I just read in Home Textiles Today today that another flash sale site devoted to offering home furnishings went live yesterday. This is the last straw in terms of  my understanding why these are hot investments or how the models are sustainable.  LuxeYard, out of Los Angeles, went live yesterday as a result of getting $3.5 million financing from private investments. Oh, and by the way, I went onto the site, became a member and clicked on a link to see the offerings.  The link was broken.  The site didn’t work. I actually feel sad for them already.

Following is the exact text from HTT:

According to the company, LuxeYard updates the flash sale model by introducing two new e-commerce processes: Concierge Buying and Group Buy. The flash sales website at www.luxeyard.com claims that these concepts shift the pricing and sourcing power from retailers to consumers, by allowing consumers to influence featured products and final prices.

With Concierge Buying, LuxeYard members can request items they would like to purchase at discounted price by posting photos to one of LuxeYard’s social media platforms, which includes Facebook and Twitter. LuxeYard will then source the most popular product as determined by user votes, or a comparable or higher quality product, and offer it on the website at what it says is a fraction of a comparable retail price.

Group Buy allows LuxeYard members to leverage social media to encourage other users to purchase a featured product, which drives product prices down for featured Group Buy items.

Everyone who purchased the Group Buy Item will pay the final lowest price. For example, a member may purchase an item for $100, share the information on Facebook encouraging others to buy the same product, and two days later find out that customer demand pushed the price down to $50. That would result in the original purchasing member only paying the end price of $50.

“Our team identified a significant hole in the explosive flash sale marketplace, realizing the customer experience was not interactive, community-driven or personalized,” said Braden Richter, CEO of LuxeYard. “We empower consumers with our Concierge Buying concept, shifting the sourcing of goods to the consumer. LuxeYard is combining the best of a flash sale with a unique e-commerce platform and an engaging interactive community.”

I do not understand this business model. If they are selling highly desirable branded goods, why would the supplier sell them product at $.20 cents on the dollar and drop ship every item to individual consumers.    That doesn’t sound reasonable if the brand cares about its brand.   We all understand supply and demand as well as the power to negotiate better prices, but we aren’t talking about widgets here.

Following are some of the other bells and whistles that differentiate LuxeBrand from the other flash sales and bring it into an arena that smacks of Open Sky. (The difference is that OpenSky doesn’t beat up its vendors, dillute the brands, force brands into value-engineering cheaper product and OPen Sky actually purchases and ships the inventory from its own distribution center.)

 LuxeYard also features these tools:

• LuxeLife Trendsetters – A community of design professionals provides design curation and offers aesthetic insights, product recommendations and special events exclusively for LuxeYard members. Members may ask the community questions and receive product recommendations. Some of the founding LuxeLife Trendsetters include Nicky Hilton, Daniella Clarke, Faye Resnick, Bobby Berk, Amanda Rosbrook and Forbes Riley.  (Oh, like OPenSky?)

• Room Planner – Allows consumers to enter room dimensions and/or upload a photo of the room in which they’d place a product they’re considering, to get a sense for how the item fits with the current décor and layout before purchasing. ( If someone is struggling over a picture frame and requires such a tool then good luck getting them to buy a throw pillow or vase.)

• LuxePop – Allows members to shop at LuxePop stores from their own homes. (I don’t even know what LuxePop is, but we can shop just about anywhere from out homes these days.)

LuxeYard says it offers members home furnishings and décor at up to 70% off standard retail prices. According to a press release from the company, LuxeYard does not hold inventory; manufacturers ship products directly to consumers. (Well, this is why investors love the idea, not why the suppliers and customers will.)

 I read of two others that went live last week. Oh, and I am not that well road. So, how many are launching every week? I also have read repeatedly about some of the original ones such as Gilte Group and One King’s Lane continuing to get (what seems to me to be) ridulous amounts of investment money. My assumption is the allure of  a company’s generating revenue without buying inventory or having to staff a distribution facility is what is creating such a fervor, or fever.

I rarely use my blog to do anything but show home textiles that I find refreshing and desirable to my non-existent followers.  I apologize for my tone with this post.  I am stymied by the flash sale site hysteria.  I am a member of  two handfuls. I was curious in the beginning. I have purchased four items from four different sites in the past and I wasn’t happy with the quality of any of the product. Not only that, I had never heard of any of the brands.  I continue to become a emmber of the new ones just to see if any are offering something truly unique, high quality, covetable and to check prices.  The merchandise is all starting to look the same and I wonder if I am seeing a more rapid maturation of the TJX brick and mortar business model.  I can’t tell the difference between TX Maxx and Marshalls and, with 1000′s of stores, there aren’t enough last season or end of season merchandise to fill their stores.  So, branding, royalty agreements and private label programs seem to have become the new way at TJX. They even seem to by the defunt brand names and resurrect them.  The only problem for true value seekers is that the quality is often inferior. TJX isn’t what it was. It has kicked butt year after year and has experienced growth during the recession ( no small task), but it isn’t my go to place for high quality branded merchandise anymore. 

A couple thoughts and questions. Has the investment world become crazily, stupidly in love with the business model? Is this model even sustainable?What are your thoughts regarding flash sale sites?  Do they diminish the brand?  Do they have staying power?o you see just a few strong sites as the remaining survivors?  PLease educate me. 

http://piccsy.com/

boucherouite rug on etsy

boucherouite on etsy

boucherouite from Beldi

These are one of my favorite reveals form 2011. I first saw one of these rugs on a page in Elle Decor of a hallway in  a Manhattan apartment. I was immediately smitten with its asymmetry, bright colors and freeform feel. I learned that these are known as boucherouites and were woven by the Atlas women of Middle Morocco. In the 1960′s, a shortage of wool forced the se weavers to resort to using repurposed scraps to make these rugs. They had no commercial or export value for years. Recently, they have started to grow in popularity with people in Western Europe and the U.S.  Due to a limited supply, weavers all over Morocco have started making new ones.

Get the vintage collectibles while they are available and affordable!!

Name Design Studio patchwork sofaCouch U.K. patchwork sofaHmong Hilltribe patchwork and embroidered throw

Hmong Hilltribe patchwork and embroidered throw

It is clear that patchwork fabrics in home furnishings continue to trend upward.  What do you think about these?

Couch U.K. patchwork sofa

Okay, I admit that I have always been completely enamored with African and African inspired textiles (primarily Dutch wax prints) and I like to blog about them.  I tend to lean toward the beautiful batiks, mud cloths, indigo dye cloths and wax prints from Ghana and Mali. But, I am completely open to more exposure to textiles from any of the other countries in this huge continent.  I have been thrilled to see African textiles and designers from Africa using these textiles in their apparel collections.  New York held its first African Fashion Week (AFWNY)  in July and it was a huge success. African born fashion designers in London and Paris who are using wax print fabrics in their collections are getting great media coverage.

It lifts my spirit to finally see theses ethnic textiles and their producers getting the attention and praise that they deserve. What does not lift my spirits is to see inferior quality Asian (primarily Chinese) knock-offs of these fabrics, especially of the Dutch wax prints, with deceptively similar brand names and pattern numbers printed on the selvages of the fabrics.  There are companies here in the U.S. that are selling these knock-offs as African fabrics. For anyone with a textile background or admiration  for the authentic fabrics, it is very easy to spot a cheap knock-off. The fabric weight is much lighter, the weave less tight, the dyes are inferior pigments with a scratchy hand and the techniques are machine produced interpretations of the African textiles and Dutch wax prints.

Of course, Dutch wax prints have their own misleading and confusing pedigree.  They are most often referred to as African wax prints, probably because they have been sold to and coveted by West African consumers. (I have written more about the history in a previous post. ) I LOVE the Dutch wax prints that are made in Holland, too. The fabric quality is high, the print quality excellent, they are highly colorfast to light and washing and they are reversible. But,  it is misleading to refer to them as African, as opposed to African inspired, wax print fabrics.  My blog is not political, so I want to say only that it is a darn shame and misleading to see fabrics that people believe are produced in a country in Africa, which actually are produced in Asian or Europe. It is okay to produce textiles that are inspired by African countries, but qualify them as such.  It is trickery to interpret techniques, colors, patterns and motifs that are indiginous to certain regions and  mislead consumers by making them think that is where they are from.  I see some admired high profile, fashion-forward companies do this regularly. If a company is going to sell an African inspired pillow produced in Asia for $128, well , just admit that it was inspired by that and the bottom line, and that it does nothing to support the economy of the area that actually produces the real thing.

I understand that there are limitations that exist with authentic ethnic textiles when it comes to mass production. If a manufacturer or retailer commits to a product that it sells which uses authentic textiles, it has to make certain that the fabrics meets all sorts of durability and production standards. It is expected that the fabric be completely reproducable in terms of quality, pattern and color matching, too. But, holy crap, give the authenticators a chance to find a solution before tossing it out to a factory elsewhere that churns out thousands of widgets a day.

Okay, I think I may have gotten a bit too empassioned here and fear I will receive a persuasive statement from a PR staffer at a major chemical company  explaining the merits of mass-produced chemical-laden interpretations.   All I really want to convey is that I want the countries in Africa to benefit financially from what is appears to be a waxing appreication appreciation in the Occident of African textiles and cultures.

Kim Parker Morning_Roses_rug

Okay, this isn’t my first Summer out, but I just discovered this woman’s website and am enamored with her blooming floral artwork.  I am a bit embarrassed that the entire world appears to have found her and I am just now learning about her beautiful creations. Her florals are clean, contemporary, bold and cheerful. She is an artist, textile designer and author. She has her own private label of rugs, textiles and soft home furnishings. She has lines of tableware, giftware and fine art wallhangings through major  outlets such and Bed, bath and Beyond, Target and Amazon. Here is her website  http://www.kimparker.tv/index.html.

Bluebellgray handpainted throw pillowsBluebellgray bedding

I forgot how pretty and fresh watercolor, especially floral and abstract, fabrics are. We were deluged with them in the late 1980′s and early 1990′s and they had to go into hibernation for 20 years for us to appreciate them again. 

 I have had my eyes on some watercolor silk charmeuse fabrics for a couple years and decided to take the plunge and use them to create decorative pillow covers and throws. They arrived this week and I am mesmerized by them.

I was reading the April/May issue of online magazine Adore Home and nearly lost my breath when reading about and looking at the beautiful photographs of watercolor floral handpainted throw pillows, bedding and upholstery fabric by Fiona Douglas of Bluebellgray.

Bluebellgray handpainted upholstery fabric as shown in Adore Home

  Also, take  a look at the work of Vivian Ducas of C*Est La Viv. She draws beautful floral watercolors that are available on Spoonflower as fabric, she has an Etsy store and her artwork is available as greeting cards and canvas art through Fine Art America. Her Pink poppies is one of my favorites. http://fineartamerica.com/featured/pink-poppy-graphic-cest-la-viv.html

Pretty, pretty, pretty!

tea towel vintage Etsy

tea towel stool Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts

tea towel vintage apron from Curly Pops

I have been seeing increased interest in vintage tea towels,  tablecloths and linen calendars.  Many kitchen textile  manufacturers have come out with nostalgic retro collections of  tea towels, potholders and tablecloths. But the best yet,  has been the use of vintage tea towels to upholster furniture. Suzie Stanford of Melbourne Australia has designed a number of these for her clients and they are fun and timeless! Check out her  pieces at her modest website. They are fabulous!  http://www.suziestanford.com.au/index.htm  This trend seems to have spread across the continent.

When I think about the early days after getting out of school and dumpster diving for furnishings because my salary was such that the only discretionary income that I had was spent on vodka and cigarettes, I smile and remember  how I and many of my peers pimped our pads. We did aspire to the Pottery Barn look back then. However, ready-to-assemble and hand-me-downs were the only furnishings that fit into our budgets.

By the time I turned 30, my sister and her husband had taken me to furniture and antique auctions a few times.  I began to realize that I could truly get higher quality and more interesting home furnishings at these auctions than the ready-to-assemble particleboard that I had been buying. Oh, and  at these auctions I  also  could buy lung-collapsing coffee,  stale donuts  while receiving looks of utter disgust from real antique dealers who saw me as an interloper.  I felt a bit self-concious and out of place, but I knew I was never going back to particle board and faux oak finishes after seeing solid mahogony dressers for $50. (This was long before the days of HGTV and other do-it-yourself decorating tutors.)

Last year, after reading recommendations in the shelter magazines, I purchased the book ‘The Selby Is In Your Place’.   It is a compilation of photographs taken by the author in the dwellings of many of his acquantences and clients, mostly people who work in creative arenas.  The common thread was that none of the dwellings and dwellers were mainstream in their approach to home design and decorating.  The book was fun in the beginning, but it rather bored me to see dwelling after dwelling filled with tourist quality religious artifacts, dark accents and accessories that seem intentionally weird or shocking. It just became another decorating style to me. I’ll call it The Refugee motif due to my lack of formal training.

The bottom line is that one man’s ticky tacky is another man’s happy crappy. There is no right or wrong. It is subjective and what resonates with one person can cause another person to whince. Let me just share a few home pics that share a decorating style that is warm, happy and very pretty to many people. However, I seldom see these types of room schemes in the mags and the blogs. The important fact is that some awesome people live in these homes and rooms. One room could be Great Aunt Mimi’s livingroom, another can be the kitchen of the neighborhood woman who always bought your Girl Scount cookies and another might be the yard of the couple who always waved and wished you a great day when you passed them and their abode.

 Stay tuned for the next nostalgic blog that includes afgans and plastic-covered sofas. At least people actually bought heirloom quality furniture worth preserving. Lucky us! We all want their furniture now.

Pink in big in 2011! Faux flora never goes out of style.

Hawleywood glam

"Get out of the diningroom, Donna."

The most spirited family in the neighborhood.

Why stop with the interior when you can express yourself right to the sidewalk?

A real working kitchen is the heart of the home.

Taxidermy, wall to wall and paneling. Heaven on earth.

Taxidermy, fake flora and fuzzy stuffed animals. BYOB.

How the heck did faux, fake or real taxidermy come back into fashion? I am scratching my head. I thought it was in vogue with the shelter magazines only until I started seeing it in chain lifestyle stores and catalogs. Why, oh why, am I unable to warm up to this trend?  Even the stylized pieces in white ceramic, acrylic and cable knit leave me baffled.  I’d rather display my 11 year old neice’s nose-shaped pencil sharpener. (You insert the pencil into the nostril to sharpen it.)