Recession Dispatch from…London

LONDON, UK: For Londoners like me old enough to remember the last recession, the signs are all too familiar: two-for-one offers at restaurants; forests of To Let (for rent) signs lining the city’s residential streets; familiar bars and shops closing down by the day (where to buy a reasonably-priced brown earthenware teapot now that Woolworth’s has gone out of business?); less of a fight to get a seat on the tube in the morning; and ridiculous recession-busting tips in the newspapers.

The home gym is my favorite so far: Why sign up to a costly health club when you can use your garden and substitute sandbags for weights?, asked the (clearly barmy) writer. Because I don’t have a garden or sandbags is why. And because the cute receptionist at my gym smiles at me, sometimes…

Recipe for Recession-Proof Tomato Farming

While the Recession has a lot of businesses trending down, organic farmers like Patrick Horan say their debt-driven business is riding a contrarian wave. Horan’s farm, Waldingfield, specializes in heirloom tomatoes, which he uses to produce a special heirloom sauce. His Connecticut farm has been in the family since the 18th century and is now one of the largest certified organic operations in Connecticut. Horan talks to RW about weathering the downturn and America’s shifting attitudes towards organic food.

RW: How has the Recession affected you?

PH: As a farmer, I’m used to dealing with constraints. A lot of the farming business is debt-driven. If you’re in the northeast where you have a smaller growing season, you have to plan carefully. So far, I haven’t seen a downturn in my business, but that is partly because of something called CSA (community supported agriculture). In this system, people buy a share and get a box of vegetables every week. It’s a shared risk, and the system offers protection to the grower.

At the End of Your Robe: Finding Your Identity in Crisis

Stylist Julie Greene offers expert advice on looking dashing in a downturn.

Right now, many of us are dealing with big transitions. Some of us are unemployed for the first time, others are having to shift the focus of their business, and still others are concerned about whether they’ll be able to move ahead. In short, everyone’s questioning their identity.

As I’ve said before, your clothes can help shape your future. Whether it’s a full style overhaul or just some refining, there are ways to approach how you dress that will reflect a new attitude towards your career and life—and managing your image and your message might help you land the next opportunity. Last week you started getting to know your unique sense of style. Now we’ll more firmly define it. Consider which of these 10 style identities best fits you—or who you want to be.

Making Your Home into Your Office

Too many of us never expected our spare rooms or entire apartments would become our cubicles, too. With that in mind, the New York Times signed up five interior designers and five new homeworkers and paired them up to find new solutions for their space.

I was fortunate enough to be one of them.

When the process began, I had visions of four-digit expenditures (to be paid by the newspaper or the designers) on major renovations to turn this crowded and sometimes gloomy 12×17 space into a livable and workable environment.

It turns out, it only took $326 and a designer with some good ideas.

Here are a few small things you can do to turn any home area into a workspace that is comfortable and inspiring—and where you can pull off professional meetings.

Love in the Time of Layoff: Learning from the Ladies

Four women, four generations, and four love relationships, each one affected differently by the downturn:

Gloria Feldt, age 67, decided with husband Alex to sell their apartment and stick to lowest risk investments despite low yields in order to protect their retirement.

Elizabeth Hines, age 33 and partnered with Jessica, watches her 8-month-pregnant belly rise as the Dow falls.

Courtney Martin, age 29 and living with longtime beau Nik, is already accustomed to income fluctuation. She freelances and has never had a “real” job.

And then there’s me: 40, married to my laid-off Marco, learning at midlife to weather an economic storm.

Your Mane, Your Money

Can’t afford to drop a Benjamin on your lid? Don’t despair. The Empire Beauty School, located in mid-town Manhattan near the Empire State Building, has a full-service student salon where you can tame your mane for the price of a Starbucks latte…

Hot Spots on a Budget

Resorts all over the world are responding to the recession by offering staggering luxury deals at exotic and beautiful destinations. Here are three places where it’s easy to travel well for less.

South Africa
With the recent devaluation of the Rand against the dollar, it is a great time for Americans to visit. The Mantis Collection, a prestigious group of game reserves and hotels in South Africa, is offering a summer package starting at $601.48* per person. You’ll spend two nights at one of the country’s five star Game Reserve and three nights at a Last Word Retreat, Cape Town’s very charming boutique accommodations.

Traveling Tight: St. John on the (Relatively) Cheap

In the recession, extreme spending has all but been replaced by radical frugality, but even on a budget, you still need to live well and take care of yourself.

Whether you’re laid-off and living on severance or savings, job hunting, or imagining the “disruptive innovation” (my new favorite business phrase) that will lead to a better business, some downtime to think and rejuvenate is vital. Even in a recession it’s important to take some time to chill out. It’s even possible to do so luxuriously – if you just re-define luxury. That’s exactly what I did.

Places to Look for a (Cheap) Home

As a native of Cleveland, Ohio, I was dismayed by the devastating portrait of the city’s flat-lining real estate market in Sunday’s New York Times. Flippers and other opportunists continue to be propped up by laws in their favor and banks who pull a “what, me?” shrug instead of stepping up to responsibility. Foreclosed on and abandoned homes have turned some neighborhoods into ghost towns. Cleveland is said to be a bellwether of the teetering real estate market.

It turns out lots of places are like Cleveland, with home values underwater. Business Week has identified some of them as targets for aspiring homeowners.

Redux: The Shape of the Recession

Looking back at the Great Depression to see the path ahead.

Will the Recession make women fat, or will we stop killing ourselves to be thin?

Body size is a moveable feast, and it changes according to cultural flux. After a long reign of fragile-looking, emaciated models, a strong, athletic form look may be making a comeback. First Lady Michelle Obama’s muscular shape recently graced the cover of Vogue, announcing a new look for the new reality. At the Academy Awards, Kate Winslett was queen of the evening, her gloriously curvaceous figure the envy of all. In interviews she announced – shocker!—that she is too busy to exercise and eats whatever she wants. Oprah Winfrey praised her “real” figure, telegraphing a message to women across American that it’s okay to sport a more natural look. The First Lady and the Academy Award Winner, substantial in both intellect and physicality, flaunt bodies that suggest strength and purpose. They look independent, normal, and accessible.