Fans flock to designer Lowell
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, September 15, 2003
Jamestown, N.C. — Gloria Westbrook awoke at 1:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep.
After all, it's not every day you get to meet a home decorating legend like Christopher Lowell.
Much later that day, Lowell was scheduled to sign books at Furnitureland South here, and Westbrook didn't want to miss out. So like any loyal fan, the Kernersville, N.C., resident arrived with plenty of time to spare — six hours to be exact.
That was the longest time she'd ever spent in a furniture store, but getting to meet Lowell in person and have him sign her books was well worth the wait.
"I love it," she said of his daily appearance on cable TV's The Discovery Channel. "He shows how you can take a simple, plain room and make it into something you would have to hire a decorator to do."
"We get a lot of great ideas from Christopher," said her fiancé, Foster Harris, who tapes the shows she misses. "I do watch it and enjoy it, but she is absolutely crazy about him."
Westbrook joined about 1,000 fans who came here to meet Lowell, who is promoting his books, "The Seven Layers of Design" and "If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It," the latter just off the presses. The appearance was one of about 15 Lowell makes each year. Other recent stops were at Kloss Furniture in St. Louis and Nebraska Furniture Mart in Kansas City, Kan.
"The signings," he said, "allow me to meet people in regions who normally wouldn't have the opportunity to see me there. They're kind of a meet-and-greet thing."
Prior to the two-hour signing for the public, Lowell signed about 110 books for Furnitureland South employees. He also spoke briefly about his philosophy of decorating, which aims to eliminate the fear of failure and encourage people to discover their creative side.
The problem, he said, is that people often decorate with their egos and not with their hearts.
"A lot of people, when they go to beautify their home, begin to realize that it's more than just about stuff," he said. "It is who am I, what do I want to live like now and what do I want to live like in the future."
Retailers and their salespeople, he said, can help by partnering and building relationships with customers instead of simply telling them what they should have in their homes.
"In order for the industry to react to where people are today, they are going to have to understand that the real knowledgeable person is walking in the door, not the person on the floor," Lowell said.
He signed books in the Christopher Lowell Home Collection section of Furnitureland South's Flexsteel gallery; Lowell designed the products exclusively for the upholstery manufacturer. Keith Feuerhaken, Flexsteel's vice president of sales, also was on hand.
"Flexsteel products and Christopher Lowell products complement each other," Feuerhaken said. "They both can stand alone, but also work well together. It has given us a higher level of visibility to have Christopher Lowell represent the Flexsteel products.
"People are so emotionally connected with him," Feuerhaken said. "It's an empowerment issue that people are reacting to. He gives them the confidence to design rooms and provides them with guidelines."
Monique Clemons of Durham, N.C., came to the event on her birthday with her husband and two daughters, having discovered Lowell about three years ago. "He's got a lot of energy," she said. "And a lot of his ideas are affordable. He shows you how to do it on a budget"
Greensboro, N.C., resident Susan Grunenwald has been watching Lowell's TV shows for about eight years. "He's done things with color and furniture that I would never have thought of doing, and it makes me less afraid to go out and shop for these things," she said.
| Acknowledgements | ||
| Senior Editor Gary Evans contributed to this story. | ||
