apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I bought one the other day! Here's the good use I found at the moment:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30134482&l=85ed5&id=1495620177

When my cat is finished with it, I'll probably use it to store books next to my desk.

This might be the lease-substantial post I've come across lately.

I'm happy to know that the Orla Kiely stuff has been spotted in Pasadena. I'll have to check it out!

Here in Los Angeles, it was hard for me to find anything, but I went back home to Northern California this weekend, and I was able to grab a few of the items I was looking for.

Although, seeing all of it sitting out, I ended up with less things than I was planning on. It was a little overwhelming seeing all the pears and flowers at once, and I was afraid of my place looking like that! I ended up with the dish towels and towel hangers, as well as the tray, laundry bag, and a few mismatched plasticky cups for the patio.

lease-substantial?

geno-- I totally know what you mean. looking at all the melamine stuff I started feeling like, um, is this going to look like my gramma's house (in a bad way)?

I was really excited to (finally) see the Orla Kiely line at my local Target last weekend, but I, too, felt a little overwhelmed thinking about what to get. It was really difficult deciding about what to get from a practical standpoint rather than, 'It's so cute! I want it all!' After much deliberation, I exercised practical self-restraint and just picked up all three of the dish towel sets.

I ended up scoring some awesome dish towels in the blue patterns found on target.com. Here in Northern Virginia, a couple of the Target stores are sparce with goodies, but one in particular has some much stuff, and target.com has barely anything on their site!

For 5 bucks / two pack of towels, I couldn't resist picking up two packs to brighten up my kitchen!

The stores in the greater Seattle area were seemingly cleared out before they were even stocked. Some items show as "available" online, but when you go to put them in your cart, there's nothing to click on. I just covet that cute apron!

I went to two stores to find the melamine. I ended up getting a set of full-size plates because we're trying to avoid disposable dishes for our frequent parties. Plus, they weren't covered with pears, etc.

umm...I'm not a huge fan of these particular patterns. I wish there were more stripes or stem patterns and less of a focus on the flowers and fruit. Oh well.

I just happened to stumble upon some pieces on an end cap in small appliances in the Culver City store yesterday. Just some magazine organizers a box or two (maybe you bought these, Laure) and dish towels. Not well merchandised or advertised for that matter. Target has proven to be astute in concept but fail when it comes to final execution.

Oh, Target, you make bunny cry! I've already written a letter of complaint to Target for their major FAIL on this one - I hit up 6 Targets over the weekend (beginning on the *14th*) and most of the Orla stuff was already sold out, even though their website said it wasn't available until the *15th*. At 8am on Sunday in Culver City, I was the third out of 4 women at the customer service counter asking for the Orla - and nobody there seemed to know anything about it.

I suspect most of the good stuff made it to the hands of eBay resellers long before the 15th, as it's all there for anybody willing to pay 300% markup. No thanks.

i went to the el segundo target today and it was basically licked clean. luckily, i found a breakfast tray tucked away in some obscure location (apologies to the person who intentionally hid it there). i also went to the pasadena target last week and they only had boxes and plates left. picked up a letter tray i will use as my recycling box at work.

same as with the John Derian. i just gave up on that.

Same problem here in Chicago - my Target was seriously picked clean when I stopped there today. Well, first I couldn't find the darn stuff because it was on a weird endcap in the wrong section of the store. Then, there were only like 4 things left. Blue and orange melamine plates, one lonely chair cushion, and a kitchen floormat. Which is the one thing I wanted. Score!

i wanted and found coasters in ventura. they were the last ones on the rack. sold in 2 packs and i wanted 4 of them. in la they were out like the wind. very colorful but would not want too much of the patterns.

I can't tell if they Target sold out or they just got a few pieces here and there. I went to 2 Targets so far. One had all the plates and tumblers and the other had all the office stuff. I managed to get 2 magazine holders. Im looking for the Apron and the 2 tier tray. I have 3 more Targets to check out. Wish me luck

chez shoes - I have had the same experience. Target dropped the ball majorly, no one knew what I was even talking about. I wrote a review on the Target web site as well and it mysteriously never showed up. I am so annoyed even if I come across some of this stuff I will pass.

I went to 2 Targets in Daly City last night and one had a few plates & shoe organizers. The other had a couple vases and some cups/plates. I never saw any of the organizational items. I was majorly bummed. It looks like it hit these stores on Feb 1 and as Feb 16, they were cleaned out.

MAJOR BUMMER.

I hit my closest Target here in Asheville, NC at opening on Sunday, and found a half-stocked endcap of linens, including a few sets of dish towels, an apron, and one set of cloth napkins. I asked a woman working nearby whether the endcap was picked clean, or if they just hadn't gotten much stuff yet, and she said, "Why do you want to know?" Umm... because I want to buy stuff, duh... Anyway, no thanks to her, I wound up finding another endcap by the cooking gadgets that had a couple full sets of canisters (which were beautiful, but I was sorely disappointed in-- the sealing on them is terrible-- how does food stay fresh?), a pitcher, a tray, several melamine plates, the two-tier tray, mugs in 5 out of 6 patterns, and cups. I bought the napkins because we don't use paper anymore, mugs (very cute), and the tray. Going back today in hopes of scoring more napkins, the other mug pattern, and a shoe storage bag to hold my unmentionables.

I got the bin for magazines. Works very well. A couple mugs and the coaster set. I had debated a couple times on the apron and I finally bought it the next time I went to Target and I'm glad I did. Each time it was the only one left. When I got it home I tried it on-so adorable and I don't even like pears.

Am I the only one bothered by the crooked pattern on the top tray? I know this is bargain-basement stuff, but come on...

I got the smaller CD holder sized container and stored Wii games in it next to the TV; and then two of the larger sized containers are respectively on my dresser holding everything that used to be scattered over the top, and by my boyfriend's side of the bed holding his bedside reading and the bedside lamp. it looks so much more put together and neat!

I worked at Target for a long time during high school and college and was a dept. mgr. in the domestics area for the majority of that time - I know that when endcap merchandise is shipped (especially for themed ones like this) from the distribution center, they usually come in one or two really big boxes with everything packed inside. So most of the stores probably DID start out with all or almost all of the merch., but it's just sold through really quick. Often replenishment is scarce. What can really set a store back in terms of selection is if that large shipper gets lost or damaged along the way - which is pretty easy to do. There will be one main barcode on the box and if it isn't scanned in to the right stockroom location it can just sit and collect dust forever. Or it can fall out of the back of a truck as it finishes backing up to the dock (you have to open the doors first, they don't roll up, they fold back) and fall into the muck on the ground, etc. etc. That's just the way it is in the big box world. So much freight, so little time (and manpower).

I found a few things at my Target (not much thought) and I really wanted the pear canister, but none of the targets near me (there are 3 of them) had them... :( Of course I could pay an arm and a leg on ebay...

The trays look like a joke. I don't know what the other stuff looks like, but yeah, it sounds like you could go overboard on cheap landfill. A cute this or that every once in a while, but how is this "name" stuff so favorably cute and limited that it has an eBay market? I should make some ordinary retro crap, I would really rake it in, huh?

im a little torn on this stuff. its cute, but i feel like i would be tired of looking at it after a month. i went to one of the Daly City, CA Targets this past Saturday (2/14) and they had the sad looking endcap with a few things on it. i already have a ton of entertaining items (cute bowls, trays, etc) and i realized i would just be buying this stuff just to buy it. I would like to see more ceramic and less melamine!

chez shoes - I'll bet that's what happened at mine, too. I didn't bother sweeping all the stores, though. Have a few friends that are pining for the apron as much as I am, and no one has yet to lay eyes on it. C2, I am ultra-jealous.

Can't wait to see the new KTG retro-crap home-line... where might I find that? Do let us know.

So you're a sucker for poorly made stuff with a hipster flower on it. I'll be back in 20 minutes.

It almost seems like Target is trying to hide this stuff on their website. You can't just type in "orla kiely" and get her whole collection. You'll get eight products. Type in "olra keily housewares" or "orla kiely storage," etc and you'll find a few more things. Through coincidence I found a several other items, although none of them say anything about being part of Kiely's collection. Do a search for "abacus" and you'll find the letter trays, magazine holders, and three different bin sizes. Search for "blue melamine dinnerware" and you'll find two of her dinnerware collections. The apron is "pear apron." Once I find something, I'll actually type part of the product listing title to see if the website will find it for me. Most of the time it'll will show no matches. So, there are a few searches you can do to find stuff. Hope that helps anyone!

Thanks, those searches help, but the apron is marked as available in the stores only. It really annoys me that I can't order most of the items online. I don't have time to drive around to all the Targets just to find a $15 apron.

I went to both the Culver City target and the La Cienega Target on Sunday. La Cienega target had NOTHING by noon. Just random pieces, a mug from one set, a plate from another. I had better luck at the Culver City location, where I was able to get 2 sets of turquoise/daisy kitchen towels (adorable!!), 4 matching tumblers & a serving bowl. They also had place mats & tablecloth, which I passed up. I was told by an employee that they had another shipment coming in this past Monday. So I went & unfortunately, it was wiped out before I got there, but I managed to score 2 milkcrate boxes.

I really want the apron and 2-tier plate. I will continue my search at stores, as I REFUSE to pay the grossly inflated eBay prices!

I have four of the letter trays under our couch and two under the TV stand. I've been looking for baskets or bins that would slide under, because we really need the storage. These just fit, and fortunately the colors work in our living room.

I also bought a few other containers to put on our bookshelves to organize things (the CD holders will hold 10-12 paperback books facing out, where you could only fit 3-4 sideways). Maybe it's just me, but I can never find solid colors that will work in our house, in the sizes I need.

I guess sometimes it pays to live in the midwest. I haven't had trouble finding any of the items except the floormats, but I think it's because they haven't put them out yet. Things are selling out, but slowly. I don't think anyone really knows who Orla Kiely is around here (a lot of the John Derian stuff ended up on clearance).

I found the entire line, and I purchased quite a bit for me, and then some for my niece who couldn't find much in the Target store in Ithaca, NY. I bought the mugs, place mats, apron, serving bowls, two-tier dish, letter trays, shoe organizer, and the canisters. I rolled up my sheets and placed them in the letter trays - they fit perfectly. I used the two tier plate for my jewelry - it's great, especially for rings. I own a lot of dishes, mainly pieces I've picked up at Paradise City Art Show, which are hand crafted and, obviously, more expensive. Still I like the low-key funky look of Orla Kiely's wares and will enjoy using them too.

shalgal - I hit both Daly City Target's on Feb 1 and they had nothing. No one at either store (and I asked multiple sales people) had any clue what I was talking about.

Target totally botched this. First the website said one thing and then another. Everyone in the stores was saying different things. Sorry, but I can't camp out in the store to wait and see when it gets put out. How hard is it to just PICK A DATE?

These would be great as "File," "Mail," or "Pay" boxes to help organize your papers and de-clutter your desk or countertops. They would be a great addition to an awesome product called the Alpha-Omega Organizer. Check it out: www.alpha-omegaorganizer.com.

jeez they still have everything at fort worth, both locations. i was excited to see it, but when i got there i couldnt pick a single thing. also, it was out way earlier than it was supposed to be. it was split up into at least 3 end caps that were not near each other. and when i asked a sales person she had NO idea what i was talking about, even after describing it 5 ways. i turned a corner and there is was! (she worked in that dept)

i second the more patterns and less fruit... i wanted to buy something that i could enjoy more, but i feel like the designs on the cups wont last, i dont want plastic plates, dont need aprons or mits or napkins or towels, and the storage containers were a little more than i wanted to pay since i had no idea what to use it for. i love her stuff, but this was a little too cute for me this time. im sure it will be much more enticing when it goes on clearance though! everything looks better when its cheaper!