Top 10 things you might not know about LaDiff

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

.......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

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

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!

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!

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

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!