Outsourcing
Recently I outsourced a task I loathe — cooking. Technically it’s not outsourced because my husband is the new head cook, but regardless of what it’s called, I don’t have to do it. That makes me happy and there are lots of benefits.
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Southern charm flows in Birmingham stores
Birmingham, Ala., nestled between the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, is home to Talladega Superspeedway, the Birmingham Zoo, Vulcan Park and Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark. Considered a young Southern city, celebrating its 128th anniversary this year, Birmingham has a colorful history.
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Elegant Clutter under new ownership
Elegant Clutter, Danville, Calif., has a new owner. After 23 years in business Margaret Cohen and Gayle Warrington decided to sell their high-end, ARTS Award-winning business to entrepreneur Andrew Greenblatt. "We sold Elegant Clutter because we just didn't have the passion or drive after 23 years to continue taking the store to new levels," Cohen said.
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Fun, funky and functional
Designer Allison West Background Unusual and artistically styled furniture and accessories have intrigued Allison West since she was a teen-ager decorating her room. The now 28-year-old especially was drawn to unique lighting; she has a collection of lamps she's made and purchased over the years. Just for fun, West started making her own lamps and when she ran out of room she started selling th...
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Can't get no satisfaction
The Customer Dissatisfaction Study by the Verde Group and Baker Retailing Initiative at Wharton found more than 50% of Americans report a negative shopping experience they've heard about from a friend or family member will prevent them from shopping that particular store altogether. This is incredibly staggering information, especially in our industry where so many retailers say ...
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New furniture store concept comes to Raleigh
Karie Cavallaro and her twin sister, Kristie Gardner, are very close. Cavallaro worked in Naples, Fl., for Norris Furniture and Interiors for more than five years and prior to that she and her sister worked together. When Gardner's family decided to move to Raleigh, N.C., last year Cavallaro wasn't far behind.
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The entrepreneurial spirit grows in Ivy Cottage
Lissa Allen entered retailing for the same reason a lot of entrepreneurs do — she wanted to express her creativity and independence. She left a career in consumer products (she was a regional sales manager for Brach's candy) and opened Ivy Cottage in 1995 in Cary, N.C., and nine years later opened a second location in Raleigh.
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Industry family sells furniture for 60-plus years
Wayside Furniture House has been providing mid- to high-end home furnishings and design services since its founding in 1939. It offers one of the largest selections in the Triangle area. The Haines family knows the industry well. The late Hudson "Bud" Haines worked for Schewel Furniture in Virginia during the Depression years and moved to North Carolina to be a manager of the Tomlin...
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Trading the corporate world for a retail Haven
Jeannine Beckstrom left her corporate job as a bank marketing executive in 2005 to launch a dream. She always envisioned running her own business and since she loved shopping for her home and "creating rooms that fit her family's lifestyle," opening Haven, a lifestyle boutique in Raleigh, N.
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Fastest growing metros and their buying power
Each year consumer magazines like Money and Fortune publish lists of the best places to live in the United States based on the economy, crime, population and more. This year, Home Accents Today has compiled an exclusive report on the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the four regions of the country and their buying power for area rugs, lamps, wall decor and decorative pillows/throws.
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Uncommon style in the desert
Moses Zabec is an interior designer turned retailer. He and his wife Terri had a design firm for years and business was good. Their focus was commercial interiors and model homes so when they got their first request to do a residential project, Zabec viewed it almost like a penance, though he's since changed his mind.
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Making magic: Art Dreams
Designer Kathleen Koszyk Background Kathleen Koszyk comes from a creative family. Growing up in Ireland she frequently watched her grandfather on TV; he was a musical savant who could pick up just about any instrument and play it beautifully. Her grandfather and his sons, including Koszyk's father, also designed and made tin plates.
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Health insurance
One of the most coveted employee benefits, health care is becoming an issue retailers can no longer ignore. Consultants say avoid it at all costs, and from a numbers point of view they're right. But as retailers hope to woo and retain talented, quality employees they have to compete in a larger benefit arena.
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Staying in the race
There's good news and bad news. The good news is the government reported Americans spent freely in January; retail sales jumped 2.2% according to the Commerce Department, the best showing since late 1999. Consumers took advantage of the warmest January on record by using their left-over gift cards, money they didn't have to spend on heating and end-of-year sales to scoop up clothes, furniture a...
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Seville Home expands in new location
Kansas City-based Seville Home, owned by Sue and Stuart Wilkins, is moving this month from its 12,000-sq.-ft. location to a 20,000-sq.-ft. space in Leawood, Kan. The family-owned and operated home furnishings store opened in 2000 and has outgrown its current space. "An advantage to being an independently owned retailer is that it allows us to be more nimble and easily conform to meet the needs ...
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Mangiacotti Florals debuts new line
When Michele Mangiacotti found old love letters in the attic of her Victorian Attleboro, Mass., office, she realized she'd stumbled upon a treasure. Using the letters as inspiration, she developed a new line, Letters, which until recently was sold exclusively at Anthropoligie. The line debuted in January in Atlanta.
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Prairie perseverance
Designer Barbara Cosgrove Background Barbara Cosgrove always has been an artist. The description has followed the 56-year-old Oklahoma native since kindergarten. Her resume is full of degrees — undergraduates in ceramics, commercial art and fashion illustration from the University of Kansas and the Kansas City Art Institute and a master's in sculpture from San Jose State.
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Let your star shine
One of the cornerstones of great retailing centers on creativity. Independent retailers small and large across the country excel at inventive marketing and advertising efforts, head-turning in-store displays and out-of-the-box business ideas and Home Accents Today recognizes many of those retailers each month with profiles.
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Blooming in Virginia Beach
Terri Marko and Kessy Heath met three months before they decided to open Wild Orchid in the fall of 2003. Heath has a degree in interior design and Marko's background is in advertising, but when these self-proclaimed power shoppers recognized a lack of exceptional home accent stores in their Virginia Beach neighborhoods they decided to do something about it.
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Retailers expecting a good 2006
The year 2005 was a roller coaster ride for many retailers filled with natural disasters, astronomical fuel prices, heated political issues and the war in Iraq. Though some said they kept their heads above water, they had either single digit growth or remained flat.
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