Thursday, October 21st, 2010
Did you know that in June this year an impressionist’s art sale fetched £152.6 million, beating the record for the most money ever made in a UK auction? The highlight of the sale at the London auction house, Christies was a 1903 painting by Pablo Picasso. The piece, named ‘Portrait of Angel Fernandez De Soto’, (also known as ‘The Absinthe Drinker’), sold for £34.7 million.
Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Art Foundation, a charity set up by the British composer to promote art, culture and heritage in Britain, bought the artwork for £19 million in 1995. They attempted to sell the painting at Christies in New York in 2006 but the auction was called off due to controversy over the ownership. Julius Schoeps, who is Jewish, claimed his family had owned the painting, but had been forced to sell it by the Nazis. Lord Lloyd Webber’s Foundation contested this claim and the court eventually ruled in their favour, saying it could not be sued by Professor Schoeps because he was not appointed to represent his relatives’ estate.
It seems that all high profile art is recession proof. A sculpture by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti was sold in February this year at Southby’s in London for a world record breaking £65 million. The sculpture named ‘L’Homme qui Marche’ which depicts a grimly determined walking man, broke records as the most expensive piece of artwork ever sold.
At Big Yellow Self Storage we understand the importance of looking after your valuables. Not only do we have 24 hour digital CCTV, but every self storage room has its own alarm. We also have coded electronic gates, perimeter fencing, smoke detectors and fire alarms to protect your belongings. To find out how you could benefit from self storage, go to our Quote and Reserve Online page or visit us in store.
Tags: armadillo self storage, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, collectibles, Did you know?, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage solution, UK storage
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Friday, October 8th, 2010
Did You Know that a collection of McDonald’s memorabilia was sold for a whopping £8,130 last year? The 5,000 items from the fast food chain consisted of toys, posters and Happy Meal boxes and made the owner Luke Underwood a small fortune. Luke was only 11 when the collection was sold in March 2009. The young entrepreneur from South Clifton, Nottinghamshire persuaded his dad to buy the memorabilia dating from 1990-2000 for him for just £250 in 2005. Luke sold it 4 years later after running out of space in his home to store the thousands of McDonald’s promotional items.
The collection was thought to be the largest of its kind in the UK and included the only known complete set of the 101 Dalmatians promotional toys, in their original bags. The auction, held by Unique Auctions in March 2009, attracted buyers from across the world. Items were then split up and sold in around 300 lots, fetching Luke a tidy sum. Successful bidders came from as far as America and Germany. Luke was not keen to sell the items but his family could no longer store the massive collection. Boxes full of McDonald’s bits and pieces were taking up all the space in their loft, living room, hall and landing.
Big Yellow Self Storage cannot guarantee your collections will fetch you as much cash as Lukes’s but we do provide 24 hour digital CCTV and individually alarmed storage rooms for any valuable stuff you may have. You can rent a self storage room for as little as a week, month, year or as long as you want. Visit our Quote and Reserve Page to get started.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, byss, clutter, collectibles, de-clutter, declutter, Did you know?, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, UK storage
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Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
Did you know there’s a desert located in Tucson, Arizona that’s the home of US military planes that are no longer in service? The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base had become the home of retired airplanes shortly after World War II and now has a collection of over 4,000. Nicknamed ‘The Boneyard’, the area is spread across 2,600 acres, which is the equivalent of 1,430 football pitches.
The site was chosen as a storage facility because of its high altitude and the favourable conditions that allow the aircraft to be left outside for long periods of time without deteriorating too quickly. Among the aircraft kept in ‘The Boneyard’ are B-52 Cold War-era bombers and dozens of F-14 fighter jets. The area has even featured in a series of Hollywood films with the most recent being Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
High-resolution satellite images released by Google Earth earlier this year show incredible detail of the full range of aircraft that can be found at the site.
Tags: armadillo self storage, big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, byss, clutter, de-clutter, declutter, Did you know?, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, UK storage
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Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Did you know you can store computer files online without them taking up space on your computer? When you store items online it’s called ‘Cloud Storage’ or ‘The Cloud’ and can often act as a cheaper alternative to buying additional hard drives for your computer.
What makes cloud storage so useful is if you’re connected to the internet, you can access your files. It doesn’t matter what your location is or what computer you’re using. There are different forms of cloud storage; private clouds, public and hybrid which make it easy to store documents for you and share with others if they’re too large to fit in an email.
Unfortunately Big Yellow can’t store your physical items in our ‘Cloud’ yet but you can store your household items in our self storage rooms for a little as a week, month, year or as long as you want. We only ask for seven days notice when you want to leave. If you’re interested to find out how you can benefit from our self storage facilities, visit our Quote and reserve online page to get started.
Tags: armadillo self storage, big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, byss, cloud storage, de-clutter, declutter, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage solution
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Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Did you know that Blu-Ray discs can hold up to 50GB of data, which is around five or six times the amount a standard DVD can hold? They are a high definition storage alternative to DVDs and they get there name from the colour of the blue laser that reads the discs inside of a player.
Having a large amount of storage space is essential for high definition discs as the quality of film takes up to ten times the amount of space that a standard definition disc requires. The 50GB capacity is for a dual-layer disc which is made up of two layers, a single layered disc can store 25GB of data which is enough storage space for at least two hours of high-definition video.
The increased storage capacity allows Blu-Ray discs to provide a much sharper and clearer picture than DVDs, as well as improved sound quality. Blu-Ray discs also have many more special features than DVDs, as a result of the extra space.
The physical structure of a Blu-Ray disc means that it is even more susceptible to scratching than a standard DVD. To resolve the problem, manufacturers decided to add a hard protective coating on each disc meaning that scratches won’t make your favorite films unwatchable.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, blu ray, Did you know?, dvd, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog
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Monday, June 14th, 2010
Did you know that there are many more creative ways to store your books, other than on a standard shelving system? If you tend to stack them, you lose floor space to the growing number of books in the lounge or office. And nine times out of ten, most of them haven’t even been read yet – they’re just being saved for future use.
There is brilliance in the madness of Console Book Shelves – a design concept of Stanislav Katz, which features a reclining seat within the shelves! The Salkim book hanger suspends your books in groups with metal wire to give the illusion of a lightweight mesh, with square frames hooking together to give the impression of light instead of one big block.
Using the same concept, you can buy ‘The Invisible Book Shelf’ from Amazon, made by Umbra, which turns your books into a floating piece to showcase your books with a really slick wall mount.
The ApartmentTherapy blog also features homes in which books are stored in the ceiling rafters, and even in the pull out drawers to form a staircase!
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, book storage, boxes, byss, de-clutter, declutter, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog
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Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Did you know that the digital storage unit of choice at the moment – the USB drive – has a hotly contested past? Software companies Trek Technology and IBM began selling the first USB flash drives commercially in 2000. Trek, from Singapore, sold a model under the brand name ThumbDrive and IBM marketed the first such drives in North America under the name DiskOnKey.
IBM’s USB flash drive became available in December 2000, and had a storage capacity of 8MB – more than five times the capacity of the then-common floppy disks.
In 2002, Netac Technology, a consumer electronics company, which claims to have invented the USB flash drive in the late 1990s, was granted a Chinese patent for the device. But while Netac Technology has since brought lawsuits against PNY Technologies, Lenovo, Sony and Acer, most companies that manufacture USB flash drives do so without regard for its patents.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, byss, de-clutter, declutter, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, UK storage
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Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Did you know that the magpie – like all crows – does not have a musical voice and instead uses shiny objects stored in its nest to attract a mate? As with so many aspects of evolution – its reputation for stealing things is actually a feature of selection within its species.
Magpies collect and display objects with reflective surfaces in an attempt to find a partner, as the bird with the most objects of highest quality gets the strongest mate.
The birds will reputedly steal jewellery, silver and metals, earning them the name ‘The Thieving Magpie’. Rossini wrote an opera of this name (La Gazza Ladra). It concerns a French servant-girl who is accused of theft. She is tried, found guilty and executed. Later, the true culprit is revealed: a magpie. In remorse, the town organises an annual ‘Mass of the Magpies’ to pray for her soul. The title The Thieving Magpie was later used by progressive rock band Marillion for one of their albums.
We don’t condone stealing at Big Yellow Self Storage. If you’d like to store your valuables for safe keeping we provide 24 hour digital CCTV and every self storage room has its own alarm for you own peace of mind. We also have coded electronic gates, perimeter security fencing, smoke detectors and fire alarms to protect your things. All corridors are well lit, and all floors have an emergency phone just in case you need us. Visit our Quote and reserve online page to find out how you can benefit from self storage.
Do you think our friend the magpie has a bad reputation? Or is it a symbol of something else? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, clutter, collectibles, crows, de-clutter, declutter, fine wine storage, furniture storage, magpie, music storage, personal storage, secure storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, wine storage
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Monday, May 17th, 2010
Did you know that the most creative – and often efficient – use of innovative self storage strategy can actually be found in airports all around the world? From bras filled with snakes to primates stored in trouser pockets, some people try sneaking plainly ridiculous things through customs using methods that are quite frankly bizarre.
Custom officials at Melbourne Airport in 2005 became suspicious when they heard ‘flipping noises’ coming from underneath a woman’s skirt. Suspecting something fishy was occurring, they lifted it up to discover that she was wearing an apron of plastic water-filled bags containing 51 live tropical fish. Another smuggler tried to enter New Mexico with 16 packages of cheese stashed in his truck tires. However, he was busted by a border control X-ray machine and his truck confiscated as he’d failed to declare the extra goods.
Most bizarrely though, a man tried to pass through Los Angeles airport with two pygmy slow loris monkeys stored in pockets on his trousers. The man, Robert Cusack, 49, was travelling from Thailand and had previously drawn attention to himself after four rare birds of paradise escaped from his suitcase and flew over the heads of officials.
We don’t store living plants or animals at Big Yellow Self Storage but you can use our self storage for anything else you’d like for as little as a week, month, year or as long as you want. We only ask for seven days notice when you want to leave. Visit our Quote and reserve online page to get started.
What do you think of the sneaky tactics above? Got any stories you’ve heard about recently. Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, business storage, de-clutter, declutter, furniture storage, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage
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Friday, May 14th, 2010
Did you know that Microsoft has confirmed that it will be introducing USB storage to its Xbox 360 gaming system? The technology giant has released a mandatory update to its flagship gaming console and with it added support for USB storage devices of 1-16GB capacity.
This means that people will be able to plug in flash drives to expand the memory of their Xbox 360 console. Not only this, but it means that game saves, Xbox LIVE gamer profiles, or Arcade game downloads will now be portable.
SanDisk have been quick to jump on the new feature, and will be selling a pre-configured Xbox 360 8GB USB flash drive that comes with a 1-month LIVE Gold membership in the US and the UK from this month.
You can also use our self storage facilities to store your console collections, storage devices or anything else you’d like for a little as a week, month, year or as long as you want. We only ask for seven days notice when you want to leave. Visit our Quote and reserve online page to get started.
Tags: Big Yellow Self Storage, personal storage, self storage, storage, storage solution
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