A BROKE mum became a millionaire after coming up with her own baby mat idea while on maternity leave - starting a company now worth £3m (US$4m). Mum-of-two Alana Hands, 41, saw a need for nicer looking, and safer, foam play mats for her kids after spending $300 (£169/US$240) on a "very ugly" design which led to her son's injury. When her first child Chloe was born in 2013, she purchased the pricey foam mat with pull-out letters which she also used three years later for her second baby, Rupurt. But Alana, from Brisbane, Australia, said she'd turned away for a minute and in that time he'd "pulled he puzzle pieces apart", fell forward and hurt his head. That's when she got the idea to create her own, and within just 30 minutes of launching a website she'd sold her first one - which led her to rake in over $200k (£113K/US$160k) in the first year alone. Alana told her story to Kidspot: “Rupert was six months old, trying to crawl on our ABC playmat and he’d pulled the … [Read more...] about I was a broke new mum when I came up with a genius baby mat idea – now my company is worth £3m
Corporate travel new york
Barbados invites Brits to work from home on its beaches for a year with new visa
Working from home could be about to get a whole lot more glamorous thanks to Barbados! That's because the Caribbean island has launched a new visa specifically for remote workers - meaning you could go and do your job while making the most of its beaches. The new '12-month Barbados Welcome Stamp' is valid for stays up until a year, and the best part is that you can choose to come alone or bring your family. Basically, if you've always dreamed of living on a Caribbean island but you don't want to pack in your job, this could be the ideal solution. After all, you'd have ample opportunity to explore the dreamy hotspot whether you're after fun things to do with the kids or want to try some of the best adventures to be had on the island . Oh, and then of course there are those utterly incredible beaches Barbados is renowned for, with white sands, turquoise waters and breathtaking scenery. You can already apply for the visa on the Welcome Stamp website . Fees cost … [Read more...] about Barbados invites Brits to work from home on its beaches for a year with new visa
YouTube adds genius new ‘Supervised’ mode for parents with app-addicted kids and teens
YOUTUBE is launching a PG version of its service so adult's can take more control of what older children watch. The new 'Supervised’ mode should appear in the account options section later this year in over 80 countries. It's aimed at parents of tweens or teens who think their child has outgrown YouTube Kids but don't want them to see the full blown weird world of YouTube just yet. Parents will need to set up the account for their child. The child won't be able to post videos or comments and various content filters can be applied. James Beser, YouTube’s director of product management for kids and family, said on a blogpost: "We’ve heard from parents and older children that tweens and teens have different needs, which weren’t being fully met by our products. "As children grow up, they have insatiable curiosity and need to gain independence and find new ways to learn, create and belong." Supervised accounts will first launch in the beta version of YouTube. … [Read more...] about YouTube adds genius new ‘Supervised’ mode for parents with app-addicted kids and teens
‘Junk’ art stash may yield multi-million dollar masterpieces
New York gallery owner David Killen believes he has uncovered six paintings by Dutch-American abstract master Willem de Kooning, which — if verified — could be worth tens of millions of dollars. The works were part of a stash of artworks that languished in a storage locker in New Jersey until the dealer offered $15,000 for the lot. Killen is confident that a painting by legendary Swiss modernist Paul Klee is also among the artistic flotsam. A worthwhile investment A de Kooning canvas, "Untitled XXV" (pictured top), sold for a record $66.3 million (€56.7 million) at Christie's in 2016 , while another sold privately for a reported $300 million in 2015 — as part of a $500 million sale that include a Jackson Pollock painting. Killen estimates the discovered works could sell for between $10,000 and $10 million when they are auctioned late this year and early the next. He is planning to unveil the paintings Tuesday at a party in New York. Willem de Koonings works have … [Read more...] about ‘Junk’ art stash may yield multi-million dollar masterpieces
Spain tourist hotspots see more Brits booking this week than ‘in the history of tourism’ due to pent up demand
BRITS are booking more holidays to Spain in the past week than in the "history of tourism" according to hoteliers. Toni Mayor, President of the Valencian Hotel Association (HOSBEC) said that the soaring demand was following pent up demand from UK holidaymakers who have missed out on previous holidays due to the pandemic. While he didn't have exact figures, he told local media that the reservations were being made on a "massive scale" to areas in Valencia which includes Benidorm. This is despite the UK government yet to give an official date for when foreign holidays can resume. The announcement, due to be on April 12, is expected to be for the summer with May 17 the earliest possible date, although is more likely to be June 21. Mr Mayor said, due to bookings already rolling in: "We might open on May 1 instead of May 17." Jet2 Holidays all-inclusive holidays in June from £455pp Jet2 Holidays self-catering holidays in June from £299pp EasyJet Holidays … [Read more...] about Spain tourist hotspots see more Brits booking this week than ‘in the history of tourism’ due to pent up demand