Furniture Stores Frontline Reports
Hi! I'm Vicki Semke. Mig and Tig is a Furniture store in Chicago that I started with my husband, Kirk Schlupp. We have been on the retail front lines since 1993. Inspired by Mig and Tig Furniture, Yourfurniturelink.com was launched with Jerod Lazan of Mortise & Tenon, Los Angeles. Yourfurniturelink.com is a furniture directory that features furniture manufacturers ranging from contemporary to antique and eco-friendly if you are going green. Consumers and Retail Buyers view furniture lines and manufacturers direct consumers to local furniture stores for product purchases. Our perspective comes as a home furnishings retailer on the front lines. We will explore how to meet the challenges we face in this new era. Today's rapidly changing marketplace requires intuitiveness and flexibility. With this blog on Furniture Today, we hope to share insight, strategies and practical solutions for the long term sustainability of our businesses. I invite you to share your comments, suggestions and ideas as we move forward into a very dynamic time in our industry. I look forward to hearing from you at Vicki@yourfurniturelink.com Yourfurniturelink.com MigandTig.com MortiseTenon.com
YourFurnitureLink.com, Harrington College of Design Chicago and TLS by Design!
The arrival of the classic “show badges” every three months or so always brings about two very strong, visceral reactions.Reaction One: “Ug, is it time for that show again already? ” My senses go into auto response. The backache from that old mattress at the rental house, the lack of energy from eating fattening, rich food at overpriced restaurants, the constant grazing on showroom snacks, and o... Read More
Comments (7)Fresh Design & the Pinnacle Awards!
My partner Jerod Lazan of Mortise and Tenon and www.YourFurnitureLink.com and I have been asked to be presenters at the Pinnacle Award Ceremony. We are so excited we can’t tell you! As boutique furniture buyers we have always been on the search for great design, first and foremost. Pricing was important, but not at the top of our list. Good design in our industry separates the men from the boys.... Read More
Comments (0)Before and After the Economic Meltdown
Twenty years in the furniture retail business and still ticking (my heart that is). I think it’s time to recap our story. In the beginning BEM (before economic meltdown) times were filled with only endless possibilities. My partner in Los Angeles as well as us only saw a graph line that went basically up. Mistakes were hard to make because the market absorbed everything we did. Experimentation, an... Read More
Comments (5)Use your store as an experimental think tank
Using your store as an experimental think tank instead of a place where you sell furniture sheds a different light when you come into work. Over the years my partner and husband, Kirk, have always tried to listen to what the customer was asking for. Since we are small, it gave us the ability to design and work with small manufacturers, such as Jerod of Mortise and Tenon, where he also owns his o... Read More
Comments (0)Harrington Design Challenge
I was very fortunate as I always knew I wanted to be in the furniture - design business. After graduating high school, I was eager to attend Harrington School of Design located in Downtown Chicago. There never was a second thought of where my career should be. Since attending school, our store has always made an effort to hire graduates from Harrington. It has always worked well for our busin... Read More
Comments (0)Jerod Lazan of Mortise & Tenon - Looking for signs of change!
This post as well as a few previous posts have addressed some of the fundamental problems of economic indicators. We all want to find reasons that things are getting better, the signs of a economic rebound. The problem with using these broad based indicators is that they rarely apply to all places in our country. This recession as well all past downturns effected each region of this country differ... Read More
Comments (2)Staying in Business
The other day Jerod, my partner was talking with a friend who has a local wholesale and manufacturing business in L.A. This friend was discussing how things were going when he revealed that he intends to close in a few months. This friend wants to see how Highpoint goes for one last chance but he says he’s had enough of this business. There have been really great times but he’s not making much mo... Read More
Comments (4)The Best PR possible
There are so many experts telling small business all the right ways to bring people through the door. Whether it is an e-mail campaign, print advertising or direct mail. There are so many conduits a retailer can get involved with, yet the experiment of knowing what and which works can be expensive and not necessarily fruitful.Our experience as retailers for near 18 years has found that all type... Read More
Comments (0)Monetization
I am fortunate to have a great partner and friend like Jerod Lazan. We usually talk everyday and even though we live in different parts of the country, it feels like he is my next door neighbor. Recently, we had a discussion about being open on the 4th of July. Even though I am a believer in being opened as much as possible in retail, I think holidays are reserved for friends and family and... Read More
Comments (0)Your Path
Having to spend the last week answering 3 pages of prepared questions for a future story about our companies got us to thinking… everyone should spend a bit of time really thinking about our personal and business objectives. I have to compliment this reporter as she asked intelligent and articulate questions that really made me stop and think. This process was very insightful for myself and the pe... Read More
Comments (0)Your Environment
Do you ever get a feeling from a store the moment you walked through the door? Like a sort spell that’s cast over you that makes you feel either relaxed and welcome? or stressed and unwelcomed? I have, and I’m sure you have too. It’s an energy that the store seems to exude all on its own. After all, when you haven’t even walked through the front door, you already feel this unseen force…either... Read More
Comments (0)Life is Like a Cup of Coffee
Life is Like a Cup of CoffeePast years, in this business, the discussion of sharing our mailing lists with competing furniture retailers was off the table. Just mentioning the idea of this would be considered heresy, definitely a good tar and feathering (goose down of course) would be the punishment. But, an interesting thing has happened since this severe recession has fallen upon all of us. My b... Read More
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