Think VALUE when shopping for furniture

Over the last several months, too many of us have watched our 401(k)'s, IRA's, and other stock-market-driven portfolios suffer more than ever before. In a blink, American shopping habits changed from 'fashionista' to 'recessionista'.

First, let me say that I think this was a needed change for our impulsive American society who did not 'save' very well compared to other countries around the world. We needed a kick in the pants to remind us that 'all things in moderation' is a very good approach to life. Unfortunately, instead of becoming more 'moderate' in our spending habits, many Americans just stopped cold turkey. (See 5/19 blog about Suze Orman on Oprah)

This abrupt mindset shift about spending money was understandably challenging for retailers, as this business depends on the co-mingled 'desire to shop' and 'shopping desires' of the American consumers to survive and thrive.

So... how to react?

Larger retailers saw the iceberg, but the boat was so big they couldn't turn around. Their orders with major suppliers were already on the way or couldn't be stopped. So, they went on sale, and the months-long span of deep-deep-DEEP discounting, starting with the pre-Christmas season, began.

Soon thereafter, all media began preaching Discount! Haggle! Sale! They went (and still go) so far as to say that you're a fool if you do NOT ask for a discount.

Hmmm... Let's think about where that will lead. If larger retailers KNOW the consumer will expect a deep, deep discount, they'll just start making the first price higher so that they can give you a deeper discount. Or, to leave the prices the same, they'll make the product a lower and lower quality so that they pay less up front. (If you don't think this is how it works with the 'big guys', I'm sorry to burst the bubble, but it's true.)

What's the alternative?
Talk about VALUE. SERVICE. and the SHOPPING EXPERIENCE.
and
Talk about the INVESTMENT the consumer is making in the product.

I love a good sale as much as the next person, and, yes, I've been known to brag about getting a great 'deal' on a pair of clearance shoes.

I also shop for value.

Here are two pieces of advice I learned from my mom:
1. just because it's on sale, doesn't mean it's a good value.
2. Think about the item: if you wanted or needed it before you learned it was on sale, then go for it! If you are acting impulsively, use only discretionary income and realize there may be no value in what you are buying.

One more guideline that I try to follow when shopping:

Price per Use

There have been a lot of money saving ideas thrown out to the public lately. For instance, you can buy lunch each day for $7 per day (almost $50/week), or you can make your lunch for 5 days ... for about the same $7. Makes sense (and saves cents). (and makes splurging one or two days a week not feel so bad!)

Let's use Price Per Use in a retail example>

Suppose you find this amazing avocado green leather jacket that reminds you of something the Mod Squad would have worn: sleek, sexy, and a blast to the early 1970's. It was originally priced at $450 and is now reduced to $99. A steal, right? So you buy it. Well... the first time you wear it out in public, you realize that looking like you're from 1973 may not be the look you're going for. Your friends give you a hard time, so when you get home, the coat goes to the back of your closet until you finally fish it out on a Goodwill purge day.

What did this coat cost per use? $99.00

Now, suppose you save for a bit, and buy a current but classic brown leather jacket for $450, and find an avocado green scarf on sale for $15. The coat lasts you 10 years and you wear it every season, October through March. You get lots of compliments. Now your price per use is $45 per year, $7.50 per month... wear it 5 days/week, and that's down to less than 40cents per use. A BIG difference.

The same thing works when shopping for furniture.

You walk into a furniture store and see a beautiful sofa. It's $1500. Wow. From all the ads you've seen in the newspaper, you thought sofas were supposed to be $499. You allow (yes, allow, because that's what consumers do) the salesperson to approach because you want to know what makes this sofa special. Turns out it is made in the USA (I can betcha the $499 sofa was not). You also find out that the cushion core is soy mixed with foam: a much 'greener' product. You like that. The frame is solid wood. You can choose from over 75 fabrics. And your salesperson has just offered to create a plan of your room, for free! You buy the sofa, and enjoy it in your home every day for 10 years, and the only reason you get rid of it then is because it has been so well loved by the dog and the kids.

That's a $1500 sofa, used and enjoyed for 10 years.
Price per use: $150 per year; $12.50 per month, about 40cents per day!

The $499 sofa may only last you about 3 years before the cushions break down and the cover fades... making its price per use $166/year... about 45cents/day... which doesn't sound like much of a difference, except that you'll have to buy ANOTHER sofa at the end of those 3 years... hmmm. It really is true that you 'get what you pay for.'

Enough soapboxing, and I hope this wasn't too preachy.
Sometimes just bringing a little perspective can help people understand that the most important decision that goes into buying furniture should not be "how much will I save?!" or "did I get the cheapest one out there?!"

Along with "do I like it and want it in my house?", the question should be "does the combination of the service I am receiving plus the long term value of this product warrant its price tag?" That is how LaDiff hopes you invest in furniture. Sure, we want you to have fun and be impulsive, too, but when it comes to the serious stuff, like where your family sits, sleeps, and eats, we think value is a pretty important part of that decision.

The Evolution of www.ladiff.com

In the timeline of websites, www.LaDiff.com has been around for a LONG time. While we are not quite as old as Amazon (Bezos started that little marvel 14 years ago this summer), ladiff.com is - get this - one month older than Google (who will be 12 this September). That's pretty cool. We were around before all that dot.com explosion of 1999, and came out of it the other end happy and smiling.

Our first site, which was very experimental and very pretty, was designed by the one-of-a-kind Carol Cahill, former-LaDiffer-and-designer-extraordinaire.

A few years later, it was updated...twice. It was still pretty, more menu-driven, and it started moving up the Google charts to appear at the top of those search lists. We liked that! Only problem was the maintenance. The site used to be all HTML - it grew to be over 1000 pages deep & wide - a bear to update and organize. (And a task undertaken valiantly through the years by Sarah, Brooke, Ken, Lois, Beth, and John... thank you all!)

Last March (2008), LaDiff changed the format of our website.
We changed to a data-base driven site, thanks to the perseverance of then LaDiff designer Sarah Pratt and the OS Commerce expertise of the folks at Allegro Consultants. The then-new site could (and can) be updated far more easily than before by not just the LaDiff graphic designer, but by the buyers and others, too. Discontinuations by vendors? Delete! Price changes? Update! Color no longer available? Change!

While we are still not point-click-BUY (we still firmly believe that FURNITURE buying decisions require the warm-fuzzy interaction with a talented, smart LaDiff salesperson!), you can go to LaDiff's website and fill & submit a shopping cart, ask questions, get dimensions & details, and so much more than you could on the previous version.

Fast forward to last week... Tuesday to be exact... when we revealed our latest version of ladiff.com, with even MORE updates and changes. When font-loving-former-Portlander (that's OR not ME) Juliette arrived on the scene, she set out to take the good and make it even better. (And we're not finished yet!)

Here are a few of the changes you'll find in our recent 'FaceLift':
1. A link to 'Staff Picks' where you can learn what individuals on our sales team list as their favorite LaDiff items!
2. Identifiers on our 'green' merchandise (this is still a work in progress, in tandem with our in-store 'green' leaf rating system!... stay tuned!)
3. A link to LaDiff's Facebook Page where you can become a FAN.
4. A new category all for VIVE - our newest introduction of global & eclectic furniture: old world charm with a LaDiff attitude.
5. A link to this blog! (but you don't need that now... because you're already HERE)
6. And a way for us to include special, smaller shout-outs that feature certain vendors or categories such as outdoor furniture or our new Calligaris Gallery.

The colors are updated, too - a bit bolder and brighter to jump off the page and into your memory banks.

Take a look-see for us and tell us what you think! We love feedback, since it only helps us get better and better. Check it out for yourselves... www.ladiff.com - We hope you like it!

The best part of ICFF... had nothing to do with 'furniture' and everything to do with 'buying and selling' it... locally.

When you take a couple of days away from the beck and call of "the store", the ideas start flowing... especially when you are in the presence of creative people. Our visit to ICFF was good for furniture, yes, ... but it was even better for our psyche.

A highlight of our trip was attending a seminar led by Cinda Baxter. On March 9th, in response to an episode of Oprah where Suze Orman told viewers to stop spending money in an effort to increase savings and plan for 'the worst' - a cold turkey spending approach to reacting to the new economic challenges - Cinda, on her 'Always Upward' blog responded with "Oprah, You've Got it Wrong."... and, thus, the 3/50 Project was born.

The 3/50 Project is the principle that spending money in moderation is good for the economy, especially when you spend it with your local, bricks & mortar businesses. I could go into lots and lots of detail and defense of this fine ... okay, utterly BRILLIANT... idea right here, but I would prefer that you - that's YOU, the person reading this blog post right now - go to her website and see for yourself.

So... if you go to the 3/50 Project's website, and then go to the supporters page, and then scroll down to Virginia (way, way down to Virginia... ), you'll see LaDifference. We signed up about 10 days ago and I was just plain tickled pink to see our name show up today. So tickled.

This is a plan that is all about balance. I've already told A that there are certain things that I like that I cannot find at my local retailers (let's not talk about my underwear drawer now, okay?). BUT, there are quite a few purchases we make each month, from groceries to dining out to buying wine to gardening supplies where we can, should and will make a conscious effort to support our locally owned and operated businesses.

The concept behind the 3/50 Project is that 68cents of every dollar I spend with these folks will STAY in my community. It is overwhelmingly empowering. Payrolls, advertising dollars, sales taxes, property taxes, and payroll taxes... shoot, changing our wine purchases alone could bring a boost to the City of Richmond's bottom line! (Not to mention that shopping locally is a far more 'green' and ecofriendly alternative to shopping ONLINE and having items shipped across the country... hmmm)

Please.
Visit www.the350project.net and learn more about this project.
The concept started as a blog 2 months ago and has grown virally ever since.
It makes sense for the country, for communities like Richmond, for locally owned, privately held bricks & mortar businesses.

Watch for LaDiff's participation on our website and beyond.
Hey... while you're at it, get involved yourself!
Your community will thank you... and so will we.

ICFF-Bound

A and I are headed for a quick, two-day trip to the Big Apple tomorrow for the ICFF show. The International Contemporary Furniture Fair is going on at the Javits Center Saturday-Tuesday, May 16-19. (at the same time as the stationary show!)

This is an interesting and inspiring show for a furniture store such as LaDiff. You'd think it would be a natural fit, being that it's a contemporary furniture fair and we are kinda sorta a contemporary furniture store.

ICFF has become the USA's home furnishings 'design' show. It is one of the only - or perhaps the MAIN event - where designers and designs are celebrated. Sale-ability and the 'retail market' aren't the driving forces like they are in High Point.
Here it's about the next look, the next innovation, the next idea.

Compared to the Salone (fair) in Milan, ICFF is quite tiny, but it still shows off some of the best and brightest and most clever in the world of pure, modern design. (and, really, it is more modern than contemporary... and if you're saying 'what's the difference between those two words?', there may be a need for another blog entry to cover that)

Sunday we'll walk around Javits, while Sunday evening we'll head out into the city for shows, exhibits, and parties that are all show & designer related. Often, designers who get 'noticed' at ICFF will have their ideas picked up by larger 'production' houses who can help them move from the one-of stage to the multiples-of stage (when they do start to think about 'sale-ability').

Another great feature of ICFF is the attention they pay and the importance they give to design schools. This year, 5 schools, including RISD and Pratt, Cranbrook, MICA, and San Diego State, will have student designs featured in an exhibition at the show. This is where we, as retailers, can see how and what the students are learning, where they see the needs are for the future, and we can wrap our heads around those ideas too.

For those of you not in the furniture or design biz or in media, ICFF includes a 'public day' on Tuesday the 19th (the last day). Just like Milan, anyone - for a fee - can visit the show, see the designs, and get inspired.

If you'll be there, let us know! We're going to try to tweet a bit from the show, and you can follow @LaDIFF and send us a message if you're there!

Off to pack that overnight bag... and we'll see you at ICFF!

Enjoying our outdoor 'rooms'

Being located in Richmond, VA, we get to enjoy all 4 seasons.

Summers are hot and sticky humid because of our proximity to the Atlantic Ocean (yes, 2 hours away counts as 'proximity'). Autumn is resplendent with beautiful leaf colors and lots of festivals throughout our city (including our favorite: the Richmond Folk Festival). Winter is cold but generally mild with a few snow flurries or ice storms thrown in for good measure.

Then there is spring.
By now, in central Virginia, May is considered 'late spring'.
Also by now, residents are realizing that being outside is wonderful. It’s breezy in the evenings, warm and sunny during the day, and the occasional rain shower just tells us our gardens will be all the more fruitful later.

They’ve taken our allergy pills, planted their gardens, and cleaned off their patios, terraces and decks. They're ready to move back into that room they use a few months of the year: OUTDOORS.

Cooking outdoors, playing outdoors, dining outdoors... enjoying and using your outdoor spaces is a treat and a treasure. In Richmond, the outdoor-enjoyment-season starts in spring, goes through summer, and meanders into our beautiful fall.

At LaDiff, we believe in furnishing your outdoor spaces with the same wonderful style you use throughout your home. Comfort, durability, and fun all come together in a 'LaDiff Outdoor Environment.'

From the bright colors of the Italian made Aqua chair, great for use indoors when the weather turns again, to those multi-purpose Everywhere rugs from our friends at Trans Ocean (yes, a rug you can use indoors OR OUT!) to terrifically durable and fashionable collections in teak from Schou of Denmark or Emu of Italy…

LaDiff LOVES living outdoors.

Click here for more examples.

Yellow and grey and black, oh my! (aka The Colors of High Point)

Another High Point market is behind us.

My 35th.
J's 28th.
JK's 2nd.
A's... was it 60?
(please keep in mind that HP market is TWICE a year).

We all returned one week ago tonight with dogs-a-barkin' and minds-a-burstin' with new ideas!

While High Point is not Milan (by the way, thanks a lot Jim & Bob for telling us how WONDERFUL Milan was... ... did you have to rub it in?), it is still a great show for relationship building and design watching.
Really... a long-time American furniture market that still offers some WOW factor.

So, what did we like?

First, we loved the color forecast.
Greys weren't cool, forbidding, and offputting. Instead they had soft undertones of brown running through them. Think 'pewter' as opposed to 'silver'. They were contrasted with pure black (lacquer or stained wood or glass).

Then, to mix up your mind and provide excitement, wonderful but warm citrus tones were mixed in to whet the appetite. Greens that were acid or apple or chartreuse and yellows that were anything but banana or butter.
Like the color of ... keylimes: tart & refreshing.

In case goods, we saw the continued application of American walnut. From the exquisite mid-century inspired collections from Copeland Furniture of Vermont, to new, unexpected treats from Saloom of Pennsylvania, we were ready to jump on the walnut bandwagon full force! LaDiff has always loved natural walnut... it is such a treat to see the true grain of the wood instead of a sea of dark brown.

Our Italian friends showed off their Milanese introductions of walnut too, mixed with soft ivory lacquer for a mix that was luxurious and sophisticated without the severity that minimal 'black & white' or even 'dark brown & white' can bring. These softer wood tones and warmer lacquer colors are inviting, soothing and restful - perfect for the bedroom or dining room.

We were delighted to see new inspiration from our AMERICAN suppliers. Yes, we do shop the world, but when you find something you love in your own backyard, why leave? Comfort, color, and quality are key with these vendors.

Our friends at Curvet in Pennsylvania continue to surprise us with the amazing and wonderful things they do with glass! Berg Furniture of New Jersey impressed us with their fantastic ideas for kids' furniture... we love those steps to the top bunk!

We were particularly pleased to discover new designs from Christian McCreary - son of one of our favorite upholstery suppliers - who has ventured out on his own with new ideas and new innovations.

We look forward to continuing to build a relationship with Christian and other American manufacturers who want to provide interesting, functional, comfortable, beautiful products, made in the states, providing a 'green' story, and offering superb service.

To wrap up:

• that's black/grey/keylime (yeah, definitely keylime) for fabrics, rugs, textiles
• natural walnut for wood (preferably with a mid-century inspiration or, if Italian inspired, mixed with soft ivories)
• invigorated designs and innovative ideas from AMERICAN suppliers.

Add to all of that the inevitable 'catching up' with the suppliers, reps, vendors, and retail colleagues we are proud to call our friends. Good wine, good food, good fun.

Now... to get those orders placed, plan out the floor space to make room, and show you this great new product in PERSON!

Stay tuned........

p.s. Almost forgot the shout out to designer extraordinaire AW from NY who joined us for a rocking night with Blood Sweat & Tears. Who says High Point isn't keeping up with Vegas? (well... they're trying).

Redefining the 'dining room' experience

In the last week, how many times did you eat a meal, at a table, sitting in a chair?

Nope... the chair in front of your TV and the table beside said chair do not count.

Let's face it. The idea of sitting in a 'dining room' to, well, dine is not nearly as common as it used to be.

When I was a child - a few decades ago - Mom called my sister & me away from our afternoon of lego-village-building and TV-watching (Zoom, probably) to set the table. This was our chore. Now, if you're old enough to remember the original Zoom theme song, you will also know that we were NOT setting the table in the DINING room. That room was saved for the Sunday pot roast or for special occasions. We ate our family dinner around the little round melamine table in our kitchen, with the plastic place mats and the paper napkins. (fyi: wallpaper with the different spice jars and spice names all over it... bet you had that, too.) This was when Mom was home in the afternoon, Dad worked downtown, and dinner was at 6pm for the whole family (egads).

Fast forward a few decades.

Few houses of new construction even include a formal dining room in the plans. Kitchens are huge and they flow into family rooms, eating nooks, breakfast areas. Living rooms became 'studies' or home offices.

So... where do we eat now? (other than in front of the TV)

At a table. Sitting in a chair. Over a plate of food.
That part hasn't changed.

A variety of forces have propelled Americans back into the kitchen and, subsequently, into their version of a 'dining room.' Nostalgia, health, and finances have us eating together again.

The Food Network has us salivating at the possibility that we can be a great chef, or at least make a 30-Minute Meal. According to Laura Miller, staff critic at Salon.com, cookbook sales are on the rise - one of the few shining stars in the publishing world.

Concern for our health has propelled people to search for more organic and healthy ways to feed our souls. A resurgence in community gardens, farmers' markets, and expanded organic food sections at the grocery store has also pushed us back to the kitchen to experiment.

According to Amy Kyle, editor of Home Furnishings Business, a trade magazine for furniture types, dining rooms are making a comeback. In her May editorial, the idea of inconspicuous consumption is trumping luxury. As our more fiscally prudent household budgets have reduced our visits to our favorite restaurant from weekly to monthly, we return to the dining room to satisfy our newly expanded palates.

What does this mean to a furniture store... like LaDiff?

For one, it means understanding what our consumer means when he or she says they are looking for 'dining furniture.' This category has expanded so much in the last 15 years, it takes some drilling down to know what they mean.

How do YOU dine?

• barstools at the kitchen counter
• small table in the 'breakfast' room, where the dog sleeps and the high chair lives
• formal dining room, cooking and presenting to family and friends
• casually - pulling out a mix of your specialties with your CostCo favorites
• romantically at a table just for two
• outside... definitely outside.
  

There is no 'right way' to eat dinner.
There is no 'right way' to buy furniture for your 'dining' experience.

All of the above are 'appropriate' and bring us back to the table for
good food, good conversation, and good fun.