You’re a company.  Maybe small, maybe new, maybe not.  You’re local – or just beyond – but you dream one day of breaching a larger, international market.  You just aren’t sure how to do that right now.  Need a place to start?  How ’bout here: SACC Edays, an annual trade and networking event now in its eleventh year that links Swedish and American entrepreneurs.

What the heck is Edays?

The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce (SACC) presents Entrepreneurial Days (Edays) twice each year; once in the U.S. and once in Sweden to best connect business relations between the two countries.  The conferences serve as tools to encourage business and trade between two countries through practices in business cluster programs, business to business trade missions and business matchmaking.

Past participation has been impressive, with 2008’s Entrepreneurial Days in San Diego (April 7-9) attracting some 400 participants, with over 500 business matchmaking having been pre-scheduled. At the last Edays in Stockholm, over 430 participants attended with more than 130 people traveling from the U.S. representing 20 different U.S. states. More than 800 pre-scheduled business matchmaking meetings took place during this two-day event.

It’s exotic.  It’s tropical.  It’s carbon neutral.  Have I died and gone to heaven?

With the escalating concerns over global climate change, many people are rethinking the way things are done.  Thanks to Savannah based design company, DALU Design Group, there’s one more way you can be an environmentally-conscious consumer.  It’s called STAR Island (STAR standing for Sustainable Terrain & Resources) and it is an off-the-grid luxury vacation destination located near the Bahamian island of Eleuthera.

DALU Design Group is a progressive firm of “eco-tects” (ecotecture anyone?), planners and consultants catering to eco-friendly design and lifestyle. Located in Savannah, DALU is led by David Sklar (designer and visionary) and Luciana Thompson (principal and LEED consultant.)  They also come complete with a highly qualified staff, and seem equipped to handle all factes of green design and construction.

I guess that’s why the New York Times named STAR Island their Eco-destination of the Year.   Whoa.

When you wish upon an Island

STAR Island offers many of the amenities you’d expect from a 5-star accommodation: a full-service spa, restaurants, pools, boat slips, picturesque views of white sand beaches, palm trees and aqua-colored water.  But this luxury vacation community offers more than just a relaxing, good time.  It presents an environmentally responsible approach to resort development for the discerning eco-tourist.

With Valentine’s Day less than a month away, I have been considering what to buy/do/say to show my man how much I love him.  It may well be a Hallmark holiday, but February 14th is a great personal reminder to be appreciative of what you have and, perhaps, to infuse a little more romance into the mix.  Let’s admit it: love is hard.  If you don’t have it, it’s hard to get.  If you do, it’s hard to maintain.  Like everything in life, a relationship takes oodles of work and sometimes you just need a little help bringing back the mojo.

Fret no more, wayward lovers for the solution apparently lies in your own backyard.  According to Travel + Leisure Magazine, when your relationship is in need an infusion of romance you ought look no further than downtown Savannah. Because – in addition to a host of other accolades – Savannah has just been crowned one of the 50 Best Romantic Getaways. That should make Valentine’s Day plans a little more manageable, eh?

Here’s what they had to say:

Apparently the Telfair Museum‘s Art and Technology Week was not enough to capture all the innovative artistry going on in Savannah.  This year the Telfair is proud to announce PULSE: Art and Technology Festival, a smorgasbord of visual and musical arts, robotics, lectures from the art world’s elite, highly specialized art fabrications and technologies, sound installations, circuitry, and multimedia mastery.

How up our alley is that??  Seriously.

The festival works to promote an edgier artistic perspective and more creative interpretation of technology.  It is free and open to the public (compliments of funding provided by the City of Savannah), family-friendly, and oriented around workshops geared toward students, artists, electricians, musicians, engineers, techies, and other nerds like us.

The festival commences on January 21and culminates on January 31 with Technology Family Day, featuring activities for children, appearances by guest artists, a concert by Minneapolis duo Beatrix JAR with live video by Allesandro Imperato.

Here’s just a taste of the action:

• January 21 – Gallery Talk on Digital Wheel Art by YoungHyun Chung
  New York-based artist YoungHyun Chung will discuss his interactive system that helps individuals with disabilities express themselves using digital projections.