Top Designer

I recently broke my leg and have found myself with down time for the first time in decades. Therefore, I belatedly found TOP DESIGNER a new show on Bravo. Bravo! What a blast. There is something for everyone in the form of entertainment, but most importantly, there is creative, innovative design work in every corner. From the floating sofa over a bed of sand to a children's stage in a garage, there is a design idea that every home can benefit from. After shopping markets, reading the 18 (yes eighteen) design magazines I receive each month, and touring Kitchens, Baths, and Gardens of local communities, I am probably more jaded than most. This is a delight with humor and hubrus. Wednesday nights are the new shows, but you can catch up most Saturday or Sunday with back-to-back reruns. Check it out! Karen

Quitting Business Sales

You have seen them all over. Evolution, Mscape, Sanders Furniture, Ollini Furniture and many more. "We are quitting" they declare, best and lowest prices ever!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish the QB'ers would QB.
I challenge you to think about it. If I am quitting business why would I sell you something, take your deposit, go away and then ship it?? Yes, these QB'ers take a risk, but why should you? Have you noticed that the merchandise is different than what this store normally carries? Guess what, there is a different owner, buyer and sales team that make full profit margins off their QB sale. They say they have "2.5 million in inventory"(John at Evolution) and until we sell it we are staying" So why are they taking orders? Why when they have sold 5 million in three months are they still carrying inventory? They aren't. They downgrade slowly so they can reduce the price of the merchandise. It is a very old marketing ploy, and it works. Here is the drill: A QB company is retained, they fly in from Idaho. They put their employees up in a hotel, pay them 6-10% commission, and they live like dorm kids for 3-6 months. Meanwhile, the past owner of the company gets a check for the inventory, the name and a promise of a pay-off at the end, and moves on. Often that money pays for the original investors (usually family) and the owner is looking for new work or retired. Now, the profit goes to the QB Company, the sales staff and factories that can unload seconds and samples. Then it devolves (get the pun) into furniture that you could have bought at Costco. Same store, different merchandise and they have killed the beast (being a formative retail store). Yes, Evolution used to carry sectionals that retailed for 10,000. and now you can buy one for 1000.00. Guess what.... It is a different factory, cheaper fabric, construction and not real ultrasuede, it isn't a hard-wood frame, isn't kiln dried and........ You could have gone to Levitz.
Educate yourself, buy quality where you can and skimp on the lesser used, decorative items. Be a resource for your clients and be aware for yourself. Some product doesn't need to last 10 years, many won't. Know the difference. K

las vegas market

Ohhh, I can't stand it. I wrote my best blog ever on the LV furniture market and the chinafornication in the market today and I didn't publish my draft.......So here is my feeble re-write.
I hated the LV market. Lizette and I each arrived at the airport around 6:00 am and caught a flight to arrive at 8:00. Perfect, off to a great start and then we arrived at the Cashman center. A $200. ticket and a $35.00 cab fare and there was nothing (and no-one) to see. One line only stood out, some man with bad hair and beautiful furniture was there selling containers only of high-design and the great unknown, outdoor furniture. The claim-to-fame was that they also made Janus et Cie's furniture. I am sure it is true, but how many times can we hear this one? We had to pass, but a bad taste was left in my mouth. Is this really Lizette's first market? Why didn't I bring her to HP last year? Powering on, we arrived at Building B, hopped into A first to save, hopefully, the best for last and shopped like crazy. We bought attractive accents lines that will be in the showroom 2/17/07. Lots of merchandise, great marketing and music made two or three showrooms stand out, but the rest were pretty mundane. You could buy an item for four dollars or four hundred dollars and it had nothing to do with quality............ We bought 42 lamps and torchieres from our regular companies, and9 new tables. But by the end of the day, we were drowning in a "Sea of Brown". The top seven floors of Building B were Chinese imports and knock-offs. There was nothing attractive or original. I crave the Milan Market, where it is too expensive, but so clever, you get goosebumps. In ten hours straight, we shopped the entire LV furniture show, every single location. You need to know that both Lizette and I did our homework. Web-sites etc. and 25 years of shopping should have allowed us to focus, but we still found only 2 new lines that passed the "Goosebump" test (meaning that I got goosebumps when I understood the line) and both sold directly to designers. Here it is folks, the 500.00 day from the Brown Sea of knowledge: Oly and Alpen, The only lines to persue in Vegas.
Do we really have to do this?
I guess the biggest question comes from the ecomic and ecological sides: Is this really happening to our business and what can we do about it? The consumer needs to know. China is rolling and America is rolling over. We produce nothing, innovate nothing and grow nothing. We can't feed ourselves, and we expect other countries to provide oil... Now we can't even manufacture competively. Stop pointing the finger and shop for American product.
Well, maybe not all American. This morning I was going through the IJ newspaper and saw 3 full-page ads for retail stores that are quitting business or QB. These QB companies are a scam. They come in from where-ever, take over family companies, put their ads in the paper and their salespeople on the floor and prostitute the retail business until it is milked to death. They put their staff up in live-in-motels and pay all their expenses, and those people will say anything to close a deal. Several days ago I was in Evolution, observing this phenomenan when I overheard a salesman say "yeah, it is Ultrasuede, it is great". I jumped in and sure enough, it was a micro-fiber (only a third of the quality and price). I was embarassed and probably cost this man a sale, but get real. How do you justify an out and out lie? OK that is another Blog.
The Las Vegas market: yes, I am sure it will become important. But, it isn't yet, and it is depressing to know that this could be the future, drowning in a Sea of Brown and buying commodities and declaring them "design".

High Point Market

Hello all! Back from HP market and what a delight. Although I did not spend enough time there, contrary to the usual, I found wonderful designs: high-end product and dealt with the delightful SF politics.
My favorite showroom had to be Emporio Beraldin. They provide leather and horn squares for wall and floor treatment, their fabrics are sumptious and the casegoods look elegant. I will be bringing this line into the showroom in the near future, but the ship times are 16 weeks. Look for the line on my home page.
Second favorite is my old standbys. John Charles with the elegant and atypical elegance for NC, Della Robbia for their frisky color palette and carpets that make you want to dance, and ACD for the well priced metal and wood classic tables. Gamma just looks Great.
One of my hottest finds I wasn't able to make it to but they will be shipping more product next week. Liora Manne of Lamontage and all of her accessories, jewelry (!) bags, tabletop, rugs and occassional furniture. This is a fabulous ethereal look with an indoor/outdoor capacity. A "must see" and only available in the city through Direct Designs Home, and the Museum of Modern Art.
I urge all to shop online and look at Hurtado and Exlesior (Nicole Miller). We are hoping to bring in a gallery of one of them and I could use your comments.
Accessories are becoming more fun and sheen is everywhere. No one does bling like we do though, see the new photos on our website. Lam Lee is our new glam line and we are hoping to get a thoroughly modern lighting line (no name yet) plus we bought Robert Sonneman Lighting.
We have purchased a 1600 square foot showroom of product from Calligaris. This is an Italian made line, priced competively with modern designs, quick ship and special order capacity. Please come by, or shop online, www.directdesignshome.com, and say you saw the blog. When you are compelled to buy you will receive an an extra 5% discount.
Metropia, Carter, and Richter are looking for good homes, they may be adopted in the near future.
HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW WE ARE EXPANDING JUST UNDER 10,000 SQUARE FEET. and hope to help you

Life is always changing in the furntiture business. We may be bringing in Baronet (what do you think?) and a few others we are struggling over. Send your suggestions, you know we are wholesale to the trade and want to help you, the designer offer the best product and the best value to your client.

I am off to NYC for the ICFF in two weeks and will let you all know what I find. Don't forget to send your photos and web sites (using our products) if you would like to be linked on our client project page.

Cheers, K

Invitation to Interior Designers

If you would like to describe your services and show any portfolio photos that include Direct Designs products, feel free to post here and backlink to your site. I maintain a referral list and often have phone calls and emails looking for high-end contemporary designers.

mailto:karen@directdesignshome.com

Welcome

Welcome to Direct Designs Home. We have just wrapped up our Winter Market. Check out the 2006 market photos listed under Showroom Today.
http://www.directdesignshome.com