Sharon Davis

ART Member Spotlight – Feizy

Apr 8, 2021 | ART Blog

Feizy

Dallas, TX

Feizy has made philanthropy a cornerstone of their company

“Family, integrity and a service mindset are all central to what we do at Feizy Rugs. Our involvement with local, national and international charities and service organizations is a natural outgrowth of that,” said Leah Feizy, a principal of the company. “Giving back to the communities in which we live and do business and making a positive impact fosters that sense of family. “

At the end of 2020, the Dallas-based rug manufacturer donated $25,000 to Feed My Starving Children. FMSC is a non-profit that provides nutritious meals to starving children in 70 countries around the world. With the help of last year’s donation, FMSC opened its first permanent site locally in the Dallas area, near Feizy’s corporate headquarters. This year’s donation will continue to support the work of the FMSC providing additional funding to fill the gap in giving caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to giving to FMSC, Feizy has participated in packing events as well in recent years.

Community Partners of Dallas is the Christmas Toy Drive that Feizy has done about every year in recent memory. It started after the untimely death of Jeanne Carroll, advertising and marketing manager who got the company involved with ART.

Feizy supports Operation Kindness locally with auction donations for their annual fundraisers, and support a few other local charities with auction donations as well, including Cattle Barron’s Ball and Crystal Charity Ball.

“Charitable giving and service is not only our duty, it’s also a privilege — a value that my brother and I were taught by our parents at an early age. But beyond that, we feel it’s a way to honor and celebrate the relationships with our client partners and team members who have put Feizy Rugs in the position to be able to give back. Without their support, none of it would be possible” says Leah Feizy.

Feizy Rugs – https://feizy.com

32nd ARTS Awards Nominations Open

Apr 1, 2021 | Press Releases

32^nd ARTS Awards Nominations Now Open

—Home industry’s highest honor to return to in-person event in January 2022—

DALLAS/CHARLOTTE – April 1, 2021 – Dallas Market Center and ART, the creative home furnishings network, have announced that nominations are officially open for the 32^nd ARTS Awards. The Awards will return to their usual schedule during the January 2022 Total Home & Gift Market after a one-year staging of the HEARTS Awards honoring pandemic heroes. The ARTS Awards is the premier international awards program dedicated to home industry excellence and achievement.

“We’re thrilled to reunite the industry and to return to our exciting celebration of hard work and creativity,” said Cindy Morris president and CEO of Dallas Market Center. Added Sharon Davis, executive director of ART: “We welcome nominations from across the industry in order to honor leaders and innovators. We also look forward to joining together again in person and in support of the incredible accomplishments by individuals and companies.”

The ARTS Awards process begins with the nomination of retailers, manufacturers, designers, and sales representatives. Nominations are received online at dallasmarketcenter.com/ArtsAwards/nominations/ through June 28, 2021.

After nominations are received, a nomination committee of industry peers evaluates the entries and determines finalists. A separate judging panel then convenes in the fall to review and score finalists’ materials. Winners will be announced during a gala event on Friday, January 7, 2022. Neither membership in ART nor representation at Dallas Market Center is necessary to nominate or to be a nominee.

The 32nd ARTS Awards categories are:

Manufacturer
Retailer
Sales Representative
Product Designer
Interior Designer

Sponsors for the ARTS Awards include Aspire Design & Home; Business of Home; Designers Today; D Home; Furniture, Lighting & Décor; Furniture Today; Gifts & Decorative Accessories; Home Accents Today; Home Textiles Today; Interior Design Society, and Sustainable Furnishings Council.

ART Member Spotlight – The Arrangement

Mar 23, 2021 | ART Blog

The Arrangement

Dallas, TX

March is Women’s History Month to highlight women leaders and their contributions to history and contemporary society. ART salutes Katherine Snedeker of The Arrangement for her commitment to sustainability.

By investing in sustainability, ART member and Texas-based retailer Katherine Snedeker of The Arrangement is investing in its customers, its community and the business.

“What does furniture have to do with that? Furniture gets handed down. If we do a spectacular job on the furniture, it gets passed down to the next generation,” said Katherine Snedeker, president of the store, which has locations in Dallas and Houston. “It’s our goal to create a fabulous, timeless design so the legacy of the family furniture gets handed down.”

That’s a cornerstone of everything that has gone into making The Arrangement successful for more than three decades.

“For us, the education of the clients when they come in is what our brand is about. If we do our job right, sustainability is not an add-on bonus. It’s the cachet; it’s the reason you buy it,” Snedeker said.

Snedeker said The Arrangement has bolstered its sustainable efforts by having Susan Inglis, executive director of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, to the store a few times to help educate her staff. Snedeker has also completed many of the SFC’s courses and is a certified Green Leader.

Snedeker said 87% of The Arrangement’s case goods are made from reclaimed and recycled woods and she designs pieces that will use that as a wood source. Additionally, the store uses premium leather that will last for 30-50 years, which makes it sustainable, despite tanning methods.

The Arrangement, Dallas, TX – store vignettes

She said when the product checks a lot of boxes on the consumer’s checklist, sustainability can sometimes help seal the deal.

“It’s like music. You have to hit certain notes to be of value to the consumer,” she said. “It’s not just that it’s sustainable but it’s the right style, the right price point AND it’s sustainable.”

Sustainability is important in Snedeker’s selection of home accents as well. She chooses items made with natural elements like rock, glass, copper, pottery, wood, handcrafted items and original art from artisans.

Elsewhere, Snedeker said The Arrangement has made itself part of the community fabric in other ways. It has donated furniture to its local Hospice center and with a local horse therapy center to furnish its lobby, with furniture, design time and installation. Additionally, she said the store works frequently and exclusively with the Houston Furniture Bank.

ART Reschedules 2021 Annual In-Person Conference

Mar 16, 2021 | Press Releases

March 16, 2021 / Charlotte, NC – Today Accessories Resource Team (ART) announces a change of dates for ART Conference from May this year to August 5-8, 2021. The Conference will be a face-to-face meeting and will be held at the Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort and Spa in Fort Myers, Florida.

“We feel that by late July or early August everyone who would like to be vaccinated will have had the opportunity and we will be observing the current CDC recommendations for meeting safely” said Sharon Davis, Executive Director of ART. “We are excited to host this conference and meet with industry friends in this lovely setting.”

In addition, the Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort will be instituting their own “Commitment to Clean” program consisting of in-house and outside experts in food and water safety, hygiene and infection prevention, and hotel operations to ensure a continued focus on the health and safety of all guests and associates.

Additional program sponsorships are available for selection on the ART website. The details of the full program and registration to attend will be available in early May.

ART Member Spotlight – Black Whale Lighting

Mar 8, 2021 | ART Blog

Black Whale Lighting

Encintas, CA

March is Women’s History Month to highlight women leaders and their contributions to history and contemporary society. ART salutes Kirsten Recce of Black Whale Lighting for lending a hand.

Recently, Black Whale Lighting President Kirsten Recce saw a post from a friend who was spearheading a drive to buy and deliver meals to healthcare workers at Scripps Encinitas Hospital. Recce said the hospital has been busy with COVID-19 cases; so much so that it had tents outside the facility to begin the triage process.

So Recce reached out to her friend and asked to take responsibility for buying and bringing enough individually wrapped meals for one day — with a few extras.

“We had to come up with enough individually wrapped food for 75 people,” Recce said. “It wasn’t my vision but the vision so resonated with me that not only were we dropping off food and good wishes, but we delivered thank you cards and later, I delivered candy for Valentine’s Day and things that were individually wrapped and gave them coffee.”

While delivering food to healthcare workers is part of it, Recce said another appealing aspect of the drive was making a significant purchase with local restaurants, including Tin Leaf Kitchen in Carlsbad, Calif. Recce said when it was Black Whale’s turn to lend a hand, she insisted on paying full retail prices because these businesses need all the help they can get.

“What I loved about the program was not just the obvious of feeding the healthcare workers and security guards but also picking restaurants in the community to provide the food. I picked one that owns three independent restaurants,” Recce said. “I imagine they’re crazy impacted. We called them up and placed the order; no discounts or favors. I said, I want you to charge me in full because I wanted to give money to a restaurant that’s struggling. I love that it was a two-fold thing. Either one would be gratifying but this became a double bonus. ”

Recce said lending a hand in the community is part of the ethos at Black Whale. She said the retailer has contributed to its local Habitat for Humanity chapter numerous times over the years, and personally, she has done a number of things to help out at her kids’ schools.

She said it’s important for Black Whale to be a good corporate citizen and help build a stronger community.

“It was a nice way to become engaged,” Recce said. “It’s easy to be a small business owner working 60-80 hours to get lost. This was a nice way to give back and get to meet people I wouldn’t have been able to meet otherwise.”

Kudos to Kirsten Recce of Black Whale Lighting for taking this initiative. So inspiring. For more information on Black Whale Lighting, visit their website.