Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Aug 24th

Big Events coming soon at the Arlington Design Center!!

Save these dates:

Tuesday,September 22, 10:30-12:00
IFDA and the Arlington Design Center present

"How to Grow Your Business in 2010!"

Deborah Flate, a former interior designer, showroom manager, regional sales manager and professional sales trainer will share with us the strategies needed to grow your business in today's design industry. She is unique in the industry because she has personally experienced so many facets of our field. Be ready to explode in the new year! Topics include:

Finding your target market--finding your niche

Branding--being consistent with your marketing materials and techniques

Social Networking such as Twitter and Facebook and how to use them to grow your business

Sales and Presentation skills--why this is as important as your talent.

Deborah will discuss these four topics at this event. For those designers who would like more in-depth learning, follow up classes will be available . We are working out exact dates and details, so watch this space. There will be a small charge (probably $35) for this presentation, but we can promise that it will be worth it! If you are serious about getting your business back on track, growing and thriving, and want to have your "ducks in a row" as the economy recovers, then this is a great beginning.

Deborah is also available for personal, one on one coaching.

To learn more about Deborah, go to
www.Dialogue-consulting.com or visit her blog www.deborahflate.wordpress.com


AN AFTERNOON WITH BARCLAY BUTERA
Wednesday, September 30 10:30---?

Schedule of events is still being finalized, but we know this much:
Barclay will be speaking to our group, and autographing copies of his latest book. Copies of the book will be available for purchase. Lunch will be served.

Again watch this space and your mailbox for details and invitation.

Space will be limited for each event so mark your calendars and RSVP as soon as possible.

Call CDT 847-394-1800 or e-mail us for Deborah Flate. We will provide you with a reservation and payment form.

RSVP info for the Barclay Butera event is forthcoming. However, if you would like to RSVP to CDT for that as well, we will pass on the list to the appropriate party.


Hooker Furniture pricing will be changing September 1, 2009. Please check all prices before finalizing any sales. Most items will show a small increase.

Cox Furniture has a new Perfect Fit Bench program. They can do variable lengths. Make sure to check out the brochure in the Cox catalog on your next showroom visit.

Thomas Lawrence

Thomas Lawrence is a great table line. Mostly metal and glass pieces,
each table is uniquely designed, sand cast, hand carved and artistically finished in a multistep process by hand. You can expect great quality in every piece. Shown to the left is the Sheffield collection, to view other collections in this line - please visit www.tltables.com. These items are usually quick ship pieces, mostly shipping within one week of the order being placed.

Century Furniture SALE

We will be having a 10% off sale on Century Furniture, effective immediately through September 30, 2009. Items from the Monarch, Grand Tour and Lanna Home collections are not part of this sale and will not be granted the extra discount. Orders must be given to us by September 30 by 3:00 PM to allow time for order entry.
Fall Temple Sale

It's time for our semi-annual sale on Temple Upholstery! This perennial favorite is sure to please your client in both style and price. From September 1-30 take an additional 10% off.
Marketing tip: Call ALL of your clients to tell them about this sale. Download photos from the Temple website and make fliers to mail out. This gives you a great excuse to contact everyone. The price point of Temple makes it a great choice for clients to jump back into buying mode! Get on the phone!!!

All orders must be in no later than 3:00 PM on September 30 to allow time for last minute orders to get placed.

All of our best to each of you!
Sincerely,

Vicki Martin and Camille Sullivan
Chicago Design Team

Friday, August 21, 2009

Week of 8-14-09

Dear Cdt1800,
Hello! Lots of news this week. First off, thanks to Andrea for our new look for this e-mail. Thanks also to Faith and Amy who developed a new format for our sign in book. They consolidated the sign in and the e-mail address update form. Wonder why we never thought of this sooner?? There is also a special little perk for this year's top 25 designers: Your initials appear at the side of the form. Instead of signing in, just check off the box by your name. We are always trying to help you be efficient...even 5 seconds helps!

We have new fabrics from Taylor King in the showroom now. Some new upholstered pieces from TK have been ordered and should be on the floor by late September.

Please help us keep costs down by using the black and white copier whenever possible. We go through an astonishing amount of color ink. We are delighted to make you color copies, but lets try to limit them to the photos where color really matters. Remember, you can always go to our website, link to a vendor and print copies at home. You can store them in a folder for your client this way too, which keeps them from getting lost or rumpled.
Fall Temple Sale

It's time for our semi-annual sale on Temple Upholstery! This perennial favorite is sure to please your client in both style and price. From September 1-30 take an additional 10% off.
Marketing tip: Call ALL of your clients to tell them about this sale. Download photos from the Temple website and make fliers to mail out. This gives you a great excuse to contact everyone. The price point of Temple makes it a great choice for clients to jump back into buying mode! Get on the phone!!!

All orders must be in no later than 3:00 PM on September 30 to allow time for last minute orders to get placed.

Superior Increases Custom Options

Superior, one of our longest standing vendors has now introduced a program that allows you to choose the edge. leg style size, shape and level of distressing on their tables. As always, you have their full array of finishes.

Solve This Mystery!

We are missing these items from our floor.
We assume that some paperwork has been mislaid, so we hope one of you can solve the mystery. There are also 2 small plants in wall pockets that are AWOL.
If you know the whereabouts of these accessories, please let us know.

All of our best to each of you!
Sincerely,

Vicki Martin and Camille SullivanChicago Design Team

Monday, August 10, 2009

Week of 8-7-09

Isn't it astonishing that it is almost the end of Summer? The kids will be back in school before we know it. (Dare I say YAY??) We have had a busy month here at CDT and this past week was one of best we've had in a while. Unemployment numbers have dropped, so we believe that the worst is over. We are positioning ourselves for a great fall. New upholstery is on order, items we are tired of looking at are marked down. Take advantage of the great sales on floor samples. Fabricut's national sales meeting was last weekend. WOW! As an employee owned company, Fabricut is very financially conservative, which put them in great position to ride out the economic downturn, and they are poised to explode with new product over the course of the next 6 months. Wonderful new product is coming, with licensed collections from design Grand Dame Lillian August and rising star Amy Lau.
The Lillian August collection is traditional, with a clean, uptown ambiance. In her presentation, Ms. August shared her thoughts on upcoming trends. She believes that neutrals and connecting with nature will be very important. Chocolate and green will continue to be strong, with grays ranging from soft blue to charcoal will be the new color addition, with black accents for drama. Linen will be bigger than ever.

Amy Lau's contemporary collection takes it's influence from both classic mid-century modern design, abstract and impressionist art.


Old Biscayne
Many of you are familiar with this terrific line of iron beds and casegoods. They offer excellent quality, a huge array of finishes (all for the same price) and virtually unlimited customization. Plasma popups, pocket doors, wine racks, CD storage, whatever your client needs, Old Biscayne can provide. Any size, any configuration. For example, you could take the wall unit above, and turn it into almost anything you need. They will provide you with a CAD drawing with full specs and in about 12 weeks it will be on the way. Best of all, they offer this at a price point well below their competitor's.

NEW Faces
Welcome to the following new CDT customers: Angela Lavsta from Lavista Design Group, Helen Hinaris, Interiors by Helen Nikki, Kathleen Avvisati from Kata Designs, Marie Ovcina and Michele Evaline. We look forward to getting acquainted with each of you, and to a long, fun and mutually profitable relationship.

Remember the floor sample and lamp sale...great deals. Pick up a flyer at the front desk for details.
Hunter Douglas Coffee Talk - Open House

If you have not yet registered for this...consider doing so!
As always, Hunter Douglas is leading the way in innovation and training. Information on the latest even appears below. We hope lots of you will take advantage of this opportunity. Just follow the directions below.

Below is the registration form for the Open House. In order to print the registration form, you can right click on the form and select Print from the options that appear.