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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Scandinavian Glass => Topic started by: Pinkspoons on April 10, 2007, 01:38:47 PM

Title: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 10, 2007, 01:38:47 PM
Just to let folk know that the site finally has a domain name proper, rather than being tucked away in a sub-folder of my shop.

The label & signature pages are still the only working pages so far, but others should start to appear over the coming weeks. So until then, courage!  ;D

New site - www.holmegaardresource.com
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Max on April 10, 2007, 02:03:51 PM
Nic:  Master of the drop-down shadow.   ;) :D

Nice work Nic, I look forward to seeing it when it's finished.  :)

Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 10, 2007, 02:45:42 PM
It'll never be finished - I've a combined 274 years of history and glass from two factories to cover (more if I eventually incorporate Hellerup and Odense who merged with Kastrup in the 1920s) - but it will gradually be less unfinished.  ;D
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: David E on April 10, 2007, 03:34:18 PM
Nic, I thought this deserved proper exposure in the Glass section, rather than languishing in the Cafe. Far too important ;)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 10, 2007, 03:49:39 PM
It won't be anything like important (or particularly useful) for a good long while yet!  Currently it's little more than a couple of pages with some sketchy dates for labels.  :-[

I just thought that they may come in handy for someone in the meanwhile, even if the dates are still quite broad.  :)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pip on April 10, 2007, 04:15:45 PM
Nic, well done for getting the site started and the work you've done so far - it looks amazing.  I'm certain it will become an invaluable resource for many, including me, and I'll organise a mention and credit on my website ASAP.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 10, 2007, 07:00:48 PM
Thanks Pip, but could you hold off until there are a few more pages on the site - or put a small note by it to say that it's in development - most of the links don't lead anywhere yet, and I don't want too many folk getting grumpy!  ;D

I really should put holding pages at the end of the links, rather than having them lead nowhere, I know! It's just finding the time.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pip on April 10, 2007, 07:04:43 PM
No problem Nic - when you feel your site is at a stage you're comfortable with let me know and I'll add it in.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 10, 2007, 07:06:29 PM
Ah, when I've at least a handful of glass bits at the end of each link should be fine. I'll let you know.  ;D
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Brum on April 11, 2007, 01:20:20 AM
Are there any other Holmegaard sites like this around (in English)?
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 11, 2007, 05:24:56 AM
Not even a basic one, to the best of my knowledge - hence why I'm doing my own site.

This excellent Danish site covers Holmegaard and Kastrup, amongst others - and it's not too challenging to follow:
http://www.glashistoriskselskab.dk/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=1
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Brum on April 11, 2007, 05:35:06 PM
Ta  ;)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 24, 2007, 11:04:19 AM
Just a bit of consumer research...

I'm putting together the actual content of the site, and I'd like some opinions on the lay-out of the information, if possible. Because the site's bilingual it can get a little clumsy or over-crowded.... but does this scan okay for everyone? Also, is the font-size okay? I've got a big monitor, so I find it hard to tell what's too big and too small for other folk.

http://www.holmegaardresource.com/designer_jbang.html

I thought I'd best ask before replicating it throughout the rest of the site!  ;D

Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: josordoni on April 24, 2007, 11:57:26 AM
Hi Nic, I had to increase the font size to be able to read it, which then made it rather compressed looking, and lost the nice "white-space" feel of it.... :-\

I have a standard 17" flat screen in 1024 x 768
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Lustrousstone on April 24, 2007, 12:17:50 PM
Me too. You have to think of us elderly folk.  ;D One small proofreading point, 1950s, etc. shouldn't have an apostrophe. (Yeh I know trigger-happy red pen - ask David!)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 24, 2007, 12:24:10 PM
I'll have a tweak at the font size and see what I can do! It's hard to balance ease-of-use with aesthetics when there's so much information to cram in, especially when it has to be crammed in twice...

I noticed the rogue apostrophes after I'd done all of the title headers. I really should pay attention to what I'm doing when I'm doing it...  ;D

Although it is an acceptable form in the English language - according to the OED - just not preferable. I'll eventually get around to changing them.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 24, 2007, 12:43:56 PM
V.2:

http://www.holmegaardresource.com/designer_jbang2.html

Hopefully big enough to read without sacrificing too much white-space?
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Lustrousstone on April 24, 2007, 12:45:54 PM
Not sure it looks any different from here  ???
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: josordoni on April 24, 2007, 12:47:16 PM
V.2:

http://www.holmegaardresource.com/designer_jbang2.html

Hopefully big enough to read without sacrificing too much white-space?

That's better ! 

(not meaning to steal the copyright of the DirectLine adverts...)

It is bigger for me, Christine.

(no..... don't go there.......... :o)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 24, 2007, 12:51:44 PM
Not sure it looks any different from here  ???

I accidentally posted a link to the original page, have corrected it to the new version. It will hopefully be a visible change if you check now.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Lustrousstone on April 24, 2007, 12:52:24 PM
 :) :)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: ultimatecodfather on April 24, 2007, 01:10:24 PM
Nic
Its looking great i cant wait untill your done.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pip on April 24, 2007, 01:23:42 PM
I have to say that's a big improvement Nic - I was screwing my face up trying to read it before, now it's much clearer and easier to read.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on April 24, 2007, 01:53:42 PM
Thanks for the input, folks - I'll go with this font size, and implement it across the rest of the site when I get chance.

 :)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Anne on April 24, 2007, 02:27:51 PM
Either size was fine for me personally, Nic, but I agree with the concensus that the second version is better in design terms.  (Note: I'm also using a 17" flat screen at 1024x768 res and using Linux version of Firefox which does render some things slightly differently from the way Firefox under Windows does - for some *very* odd reason! Layout looks good to me in both Firefox flavours though.  :D)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 11, 2007, 11:37:00 AM
Righty - the last version was a bit ho-hum, cluttered and clumsy, so it's been rejigged...

Catalogue Overview (http://www.holmegaardresource.com/designer_lutken.html)
(Only the first Carnaby vase link works so far)

Description Page + Larger Image (http://www.holmegaardresource.com/lut_60s_001.html)

Improvement or not? IMO, the information doesn't look quite so shoe-horned in - plus there's now space for folk to crank up their default font size, if needs be. Are the thumbnail sizes on the overview okay for everyone?

Sorry to keep using this board as a market research panel, but I really do want to get this site just right.  :)

Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Lustrousstone on May 11, 2007, 11:49:42 AM
Works for me  ;D
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Della on May 11, 2007, 12:06:39 PM

And me  ;D    Looks really wonderful, Nic. Well done!
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 11, 2007, 01:00:16 PM
*phew*

Glad to hear it. Thanks.  ;D

Also, all rogue apostrophes in the year headers have now vanished.... *doubleplusphew*
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Sue C on May 11, 2007, 01:01:24 PM
Look's great Nic, well done :clap:
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: josordoni on May 11, 2007, 01:11:10 PM
Who's been a busy boy then...
 8)
Lovely Nic.  Keep up the good work!

Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Anne E.B. on May 11, 2007, 01:13:20 PM
Bravo Nic :clap:
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Lustrousstone on May 11, 2007, 01:25:11 PM
No they haven't  ???.  One other little tip smart quotes “ ’ look much nicer than " ' straight ones
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 11, 2007, 02:37:58 PM
Thanks, folks - so at least I know I'm on the right track with the design now!

Christine, do you mean that the rogue apostrophes haven't vanished?  ??? They've vamoosed on mine - possibly you need to refresh the screen?

RE: Smart quotes. It appears my computer isn't very smart (or I'm not) and I don't seem to be able to locate them on my keyboard... Ah, I remember back in the olden days of Atari and Amiga, when such things used to be automatic.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Lustrousstone on May 11, 2007, 02:54:30 PM
I reloaded and they've gone  :). Smart quotes are usually found within your programme. In Illustrator under type/smart punctuation. In Word under tools/autocorrect/autoformat as you type
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 11, 2007, 03:17:05 PM
Ah, I use Notepad to bodge all of my html together, and wrapping the text is about as technically advanced as that program gets!  ;D
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: josordoni on May 11, 2007, 03:23:56 PM
Here you go Nic, all you ever wanted to know about smart quotes (including a whole load you didn't...) and including the HTML markup code for curly quotes that you can put in Notepad.

 8)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_quotes
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Frank on May 11, 2007, 03:26:52 PM
When typing in Notepad for bare HTML to get nice curly quotes you need to use:

Left single quote = ’
Right single quote = ‘
Left double quote = ”
Right double quote = ”

The only way you can type them directly or copy/paste from Word into Notepad is if you 'Save As' the text file as a Unicode Text file. However your HTML will also need to be a UTF-8 codepage or they will vanish.

I often do a search and replace searching on straight quote + space and replace with ” + space etcetera.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 11, 2007, 03:38:05 PM
I just gave it a whirl, and they still look straight...

The first 'Carnaby' on THIS PAGE (http://www.holmegaardresource.com/designer_lutken.html) has the code, and all of the other ones are normal apostrophes. The only difference is that they're slightly further away from the text. At least on my set-up.

I get the feeling that this is going back to the Cafe soon...  ;D
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pip on May 11, 2007, 03:42:34 PM
Nic - the site looks really brilliant - absolutely top-notch!  It's going to be incredibly useful for not only us lot on here but eBayers, online selling sites etc - have you not considered making it a paid membership site - like Frank's done with the Glass Zoo?  Personally,  I think you'd be foolish to give such a wonderful resource away for free and speaking for myself obviously, I would have no objection to paying a fee to access it.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 11, 2007, 04:13:44 PM
I'd not really considered it, to be honest. Although, for a start, I wouldn't know where to begin with making it members-only!  ;D

But the costs of the site are neglible - hosting is only a few pounds a year, and although I do spend a lot on buying in the glass to illustrate the site (and nearly as much on materials to research the content) I rarely buy any glass that I can't sell at a profit through my shop or on eBay (and the research materials also aid those sales).

Plus... I enjoy doing the site. It's my replacement for pubs, clubs and a night-time social life now that I'm a regular sickly-soul - and it's a LOT cheaper!

Finally, I've always kind of viewed it as a long-term marketing campaign - if I can broaden the awareness of Holmegaard/Kastrup glass outside of Scandinavia, then it can eventually also raise the value - which, again, bodes well for my shop. Okay, so that one's a bit of a long-shot..... but you never know!  ;D

So as long as I've got enough pennies going spare to feed my glass habit and cover my frugal living costs, I'm more than content to keep the site free for all.  :)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Lustrousstone on May 11, 2007, 07:47:54 PM
Hi Nic Apart from the fact Frank has given you left and right the wrong way round  ;D , there seems to be a font issue. This little bit of code works OK ’Carnaby‘ in notepad but not as part of the whole line of code for 'Carnaby'. If you change the font to times in the code, the whole line works with curly quotes. Does that make sense?
<td width="106" height="28" colspan="3" align="center" valign="bottom" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><font face="times" size="2" color="#017bc1">&lsquo;Carnaby&rsquo;</'</font></td>

Off to the cafe

BTW I worked out the codes were the wrong way round but the OH worked out where the problem lay. I should just ignore me next time I suggest something. Verdana works OK too
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Anne on May 12, 2007, 12:27:01 AM
The source is not showing the codes for the quotes, just the quotes themselves, thus:
Code: [Select]
<font color="#017bc1" face="Arial" size="2">'Carnaby'</font>
I generally just use the basic &quot; code for " which works nicely most of the time, so I'd do it thus:
Code: [Select]
<font color="#017bc1" face="Arial" size="2">&quot;Carnaby&quot;</font>
To use smart quotes, I'd use the code &#147; to open them and &#148; to close them, thus:
Code: [Select]
<font color="#017bc1" face="Arial" size="2">&#147;Carnaby&#148;</font>
 8)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 12, 2007, 07:22:05 AM
Christine - I gave Times a whirl, and it looked a little out of place against all the unfussy text already on the page.

Anne - I tried your smart quotes, but they still just turned out straight.

I could just lose the apostrophes altogether...  ;D

I tried out all three options, second row of vases... HERE (http://www.holmegaardresource.com/designer_lutken.html)
Incidentally, the first 5 vases are now clickable.  ;D Well, so are the second 5, but they won't actually take you anywhere just yet.
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Lustrousstone on May 12, 2007, 08:43:01 AM
I wasn't saying you should use times, just pointing out that it seemed to be an arial thing. Times is horrid for websites, perhaps just best lose the quotes, they aren't necessary. Verdana is quite a nice standard web font and that would work for the quotes
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 12, 2007, 09:25:52 AM
I was going to use the apostrophes to delineate between range names and function - i.e. when I illustrate some glass that has no range name (or I haven't yet discovered it), I would just list the function, sans apostrophes: vase, ashtray, etc...

I could possbily play around with using bold or italics for range names instead.

Although, at the end of the day, we are discussing the aesthetic values (or lack of) of two tiny lines that most people won't even notice...  Such is the way of design! ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: robbo on May 12, 2007, 09:26:22 AM
Nic, it’s looking good  :)

Try using:

Code: [Select]
&#8216;

and
Code: [Select]
&#8217;

they usually work for me.

robbo
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: josordoni on May 12, 2007, 02:24:29 PM
Just to really get you tearing your hair out, I am not convinced that the curly quotes DO look better than the straight ones with a non serif face.

And anyway, as Christine said, what use are the quotes in this context anyway??

I'd just lose them...give you a cleaner result IMHO
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: Pinkspoons on May 12, 2007, 02:28:59 PM
I just thought they'd help highlight range names, where applicable. It's not so much of an issue with 'Carnaby', as that's clearly a range name - but I thought that it might get a little confusing with range names like 'Green'.

But I probably will drop them and rely on bold or italics for that purpose. I'll have a tinker later.  :)
Title: Re: Holmegaard Resource
Post by: josordoni on May 12, 2007, 02:35:20 PM
Ah yes, see what you mean.  In that case it probably IS better to keep them for all.