Business Products

Ateca's Travel Services, Lautoka Hotel Foyer, Lautoka, Fiji

Whilst staying in Lautoka, Fiji, we wanted to do a few adventurous things. However, it was difficult to find any Tourist Information in this town (actually, it's the second largest city in Fiji!) On the third last day, we thought we would approach the one person who seemed to know anything, a lady named Ateca, who rents a space in the Lautoka Hotel foyer. She was more than happy to organise a trekking tour for the next day and it turned out to be quite an adventure (expect the unexpected when visiting Fiji and you won't be disappointed).

The city of Lautoka has quite a bit to offer the tourist, but there is a lack of information available. Soon, I will be posting a review about the trek because I wish to promote this sustainable eco-tourism initiative. Ateca also gave us some helpful information about the best and cheapest way to get to the Port Denarau Marina, so I have offered to send her some business cards and a banner, designed and printed free-of-charge.

Green Gifts' design services include: all design needs for personal use and small business (business cards, banners, flyers, stationery, etc.), wedding and event stationery, and photo scanning/digital photo restoration services. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in using any of these services and I will be happy to help :) Don't forget to contact Ateca if you are planning to visit Fiji in the near future. Ask her questions and she will do her best to organise some interesting local activities for you to do during your stay in Lautoka.

Heritage Photo Restoration

Since having a break from teaching, I have discovered skills I have that could be used to produce some income. The hardest part is inspiring people and getting them to give you 'a go'. Unless I was to invest in advertising, many of my skills will continue to be used for personal projects only! An example of a service I offer is 'photo restoration'. Recently, I happened to be talking about restoring an 80-year old photograph in front of a fellow stallholder. She had paid a professional $25 to restore a 50-year old photo--the only childhood shot she has of herself. She was very disappointed with the result but paid anyway because she wasn't sure of what could be achieved. I offered to 'give it a go' for free.

Below is the original photograph which measures 6cm x 8cm. It is pretty typical of the quality I have encountered in older-style photographs (in terms of creases, scratches and blemishes).

My fellow stallholder paid $25 for this 6" x 4" print but had wanted it cropped and the original colours retained, rather than the rather dark tones on her face. I explained that the original resolution/clarity will always be lost when a tiny heritage photo is cropped, then enlarged to the 6" x 4" size. I was pretty confident, however, that a better result could be achieved.

Below is my attempt at restoring the photograph using a professional scanner and Photoshop. Given the limitations of the image, it's about as good as I can get it. I would usually charge between $5 and $20 for a complete photo restoration provided in digital form. As this lady preferred the actual print, I would have charged her $15 in total for this job. Pretty good value! Now...how do I get the word around?