Don't be shy... we won't bite.

Here comes Mr. and/or Ms. Shopper.
Into LaDiff.
Maybe with a friend, or their kid, or a parent, or alone.

Anyone who knows LaDiff, knows our sales/design team is anything but pushy.
No coca-cola-in-a-bottle at the door.
No "what'll it take" jargon.

So...
When we say 'hello!' to Mr. and/or Ms. Shopper, we really mean just that: "Hello!"

Unless you're waiting for a canal boat tour or walked by on your way to lunch somewhere, we know you arrived at LaDifference on purpose. We know we're a 'destination location'. Having a 50,000 square foot showroom in downtown Richmond kinda makes us that way.

So...
We're not going to bite. Or force. Or stalk.
We don't wear black and play weird New Age freaky music (okay, wait, sometimes that happens but we try to change it...).
We just want to know what brought you into the store.

Really!

I mean, we do advertise, and send out mail pieces, and tweet and such.
So, we like to know what worked!

And if you weren't completely happy when you visited, we want to know that too. Look at it this way: it's kinda like wanting to know if you have food in your teeth. No matter how cute that guy or girl is who tells you the truth, you're still glad to know, even if you are a little embarrassed.

So...
We like it when you talk to us when you come in.
We like it when you visit.
We like it when you tell us what else you've been doing downtown (b/c downtown Richmond rocks).
We like your feedback: good, bad, or indifferent.
And, obviously, we really like it when you buy something... but we like it even more when you tell us why you bought it (or... why you didn't).

So...
Don't be shy... we won't bite.

BDI Celebrates 25 Years!

To do anything for 25 years these days is quite an achievement: keep a job, stay married, live in the same house much less the same city.

To do it and continue to innovate, create and inspire every day is a home run.

Our friends at BDI, led by the esteemed Bill Becker, celebrated their 25th anniversary of designing, making, and selling furniture this year. ... And LaDiff has been a customer for just about that long!

Last night, BDI entertained us with an anniversary party, surrounded by customers, friends, design students, and media. They revealed the name of their anniversary Design Student competition, co-sponsored by MetHome.

Furniture Today magazine revealed the name of the winner, San Jose design student Tim Seward, in one of their market issues. Click here for the story and a photo of Tim's winning design, Myriad.

In the meantime, learn a little more about this fantastic company at BDI's website or on the LaDifference website.

Great product, great service, but, most importantly, GREAT people.

Our very best congrats to Bill and his amazing crew!

Tom Moore won the Contest!

Congratulations to our friend and future Hollywood star Tom Moore, of Lawrance Furniture in San Diego, for his WINNING entry in American Leather's "Best Pitcher" contest. Tom submitted quite a comedic - and very "Tom-like"- video touting the benefits of the American Leather comfort sleeper. YAY TOM!

Unfortunately, Tom had to stay in San Diego this weekend, instead of venturing to High Point, so his 'boss' Howard accepted the prize on Tom's behalf.

And to think... we knew him when...

It's about relationships, really.

The four LaDiff buyers are in High Point, ready to tackle another furniture market tomorrow morning.

Tonight, for dinner, we took a former LaDiffer and current rep out to dinner for her birthday. It's one of those lovely situations where someone who used to work for us, buy product for us, sell product for us... and now sells product to us... is still a friend. And we like that.

In fact, when we shop for furniture, gifts, accessories, lamps, rugs... etc. ... we like to know the company from whom we're buying. We like to know the people. We like to know the 'story.' It makes the 'business' part of the relationship more interesting and more fun.

This approach to business carries through to our showroom at LaDifference. Our sales team and designers and delivery drivers genuinely like working with people. Laughter is the predominant 'noise' of conversation you'll hear in our store. And we like that.

Yes, it may start with looks (the furniture that is... the sexy, modern, colorful furniture), but it takes a good, solid relationship for it to continue: a full circle - vendor-rep-us-you.

We like that.
And we hope you do too.

Happy Birthday to a favorite LaDiff rep!

From EVERYONE at LaDiff, we want to wish a super wonderful birthday to one of our favorite people. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KYLI BINGHAM - former LaDiffer and now our rep for American Leather - an awesome American-made (of course) leather & upholstery supplier. We wish you lots of magic and a great High Point market! See you soon!

Packing and Prepping for High Point

Packing for a 5-day business trip in April, in North Carolina, when most of your time is spent schlepping from showroom to showroom, both indoors & out... is not easy.

First there are the extremes:
Do you demonstrate the height of fashion in your attire?
Do you dress for comfort and practicality?
Do you dress for the lighting showroom that is always 90 degrees?
Do you dress for the leather vendor that has the a/c turned down so low you'd think they were chilling vodka right there in showroom? (wait, they probably are...)

Then there are the 'faux pas' considerations:
How do you dress for the constant sitting, testing, stretching, reclining? You don't want a wardrobe malfunction in the middle of a recliner test.
(note: you cannot buy a chair, recliner, sofa or mattress if you haven't tested it out... tight skirts do not work on furniture buying trips. Remember that, boys.)

Then there is the walking, the constant walking:
Will these shoes be comfortable if I have to wear them 2 or more days in a row?
Do they match EVERYTHING I am taking?
Is it crazy to take 6 pairs of shoes for a 5 day trip?

Finally, there is that least predictable bugger, the weather:
Do you dress for the walking outside between showrooms (wind? sun? gosh forbid... rain?)
... after all, lugging an umbrella, raincoat, windbreaker, or heavy sweater around all day, since you inevitably will NOT end up where you started, is a tough consideration.
or Do you beg and plead for someone to drop you off and pick you up and try to figure out indoor paths all day?

With all of this to consider, I will, tonight, for the 35th time (yes, 35th - before you age me prematurely, remember, this market is TWICE a year), force my clothes to audition (yes, you read that correctly) for this trip to High Point.

If they don't pass the tests (oh, and make me look thinner too, of course), they won't make the cut.

Missing Milan

When you're an international furniture store, and you tell people you're off on a buying trip, they naturally think "Milan!"

When you say, "No, this spring it's just High Point," you realize you aren't the only one who is a little disappointed.

Each spring, someone from LaDiff goes to Milan.

Last year, we missed this incredibly important and very well attended Italian 'furniture fair' because of a family engagement (it's not every day your first grade is in a play with Chinese songs).

This year, the decision was more difficult.

First, A - the prez - who LOVES to travel whenever and wherever - did attend the Cologne furniture fair in January and saw most of our vendors' 2009 introductions. (Not to mention the fact that he followed up the show with a skiing trip in Switzerland.)

Second, High Point and Milan overlap this spring. Each are hugely important furniture shows but in very different ways. Unfortunately, High Point is a 3 1/2 hour drive - Milan is 2 days of air travel - 1 each way. Just as the Milan show was starting... today... our other friends in North Carolina would be starting to greet those early arrivals. Trying to do both is exhausting.

In the end, Milan was voted out and High Point in.

Risotto vs. Grits.
Red wine vs. the accessory floor 'cart' ladies.

If food was the determining factor, the decision would have gone the other way completely. (I wonder if the waiters at LaBaita notice that A is not there?)

So, forgive us - please - if we are thinking about Kartell's big party, the Euroluce introductions, and even the body-hugging crowds on the metro trying to get back to the $400/night tiny hotel room. The Milan Fair is exquisitely, wonderfully, and exhaustingly Italian design and attitude at its very best.

Milan, we miss you.

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! LaDifference is excited to add this new component to our site and features. Check back regularly for posts on our adventures in High Point, at the store, and around the world.