It is interesting to know that jewelry boxes have featured in many movies, plays, and books. Hollywood movies have used them frequently to tell a story. There are several movies that mysteriously revolve around a jewelry box.

‘The Black Swan’ is a famous movie starring Natalie Portman and she even won an Oscar award for her incredible performance. In the movie, every night when she goes to bed with all her toys, she would dream of a ballet dancer in a musical jewelry box.

A South Korean film, titled ‘When A Woman Breaks Her Jewelry Box’, was released in the ’70s, in which a woman breaks her jewelry box to get to know the truth about her mother. When all along she had thought that her mother was dead, she was actually alive and this was revealed when she opened her mother’s jewelry box. It was voted best film and also won an award at the Blue Dragon Film Award ceremony.

Another scary movie which involved a jewelry box is ‘What Lies Beneath’ with Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. Michelle discovers the jewelry box at the lake behind their home and that was the clue which helped her to solve a murder mystery. She was constantly disturbed by a ghost appearing before her and you have to watch the movie to enjoy the thrilling conclusion.

Thriller movies like ‘Pirates of the Carribean’ have also used treasure chests and jewelry boxes extensively.

In the 80′s, Dalton Moore, an administrator at the Swindon High School, wrote a lovely play named ‘The Missing Bride’. The students were trained to act so naturally that they won an inter-school competition. This play was all about a bride who went missing from her wedding party.

Everyone in the party were apprehensive about the bride being missing. They searched high and low in the house till they found the jewelry chest which looked old and made an effort to open it. When they opened it they found, to their dismay, only her dress and the bride had disappeared.

Her body was missing but her beautiful wedding dress was in place. There was perfect silence and the audience was scared to death! Finally the play explained that the old house, which was bought for the bride and groom was haunted!

In Greek mythology the story of the famous Pandora’s box is well-known that the Gods had given a pretty girl a lovely jewel box and was asked not to open it. But curiosity got the better of her and she opened it only to release all kinds of diseases and destruction into the world.

Jewelry boxes find a place in fairy tales too. In the story of “The Emperor’s Clothes” the clothes and the richness of the treasure chest which was used by the king is described in detail.

In the famous books of J.K. Rowling who wrote the “Harry Potters” series of books. The first book tells us that Harry is a wizard and he inherited his fortune form his parents. This fortune was kept in jewelry chests at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. This is the first series called “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”

From adults to children love thrilling stories and ones which involve jewelry boxes and hidden treasures are a sure hit with them. The whole family is thrilled, whether it is a story book, or a play, or when watching a movie together!

This article on entertaining stories revolving around jewelry boxes in movies, books, and plays was written by Rachael Celia Berlie of MarqART Gift Shop.

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School drama classes and local theatre groups can put on a spectacular performance. Sometimes the only thing that stands in their way is great costumes. Renting theatre costumes help create an illusion and make the most off Broadway show seem like a major production.

School districts don’t often have the money to continue extracurricular activities like drama. Teachers and parents often volunteer their time and donate the funds to keep these classes alive for students and families. They may think that renting costumes is too expensive, but the production they want to put on makes designing the costumes difficult. Companies that rent costumes often work with costumers to find a way to make the rentals fit in their budget.

Local theatre groups like to put on the newest and popular plays or musicals. Between building sets, setting the choreography and rehearsals, every member of the group often find themselves over committed. Finding the time to make costumes for every one of the cast is not always a possibility and renting may be their only option.

Props and accessories are as important as the set and costumes. There are times when certain item is needed but may be difficult to find. Renting wigs, collapsible knives, that special mask or vital piece of jewelry may make the difference to the cast and the audience.

Rental companies that offer theatre costumes can help in other areas as well. They can order special items or help with important makeup purchases. They also can help make alterations that are needed for a costume to make sure that each outfit is a perfect fit. These organizations can become a vital member of any theatre group, large or small.

Perhaps one or two costumes need to be made for a play or musical. If the theatre group doesn’t have a tailor, they made be able to turn to a rental company. Some of these businesses have the staff on hand to create those special pieces that the production needs.

Renting costumes or having them created by a professional helps with the overall look and feel of a production. Just because a play is put on by a local group doesn’t mean that the elements have to be second rate. Small playhouses run some of the best shows, and local theatregoers anticipate the shows. Having fantastic costumes to helps elevate the show to the next level.

When high school, college, or community theatre groups are looking at what plays they want to do for the next season they don’t want to be limited. A smaller stage, limited special effects and a tight budget are some of the factors that need to be overcome. A small supply of costumes shouldn’t be the reason why a group decides that they want to pass on a musical or play.

Theatre costumes can be majestic and magical. They help complete the picture the cast is trying to paint for the audience. With the right costumes, accessories and props, people can forget where they are for a few hours and allow themselves to be swept away to a different time or place. Costume rentals are a great way to help reinforce that illusion, look great, and altered to fit the needs of a particular group. Even high school plays can be as fantastic as a Broadway show, with the right elements that fit within their tight budget.

Design has been used to sell unnecessary products throughout the last growth period but now the world and our perceptions have changed. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the greedy bankers’ feast and now the onslaught of “the cuts,” many people are rethinking material desires, often feeling that their superficial wants are somehow inappropriate at a time when we all know someone who’s suffering financially. What we want now is value and worth.

We’re focusing on what we need and questioning whether it has any real, intrinsic value. This way of thinking could completely change the game for designers and should mean their skills are channelled away from aesthetics and towards real content that can make a social difference. I feel we are best to focus on creating new products, which embrace technological advancement and gained knowledge but have practical value and meaning. Living in this fast -moving, information age there are many ways to add value. We want to know HOW products are created, the ethical standpoint of the Company, how they treat their staff, and we want to know WHERE products are made and where they end up.

In the past, the focus on making desirable, sexy products to fly off shelves was enough but these days people can find out if a product has flaws with a touch of a button, so a product needs to be designed for it’s whole life span with functionality the key to future success.

Designers and consumers are now starting to factor in what happens after it’s life span and soon designing for the rubbish tip will be outdated until the evolution from raw material to creative, functional product and back into raw material to make new products have been properly designed

I feel now is the most exciting time to call yourself a designer as we have a responsibility to be aware of the whole process and the impact our designs could have on the bigger issues. We need to design for a consumer who has a world of information at their fingertips but that said if it doesn’t look attractive people probably won’t have the inclination to look.

This could mean we haven’t changed that much and everything comes down the slick n sexy design. Maybe, but its increasingly style AND substance we crave, so as we develop a greater knowledge and understanding of the world around us, what we find attractive will also change.