his 50-year career, Makoto has designed and built homes in Japan, in California, on the East Coast and in Washington including a breathtaking guesthouse in Shoreline and a custom tea room on Bainbridge Island along with stunning, singular pieces of furniture. In his work and in his life they, too, are soundly joined hes been an influential instructor; a visionary designer; a quiet, prolific and constant creator; and, underlying everything, a devoted connoisseur and caretaker of wood.

Makoto lives here among the trees and the wood with his wife, Shoko, who makes her own impactful art and greeting cards out of torn paper. They have three children, all grown, but Makotos nurturing duties continue.

If I have a weekend or a Sunday, Im working and taking out lumber and organizing it, Makoto says. It never ends. From this process to making homes is like a parent raising kids from baby to adult.

This process, of selecting, acquiring and fostering lumber to its prime, begins inside a cavernous 35-by-48-foot storage building stacked as tall as a teenage tree with old, drying wood that needs to grow even older and drier. Makoto calls this his cedar inventory. This wood is aging many years at least 10 years, and most over 10 years, he says, tracing a gentle, masterful hand along beams hes come to know personally over the decades. This cedar, Ive had 20 years. Twenty years! And this stuff I bought from California 30 to 40 years ago. I can feel when this should be ready; you can see cracks. You can see this color. Thats how I can tell.

Next door were touring clockwise more drying wood waits to reach perfection along one side of a giant building Makoto uses for straightening out and squaring up with a portable sawmill. These are the round logs I use for natural, round beams, he says. Ive had them for 20 years no joke. Before conditioning, you have to write on each one how much it curved, how much it twisted. I stack them in this environment with no wind and no sun. Everything I can find out by drying it 15 or 20 years is very important.

Across the flattened-grass driveway, the upper level of a two-story wooden building holds the precious, precise, well-worn tools of Makotos trade, all stamped with his name in Japanese. Downstairs, there is yet more wood (a massive maple slab; a hefty chunk of 1,200-year-old Douglas fir from the Olympic Mountains; material for doors, windows and furniture), and a surfacing machine that does a 6-foot-wide-by-16-foot piece, he says. I can flatten it perfectly, for furniture. And then, filling space after space, the wooden furniture itself: intricate cabinets; an in-progress garden bench shaped like a fan; a tea-ceremony table so many pieces, so substantial, that they continue into the furniture-filled garage of Makotos home and, actually, much of its first floor.

Even the woods surrounding this supremely woodsy setting come into play. Traditional Japanese homes typically use white cedar, Alaskan yellow cedar and Western red cedar, Makoto says. But in the United States, I want to use other wood because I build homes on the West Coast. Sometimes Western maple; sometimes yew wood; sometimes wild cherry, but only for certain, small things. Sometimes Im collecting local rhododendron. My neighbor and I used to go walking; in the shade, I found a rhododendron branch. I want to use that. Anything I see is something special to me.

This is a place of exquisite inspiration and creation, and this is the process of an extraordinary creator. Both place and process are personal, pure and completely authentic.

I have to do everything, because no one makes this that I can buy, Makoto says. In America, I have to, I want to, do everything. Thats why I do this system: so its honest. I want to control it myself the quality. The customer should understand the process.

THE PROCESS BEHIND the Shoreline guesthouse Makoto built took years from start to finish and now, nearly two decades later, he still returns to perform maintenance on its weathering exterior wood. You dont just abandon your kids once theyre on their own, you know.

Situated on a serious 100-foot-high bluff overlooking sparkling Puget Sound, and sited amid Zen gardens and a languid pond on a gated 12-acre estate, the one-bedroom Japanese Sukiya Guesthouse was designed with Cardwell Architectsprimarily as an entertaining space, says the owner, who lived in Japan for 15 months in the 1980s. We have dinners here once or twice a year, for 16 or 20 people.

The owner initially connected with Makoto through one of his apprentices, who had installed a Japanese soaking tub in the main home. Discussing the potential of a guesthouse, the apprentice said, Thats above my level; you need Makoto, says the owner. This is all Makoto.

Typical of Makotos work, the materials are natural: clay tile, concrete foundation, Japanese clay plaster walls. And the wood, of course, is perfection: Alaskan yellow cedar posts, Western red cedar beams, entry stairs with bamboo insets with all wooden joints shaped by hand, by Makoto.

He also built the bamboo fencing and garden structures (Marshall Tyler Rausch Landscape Architects of Pittsburgh, now Pashek+MTR, handled the landscaping). His design eye is just incredible, the owner says. Theres a crooked bridge so bad spirits cant follow you, and the hillside pagoda had been crowded, so we took out the pine. Makoto said, Its not happy there.

Design, wood and skill joyfully blend in the guesthouse, where traditional Japanese elements (tatami mat flooring, an art niche, sliding shoji screens, post-and-beam construction) accommodate some modern design adjustments.

Theres a coat closet, for one thing, and a water heater in the basement, with radiant heat through the floors. The bathtub is Westernized, too, the owner says, as is the kitchen. A Japanese house would have a kitchen half this big, and that would be considered a large kitchen. And in a traditional Japanese country house, no one would have any heat other than open fires.

And then theres the soaring central room a veranda with mesmerizing views wraps three sides the true hub, and purpose, of the guesthouse.

Residential construction in Japan is done around tatami mats, says the owner. Theyre a standard size: a six-tatami mat room, or eight [like the bedroom here]. The tatami mat dictates everything. We have 15 tatami mats in the living room. Would there ever be a house in Japan built like this that a family would live in? No. The living room is three times larger than a house in Japan would have. How many people build a one-bedroom house with an enormous living room? Nobody.

But here, for special dinners prepared by noted restaurant chefs, it is ideal. Turns out the guests are notable, too.

Weve had the Japanese consul here, the owner says. Ichiro was here. Makoto sat next to Ichiro.

LIKE ICHIRO, MAKOTO was born in Japan. Unlike Ichiro, Makoto is nowhere near retired and he is 72.

Makoto grew up in the town of Hida Takayama, the youngest of nine children, and lived in a farmhouse his family has owned for 250 years. When he was 15, he started an apprenticeship (while studying at night school) and then sharpened his skills by repairing temples in Kyoto.

In Japan, says Makoto and Shokos daughter, Mai Imai Berman, Makotos profession is referred to as shokunin(craftsman or artisan) but it wasnt until he came to Berkeley in the 1970s and taught traditional Japanese woodworking (with very limited English) to Western carpenters that he started to receive a massive cult following of Americans wanting to see a glimpse of my dad demonstrating construction without using machinery.

Makoto remembers: That time I came, and wow in Japan, there arent that many people doing this. That was a hippie time [in California]: Many people were interested in Japanese architecture and construction. For them, simple post and beam and simple beauty were a nice feeling.

He built a lot of homes and quite the reputation in the Bay Area, Mai says, continuing to teach and demonstrate woodworking in California and on the East Coast. After two years back in Japan awaiting a permanent visa (he built a Japanese shrine for his parents during that time), Makoto returned to California, lived for 10 years in Weaverville and moved his way up the West Coast.

He says he came to Seabeck 25 years ago for the weather but, of course, it really was for the wood.

Oregon and Washington were a great lumber source, he says. Somehow, my personality wanted to keep shifting north. California was too dry for the tools and wood many cracks. I needed to have moisture.

Mai says not everyone understands why an acclaimed master craftsman would settle in such a secluded little burg. But she gets it. That is sort of the fascinating part to me, she says. He has the privacy and space to store and age the wood, no complaints about workshop sounds, and is living a very authentic Japanese lifestyle in the middle of Seabeck. Hes not in touch with internet/social media and quietly keeps to himself.

And he creates. Still. Always.

The Japanese traditional focus is one thing your whole life, Makoto says. Thats what Im doing: wood and homes. Its been 50 years now, but still I will keep going.

MIDWAY OR SO through Makotos career, 25 years ago, Ron Swanson was teaching English in Japan, where he met his wife, Miki, and was introduced to a ceremonial tradition that continues to influence and enrich their lives, and their home.

At the time, I felt I should learn something about Japanese culture, he says. A couple of students happened to have a friend who wanted to teach chado(the Way of Tea), and I became her first student. I studied in Japan a year and a half, and continued here. My wife decided she wanted to study chado as well; its something we wanted to do together.

When the couple bought property on Bainbridge Island in 2010, Ron says, We always had in mind that wed like to include a chashitsu, a traditional tea room, in the design of our home.

Makoto took it from there.

Connected to the Swansons living room by sliding Western red cedar shoji screens, the peaceful all-wood, 4.5-tatami mat tea-ceremony room Makoto built has a red pine tokobashira (pillar), an adjacent yellow cedar tokonoma (alcove), a closet, a shoji screen window to the outdoors, clay walls and a detachable pendant light that Ron removes during events or chado classes (he now is a teacher).

Its incorporated into our lives, so we use it almost every day, Ron says. We hang a scroll in the tokonoma. For tea, the scroll is most often Zen words, calligraphy, oftentimes written by a Buddhist priest. Also, we place seasonal flowers in the tokonoma something we cut from our garden. When these rooms are used, theyre not static. They change with the seasons. The scroll, the flowers, the utensils for different temae [the careful procedures of chado] are seasonal. Its not as if you were walking into someones living room where the furniture is the same every time. It changes with how you use it and the time of year.

Ron says the most important aspect of chado is to make a good bowl of matcha for your guests. Its roots are in ritual etiquette and Zen monastic life. And thats going back a long time. Its very much connected to the seasons and to nature and to traditional craft.

Appropriate, then, that Makoto and Shoko have visited here, too.

We have developed quite a friendship with Mr. Imai and his wife, Ron says. And one thing that I learned I think this is typical for a lot of craftspeople is that he rarely has the opportunity to experience his buildings or tea rooms being used. Our friendship has remedied that.

OVER TEA AND SANDWICHES at his Seabeck home upstairs, given the furniture-storage status of the entry level Makoto and Shoko share an archive of their lives: hand-bound booklets; a copy of Fine Woodworking magazine featuring Makoto; a colorful stack of Shokos greeting cards; papers and photos chronicling their history, their family, their work and their plans.

Makotos most recent homebuilding project returned him to California this spring San Francisco, specifically where his handcrafted work first earned deep appreciation for its most essential element: simple, beautiful authenticity.

Furniture, though, is his future. Its also simply, beautifully authentic and abundant: a trunk in the entry, a giant cabinet topped with glass so it wont scratch, a massive dining table with a movable base. Makoto might have crafted more than one trunk, and cabinet, and table, but each is one-of-a-kind, because each is crafted by a true craftsman.

Every day, I enjoy working with wood and using my technique with hand tools, he says. The modern way is using machinery, because its easy to produce and make a profit. But in my head, I do not think about money. If I do, my passion for my craft will become lost.

Still, Makoto hopes to sell his handcrafted furniture, so, also by hand, he creates meticulous price sheets on graph paper, with drawings and precise dimensions. Items are numbered, listing their types of wood. He stamps every completed project with his name, and the year it was crafted.

People dont realize: Each piece is laying out by hand and figuring out different joints. Its a process, he says. Each piece is a little different. My furniture is unique even in Japan. Im very unique because most Japanese dont have the patience.

Patience is as vital to Makotos process as are the wood, the creativity, the authenticity and the craftsmanship that fuel it. All rely on growth.

People think Im a master, but for me it doesnt matter, because everyone is the same, he says. The only difference is experience and how much youve got the ideas and the skill. Im still learning.

Sandy Deneau Dunham writes about architecture and design for Pacific NW and is associate editor of the magazine. Reach her at sdunham@seattletimes.com. Steve Ringman is a Seattle Times staff photographer; sringman@seattletimes.com.

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Makoto Imai masters Japanese traditional woodworking and construction in Washington and around the world - Seattle Times

Are you an expectant parent and want to know how to baby proof your home? Check out the expert's guide right here.

When expectant parents are all set to bring home the new-born, most importantly, you want to be sure that the home is securely set up to welcome your little bundle of joy. Parents must note that the best time for baby proofing your personal spaces is long before the baby actually arrives. Most parents and caregivers must comprehend the fact that what exactly is baby-proofing homes and why is it so vital. Baby-proofing is nothing but making your home totally baby-safe to avoid any unwanted hazards encountered by the baby, once he or she starts crawling.

Additionally, it is very difficult to gauge what will the baby get into once he or she starts to crawl, walk and becomes capable of climbing. Hence, it is prudent for new parents to make the home absolutely safe and sound for the baby by safeguarding that whatever he or she might try to open, pull on, or play with won't hurt the baby. Parents-to-be can learn how to baby proof your home room-by-room by leafy through the below mentioned ultimate baby proofing checklist:

Make your home safe normally first:

Before you baby-proof your home, you need to consider how normally safe your house is. You must primarily look into crucial aspects like ensuring your hot-water heater is set below 120 degrees F so that you will refrain from scalding your toddler during bath-time. You will require a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and will want to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on each floor of your home. While redoing your home to suit baby requirements, parents must ensure to place safety gates at the head and foot of your stairs, and seal all the electrical outlets with caps. Make sure to store all the chocking and hazardous substances in airtight containers on high shelves which are above the childs reach.Baby-proofing your living area:

Your baby might spend almost the whole day in the living area. Falls and accidents with furniture are the greatest peril to your baby in this room, so you will definitely want to add cushioned corner guards or appropriate edging to coffee and side tables and redo any sharp-cornered surfaces. Once your baby is capable of standing, he or she might also get the inkling to try to climb on the furniture pieces. Hence, as a precautionary measure, responsible parents must consider moving away from everything from your windows so the baby wont be able to climb up and fall out. Always mount bookshelves to walls so that your toddler will not be able to topple over. You must attach the LCD securely to an entertainment center or table so the baby is unable to pull it down on its own.

Always remember all the knickknacks are fair game for baby's play, so if you want to prevent your kid from touching something, you must store it away. While redesigning your family room for the baby, you can consider incorporating items like cordless blinds because the cords on blinds and curtains are usually strangling hazards for babies, hefty picture hooks to avert picture frames from falling off the wall and most importantly electrical tapes to shield electric cords from coming in contact with the baby.

The next stop should be your kitchen:The process of cooking and cleaning tends to keep you engaged; hence you want to rest assured that your child is not getting into any sort of trouble if you turn your back even for a second. Primarily you must consider reorganizing your kitchen once you have the baby on board. If your lower cabinets comprise of detergent powders and cleaning supplies you must without fail to move them to the top-most ones instead. Bottommost cabinets even if you make use of safety latches should hold things that are safe and sound for baby to scout like harmless plastic containers, paper products and pots and pans that are not heavy.

Even your lowermost kitchen drawers must not encompass any kind of plastic and paper bags which are suffocation hazards, these unsafe items must be moved to the upper drawers so that they are out of reach from the children. Place choking hazards and small items like magnets, up high too. Lastly, you must remember to unplug small appliances when not in use, but never allow the cords to dangle. Your kitchen must definitely have latches for cabinets and drawers that comprise of harmful products. This is necessary because once your baby learns to climb, he can reach out to almost anything. You must invest in stove-knob covers, to stop the baby from turning on the burners along with non-skid pads for rugs to avoid slipping and falling.

Finishing Up with the Bathroom:

Being the most hazardous place when kids are around, in the bathroom too you need to shift harmful products by designing high shelves and ensure to remove all electrical appliances and their cords to evade electrical perils.

Designing your babys room:

While setting up your munchkins room, you will surely require plenty of babyproofing to be done. Most importantly you need to take all steps to secure the babys cradle and ensure if it is meeting all the safety standards. For instance, while designing the cradle you must check that the crib bars must be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart. Always keep in mind till the time the baby is older than 6 months, he could possibly suffocate on the bedding such as pillows and blankets, and you should also make sure his sheets and mattress fit firmly. Additionally, you must consider using UL-listed night-lights and replacement bulbs along with finger-pinch guards for hinges on doors.

Once you have given a tick mark to the bigger aspects while designing your home as per baby requirement, you must now focus on the smaller details. Always ensure to place safety gates at the entrance or exit to any room that will be off-limits to the baby, such as a formal living room. Check your doorstops; many usually have detachable caps that pose a choking risk for babies.

Make use of the above-mentioned baby proofing checklist to facilitate you to keep your new-born safe and sound.

By Hemil Parikh, Founder, Elysium Abodes LLP

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What are the essential ways to have baby proof homes? Expert reveals - PINKVILLA

As we head into cooler weather, here are some key tips on how to create a warm, dry home while keeping costs down and caring for the planet.

Reduce your shower time to 4 mins and install an efficient showerhead

Taking a short shower with an efficient showerhead not only conserves water it can save the average Auckland household (with mains pressure hot water) up to $1000/year* on water and power bills. Look for an efficient shower head with a 3-star water rating and choose your favourite 4-minute song to shower to.

Ensure your home is well insulated

Upgrading home insulation will stop heat escaping, keep you warmer and could save up to $400/year on energy bills.

As a simple rule of thumb, if you can see the ceiling joists inside the roof cavity you need to top up your ceiling insulation. Old foil underfloor insulation should be replaced by more effective bulk insulation. You can install some types of insulationyourself, or talk to an expert about what is best for your home.

Find out more on insulating your home at Live Lightly and see if you qualify for an EECA Warmer Kiwi Homes grant here.

Replace your lights with LEDs

LED light bulbs use up to 80 per cent less energy than incandescent bulbs, while producing the same amount of light, and last much longer. Over their lifetime, you can save $290 for every standard 100W bulb replaced by an LED. If you have CFL or Halogen bulbs, replacing these with LEDs can also generate good savings.

If you have downlights installed prior to 2012, or if you can replace the bulb in them, change them to modern LED downlight fittings that can have insulation fitted over them. For every 1cm gap in insulation, you can lose up to 30 per cent of insulation performance.

Improve your curtains and blinds

Double-layer floor-length curtains with a close-fitting track can work as effectively as double glazing on your windows to retain heat and reduce your energy bills. Lined and well-fitted roman blinds or honeycomb blinds also keep the heat in well.

To get the most from your curtains/blinds, open them fully during the day and close at dusk. The energy from the sun coming through an average-sized north-facing window is equivalent to running a panel heater in winter.

Stop draughts

Draught stopping is easy to do yourself using various products from hardware stores and can save up to $70/year. V profile or double round draught stopping is good for sealing around windows and doors. For draughts under doors use a brush strip or a door snake.

Make small changes to your laundry routine

Save money on your power bills by washing clothes once you have a full load, in cold water and using the line to dry them. The average New Zealand household could save up to $130/year by taking these actions.

If necessary, finish drying clothes in an externally vented drier for a short time rather than making your home damp by drying clothes on a rack inside. This can mean you wont need to use a dehumidifier for many hours to remove damp remove moisture thats escaped into the room.

Insulate your hot water cylinder and pipes

Hot water cylinders older than 2003 arent insulated very well and should have a cylinder wrap and pipe lagging around the first 1-2m of pipe coming out of the cylinder. Your cupboard will still be warm and dry for storing linen and you could save up to $80/year on your energy bills.

Choose efficient home heating

Heating your home efficiently could save up to $350/year. A heat pump can provide three to four times more heat per unit of electricity compared to a plug-in heater and is a more efficient way to heat living areas. Set your heat pump to 18-21 C, as each degree higher increases energy usage by 10%. Also cleaning your heat-pump filters twice a year avoids filters getting clogged and using more power to run.

Plug-in electric heaters are okay for small rooms that are not occupied for long periods of time, but otherwise can be expensive to run.

The World Health Organisation recommends a daily minimum temperature of 18C (20C for children/elderly) and nightly minimum 16C (18C for children/elderly).

Install an energy-efficient hot water system

You could save upto $500 a year by installing a solar hot water system or hot water heat pump.

A solar hot water system (solar thermal) gives you free hot water in the summer but requires a boost in the winter from electricity, gas or a wetback. Hot water heat pumps deliver energy savings year-round and can be retrofitted to an existing cylinder, or as an all-in-one system.

If you add solar panels to your roof, an electric hot water cylinder or hot water heat pump can act like a battery to store the energy generated in the form of hot water, for later use.

Get personalised home performance advice

Complete your own free Homefit online check to make sure youve covered all bases to create a healthy, safe and efficient home. This includes the optional step of hiring an independent assessor to look over your home and certify if it meets the Homefit standard.

Auckland Council also provides free personalised and impartial home performance advice. Virtual home visits are available during the lockdown period. Our home performance advisor will work with you to find the right options for your home and budget. This advice is free to Auckland residents, whether you are a homeowner, landlord or tenant.Book your session today here.

Inspired to find out more about how you can save money and have a warmer, drier, healthier home? Visit Live Lightly for more ideas and advice.

*Saving estimate based on saving in electricity and water costs for a 3 person household with shower flow rate of 12L/min reducing to 9L/m, and reducing shower time from 10mins to 4min

All other savings are estimates based on a 100m2 Auckland home with average insulation and typical heating patterns, for a 3 person household.

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10 ways to keep warm, save money and care for the planet this winter - OurAuckland

I recently attended the Leap Year birthday party of my great-niece. As I took in all the details of her frog-themed party with all of its adorable, mom-crafted decorations I couldnt help but feel a little surge of pride in my nephew.

I watched as he patiently (and repeatedly) saved his 2-year-old daughter from tipping over her chair, dispensed swamp water (green punch) to the guests and wheeled out the birthday girls crowning gift: a tiny bicycle with a booster seat in the back for Kenzies dolls.

I also marveled over how overwhelmingly feminine his household is, with a wife and two girly daughters. Even the family dog is dainty a tiny, white dog with ribbons in her soft, floppy ears.

I know he loves his family and home more than life itself, but I also wondered if he ever felt outnumbered. After all, this is a guy who loves John Deere, fixing engines and buying anything with wheels, yet his life is spent perching at tiny tables and drinking Lilliputian cups of tea, watching Frozen repeatedly and helping daughters put plastic high heels on their Minnie Mouse dolls.

Maybe thats why he also occasionally bought Tonka earth-moving equipment for his daughters. Or looked so proud when Kenzie corrected her grandma by telling her this new toy was a backhoe, not a tractor.

Such is life for fathers with daughters. Even the most macho of men will soon find himself awash in a sea of estrogen.

I wondered if he ever asked for pointers from my dad, who not only had four daughters, but was raised in a household with three sisters. Just in case he hasnt, it seems like a good time to warn him of what lies ahead. As a daughter, sister, aunt and great-aunt, I feel fully qualified to share what Ive observed.

ARCHIVE: Read more of Tammy Swift's columns

Readers can reach columnist Tammy Swift at tswiftsletten@gmail.com.

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Swift: The things that dads with daughters know - Brainerd Dispatch

When the 12 China-based employees of private-label sock manufacturer PAC-MFG return to their office on Monday after a two-week quarantine of the city of Haining, things will be a little different. Buses and trains are hot spots for transmission of the coronavirus, sothe company has conscripted its in-house driver to pick up car-less workers and ferry staff around the city for quality-control inspections. PAC-MFG also will hand out ear thermometers and require employees toreport their temperatures through a new company social media group. Even the bathroom has changed.Most sinks in China dispense only cold water.PAC-MFG just installed a water heater to amp up the disinfectant power of hand washing.

The coronavirus, which is pummeling stock markets and kinking supply chains worldwide, is particularly dangerous for small-to-midsize businesses, which tend to operate on shorter lead times and have all their manufacturing eggs in the China basket, says Hitendra Chaturvedi, a professor of supply chain management at Arizona State University. "I believe if the coronavirus impact goes beyond March, many SMEs will have to shut shop," Chaturvedi says. Even small companies without direct exposure to Asia are threatened as the epidemic rushes west and the potential for employees to get sick increases.So now smart small-and-midsize-company leaders are trying to mitigate the coronavirus risk with a variety of tactics, such as conserving working capital, crafting work-at-home policies, and communicating frequently with vendors and customers.

Some businesses have designated point people--coronavirus czars, in effect--to oversee their efforts. At PAC-MFG, which in addition to its China workforce employs six people at its San Diego headquarters, that person is the assistant to CEO and founder Harold Robison. The CEO's assistant "is looking at anything we can do to reduce exposure that doesn't affect mission-critical work--even if there is a little extra cost," says Robison, who anticipates the epidemic will ding 2020 revenues by about 15 percent. "We are expecting to overreact the first month."

Director of technology Ryan Dolley acts as coronavirus specialist at PMsquare, a 33-employee data and analytics company in Oak Brook, Illinois. Dolley posts updates about the virus's spread on Slack; another employee created a dashboard there tracking such data as rates of infection and mortality, to keep staffers informed.

On Dolley's recommendation, the leadership team recently drew up a list of infectious disease outbreak policies, such as the temperature above which employees must stay home (100.4 degrees) and what to do if someone falls ill while traveling. The team also created an additional benefit allowing for sick days that don't count as paid time off. Employees are required to check off every item on the list to indicate they've reviewed it. "We used CDC's guidelines and customized them for our business," says Dustin Adkison, PMsquare's managing partner. "We've also bought hand sanitizers for the whole office and asked the cleaning crew to begin doing surface area sanitation instead of just wiping things down."

Of course many companies already have work-from-home policies. But those aren't helpful when staffers are too groggy to peck at a laptop. MBX Systems, a 180-employee company in Libertyville, Illinois, which makes hardware for applications ranging from flight simulation to surveillance, got a taste of that months ago during a two-week period when15 engineers succumbed to the flu. Fortunatelythe company has a well-thought-out contingency plan that chief strategy officer Justin Formella says should protect it if the coronavirus breaches its walls.

Leaders at MBX have assessed the minimum staffing levels required for each department and identified employees who have been cross-trained to fill in for those functions.The company also determines what work will be eliminated or deferred if staffing levels drop. "You might decide to cut new initiatives and go into a sustaining posture," Formella says. "It should be automatic that if today we only have five people instead of 10, everyone knows that these are the things we will focus on."

Maintaining supply

Supply chains, which take time to diversify, present a more daunting problem.MBX sources raw materials and components from many vulnerable countries in Asia. Starting in mid-January, the company began rapidlybuilding up inventory and working with customers to do the same,urging them to forecast out to the second quarter and beyond. MBX has also been firm with suppliers about reserving its spot in line to buy new inventory as it is produced. "We have to do this in advance of the shortages, which at this point are anywhere between now and four weeks away," Formella says.

A 25-year-old, $100 million company like MBX has sufficient sway with suppliers to get much of what it needs. A fragile startup with no employees does not. Mike Bradford, founder of Atlanta-based Wonderflle has been producing irons customized to make stuffed waffles out of two factories near Shanghai for less than a year, and selling out each run. He was waiting until March to place his next order and now is not sure whether the manufacturers will accommodate his scant volume.

Bradfordsays he will consider moving operationsshould problems spill into the summer. Fortunately hearranged Chinese production through a contract manufacturing service that has partnerships in India and other countries. That should make any transition easier. "If it looks like there will be significant delays, they will help me as far as moving materials to another location," Bradford says. "But I have spent a year learning how things work in China, and in India I would have to rebuild."

Jennifer Randklev can't afford to wait and see what happens. Randklev is CEO of the second-generation family business Penguin Patch Holiday Shop, a Fort Worth, Texas, company with revenue under $10 million that provides materials for gift-selling events at schools. With 100 percent of revenue dependent on a few weeks in December and 100 percentof products coming from China, the business has no margin for error. Randklev had planned to visit China in February to finalize packaging and approve production samples at many of the 15 factories in Ningbo where she manufactures. But the factories told her not to come. Things were bad.

Production in China typically takes 60 days for a company like Penguin. Randklev anticipates that stretching to 90 days or longer. Worried about future delays and complications, she decided to move her entire production process up six weeks. "I have dropped all other aspects of my business just to work on placing my orders with China" as soon as possible, she says. Those orders are basedin parton Penguin's existing inventory, comprising thousands of items not sold in its holiday shops last year. Normally employees have until the end of March to conduct a count of all those products, but this yearRandklev had to hireadditional workers to get it done faster. With staffing agency fees, the 10 or so extra hands cost her at least $50,000. But they finished the inventory early this week, increasing the odds she'll get the shipments in time for holiday customers.

Keeping customers informed

Anticipating shortages forCool Beauty Consulting, a 22-employee supplier and consultant serving salons and barbershops, founder Bennie Pollard hasbeenpadding his usual 45-day inventory of hair colors, shampoos, and shears to 60 days. His other Louisville, Kentucky-based business,Nova Salons,facesa different problem. "Hairdressing is a very intimate and touchy industry," Pollard says. "So you have to let the customer base know you are very much involved in increased sanitation."

To do that, last Thursday Nova emailed several thousand customers talking up his two salons' existing cleanliness practices, which are being reinforced with beefed-up training, and enhancements like additional hand-sanitation stations. The note includes a list of personal best practices ("Don't share food or drinks. Cough and or sneeze into your elbow") and also politely asks anyone who feels ill to reschedule their appointments, to "protect our staff and all our lovely clients."

"Service businesses already do some preventative measures around things like cleanliness well," Pollard says. "So there is a slight marketing benefit to reminding customers: We care."

Published on: Mar 2, 2020

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The Coronavirus Could Be Devastating to Small Businesses. Here's How Some Companies Are Fighting Back - Inc.com

There's energy efficiency innovation going on right here in Milwaukee. Some of the innovators got to meet potential investors last night. WUWM's Chuck Quirmbach reports.

Some entrepreneurs see profits in renewable energy and energy efficiency products. But early-stage companies often need money to keep innovating. An annual competition held in Milwaukee Tuesday night gave seven firms a chance to show off what they do and meet more potential investors.

The event took place at the Midwest Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC), which is a collaboration of several Wisconsin universities andcompanies. It aims to make the Midwest the leader in energy and the controls needed to use the power more efficiently.

Part of M-WERC's mission is talent development, through its WERCBench Labs Accelerator program that offers young energy firms advice, and lab and testing space. Seven entrepreneurs gave presentations at M-WERC's offices on N. 27th Street on Tuesday.

Joe Bonniwell is of the firm CLOCworks. He touted his company's software, which he says can help businesses optimize energy efficiency.

"An example of a pattern our system might find would be how much energy a site's heating and cooling system would use to keep the indoor temperature of a building at a certain level, given a particular outdoor temperature, Bonniwell said.

Ashray Manur is with Elektrifi Technologies. He promoted his company's small-scale microgrids. Microgridsare electricity networks that serve just a few users and are often powered by renewable energy.

"In the event of an extended blackout, families should be able to produce their own energy," Manur said.

Killian Tobin says his firm, Omega Grid, has software that will help citizens and businesses use less electricity when prices are high and more when prices are low.

"Our system we're working with will work with anything from a campus, all the way down to a smart switch, Tobin said.

A smart switch is a light switch with added features that help automate a home.

Elad Wallach is with the company Steam Energy Labs, which has created a thermostat for electric residential water heaters. He says that can reduce electricity use from power plants.

"Your water heater can help get rid of fossil sources by simply heating water in a smarter way, Wallach said.

But all four of those firms came up short of prizes in the M-WERC competition.

Third place went to Accelerate Wind. Founder Erika Boeing says her company is developing affordable wind turbines for commercial building rooftops.

We've found that wind has the potential to add 30% additional energy generation on top of solar capacity when installed alongside solar," Boeing said.

The second-place finisher was Mesodyne. CEO Veronika Stelmakh says they are making hand-sized generators that can give more power to items like drones.

"Everything is changing thanks to drones, but drones are limited in their flight time," Stelmakh explained.

A panel of judges gave first place to the Milwaukee firm Agricycle, formerly called Blue Mangoes. The company's Claire Friona says they make a dehydrator that reduces food waste.

Our dehydrator is special because they work entirely off the sun, with no electricity involved," Friona said.

All the companies showcased at M-WERC have something in common: they're seeking more investors. But M-WERC CEO Alan Perlstine says almost all of the firms taking part in the five years of WERCBench Labs are still open.

"Win lose or draw, leveraging multiple early-stage startups is one way to rapidly jumpstart and leverage science and technology," Perlstine said, adding that some of these companies may be game-changers.

That's in a world many scientists say needs to become greener,or face more challenges brought by climate change.

Support for Innovation reporting is provided by Dr. Lawrence and Mrs. Hannah Goodman.

Do you have a question about innovation in Wisconsin that you'd like WUWM's Chuck Quirmbach to explore? Submit it below.

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Innovative Companies Offer Energy-Saving Products At Milwaukee Competition - WUWM

This contemporary Villa sits on a zero-lot-line in the sought-after gated Silverado Highlands Community. From the aesthetically pleasing modern white kitchen with new quartz counters, new Wolf gas cooktop, built-in refrigerator, and walk-in pantry to a bright spacious living area with built-in desk, cabinets and fireplace, there is plenty of room to enjoy this special haven. Recent updates include freshly painted interior and exterior, new front porch tile, new exterior lights, new glass in all windows for picturesque views, a new sliding door for easy access to the sizable tiled deck, gas BBQ hookup, and panoramic views. A generously sized master suite on the main level includes a fireplace, two vanities with marble counters, a walk-in shower, jetted tub, and walk-in closet. The downstairs offers a private setting, perfect for visiting houseguests, complete with bedrooms and a bath, along with a spacious room suitable as a family room, fitness room, hobby, or wine storage room.

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39 Homes Recently Listed in the Napa Valley | Home and Garden - Napa Valley Register

Wow! Home is situated on double lot overlooking golf course & pond in desirable Aberdeen neighborhood in the gated section. 6-beds, 5-baths and has a 3.5 car garage w/ extra loft storage in garage. Covered porch w/ outdoor kitchen, screened in porch w/ wood burning fireplace, walk-out lower level leads to fire pit w/stream. Walk through the door & you will be in awe of the open-concept great room w/steel/stone fireplace, cathedral ceiling w/beams, wet-bar, & wood floors throughout that opens to the dining & kitchen features wood ceiling, professional appliances, island, granite, walk-in pantry, stone, & barrel brick ceiling. Main level also has finished laundry room, office, main guest/bath. Master suite feat. sitting area, huge walk in closet, en suite bath w/ sauna, whirlpool tub, & walk-in shower. Walk out basement w/12-14ft ceilings, great rm, game rm, grand bar, exercise rm, wine cellar. 3 bedrooms upstairs. Home equipped w/ sprinklers, smart tech, and much more!

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24 of the Most Expensive Homes for Sale in Northwest Indiana - nwitimes.com