Good news for me-- Crate and Barrel is BLUE!

[fudge stripe cookays]

For any of you folks (like me) that are weaning yourselves off household doo-dad shopping a little at a time.....

Crate and Barrel is indeed WAY BLUE! I looked em up and am adding them to the PP today.

Cost Plus/World Market is also good as far as variety type home decor retail.

Avoid Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma.

More to come, campers.
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[K8-EEE]

1. Yay!

Although I couldn't find anything on Cost Plus I did go there rather than Pier 1 which is 100% GOP, grrrr....I love Crate & Barrel and since I'm having more over than usual for Xmas dinner I need more plain white dishes, got the original ones at Pier 1 but I'm sure they will have something at C&B!

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. Cost Plus is OK.

Make sure to check in at the PP-- I've been busy this weekend!

I found one piddly donation to Bush in 99 from a sales associate on opensecrets for Cost Plus. The others, still minor, from other associates, were for Dems. Nothing from the bigwhigs.

So again, Crate and Barrel and Cost Plus are OK, Pottery Barn and Pier One are bad.

:D
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[fudge stripe cookays]

3. My china registry is from C & B.

I have the Staccato pattern, and I love it. It has raised dots around the rim, and it's easy to dress up or down. Speaking of which, I need to get the rest of my registry now that I know they're good guys!

:D
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[tilsammans]

4. Good news, and bad . . .

I'm so glad C&B is BLUE!

But sad to hear that PB is red, 'cause I had a couple of furniture items picked out to buy there. Guess it's good news for my pocketbook, however, because I won't be tempted to spend my $$$ there any more.

That's big bad news for them. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Yeah, I know.

Made me sad too.

I used to like PB a lot. Was going to get one of those cool restyled 40s phones with the push buttons and one of the neat floor lamps with the upended shade with beads on it. And reprehensor and I might be considering a new couch soon. (Great Pyrenees plus chintz upholstery = large rips in couch).

Plus it's a weird size, so I can't get a slipcover for it.

Guess we'll just have our current one recovered. With heavy duty canvas!

IKEA is next on the list. Since they're Swedish I'm not too worried. Bush doesn't even think they have an army and Scandinavians are way progressive.

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[tilsammans]

6. Yeah, I couldn't get over . . .

. . . our f'in' PRESIDENT cannot distinguish between Sweden and Switzerland. Hello?

As for reupholstery, I am a big advocate. Recently I had four pieces of very old furniture recovered. The transformation is AMAZING -- they look like they came from trendy stores like Domain, etc.

People had urged me to put my sofa out for the garbage, saying it was beyond repair. The fame was broken, the springs were shot, and the cushions were flat as a pancake. Now it looks like a museum piece! And the repair was about 1,000 bucks cheaper than buying a new one.

I'm sure you can find some nice, heavy-duty fabric that's relatively pet-proof too.

[fudge stripe cookays]

7. That's what I'm hoping!

It's already an antique. I had it recovered once. I absolutely ADORE this couch.

It's completely unique. I've never seen one like it. It's sort of a 30s deco number with a curved back and very tall arms. Two people (one taller than the other) can lay prone next to each other on it, so it's great for cuddling and spooning while watching TV. When I bought it about 13 years ago, it had very scary stained dingy pale aqua corduroy stuff on it. But I could see the potential.

I put on some beautiful chintzy Waverly fabric that was white with sky blue paint spatter print. It has been gorgeous for quite awhile. But Fargo's claws just reamed it.

I need sailcloth! :D
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[Lorien]

8. How about Restoration Hardware?

I wonder if they aren't owned by the Pottery Barn people; their mechandise looks more and more similar with each passing year!

[kayell]

10. At a quick glance, they look ok/neutral

Still partly owned by the original founder according to Hoovers http://www.hoovers.com/free/ and a grand total of $8000 in political donations by various people, more or less evenly split between dems and pugs. The only contribution by the CEO was to Bill Bradley in 1999.

[fudge stripe cookays]

11. They're coming up soon!

I was trying to think of all my favorite fu-fu house places to shop. Missed them on my list!

Thanks for the reminder!
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[SouthPasadenaDem]

9. That is good news!

Another good reason to shop Crate and Barrel: I bought my two stuffed chairs and an ottoman there a couple of years ago, and the reason I bought them there (aside from the fact that the styling of the chairs was the one I liked the best) was that they were the ONLY ones I could find that were Made in the USA, AND by union labor. And believe me, I looked long and hard. They were not, by any means, the cheapest available (I had to save for the longest time to buy them, and still waited til they were on sale -- good-quality upholstered chairs seem to be the most expensive newly-manufactured furniture item you can buy) -- yet they were not as expensive as a number of the Chinese imports I looked at. I can't vouch for all their furniture, but at least its a place to find Made in the USA/Union labor alternatives that seem to be almost nonexistent elsewhere.

Another great thing about Crate and Barrel: When I first went in to look, I asked the saleslady when she thought it might go on sale (they only have a sale twice a year on furniture items), and months later, a few weeks before it went on sale (the fabric I liked was being discontinued, so it was a very good sale) she called me to let me know, and then called again, right beore the sale started.

[fudge stripe cookays]

12. Yes, you're right!

Their furniture is beautiful. It's great that it's union made and made in America. I've always found their customer service to be great.

I like the fact that if they discontinue any pieces of my registry they send a little card to let me know so I can go stock up before then (only 1 piece-- a special dish of some kind. Thank goodness that's the only one so far!)

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