CDT News Week of 6-19-09

Good News!
Color is back!!! I am sure that all of you are as tired of brown, bronze and browned-out shades as we are. Robert Allen's design team visited us this past week, and told us that they are anticipating a "return to pretty"! At our Duralee Furniture seminar on Tuesday we saw photos of their High Point showroom for spring, all decked out in white with splashes of hot orange and pink. Dazzling!
We are seeing lots of blue--after how many years? Rumor has it that purple is on the horizon for fall. Check out the new "Veranda" magazine. All the wood finishes are mid tones like maple and pecan. Nary a "Pottery Barn black/brown in sight.
People are hungry for cheerful colors...what will this mean for hemlines???
New Accessories
We have just received a new shipment of orchids, greenery and 2 LARGE trees!
We are in the process of placing about a dozen new pieces of art, and have received some new tabletop items, including great large trays. More will be arriving shortly.

Great Marketing Idea!!
Thanks to Janet Perry of Periwinkle Designs for this GREAT idea:

Janet brings groups of new and potential customers on a "Field Trip" to the Arlington Design Center. They do lunch nearby and Janet shows them around the various showrooms, stressing, of course, that they will not be allowed in without her. This whets their appetite for what we have available, and gives them a taste of what working with her would be like. Janet did this in Boston before moving here, and has continued with great success.

Again, our thanks to Janet for her generosity. If anyone else has an idea to pass on, we would love to do so. We can all learn so much from each other.

Welcome, New Designers!
Several designers opened CDT accounts this week! We get new customers almost every week, and I just now realized that this newsletter was a great way to welcome them to the gang.

So, to Karen Ludwig of Wild Orchid Interiors, Julie Hermanson, Alexis Presto, Kristy Brindley, and Jackie Posluszny of Designs by Jackie, all of us at CDT are happy to help you in whatever way we can. We look forward to working with you and getting to know you better. We have fun working here, and hope that you will too!

If I have missed anyone, my apologies. If you e-mail me, I will be happy to include you next week!
Even betterCDT floor sample sale:
We really want to move these things! If you have had your eye on an upholstered piece here at the showroom, give us a call. We will be marking a number of items WAY WAY down, including all 3 Temple sofas. We plan to have some new things in time for fall! Meanwhile, all Taylor King and Ferguson Copeland upholstered items on our showroom floor are and additional 25% off regular designer discount. All lamps that were here before mid April are also on sale. Take an extra 20% on the first lamp, and 20%-10% on 2 or more lamps.

Time to do your own house with deals like this!!!


Duralee Seminar
OK...so there IS still brown in this picture!
This is a shot of the gorgeous Duralee showroom in High Point. Featuring both Duralee Fine Furniture and Owner Select, this showroom drew crowds and lots of press at the spring market. Look for these fabrics and many more in the new Simply Modern collection.

In preparation for our seminar Camille did some research into Duralee's price structure. Many designers are afraid that Duralee's prices will be too high, because they are 100% COM. The results even surprised us. We compared a basic sofa of similar size and style, with similarly priced and graded fabric from Duralee, Owner Select,Ferguson Copeland, Century and Henredon. Beleive it or not, each of these sofas came in within $100 of each other.
Bear in mind that Duralee and Owner Select give an additional fabric discount if you use Duralee or Highland Court fabric, with over 25,000 fabrics to choose from!
This was eye opening for us, and for the designers at the seminar...and it opens up a huge range of products to choose from at that price point. If you would like
to see the actual price comparisons, we will have it here at the showroom.
What Andrea Can Do For You!
Many of you may be unaware that Andrea does CAD and rendering work for several of our designers on the side. We have never formally anounced it but we have noticed lately that there is a larger calling for it. If you don't have the experience or the time to use these programs but want a professional computer drafted / rendered project - just call Andrea. She has done everything from simple CAD line drawings in scale to full presentation boards with renderings including draperies and accessories.