Weekend reading, "North America through the eyes of a European"

The d @ d design store tm: where great
products and prices meet with super
services

Episode 10 Taking time out...For sisters!

Sister companies that is. The concept I'd started to develop when I first arrived in Montreal, “Design 4U”, had been firmly stored away in the background since design at distance came to life. But I knew it really deserved to be part of the exclusive collection of design products offered through our online design store.

With little doubt, it would give our designers another cutting edge to their designs, and I was feeling the pressure to pull it out of the cupboard, brush it off and concentrate on getting this new and innovative concept finished!...

Weekend reading, “North America through the eyes of a European”

Episode 9: Growing our team

Finding good designers was never going to be the problem, not within an industry that's overflowing with qualified people. The challenge was to find designers who would understand where were coming from, where we were going: and give us the time to get there!

We knew that we had to find our designers, and start their initial training, long before they'd actually have design at distance customers to design for!  That was going to be the challenge! To keep everyone on-board and interested up to the launch...

But there was lots for our designers to do in the meantime: software to navigate, our procedures to learn, suppliers to discover, and last but not least, our values, and the “design spirit” of the company to adopt. I knew they had the capacities to cope...but would they have the patience to wait for us to bring in custom? Would they want to invest the effort, and have the work ethic needed, to fully embrace our way of working and the standards we were determined to set...that was the question!

I knew that the designers that “stayed the course” were going to be with us for a long time, and would become the true force of our company in the future.

It's the last day of our tip-sharing week

A well designed eclectric/retro look

Money saving makeovers

It's easy to get disheartened when you crave elegance and your room gives you eclectic. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE eclectic, but there are certain "guidelines" to follow when putting together an unstructured look. So if your room is a happy mix of styles more through accident then design then read on.

Look closely at each piece in your room and ask yourself: why is it there? Do I love it? Is it functional? If it's not one of these two things then it could do with being “fixed”...or moved out!

Day 4 of our tip-sharing week



FAR too gorgeous to
hide in a cupboard, vintage
luggage is a stylish way to
help tidy up a room




Get clever with containers

I'm a sucker for pretty suitcases and sailors chests (the wooden variety...honestly!) and can never talk myself out of buying them: not only because they're pretty, and make me feel nostalgic, but because they can always be used to store things that you don't use regularly.

Some of mine are currently holding special handbags, (although I love to have some out on show, they do tend to fade and are a pain to dust!) and seeing it's winter, my summer dresses, scarves and beach wear...

 

Day 3 of our tip-sharing week

Don't let lack of space cramp your style.

Even if your bathroom is “super compact” try not to give in to the temptation of bringing in plastic drawers on wheels. (Yes, we've all done it...). This is a design direction to follow only if you're a strong supporter of the student look, and one to be avoided at all costs if you're over the age of 20!

However, if you are determined to go down that road, hide the contents by lining the inside of the drawers with some pattern: stylish wallpaper, or funky wrapping paper does the job well, adds a bit of fun...and hides your skin care secrets from the world!

Day 2 of our tip-sharing week

Bathroom Basics

Small spaces are notorious for gathering grunge, especially areas where you use towels, like the bathroom, because they create so much static and loose fabric fibres.

So make storage areas quick and easy to clean, by grouping small items together into containers, that you can whip out of the cupboard, and wipe around in a flash.

These transparent clip-top contaniers form the Martha Stewart Collection are ideal.

This week is a sharing week!

Hints to make your home stand out from the crowd, and tips to simplify your daily life!

Day 1: Get tough on storage. Nothing can simplify your day to day life like getting the way you store things right. Let's start in the bathroom. If you're cupboards are sorted, you can always put your hands on what what you're looking for, and you never leave half empty bottles or tubes at the back of your shelves, then this tip is not for you. But if you're guilty of any of the above then read on...