Tableware Today magazine asked 71 industry professionals for their thoughts on 2021. I was one of those asked, and shared these answers to Editor Amy Stavis' questions:
What will be the most significant change for our industry in 2021?
J: As the famous business leader Marc Andreessen said, software is eating the world--and it's eating our industry like never before with Covid-19. The question is whether you're eating or being eaten. We’re all in the software business now. ...
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Coronavirus has resulted in a national shutdown, with many companies shifting to having at least some employees permanently working from home. People ended up spending most of their days at home during the week and, having nowhere to go due to the shutdown, on the weekends. Having a more intimate relationship with their domiciles, appears to have encouraged people to have an increased interest in decorating the place where they're now spending most of their time.
Today's NY Times shares that many businesses are decreasing their office space footprint as they let employees work from home.
We are entering a new and unusual time post-COVID. More and more people will be working from home, further encouraging companies to decrease their amount of office space. I think this is a good thing for the most part, as it will open up jobs for people who don't necessarily live near a company's office. It also allows people to work from the comfort of their own home...
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This charming cast metal tool reminds us that while sometimes gardening means getting your hands dirty, there’s no reason you can’t do it with style.
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November 7, 2019
November 7, 2019
Why is retail changing?
Retail Dive gives us six reasons via six statistics:
1. 100 stores The number of Macy's locations closed since August 2016, as well as the number of stores that off-price retailer Ross opened in 2019 alone
2. $19 billion Projected off-price sales by 2021
3. $20.4 billion The amount department store sales have dropped over the past five years
4. $14 billion The amount in sales that Costco's Kirkland Signature private label outpaced all of Macy's nationwide sales last year
The Corner Studio by Barbara Stewart Interiors is honored to host the 2019 Kentucky Derby Artist Rhonda McEnroe for picture signings on Wednesday, April 17th 1-6 p.m. Rhonda's "Gold, For The Win" piece was selected to serve as the 145th Running of the Kentucky Derby official poster, alongside "Hats, Horses, and More Hats" as the 145th Running of the Kentucky Oaks poster. Spend an afternoon with Rhonda while enjoying refreshments, hor d'oeuvres and a 20% discount on all custom framing by Barbara ...
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January 5, 2017
January 5, 2017
From the NY Times, Thursday Jan.5, 2017
Start-Ups Hope Couples Say βI Doβ to Online Wedding Planning
Planning a wedding remains a largely traditional pursuit. For many couples, it is a frustrating months long project that requires sifting through masses of details and costs on venues, services and products. Now, a variety of start-ups are trying to cut down on that information overload by harnessing new technologies to capture a slice ...
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September 13, 2007
September 13, 2007
Amazon Rules the Online Tabletop Jungle
In HFN's September 10th issue, the magazine lists the top 5 selling dinnerware patterns (in the category of casual and housewares dinnerware patterns). I did a search for each of these patterns in Google. Which company do you think came up first for 3 out of these 5 patterns? Not Macy's. Not Wal-mart. The winner: Amazon.com. Amazon.com doesn't show up at the tabletop shows or even have a physical store.
So, why is our industry letting this player get all ...
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