Shopping for Furniture? Here Are Some Resources.

From American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA), several fine articles:

FURNITURE 101: A CONSUMER'S GUIDE TO SMART SHOPPING

THE INSIDE STORY: HOW UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE IS BUILT

THE INSIDE STORY: HOW WOOD FURNITURE IS BUILT

TRANSLATION PLEASE!

Bev & Mike

A to Z Buyers Guide

Furniture Magazine has an A to Z Buyers Guide. Do you want to know about a furniture manufacturer and its quality, then go to the A to Z Buyers Guide. For example, two lines Landfair Furniture carries are Sam Moore Chairs and Sherrill. Here's what the A to Z Buyers Guide has to say:

SAM MOORE CHAIRS

PO Box 339, Bedford, VA 24523

703.586.8253, Fax 703.586.8497

For over 50 years, Sam Moore has been producing affordable, comfortable upholstery for the home and office. I've never met anyone who didn't like this company. They seen to have hit a niche of tremendous styling, dependable consistent quality and all at an affordable price. Quite a combination. They offer traditional to contemporary styling, hundreds of fabric choices and plenty of optional wood finishes on exposed pieces. Choose from: wing chairs, dining chairs, 18th Century exposed wood chairs, French exposed wood chairs, a great Mission/Arts & Crafts collection, home office and executive seating, fully upholstered chairs & ottomans, sofas and loveseats, chaises, benches and settees. Choose from leather and fabric.

SHERRILL

2405 Highland Ave NE, PO Drawer 189

Hickory, NC 28603. (828) 322-2640, (828) 324-8207 fax

Sherrill is one of the best values in upholstered furniture you'll find. They are also the parent company for several other well known brands:

• Whittemore-Sherrill (Leather Upholstery)

• Precedent (Transitional Upholstery

• Hickory-White (Case Goods & upholstery)

• CTH-Sherrill Occasional (Wood & metal occasional & dining)

• Motioncraft (Recliners, motion sofas, sectionals & home theater seating)

• Theodore Alexander (Wood / metal / other case goods & accessories)

Bev & Mike

Do you sell on eBay?

So you sell on eBay. Are you aware of what is selling well, there?

FURNITUREToday has a section that gives you the most recent information: eBay & Furniture|Today: What Consumers Are Buying Online. Not only does it break it down into specific catagories, but there is a link to

Top 10 Hot Categories
Top 10 Buyer Searches
Top 10 Individual Items Sold (based on price).

Here is a breakdown of the most recent list of catagories:

Bath - May 2005
Bedding - May 2005
Dining & Bar - April 2005
Furniture - April 2005
Gardening & Plants - April 2005
Home Decor - April 2005
Lighting - April 2005
Rugs & Carpets - April 2005
Decorative Collectibles - April 2005
Pottery & Glass - April 2005

Bev & Mike

Who Be You?

Gosh, has it been that long since our last post? Our goal is to post daily. We want you to come back to see what's new. We will try harder. We receieve in the mail a weekly paper called FURNITUREToday. The online edition has a number of blogs. One blog has the name Furniture Sketchbook by David Perry and it has a post Retail shopping experience even more important than our products. In it he writes

This week I present you with a shocking proposition: The merchandise in our retail stores is not as important as the experience of shopping our stores.

He says a Starbucks store is a good illustration:

My reader said that consumers flock to Starbucks for the sense of community: “Starbucks is the new Main Street, the town square. It’s welcoming. It’s warm. The music is playing. People are encouraged to work, study or pay bills – any of a number of activities usually done at home, in the office, or even a library – places that don’t promote social interaction and a sense of belonging to a larger community. Consumers are hungry for this experience.”

At Landfair Furniture we try to offer that same experience and recently Marcie Harris, a designer in Portland said,

Bev is my favorite design source in the Portland area. I feel her place is the coffee shop at "Friends", since I always find an interesting designer to talk to there. Her complete and undivided attention to us designers really makes our lives so much easier.

We think, too many times, we worry about being competitive as far as price, when it's really about what you are. Or in the words of a mentor, "Who be you?
Bev & Mike

MarketingSherpa's 10 Best Blogs for 2005

Wow, MarketingSherpa's 10 Best Blogs for 2005 were just announced and there are some familiar names. Congratulations to:

Best blog on small business marketing

Winner: Duct Tape Marketing

Honorable Mention: Small Business Trends

Editor's Note: Wow! Duct Tape Marketing won hands-down for the second-year running, gaining more votes than any other blog in any category in the entire contest. Most bloggers can only dream of such a huge and passionate fan base.

Best Blog on Niche Marketing

Winners (tie):

Ypulse - Media for the Next Generation

WonderBranding - Marketing to Women

Honorable Mention:

Lipsticking- Smart marketing to women online

Editor's Note: All three of these blogs are not only useful for advice on their topics, but also worth watching if you plan to launch a Blog to promote yourself as a niche marketing consultant. (P.S. Whoa, get ready for neon-pink and orange when you visit Ypulse.)

Bev & Mike

Designers Need A Web Presence!

You know we have been urging you to get a website for your business. Some of you say it's too expensive, or I just don't have the time, or I am not computer savvy. We say the easiest way to get online is: Start a Blog. It's easy, it's and free! You can talk about your business. You can add your "before" and "after" pictures to your blog. You can use your blog to get new business. It's the easiest way to do marketing. In the upper right hand corner of this blog is a sign that says "Get your own Blog". Blogger, a part of Google, hosts blogs for free and provides a wide variety of templates. It's easy, simple and if you have any questions, Mike says he will provide answers.

We came across a web site Merely Human and the article Making Sense of the Blogging Phenomenon One Blogger At a Time

I have spent some time over the past two years researching blogging. And the longer I immerse myself the more convinced I become that blogs are merely a symptom of something much bigger happening on the web. No, let me restate that...happening TO the web.

Nobody's completely figured it out yet, but every day we are nearing closer to an approximate understanding of what their impact will be. The only thing we can conclude is that the question of what a blog IS isn’t so important as the question of what a blog CAN BE.

And in Breaking News: Will This Man Bring Legitimacy to the Blogosphere? Merely Human says

Today the blogosphere welcomes it's biggest marketing celebrity since Bob Bly. Jay Abraham, one of the most respected minds in marketing is officially launching his blog.

If Jay abraham who wrote the book Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got : 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition is getting a blog, so should you!

Bev & Mike