Friday, January 28, 2011

New to the Showroom in January

By: Andrea Schuch
January is not always an exciting month in design. Clients and designers are winding down from the holidays. We haven't received in but a few new accessories so what can I tell you about this week? This GREAT new collection of trims from Fabricut. The collection is called Jeweled Obsession, what can I say, I'm OBSESSED! Even the picture to the left is so unique that it has to catch my eye, and hopefully yours! Not pictured in this photo is the beaded cord Preville - it is so darling and would add the perfect amount of jazzing up! As of today, the pictures of the trims in this collection are not up on Fabricut's website yet, so I guess you'll all have to trek in to see us and the trims. The book is over in the trim cabinet by Beacon Hill with a bright NEW tag on it.

When talking with the memo room about this trim collection, they mentioned the new Philip Gorrivan II collection from Highland Court that just walked through the back door! There are amazing patterns, specifically pattern 190095H (shown below in Blush 124). This adorable dot pattern makes me mad I don't have a little girl's room to decorate. It comes in a blue as well but I just think it might be too "girly" for my boys! The picture on the right shows several of the patterns from the collection. Be sure to hop on Highland Court's webiste or jump on in the showroom to check out this great collection.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

What's the History on Blue Dyes?

By: Andrea Schuch
Blue fabrics and accessories seem to be an everyday occurrence lately – although the history shows that it wasn’t always that way. Blue dyes were originally very difficult to produce and were used specifically for royalty and religious paintings. It was only found in ultramarine (extracted from lapis lazuli), which was as expensive as gold. Soon enough, blue dyes were able to be extracted from the leaves of woad plants. The smell that resulted from this process was so awful that it was banned within three miles of any royal residence by Queen Elizabeth I. Most common day blue dyes are synthetic and originated in 1724 by accident when a chemist mixed potash with iron sulphate intending to make red. Using synthetic dyes made access to the once very pricey color reasonable and thus it began entering households of the everyday consumer. Popular collectibles - blue and white porcelain is made using white porcelain or pottery and a blue pigment – usually cobalt oxide. The decorations are commonly applied by hand, stenciling or transfer-printing. Blue fabrics are made with a synthetic blue dye. Fabrics used to be dyed with indigo but indigo needs to go through a chemical change to be water soluble for dying. You can purchase indigo that has been processed into free dried crystals that you could add to warm water which will allow you to dye blues.
Today, we know this color as many people’s favorite color and can easily sell this color to many different clients. Below are some of the many blue fabrics we have here at CDT. Be sure to notice the new Stroheim blue and white

 Stroheim (new at CDT) has some of the greatest blue and white fabrics. Shown left and below.




This negative print is from Duralee in navy. (20866 - 206) - Also a plus - 100% cotton!

Below is Robert Allen's Stacy Lyn - Bluebell, a soft creamy background with multi colored blue threads running through the embroidery.
Sources:

The English Home February 2011 Issue 66: Blue’s Rich Heritage
Wikipidea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_and_white_porcelain

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_dye

Associated Content from Yahoo: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1785714/indigo_dye_makes_rich_blue_yarns_and.html

Friday, January 14, 2011

Add Some Glass

By: Andrea Schuch

I started collecting wine glasses from all the exciting places I have visited several years back on my trip to Europe. Since then, wine glasses have been my version of the states magnets or t-shirts that often come home as souvenirs. It all started in Greece but by the end of my trip there were several very breakable packages that surprisingly made it back and have survived two moves since. I have them on display in my kitchen and bring most of them down when company arrives. It’s always a talking point because we only have two of each glass and they are all unique – some colorful, some from local artisans, some from famous outfits. They also look great mismatched on a table filled with wonderful accessories or meandering around the house. The piece de rĂ©sistance is a pair of glasses with golden rims from Moser – the crystal sister company of famous porcelain producer Herend in Hungary. I purchased them pre-wedding and had thought that I would use them as our wedding goblets but in the end, I was too afraid they would get broken and to this day have never been used. I am still thinking that I’ll bring them down some day, maybe… None the less, glassware adds a definite touch to any dining area – as an accessory or to be used by your guests. Some of the most beautiful candle holders are cut glass as well as some great platters.
There are great glass pieces to add such as Uttermost (12773 Aria Mirror) – still a hot shape of the starburst but in glass pieces of calming colors - blue, green and white.


Or this very detailed glass mirrored floor screen from LaBarge (LS0062). (This, by the way, would look great with my gold wine glasses.)

Or this candle holder from Elizabeth Marshall (in my favorite color of green, of course) will produce a beautiful light in any room (31-50-11843). We have these in the showroom in a golden color that look great!

I think glass adds such a great element to a room. Not only can it be beautiful but because it can change the light in the room - you can change the whole appearance of all the accessories too!



What is your favorite glass piece?

Thursday, January 6, 2011

2011 Can Be Heaven... If You Plan Your Goals Correctly

By: Andrea Schuch
So last week we heard from Kelly Guinaugh of Interior Enhancement Group, a design firm in Inverness, IL, she shared with us how she is setting goals for her company to ensure a prosperous 2011. Since this is our monthly slot for a business article - I chose one from 2007 based on goal setting. I have modified it a little to relate to this coming year but I think it's definately an article to learn from. So take a seat, grab a pen and some paper and get ready to start taking notes. Goals are very important for a company, having them means giving your company a direction - so get started!
(Original article in Draperies & Window Coverings magazine in December 2006 by Steven C. Bursten)
We are focusing on why you want to set goals and the fundamentals to prepare. Possibly even more importantly, we will address the fears that may be holding you back. Many studies have shown that only about five percent of business owners set goals. Yet, it can be the single most powerful way to visualize and plan your business to earn the money you deserve.
Once you know the sales you want, and you are prepared correctly, it is so easy! Here are four steps to prepare and execute a solid goal setting program.
Step 1: Keep Records
If you don't have records to tell you where you are, it is impossible to correctly plan improvement. Do you know how many appointments you had last year? Usually, fewer than three percent know the answer. Most don't know how many customers they had last year.
Appointments are the most important key to success in a design business. If you don't know your number of appointments, you can't know your closing rate. If you don't know how many customers you sold, you can't know the average size of your customer sale.
Step 2: Set Benchmarks
You must know the three things that affect your sales. It has nothing to do with "great service" or "quality products" or any of the other ideas and opinions I hear so often. Instead, it has to do with the facts.
There are only three measurable facts to affect your sales:
1. Number of appointments
2. Closing ratio
3. Average size of customer sale
All the rest is fluff and talk. Improve any of these three and you improve your sales. When you know these three things about your business for the last year (or even the last 90 days) you can set them as benchmarks to improve for next year. In the next step, I will tell you the best one of the three to make the most money quickly.
Step 3: Set Goals to Improve
Only after you know your benchmarks can you set goals to improve. When you know your total sales and number of customers sold last year you can determine your average customer sale. (Count the transactions not the names; you may sell the same name two or three times during the year!)
The best way to improve your sales is to increase your average size of sale. That is more powerful than getting more appointments and more effective than improving closing ratio.
Step 4: Visualize your Plan
Your plan must always begin with the number of appointments you require. After you know the benchmarks of your appointments per month, you can improve it by a number you are willing to fight for. You can increase appointments by increasing awareness with potential customers. You can use time (flyers, phone calls, special demonstrations and canvassing) or you can use money (advertising by media, direct mail, yellow pages and more), but you should not expect to increase appointments without first increasing awareness.
This is why your sales plan is so critical. When you decide the appointments you require, the next step is to develop a marketing plan to create awareness.
Is Fear Holding you Back?
So, after years of reading about goal setting, why aren't you constructing a sales plan and marketing plan? Chances are the old ghost of fear is holding you back. I was reading Napolean Hill's Think and Go Rich, the original self-improvement book written more than 70 years ago and still the most powerful of it's type. The book fell open to a message I want to share with you at this time of the year as you plan your future. Napolean Hill understood the debilitating impact of fear and addresses it often, but never better than his chapter on "Six Ghosts of Fear," in which he asks, "Do you use these alibis?"
People who do not succeed have one distinguishing trait in commong. They know all the reasons for failure and have what they believe to be air-tight alibis to explain their lack of self achievement.
Some of these alibis are clever, and a few of them are justifiable by facts. The world wants to know only one thing- have you acheived success? A character analyst compiled a list of the most commonly used alibis. As you read the list, examine yourself carefully, and determine how many of these alibis, if any, are your own property. Remember too that the philosophy presented in this book makes every one of these alibis obsolete.
Following is an edited list of Hill's alibis selected for being especially relevant to design sales:
  • If I had been given a chance...
  • If I now had a chance...
  • If I could meet "the right people"...
  • If I had the talent some people have...
  • If I dared assert myself...
  • If I only had somebody to help me...
  • If I could just get started...
  • If I had the personality of some people...
  • If my talents were known...
  • If I were sure of myself...
  • If luck were not against me...
  • If I only had a business of my own...
  • If I had a good education...
  • If I could get a job...
  • If times were better...
Napolean Hill goes on to explain that behind every one of these alibis is a fear that is holding you back. This year, put your fears behind you. Don't hide behind an alibi.
Have a happy, successful and prosperous New Year!

As I was talking with Steve this week, he mentioned that he is having a seminar that he is opening up to all of our readers at NO COST! Click here for more info!