Just as we'd written Pier1 off, back they come. This is just in from Anne: I was just in a Pier1 Imports and they have a few surprisingly good pieces for fall - particularly this side table. The lamps are good too. They must have a new design team. The side table is 99. and the lamp is 125. I was impressed and I've never liked anything in there ever! (Thanks, Anne!)
These are awesome. I bought two when they first went on sale a few months ago. My only gripe is that like most affordable furniture the finish is scuffed easily. Definately not for homes with kids. I use mine with silver finish Murray Feiss lamps with custom retro fiberglass shades from www.moonshineshades.com.
Pier 1 has other cool stuff in my opinion - I have kind of a "circles" theme going with Mobileo wall sculptures and these Pier 1 plates go great - http://www.pier1.com/catalog/productdetail.aspx?oid=113583&returnURL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pier1.com%2fcatalog%2fcollections.aspx%3ffh_view%3dlister%26fh_refpath%3dfacet_59432454%26fh_location%3d%2f%2fpier1direct%2fen_US%2fcategories%3c%7b110300%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b110352%7d%26fh_eds%3d%c3%9f%26fh_start_index%3d0%26fh_view_size%3d26&fh_view=lister&fh_refpath=facet_59432454&fh_location=//pier1direct/en_US/categories%3C{110300}/categories%3C{110352}&fh_eds=%C3%9F&fh_start_index=0&fh_view_size=26
Also I thought some of the wallpaper in the new catalog was cool so I emailed them and they even got back to me and told me what it was so I could google for a place to buy it.
Do you think affordability = easier scuffing? I've had expensive pieces scuff quite enthusiastically. I suppose you could use a round tray or cut some acrylic or glass to fit. Those dishes are nice.
various quotes from an article about Pier 1's image change-link to entire article included:
Kickoff came in the spring, when Pier 1 unveiled a new approach it's calling Modern Craftsman; this includes collections with names such as Brownstone, Micro-Pod, and the recently debuted Loft 21, an appellation that seems strategically calculated to evoke both youth and an urban sensibility.
"Many of our new items combine up-to-date/fashionable shapes and colors with handcrafted detailing, which has always been a Pier 1 signature," says Daryle Gibbs, Pier 1's director of trend development.
Which is to say that while Pier 1 is embracing black, chocolate brown and asymmetry, it isn't losing the wicker. The look may be best summed up by the Micro-Pod orbit chair, described in the catalog as "our coolest chair ever." It looks a lot like the 1957 Arne Jacobsen swan chair that inspired it, only rendered in rattan.
"We definitely wanted the Loft 21 collection to appeal to a more youthful consumer," says Gibbs. Good thinking: Those youthful consumers have serious financial clout. According to Alloy Media + Marketing's annual College Explorer Study, 18- to 30-year-olds currently wield $182 billion in spending power.
They are also increasingly gravitating toward the look West Elm, CB2 and now Pier 1 offer. "Young people love modern," says Chris Norfleet, a studio account executive at Design Within Reach, which sells the higher-end furnishings that inspire other stores' lower-priced lines. "It's colorful, it's sculptural, it's clean. And it's not what they grew up with. I hear a lot of people say that."
I agree ... I have always HATED pier 1, but I work next to one, and I've been noticing cooler stuff popping up in the windows over the last few months. (I bought the lamp featured on this post.) Imagine my surprise when their new bright and funky Christmas ornaments came out last week and I bought 18 of them already! I have never ever bought an ornament there before (they were usually always crunchy granola crap made out of wicker and wood, etc.) but now their hot pinks and teals go great on my white tree.
I'm happy to report, it also doesn't seem to smell like Pier 1 used to ... I couldn't go in there without getting a headache from the overwhelming candle/incense smell...
I, on the other hand, always loved Pier I - for inspiration - but only bought candles. Everything always seemed so temporary looking.
Two weeks ago I went to the local Pier I - just to look - and after buying a small rug for the bedroom, mugs, plates, candles and drooling over a turquoise lamp that I talked myself out of, I had to drag myself out of the store.
Things are 'a changing....
As for scuffing, everything does sooner or later and eventually needs some TLC. Price isn't always the definer.
I don't know...I liked their catalog, but when I stopped in to look at (floor) lamps, everything seemed really dark and oversized (I have the same oversize complaint about a lot of furniture stuff at crate and barrel). I wanted to like it, since it's close and affordable, but it just wasn't doing it for me.
The side table is a knockoff of the Cesar table by Minotti: http://www.dedece.com.au/cfm/sub_product_content.cfm?id=1327
Ridge, you are so right: By far the worst thing about Pier 1 has always been the smell. Do retailers really think we want our homes to smell like mildewing wicker? I wonder if the bad smells make the design SEEM worse than it actually is....
Darn I was going to make the connection to Minotti, k beat me to it!
If you purchase there...ask for the instant 20% discount to be added to their e-mailing list. They offered that to me. I'm not sure if that was a weekend promotion or not....
The silver lamp was clearly inspired by a beer bottle opener, non?!
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Pier 1 Imports used to be a lot more fun 15 or so years ago when it was just a buncha cheap well... imports.
Everything's so homogenous. Looks just like West El or ikea or...
That being said the loopy round lamp is kinda cute and makes me feel a little happy when I look at it. Ahhhh fulfillment through consumption.
New design team? how about new rip-off team? The lamp looks like a Wingard vase and the stool looks like Kartell
Just remember everyone- like it or not, we are talking about a mass market merchant- not a design house in brooklyn.
as a designer that works for a manufacturer to retail, I have to defend my "peers" at Pier 1.
Knocking off is what mass retailers do, it is the niche they occupy on the bell curve. Find the trend/ knock it off/ and do it at a good price.
innovation is best left to others.
I have to agree with Michael. Besides - if it wasn't for knockoffs, I wouldn't be able to afford some things.
And I retract what I said earlier about scuffing.
Keith, would you mind posting the info on where the wallpaper can be purchased? I also loved it and have been trying to locate it online.
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