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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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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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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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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Lam Lee Home store debuts
Mark Hearne, former vice president of sales and marketing for well-known decorative home furnishings manufacturer The Lam Lee Group, has opened his own retail venture in Dallas. Lam Lee Home is the first independently owned retail venue to position itself as a branded source for the company's signature products.
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The greening of design
Sustainable design is the philosophy of reducing the negative impact on the environment and improving the health and comfort of a building's occupants. Slifer Designs, one of the nation's top residential interior design firms based in Vail, Colo., has, for several years, promoted the use of sustainable materials in its installations and the properties on which they work.
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Old World Charmer
Designer Jeffrey Merriman The Back-Story Jeffrey Merriman, a Knoxville, Tenn., native, grew up wanting to be a singer, and in fact he was as a child. The Merriman Family performed gospel music all over the southeast and even produced a record. Merriman also always enjoyed interior design and "merchandising" his Mom's house.
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All the world's a stage for selling
Competing for consumers' disposable income is a tough job and it involves many variables. Everything from product, employees, location, prices and lighting to music and services can and do affect whether people shop your store and hopefully become frequent buyers. How your store looks and feels can be a big influence.
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European antique markets... in New England
Robert Darvin is no stranger to the home furnishings industry. He started Scandinavian Design in 1965 and at its peak it was a chain of 70 stores with $100 million in annual sales. Buying for Boston-based Scandinavian Design meant a lot of travel, and it was during those travels that Darvin got the idea for his second furniture business, In Home Furnishings.
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Retailers bullish on lamps and lighting
Retailers across the country said lamps and lighting are great sellers, not only for the variety of product, but also for the myriad ways they can be used and customized. Angie Harris, buyer for Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby and Hemispheres said their lighting department was overstocked more than a year ago, which prompted a lot of markdowns this past year.
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Pulaski Furniture expands accent lineup
Pulaski has long been known for its extensive line of curios, but the full-line furniture manufacturer recently jumped into the accent furniture business as well. "We realized there was a shift in the market in 2004 and retailers were looking for more options at the open price point levels," said Larry Webb, president and CEO, Pulaski Furniture.
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Pacific Art Group Private Brand framed art unveiled at market
Pacific Art Group, a division of New Market Solutions, has joined forces with Phoenix Art Group to create and develop private label finished art for distribution exclusively to large national retailers. Phoenix Art Group's staff of more than 130 artists, artisans and framers will create fine art imagery under the PAG Private Brand collection.
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