Comments for Home Accents Today's Designer Insights http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com Just another WordPress.com weblog Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:07:06 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Market: the good, the bad & the ugly by Angela Simpson http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/market-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/#comment-73 Angela Simpson Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:07:06 +0000 http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/market-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/#comment-73 I have been attending the July and jan markets in Atl. for about 20 years. We waste so much time finding new showrooms because of some unmarked showrooms..nos not on doors etc. It seems there could be an easier layout. I also attend Birmingham, U.K. twice a year and it is huge, but a little blackbook which is very compact and they mail you beforehand simplifies everything. There are no permanent showrroms and volume halls are set up and opened a day earlier to those who buy in larger quantities. In July in Atl. we encountered a couple of unpleasant vendors, one whom we have been dealing with for 3 years. i really felt to tell him to stuff his merchandise, but could not find an alternative source!!! I have been attending the July and jan markets in Atl. for about 20 years. We waste so much time finding new showrooms because of some unmarked showrooms..nos not on doors etc. It seems there could be an easier layout. I also attend Birmingham, U.K. twice a year and it is huge, but a little blackbook which is very compact and they mail you beforehand simplifies everything. There are no permanent showrroms and volume halls are set up and opened a day earlier to those who buy in larger quantities. In July in Atl. we encountered a couple of unpleasant vendors, one whom we have been dealing with for 3 years. i really felt to tell him to stuff his merchandise, but could not find an alternative source!!!

]]> Comment on Yuck at First Sight by Susan Dickenson http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/06/29/yuck-at-first-sight/#comment-46 Susan Dickenson Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:57:07 +0000 http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/06/29/yuck-at-first-sight/#comment-46 Linda, we have definite plans to keep these designing minds sharing with us for a while. A new version of the Home Accents Today website launches at the end of this month (July '07) that will give the Designer Insight blog a bigger presence on our home page, so stay tuned... and thanks for commenting! Linda, we have definite plans to keep these designing minds sharing with us for a while. A new version of the Home Accents Today website launches at the end of this month (July ‘07) that will give the Designer Insight blog a bigger presence on our home page, so stay tuned… and thanks for commenting!

]]> Comment on Yuck at First Sight by Linda http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/06/29/yuck-at-first-sight/#comment-41 Linda Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:35:19 +0000 http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/06/29/yuck-at-first-sight/#comment-41 I hope "Designer Insight" will be a permanent feature - great information here! It would be wonderful to hear from these designers more extensively. I hope “Designer Insight” will be a permanent feature – great information here! It would be wonderful to hear from these designers more extensively.

]]> Comment on About by Neal Stone http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/about/#comment-29 Neal Stone Tue, 29 May 2007 07:30:19 +0000 #comment-29 Dear Website Owner, If I could get you five times the RELEVANT traffic at a substantially reduced cost would you be interested? NetsuccessUSA can place your website on top of the Natural Listings on Google, Yahoo and MSN. Our Search Engine Optimization team delivers more top rankings than anyone else and we can prove it. We do not use "link farms" or "black hat" methods that Google and the other search engines frown upon and can use to de-list or ban your site. The techniques are proprietary, involving some valuable closely held trade secrets. Our prices are less than half of what other companies charge. I would be happy to send you a proposal using the top search phrases for your area of expertise. Please contact me at your convenience so I can start saving you some money. Please do not hesitate to email or call me if you would like further information. Sincerely, Neal Stone Executive Vice President NetsuccessUSA 26500 W. Agoura Road Suite 102-547 Calabasas, California 91302 Phone - 866-669-8789 Fax - 805-498-9036 nealstone1@gmail.com Profitable Internet Marketing _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from our mailing list, simply reply to this email with the words Opt Out in the subject line. Or send a request by mail to NetsuccessUSA, 26500 W. Agoura Road, Suite 102-547, Calabasas, California 91302. Attn: Internet Marketing Dear Website Owner,

If I could get you five times the RELEVANT traffic at a substantially reduced cost would you be interested? NetsuccessUSA can place your website on top of the Natural Listings on Google, Yahoo and MSN. Our Search Engine Optimization team delivers more top rankings than anyone else and we can prove it. We do not use “link farms” or “black hat” methods that Google and the other search engines frown upon and can use to de-list or ban your site. The techniques are proprietary, involving some valuable closely held trade secrets. Our prices are less than half of what other companies charge.

I would be happy to send you a proposal using the top search phrases for your area of expertise. Please contact me at your convenience so I can start saving you some money. Please do not hesitate to email or call me if you would like further information.

Sincerely,
Neal Stone
Executive Vice President

NetsuccessUSA
26500 W. Agoura Road
Suite 102-547
Calabasas, California 91302

Phone – 866-669-8789
Fax – 805-498-9036

nealstone1@gmail.com

Profitable Internet Marketing

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To unsubscribe from our mailing list, simply reply to this email with the words Opt Out in the subject line. Or send a request by mail to

NetsuccessUSA, 26500 W. Agoura Road, Suite 102-547, Calabasas, California 91302. Attn: Internet Marketing

]]> Comment on Market: the good, the bad & the ugly by Robin Sherwood http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/market-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/#comment-23 Robin Sherwood Sat, 21 Apr 2007 12:40:34 +0000 http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/market-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/#comment-23 The first time you go to the larger shows it is a very exciting experince for a designer. After a few seasons of attending the shows, it is easy to spot the original pieces you want to buy. It truly would be a great help to have the shows vetted. And to see more new products on the market that "show" some imagination and are not just "me too" and so safe! Designer Showrooms such as 7W New York on 34th Street, and the D&D building on Third Avenue have been providing more for the luxury and mid to upper mid home markets then the larger shows have. Thus that is where I go to buy. The first time you go to the larger shows it is a very exciting experince for a designer. After a few seasons of attending the shows, it is easy to spot the original pieces you want to buy. It truly would be a great help to have the shows vetted. And to see more new products on the market that “show” some imagination and are not just “me too” and so safe!
Designer Showrooms such as 7W New York on 34th Street, and the D&D building on Third Avenue have been providing more for the luxury and mid to upper mid home markets then the larger shows have. Thus that is where I go to buy.

]]> Comment on About by Maya Nagel http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/about/#comment-22 Maya Nagel Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:45:10 +0000 #comment-22 When is something considered "Designer" .....? For example Designer Lamp, or perhaps even Designer Lampshade? I have been thinking about my product line recently and been wondering if it meets the "Designer" Status (if there is one) and wheather that could be another marketing angle. It just sounds good, somewhat upscaleish and sleek. So far I have been using terms such as handmade lampshades, artistic lampshades, photo art lampshades. Designer Lampshade? Sincerely, Maya When is something considered “Designer” …..? For example Designer Lamp, or perhaps even Designer Lampshade? I have been thinking about my product line recently and been wondering if it meets the “Designer” Status (if there is one) and wheather that could be another marketing angle. It just sounds good, somewhat upscaleish and sleek. So far I have been using terms such as handmade lampshades, artistic lampshades, photo art lampshades. Designer Lampshade?
Sincerely,
Maya

]]> Comment on Design Plagiarism by Bill Fortson-BJ's Home Accents http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/02/05/hello-world/#comment-15 Bill Fortson-BJ's Home Accents Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:14:06 +0000 #comment-15 This retail store cares very much about the constant "knockoffs". We shop the markets very diligently for QUALITY furniture and accessories. We are not a store that buys deep in the same accessories, but we buy very broad. We always like to be on the cutting edge with the new introductions. What happens quite often is that we invest our time and money discovering these new treasures only to go back to market and find knockoffs sprouting up in various showrooms at a price considerably less. Granted they are not the top quality of their predecessors, but they are definitely recognizable. We do NOT buy them, but the problem we experience is that other stores (both large and small) in our area do. None of us can be too secure to think that our customer are not shopping our competitors. They see the prices of these knockoffs and think we are ripping them off with the fair prices we have placed on the originals. Yes, we usually are successful in explaining the differences when we are ask, but God only knows how often we are not asked. This retail store cares very much about the constant “knockoffs”. We shop the markets very diligently for QUALITY furniture and accessories. We are not a store that buys deep in the same accessories, but we buy very broad. We always like to be on the cutting edge with the new introductions.
What happens quite often is that we invest our time and money discovering these new treasures only to go back to market and find knockoffs sprouting up in various showrooms at a price considerably less. Granted they are not the top quality of their predecessors, but they are definitely recognizable. We do NOT buy them, but the problem we experience is that other stores (both large and small) in our area do.
None of us can be too secure to think that our customer are not shopping our competitors. They see the prices of these knockoffs and think we are ripping them off with the fair prices we have placed on the originals. Yes, we usually are successful in explaining the differences when we are ask, but God only knows how often we are not asked.

]]> Comment on Design Plagiarism by Ridvan Tatargil http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/02/05/hello-world/#comment-14 Ridvan Tatargil Wed, 28 Feb 2007 02:20:55 +0000 #comment-14 Human nature, no, human benevolence seems – at least to me – a subject the minds of these men and women committing plagiarism are ultimately void of, if not avoided. The quality of plagiarised (a word I have found, through personal experience, to be shockingly reminiscent to ‘stolen’) product, nor its price or financial success, is really a factor in the looming wrongness of plagiarism; what may be skipped over in the discussion of plagiarism is its fracture on moral conduct. Morality, however disputed, does not go hand in hand with the rules many have grown accustomed upon relying on. The laws, however important to adhere to, do not portray what is ultimately right or wrong; in fact, did our own government not legalize slavery? And wasn’t the consumption and distribution alcohol only recently prohibited? Laws come and laws go, they do not, in any case, create human goodness or good values, morals, or deeds. The irrelevance of plagiarism’s legality, therefore, is so very great that one cannot help but to be frightened over the ability of others to, like schoolchildren, use rules and the loopholes between them instead of their own thoughts and opinions to reason actions. What, precisely, is the doer of plagiarism trying to achieve, trying to do, trying to prove? There is the obvious commercial upside, always in the presence of human consciousness, the greed that lurks at the back of our minds, but, if there is really no other motive, this leaves very little room for moral consciousness. To come home to a husband, wife, son, or daughter, and not to be able to express glee over an original product, but, instead, gloat over stolen goods; this is surely such a curse upon the mind of modern businesspeople, and, therefore, mine is in the state of involuntary pity. Human nature, no, human benevolence seems – at least to me – a subject the minds of these men and women committing plagiarism are ultimately void of, if not avoided. The quality of plagiarised (a word I have found, through personal experience, to be shockingly reminiscent to ‘stolen’) product, nor its price or financial success, is really a factor in the looming wrongness of plagiarism; what may be skipped over in the discussion of plagiarism is its fracture on moral conduct.
Morality, however disputed, does not go hand in hand with the rules many have grown accustomed upon relying on. The laws, however important to adhere to, do not portray what is ultimately right or wrong; in fact, did our own government not legalize slavery? And wasn’t the consumption and distribution alcohol only recently prohibited? Laws come and laws go, they do not, in any case, create human goodness or good values, morals, or deeds. The irrelevance of plagiarism’s legality, therefore, is so very great that one cannot help but to be frightened over the ability of others to, like schoolchildren, use rules and the loopholes between them instead of their own thoughts and opinions to reason actions.
What, precisely, is the doer of plagiarism trying to achieve, trying to do, trying to prove? There is the obvious commercial upside, always in the presence of human consciousness, the greed that lurks at the back of our minds, but, if there is really no other motive, this leaves very little room for moral consciousness. To come home to a husband, wife, son, or daughter, and not to be able to express glee over an original product, but, instead, gloat over stolen goods; this is surely such a curse upon the mind of modern businesspeople, and, therefore, mine is in the state of involuntary pity.

]]> Comment on Design Plagiarism by Thompson Lange http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/02/05/hello-world/#comment-13 Thompson Lange Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:02:56 +0000 #comment-13 Retailers need to care about price as our customers are evaluating our entire product lines, comparing us to the “big boxes” and their price points which we independents can rarely match. But that doesn’t mean we don’t choose quality over knock-offs, it just means we have to be careful in our choices. To keep it fresh we have to scour the Handmade sections of Gift Shows, go to ACC shows and regional markets and try to find artisans and smaller companies before their product or design is knocked off. And remember, many of us specialty retailers design product, too, and know the problem first hand. I had a furniture line I’d designed that I was having manufactured in the Philippines and when it was delayed I flew to Manila to see what the hold up was. And the line was already being sold in the manufacturer’s showroom, which means when factoring in my time and expenses I could have bought my own product cheaper from a wholesale importer. But you live and learn. Realizing early on that I may only get a season with even my own designs keeps me on the hunt for new ideas. They can’t copy me if I’ve moved on to something fresh. Retailers need to care about price as our customers are evaluating our entire product lines, comparing us to the “big boxes” and their price points which we independents can rarely match. But that doesn’t mean we don’t choose quality over knock-offs, it just means we have to be careful in our choices.
To keep it fresh we have to scour the Handmade sections of Gift Shows, go to ACC shows and regional markets and try to find artisans and smaller companies before their product or design is knocked off.
And remember, many of us specialty retailers design product, too, and know the problem first hand. I had a furniture line I’d designed that I was having manufactured in the Philippines and when it was delayed I flew to Manila to see what the hold up was. And the line was already being sold in the manufacturer’s showroom, which means when factoring in my time and expenses I could have bought my own product cheaper from a wholesale importer.
But you live and learn. Realizing early on that I may only get a season with even my own designs keeps me on the hunt for new ideas. They can’t copy me if I’ve moved on to something fresh.

]]> Comment on Design Plagiarism by Steve Lauterbach http://homeaccentstoday.wordpress.com/2007/02/05/hello-world/#comment-12 Steve Lauterbach Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:39:03 +0000 #comment-12 As said by others, This is not new!!, most manufacturers in most retail copy someone. Is it right? no, however trying to regulate it would be a nother can of worms. I am amazed at what I see at one market that was copied from the market before. The trick is to improve what has been done before. As said by others, This is not new!!, most manufacturers in most retail copy someone. Is it right? no, however trying to regulate it would be a nother can of worms. I am amazed at what I see at one market that was copied from the market before. The trick is to improve what has been done before.

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