Last week, we published a case study that looked at a team of four toy designers — Chris Dahlberg, H. Eric Mayse, Jim Preziosi and Eric Treadaway — faced with a quandary: how to expand their business so that they are not so dependent on their one big client, Mattel. Their company, the Four Horsemen Toy Design Studio, has revenue of more than $500,000 a year, most of it from its contract work for Mattel. They have a staff of three to help with sculpting, painting and shipping in their workshop in Butler, N.J.

They want to design and sell their own collectible action figures, but their work for Mattel leaves them with little time to focus on their own toy lines. They have created four lines so far, but to be successful, they believe the lines need a back story supported by content from movies, TV or comic books.

In 2008, the Horsemen met with a production company, 4Kids Entertainment, about creating an animated television series, but the financial crisis hit, and the deal fell apart. The

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PARIS — A French court convicted longtime perfume maker Jean-Paul Guerlain of making racist insults on national television and fined him Thursday (EURO)6,000 ($8,000).

The 75-year-old Guerlain, an heir to his family’s cosmetics empire, provoked anger among French minorities with the comments in a 2010 interview on France-2 television. He used a French word for black people in a derogatory way as he described how hard he worked to create one of the company’s most famed perfumes.

Several anti-racism groups filed legal complaints, and protests were staged in front of the Guerlain store on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris. Some called for a boycott of Guerlain products.

Guerlain apologized to France’s black community during the trial, calling it an “imbecilic” remark.

He was convicted in a Paris court.

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Who is this guy? In a list of people who affect our daily lives or, at least, our daily internet experience, he’s right up there. You probably use his work every working day of your life. And when you search on Google and the answer that you get is what you want, then there’s a good chance that you have this guy to thank. But who is he?

His name is Matt Cutts and he is the head of the department within Google which is responsible for filtering out web spam. His job is to make sure that what you see is what you want, undistorted by the efforts that companies put in to get their names up the rankings. If Search Engine Optimisation is an arms race and those countless emails that flood into my inbox everyday offering me link exchanges are a manifestation of the bad guys, the so-called Black Hat brigade, then Matt Cutts is the White Hat guy, person charged with stopping them.

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LAFAYETTE – Marcus Mire, a 2004 graduate of the LSU Department of Accounting and CPA firm owner, along with his wife, Stephanie, and their friends, Rye and Lainey Tuten, recently launched a children’s clothing company called JV Clothiers to fill a void in the boys’ collegiate apparel market.  

“After much research, we learned that no company was producing high-quality collegiate attire for young boys. Our son had an LSU jersey, but we couldn’t find high-quality ‘preppy’ attire,” Mire, who is the director of finance and accounting for the company, explained. “Simply put, JV Clothiers was started by two moms and two dads who wanted more for their sons in terms of collegiate wear.”

According to Mire, the inspiration for becoming an entrepreneur began during his years as an undergraduate at LSU.

“I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur,” Mire said. “I took several classes that helped me, including an entrepreneurship course, and I was constantly surrounded by others who motivated me. I met so many people with

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During the now long gone era of the Celtic Tiger in Ireland, New York was more than attractive to foreign buyers in the real estate market. Now, with the economic downturn that doesn’t appear to be fixing itself anytime soon, Irish investors with property in New York are feeling the pinch.

A New York Times column by Andrew Rice traces the stories of several Irish who purchased units in an apartment complex, The Centria, which held the alluring location across the street from Rockefeller Center in New York City during Ireland’s economic boom. For Irish during the Celtic Tiger, the investment looked like a no-brainer.

Now the Irish investors are in trouble because of the collapse of the market in Ireland and they need cash.

In the last year, 16 apartments, all owned by Irish investors, have turned over, and another four are now under contract. “I represent a lot of those owners,” said Charlotte Van Doren, a senior vice president with Stribling & Associates. “They need to sell, and they are selling.”

At the beginning the lure seemed inescapable. “A New York

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NEWRY, Maine (AP) — Skiers stripped down to shorts and bikini tops to keep cool Wednesday as they got in a few final sun-drenched, slushy runs, bidding what could be an early goodbye to a season that has disappointed all around.

An unprecedented spell of record temperatures soaring into the 80s had New England skiers dodging dirt patches and exposed rocks as melting snow spelled potentially millions in losses for those who make their living off winter tourism and sports.

“It’s like `swinter’ – summer and winter combined,” said 15-year-old Allie Ward, who wore only a bikini and boots during a break from skiing at Sunday River. She was joined by a sunburned friend, both of North Shore in Canada’s Prince Edward Island.

A year after ski resorts reported a record 60.5 million visits, the season opened last year with early snow and high expectations. But optimism was short-lived as Christmas arrived with little or none in many parts of the country.

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