Passport LaDiff

2011-10-31T08:57:00.002-04:00

Wondering why there have been no new posts here?
It's because we MOVED our blog to our website.

You can find LaDiff's new & improved blog right here!

Enjoy!

A Super Quick Update on the NEW Store

2011-02-05T19:06:00.008-05:00

Happy Saturday evening, folks.

A couple of weeks ago, we released the news about our NEW, second store location in West Broad Village in Short Pump (west of Richmond). We've been overwhelmed by the support, press, tweets, posts, and appreciation we've received from all of YOU.

We've also had a few questions, heard a few misunderstandings, and have made a few changes to our timeline, so we thought an update was appropriate.

1. We are NOT moving. We are opening a SECOND location. We are keeping our downtown location. How could we not? It's 50,000 square feet of renovated gorgeous-ness in Richmond's fabulous river district. We love it!

2. The new store will be SMALLER than the downtown store. It's 7,000 feet vs. (as previously stated) about 50,000 feet. As our press buddy Jeff Kelly determined, it's about the size of two tennis courts. If you know our downtown store, it's about the size of our dining section on the second floor.

3. This means that EVERYTHING that is downtown won't be in the west end. We think you'll love what you see, and, naturally, we hope it will tempt you to drive east to visit us downtown.

4. Our new store is only 14 miles (about a 20 minute drive) from our new store. Wow... that means that DOWNTOWN RICHMOND is really really really CLOSE to Short Pump! Don't believe us? ... click here.

5. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. Waiting for permits, building walls, painting, moving & building furniture, etc. can take longer than one expects. We signed the lease 6 weeks ago with the hope to "soft" open by Feb 2nd. We missed that date... and shot for the 9th. We won't make that one either... but we hope to have the doors open the weekend after.

6. We will have some systematic kinks to work out the first week. Just like a new restaurant, our staff will be adjusting to being in a 'new' location. We hope you'll be patient as they adjust. They want to make you happy, and they'll be doing it with 'new tools'. (That's why they call it a 'soft' opening).

7. If you look in the windows now and think it looks sparse (according to one email received today), we can only say... uh, yeah, we know, but we don't want to unwrap and build furniture you might want to buy while we're still SANDING and PAINTING. Don't worry... more is coming. One thing we're good at is filling up a showroom with inventory.

8. We're in a XXX mood: exhausted, excited, and expecting good things!

Check out a few of our progress pictures here to see how we're doing - and keep those positive thoughts coming. We LOVE 'em!

A New LaDiff?

2011-01-31T18:25:00.002-05:00

Hi, I am Lucy Thornton, the daughter of the Thornton/Paxton clan. My parents (Andy Thornton and Sarah Paxton) own LaDifference! They are opening a new store in West broad village in Short Pump. Right now it is being painted and L-O-A-D-E-D with furniture to sell to YOU! Please remember that this (new) store is 7x smaller than the regular one downtown on 14th Street. I can't wait to see it when it is finished! I hope that happens soon! Hope you get a chance to visit!

A New Year... A New Store

2011-01-12T20:56:00.007-05:00

Every day is exciting and fun here, but it’s an even bigger day for us at LaDiff.

If you check in with/read our blog pretty regularly, you'll have noticed that we haven't posted for several weeks. Well, we've been kinda busy; and we've also kinda been keeping a secret (sort of).

It'll be in the local paper tomorrow, and it was reported online today (sneaky little twitter detectives!), so here's our version - straight from the furniture-store-horse's-mouth:

We are happy to announce (officially) the upcoming opening of our second store!

It’s a smaller location in Henrico County’s West End, about 20 minutes from our 14th Street store (yes, we've clocked it - several times).

Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve had two stores (learn more about our history here), but this time we plan to be more successful with two. Our original store in Charlottesville was open for 14 years (1980-1994) before we made the difficult decision to leave Cville behind and move everything to our store in Richmond's Tobacco Row.

A few years later, we moved from Tobacco Row into our current space on 14th Street, what we will now consider our **flagship** store in the historic River District, or Shockoe Bottom, or the end of Shockoe Slip... (your choice) right across from the Canal Turning Basin.

Anyway, the new 7,000-square-foot store in West Broad Village (near The Wine Loft and Keagan's Irish Pub... because that's how we roll) will offer shoppers in Central Virginia added convenience and access to the LaDiff delights of modern design when we open on February 2.

By virtue of its size (about 1/7 the space of our downtown showroom), the Short Pump store will display LaDiff's tried and true bestsellers, our best LaDEAL$, and some of our favorite “showstoppers” from around the world. We’ve made the architecture similar to the downtown store (open, few walls, and kind of industrial), so you’ll still get the "LaDiff" feel.

Our first couple of weeks will be our "soft" opening, while we work out the systems, the schedule, and the kinks. {{thank you!}} Then, make sure you're on our email list for some Grand Opening fun coming in February.

For us, this new store is really about convenience and access for our customers in the western part of Richmond, Henrico, Goochland, and anywhere accessible by 288! It's also a 7,000 square foot 'billboard' to encourage *new* LaDiff visitors to cross Boulevard & Belvidere and visit us downtown, where you'll find 7x the size, 7x the selection, and 7x the FUN!

As Mr. President-of-LaDiff said the other day: “We want everybody to be happy, because we’re happy guys.”

Feb. 2nd - 2436 Old Brick Road - Glen Allen, VA 23060

Hope to see you then!

www.ladiff.com

Make someone else more comfortable too...

2010-12-01T18:35:00.006-05:00

This blog post is short and simple: it's about one of LaDiff's very favorite promotions of the year: the Ekornes 'charity' promotion.

Each holiday season, Ekornes lets us choose the charity, and they give you the discount off one of their uber-amazing Stressless recliner & ottoman sets.

For the second year, we've picked CARITAS of Richmond.

CARITAS helps hundreds of homeless individuals in the Richmond area find shelter, find work, and find a new life. Then, once these folks get a *home*, CARITAS helps them furnish it from their only-one-in-Virginia-south-Richmond furniture bank, stocked with donations from people like YOU.

When you visit LaDiff between now & January 16th, for every $50 donation you make to CARITAS of Richmond, Ekornes and LaDiff will give you $200 off an amazing Stressless recliner & ottoman set.

Huge savings for you.
A meaningful donation for CARITAS.
... and you'll both be more comfortable in the end.

Learn more about how you can save & help at the same time by clicking HERE.

Design is the new food

2010-11-16T13:47:00.021-05:00

"Design is the new food, " said Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan at November 11th's R.Home for the Holidays. After greeting the audience, and thanking LaDiff "as I hear they are called" (swoon!), Maxwell explained his statement: years ago, no one talked about food as 'cuisine'. Now, women, men, even kids talk about the garlic infused marinade, what body of water your oysters lived in, or the local farm that supplied your greens. What was once simply food on the table has now become a major topic of conversation for dinner tables, kitchens, and water coolers everywhere.

This is the future for 'design', too, says Maxwell. He believes that 10 years from now, we'll all know the names of designers the way we know the names of chefs on the Food Network today.

Maxwell's statement was part of a speech that captivated an audience of about 250, gathered in LaDiff's low-lit parking-garage-now-banquet-hall. Before taking questions and signing his book, Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces, Maxwell told us how his business, blog, and website, Apartment Therapy, came to be.

A former elementary school teacher, Maxwell talked about how he had noticed that children from 'beautiful homes' - homes where the inhabitants showed they cared about the surroundings - did better in school. They appreciated art, music, language more.

Maxwell called creating a room as a "recipe with ingredients" that requires "careful curation." Maxwell noted that most Americans are collectors not editors when it comes to their "stuff." It is when we learn how to edit, move, subtract, change the space around us that the "stuff" becomes more meaningful.

Maxwell quoted occasionally from Terence Conran, the English born design guru, known for his Conran Shop, London restaurant designs, and many books on the subject. He is also an obvious idol of Maxwell's (and of ours). In the preface to The House Book, Conran wrote, "Having a warm home that looks good and that you and your family and friends enjoy must be one of the most worthwhile things in life."

For Maxwell and his team, Apartment Therapy is a community of idea sharing and inspiration. Last Thursday, he shared those ideas with Richmond, Richmond Magaz ine, and LaDiff.

Thanks, Maxwell.
Come again soon!

***pictures by Melissa Martin Molitor***

Co-Founder of Apartment Therapy blog is coming to LaDiff

2010-11-08T16:53:00.011-05:00

We are SO EXCITED at LaDiff!

A few weeks ago, Brandon Fox, editor of R.Home Magazine (a subsidiary of Richmond Magazine) emailed me to see if LaDiff would be interested in hosting their annual R.Home for the Holidays event. When I heard that Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, co-founder of the national blog Apartment Therapy would be the guest speaker, I gave a resounding yes!

So, together with one of our favorite suppliers American Leather, who are joining us as co-presenting sponsors, we are hosting this terrific event THIS WEEK!

Why would a *furniture* store who wants & likes to *sell stuff* be thrilled to host an outspoken, self-professed minimalist who lives in an under 300-square foot NYC apartment (with his wife and child, I might add)? Because Mr. Gillingham-Ryan and his blog team help us see the new and different in the world of home furnishings.

On the blog, they show how modern works with traditional, how ethnic works with glamor, how one small item can change the way a room breathes... and he does it all in an uber-organized fashion (ooh, that alone makes me giddy).

So... without further ado, we hope you will join us on Thursday, November 11th from 6pm to 9pm. You can meet and listen to Maxwell, drink some wine, nibble on some food, bid on special wreaths created by members of Richmond's design community (including one very cool wreath by Megan Pluim, Jennie Kam, and Melissa Molitor of LaDiff!), learn some holiday decor ideas, and... of course... shop at LaDiff!

Tickets are available here, and all proceeds benefit the fabulous Richmond Ballet.

See you Thursday!

photos courtesy of Richmond Magazine

Designing your room can be FUN

2010-10-06T11:39:00.015-04:00

Last week, I opened a box of old office supplies from my mother-in-law (part of her downsizing has been passing the extras on to us). Along with more partially used notepads than you can imagine, I found an architect's scale ruler and a plastic sheet of 'furniture' outlines used for room-planning. I gave them to my almost-10-year-old for fun. A week later, I am finding page after page of room plans, with labels like My Dream Room, Ann Ross' bedroom, Jordan's new room. Boy did that bring back memories...

When I was about 10, I became fascinated with room plans. My grandmother had been a student of architecture and had designed her home and those of friends and family. I was intrigued. I spent many a lazy summer afternoon with my ruler, sharp pencil, and blank paper designing house after house after house. How the rooms led from one to the other, the flow, where the windows would be, how the stair landing would work... it was all fun.

Fast-forward to high school, when I seriously considered going to school for architecture. When I realized that meant engineering, too, I quickly changed my mind, ... but I still loved the concept.

I was the roommate who would rearrange the furniture while everyone was out - a source of much frustration for Michelle and Elizabeth who never knew how they would find the apartment.

Later, when the opportunity arose to renovate and remodel a home in Richmond with my husband, I jumped at it. Three stone fireplaces and a wide view of the James River made us fall in love. The fact that the foundation of the house dated to the 1910's and 1920's and knowing that the house had not been really renovated since 1963 when it was rebuilt after a fire did not dissuade us. We dove in head-first.

Out came the architect's scale and graph paper and the fun began. The previous owner had been, um, height-challenged. Only one room in the house had ceilings at 8' or higher. There were hallways and doors where, at 5'8" tall, I had to duck to go through. We set out to change that.

Being in the 'furniture biz,' as we planned the physical space, we talked about how the rooms would flow with furniture. What would the layout be? Where would the TV live? How would we group the living room so that we could enjoy the fireplace AND the view of the river? It was FUN.

Since I was not a 'trained' architect or designer, I did not have any knowledge of formal CAD software. I really wished, however, that I had some sort of 'easy' program that I could use to design our spaces.

Two years after we were finished, moved in, and furnished, we were introduced to this really cool, EASY, software called ICOVIA room planner. How I wished we'd had this back when we were designing the house!

Even though I didn't have Icovia THEN, I have it now... and so do YOU! You can access ICOVIA's easy, very cool room planning software right from www.ladiff.com at the 'room planning' tab. You can plan, rearrange, dream, and imagine. Remember to set up an account so that you can save your works in progress! Using this will let you know if you really can fit a 9 foot sofa in 'that space in the living room.' Then, when you visit LaDiff in person, you can pull up your drawings right then, and we'll ALL know just what will fit.

Room planning lets you (and us) know exactly where the windows & doors are, where the major traffic patterns flow, where the fireplace, TV, piano, view, etc. come into play. If you want US to do it FOR you, come on in and set up a design appointment. We can help!

Feeling inspired to start yourself? Here... you can CLICK HERE and get planning!

Top 10 things you might not know about LaDiff

2010-08-19T19:47:00.009-04:00

10. We haven't always sold furniture.
When LaDiff was founded 30 years ago, in Charlottesville, its first wares were crafts and functional art items that Andy Thornton imported from Haiti where he worked for two years.

9. LaDiff is not "the Richmond version of Ikea"
While we appreciate what Ikea has done to expand the concept of 'modern design' to the American public, LaDiff knows that 'modern' can run the gamut from the crazy cheap to ridiculously expensive. We like to think that we are somewhere in between, with the emphasis on value.

8. All those designs you see at LaDiff aren't really "from the future".
Did you know that LeCorbusier designed his "dental office looking" chaise in the 1920's? That Charles Rennie MacIntosh's gorgeous chair dates to the 19th century? 'Modern' design is about a minimalist aesthetic and is not something belonging only to George & Judy Jetson. Truth be told, if Thomas Jefferson were alive today, we like to think he'd be shopping at LaDiff.

7. You can light up your whole house from LaDiff.
Yup, we sell lighting... and lots of it. Not just talking table & floor & task lamps here either. LaDiff has fabulous wall sconces, pendants, and other fixtures for bathrooms, kitchens, even outdoors. You do not have to settle for "builder spec" to find amazing lighting that runs from transitional to uber-modern and ranges in price from "home improvement store competitive" to "Milan-show-envy."

6. Our sales people are incredibly smart and friendly
We know that some of you have that impression that a 'modern' furniture store must have those "Now's the time on Sprockets when we dance" all-black-wearing, frigid, austere, nose-down-looking sales associates who will only help you if you are hip and cool. The truth is so far from that it makes us laugh... really... we laugh A LOT. Come laugh WITH us and have some fun while you furnish your place!

5. We love to furnish outdoor rooms too.
Did you know that a statistic from the 1990's said that Americans spend more annually on home-delivery pizza than on outdoor furniture?? Crazy. Fortunately, our society is becoming less 'disposable' and we are starting to take the European approach to outdoor living: buy furniture that is good quality, that will last, and that will give you a beautiful extension of your living space outside. What a great idea... and the reason we carry so much OUTDOOR furniture!

4. LaDiff is NOT a chain.
In case you have NOT read our website's 'About Us' section and did not already know this, you do now. There is only ONE LaDiff, and we are in downtown Richmond, VA... and we wouldn't have it any other way.

3. There is a 5th wall in your room... it's called a FLOOR... and we love to decorate those too.
LaDiff carries one of Richmond's most eclectic, unusual, extensive, and affordable collection of modern & contemporary rugs. From warm and neutral to exotic and daring to colorful and bright, you can find a great rug that suits your space and your wallet.

2. Our building used to have a giant rifle attached to it.
LaDiff's home is the former Watkins-Cottrell Wholesale Hardware Store. We've been told by many a Richmonder that there used to be a HUGE rifle on the front of the building. We've never seen it. We've never seen a photo of it (but we'd LOVE too). We have no idea where it is. Can you help???

and, the #1 thing you might not know about LaDiff...

Not everything we sell is "expensive."

We know the perception: cool modern store in downtown location with hip advertising must be really, really expensive. Your friend walked in and saw a $9,000 price tag on a sectional; your mom fell in love with a $3500 bed; your uncle just bought a $2500 recliner... okay, we get it. You are afraid to come in because you think it will ALL be that way. Sure, we carry some pretty high end stuff (have you checked out the French walnut table from Seltz? divine). But, we can also get down &, uh, low-priced with the best of them.

And just so that you can recognize the best deals in the store, we created LaDEAL$ - all identified with super bright yellow tags to show you where you'll find the ooh la la for ooh la LESS!

All that said, we cannot help what YOU fall in love with. It's kind of like trying to diet and walking into a great restaurant. Sure, they have salads on the menu, really good ones in fact - but if you order the filet mignon and the creme brulee, you cannot blame the waiter if your pants are tight the next morning. If you tell us your budget, our smart, funny sales team (see #6) will definitely try to keep you within it. If you keep walking back to that sofa that is *not* in your budget, because, well, you just LOVE it, you really can't blame us for offering it. We want you to be exposed to great design at every price point.

At LaDiff there is something new and something fun arriving every single day. Come discover what we have to offer. We can't wait to see you.

Our donation to Virginians4Haiti

2010-08-07T08:56:00.006-04:00

.......excerpt from ladiff.com

Still littered in rubble even months after the major earthquake disaster, Haiti has only received a small portion of the aid promised by other nations to rebuild.

NPR reports, "More than 1.5 million people still live in more than 1,000 encampments that sprouted up after the Jan. 12 quake. Americans have donated more than $1.3 billion for Haiti, and thousands of charities are helping the recovery effort."

LaDIFF has spent the better part of 2010 working with aid organization virginians4haiti to raise awareness and financial assistance to Haiti to rebuild this island nation. In addition to devoting portions of the LaDIFF showroom to displaying Haitian crafts for collecting donations and engaging customers in conversation to raise awareness of these ongoing efforts, LaDIFF was fortunate enough to collect contributions from various furnishings manufacturers.

Donations came mostly in the form of merchandise to sell during the massive 30th Anniversary Sale held in June and early July, 2010. Proceeds from these contributions and from the sale event as a whole will provide generous and much needed funding for medical work, home building and other aid to the Haitian people.

Being a good citizen, corporate or otherwise, means looking at your backyard and the backyards of those who live thousands of miles away. We are all interconnected.

LaDifference will continue to build a long-term relationship with virginians4haiti and the great work they have done and will be doing in the future.

LaDiff owners, Andy Thornton & Sarah Paxton present a $25,000 contribution for aid organization virginians4haiti to Allan B. Harvie, jr. (middle).

Learn more here.

Everyone needs a little R&R now & then

2010-07-20T17:05:00.016-04:00

Whew!

For the last few weeks we have been BUSY BUSY BUSY at LaDiff.
Different schedules, extra people, lots of great customers and even more activity, added up to a great 30th anniversary event AND a whole lot of fatigue when it was all over.

What's the best way to recharge?

Do NOTHING. And I mean absolutely NOTHING. For the last 4 days, the president of LaDiff, the empress of LaDiff (aka the daughter), and I have enjoyed a whole lotta nothing on the banks of the Rappahannock River.

This kind of do-nothing-vacation is right up my alley: 2 hour naps (at 10:30 in the morning no less), walks with the dog, drives around the area, doing puzzles (and more puzzles), playing Charades, Crazy 8's and Go Fish, eating ice cream (yum), and watching not one but two thunderstorms roll across the river... the perfect way to rest and recharge.

With all of the excitement on our plate for fall (new merchandise, new hires, new designs), it's a darn good thing we've rested!

...p.s. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Independence Day at LaDIFF

2010-07-02T13:01:00.015-04:00

Guest Blog by Juliette Heydenrych

Well, it's getting to be about that time of year again- and as those hot summer days usher in warm summer nights, we've been spending time in the cool air conditioning at LaDIFF bustling around with heaps of customers. We love seeing all the NEW faces and having lots of old friends stop in, too.

In the midst of our pleasantly crowded 30th Anniversary & Remodeling Sale, a lot of folks have been wondering- will we be having our usual 4th of July Sale? And of course, to them we say, this is IT! We're constantly marking down prices and putting new items of the floor, but don't fret- we're still cooking out on Sunday.

Here's a snap Sarah Paxton took at Costco, just before loading up the car with all the yummy goodies we'll be feasting on Sunday the 4th:

(What isn't shown here is the giant chocolate cake we devoured in celebration of our July birthdays here at LaDIFF! Delicious....)

So, YES we are open on Sunday, July 4th, from 11am to 5pm (that's an hour earlier than usual on Sundays!) and we're firing up the grill at noon. And YES, we'll be OPEN on Monday the 5th, from 10-6pm. (Be sure to check our website for our store hours, they might not be what you're used to from us!)

Of course, it's not all about free food and fireworks... we still have a ton of great deals and amazing bargains to be found throughout the store. Mozey on over to our Facebook page to check out the full albums, but here's a sneak peek at what's new and what's marked down lower than your great Aunt Celia can limbo;

Hurry in, the SALE ends SOON!

Think you've seen it all? Think again! Our 30th Anniversary Sale continues!

2010-06-20T12:36:00.003-04:00

Guest Blog By LaDiff's Graphic Designer & Marketing Liaison, Juliette Heydenrych

Wow! After two weeks of awesome customers, great prices, and long, busy days our 30th Anniversary & Remodeling Sale is in full swing! It's an all-hands-on-deck event, with even our office team working on the floor answering questions, cashiering, manning the phones and helping customers get their new goodies ordered, picked up and delivered! I've spent two weeks at the front desk myself and it's been amazing to see so many of my favorite furnishings fly out the door!

As they say, out with the old and in with the new; we're adding great NEW and never before seen in our showroom items to our floor as they arrive from all over the world almost DAILY!

To give you a taste- in the next two weeks we are expecting 5 (count 'em, FIVE!) containers in from Thailand, China, Italy and more- and of course from our best selling vendors from the USA and Canada as well!

If you've been into our store recently, and you think you've seen it all, here's what you can expect to see arriving on our floor as early as tomorrow (Monday) for all price points;

Extremely well priced wooden dining room tables and chairs from Thailand
Leather sofas, chairs and sectionals- great quality at exceptional pricing
New upholstered sofas, chairs and sectionals with 3 seat sofas on sale for $799
Mixed bar stools, dining chairs, tables and occasional tables
Another container of our favorite promotional wooden bedrooms from Vietnam
New high end leather from Italy
New outdoor furniture ('tis the season!)
Plus... Lots and lots more. It just keeps rolling in!

See you soon! Don't forget to check our website for special sale store hours and specials!

WOW! What a sale!

2010-06-11T06:53:00.002-04:00

Holy smokes, the last three days have been AMAZING! ... and it's only the beginning.

Thank you to all of our funny, special, patient, creative, appreciative, GREAT customers. You have made this sale so much FUN. Thank you to our long-time "old" customers for taking the time to say hello, ask questions, and keeping us at the top of your list. Thank you to all of you NEW customers for discovering LaDiff for the first time.

But the biggest thank you goes to our entire TEAM. They are pulling out all the stops, working super long hours, tagging, moving, cleaning, selling, loading, answering, walking, no, make that running (especially up & down the stairs... buns-o-steel, baby), listening, learning, explaining, reminding, signing, writing, lifting, changing, arriving early and staying late to make this the BIGGEST BOLDEST BEST SALE EVER.

If you've been, you know *exactly* what I mean.
If you haven't visited yet... what are you waiting for???

For more details, visit www.ladiff.com! Better yet, just visit LaDiff IN PERSON!

A few FAQ's about our SUPER BIG ANNIVERSARY & REMODELING SALE

2010-06-02T18:30:00.005-04:00

By now, most, many, or maybe ALL of you reading this have received a LETTER or EMAIL from LaDIFF about our upcoming SUPER HUGE Anniversary & Remodeling Sale. Because this sale is SO special, SO big, SO different, we thought we might try to anticipate a few of your questions here in our blog...

Why does your advertising look so different for this sale?

We knew this sale had to be BIG because we have BIG remodeling plans ahead… so we took a different direction from our normal ‘look’. The print and direct mail campaigns you’ve seen are proven methods for drawing a crowd. Don’t worry - You’ll see the LaDiff look again when the sale is over!

Are you going out of business?

No way! In fact, just the opposite… when you visit in person you’ll see drawings of the ideas and plans we have to expand Vive, remodel our lighting department, create an outdoor furniture showroom, and develop a mattress gallery.

What if I didn't get the email OR your letter?

Just follow this link and print out a copy for yourself. Bring it WITH you when you shop on June 8th-9th-or 10th, too!

Why are all sales final?

We need to know that the purchase is NOT coming back so that we can plan our new showroom displays more effectively. Plus… these deals are so good, they have to be ‘final sale.’

What if you don't have what I want in stock?

That's easy... as long as the item is still available and we're still able to order from that supplier, we can order it for you. Special orders will be on sale too!

Can you store my purchase for me until I need it?

The longest we can ‘store’ your purchase is 30 days – maximum. We need to make room on the floor so we can start remodeling and re-merchandising, and we need to make room in the warehouse for new orders. If you’re picking up, bring your blankets & tie-downs so that you can carry your new purchases home safely.

Will you ‘hold’ my item while I think about it?

Sorry… no can do. This is a first come, first served sale. Bring your room dimensions, tape measures, color chips WITH YOU to the store so that you’re prepared to make a decision on the spot!

Anniversary? Which one?

Why, it’s #30… thanks for asking!

Thom Filicia is one heckuva nice guy

2010-05-24T19:45:00.022-04:00

Yes, Virginia, I get star struck.

Mind you, I don't fall for the kinds of 'stars' that most of you might. Sure, I think it's way cool that Jessica Lange shopped in the store at Tobacco Row when filming a really forgettable movie with Gwyneth Paltrow. And do I love telling people that Sissy Spacek used to shop in Charlottesville on Christmas Eve (her birthday is Christmas day), and would walk through the store shouting "Schuyler! Madison! Come on... time to go"? Uh, yeah... it's a great story.

My real star struck, dumbfounded, must see, can't think what to say moments happen when I see, meet, or hear about a sale to (drumroll) an HGTV designer.

These people are like my family. They come into my living room and bedroom and show me how wonderful it can be to have GOOD TASTE and FUN IDEAS when you decorate a space. They ask their homeowners to be receptive and creative. They take risks. They are almost always disarming, charming, and funny.

You may remember the post about last fall's High Point market, when I mentioned being really really close to Candice Olson at a Revco party. Well, I actually MET Ms. Olson 6 months earlier at an American Leather party. As she towered over me, there I stood, between friends Jeff & Tom. Jeff, too, was a fan. I blabbered on about how funny she is and how she and her crew seem to get along so well (*ugh*). Jeff told her he was a fan of all of her kitchen renovations. Tom, seizing the opportunity to mortify both of us, asked her if she remembered the episode when the Klingons took over... comparing us to nerdy little Trekkies. If the shoe fits...

Anyway, back to last fall, which was the prelude to this past weekend's events. You may remember that our own Lisa Degenaars had a brush with fame when she got to meet Thom Filicia - original 'home design specialist' on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and now HGTV star and furniture designer.

Lisa attended a breakfast where she sat with one of Thom's friends. Afterward, she made her way to the man himself and got this photo as proof. She was thrilled.
(Vicariously, so was I.)

Now... to last week. It's a Thursday morning like any other. We walk into a 10:30 meeting and learn that our warehouse manager, Terry Fisher, will be making a delivery to upstate New York to deliver a bed that Bethany Magus sold. Cool. We like selling stuff, so this was good.

Two hours later, Andy-husband-president-of-LaDiff shows me the paperwork for the bed sale.

The customer is none other than... Thom Filicia.

Really? REALLY??? Are you KIDDING???

Lisa was in the next room. I called her to my office and told her to sit down - she did, laughing at me. I handed her the pink ticket.

She saw the name and looked at me in disbelief.
So exciting...

Now, at this point, we have no idea if Thom bought the bed for himself or if one of his employees bought the bed in his name for a client... but, we're going to find out. And... just in case he's there at the delivery, Lisa plans to send the photo with Terry... so that Thom maybe, might sign it for her.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon, and the phone call I got from Terry Fisher.

"Mission Accomplished."

Thom WAS there. The bed was for a friend & neighbor.

He signed Lisa's photo, and he willingly let Terry take his photo on the new bed.

He posed for photos with
Terry and his wife Theresa in front of our truck, and he encouraged Terry & Theresa to walk around the property and check out the lake.

Like we said... Thom Filicia is one heckuva NICE GUY. Thanks, Thom. Shop with LaDiff ANY time!

LaDeals Part 2: Behind the scenes

2010-05-17T11:17:00.007-04:00

By LaDiff's Graphic Designer & Marketing Liaison,
Juliette Heydenrych

You might be wondering, what to baby chicks have to do with furniture? Well, there are some similarities. In Part 1, I explained the raison d'être for LaDeals: Good design should be available for everybody.

With spring in the air, we decided it was the perfect time to roll out LaDeals. You know all that sexy furniture I mentioned in Part 1 which converted me away from the big blue & yellow box? Well, now it has a name.

Enter Elevation.

Elevation brilliantly branded LaDeals and came up with the idea for the television promotion. It involved about a hundred baby chicks and some bright yellow tags.

During the early deliberations of the LaDeals category, we tossed around names like BrightBuys, SoLos and a personal favorite… Wowsers. Sadly, Wowsers didn’t make the final cut, but LaDeals did. The next steps would be making sure our LaDeals would be bright and visible throughout the store.

Branded with bright yellow tags, LaDeals hit us with a little spring fever. Our heads full of baby birds saying “cheep! cheep!”, Elevation came up with our latest Television ad.

The ad opens on the white limbo of a studio. We see a collection of LaDeals pieces. All over the furniture and floor are dozens of fluffy baby chicks. Andy, the voice of LaDiff, speaks the voiceover.

“…some of our staff worried that the name ‘LaDeals’ wasn’t quite enough to convey exactly how low the prices are. SO we’ve covered some of our many LaDeals with these baby chicks in hopes that you’ll remember one important fact. Our LaDeals are really, really…”

Cut to an extreme close up of a chick.

“…tagged in yellow”.

The real challenge with this production was purely logistical. After all, we’re in furniture. Where are we going to get a clutch of baby chicks? (Clutch is the official term referring to a group of chicks.) What would happen to them post-production?

As it turns out, you can’t just write up an ad with a group of animals in it and produce the thing without at least a few hoops to jump through first. First and foremost, the ad needs to get approval from the Humane Society.

The Humane Society needed to make certain that the animals would be taken care of before, during and after production. They needed to know where the chicks were coming from, how they were going to be cared for and that they would go to a humane home after all was said and done. They can even designate a representative to be present during production to ensure the welfare of all the critters involved.

Our baby chicks were acquired from a local poultry farmer, and were just 3 days old on the day of filming (it’s amazing how fast they grow)! By the end of the day, these fluffy little peeps were already starting to turn a light brown shade, developing the first tips of feathers on their wings- right before our eyes.

Chicks not on camera snuggled together under a heat lamp- kept at a steady 90 degrees (critical to keep them warm until they start developing head-feathers). The rest of the chicks enjoyed the run of the studio- well, part of it. We created a miniature great-wall surrounding the filming area to prevent chicken run-aways. Inside the barrier, chicks hopped around as we filmed them dozing on sofas, chirping on chairs and pooping- yes pooping- on everything.

We kept the camera rolling as we hustled about cleaning up after the flock. Baby chicks might be small, but they, like all birds, have a seemingly endless supply of poop, which they will happily provide at any given time of day.

Luckily it was a short day. The chicks were only put to work for a few short hours, and by lunchtime we had collected enough footage to take into the editing stages and cut together.

Video is a medium that is incredibly time consuming- especially with regarding to setting up the shots, making sure the lighting is right and adjusting the camera angles. Expecting an extremely long day, I was pleasantly surprised to call it a wrap. We couldn’t have done it without the suspiciously well-developed acting skills of all these baby chicks. One in particular- named Diva by the Princess of LaDiff Lucy Thornton- stole the show flapping her (or his) bright yellow fluff, cheeping on cue and posing coyly in front a LaDeals tag.

“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille,” she seemed to say.

Of course, no animals were harmed during the making of this ad. We hope our fluffy little actors enjoy their early retirement from the stage in their new home. They were donated to a local farmer where they will spend their days on a local Virginia farm, enjoying the view and cheeping to their hearts content.

After sifting through a few hours worth of completely adorable footage, I was finally able to pare it down to the highlights and create a little behind the scenes video of the making-of our ad with Elevation. Enjoy!

LaDeals Part 1: My Dirty Little Secret

2010-05-10T12:06:00.006-04:00

By LaDiff's Graphic Designer & Marketing Liaison,
Juliette Heydenrych

First of all, I’d like to congratulate Elevation. As friends & colleagues they never cease to amaze us with their flare for fun & quality work. At this year’s Richmond Ad Club awards, Elevation was named best Ad Agency of the year- a well deserved and hard-earned honor. So, I raise my glass (re-usable water bottle, actually) to Aaron Dotson and Frank Gilliam.

Last year, I wrote a little blog about the making of our fun Bedroom Sale TV ad and our Perfect Seat Sale TV ad, both of which were produced by Elevation. BOTH of these ads won a silver award in the Richmond Ad Club awards for best ad with a budget under $100,000- beating out ads for Geico and FreeCreditReport.com. Again, I raise my glass to you, Elevation.

That said, I’m going to switch gears a little bit.

Now, if you’ve seen our latest ad on TV featuring LaDeals, you might be wondering, What the heck do baby chicks have to do with furniture? More importantly, what the heck are LaDeals?

I’ll address the latter question first.

If you’ve ever broken your back hunched over a disastrous self-assembly with no one to call for help, then LaDeals are for you. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I can’t afford anything at that store” when it comes to deciding where you’ll purchase your new sofa or office desk, LaDeals are for you. If you've ever lived with a cheap, crappy coffee table with a wonky leg that looks like it’s trying to walk away, then LaDeals are for you.

What I’m about to say next might be a little intimate and I apologize if it makes you uncomfortable, but I simply have to come clean about something if I am going to properly explain the true meaning of LaDeals.

Alright, here it goes. Deep breath. My dirty little secret: I am an IKEA shopper.

Well, I was.

It’s not the quality or even the style that first attracted me to IKEA, but the prices. As a poor, fresh out of college starving artist, IKEA appealed to me because it offered me the chance to lose the hand-me-down hodge-podge furniture and make my apartment MINE. My taste, my style, my stuff. Oh, and my wallet.

Hauling things home and assembling everything was time-consuming and painful, and when things didn't quite assemble properly I accepted it as a consequence of going cheap- I wasn't about to lug everything back to switch it out and do it all over again!

The interior of my home was okay, I could live with it for the time being. When I made the decision to move to Richmond from the West Coast two years ago, I did so knowing I had an extremely low budget and would have to leave a lot of things behind. I brought with me nothing but boxes, my mattress and my two lovely cats. I minimized everything I owned as much as possible, loaded up the car with everything I could not live without, and well, here I am. I made the 3,000-mile trek, paid for gas, food and hotel stays on less than $1,000. Let the record state that I am a professional CheapSkate.

So when I got my first Richmond apartment, it needed to be furnished! No longer living in close proximity to the Store-Who-Cannot-Be-Named, and not wanting to drive a grueling 2 hours north, I started my search at home in Richmond. At LaDiff.

The first thing I hear when I tell people where I work is “Oh, I can’t afford that place”. As a professional cheapskate, I have to say that I resent such a statement. With an apartment now crammed full of LaDiff furniture, and done on a shoestring budget, it’s everything I can do to shout to the naysayers, THAT’S NOT TRUE!

My apartment gets a lot of compliments. In fact, the company I rent from didn’t want to let me switch apartments last year until they had found a new tenant, JUST so they could show the place with my furniture in it. This was confessed to me by the rental company manager himself, who knows I work for LaDiff and added that my apartment “shows really well because of how it’s furnished”. It’s flattering.

So that’s how I feel about LaDiff. As a master CheapSkate extraordinaire, if I can furnish my apartment on a tiny budget at LaDiff, anyone can. LaDiff's team is always ready to help, and each item has it's own manufacturer's warranty so I don't have to live with a piece that I don't want to build myself, that might be missing hardware or falls apart when the cats run amock on it, that has a huge scratch out-of-the-box or worse.

Gone are the days of escape-attempting coffee tables, desks with peeling veneer tops and furniture that falls apart after 2 years. Here to stay are the days of LaDeals: Sexy LaDiff furniture with sexy pricing and even sexier quality (is that why there are so many hot chicks in our LaDeals ad?).

Good design should be available for everybody. It’s a sentiment shared by all of us here at LaDiff. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us in breaking down the myth that we can only satisfy those with champagne taste.

And that’s what LaDeals are all about.

Now, what to baby chicks have to do with furniture?

Stay tuned for part 2, and find out.

Spring Cleaning Time ... for your furniture

2010-04-10T06:56:00.024-04:00

Years ago, I read Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, about life in a small town in Georgia in the early 20th century. The story surrounds the Tweedy family and their general response to the grandfather's marriage to a very young milliner Miss Love Simpson, only 3 weeks after the death of his wife. Miss Simpson was from Baltimore - "practically a Yankee" by Cold Sassy, Georgia standards. There were many things about Miss Simpson that caused the town to gossip, but the one that has stuck with me is how she cleaned her house.

Yep. I remember the chapter on house cleaning.

Miss Love Simpson believed in true 'spring cleaning.' When she first moves in with her new husband, she begins to move room by room, cleaning, scouring, pulling out rugs, removing draperies, dusting, sweeping, scouring, and updating.

I love spring cleaning. There is just something about the new growth outside that makes me want to sort and clean and organize and purge on the inside. It's when you move the stack of boardgames on the shelf and find that missing Monopoly piece (oh, THERE's the little dog!). Or when you clean out your closet and discover a scarf from college may have actually come back into style (okay, maybe not).

Some people clean often, a lot, and regularly. Some clean in one long day every month. Some clean just before they're having guests over.

Here's the big question...

Do you CLEAN and MAINTAIN your furniture as well as you care for your house or your car or your clothes?

With every LaDiff delivery, we provide our customers with a Care Package of information. Included is a booklet that gives general ideas of how to care for your new purchase. Just like you gas up your car, refill the windshield wiper fluid, get the oil changed, check the air in the tires, and schedule yearly inspections, you need to take care of your furniture too.

The irony is that most people expect their furniture to last longer than their car or their clothes, but they provide little to no maintenance to ensure that it lasts and looks good too.

A website called, appropriately, furnituretips.com, provides starting answers for how to care for your 'furniture investment.'

A few simple tips and reminders from LaDiff are:

1. Wood furniture (veneered or solid) should be kept dust free to prevent drying out. Accumulations of dust particles that settle on wood eventually settle into it too, causing cracking and discoloration.

2. Unless you have granite, corian, or melamine, ALWAYS use a coaster to protect the surface from water rings, stains, scratches, or other marks: this applies to wood tables, glass, travertine, marble (marble does NOT like acids and one red wine spill can ruin your beautiful marble table).

3. Scratches happen: very few surfaces are completely impervious. If the surface is softer than whatever was set upon it, there may be a scratch left behind. (placemats, coasters, cutting boards... these can help keep the surface in good condition). Added note: some woods are softer than others! American cherry is one of the SOFTEST Hard Woods - if your child does homework on your cherry dining table without a mat or notebook under their paper & pencil, you may see their work left behind in your table top!

4. Often, the more expensive your purchase is, the more it will take to maintain it. Seems like the opposite should be true, right? It's like buying a car: a BMW and an Audi are more expensive to maintain than a Chevy or Ford. If you want a luxurious Elmo leather, for instance, remember that this is a natural hide in its most beautiful form, needing no correction. Because of that, it is soft, supple, and will age beautifully... but it is also NOT resistant to staining. Your richer, softer, more natural leather will absorb oils (pizza hands?), acids (wine?), and general dirt, making cleaning it and removing the stains a near impossibility.

5. Cushions do not fluff themselves. Wonder why your sofa has that smooshy look on one cushion only? Is that where you plop down to watch Real Housewives or Jersey Shore? You may need to do some regular fluffing. If the cushions are not attached to the frame, pull them off and gently push, pull, and pound on the filling. If necessary or if you can, remove the cover and/or restretch it around the insert. Feather or down filled? Feel free to pound HARD to fluff those guys back up. If the cushions are attached or it's a tight-seat style, you can fluff the seat and back with your fists. Of course, you really should consider sitting in more than one place - the other cushions are getting jealous. (photo courtesy of Apartment Therapy)

6. Glass is NOT scratch proof. Period. Glass is beautiful and very durable, but you need to use regular care, plus coasters or placemats, before you put your glass or dinner plate or serving pieces down on your glass dining or coffee table.

7. LIFT!!! please don't push & pull your furniture! Anything with legs or panel supports will break. I repeat... WILL break. Every time you pull or push an item one leg or panel wants to stay behind (that old science word: inertia). You weaken the joint where the leg attaches to the rest of the piece. This does not mean your furniture is not well made... it just means you have to move it properly. If someone tried to push or pull YOU, your legs would resist too!

8. Vacuum and dust the parts you DON'T see. Get between the seat cushions and under the chairs and UNDER the area rug (yep) and inside the shade of the lamps and on the top of the bookcase and behind the dresser and inside the tv cabinet. Embarrassing revelation: our dvd player stopped working a few years ago. When our personal Mr. Fix-it (my dad) took it apart, he found whirls of cat hair inside the unit. Turns out our cat had been climbing up onto the shelf and sleeping behind the dvd player. Gross? yes. Now we have glass doors and I dust out the shelves regularly.

9. Never lean back in your dining chair. Your mom told you not to. The teacher told you not to. Now I'm telling you not to. That leg thing mentioned in #7 applies to this, too. Your chair is meant to support you with all 4 legs on the ground. When you use only the back 2, they get stressed out and angry, the front 2 get jealous or start to taunt the back 2 because they have to do all the work. Seriously... you are damaging the physical integrity and joint structure of the chair... and you could fall and land on your noggin'! (p.s. those little protective floor caps at the ends of the legs will also be compromised, and fall out more often when chairs are pushed, pulled, and pressed inappropriately.)

10. Use cleaning products that are meant for the item you are cleaning. Do not use harsh abrasives on metal, marble, or wood surfaces. When in doubt, ask your design consultant, the retailer, or the vendor. Using the wrong cleaner on your leather sofa could discolor the leather or, worse, remove the color! Be sure to clean your wood with the right kind of oil or wax or paste. Most cleaners recommend approaching the entire product, not just the spot or stain, to prevent mismatched results. We've heard all kinds of horror stories about 'wrong product' applications: the wet-wipe used to remove gum off the newly delivered brown chenille sofa has to be the winner... that alcohol laden wet-wipe removed the gum all right, and all of the brown in the fabric too!

Basically, caring for your furniture simply means paying attention to what your furniture is telling you. You listen to the noises in your car and you look for the warning lights. You watch for loose buttons and frayed hems on your clothing. Your furniture doesn't have lights and bells, but it can give you other signs. Is a drawer pulling out slowly? Do you need to adjust the runners or is something 'stuck' in the back? Does a table surface look a bit dry? Is your leather starting to crack? These are all things that can be cared for easily if maintained regularly.

Good furniture should and can last a long, long time - if cared for properly. When you buy new furniture, TALK to your design consultant about the best way to care for your purchase. Manufacturer warranties generally cover the 'nuts and bolts', moving parts, and obvious defects, but they will never cover general use or general wear & tear. That's your job... take it seriously, and you'll enjoy your new furniture for many many years.

Operation Smile Reaction

2010-03-14T09:43:00.019-04:00

Last week, husband, child, and I traveled to the nation's capital for some museum-hopping, 9-year-old style: American History, Air & Space, Natural History, and the Spy Museum. The Hope Diamond was "very disappointing" while the dinosaur and mastodon bone reconstructions were "awesome!" Husband and I loved the Lincoln exhibit at American History (well-told and very inspiring). All three of us were wowed by the Spy Museum.

Beautiful weather allowed for a long walk along the mall, past the impressive WWII memorial and the currently-empty reflecting pool, to visit Mr. Lincoln's "temple" and the flanking memorials to the Korean War and the Vietnam War - such powerful reminders.

All in all, a successful spring break trip... with one notable exception.

Most of the "service providers" we encountered "forgot" to smile. As retailers, our radar is set VERY high to the customer service responses of everyone we encounter. We understand that 'smile enforcement' often improves & increases with the quality and cost of service provided (i.e. fast food vs. high end restaurant), but this DC anti-smile trend was overwhelming and pervasive.

It started at the hotel reception.

We walked up to the desk with 2 suitcases and a very excited child, who knew there was an indoor pool. The woman behind the desk glanced up and said "name?"

Really?

No "good morning", no "welcome to the L'Enfant Plaza. Are you checking in with us today?" *sigh*

Maybe she was just having a bad day...

Later, at the cafeteria at the Air & Space Museum, the cashier never looked up from his machine. He simply stood and waited for us to speak. I honestly cannot remember if he even gave us the total. If he did, those were the only words he spoke.

Hmmm...

The next morning, as we were eating at another museum cafeteria (American History), husband said "have you noticed the lack of smiling here?" We both then acknowledged the lackadaisical, uninspired clerks who were sitting in chairs, chins in elbows WHILE THEY RANG UP THE SALES. Huh??? Seriously... imagine your elbow is on your desk, your chin is in your left hand, while your right hand rings up a customer... and you have the picture. A late lunch at a Penn Quarter Cosi gave us the least interested service providers yet... who not only didn't smile, but wouldn't speak above the roar of the ventilation system and screwed up our order to boot.

Curses! We were trapped in a city with a non-smiling epidemic! Our mission: find some smiling people, pronto!

Fortunately, the next morning saved us... of all places, it was a Starbucks. Now, this is a national chain that prides itself on its well-trained, welcoming staff, and that Tuesday morning was no exception. Amid a rush of commuters and morning-coffee-break DC-ites, they smiled at the trio of tourists. They made us feel welcome, and they said thank you. They made us feel like important customers.

Whew.

Here's the thing... what you PROJECT into the world through your facial expressions and body language can create a stronger reaction from others than any words you might speak. We all know the yawn syndrome: whether you're sleepy or not, if you see someone else yawn, your jaw starts to pull in that direction. (I'll bet that just reading this made some of you yawn! I just did.)

The same holds true for smiling (or frowning).

According to a January, 2000 American Psychology Society research report by Swedish psychologists Ulf Dimberg, Monika Thunberg, and Kurt Elmehed:

Studies reveal that when people are exposed to emotional facial expressions, they spontaneously react with distinct facial electromyographic (EMG) reactions in emotion relevant facial muscles. These reactions reflect, in part, a tendency to mimic the facial stimuli.

In layman's terms, this means if you are smiling, someone seeing you is more likely to smile. If you are frowning, they will frown. The next step is the mood change.

It's like the FISH philosophy, that started in the Seattle Pike Place Fish market: there are four "simple but powerful practices" that can change not only your behavior, but the reactions and behavior of those around you. Here are the 4 behaviors practiced by the Seattle fishmongers:

1. Play - bring some fun into your work life. A little laughter goes a long way.
2. Make their day - make someone ELSE happy. A small, sincere compliment will improve their outlook on themselves and on the day (and make them like YOU).
3. Be There - don't let your mind drift away to other things... the party last weekend, the bills at home... be THERE for your customer, guest, friend
4. Choose your attitude - only YOU can choose how to come to work each day. Show up in a bad mood and chances are you'll try to drag everyone down with you all day long. Show up with a sense of optimism and hope, and others will feel your mood.

This week, a good friend told me that I approach life with the glass half-full. I was surprised, because I've always thought of myself as a realist who thinks about what could go wrong in a project/situation/plan and then takes steps to prevent those problems from happening. There is so much in life that we cannot control... but you can control whether you're smiling at the next person you see. It's all about making sweet lemonade out of those tart lemons: Taking the time to notice a cardinal who is having a "bad crest day" on a rainy day makes the rainy day brighter... Try it! You might find it pays forward all the way back to you again.

Oh... and how should you handle it if you encounter a customer service person who isn't smiling? First - try smiling at them. If that doesn't work, and the opportunity exists, please try to let that person's supervisor know. Businesses want their employees to be friendly, first and foremost. If they aren't, we want to know.

I'll end with a shout out to the wonderfully friendly, happy, smiling team you'll find at LaDiff... and if you catch any of them in a mean old scowl, you be sure to let me know, okay?!

Has it really been 30 YEARS since 1980?

2010-02-24T16:40:00.007-05:00

Wow.

We're 30.

The big 3-0.

No more swinging twenties for us... LaDIFF is officially OLD.

Here's the tricky part... we're THIRTY, and yet we were born in 1980.
Doesn't that just sound WEIRD???
Wasn't 1980 only a few years ago?

Well... to show you just how long ago 1980 was, here's a quick summary of some of the 'stuff' that happened in 1980. You can decide if it reads like history or is part of your short term memory...

The underdog U.S. hockey team surprises everyone - themselves included - with their gold medal win over the U.S.S.R. team (psst... that's "Russia" now) at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
"Blues Brothers" movie with Dan Akwoyd and John Belushi opens
U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation (proving that history really does repeat itself).
Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage (hey! I remember studying about that in 8th grade science class when it happened!).
In Australia, baby Azaria Chamberlain disappears from a campsite at Ayers Rock, reportedly taken by a dingo, (thereafter burning into our psyche's the phrase "The Dingo ate my baby." spoken in a thick Australian accent)
Marlo Thomas (aka That Girl) and Phil Donohue get married.
21-year-old John McEnroe beat Bjorn Borg to win his 2nd straight US Open title. (many years before he was doing Amex commercials)
IBM hires Paul Allen and Bill Gates to create an operating system for a new PC. The pair buy the rights to a simple operating system manufactured by Seattle Computer Products and use it as a template. IBM allows the two to keep the marketing rights to the operating system, called DOS.
Atari becomes the first company to register a Copyright for two computer games "Asteroids" and "Lunar Landar" on June 17, 1980.
Now 2-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks makes his television acting debut on a little show called Bosom Buddies, where he dresses in drag every night just to keep his apartment.
Former governor of California and former actor & president of the Screen Actor's Guild Ronald Reagan defeats incumbent Jimmy Carter in the presidential election.
Blondie's Call Me edges out Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall to top the Billboard charts. Olivia Newton-John, Michael Jackson, and Captain & Tennille rounded out the top 5 (no, it wasn't Muskrat Love... although I loved that song when I was a tween).
A gallon of gas (on average) is $1.19; average income is $19,170, and a new house costs $68,714. More importantly, most cars on the Price is Right still needed only 4 digits to guess the price (average was $7,200).
Beatle John Lennon is shot & killed by deranged fan, Mark David Chapman, outside of his NYC apartment building, leaving millions of fans to mourn his talent.

And, to be fair, here's what had NOT happened (yet) by 1980...

We all typed our papers on typewriters. If we made a mistake we either started the page over or used Wite-Out. Yes, there were a few word processors out there (that's what we called computers that let you hit a delete button to erase your mistakes!), but they were expensive! If we needed a copy of the paper, we used carbon paper between the sheets on the typewriter or our teacher let us borrow the 'mimeograph' machine (ah... smell the blue ink.....) "Xerox machines" were available at the library and the post office if you wanted to pay for a copy.
When we called each other on the phone, we used phones connected to cords that went into the wall. Sometimes you had more than one line in the house if mom & dad didn't want to have to share with their kids. Car phones? only for the rich and famous.
Want to walk around while listening to music? Simply record your favorite songs onto a Memorex cassette, pop it into your Sony Walkman, put on the headphones, and off you go... for about 45-60 minutes. (p.s. most of the time you recorded the songs directly off the radio, during Casey Kasem's Top 40)
We had 4 television stations... including PBS (Shown on the UHF- Ultra High Frequency - channel). While Tuesdays belonged to ABC and Gary Marshall's hit shows Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, Friday night was all CBS: The Incredible Hulk (loved me some Bill Bixby), Dukes of Hazzard, and Dallas

Oh... and there was no LaDIFF in Richmond!
LaDiff was 'born' in Charlottesville in 1980. It wasn't until 1992 that we opened a store in Richmond!

Hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane.
If it's made you feel OLD, well, I can't say I'm that sorry, since I've been feeling that way for a long time now.

We'd love to hear what YOU remember about 1980 or about LaDiff when we were 'young'. Drop us a line or post a comment.

... and let the anniversary year celebrations begin!

Mr. Washington would WANT you to shop on his birthday.

2010-02-15T07:11:00.018-05:00

Today, the United States is celebrating the birthday of the father of our country, the first president of our nation, the man as famous for his legendary-but-not-true tales of wooden teeth, cherry trees, and silver dollar tossing as for his crossing of the Delaware and leading the troops during frigid winters.

George Washington would be 278.
Well, not today actually... it would be NEXT Monday (Feb 22nd), according to the Gregorian calendar... but when Congress passed the federal law that recognizes Mr. Washington's birthday as a national holiday, and made it land on the 3rd Monday of February, no one did the math. The holiday will NEVER be on his actual birthday.

But, since his birthday was not originally Feb. 22, 1732, does it really matter? When Washington was born, the colonies were using the Julian calendar, established by the former Roman emperor, so baby George's recorded birth date was February 11, 1731... *sigh*.

So now we have Feb. 11th, Feb. 22nd, and a floating third Monday.

To make matters worse for the first commander-in-chief, most states, ignoring the federal 'ruling', call it Presidents Day. So now Mr. Washington has to share his day? Perhaps it refers to a joint celebration for Washington and Lincoln; after all Lincoln's birthday was Feb . 12, 1809. Some say it's to honor ALL of the 40+ presidents. Personally I like to think that it's for George & Abe. I'm not ready to have a holiday for Calvin Coolidge just yet (no offense).

Okay... so the holiday is set. The kids are gleeful because it's one more day without school (unless they have endured multiple snow days in the weeks preceding). Grownups without kids are gleeful if they work for federal organizations and the like who tell them they don't have to work that day.

And... retailers are gleeful because people go SHOPPING.

What? Shopping on Washington's Birthday?

What is the meaning of this unusual and possibly irreverent tradition?

Shouldn't we all be researching our history, visiting famous Washington monuments & memorials like the beautiful life-size marble created by Jean-Antoine Houdon that lives in the exquisite, classical Vir ginia State Capitol building right here in downtown Richmond? (We're rather smitten with Mr. Washington around here, since he is the first of the 8 presidents born in our beautiful state.)

Well, yes, probably...
But, instead, over the last several years, retailers have realized that they have a captive audience with a 3-day weekend. Unlike Memorial Day and Labor Day, the pools aren't open and the beaches are cold, so what's a federal employee to do?

SHOP!

The furniture industry took the marriage of Washington's birthday and selling furniture so seriously, they even founded the American Furniture Hall of Fame on his birthday (his, uh, Gregorian 'real' one: Feb. 22) in 1988.

I for one think Mr. Washington would want his citizens to shop on his birthday. It stimulates the economy. It helps your community. It builds a local tax base (when you shop lo ca lly, of course... and you do, right???). And that 'retail therapy' high you feel when find and buy something you love - well - that's gotta be good for America, right?

So, today, on this Washington's Birthday/Presidents/Presidents' Day, as a citizen of this fine country, of the beautiful state of Virginia where this important man was born, I ask you, I implore you, I beseech you to do your patriotic duty.

Get out there and SHOP! ...especially if you want some terrific modern or contemporary furniture that you can only find in a one-of-a-kind 3-story showroom in downtown Richmond...

p.s. LaDiff is open 11-5 today, just for Mr. Washington.

Home Entertainment... then & now

2010-02-03T16:19:00.013-05:00

This Saturday, LaDiff is hosting our 7th annual Home Theater Event... except this year we've renamed it our Home Entertainment Event, because now we can 'entertain' ourselves electronically in any room of the house!

Ray Lepper from Home Media of Richmond is going to show us and you all kinds of gizmos and gadgets to bring us up to speed on what's available out there. He'll let us in on all the new secrets of wireless capability so that you can program, watch, enjoy, and be entertained anywhere and everywhere in your house.

Which got me to thinking...

The 'what' is really nothing new... it's the HOW that's the new part (the gizmos and gadgets, that is).

When I was a kid, my sister and I enjoyed 'home entertainment' all the time! When I think about it, our house was light years ahead of its time in terms of what was available... especially circa 1979.

You see, our dad was (and still is) a gadget freak. A nut. A junkie.

It all started with the trains. When little Jimmy was a boy, he liked trains. He liked Lionel trains, and he got new ones every year for his birthday and for Christmas (and he got upset if he did not get the one he asked for... yes, we have family video footage to prove this little temper tantrum to his grandchildren.) When I was a very small child, Jimmy's train village took up an entire room in our basement. Occasionally he would let my sister or me wear the conductor's hat, too. Now the trains are packed away... (we need to change that).

Then there were the phones. Jimmy worked for 'the phone company'. We had LOTS of phones. When most of our friends had 2-3 phones (1 in the kitchen, 1 in their parents' bedroom, and 1 in the study or den), we had... 17. Yes. We had 17 phones. Oh, and they ALL worked.

We had the expected princess styles in the bedrooms (and bathrooms), and then we had the novelty phones: Mickey Mouse, Celebrity, Stars & Stripes. When our friends came over, there were two distinct favorites: the switchboard and the phone booth. The switchboard had all of the wires and plugs, just like the kind Lily Tomlin used when she squawked "one ringy dingy, two ringy dingy" on Laugh-In. And it worked.

The phone booth was the real hit though. The payphone inside the booth really did require quarters to call out. ... which reminds me of the payphone episode in The Brady Bunch... a plan that went bust on poor Mike Brady... but I digress.

This was the kind of phone booth that helped Clark Kent become SuperMan, the kind that college students used to stuff themselves into for photo opps, the kind that my giant stuffed gorilla from a long ago boyfriend used to live in, after I left for college.

So, we've got the trains and the phones. We also had GAMES. Board games were a huge part of growing up for us. From Chutes & Ladders, Candyland, and Sorry, we moved onto Operation, Twister, Life, Trouble, and Clue. Of course we had the requisite Monopoly sets, multiple Scrabble boards, and, later, Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit.

And, of course, when 'video games' came out, my dad had to get the latest and greatest gadget of them all: PONG by Atari. For those of you too young to remember this early video game, you can click here for a PONG video version. Note the high skill and technical prowess required........ to stay awake while playing.

Thanks to my dad's gadget-habit, we girls also had great stereo systems, walkie-talkies, cb radios, early cell phones (the ones that actually came in a bag you kept in your car), and COMPUTERS!

So, I guess when I begrudge my daughter some screen time with the TV, Wii, DS, or computer, I really need to think back to the time I spent on 'Home Entertainment' growing up. Gadgets can make our lives simpler AND more complex. We love 'family game night' at our house, because it means we turn OFF the tv and play charades or a board game. We also love having teams and challenging each other to a bit of Wii bowling (my 9-year-old is darn good... and my Mii is cuter than I am, so it's a whole lot of fun!).

However you enjoy 'Home Entertainment' with your family and friends, we hope you'll visit LaDiff this Saturday, Feb. 6th, to get a glimpse at some of the NEW ways we can be 'entertained' at home.

The 'Because' of Cause Marketing

2010-01-21T16:30:00.004-05:00

January is traditionally a time for reviewing the year that's gone by and planning for the new year ahead. As a retailer, planning one's "marketing" calendar is part of that process.

At LaDIFF, we enjoy plugging in both sides of our brains to get the creative/right brain working with the strategic/left brain.

This year - 2010 - we have something very special to celebrate: LaDiff's 30th anniversary. As you may have read in our previous blog, an homage and plea to assist earthquake-stricken Haiti, the seed of inspiration to begin LaDifference began on that very island, 30 years ago.

For many retail businesses, marketing is all about "advertising". The traditional channels of print, television, direct mail, and radio are now all mixed up with the newer channels of web advertising and social media. Often when meeting with an 'expert', these are the channels discussed: where dollars should be spent, should you use image or promotional creative spots, which is better: frequency or audience... etc. etc. etc.

Seldom do the 'experts' mention an area that means quite a lot to LaDiff: "Cause Marketing"

Cause marketing is when you find a way to present your mission and vision and hopefully reap financial success in such a way that it also brings attention to a "worthy cause." When businesses, both big & small, choose to allocate some of their "advertising" dollars to causes that matter both to them and to their customers, their customers respond.

In the last week, our customers have called and written in support of Andy's blog post and (subsequent Richmond Times Dispatch reprinting!) about his memories of Haiti.

In the last week, we delivered over 400 pounds of canned goods to the Central Virginia Foodbank and will be following that up with a healthy cash donation - all from our customers who enjoyed giving to a local cause in exchange for a fun holiday sale.

In the last week, we tallied up the donations for our Ekornes promotion to learn we exceeded our goal and nearly tripled what we brought in last year. We will be presenting a very happy check to the Caritas Furniture Bank on behalf of the customers who wanted to give.

In the last week, I have responded to a giant pile of solicitations for silent auction donations for area schools and non-profits, whose board members and donors and party attendees are all current or future customers of LaDifference.

To whom you give and how you help can vary. We are fortunate to have a LARGE building where we can support the occasional fun evening event. For the second year in a row, Easter Seals will be throwing their annual Eggstravaganza bash in our store!

Whether you put up posters to help others advertise their fundraisers, you put a jar for donations on your counter, you stroke a check to sponsor an event, or you simply spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, or email lists to help "causes"... you CAN make a difference in your community.

We've got plans for more 'cause marketing' in our 2010 advertising budget.

I hope you do, too.

Our Haitian Beginning...

2010-01-13T11:59:00.011-05:00

guest blogger: Andy Thornton, president and founder of LaDifférence, Inc.

For La Diff the news of the earthquake yesterday, January 12th, is close to home in many ways. La Diff is celebrating our 30th anniversary this year and it was Haiti that spawned our creation in 1980. Our very name, LaDifférence, comes from Haiti’s national slogan – Haiti, Vive La Différence.

From 1978 – 1980 I lived in Port au Prince and created an export business handling handicrafts, artwork, rugs, and the like. We worked with hundreds of Haitians in the capital, in Gonaives, Jacmel, St. Marc and in the countryside. The experiences were incredibly formative and rich. Some were delightful, some were quite painful but they all left an indelible impression on me.

The news that we are now getting out of Haiti is indeed very sad. Once again this poor country has been hit with tragedy – this time in the form of a massive earthquake whose epicenter was close to the capital of Port Au Prince.

Because of the lack of communication systems, the rest of world is only just starting to get reports of the nature and extent of the damage; it seems to be pretty devastating.

If one were Haitian it would seem fair to wonder why so much travail and hardship is 'dumped' on this island and its people. Already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere it has suffered from innumerable hurricanes, political violence, corruption, deforestation, over population and a litany of other ills that would break most people’s spirits or beliefs. Now they are faced with rebuilding their lives and homes after the worst earthquake in the region in 200 years. It seems hard to understand how anyone could suffer so greatly and still go on.

And yet the Haitian spirit seems irrepressible. These are lovely people who have faced adversity countless times but keep smiling and persevering. They will survive and they will rebuild. Ask a Haitian "comment ou ye?" (how are you?) and the most likely answer will be "map debat" (I am getting by). They have an uncanny knack for survival and good humor and good grace but certainly could use any help that we can give them in this dark hour.

Personally and through LaDifférence, we will extend financial assistance to Haiti to assist in relief work and to help rebuild this island nation. There will be many outlets for providing support; we only ask that you donate to established, reputable organizations, such as the Red Cross, Oxfam. The Huffington Post is providing lists of ways we all can help, and they will be updating the list regularly. We hope you will help us show support to this country of survivors.

My heart goes out to Haitian friends from years gone by – William, Lionel, Luckner, Francois, Jean-Jacques, to their families and to so many more. "Monsieur et madame, m’pense ampil d’ou jodi a."

What the 'experts' are saying...

2010-01-02T08:20:00.012-05:00

Who doesn't like to be right? Or, at least, have their opinion validated by some experts in print.

My chest was all puffed up yesterday morning, as we greeted the New Year and read an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch about Home Trends to watch for in 2010. First off, the puffed up chest went well with my puffy eyes and face from actually seeing midnight for the first time in a few years (I really needed to say goodbye to 2009 in person, and watch it leave... for good.) ... but that's a different story.

While Mr. President of LaDiff was none to pleased that design blogger Patricia Shackelford "thinks we'll see more patchwork quilts, hooked rugs, needlepoint and chintz" in the year to come, you have to read between those words to see the meaning of her message.

Remember... when times are 'tough', comfort is KING, and what is more comforting than the familiar? and, little does he know, we've just added a beautiful very antique quilt, hand-sewn by my great grandmother Carrie Ferguson and great great aunt Bess, to our homestead.

My belief has been that if you surround yourself with items you love, that are beautiful to you, they will 'work together' to become something harmonious. In the same story, Keith Johnson, buyer at large for Anthropologie (one of my FAVORITE stores to visit in NYC... and now a 5 minute walk from my Richmond home) talks about selecting items on the Sundance Channel program "Man Shops Globe." Johnson says "recycled items will be purchased only if they are beautiful." Beauty+function+recycled=a great combo.

So, how would you expect a 'modern' furniture store to react to this infusion of the 'comforts of traditional fare'?

For those who know our store, you also know we've always been a bit 'eclectic'. (Richmond Magazine even described us that way in one of their annual 'Best of...' issues). When LaDiff first opened, a whopping 30 years ago in Charlottesville, VA, the store sold Haitian handcrafts. Furniture didn't even come into the mix for about 2 years.

Having the name "LaDifference" means you are not locked into ONE style. We have ventured down all of avenues of design: Shaker, arts & crafts, minimal, glamour, whimsical, stark, rustic, high gloss, over the top, shabby chic, recycled, old world, mid-century modern, ... you name it, we've seen it, done it, sold it... because this is how people (YOU) truly live. Last year, we added Vive as an expansion of our love for the eclectic and exotic.

In October, the blog about purposeful eclecticism showed our thoughts in how these designs are now merging and mixing together more beautifully and in a more accepted fashion.

Reading the 'expert opinions' on Saturday morning was quite interesting. Not that we 'need' the validation (okay, yes, ... yes, sometimes I do), but it was nice to wake up on the first day of the new year and 'read' that our look is on the right track.

Here's to 2010 - twenty-ten - MMX - look for more celebration and fun and walks down our 30 year memory lane as the year goes by. We hope to see YOU more often, inside our wonderful 'recycled' building, enjoying our historic downtown, and loving our eclectic yet modern home furnishings. ... Our goal is to inspire you to take a few pieces back to YOUR home too.

Happy New Year!

Holiday fun with the whole LaDiff gang

2009-12-22T12:01:00.022-05:00

We have this list of core values at LaDiff. There's not much on it you wouldn't expect to see: integrity tops the list, creativity, kindness, intelligence... that sort of 'good stuff.'

There is also one other very important word that, for us, ranks right under integrity: HUMOR. We LOVE to laugh, to make each other laugh, to tell funny stories and bad jokes, and to be a little bit silly.

With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that our annual holiday party for our employees is one giant laugh fest (with some eating and drinking too). 15 years ago, our parties started as potluck affairs at our home in Church Hill. At one of the first parties, even Santa came to visit, scaring the blessing out of then-VERY-young Terrance and Tyler Fisher, whose dad Terry is our warehouse manager. I think those boys were mighty good for the few days between our party and Christmas!

Over the years, we've visited downtown restaurants, dined in empty but candlelit spaces in our building, and... returned to our house again, this time on Cherokee Road, and better sized to handle the crew we have now!

One of my great joys is buying gifts for EVERY LaDiff employee. I do not go online and point & click to some item 30 times. I make a list, and I consider each person's personalities, likes, and dislikes. Some years (and some people) are 'easier' than others. If it's Bernadette, I just channel ORANGE and it works. She's modeling her new orange handbag today, as a matter of fact! Cameron? I just find something that I like that I think she would try to 'steal' from me by telling me it is unflattering on me and would look better on her (ha!). Philip is funny... he loves (and I mean *loves*) to get a McDonald's gift certificate. I'm not kidding.

Like many businesses, we did a 'secret santa' gift exchange for YEARS. Last year, someone on our team suggested we do a Chinese Gift Exchange (with my apologies for the non-p.c. name, but that is what it's called!). What a SUPER FUN idea that was!! So, we did it again this year!

Instead of numbers, we had everyone put their name in a bag. First called? Jim Ramos, who opened a lovely grey shawl... not quite his color though. Jim immediately took it around to show all of the ladies hoping they might 'steal' it from him.

In the end, Cameron got the shawl (which she wanted), after her Russian Vodka (that none of us could read much less pronounce) was stolen from her! Throughout the evening, the most popular (and most frequently 'stolen') items were liquor and gift cards... so when the combination came up (a gift card to a Virginia ABC store - good concept, Juliette!), it was stolen, and stolen, and stolen that final 3rd time... BY ME! (Gotta have something to put in Mr. Thornton's stocking). Which is a good thing, since Ernest ripped a bottle of tequila out of Andy's hand, even though Andy threatened with the 'hey, I'm your BOSS' line... sorry, Andy, that one doesn't seem to work with this crowd!

There are always one or two gag gifts in the mix. This year's attempt turned out NOT to be a 'gag' for the person who finally got it: our 9-year-old daughter. Jennie Kam tried hard to pull a 'gag' when, in actuality, she selected an item that Lucy had put on her Christmas list! Yes, we now have a cobalt blue Snuggie, complete with deluxe book light, adorning our family room.

Now, with the LaDiff holiday party behind us, and the breakroom filled with delicious leftovers, it feels like Christmas has begun. From all of us at LaDifference to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas with your family and friends, a holiday filled with love, sharing, and hopefully a whole lot of laughter!

The LaDiff Christmas Letter

2009-12-16T14:50:00.051-05:00

Dear LaDiff Blog Readers and Friends,

Can you believe it's almost Christmas? I'm sure you've been busy shopping and decorating and baking and cooking, just like we are. As seems to be tradition this time of year, we've jotted some notes about what the 'LaDiff Family' did in 2009!

In January, Andy enjoyed a trip to the Koln (Cologne) furniture show, followed by skiing and hiking in Gimmelwald, Switzerland with his friend Ernest. Gimmelwald is where the story-book lass Heidi was from! Andy found some really beautiful furniture in Koln, including the Infinity dining table from Italian resource Porado, in our showroom now! At the end of the month, we had our annual Home Theater event - #6! Ray Lepper of Home Media came back again to share his expertise with all of our visitors. NOTE: that is NOT Andy in the picture ; )

February... our friend Jeff Hiller came to visit and speak at the Richmond Home Show/ Maymont Flower & Garden Show. His topic was Sustainability, so, keeping with the theme, our booth was all about 'living green'.

In March, we expanded our LaDiff-ness into a new venture called Vive (as in Vive la Difference!). Jim and Lisa and Rick and Tom painted and prepped an empty space in our building and turned it into something magical. Vive showcases an assortment of global and ethnic fare that brings a sense of purposeful eclecticism to our LaDiff story! The colors are rich, spicy, earthy; the feeling is distressed, loved, worn; the service, value, and quality are all... LaDiff!

We started April by hosting the Richmond Ad Club award ceremony in our Parking Garage. Wendy Wyne of Fete Studios turned this cold, concrete-floored space into a magical stage for Richmond's most creative to pat each other on the back. After the party, we turned the garage over to our 3rd annual GARAGE SALE and sold lots of great LaDiff stuff at AMAZING bargain prices!!! The month ended with our bi-annual pilgrimage to High Point for the furniture market. There, we started blogging and tweeting for the first time. One of our first blogs was about our friend Tom Moore of Lawrance Furniture in San Diego when he won a contest with American Leather to promote their unique Comfort Sleeper in a video, now preserved on YouTube. (that man is so darn funny!!!)

In May, right before we went to the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York, we learned about The 3/50 Project, a grassroots project from Cinda Baxter that promoted support of privately held, independent, small local retail businesses. We were thrilled to learn that Cinda would be speaking at the Javits Center and we got the opportunity to listen to her 'campaign', meet her in person, and jump on board the 3/50 bandwagon!

June... another great summer in downtown Richmond and the canal boats were busy every week and weekend (and so were LaDiff's restrooms!). We *love* to see the increased activity in our neighborhood. We also loved sending our delivery truck out with its new, gorgeous 'skin'... check it out! At the end of the month, we had fun sharing the world of retail with Megan, our high school intern from the Cochrane Summer Economics Institute held at the Powell Center for Economic Literacy (based at Collegiate School).

Megan-the-intern was bright, a fast learner, and lots of fun... and she helped us kick off our annual JULY 4th Sale with a fireworkd-style BANG! Crowds of customers enjoyed sale prices AND burgers & dogs on the grill served by Terry-Teddy Bear-Fisher (aka LaDiff warehouse manager). July was hot-hot-hot!

August included our annual trip to the New York International Gift Show - our 2nd trip to NYC as a family! We visited with friend, lighting maven and jewelry designer Alecia Wesner while there, enjoying lunch at one of our favorite spots in Soho: Lucky Strike. When we returned to Richmond, our new TV spot - The Perfect Seat - was ready to air... featuring the backsides of several important Richmonders (okay, it's our staff and our family... but they're important to us!)

In September, I served on a panel for the Retail Merchants Association's First Friday Forum to talk about how retailers could get involved with the Think.Shop.Buy.Local campaign - our LOCAL, successful offshoot of the 3/50 Project. Later that month, while yours truly was busy prepping for high school reunion #25 (at OUR house), Jennie and Tim and Rick were busy prepping for the Chamber's annual BizLinc event at RIR (that's Richmond International Raceway to those who are not Nascar fans...). And, talk about cool, our booth was right across from the Chamber's booth, where guest speaker Bill Rancic - first winner of Trump's Apprentice title - was signing books and autographs in the afternoon!

October brought another High Point market... this one was MUCH more upbeat than the April show. Vendors were smiling, retailers were smiling... things are looking up! We had new product arriving weekly which means our sales team was smiling too! And, to make the market even more memorable, our own Lisa D got to meet design celebrity Thom Filicia IN PERSON. (And I got to meet Sponge Bob... but that's a whole other story...)

In November, we were proud to host another event, this time to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: a wine tasting orchestrated again by the amazing Wendy Wyne. Our Passion for Dining tv spots brought some interesting and varied responses from our customers... we love the ad! And we ended November by starting two of our favorite 'donations for discounts' promotions to benefit Caritas Works' Furniture Bank and the Central Virginia Foodbank, two very worthy and deserving causes.

And now... it's December. There is always excitement and wonder at LaDiff in December. Andy and I spent the first few days of the month sharing ideas with other contemporary furniture retailers meeting in San Diego, sadly missing the Grand Illumination and rainy Christmas Parade the next day! But we returned to hear the news that long-time-LaDiffer Jaye Erickson received her certification as a 'GREENLeader Accredited Professional' - since she designed and built our 'Green Screen' and is our official onsite recycling pest, we are very proud of her! Now, with only a few shopping days left until the 'big day', the store is decorated, the windows dressed, and our sales team is busily sending out their holiday cards. Our annual staff party is Monday evening - a time to eat, drink, and be merry with each other, think about the year that has passed, and plan for the one ahead. It was a good year...

From all of us at LaDifference to all of you, we wish you a Happy Hannukah, a Merry Christmas, a spirited Kwanzaa, and lots of joy and happiness in the coming new year.

Networking can improve your business and your bowling game.

2009-12-08T08:20:00.019-05:00

Okay, so I'm at this conference in San Diego: 15 contemporary furniture stores, all members of the Contemporary Design Group, spending 5 days in a room talking about how we advertise, what we buy, our vendor relationships, our staffs, our rent structures, etc., etc., etc. Naturally, it got me thinking about networking (at 5am California time, because I am still struggling with that 3 hour time difference after 5 days).

I woke up wondering where the expression arose.
Works like 'network' were once as foreign or 'new' to people as 'tweet' is now.

So, I looked it up.

According to ask.com:
network (n)"net-like arrangement of threads, wires, etc.," 1560, from net (n.) + work (n.). Extended sense of "any complex, interlocking system" is from 1839 (orig. in ref. to transport by rivers, canals, and railways). Meaning "broadcasting system of multiple transmitters" is from 1914; sense of "interconnected group of people" is from 1947. The verb, in ref. to computers, is from 1972; in ref. to persons, it is attested from 1980s.

We go back to the first half of the 19th century and find that the word was used, naturally, to describe interlocking transportation systems. Well, that makes sense.

Fast forward to the early 20th century when it was adopted by the very young broadcasting industry to describe their interconnected systems, and the adoptions continued by the computer industry, telecommunications, and, finally, people!

Systems and networks were established to achieve a goal faster: get you from the Atlantic to the Mississippi without leaving water, let Albany hear the news report coming from New York City, allow my computer in San Diego talk to my computer back home.

How does this apply to PEOPLE who network then?

Well...I had a much funnier image of the word origin in my head when I woke up (too early).

I kept thinking about tennis: and, literally, "working the net." There you are, away from that base line comfort zone, approaching your competition - who may also be your friend - face to face. You're trying to get to the ball earlier, before you have to think too much. In a way, this is the benefit of real life person-to-person networking, too!

When we try to figure out solutions all by ourselves, we have to start from scratch. Sure, we can do some educated research, and we certainly rely on, and hopefully trust, our own brain power to be resourceful. Still, in the end, the proof comes back and we've forgotten to include the end date on the sale, or we've neglected to learn that the event is the same weekend as a local college graduation, or we haven't taken into account that two sales people will be on vacation.

I'm a fan of Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and Outliers. In the former, he talks about how the first person to invent or achieve is often - no, make that usually - NOT the one who is the most successful with the idea. Was it Mr. McDonald or Ray Croc who became a multi-billionaire taking the 'fast food' concept around the world? The iPod was not the first mp3 player on the market, yet it is the best known, best selling of its device category by leaps and bounds.

Why? For several reasons, many of which Gladwell expands upon in his books. For me, one very obvious reason for the 'success of the second attempt' is because they were able to learn from the ones that came before: correct the mistakes and celebrate and expound on the successes!

That is a HUGE benefit of networking when open IDEA SHARING is involved.

The real beauty is that this kind of networking CAN come in the most unusual places. You don't have to network (note the now acceptable verb form) only at cocktail parties and breakfast meetings. You can network and share ideas anywhere you meet someone new. The more relaxed the atmosphere, the more open you - and they - are going to be about sharing, listening, and learning.

And last night, when our group of 15 stores hit the East Village Tavern and Bowl in downtown San Diego, there was a LOT of sharing. First, our team came in second (I was dubbed the WOOHOO girl... hmmm): led by the inspiring Bruce Selik of Hillside Furniture in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, who coached powerhouse Jerry Nowell of Nowells Furniture in Cary, NC, to aim for those white pins in the center with his 15pound ball. Bruce also encouraged Lora Sigesmund of Perlora in Pittsburgh, PA, to come from behind and beat us all with her game ending strikes! Needless to say there was a LOT of laughter, from when Carol Bell and Tamara Scott-Anderson of Content Interiors in Tucson, AZ, showed up dressed as Laverne & Shirley to the antics of team #1 who shall remain nameless (but included my husband) because of their unusual and tactile 'twisting' after a team member's spare or strike.

Last night, we were not worrying about the economy, our employees, or our advertising budgets. We were having fun. As we watched Jeff Burt of Suburban Furniture do his high scorer happy dance, we knew that the next day (today!) in the boardroom was going to be much lighter, more relaxed, and even more open and flowing with great ideas.

Yes, yes, yes, all that other 'network' stuff about creating a great system for idea-sharing and breeding success in our industry is the main goal of our conference and meetings, but I like the image that was in my head at 5am too: We ran to the net, met our opponent face to face, became their friend, and played the game not to win, but to improve each other's skills too.

Knowing and working with these amazing people with member stores in the Contemporary Design Group only makes LaDifference stronger and better. Thank you, Howard, Sandie, and everyone who attended the conference for making this year's event informative, helpful, and FUN!

Can't wait to do some more 'networking' NEXT year!

My Christmas Tree is Up! ... how 'bout yours?

2009-11-30T18:31:00.005-05:00

So, here it is... written out for anyone to see...

I love Christmas.
Some would say I have an addiction.
I'm not sure if it's that bad, but that could just be denial, right?

Right??
Okay, okay, here's how "bad" it is...

For the last 10 years I've kept a spreadsheet (yes, a spreadsheet, in Excel) that shows the gifts we given everyone, where we bought them, and what we spent. Why? Because I gave one person a bowl 3 years in a row... and I was bound and determined not to repeat that little goof.

Also, I cannot walk buy ornaments for sale without stopping.
Anywhere.
Really... I mean anywhere.
This can be Sanibel, FL in March, or Kings Dominion in August.
I.Must.Stop.To.See.Ornaments.

I have finally become disciplined NOT to buy. (at least not ALL the time).

Most retailers I know either love the Christmas season (like me), or they hate it (like my husband).

Think about it... hoards of people mobbing your store with a specific deadline in mind, getting frustrated if you don't have exactly what they came for on the day they want it, even if they did wait until the last minute...

On the other hand, I love the frenzy of the gift wrapping, the 'deer in the headlights' look in the eyes of the (ahem, male) shoppers, the music (LOVE the music).

So, how do we reconcile this?
I handle Christmas (well, all but my own gift and one for his mum).
He handles, well, me. And our daughter, too, who is fast surpassing me in her love for this crazy, wonderful holiday.

I love decorating early.
I love shopping early.

By doing both, it means I have time to ENJOY the holiday.
I can bake, and cook, and visit with friends.
I can watch Christmas specials on TV - the good, the bad, and the sappy.
I can drive around Richmond and see all of the beautiful lights.

And... I can ENJOY our customers who come in to shop for others or for themselves.
I hope you'll come by LaDiff this holiday season to shop, to say hello, to see our beautiful downtown all dressed up (especially this Friday, Dec. 4th for Grand Illumination!).

I'll be the one Decking the Halls...falalalala... LaDifference...

Help us help the Central Virginia Foodbank

2009-11-24T08:01:00.007-05:00

Last year, for our 'holiday sale', LaDifference decided to do something, well, different. We wanted to give our customers a holiday 10% discount, but with a twist. For every donation of 5 cans/boxes of food or a donation of $5 to the Central Virginia Foodbank, a customer received get 10% off one item in the store.

With no limit to the number of donations & discounts, the program was a success. We raised enough food & money to provide nearly 10,000 meals to the CVFB, who works with Meals on Wheels under the umbrella of Feedmore to provide meals to our area's neediest citizens.

Because success breeds success, we're doing it again.

Starting today, Nov. 24th, for every donation of $5 or 5 cans or boxes of food that you bring to LaDiff for the Central Virginia Foodbank, we will give you 10% off one really cool LaDiff item of your choice... the more your donate, the more 10% discounts you'll get. The promotion runs until Sunday, January 3rd, so you have plenty of time to help the foodbank while you help yourself to sale prices on furniture and home accessories.

If you are on our mailing list, watch your mailbox for the postcard about the event, and you'll see ads pop up in local papers, too. Thanks to the team at Elevation (Aaron, Frank, and CJ, big shout outs to you), we have a beautiful, hopeful television spot too, that you can see right here.

At the end of the sale, in the first week of January, we'll tally up the donations of canned goods and money brought to LaDiff and present everything to the foodbank at that time. As you can imagine, the need is greater than ever right now. The extraordinary team at our area foodbank knows how to stretch your single dollar into 5 meals... so that $5 donation in exchange for a discount can add 25 meals to someone's week. Pretty powerful. You can learn more about the Central Virginia Foodbank at their website or follow them on Twitter. (Please note, they are also looking for volunteers this season, too, to help with sorting and the like!)

To learn more about LaDiff's holiday promotion to help us provide food for our area citizens while helping our customeres save on fun furniture, visit our website for details.

From the LaDiff team to you, Happy Thanksgiving.

Why we love a GOOD Sale

2009-11-17T07:42:00.014-05:00

Sales are fun...and I'm not talking about just for the consumer - which I happen to be.
(And I'm quite good at being a consumer, too!)

At LaDiff, we have FUN with our sales.

First, there are the 'games' we've played...in the past we've asked our customers to

search for secret items
sing patriotic song
wear specific colors and/or outfits

But the real fun is in knowing that we're offering really cool LaDiff stuff ON SALE.

Right now LaDIFF is in the midst of our first HALF OFF sale.

When you have a sale called 'half off' you get a lot of questions. We've tried to answer the most frequent ones on our website page about the sale. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Is everything HALF OFF? ... all of the ads say "select items" and "over 600 items". And wouldn't we tell you if it's the entire store? So, the short and easy answer is "no" (we aren't crazy).

2. Is this the best price? ....uh, it's half off. HALF OFF our regular price. Let me put it this way: this is BETTER than what our employees pay. So you're getting the employee discount and then some. Woohoo! (short answer: "yes")

3. Is my HALF OFF purchase final sale? ... you bet your bippee it is. Period. End of story. (P.S. We also need you to be IN the store when you purchase, because most of the items are last-of floor samples... you'll want to look it over before you buy.)

4. Are you going out of business? "Wait, people really ask you that?"...Whenever we have a clearance sale, we hear this question or a variation of it from at least one person during the event. Crazy, huh? That said, in today's economic climate, and having watched many of our friends and colleagues close their businesses, the question is at least more reasonable. The answer is a resounding NO! We enjoy what we do, our business is strong, and we can't wait to show you all of the cool stuff we have on order coming in 2010... which is the reason we are making room with a HALF OFF sale to begin with.

Sometimes, with clearance sales, we look around us at a sea of 'older than it should be' inventory and too many 'as is' items. This time, however, the buyers are thrilled at the selection we are offering our customers. One of my very favorite chairs sold early on the first day of the sale: a gorgeous, comfy swivel chair from Italy in a truly luxurious leather. Mmmmm.

Want to know what makes us (or any furniture store) decide to put something in a sale like this?

Vendor discontinuation: means we cannot order it any longer - for our store or for you.
Older floor models that we want to change up to another finish or color or style.
Too much inventory of one thing! We get a little over-eager sometimes...
Scratch & dent - accidents happen; we touch 'em up and mark 'em down!
Something that just doesn't make the 'best seller' list. We love everything we buy. Some items are 'hits' and some aren't. That's just the way it is...
Something new is on the way to take it's place! When we need to make room, we mark down what's 'in the way'.

So... there you have it... the little secrets of the method behind the HALF OFF markdowns. The idea is to reduce inventory to make room for new product. So, they are not going to apply to custom orders. They are not going to apply to new items. They are not going to apply to best sellers.

In the end, there were over 710 items marked at HALF OFF... and, with day #3 of the sale starting today, there are still LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of terrific bargains left FOR YOU!

The sale ends Sunday, Nov 22nd. Come on down and
LET THE FUN BEGIN!

So, what did you REALLY think?

2009-11-09T19:52:00.010-05:00

We knew we were taking a risk.

Double entendre is always risky.

Some people won't hear the 'risky' part, and the joke goes over their heads. Others ONLY hear the 'risky' part, and ignore the safe part, and take it far too literally.

Since mid-October, LaDiff has been running a TV commercial called "Passion for Dining." The concept came from Aaron Dotson, Frank Gilliam and team, and was produced by C.J.Hawn, all of Elevation Advertising. Very talented people with very creative ideas... and this was no exception.

Let me back up.

In July, we asked Elevation to create our 4th of July tv spots.
They were animated and hit the mark.

For our 'Perfect Seat' upholstery sale in September, they came up with an even more clever idea including a variety of 'seats' (young, old, small, large, dressed up, casual, etc.)

But....... they had this other idea they wanted us to do. It was a take-off of a Cialis or Viagra or similar spot: the one with the two bathtubs. Andy would be in one and I would be in the other. The copy would be about it 'being time' and 'being in the mood'... then 'yes, let's have a sale.'

Yeah, ... cute... but, uh, no.

The 'butt' ad was clever. Lucy loved shaking her booty for it, as did quite a few LaDiffers.

The next ad... for our dining sale... was all about the double entendre.

Here we were, sitting around the conference table: two 40-something women, a 20-something woman, and my 50-something husband, listening to the Elevation ideas. They were great. If we'd had the money, there would have been three spots that would have run in rotation so often you'd think we were an upcoming Lifetime movie! Instead, we decided on one. This one. The one that has gotten a lot of attention.

We even got written attention in Holly Buchanan's blog about 'marketing to women'... and she did NOT like it.

But... We like it.
It's risky.
It created buzz.
And... it's "LaDiff."

Check out Holly's blog and the reactions/comments... and watch the ad itself... right here... and let us know what YOU think. (To friends who have already commented on the blog and/or on Facebook... THANK YOU.)

Too much???

Elevation is doing our NEXT tv spot too: about our promotion that benefits the Central Virginia Foodbank. Stay tuned... it's wonderful.

(by the way, dining furniture is STILL on sale for one more week... sale ends 11/15... so, hurry, if that's the room you need to furnish or redecorate next!)

Comfort, Color, and a some 'star' sightings....... LaDiff's recap of the October 2009 High Point furniture market

2009-11-02T15:24:00.026-05:00

1. COMFORT is king: deep, plush seating wowed us. Sink into comfort. Don't want to get up and keep walking comfort. No 'perching' on the edge of your seat; we're talking become one-with-the-furniture comfort.

2. FABRIC is BACK in modern design. While microfiber covers and ultrasuede are still out there, and still have their places, ‘REAL’ fabrics in rich textures are BACK: linens, chenilles, woven cottons, etc. This only adds to the lushness of the COMFORT (see #1!).

3. Where there is FABRIC, there is COLOR. After the safe sea of brown, brown, and brown (okay: tan, taupe, and chocolate), we loved seeing the other colors of the earth splashed around: cranberry reds, plum purples, ocean-inspired teals, and pumpkin oranges, all mixed with new neutrals like pewter grey! Our friends at American Leather did it particularly well!

4. MID-CENTURY MODERN was the style inspiration. Heywood-Wakefield-inspired case pieces, trim upholstery, clean lines – minimal yet fun and funky. Keeping with that feeling, AMERICAN WALNUT brings the essence of the 1950’s and high craftsmanship to the almost 2010’s. LaDiff faves Copeland, Skovby, and BDI showed it off with new introductions throughout.

5. INNOVATION – George Emerson presented his Geneva Sound Systems, where you can get really big sound out of sexy, small boxes: it is SO MUCH better than some other European options we’ve seen, and a whole heaping lot prettier in your room!

6. ‘PURPOSEFUL ECLECTICISM’ (defined in an earlier blog) from was rampant in the urban rustic/loft living looks from GUS* Design, Archetype, and Design Workshop. Cold, raw steel mixed with distressed woods; clean lines and minimal arms on a deep seated down-filled sofa; rustic textures against glass & metal. GUS* even puts ‘tree trunk’ patterned texture onto an otherwise very mod clear acrylic accent table: love it.

7. ECO-FRIENDLY IS AFFORDABLE – it does NOT cost more to be GREEN. The discovery of highly affordable and completely eco-friendly upholstery resource BKind3 was a delight, and speaking to Carl Gustavson about his BiOH-foam (soy) cushions, SFI lumber frames, and fabrics made from recycled plastic bottles, inspired us to “be kind” to our planet. We are also ‘getting in bed’ with North American mattress manufacturer Natura who has been eco-friendly since before the expression existed!

8. Last, but certainly not least, some LaDIFFERS get star-struck by famous designers: Lisa hunted down Thom Filicia , and I came within spitting distance of Candice Olson (note, I would never spit on Candice: 1. b/c she is very tall and could hock one right back on top of my head, 2. b/c she is truly divine). Thom is adorable, and Candice is gorgeous, and both are talented and charming, but neither had the naive appeal of this uber-star, Mr. Squarepants himself...
High Point just doesn't get any better than this!

P.S. if you aren't on LaDiff's email list yet, or following us on Twitter or Facebook, you'll want to! We have big exciting stuff happening that will only be told to our ONLINE audience! Sign up now!

Friends

2009-10-19T22:15:00.002-04:00

The best part about spending 2 weeks a year in High Point, trudging around from showroom to showroom, sleeping in a strange bed, working 14 hours/day?

Seeing friends.

Yep.

That's it.

Sure, it's fun to see really cool furniture - especially when some of our friends have been particularly inspired - but the best part is the 'catching up.'

"How ARE you?"

"We're good... we're good."

"How is business?"

"Better... we think it's getting better. Yes. Definitely getting better."

"Ours too... what a year."

"No kidding!"

"And your kids?"

"Still growing!!!"

"See you tonight?!"

"Absolutely!!!"

Yep......... buying furniture (on EVERY level -supplier to manufacturer, manufacturer to retailer, retailer to consumer)... is ALL about the relationship.

... and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Purposeful Eclecticism

2009-10-12T08:23:00.011-04:00

There is a trend afoot in decorating and entertaining that I will call 'purposeful eclecticism.' It's where the home/apartment dweller has purposefully mixed styles and eras and colors and textures... not because they had to (think hand-me-downs) but because they wanted to... and they want it to look 'effortless', like they accumulated their goodies over time.

I find this intriguing and delightful.

It used to be that people aspired to have "the complete set", or... sorry, hate this furniture term... the "suite". The bedroom suite, the dining room suite, the living room suite: think sofa, chair, and loveseat that ALL MATCH. People saved their pennies to buy their furniture this way, and then they lived with that 'suite' all the rest of their lives.

Which makes me think that today's eclecticism is not something born of 'need' but because of 'want'.

Think about it... true eclectic decorating usually starts out of need: can't afford the 'matched set' so you figure out how to make the mismatched one look terrific. My parents' apartment while my dad was in grad-school was the ultimate in mismatched items, many of which were later painted this odd shade of green because, naturally, they had gallons of leftover green paint from some other project. Items are repurposed from bedspreads into draperies and pillows. It was recycling at its finest.

Now, however, the appeal of DIY, the lure of the thrift store or yard sale, and the encouragement to re-purpose and recycle, has created a new level of eclecticism that is truly purposeful (with the illusion of appearing 'effortless').

On a recent episode of Dear Genevieve (yes, like many of you, I HEART HGTV, especially Genevieve, Candice, David, and Vern...)... Genevieve Gorder (who got her TV start on Trading Spaces many moons ago) brought life to a couple's Victorian era dining room by buying them MISMATCHED dining chairs from different periods. She then covered the seats in the same fabric, to bring them 'unity'. Her decorations? Fruits and vegetables. There were two big pieces in the room that she bought new: the table and the chandelier. Everything looked great.

Okay... so why would I - a retailer of NEW furniture - be espousing the ideas of purposeful eclecticism? Well, first off, because I like it, and I do it myself. My living room has an antique carved Brazilian cabinet, an early 20th century baby grand piano, an original-to-the-house stone fireplace, and... lots of modern furniture, lighting, & rugs.

Designers are touting the beauty and benefit of 'mixing things up.' LaDiff friend and Richmond designer Kathy Corbet recently led a seminar titled 'Mix it up! Incorporating Contemporary Styles into a Traditional Home.' On her blog, Kathy says "Simple touches can provide a smooth visual transition when combining periods and adding modern touches."

We LaDiffers love to mix things up. Our belief is that as long as each piece has integrity unto itself, and YOU love it, you can make it work. If you trust your own instincts, you'll find that you are drawn to similar colors or textures, that, when mixed together, become something layered and wonderful. (In fact, mixing things up is part of the reason we started Vive - more global/ ethnic/ one-of type furniture, located next door to LaDiff.)

Compare it to fashion:
* a beautiful antique cameo pin worn on a chic black sweater is truly elegant
* a vintage 1960's dress looks sexy with sleek modern boots
* jeans and a t-shirt are instantly dressed up with a vintage scarf and handbag

Now let's do it with furniture:
* you've inherited Gramma's antique iron bed - flank it with glass tables for a modern update or warm it up with solid cherry
* vintage 1950's white laminate kitchen table? how 'bout some Danish inspired colorful bent-ply chairs to go around?
* that exquisite antique Persian rug from Aunt Mary? sleek black Corbusier-inspired leather upholstery lets the rug be the star
* naugahyde lazyboy circa 1974? ... we recommend that you donate that item to Caritas' furniture bank and start OVER (there are some things we just cannot help)

You don't have to start from scratch! In fact, we wish you wouldn't. If your furniture has character and 'good bones', work with it. Just add some quality, fun, and color where needed.

Purposeful Eclecticism... hard to say... fun to do! Let's do it together. Get started at: www.ladiff.com

Toot! Toot! That's our 'own' horn you hear!

2009-10-05T18:34:00.008-04:00

Well... it's Monday... so it's time to write another blog entry.

This morning, Carol Hazard and the Metro Business section of the Richmond Times Dispatch did it for me.

The comments from Jerry Epperson, furniture industry expert & analyst and downtown Richmond neighbor, are so flattering that our buttons have been popping off our shirts all day!

A big shout out and thank you also to Alice Lynch, with the Virginia Capitol Foundation, and, of course, to our partner of almost 30 years, Ivor Massey for their nice words, too!

You can read the article online by clicking here.

Below are a few photos that appeared in print, including the wonderful 'empress of LaDiff' (as my dad calls her), Miss Lucy.

And, of course, if you want to know even more about LaDiff, we hope you'll visit us in person. For starters... visit ladiff.com and check out our story and our 'stuff'. Thanks!

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

2009-09-28T17:47:00.003-04:00

"Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes..." sang Mr. Bowie, a long long time ago.

For the last few months I've been busy reconnecting with former classmates, with the culmination of our 25th high school reunion occurring this past weekend.

It was a blast. A great turnout; fun people; good conversation; a LOT of laughing; and many, many walks down memory lane.

Which got me thinking about just how much the world HAS changed in 25 years.

The year that I left high school ... 1984, with all of its Orwellian overtones...

AT&T - a.k.a. MaBell - was 'divested' (broke up into lots of smaller companies)
Apple introduced the Mackintosh computer (which was mostly used by new college freshmen to play donkey kong)
One month before winning 8 Grammy's for Thriller, Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial, begin his spiral into drug dependency.
The Soviet Union (yes, not yet Russia again) boycotted the summer Olympics in Los Angeles, allowing the women's gymnastics team, led by Mary Lou Retton, to take home lots of gold.
Virgin Atlantic Airways made its inaugural flight.
Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign her crown after nude photos of her show up in Penthouse (oops).
Crack cocaine is first introduced in Los Angeles beginning what became a drug epidemic

Oh, and all of my papers were typed on an electric typewriter, my car still had an am only radio, and I listened to albums and cassette tapes (although my boyfriend at the time had a new-fangled 'cd player').

How far we've come in 25 years.

As people, as a planet.

... with so many opportunities left for innovation, for creation, for improvement.

I wonder what the next 25 will bring?

Deadlines are opportunities

2009-09-21T18:27:00.006-04:00

I have to admit it... I love a deadline.

In fact, I need one.

It propels me to act.

This Saturday, the president of LaDiff (aka my husband) and I are hosting MY high school reunion at OUR home. 100 people (about 65 classmates plus some brave spouses/dates) will be coming to our house to reminisce, eat, drink, listen to great (yes great) 80's music, and tell stories. I agreed to this 5 years ago (no, I'm not telling you which reunion this is, but the previous music hint may have given it away), so it was not a surprise to my husband when I reminded him back in the spring.

The reunion has given us "a deadline:" a deadline to landscape, to paint, to hang light fixtures, to change some furniture...

Some of it felt like drudgery (I'm not a fan of planting multiple tiny all-green plants into a bed - it's boring, back-breaking, tedious), but the end result, going room to room, outdoor space to outdoor space, to make improvements big or small, has been worth it.

In fact, just yesterday, the husband said "It's been good to have a deadline to force me to get some of this done."

Deadlines are good.
They prompt us to start a project AND finish it.
We take action.
WE MOVE!

We might curse a deadline when it's in front of us, but we are grateful when it's behind us, when we've we met the goal, when we've finished the project.
When we view a deadline as an opportunity to improve, learn, change, it can enrich us.

I like a good deadline. (oh... and the husband, who is also the President of LaDiff, is the most amazing, selfless, helpful person you could meet, since he's been painting, tilling, planting, piling, cleaning... and it's not even HIS reunion... he's a darn good man, that man I married.)

(Is this a good time to remind you that the DEADLINE to save in the Perfect Seat Sale is Sunday, October 4th? Especially for the Comfort Sleeper sale, since this was the FIRST TIME they had a sale, and we have NO IDEA when they'll do it again? It's a GOOD deadline... that gives YOU a real opportunity to save money.)

Think.Shop.Buy.Local - redux

2009-09-14T08:31:00.027-04:00

On Friday, September 11th, after taking a moment to pause and reflect on the tragedies of 8 years ago, a Westin hotel ballroom filled with retailers and fans of retail gathered to celebrate.

The agenda for this particular Retail Merchants Association First Friday Forum breakfast was the Think.Shop.Buy.Local campaign - its origins, its mission, and its future direction.

Panelists were Michael Guld of Mainline Broadcasting & the Guld Resource group as moderator, Tom Silvestri, publisher of the Richmond Times Dispatch, and....... me. Michael presented the program, the website, some of the media opportunities. I presented the retail perspective: how to 'get on board and make it happen.' Tom presented the contributions that retailers make to the community and the hopeful impact of the TSBL campaign on the Richmond area.
The follow up in the Richmond Times Dispatch on Saturday was spot on (thanks, Louis Llovio!). While this is a WONDERFUL campaign, it will be critical for local retailers to think globally about the nature of their business. We cannot work in a vacuum; we have to continue to differentiate, grow, and improve to compete with the 'big boys'.

The big surprise follow-up came on Sunday, when Tom Silvestri posted a FULL PAGE editorial in the RTD, celebrating the achievements of local retailers. He flattered, he honored, he told stories, and he showcased the individuality, the success, and the personality of Richmond's retail community. He began his Richmond-Retail-Horn-Tooting by revealing his 'angle':

"I admit I have a bias. My livelihood and that of approximately 625 colleagues at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and another 925 of our independent contractors depend on retailers who advertise and inform the public using our newspapers and Web sites to attract customers.
As they go, we go."

But isn't his bias one that EVERYone in Richmond has?
Don't we ALL rely upon local business to keep the engine going?

It's all a tightly knit interwoven circle.
You put money in my hand. I in turn use that money to buy goods or services from someone else. They in turn do the same.

It's our THINKING about whose hands we'll choose that makes all the difference.

THINK before you shop and buy...
You have the power to build your community, to improve your community, to sustain your community, when you make the decision to keep it LOCAL.

Thanks for the campaign, Retail Merchants Association.
LaDifference is going to do what WE can to continue to spread the word and 'make you proud.'

BiOH - Ask for it by name...

2009-09-07T12:08:00.017-04:00

In the furniture world, for those of us trying to be 'more green', nearly every furniture category and every furniture surface can be redesigned in a more environmentally friendly way. Wood is sourced from sustainable forests. Lacquers, paints, and surface treatments release no VOC's (volatile organic compounds) into the atmosphere. And vendors reuse, repurpose, and recycle wherever possible. And consumers respond.

All of that is great.
Except for one rather important omission... the SEAT.

FOAM - a fossil-fuel dependent substance - has been the primary resource for the seating (and bedding) industry for decades. Why? Because consumers (particularly American) find it comfortable. Foam is resilient, can be cut and carved into shapes, and lasts a long time, particularly when it is very dense. But, it is still a fossil-fuel reliant substance.

What's an environmentally savvy consumer to do?

Well, some go back to down filled, but that creates a whole different set of problems (plucking feathers from birds and all that). Down seating also gets very slouchy (some say sloppy) looking over time, and down is much much firmer than most foam seating... which means that most manufacturers who work with down still combine it with - you guessed - foam, for that softer, cushier, longer-lasting feel. Back to square one.

In the last few centuries, before 'foam' was so prevalent, cushions were stuffed with anything from straw to horse hair. Ever sat on an antique sofa with horsehair cushions? Rather, um, firm.

Now there is an alternative: BiOH polyols.
Created & developed by Cargill, BiOH polyols offer retailers and consumers an option to seating that relies 100% on fossil fuels.

Founded in 1865, Cargill* is a privately held company that employs 160,000 people in 67 countries. An international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products & services, Cargill is dedicated to helping their customers through collaboration, innovative, research & development. It is through these efforts that BiOH polyols came to be.

"BiOH polyols are a soy-based ingredient for flexible foam used in upholstered furniture and bedding, carpet backing, and automotive seats. Traditional foam and carpet backing ingredients are derived from petroleum-based products. BiOH products are made from a renewable resource - soybean oil." BiOH polyols can be used to replace about 20% of the 67% of polyphenols used to make upholstered foam cushioning, without losing the durability, strength, and comfort that American consumers desire in their seating. (To learn more about the research & development of the product and the science behind it, visit the BiOH website.)

When LaDiff learned more about BiOH polyols, we were impressed. This would tie into our efforts to educate our consumers about environmentally friendly home furnishings options. We were even more pleased to learn we were already carrying furniture made with BiOH seat cushioning, when we saw this video blog on BiOH's website about one of our FAVORITE upholstery & leather suppliers: American Leather.

We jumped on board the BiOH bandwagon and started talking about it on Twitter with BiOH horn-tooter (and marketing manager) Jessica Koster and mistress of all BiOH social-media, Leslie Carothers. They gave us the full story and explained that the goal is to get consumers - HEY, THAT'S YOU! - to know enough about the benefits of BiOH that they ask for it by name. We figure that once consumers - YOOHOO, calling YOU again! - realize that there IS a choice in upholstered seating that includes renewable resources, asking for it by name would be a natural 'next step'.

Think of it like the Intel Pentium chip. Go back about 10-12 years, when computers just started getting 'fast' (to be able to interact with the quickly evolving world of the internet). Intel had this great product, but it couldn't be sold alone. It was always put inside of another product: the pc you chose. (Okay Mac people, just bear with me for a minute). So Intel started marketing this chip... telling people to ASK FOR IT when they bought a computer. Pentium became a household word for computer-savvy consumers. They sought out machine builders who incorporated the Pentium chips into their builds. Success!

Why can't BiOH become like the Pentium chip?

And, unlike some decisions that are 'good for you', BiOH is not 'tasteless' in the sense of design. Some of the country's top furniture designers and manufacturers are using BiOH... which takes us back to American Leather. We're still working on getting American Leather to hang tag all of their product to shout out "hey! this has BiOH!" In the meantime, we'll do it ourselves... "Hey, you guys! Check out the very cool furniture at LaDiff that includes BiOH polyols! It's better for the environment... and better for all of us too."

psst... to you LaDiff upholstery suppliers who are NOT using BiOH foam yet, you might want to look into it for your company too!

*Information on Cargill found at http://www.bioh.com/.
*Thank you to Leslie Carothers (@tkpleslie) & Jessica Koster (@BiOHforALLJK) for providing us with information and education to write this blog.

The Making of the LaDiff Television Ads

2009-08-31T08:00:00.003-04:00

By LaDiff's Graphic Designer & Marketing Kid,
Juliette Heydenrych

I have my sticky little fingers in all kinds of things. From design to DIY, writing web code to ramping up our Search Engine Optimization, and from designing print advertising to managing social media, we designers are expected to do it all. The title "Graphic Designer" often expands and demands that one wears a variety of hats at the workplace. It’s easy to sit back and wonder, in any position, if you’ve missed your calling in life. As a designer, if you think you’ve missed your calling, it’s just because you haven’t been asked to do it yet.

If there had ever been any doubt in my mind that I should have perhaps gone into a field such as, say, film production, it was about to be put to rest.

The task at hand was to create two TV ads to promote two months worth of events: The Bedroom Sale in August, and the Upholstery/Seating Sale in September… so when Andy and Sarah called in Aaron Dotson and Frank Gilliam of Elevation Advertising, I knew we’d be in for a treat. They seemed so mild mannered at first, but after the initial business formalities were out of the way and the discussion got going, I had the feeling that this was going to be a hoot. Our little conference room roared with laughter as we pushed ideas around, and by the end of the meeting I returned to my office, wiped tears from my eyes, and watched as Aaron tweeted that “concepting TV spots is the best stress reliever ever”. Glad to be of service, Aaron. And we couldn’t wait to see what they would come up with, either.

In the coming weeks, we would be back in the LaDiff conference room. We would be regaled with concepts, we would choose wisely which ones would come to fruition. Elevation would then set to work on a storyboard, and get the folks together to produce the ads. Just days before we were slated to film, I met a gang of Elevation cohorts to scope out the space within which we would assemble props, stage bedrooms, and film. I also met with CJ Hawn, graphic designer, to choose nightstands, lamps, props and clocks for the ads. I shyly showed her around the store, offering up opinions on different nightstand/lamp combinations, while secretly envying her arty insights, design experience, and general expertise. While I was stumbling to find appropriate inventory, these are the concepts CJ was mulling over:

The Bedroom Sale ad, (follow the link to see the ad) on-air for the month of August, essentially featured a series of alarm clocks going off in various rooms using various alarm-clocky sounds. The sounds come together to create a rhythm, which moves faster and faster until building to the end of the piece, where hands are seen slapping each clock into snooze. The concept? This bedroom sale is a snooze button’s best friend (because that’s just how comfortable you’ll be!).

The Upholstery Sale ad, (follow the link to see the ad) now dubbed the Perfect Seat for your Seat Sale, is about just that- finding the perfect seat. The concept was to show a variety of seats with their corresponding rear-ends. Quirky, cute and a tad cheeky.

In preparation, we pulled about 8 different nightstands off the sales floor, with 10 lamps, 2 alarm clocks, and some random accessories from the gifts department. We also painted part of the wall in our empty neighboring space yellow, to serve as one of many backdrops to the “bedroom” scenery. I kept my fingers crossed that Elevation’s crew would cover the rest as far as props and equipment, as discussed (just in case). They did.

We started by filming the “Butt Ad” for the Seat/Upholstery Sale. Friends and employees of LaDiff took turns standing shyly in front of a white screen. We stood patiently on a piece of masking tape as the lights and camera were adjusted- custom tailored to frame each toosh. When the film was rolling (actually I think it’s all digital now), we shifted, swayed, turned and twirled. As one of the seats in the ad, I can say that I’ve never felt more awkward than I did then- knowing that all eyes- and the camera- were on me. Well, parts of me. It’s not as though I’ve never been “checked out” before… but it’s different when you’re shaking your derrière on command. ;)

We needed as many butts as possible, so it became my duty to start herding folks into the film-space. After all of the LaDiff volunteers had shaken it (like a Polaroid picture) and signed their release forms, we were still hoping to collect a few more. I ran frantically throughout the store, grabbing LaDiff employees who had most certainly NOT volunteered and shoved them next door. At one point, I even sent a couple of troops upstairs to the Massey Cancer Center to herd us a “suit butt”- someone wearing a suit, trousers, anything but denim! They even found him too, unwittingly having some happy hour drinks with colleagues. The slightly tipsy suited-butt stranger graciously followed us downstairs, agreed to help out, and jiggled his badiggle for our cameras.

As the evening wore on, we were ready to shoot the second ad. One by one, each “bedroom” was set up, staged, and scrutinized. CJ took her time arranging each vignette, adjusting the alarm clock just-so, adding picture frames or trinkets- things you’d see on any nightstand, adjusting the background and hiding price tags and lamp cords. Cameras were set up, adjusted, lighting played with… it’s surprising how the reflection on just a small piece of chrome lamp-base can throw off an entire scene. The actual amount of set-up time (oodles), vs. the actual amount of time filming (seconds, minutes at best) is… well, pretty boring.

Then, one by one, each hand actor would set on the floor next to the stage. Lights, camera, action! Over and over again, Elevation filmed multiple takes of hands hitting alarm clocks. Touching alarm clocks. Tapping alarm clocks. Finding alarm clocks. Falling alarm clocks. Et cetera.

And…Cut!

Generally speaking, I’m not a woman with much patience. The process of waiting while everything is staged, put together, painstakingly adjusted, and eventually filmed was practically agony! As enlightening as the experience was, I’m certain I did NOT miss a calling in a film career. I’d do it again, certainly, it was fun… but call somebody else if you have a feature film you need help with.

Of course, the anticipation to see these ads come to fruition post-production was agonizing as well, but well worth the wait. We are thrilled with Elevation, thrilled with their work, thrilled with their staff, and just thrilled to show these off.

Elevation, my hats go off to you.

LaDiff goodies from the NYC gift show

2009-08-24T11:54:00.035-04:00

Each August, LaDiff heads north to enjoy the sights and sounds of Manhattan and to walk aisle after aisle of the carpeted concrete of the Jacob Javits Convention Center for the New York International Gift Fair. Hundreds (thousands?) of vendors come to NYC in August hoping to see lots and lots of retailers with big 4th quarter budgets!

2009's gift show understandably brought questions about attendance and spending. There were fewer vendors showing - so many fewer that they only needed one Pier instead of two for spill-over, and so many fewer that there were several "buyers' lounge areas" in Javits. From our perspective, that just made the show a bit easier to walk.

The vendors there were serious, engaged, and ready to sell.
The retailers there were prepared, enthusiastic, and ready to buy!
A good match.

So........ what did LaDiff find?

Here's a sneak peak of what you'll see in our store this fall....

Wall stickers from France for 'grown up' walls, in designs like bamboo or poppies or abstract art.

<<<Beautiful laser cut felt wall panels that can be re-sized to suit your space simply by removing squares. Great as room dividers, draperies or even an interesting headboard treatment.

and, from the same company, ethereal pendants that add romance to any space>>>

We also picked up two new Brit suppliers - J-Me and JosephJoseph, who share warehouse & design space in London with Black & Blum, one of our favorite vendors.

From JosephJoseph, we found kitchen items that are not only super practical and easy to use, but are so attractive you'll WANT to leave them out on your counter all the time. Founded by twin brothers Richard & Antony Joseph in 2003, this company has won international acclaim in the worldwide housewares market. Check out INDEX... 4 cutting boards neatly stored in a stylish silver 'file box'. (One of these is definitely coming home with us!)

The talented Liora Manne continues to impress us with her beautiful LaMontage rugs, doormats and placemats, adding new designs AND custom size options to her collection.

Her LaMontage rug & mat designs can be used both indoors & out because of the antimicrobial treatment. Come check out the catalog & swatches this fall!

The list goes on and on of the beautiful, NEW items we found, loved, and will be adding to our showroom this season. More goodies will be pictured in upcoming blogs, so stay tuned!

And no review of the New York Gift Show would be complete without a recap up of the 'extracurricular' activities enjoyed by the buyer (moi) and her traveling companions (A and L).

* Favorite daytime excursion: Circle Line's SHARK speedboat ride to the Statue of Liberty and back. When they say it goes fast AND you'll get wet... they are not lying.
* Favorite evening excursion: watching Shrek & Fiona belch their way through a song on Broadway.
* Favorite meals: but we enjoyed 5 nationalities in 5 nights (Mexican, French, Italian, Brazilian, Japanese). And a great American diner for breakfast.
*Favorite shopping: busman's holiday to the Kartell store in Soho

And now... signing off to process those orders and make room for all the new goodies coming SOON to LaDiff!

Do your clients understand your language?

2009-08-09T18:27:00.003-04:00

About twelve years ago, while we were living in a lovely park-facing house in Church Hill, one of Richmond's oldest neighborhoods, our dear neighbor - a marketing professional - overheard us talking about some new furniture we were getting. The conversation went something like this: "I think we should put the Espace in the front hall with the Wagner loveseat and Dellarobbia chairs." "That's cool, then the Cattelan table will look perfect in the dining room under the Casprini wall cabinet with the Giusy chairs and Irio table."

Our friend's remark: "I have never known anyone who called their furniture by name before. How... interesting."

See, because we sell it and work with it every day, it had an identity to us, beyond 'bookcase' or 'loveseat' or 'dining table.' So... we used those words because we KNEW them.

This memory came back to me this week as I read the following tweet from @TheArtOfRetail:
How Knowledge Can Hurt Innovation. Great article by Scott Anthony, with the URL attached. You can read the article here too, from the harvardbusiness.org website.

The article made me think about the 'language' that exists in various businesses: where shortcuts, nicknames, and initials take over from the 'plain English' most of us might use.

For over 18 years, I've been in the 'furniture business' and I've come to know 'furniture speak' as if it were the French I learned from kindergarten through high school or the ancient Greek I learned in college. Okay, I actually know 'furniture speak' better than either of those, because I'm considerably more confident in my furniture fluency. Sadly, while I do remember my Greek alphabet, the only Greek sentence I can still write is "ο άνθρωπος εςti καλός", loosely translated as 'man is good' - and I probably got the accents wrong just now.

In any event, for me, the gist of Mr. Anthony's article is that businesses and professionals get so caught up in what they know and have always known that they forget that others do not possess the same knowledge or experience. It can affect relationships with new hires from other industries on one level, but, more importantly, it can affect relationships with their clients and customers, on whom their livelihood depends.

Let me break it down.

Did you know that furniture store salespeople occasionally laugh when customers say they are looking for a 'couch'? Yes, it's true. In furniture speak, we don't use the word couch. We use sofa. And a sofa is different from a loveseat, or a sectional, or a sleeper sofa, or a modular, etc., etc.

Why don't we use 'couch'? I haven't the foggiest idea. Someone, somewhere along the line, in the world of upholstery manufacturers decided that the proper term for a piece of furniture that seats 3 people across would be a SOFA. Go figure. Problem is... they never figured out a way (successfully!) to tell the people who BUY them (the consumer). So, day in and day out, we have visitors who tell us they're looking for a couch. And without overtly correcting them, we try to determine what they mean by that word.

Same thing applies with bedroom storage furniture. Here are just a few words used by our customers: chest, dresser, highboy, chifferobe, man's chest, mule chest, lingerie dresser, sweater chest, armoire, wardrobe. Whew! They want SOMETHING with drawers. They might not know the 'real' word for it... so it's OUR JOB to figure that out, with them.

Consumers don't often know how our business works either. The idea of waiting for furniture to be built or upholstered just for them is an education process that works well when the customer understands 'custom made furniture'. Too often, customers seem to think there is this huge warehouse somewhere, and sitting on a shelf in that warehouse is the 6-piece coral leather sectional that they want... for delivery tomorrow. It just doesn't work that way...

It falls on us, as the presumed furniture 'experts' to have the answers, the explanations, and the vocabulary ready that our clients will understand. For instance, furniture coming from Europe is not flown here, but has to travel by boat, in a large box (a 'container'). There are lots of things that can delay that arrival too: hurricane warnings force boats back to sea; dock strikes prevent boats from arriving because there is no one to greet them. We've even had containers rerouted because of stow-aways found on board! Once in the States, the container has to clear US customs and pass inspections with the FDA, TSA and any other 'acronym' Homeland Security wants to have involved - and any one of them can hold up the process with a search at any time. The 'box' (aka the container) is then trucked from the port to our store - finally.

Most people shopping for furniture don't know all of this. It's not their 'job' to know. It is our job to try to explain the process so that the experience of 'shopping for furniture' (at our store at least) makes a bit more sense.

So, while we may still call our furniture by name at home, we are quite aware that most people think of their table as a table, and only in dire need of instruction even consider if they meant the coffee table versus the dining table.

Mr. Anthony's advice is well-timed in an era where relationship-building is critical and consumer-confidence is - hopefully - on an upward slope again. Consumers do business with PEOPLE they trust; when you translate the language you use, you build trust. Anthony offers sound advice against the ill-used concept of assumption... because, after all... when we 'assume' that someone knows what we know, we make an ASS out of U and ME. And we don't want to do that now, do we?

Why I Like a Berg Bed

2009-08-02T17:54:00.015-04:00

by Lucy Thornton

The beds in Berg are tall and fun. My favorite is the bed with the hide-out. It has a built in desk and all the stairs are drawers!

There is also a reason that adults will like it. It is easier to organize kids' things. Kids will like it because of, well, yeah, the hide-out and the stairs.

One warning only on this bed, duck before going in the hide-out. But the rest of the bed is safe.

It comes in boy and girl colors, and [at LaDIFF] has a sign that says (for boys) "no girls allowed" which I specifically don't approve of, and for girls "no boys allowed" which I do approve of.

I PROMISE that adults and kids will enjoy it as much as me, Lucy Thornton. [You'll find this and other Berg beds] at LaDiff's 3rd floor kids section [LaDIFF KID].

Does your TSBL decal tell a great story?

2009-07-24T07:28:00.007-04:00

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

2009-07-17T19:07:00.001-04:00

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

2009-07-12T10:55:00.000-04:00

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)!

2009-07-06T15:40:00.000-04:00

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.

2009-07-01T13:40:00.000-04:00

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.

Let the SALE begin!

2009-06-30T16:41:00.000-04:00

TODAY LaDiff kicked off our
15th annual 4th of July Sale
(15 years ... yowza!).

We LOVE this sale.

We learned a long time ago... hmmm, 15 years to be exact, that you either have a super fun, exciting, energetic sale event over the 4th of July ... or you close for the day (or longer!).

We chose the former! and - boy - do we have fun with this sale.

We've made customers sing patriotic songs for their discount.
We've had them wear red, white, or blue to get the sale prices.
One year we even made them play a kazoo! (American-made, naturally)
When we moved into our CURRENT spot across from the Canal Walk, complete with our indoor parking garage, we decided to have even MORE fun and have a customer cookout ON the 4th every year.

To see some of the cool stuff that's on sale BEFORE you visit, go to ladiff.com To get details on the sale itself and how the amazing 3-tiered discount structure (10% - 15% - 20%) works, please come visit in person!

In the meantime, watch your mailbox for the postcard, watch your TV for the uber-amazing ad produced by Elevation Advertising, and watch the papers for our print ads. ... here's a sampling of what you'll find:

So, even though your red-white-and-blue ensemble is NOT required dress for THIS year's sale pricing, we hope you'll get all patriotic anyway and come on down to LaDiff for our favorite sale of the year... because when it's over, it's over for a whole year!

What a contest!

2009-06-25T06:19:00.000-04:00

Holy moly!

Boy, were we surprised, and overwhelmed, and delighted when over 1700 people commented and entered Young House Love's wallflower blog contest ... with most of them clicking through to visit LaDiff's web page too.

A near-record breaker for TYH, and LaDiff has learned that when you don't dot EVERY i, weird stuff happens... more than the 'little' stuff. We thought we'd sell 12, maybe 20 sets... nonononono, we've had almost 100 requests for flowers & flutters since the contest premiered, and they are still coming in!

So... what went 'wrong'?

First, our vendor (Umbra) was out of stock on the white ones. No big deal, they'd have more in July, which was and is right around the corner, so no worries... yet.

Next, we find out that shipping these light weight but bulky little boxes ain't cheap. (Yes, we definitely should have figured that out beforehand) A few customers balked, understandably, so, we took the high road, and recommended them to other stores in their areas when we could!

Third - and this was a real surprise - our Umbra rep (shout out to John Grob, the best, most super wonderful gift & accessory rep out there) sends me a 'good news bad news' email. Good news: Umbra is reducing the price of the wallflowers & flutters. Cool... we'll pass on that new price asap! The bad news? To lower the price, they're changing the design: getting rid of the magnets and introducing a 'snap fit' feature. Now they can only be used on walls (no fridges or radiators or bulletin boards as Sherry & John had demonstrated). This news wasn't supposed to go out until June 24th, but John Grob, being John, fortunately found out early and released the info to us last week! Still... there were only about 3 sets presold that we could call & explain about the new 'snap fit' design. ...or so we thought!

#4 and this was the doozy! In updating our website to show the new 'snap fit' design and change the copy and pricing, I notice an odd number in quantity on hand: -57. How could this be? We've only had a few inquiries... Wait. Heart stops. We haven't seen ANY shopping cart orders. That's odd. Wait. Didn't another salesperson mention that customer concern about an unanswered email?... it was making sense now.

When the LaDiff website 'facelift' occurred on May 19th, the 'shopping cart' order emails had been frozen! they were NOT coming to anyone at LaDiff. No email...EGADS. And we were only catching it now - a month later!

side note... since we are not a point, click, BUY site, our customers can fill in a cart, then we follow up to complete the sale. Shopping cart orders come in about once for every 4 regular inquiries, so we hadn't noticed their absence (shame on us).

Okay - it's 5:30 on Friday night. I'm feeling beaten down and a bit stupid by not foreseeing and preventing all of these issues before they became problems (that's part of my self-written job description at LaDiff: foresee the weird stuff that MIGHT happen). Our graphic/web designer is now in Portland, OR, spending a surprise dad's day weekend with her family. Our web hosting consultant is about to leave for a week's vacation on Saturday morning. Frantic, we call everyone's cell phones and get the email problem resolved after discovering over 50 shopping cart orders waiting for follow up! And none of them knew that we had not seen them OR that the design had changed.

Valiantly, Tim and Jennie at LaDiff wrote a letter of explanation and contacted each customer individually, sorting through the orders. Our customers were very understanding (re-affirming my love of working with the public).

In the end, we've sent lots and lots of wallflowers and wallflutters to homes across America, with more to send when the backorder arrives.

Next time, you can bet your bottom dollar that ALL of our ducks will be in a tidy little row before our NEXT adventure like this. Thank you to John & Sherry of Young House Love for great traffic to the LaDiff website and for a GREAT learning experience! We cannot wait to do it again!

LaDiff contest through Young House Love

2009-06-16T13:55:00.000-04:00

Last night, our new friends Sherry & John at Young House Love (who formerly went by another name... news of that on THEIR blog) posted a new CONTEST on their website/home improvement blog. LaDiff is the contest partner!

So far the response has been A-M-A-Z-I-N-G: over 1,000 entries in under 24 hours! A new record for them!

LaDiff is giving away THREE prizes: winner's choice of black or white WALLFLOWERS or a set of stainless steel WALLFLUTTERS from our friends at Umbra. (Selling price only $37/set!)

You can enter to win too by following this link to their site... GOOD LUCK! And if you don't win, at least you know where to buy a set... http://www.ladiff.com/!

It's always nice to see your name in print...

2009-06-11T21:21:00.001-04:00

After quite a few 'tweets', several emails, and just a wee bit of pressure, we finally got the good-old-Richmond-Times-Dispatch to catch the story on the 3/50 Project.

Their angle was the Retail Merchants' Association teaser (shop local movement... coming soon!) with some good quotes from our friend, RMA president Nancy Thomas. And they did quote me (just no picture ... but maybe that's a good thing). Unfortunately, they were a little tiny bit weak about Cinda Baxter and the 3/50 Project website & mission and LaDiff's passion for the project.

Funnily enough, the story generated some good riled-up commentary afterward. (yes, of COURSE stp is yours truly... who else would it be?)

Check it out for yourself... right here... .
When you're done reading the story AND the comments (from the bottom up), I'd love to hear YOUR thoughts on how YOU are going to try to 'shop local'.

LaDIFF is helping the CARITAS Furniture Bank

2009-06-06T22:06:00.001-04:00

October 1998... LaDIFF moved into our current digs - 6 months before the 'canal walk renovation project' was complete (it's celebrating its 10th anniversary this month).

When we moved into our 'new' space - all 45,000 square feet of it + warehouse + super cool indoor parking area - we knew we wanted to become "good corporate citizens." So... we started thinking about what we loved, appreciated, wanted to improve, etc.

In the last 10 years, LaDIFF has supported a variety of organizations, for various different reasons. While not all of our customers may support the same groups we do, that's not the point. The point was to reach out to the community and say "hey! we aren't just a big white box selling furniture. We're an old-renovated-brick-building-that-realizes-we-are-only-as-successful-as-the-community-we-support." We believe that part of being a good corporate citizen... heck, part of being a good CITIZEN period... is "giving back."

Through in-store fundraisers, hosted events, product donations, time donations, idea donations, and more, LaDIFF has delightfully become known as a 'community partner.' And we are darn proud of THAT reputation. Thanks, Richmond. (p.s. As a retailer, our contributions are generally time, product, or space... not money ... proving that even with that limitation you can make a difference.)

Which is why we are so pleased to be participating in a NEW event this fall, for a very worthy cause: a city-wide furniture drive for Richmond's only 'Furniture Bank', owned and operated by CARITAS. CARITAS partners with several Richmond-area organizations to ensure that after families receive housing, they also have beds where they can sleep and tables & chairs where they can eat. No child in Richmond should have to sleep on the floor. The dates of the drive are September 25th-October 5th. Much more news (and publicity!) will come for this later.

In the meantime, if YOU want to get involved with the furniture drive or any of the other organizations we've worked with, click on the link above or the links below and learn more.
Here are just a few of the groups we've supported over the years:

Art 180
East District Family Resource Center
Richmond SPCA
Noah's Children
Central Virginia Foodbank
Alzheimer's Association of Greater Richmond
Venture Richmond
American Cancer Society/Cure by Design

And so many more schools, causes, etc.

Get INVOLVED in your community by helping its most deserving yet most needy members.
Get INVOLVED in your community by helping it grow and by helping it improve and by spreading the word about how wonderful it is.
Shout out and embrace the potential within your community!
Share your success, your ideas, your talents with others, and karma... yes, karma... will bounce back around and improve your life ... and your business... even more.

We at LaDIFF live and believe this every day.
We hope you will, too.

Think VALUE when shopping for furniture

2009-05-31T10:24:00.000-04:00

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

2009-05-25T20:46:00.000-04:00

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.

2009-05-19T21:07:00.000-04:00

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

2009-05-16T09:46:00.000-04:00

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'

2009-05-12T13:23:00.000-04:00

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)

2009-05-06T20:42:00.000-04:00

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

2009-05-03T09:42:00.000-04:00

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.

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

2009-04-30T21:13:00.001-04:00

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!

2009-04-28T07:52:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-04-26T22:08:00.000-04:00

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.

2009-04-24T21:20:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-04-24T12:25:00.000-04:00

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

2009-04-23T10:01:00.001-04:00

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

2009-04-22T19:02:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-04-17T12:10:00.000-04:00

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.