Special Online Shopping Deals From Free Shipping To Discounts. Happy Thanksgiving.

For those of you who do your shopping for the holidays online, here's a collection of special online offers (coupon codes, free shipping, thanksgiving day sales and early specials for the holiday). Just click on the boxes below and start saving!

MADMEN Your Living Room! DWR & AMC Promote Season 4 With A Sweepstakes

If you're a fan of the AMC TV period drama about advertising, chances are you've already MADMEN-ed yourself. So, what to do next? How about a chance to MADMEN your living room?



In celebration of the much-anticipated fourth season of AMC's "Mad Men," the network and modern furniture store and company, Design Within Reach, announce a collaborative promotion to give one winner a chance to "Mad Men" his or her living room with a collection of new furniture that embodies mid-century modern aesthetics.


The Grand Prize is two pieces from DWR's exclusive Raleigh collection, the Skagen Coffee Table and Nesting Tables, and the Strata Rug, and the AJ Floor Lamp designed by Arne Jacobsen. (The winner may choose from in-stock fabrics and colors.)


colors and fabrics:


Four first place winners receive "Mad Men" Seasons 1, 2 and 3 on DVD.

Raleigh Armchair and Sofa:


Raleigh is a comfortable, modern collection that draws from mid-century Danish design. Wrapping around the back of this Armchair is a solid walnut frame that brings visual lightness and satisfying aesthetic tension to the design. The collection includes an 85" Sofa, Two-Seater 60" Sofa and Armchair, available in various colors.

Skagen coffee table and nesting tables:

Inspired by the mid-century designs of Arne Hovmand-Olsen, the walnut wood Skagen Table Collection (2009) includes this set of two Nesting Tables, as well as a Coffee Table.

AJ Floor Lamp:

Arne Jacobsen's AJ Floor Lamp (1960) echoes the oblique angles of his Series 3300 furniture, which included the Egg Chair and the Swan Chair. The heavy cast iron base of the lamp is a sloped wedge with a circular cutout that was originally designed to hold an ashtray and to maximize the lamp's functionality as a reading light, Jacobsen created a shade that tilts up or down, directing maximum light to where it's needed.

Strata Rug

The hand-knotted Strata rugs (2009) are handmade from wool using a technique that was inspired by a method for tying Tibetan knots. To create the structure of each knot, a stainless steel rod is temporarily placed along the width of the rug. The yarn is then wrapped around the rod, knotted and then wrapped again, with the process continuing for the entire length of the rug. The quarter-inch pile height won’t interfere with the opening and closing of most doors. The manufacturer is a member of Rugmark, the global nonprofit organization fighting to end child labor and improve educational opportunities for children in India, Pakistan and Nepal.
Available in various colors.



"Viewers of 'Mad Men' are already fans of the elegant, iconic furniture on the show, so a promotion with AMC was a natural for us," says DWR President and CEO John Edelman. "We are passionate about modern design, whether it's a contemporary take on mid-century lines, such as our Raleigh and Skagen collections, or original designs licensed by the manufacturer, like the AJ Floor Lamp by Arne Jacobsen, legendary creator of the Egg™ Chair."

Now through August 4, the "Get the Look of Mad Men" Sweepstakes is promoted in every Design Within Reach retail location, in more than 50 stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Visit dwr.com/madmen to enter the sweepstakes and to view the complete Official Rules.


The season premiere is on Sunday, July 25 at 10pm EDT/CDT.

Design Within Reach Is Out Of Reach In This Economy.

One of the most impressive collections of modern furniture, a great looking and well functioning e-commerce website, a well-written 'design notes' newsletter and blog, beautifully designed stores, and some of the nicest looking, impressive catalogs ever produced can't help even Design Within Reach's online and in-store sales in this economy.



Even with their newest addition of DWR "limited", a purchase or an auction on one different unique new or vintage item each day, one of my favorite design stores is suffering. I came across this unfortunate, but not unexpected, news today.

E-commerce sales fall almost 30% at Design Within Reach

The economy continues to hammer revenue at Design Within Reach Inc.



Web sales were down for the third straight quarter, falling 29.7% to $5.2 million in Q3 2008 from $7.4 million in the prior year quarter. The Internet accounted for about 12.3% of sales in Q3 2008 vs. 15.2% in Q3 2007.

Store, or studio, sales also declined, by 10% or $3.3 million, from $32.1 million in Q3 2007 to $28.8 million in the third quarter of 2008. Overall sales were down 13.7%, or $6.7 million, for the third quarter ended Sept. 27, 2008, to $42.3 million from $49 million in the same quarter of 2007.

Design Within Reach is a multi-channel retailer of modern design furnishings and accessories. The company, No. 263 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, depends on affluent consumers for its business and the company cites the stagnant housing market and the mortgage crisis as key reasons for sagging sales.

Design Within Reach reported an overall loss for Q3 2008 of $5.6 million compared with net income of $2.4 million in the prior year quarter.

Through the first nine months of fiscal 2008, web sales decreased about $4 million, or 18.3%, from $21.8 million in the first three quarters of 2007 to $17.8 million. Net sales through nine months of fiscal 2008 declined 3.8%, or $5.5 million, from $141.9 million in the first nine months of 2007 to $136.5 million.
Source: Internet Retailer

Positioned to appeal to affluent customers, their prices simply are not competitive enough. I even affectionately used to call them DOOR (Design Out Of Reach) and often find an item that I like there and then scour the net for a better price. And although they have sales, the discounts and reductions are never very large and I've never known them to give promotional or discount codes.


Above: their Design Notes Blog

That said, they still are a heaven for those interested in modern design and interior decor and one of the only companies whose catalogs I can never bring myself to throw away. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I love the look and functionality of their online store, their catalogs, their newsletter and blog.

They are one of the few companies who knows how to 'brand' themselves. They have a cohesive look and style across all their communications, create promotional material which reflects the quality of their products and consistently remind customers of their products and offerings without being intrusive or annoying. Their newsletter and blog are optional e-mail sign ups and their site is easy to maneuver and is searchable numerous and convenient ways. Proof that sales are not directly tied to 'branding'. After all, one cannot account for all unforeseen impacting factors.

I think that with the opening of so many stores across the country in the past few years unfortunately coinciding with the numerous foreclosures and mortgage crises, they simply overextended themselves and are now paying the price.

Maybe now, their sales will be a little more 'accessible'. Here's hoping... because I certainly don't want them to go away.


www.dwr.com

Pink Modern Classics From DWR For Auction In Support Of Breast Cancer

Design Within Reach has partnered with Emeco, Fritz Hansen, Herman Miller®, Knoll® and Spinneybeck® Leather to auction on ebay five special-edition, fully licensed classic chairs, with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

The classic modern items are being offered in limited edition "pink" versions on ebay and the auctions end in just over 8 days from the time of this post. Go here to start bidding.

The items are as follows:

Heritage Rocker

Designed by Philippe Starck for Emeco.
White powdercoat with a pink Spinneybeck Riva leather seat pad. Courtesy of Emeco and Spinneyback Leather. (Retail: $825)

Swan Chair

Designed by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen.
Upholstered in pink Tonus wool. Courtesy of Fritz Hansen. (Retail: $3,045)

Eames® Management Chair

Designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller.
Upholstered in pink Spinneybeck Espana leather. Courtesy of Herman Miller and Spinneyback Leather. (Retail: $1,999)

Saarinen Tulip™ Stool

Designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll.
White base with a pink Spinneybeck Riva leather seat pad. Courtesy of Knoll and Spinneyback Leather. (Retail: $1,014)

Wassily™ Chair

Designed by Marcel Breuer for Knoll.
Constructed with pink Spinneybeck Belting leather. Courtesy of Knoll and Spinneyback Leather. (Retail: $1,824)

Start your bidding on ebay here.