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OKA Direct
OKA (also known as OKA Direct) is a British furniture and home accessories retailer founded in 1999 by Annabel Astor, Sue Jones, and Lucinda Waterhouse and owned by Investindustrial. OKA has 14 shops across the UK, together with British and American websites and a catalogue business. History OKA started as a mail-order company in 1999, before opening its first shop in 2000. Annabel Astor, her sister-in-law Sue Jones, and friend Lucinda Waterhouse sell products primarily from the Far East. The initial product range was 'rattan' for the first OKA catalogue – which was photographed in Jane Churchill and Bruce Oldfield's homes – followed by painted wooden furniture, alongside replicas of 18th-century blue and white porcelain and a range of Chinoiserie furniture. OKA has two flagship shops in the UK that house the entire collection: Froxfield, an 8,000 sq. ft showroom and a smaller garden room, is between Hungerford and Marlborough; London's Fulham Road opened in 2010 with thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retailer
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for a profit. Retailers are the final link in the supply chain from producers to consumers. Retail markets and shops have a very ancient history, dating back to antiquity. Some of the earliest retailers were itinerant peddlers. Over the centuries, retail shops were transformed from little more than "rude booths" to the sophisticated shopping malls of the modern era. In the digital age, an increasing number of retailers are seeking to reach broader markets by selling through multiple channels, including both bricks and mortar and online retailing. Digital technologies are also affecting the way that consumers pay for goods and services. Retailing support services may also include the provision ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annabel Astor
Annabel Lucy Veronica Astor, Viscountess Astor (, formerly Sheffield; born 14 August 1948), is an English businesswoman and socialite who is the CEO of OKA, a home furnishings design company. Before co-founding OKA, she was the owner and designer of the Annabel Jones jewellery business in London. Her daughter Samantha is married to former British prime minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron. Background She is the daughter of Timothy Angus Jones and his wife, Patricia David Pandora Clifford. She was educated at Lycée Français de Londres. Her mother was married secondly in 1961 to the Hon. Michael Langhorne Astor, based in London. Her paternal grandparents were Sir Roderick Jones, the Chairman of Reuters, and the novelist Enid Bagnold. Her mother Patricia was the daughter of the Hon. Sir Bede Edmund Hugh Clifford, GCMG, CB (son of William Hugh Clifford, 10th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, a descendant of King Charles II of England) by his wife Alice Devin Gundry. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furniture is also used to hold objects at a convenient height for work (as horizontal surfaces above the ground, such as tables and desks), or to store things (e.g., cupboards, shelves, and drawers). Furniture can be a product of design and can be considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. It can be made from a vast multitude of materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflects the local culture. People have been using natural objects, such as tree stumps, rocks and moss, as furniture since the beginning of human civilization and continues today in some households/campsites. Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Home Accessories
Home accessories are furniture items which are easy to replace and easy to move, and include almost any items that are not strictly functionally necessary in a decorated space. These accessories include such items as curtains, sofa sets, cushions, tablecloths and decorative arts, decorative craft products, decorative wrought iron, and so on. These items are commonly used in indoor furnishings and layout and can include cloth items, paintings, and houseplant, plants. The first thing that matters when it comes to sofas with back support is the type of the sofa. Namely, there are plenty of different Window seat (type of sofa), types of sofas on the market, but, not all of them are for back support. Anyway, here are some of the best sofas for back support. * Recliner sofa * Chesterfield sofa * Massage sofa Home accessories, as movable decorations, reflect the owner's taste and create a personal atmosphere where they are placed. These items can break the boundaries of the traditional de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annabel Astor, Viscountess Astor
Annabel Lucy Veronica Astor, Viscountess Astor (, formerly Sheffield; born 14 August 1948), is an English businesswoman and socialite who is the CEO of OKA, a home furnishings design company. Before co-founding OKA, she was the owner and designer of the Annabel Jones jewellery business in London. Her daughter Samantha is married to former British prime minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron. Background She is the daughter of Timothy Angus Jones and his wife, Patricia David Pandora Clifford. She was educated at Lycée Français de Londres. Her mother was married secondly in 1961 to the Hon. Michael Langhorne Astor, based in London. Her paternal grandparents were Sir Roderick Jones, the Chairman of Reuters, and the novelist Enid Bagnold. Her mother Patricia was the daughter of the Hon. Sir Bede Edmund Hugh Clifford, GCMG, CB (son of William Hugh Clifford, 10th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, a descendant of King Charles II of England) by his wife Alice Devin Gundry. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruce Oldfield
Bruce Oldfield, OBE (born 14 July 1950) is a British fashion designer, best known for his couture occasionwear. Notable clients have included Sienna Miller, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Diana Ross, Emmanuelle Seigner, Rihanna, Kelly Brook, Taylor Swift, Elizabeth McGovern, Rosamund Pike, Anjelica Huston, Faye Dunaway, Jacqueline Jossa, Melanie Griffith, Charlotte Rampling, Jerry Hall, Joan Collins, Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Noor of Jordan, Queen Camilla, Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar and Queen Rania of Jordan. Early life Oldfield was brought up and educated in the care of children's charity, Barnardo's (his father, whom he never knew, had migrated to Britain from Jamaica). Between the ages of 1 and 13, Oldfield was placed in foster care where he was brought up by a seamstress who sparked his love for designing and making clothes. In 1963, age the age of 13, Oldfield moved to West Mount, a Dr Barnardo's Children's Home, in Ripon. Four years later, Oldfield moved out o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinoiserie
(, ; loanword from French ''wikt:chinoiserie#French, chinoiserie'', from ''wikt:chinois#French, chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of China, Chinese and other East Asia, East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre, and music. The aesthetic of Chinoiserie has been expressed in different ways depending on the region. Its acknowledgement derives from the current of Orientalism, which studied Far East cultures from a historical, philological, anthropological, philosophical and religious point of view. First appearing in the 17th century, this trend was popularized in the 18th century due to the rise in trade with China and the rest of East Asia. As a style, chinoiserie is related to the Rococo style. Both styles are characterized by exuberant decoration, asymmetry, a focus on materials, and stylized nature and subject matter that focuses on leisure and pleasure. Chinoiserie focu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Froxfield
Froxfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The parish is on the Wiltshire-West Berkshire border, and the village lies on the A4 national route about west of Hungerford and east of Marlborough. Froxfield village is on a stream that is a tributary of the River Dun. The road between London and Bristol follows the valley of the stream and passes through the village, having followed this course since at least the 13th century. The Kennet and Avon Canal follows the Dun valley through Froxfield parish, passing within of the village. The canal has a series of locks in the parish, from Oakhill Down Lock to Froxfield Bottom Lock. The Reading to Taunton railway line also follows the river through the parish below the village. Archaeology There used to be three bowl barrows in the south-west part of the parish, close to the boundary with Chisbury parish. These suggest human occupation in the area some time in the Neolithic or Bronze Age. In 1725 the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fulham Road
Fulham Road is a street in London, England, which comprises the A304 and part of the A308. Overview Fulham Road ( the A219) runs from Putney Bridge as "Fulham High Street" and then eastward to Fulham Broadway, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, through Chelsea to Brompton Road Knightsbridge which continues to the A4 in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is designated the A304 as far as its junction with the A308 road at Gunter Grove, where the A308 then forms the eastern section of the street. Fulham Road is roughly parallel to King's Road, from Fulham Palace. There are numerous antique dealers and specialist interior furnishing shops, while designer couture outlets have begun to arrive at the eastern end. The section nearest the cinema is known as The Beach, and is home to various trendy bars, pubs and clubs. The nearest underground stations are: South Kensington and Gloucester Road. Fulham Road is known for the following landmarks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selfridges
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed flagship store on London's Oxford Street is the second-largest shop in the UK (after Harrods) and opened on 15 March 1909. Other Selfridges stores opened in the Trafford Centre (1998) and Exchange Square (2002) in Manchester, and in the Bullring in Birmingham (2003). In the 1940s, smaller provincial Selfridges stores were sold to the John Lewis Partnership, and in 1951, the original Oxford Street store was acquired by the Liverpool-based Lewis's chain of department stores. Lewis's and Selfridges were then taken over in 1965 by the Sears Group, owned by Charles Clore.subscription required Expanded under the Sears Group to include branches in Manchester and Birmingham, the chain was acquir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as of 2012 had approximately 300 shops. It is designated as part of the A40, a major road between London and Fishguard, though it is not signed as such, and traffic is regularly restricted to buses and taxis. The road was originally part of the Via Trinobantina, a Roman road between Essex and Hampshire via London. It was known as Tyburn Road through the Middle Ages when it was notorious for public hangings of prisoners at Tyburn Gallows. It became known as Oxford Road and then Oxford Street in the 18th century, and began to change from residential to commercial and retail use by the late 19th century, attracting street traders, confidence tricksters and prostitution. The first department stores in the UK opened in the early 20th century, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. The town was a spa in the Restoration and a fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Beau Nash when the Pantiles, and its chalybeate spring, attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town still derives much of its income from tourism. The town has a population of around 56,500, and is the administrative centre of Tunbridge Wells Borough and in the parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells. History Iron Age Evidence suggests that Iron Age people farmed the fields and mined the iron-rich rocks in the Tunbridge Wells area, and excavations in 1940 and 1957–61 by James Money at High Rocks uncovered the remains of a defensive hill-fort. It is tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
