Does your TSBL decal tell a great story?

Last week I told you about our local Retail Merchants Association's new campaign to Think.Shop.Buy.Local. The campaign is getting into full swing! Radio ads are running, Saturday, Nancy Thomas and I were interviewed by 'On Track with Vanessa Womack' on WLEE, and tomorrow's Richmond Times Dispatch will include a full page ad sponsored by LOTS of RMA members who believe in the concept.

This campaign is not just about the retailers.
It is about the consumers... and that's ALL OF US.
The TSBL campaign asks consumers to visit the website, read the pledge, and pick up a decal for your car at one of the retailers listed. The idea is that someone will see YOUR decal, ask about it, then get one for themselves.

Here's the pledge...

I pledge to THINK first of my local economy,
SHOP first at my local businesses,
and BUY first from local companies who give back so much,
in so many ways, to my community.

The request is to consider the consequences of your shopping decision. Period.

So...What local retailer(s) do YOU love?
Why do you love them?
Is it the product? the people? the experience?
Is it something special they did to win you over?
Why do you return to them?
Do you have a great story you can share about them?

We want to know! Enter your stories as comments below.
Your feedback helps your community and helps all retailers - LaDiff too! - continue to improve.

Thank you and we look forward to reading your stories!

THINK.SHOP.BUY.LOCAL - Wanted: YOUR local shopping stories

In late May, in a blog followup to the ICFF show in NYC, I told you about LaDiff's involvement with a then-newish, still grass-roots effort called The 3/50 Project.

This project is all about supporting local, independently owned retail business through the simple act of spending $50/month in their stores. LaDiff quickly became a participant, a tout-er, and a rooftop shouter!

We also took the idea to our local Retail Merchants Association, who was then trying very hard... with very little budget... to develop a Shop Local/Buy Local campaign. Because this association has membership that includes franchise owners and local stores of larger chains, they were unable to endorse the 3/50 Project at the exclusion of other members. They did, however, sign up as a supporter of the project and also saw the powerful effect that *NUMBERS* have on people. Immediately, the RMA changed their approach.

A beautifully simple concept, backed by an entire community of retailers, their media partners and city supporters, and produced by the Retail Merchants Association was born:

THINK*SHOP*BUY*LOCAL

Just as with Cinda Baxter's extraordinarily quick progress with 3/50, the TSBL program grew legs quickly. A quick-to-meet joint session of the Marketing & Membership committees got the ball rolling. Next a talented web designer (shout out to Dana Matheny at ProDeuce Marketing!), a clever and creative radio crew, a quick-acting & pink-wearing newspaper ad woman, and an inspiring, tireless Association president and her team (shout out to Nancy Thomas and team!) helped take Think.Shop.Buy.Local from an inspired idea to a reality.

While this CAMPAIGN asks for retail involvement and support, what is different and more important is how it asks for COMMUNITY and CONSUMER support.

When you visit the website at www.retailmerchants.com/local, you-the-consumer can sign a pledge to support your local business first. You can also pick up a decal for your car with the TSBL logo emblazoned on it. We want to see these decals driving all over our beautiful city! The more there are, the more others will ask!

Will everyone be on board with the idea? Of course not.
There are always those who will abuse the privilege of walking into a local merchant, 'test-driving' the goods, then shop online without ever mentioning this betrayal to the merchant. Funny thing is... the more that activity happens, the less likely the chance that the merchant will be around to 'abuse' in future months. It's an interesting cycle...

Communication is important.
Retailers cannot live in a vacuum.
We need to be aware of our competition locally AND nationally, and we need to be prepared for the conversations about price matching and product availability.
Consumers, on the other hand, are realizing that the ability to touch, see, and learn about product in person is a highly valuable experience; that the ability to know the owner or manager of a store in person can be a benefit; that their local business respects and appreciates them as a person because they co-exist in the same community.

In the end, it comes back to the Think.Shop.Buy.Local tag line:
YOU make the community better with your decision.

So... now... I'd LOVE to hear YOUR favorite 'local merchant' stories. Why do you support them? What makes them different from an online or out of town option? Heck, these kinds of stories are so heartwarming and so real, that I'll probably want to offer them up for inclusion on the new Retail Merchants website!

Now... go forth, and Think.Shop.Buy..... LOCAL!

The Half-way Mark

Yes, summer technically begins on or about June 21st... according to all those equinox calendar sunrising & setting rules... but, for most of us, summer starts with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day. This year that gives us 15 glorious weeks to wear flip flops and tank tops, eat sweet sticky peaches, grill out nearly every night, hit the pool or the beach, and be just a little bit lazy.

At first, we try to fill those longer days with activities every minute: May is chock full of festivals and cookouts and parties. We get our gardens going. We mow the lawn, a lot. We might even paint the house! Then, after the solstice, we realize that the best way to fill those extra minutes is just to enjoy them. We sit back and enjoy the literal and figurative fruits (and veggies) of our labor.

So, here we are, almost 1/2 way between those two summer bookend holidays, wondering where the first 1/2 went, and figuring out what's left on our 'traditional summertime' list still to do. And, if you're a parent, you're wondering how to fill those minutes, hours, ... days..., left until school starts again.

When you are ready to rev up for back to school or to get into gear for fall, come on by LaDiff for a visit. We've been anything BUT summertime lazy... sprucing up the whole store all season long. Our first floor has a fresh coat of paint in a new color that makes the furniture POP even more. We have new product here or on the way for all three floors, from new solid wood cherry bedrooms from Copeland (storage beds!) and Cherry Pond to new kids' furniture from Berg (lofts with STAIRS)and Tvilum (cool Mixi collection in white & orange!) to ergonomic, back-friendly office seating in the form of the classic Balans chairs from Varier of Norway. ... and that's just the beginning.

Sure, a lot of folks are retrenching and hibernating during this 'challenging' economic period - and they are making it a little too obvious with their outdated selections and tired showrooms. At LaDiff, this year has been a time of opportunity. We are rearranging the furniture, literally, and bringing on some new excitement. Come fall, we'll be the kid on 'back to school' day who has grown 2", has a new haircut, and a whole new wardrobe... while we're still the awesome, original kid inside.

We hope you're enjoying your summer too... lazy days, busy days, hot days, fun days.
At LaDiff, we can't wait to share all of our summer adventures with you the next time you visit!

Thanks for coming to our party (uh... SALE)!

Whew... what a sale!

For 6 days Team-LaDiff ran up and down the stairs, in and out of warehouse aisles, and all around the floor helping the hundreds of customers who showed up for our annual 4th of July party, er, I mean, sale event.

Each year, this sale is more fun than the last. And 2009 was no exception.

What can be better than waking up the day after it's all over to read the following email from a happy customer:

"Thank you! My wife and I bought several pieces of furniture over the weekend and I want to compliment both the salesperson and the guys who loaded the furniture into our car. Everyone was very helpful and courteous and they all helped make our shopping at La Diff a very, very fun event. They also made sure we didn't leave without having a hamburger and hot dog! Thank you all so much."

Burgers & dogs were consumed.
Sodas enjoyed.
A beer or two imbibed at days' ends to celebrate the success of the annual party that is LaDiff's annual 4th of July sale.
And furniture was sold...

Thanks for coming! We'll be sure to do it again next year!

We say good-bye to a Rising Star.

On Friday, June 26th, the furniture world lost a real rising star.

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Christian McCreary, founder of Tru Designs, based in Conover, NC. We mentioned Christian to you in our May 6th High Point follow-up blog post.

Christian was the son of talented & sharp upholstery manufacturer Bob McCreary, founder of McCreary Modern, a well-respected line that LaDiff has enjoyed representing for over 25 years.

Christian 'cut his teeth' in furniture manufacturing with his dad's business, then took it to a new level with Tru Designs. Tru's pieces were inspired by Italian and European seating but were made in the USA (and, frankly, were much more comfortable!).

With the help of mentors like Joe Johnston of Johnston Casuals and veteran seamstresses and welders who came out of retirement to get him started, Christian was developing a manufacturing process in the United States that was innovative and new. He was especially proud of his 100" long sofa with a solid steel frame that required NO center leg support ... in the furniture world, that is an amazing feat!

Christian was only 37 years old.

He was truly a rising star.

We'll miss his ingenuity, his ambition, his talent... and him.

post script: Christian went to Randolph Macon College in nearby Ashland, VA. We first met him over 15 years ago when he walked into LaDiff (in our former Tobacco Row location) with a friend who was sofa shopping. Sure enough, he sold his friend on a McCreary Modern sofa right on the spot.