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High Point October 09

2009-10-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

HIGH POINT MARKET, THE NEW ITEMS

Well apparently if I want the website to have my blog, I have to have a new blog for the facebook page. If anyone knows how to resolve this, let me know!
High Point October Update:
Four days, four miles and over 400 showrooms later and I found:
Tomlinson Upholstery. Interesting, I went in to shop other lines, and was thinking "this is ok, my clients will get it", I guess I can use it.... And then, bam! out of the corner of my eye, I saw this gorgeous grouping. I tentatively walked over to it as it is not my "look" and I sat on a cloud. You will love this line, I brought in 9 pieces to show the diversity. See some of the boring images on this site, but trust that we made it exciting.
Planum Furniture. I have been shopping this line for over 10 years and was always afraid of the price point (20,000 up for casegoods). This year the delightful Werner came out with several new collections that are SICK and well priced. Yes I bought several. Look for a ebony wall and zebrano dining set with awesome chairs, definitely designed to be heirlooms.
DellaRobbia As always, looks excellent. They introduced several new modern european upholstery pieces and we brought more in that we love.
Lazar is looking amazing for the price point (remember 70% of the business is commercially graded and high use, Starbucks etc.). It can NOW be CUSTOMIZED for you as well. Three new groups coming in. American Leather looks beautiful, I miss the hundreds of new intro's that Nancy Genova used to offer, but it does look lovely. the only problem that we have is the lack of the big new product.
DIAintroduce some very artsy pieces. I thought it was a bold move, almost "arts and crafts" but with a modern beat, so I brought that in, along with several new pieces that incorporate steel with acrylic.
Keep posted for information regarding Calvin Klein Curator Collection, (in the thumbnail image) and Archetype. Karen

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HIGH POINT MARKET, THE NEW ITEMS
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High Point - YES

2009-05-18T19:56:00.001-07:00

Once again, over 45 plus trips to the High Point Market, I was dreading the trip. Truly, dreading the event. Imagine my surprise when I saw so many, new creative and innovative designs. The quality of the product shown here has always far surpassed the product in Vegas (can you say "sea of brown"?), but I actually cancelled my flight home and stayed for an extra day as there was so much to see and do. I met with the Calvin Klein Group, the Leif Pedersen mafia, and the fabulous Brownstone Boys. Factories had made an effort to step out and up with color, new product, improved ship times and to my surprise, they were more agreeable to working as a collaborative, and less like dictators.

The most exciting surprise? Stone International. Katie has outdone herself. The President of this international company is carrying cut and tooled leather furntire, exotic outdoor goods, and tables made with crystals and precious metals imbedded in them. We are bringing the line in right away and I hope you will come to our launch of this product the first Wednesday in June (assuming it get's here, look for your eblast).

The biggest disappointment? That I couldn't pick up this fun sofa from Haute Couture, someone secretly snuck in ahead of market and committed to it. But don't dispair, we will run this line in our showroom in the near future.

The second biggest disappointment? A company I have been looking at for a few months, my "green" line, that really failed to deliver, case-goods are hard to produce and ship "green" but I don't know how many of you will buy the "it will last forever, that make's is sustainable" line.
Can't say much else, too many secrets to divulge. come see us soon. k

ICFF

2009-05-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, don't know where to start. I was so excited about going to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, that I booked a five day ticket -of course, who wouldn't want to spend five days in nyc anyway-which after a few moments at this show,I realized my folly. This fair is unusually small, showing items, not products, and what seemed like one-third of the fair was dedicated to a design competition of some sort. Granted these were very fun, the Pratt School of Design created useful design items for under 1.00, but this is a show for interior designers. FYI, one full day with time for seminars would cover this.

My goal going into this was to find fabulous product that my clients would love and want to sell to their client's. Imagine my surpise when I was told by the two vendor's I HAD TO HAVE, that they couldn't work with me because they sell A retail store in SF. Doesn't this seem a little paranoid? I think most of you spend as little time in furniture stores as you can. Sadly and true, they are harder to find. but how does the end user access great product otherwise? I find it interesting that many of these boutique lines, don't want to commit to anything because "Limn may be picking them up" or "Arkitectura is carrying the line in Detroit". Should I take this personally? Or just realize that they don't feel competition breeds business? How is anyone going to see it to want it? Let's hope that they do get the deal they need and me, well I found inspiration and that is worth all the time and money spent. Now I just need to find the product. NYC, Carol and Wilson rocks!

Moving to SFDC

2008-02-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

As I said in my email to many of you, "sometimes you just need a big shove". I am referring to our much delayed attempts to move to a major design center. For the past three years, since the Las Vegas exodus started, we have contempolated this move and due to our general success at the SFM and the knowledge that my kids were still interested in having me around, I put the big decision off. Then the building announced that they were closing. Honestly, this wasn't a surprise, we all suffered a long slow death with the Mart and knew we were milking it at that time, but it did light the fire, and I am happy to announce we will be open at the SFDC Showplace Suite 403 by the end of February.

It has been a long, happy, successful and fun run here, and we thank all of our client's and their client's for supporting us for so long. We hope that you will find it easier to visit us in our new location and hope that you will continue to provide the valuable feedback that we have recieved over the years.

Low Point-NOT

2007-10-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

News Flash----High Point Market is the place to see elegant, modern and contemporary furniture. Once considered a difficult maze and a personal insult, the North Carolina High Point International Furniture Market is finally gracious and accomodating. The cost to attend the markets (winter and spring) are based on supply and demand, with the demand to attend decreasing the market is becoming a more agreeable place to visit and work. The days of triple priced menus and hotel and auto companies gouging our wallets are over. I had fabulous meals at Nobel's for under 50.00 and only had to wait in line for one hour. The house I stayed in was worn but charming and my fellow Californians were so generous to allow me to stay with them an at an Affodable Rate, another first for me. I left my favorite GA flats at the house and the owner called me as she wanted to return them, and didn't need MY FED-EX number! Are we becoming nicer because business is harder or are we finally getting our priorities straight? Can we afford to be generous to those who have been loyal to us over the years? Can we afford not to? Update is in the pudding, hopefully you can come enjoy the new product in 2 months. k

Top Designer

2007-03-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-10T17:15:00.000-08:00

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

2006-05-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

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

2006-02-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

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