Latest news with #Swedish-style
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Japanese Lunar Lander Crashes In Second Failed Mission
A private Japanese lunar lander crashed during an attempted touchdown on the moon Friday. This marks the second failed mission for the Tokyo-based global lunar exploration company, ispace. The lander, named Resilience, lost communication less than two minutes before its scheduled landing in Mare Frigoris, a flat, crater-filled region on the moon's northern near side. A preliminary analysis indicated the laser system for measuring altitude malfunctioned, causing the lander to descend too fast. 'Based on these circumstances, it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface,' ispace said in a statement. 'This is the second time that we were not able to land. So we really have to take it very seriously,' CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada told reporters, per Associated Press. He apologized to contributors and added that the mission was 'merely a stepping stone' to a larger lander planned for 2027 with NASA involvement. 'Engineers did everything they possibly could' to ensure success, he said minutes before the attempted landing. The 7.5-foot Resilience, launched in January from Florida on a SpaceX rocket, carried an 11-pound, four-wheeled rover named Tenacious, built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary. The rover, equipped with a high-definition camera and a shovel for NASA to collect lunar soil, was designed to operate for two weeks during the moon's daylight period. It also carried a toy-size Swedish-style red cottage, dubbed Moonhouse by artist Mikael Genberg, for placement on the lunar surface. The mission's $16 million payload included scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. The failure follows ispace's first lunar crash in 2023, caused by inaccurate altitude readings. 'Truly diverse scenarios were possible, including issues with the propulsion system, software or hardware, especially with sensors,' Chief Technology Officer Ryo Ujiie said at a press conference. Jeremy Fix, chief engineer for ispace's U.S. subsidiary, noted last month that the company, with a mission cost less than the first's $100 million, lacks 'infinite funds' and cannot afford repeated failures. 'We're not facing any immediate financial deterioration or distress because of the event,' CFO Jumpei Nozaki said, citing investor support. However, space shares faced heavy sell orders and were poised for a 29% drop. As of Thursday, their market capitalization was over 110 billion yen ($766 million). The crash marks another setback in the commercial lunar race, which began in 2019. U.S. firms Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines achieved successful landings in March, though Intuitive's lander toppled in a crater. Japan's space agency, JAXA, landed its SLIM probe last year, joining Russia, the U.S., China, and India as the only nations with successful robotic lunar landings. 'Expectations for ispace have not faded,' Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba posted on X, reported Reuters. Ispace remains committed to NASA's Artemis program, with plans for a third mission in 2027. 'NASA increasingly needs private companies to improve cost efficiency for key missions with limited budgets,' Hakamada said, referencing proposed U.S. budget cuts. Two U.S. companies, Blue Origin and Astrobotic Technology, aim for moon landings by year's end following Astrobotic's 2024 failure.
Hindustan Times
15-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Finding the Right Spa Booking App for Your Scottsdale Getaway
In an era where stress is a daily companion, the spa and wellness industry continues to rise, offering new-age solutions for holistic healing, relaxation, and self-care. Whether you're relying on a smart spa booking app or exploring full-service wellness platforms, Scottsdale has become a hotspot for indulging in the spa experiences. From tech-enabled tools to iconic wellness resorts, these 10 platforms make booking your perfect treatment seamless. Ready to unwind? Here are the most trusted names for spa bookings in Scottsdale in 2025. leads the pack as Scottsdale's most trusted spa booking app, designed to simplify how locals and travelers discover high-quality spa in Scottsdale and wellness services. It eliminates the hassle of juggling multiple websites, bringing Scottsdale's spas under one roof. Whether you're seeking massages, facials, saunas, or other rejuvenating treatments, Sitback offers curated packages to meet your needs. The platform is optimized for both mobile and desktop use, ensuring real-time availability and instant confirmations. Its seamless booking experience means you can plan your wellness day with ease, without the stress of complicated bookings or last-minute surprises. ensures that your wellness journey is hassle-free and convenient. What sets Sitback apart is its commitment to local expertise—every spa partner is handpicked for its quality, ambiance, and service. As a user-friendly spa booking app, combines convenience with luxury, making it ideal whether you're planning a weekend retreat, a midweek reset, or just a quick escape to unwind. Cowshed Spa, available through Soho House's exclusive booking system, is a chic urban escape known for blending British charm with holistic treatments. Though not a traditional app, members can reserve treatments like stress-reducing massages, facials, and pedicures through the Soho House digital platform. For those staying at Soho House Scottsdale (coming soon), this is your direct access to wellness sophistication. Miraval's booking platform is tailored for transformational wellness. While it covers locations in Arizona, Texas, and Massachusetts, the Miraval Arizona Resort remains a flagship experience. Guests use the platform to book spa services like energy healing, sleep therapy, or aerial yoga, combining relaxation with mindfulness. Though it's not a traditional spa booking app, Miraval's site offers a highly customizable wellness itinerary builder. The NOW's platform allows users to easily find and book a massage session on-demand. With its calming, boho-inspired vibe, The NOW's Scottsdale studio is designed for walk-ins and app-based bookings alike. Their online system offers a limited, focused menu—Swedish-style massages with add-ons like Deep Tissue or Herbal Heat Therapy—great for regular spa-goers or newbies looking for quick relief. Located just outside Scottsdale, Amangiri's spa experience is a tech-enabled luxury escape. Their online reservation portal enables guests to book immersive spa journeys, including Navajo-inspired healing rituals and floating therapy. It's not your everyday spa booking app, but the Aman platform delivers exclusivity, serenity, and service tailored to your wellness needs—right from your screen. With branches across Texas and California, Milk + Honey has introduced a modern, intuitive platform to book services at their Scottsdale location. Known for their clean, sustainable approach to spa services, users can book massages, hydrafacials, or pedicures through an easy-to-navigate interface. Their app and website also promote their product line, allowing clients to continue their wellness routine at home. Burke Williams has a strong presence in California and now brings its legacy to Scottsdale. Their membership portal and website allow clients to book full-day spa experiences, including hydrotherapy, advanced facials, and detox rituals. With intuitive browsing and appointment scheduling, it's ideal for anyone looking to treat themselves to a luxury escape without leaving town. Exhale Spa blends fitness and therapy, offering a hybrid platform to book barre, yoga, and spa treatments in one go. Their digital booking tools streamline the wellness experience from start to finish. Whether you're looking to sweat in a HIIT class or melt into a deep tissue massage afterward, the Scottsdale studio provides a connected wellness journey via their digital system. The Ritz-Carlton's Scottsdale location features a bespoke booking platform reflecting its global luxury standard. From diamond facials to detoxifying rituals, users can schedule services that highlight local botanicals and cultural touches. It's an elevated digital experience offering curated packages for couples, executives, or solo wellness seekers. 10. Saffron & Sage – Holistic Healing via Tech This San Diego-based platform now connects with Scottsdale residents via its online membership and consultation system. Saffron & Sage offers personalized wellness plans including massage, acupuncture, reiki, and breathwork. Through their website, users can design monthly wellness journeys combining traditional and modern healing techniques. Whether you're booking through a sleek spa booking app or a premium online platform, Scottsdale offers some of the most refined, personalized wellness options in the country. Start with the all-in-one solution for discovering the spa in Scottsdale. From nature-immersed retreats to tech-forward studios, each of these platforms is reshaping how we access and experience relaxation. In 2025, wellness isn't just something you stumble upon—it's something you book, plan, and prioritize. Note to readers: This article is part of HT's paid consumer connect initiative and is independently created by the brand. HT assumes no editorial responsibility for the content, including its accuracy, completeness, or any errors or omissions. Readers are advised to verify all information independently. Want to get your story featured as above? click here!
Telegraph
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Look up: creative ceiling design inspiration
We can devote anxious hours to choosing the precise shade of paint colour or wallpaper pattern to use on our walls. Yet for most of us, the ceiling is an afterthought. A few dabs of filler, a coat of white emulsion, and the job is done. But that's changing. Once the Cinderella of surfaces, the ceiling is now getting the attention it deserves as designers shift their attention to the fifth wall, experimenting with colour, texture and form for atmospheric effect. Reflective layers of gloss paint, the eye-teasing trickery of a trompe-l'oeil cloudscape, wallpaper or sculptural plasterwork are all encouraging us to look up. Colour consultant Fiona de Lys has a theory about this. She draws a line between the emergence of the ceiling as a decorative feature in its own right and the current popularity of digital art shows such as Frameless, or Van Gogh: the Immersive Experience. These immersive installations, says Fiona, are making us aware of the impact of colour – and pattern – on our senses. 'The space above us has become something to admire,' says Fiona who also approaches colour as a 'three-dimensional' experience; 'I'm interested in how we respond to colour; how light and shadow interact to contribute to a mood and feel.' The ceiling deserves our attention, says Fiona, who originally trained as a set designer, because it can transform the feel of a space. 'When I'm choosing colours I'll draw on all influences – furniture, furnishings, art, or the quality of light in a room,' she says. One ploy is to paint the ceiling in a deep gloss, to bounce light across a space: 'The smallest room in the house can feel like the largest.' Fiona mixes her own paints using pigments in nuanced ways, often to connect interiors with the outside. It might be an undercurrent of green to echo the foliage in the garden, or a whisper of rose to mimic the red brick of the house opposite. For designer Angelica Squire, co-founder of Studio Squire, the fifth wall offers a chance 'to do things differently'. She cites a project in Barnes lined in contrasting materials: dark cork for a cocooning study, raffia and printed wallpaper clambering over the eaves of a bedroom. Even developers are cottoning on. For an apartment at Chelsea Barracks, where the brief was for 'not another show flat'; Angelica 'softened' the loftiness of the angular architecture by painting walls and ceilings in an airy blue: as enveloping as cloudless summer skies. An interesting ceiling, says colour consultant Harriet Slaughter (who trained at Farrow & Ball) makes 'the difference between an ordinary and extraordinary interior'. Her tips? Angelico Pink from Francesca's Paints 'is flattering against a warm neutral; everyone looks good in a pink light'; or the 'Swedish-style' contrast of a dusty blue ceiling above white walls. Panelling an attic room in tongue-and-groove painted in a warm gloss or eggshell conjures 'a cosy feel'. Specialist paint techniques like trompe l'oeil, can also be used to disguise the imperfections of difficult spaces. 'As a designer, you work in a liminal space: between the whimsical and romantic – and the practical. Creative solutions are often the result of technical challenges,' says Lucy Hammond-Giles of Sibyl Colefax & Fowler. For a dining room in West London, she commissioned a ceiling inspired by a mix of Pitzhanger Manor, Sir John Soane's country house in Ealing, and holiday snaps of a spiral staircase, in the eclectic 18th-century Chinese Palace in Palermo in Sicily. Magdalena Gordon, of Atma Decorative Arts, painted the ivy-festooned trellising. The vaulted effect adds an illusion of height and light in a small, 'awkward' room, says Lucy. In a 'featureless' London basement sitting room, Studio Vero, whose co-founders Romanos Brihi and Venetia Rudebeck favour art-led interiors, recreated a circus tent – in paint. The billowing, big-top stripes unfurling from an emerald-green pendant light, detract from the lowering ceiling. 'It was also a way of customising the space, adding an exuberance,' says Romanos, 'which matches our client.' For a wallpaper alternative, Iksel 's ceiling coverings include coffered and romantically tented effects, which can be customised to fit. Designer Natalie Tredgett also used the ceiling as the starting point for the sitting room of an apartment in a 1960s west London block. To offset the typically mid-century low proportions, she bathed the walls and ceiling in a warm, saffron gloss. Painted sunbeams, radiating from the light fitting, expand the space. So too does the kitchen ceiling in her own home. The Pompeian-red, swirling fresco effect is an eye-drawing foil to utilitarian storage below. It gives the walk-through space 'presence' says Natalie. Craftsmanship is also resurfacing overhead, to modern effect. A sculptor by training, plaster artisan Geoffrey Preston draws on traditional pargetting techniques for his embellishments which are made by hand, not pressed from moulds. His fellow plaster artisan Dolcie Ross Keogh (@dolcierossstucco on Instagram), who works all over the world, derives inspiration from the 'free, and often wild' 18th-century stucco work in her native Ireland. Classical motifs, like agapanthus or oak leaves are an option, but clients are encouraged to pick personalised motifs: your favourite pet, perhaps the froth of wisteria on a garden wall. 'I think we've all been missing a trick or two,' says Dolcie. 'The ceiling is a canvas. A space where you can be playful – and really experiment.'
