More on Good Questions: Where Is The Missing Ship Light? - Thanks for all the help!
Kelly: The ship light went on clearance a few weeks ago at the Target near me. They stocked them for most of the summer, but they were unfortunately placed near the shabby chic stuff.
Wendy: I live in the Midwest, and I noticed that the lamps went on clearance about 2 months ago here. They're long gone now. What a shame--I bought two of them this summer, and I love them and would like to buy a couple more.
John Trosko: Then, one day I found them in the Culver City (Los Angeles) Target and I grabbed two of them for both sides of my bed. My home is very "ocean liner deco meets sailboat nautical" so these lamps were perfect. Great knobs and the curved mesh glass cover helps the look.
I think they were hard to find because Target does not know how to merchandise. If there was an Isaac Mizrahi Home dept instead of everything being scattered around the store, it would make it alot easier to find things. I hope they do things differently with Thomas O'Brien, but chances are they won't.
luigi, I will be making a Target run this weekend and will be sure to post my findings regarding the location/dispersion of the T O'B merch.
I was at the Target in Jersey City (Pavonia/Newport on the PATH) last weekend and I have to confirm Luigi's prediction. Mayhem. For all the ad space and money they've spent pushing Thomas O'Brien why why why would his stuff be so difficult to find? It's heaped in with everything else. If you're trying to push great design why display it like poo?
John-I had the same problem with the harsh light. After swtiching to 40 and even 25 watt bulbs, I ended up having a lighting designer friend cut a translucent gel to lay on the lens (inside the lamp). The gel blurs the silhouette of the light source and tempers the light so it isn't so harsh.
Thanks so much guys. It's good to know that these lights can be found. Speaking of merchandising...Target would be smart to put these on the website.
Wendy, that's a really great idea. If I find one, I'll have to try it.
I have 3 targets withing 5 miles of my house.
last month all of them had this lamp in the clearance endcaps.
if you look at Izaaca new line..it has changed.
more patterns and toile than anything else.
also, you could ask over at slavetotarget.com
but I am quite sure these are long sine gone..I beleive when I saw them they were around 11.oo on clearance. and most of them were broken at the pivot.
M-
So I did the grand tour of the twin Target Greatlands that face off across I-280 at the Colma-Daly City border... bleh. RR is right: the Thomas O'Brien stuff is not being displayed effectively. In both stores, it's dispersed throughout various departments with minimal labeling, and the main (picked-over) display is just one-third of a long shelf surrounded by other Target lines, including an incongruous line that features rosebuds, seed pearls, and distressed ivory paint.
Very few pieces have made it to these stores. The only "furniture" displayed were a pair of black end tables with big round chrome-like handles. The handles on the display models were loose... and I hope those end tables aren't actually wood because they sure felt like some kind of styrene product.* They looked great from a distance, though.
*In this vein, our finest moment at the IKEA sale. Husband picks up a sheepskin and announces, "Here's another one that doesn't look very convincing." It was REAL fur. In his defense, it did look fake.
I purchased a Thomas O'Brien "packing" blanket for my bed last week at the West Hollywood store (after what seemed like an exhausive search for a new blanket.) I really love it and let me tell you, I have looked, and looked and looked for a while. But I've learned that if you hear of something sensational at this store, you'd better run down there. Once it's gone, it's really gone. I'd suggest buying anything if you even remotely think it would work, then return if not appropriate. That's why I incorporate my "Target Waltz" into my twice a month shopping trips. It's like being at a Swap Meet-- you'll never know what you'll find because there is no rhyme or reason to anything placed in the store. And chances are, you'll never see it again, not get any helpola to find another store carrying it. -- John -- p.s. Thanks to Wendy for the gel note! Great idea!