Furniture | Beds | Lighting | Chandeliers | Ceiling Fans | Lexington Furniture | Clearance
Now is the time to buy Casablanca, Fanimation, and Emerson Ceiling Fans! Start Saving Now!
Casablanca Hampshire Ceiling Fan, Gallery Edition The handsome Hampshire ceiling fan combines meticulous engineering with a handcrafted design that serves as a perfect accent for a traditional wood-paneled library, study, or den. PRICE: $464.00 Minka Aire Shangri-La Indoor/Outdoor Ceiling Fan Bring on the tropical dreams and cool performance of the Shangri-La ceiling fan. The wicker design couples with Vintage Rust to replicate a highly popular tropical or plantation motif. Even better, this fan is UL rated for all-weather conditions PRICE: $399.95 Fanimation Windpointe Complete Fan, Rust & Wood The Windpointe Collection brings together the best of Fanimation at unbeatable prices. Each Windpointe Fan includes the motor housing, fan blades as seen, and necessary hardware and canopy PRICE: $329.00 Kichler Lighting Novella Ceiling Fan Shown in Antique Leather finish with Distressed Walnut blades. With an Antique Leather(TM) finish, this fan is a wonderful addition to the Kichler Novella(TM) Collection. The 5, 52" blades are pitched 14 degrees and are reversible with Walnut and Distressed Walnut finishes. PRICE: $254.40 Emerson Classic Palazzo Ceiling Fan The Emerson Fan Collection includes some designs that just radiate European classic design, steeped in the luxury of the ages. The Palazzo Ceiling Fan is one such design, which it is why this fan is a customer favorite. PRICE: $359.10 Emerson Peristyle Ceiling Fan in Golden Espresso The Peristyle Ceiling Fan by Emerson has an exciting design with a contemporary feel. Its unique blade holder design has architectural influences and the downlight provides ample light for most rooms. PRICE: $359.10 Fanimation Sandella Indoor/Outdoor Ceiling Fan The Sandella is UL Damp-Location approved (in most finishes) and is available in a wide variety of blade, finish, and lighting options to complement any decorating style. This fan is shown in Rust finish with Carved Wood Narrow Oval Blades in the Sambel Sand Finish PRICE: $659.00
How to find us: Our retail store is located at Gibson Mill in downtown Concord NC. Gibson Mill is a 100-year old textile plant with a rich history, and we are proud to be associated with the redvitalization of this important architectural and industrial landmark. This new location allows us to showcase a great selection of top quality items for your home from all of our furniture and lighting suppliers. When you enter our new store, we hope you will feel like you are entering a new world of decorating and design possibilities, with our unique blend of furniture, high-end lighting, kitchen accents, and local art. We feature furniture from such outstanding lines as Century, Lexington, Charleston Forge, Palecek, Wesley Allen and many additional brand names, as well as huge collections of lighting, kitchen accents and more. Store Information: Carolina Rustica Gibson Mill 325 McGill Avenue, Suite 175 Concord, NC 28027 Call 800-205-7819 or 704-788-3952 Retail Store and Office Hours: • Monday - Friday 8:30 am to 6:30 pm EST • Saturday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EST • Closed Sundays • We are closed on all national holidays. Please call ahead if you are looking for a specific item Directions from the North and East: From I-77: Take the exit for Rt 73/Davidson Highway and head east on that road, crossing over I-85 (see further directions below) From I-85: Take Exit on 55 for Rte 73/Davidson Highway from I-85 and head east on 73, towards Concord center and Rt 29. You will go about 2 miles until the intersection of Rt. 29, Concord Parkway. Take a right (south) onto 29 and proceed another mile to the intersection of Poplar Tent and 29. Take a left at the light onto McGill Ave.(Poplar Tent Road becomes McGill on the other side of 29). We are 1/2 mile down the road on the right, look for the huge brick mill and we are there on the ground floor. Directions from the South: From I-85, heading north, take Exit 52 to Poplar Tent Road. Head east on Poplar Tent (take a right off the exit) for exactly 5 miles. You will arrive at the intersection of Poplar Tent/Rt. 29. Poplar Tent actually becomes McGill after that intersection, so proceed straight through. We are 1/2 mile down the road on the right, look for the huge brick mill and we are there on the ground floor. Directions coming from the West: Your best bet is to take I-485 from I-74 (Independence) or 24/27 and head north on I-485 until it intersects with Rt. 29. Head north on Rt. 29 to Concord, passing Lowes Motor Speedway on your right. Proceed another 6 miles to the intersection of Poplar Tent and 29. Take a right at the light onto McGill Ave. (Poplar Tent Road becomes McGill on the other side of 29). We are 1/2 mile down the road on the right, look for the huge brick mill and we are there on the ground floor Click here for more information on how to find us.
Although ceiling fans do use electricity to operate, experts say the amount of money homeowners can save on air conditioning with a fan greatly outweighs the cost of running the fan itself. The cost of operating a ceiling fan varies based on how often they're turned on and how much the electric company charges, but on average, a standard ceiling fan costs less to operate than an incandescent light bulb. Ceiling fan savings are generated year-round. In the summer, fans circulate the air in the room, preventing hot air from accumulating at the ceiling. Ceiling fans helps equalize the temperature throughout the room, and a fan can cut air conditioning bills by as much as 40%. This is because most fans make it feel like it's about 6 degrees cooler in the home than it actually is. Homeowners can save 7 to 10 percent of their cooling costs for each degree above 78. In winter, it can move heat trapped near the ceiling back into the living area, reducing heating costs by up to 10%. Changing the direction of the fan forces the air up toward the ceiling, and that helps re-distribute the heated air. This works particularly well in rooms with high or vaulted ceilings. This is one of the greatest attributes of ceiling fans: they are practical in both hot and cold weather
Copyright © 2009 Carolina Rustica Phone: 800-205-7819

Encouragingly, all the work we have been doing at Carolina Rustica with increased advertising seems to be working. Being a 14 year veteran of independent retail, I am extremelysuperstitious about saying things are going better. But we have definitely been busier these last three months, and Saturday was one of our strongest days ever. That is due mostly to theLexington Memorial Weekend Sale, which is a real sale because Lexington only authorizes sales twice a year. There is a lot of pent-up demand for the wonderful collections within Lexington, particularly the Tommy Bahama Collection, our best-selling group for our entire store. The phones did not stop ringing all day long. Today, on Memorial Day Monday, it was quieter but still steady. The sale ends on Wednesday and I am curious to see how it brings us along relative to last year. I have been reviewing my Twitter posts and certainly by my daily comments we are definitely busier day by day. We are all happy that Jessica G. will be returning to us in Customer Service/Purchasing. Jessica worked for CR for two years, and is now coming back to the fold (next week).

Remember that you should be buying your ceiling fans NOW before it gets too hot. There is no better way to save on air conditioning expenses, and with the new government requirements comparing fan efficincies, you can shop for the fan best suited to your design needs and target energy consumption. Take a look at the Casablanca Panama Ceiling Fan for an example (our best-selling fan) The chart shown on the product page gives a good idea of how the air flow efficiencies create a standard measurement for comparison

ENERGY INFORMATION
AT HIGH SPEED
Airflow 6226 Cubic Feet Per Minute	Electricity Use 108 Watts (excludes lights)	Airflow 57.6 Cubic Feet Per Minute
Compare: 49in. to 60in. ceiling fans have airflow efficiencies ranging from approximately 51 to 176 cubic feet per minute per watt at high speed.

Weekend at the Beach

Last Saturday I took the family to the Little River Blue Crab Festival. What a great event! Little River (SC) is only 25 minutes south of where we stay in Sunset Beach…this is a huge festival with bands, tons of seafood, kids rides and lots of vendor booths selling pretty much anything. We met our friends Steve and Gloria there (Steve is a rep for some important lighting lines that Carolina Rustica sells, such as Golden Lighting, Designers Fountain, and Access Lighting (coming soon!). He is a great guy and a former lighting retailer himself, and he lives in nearby N. Myrtle Beach.

The kids enjoyed a few rides, particularly the bouncing-sling which lets you leap 20 feet up into the air. We had fun mingling with the crowds, which consisted of tourists, bikers, locals, and lots of other types of folks. Cheryl and I enjoyed the best crab sandwiches we have ever had, with a side of fried oysters. Yum! We will be back…maybe Carolina Rustica will sponsor a booth. I’m sure we could find something that would sell at this event, like some of our best-selling Iron Artistica home accent items.

A Timeless Article on Ceiling Fans

This is an older article (3 years old, to be exact) from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We have reprinted it here (after asking permission several hundred times, but not getting anywhere), but it is such a great guide and still very relevant. The fact that we carry all of the fan lines they mention is just a bonus!

A Breath of Fresh Air; Take These Fan-tastic Features for a Whirl
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jun 11, 2006 by JOANNE KEMPINGER DEMSKI (permission requested)

These days, it's a breeze to find the perfect ceiling fan. They come with blades covered with cloth, hand carved into leaf shapes, made of saw grass and wicker even double-deckered to look like the wings of a bi-plane. Some have elegant, crystal-like or etched glass and lots of ornate detail. Others are simply styled, made of brushed nickel and aluminum. Some even have an industrial look to them. At this time of year, as temperatures rise and houses often get stuffy, many people are thinking about buying ceiling fans. Brian Sponsler, vice president and general manager of Emerson Ceiling Fans in St. Louis, calls ceiling fans the "hottest accessory in home fashion" that can be a "reflection of the homeowner's personality." (Emerson Origami Fan shown at left) His firm has been making ceiling fans since 1895, and has more than 150 models. "They are a statement of style, no longer just a functional element," he says. "At first, they were just round with paddles, and people put them on the ceiling and perhaps wanted them to fade away into the ceiling. But that's not the case anymore." Fans are so elegant and distinctive today, they could take the place of a chandelier, he says. Marsi Black, owner of Pegasus Design Group, calls the ceiling fan of today "a design element" and says you can mix and match the fan's blades and fixtures to create an original look. Black is an interior designer with offices in Chenequa and Milwaukee who decorates homes for Kings Way, Kettle Creek and other builders.

Height matters
When choosing a fan, Black says, look at the height of the ceiling. "That's a big consideration. Then figure out if you need a fan only or a fan with a light. What's the purpose of having the fan? What function does it serve?" Black says homes with high ceilings require fans with extension rods. "You want to get the fan down a little bit so that it functions well. It needs to have clearance to move air around. You don't want it to hug the ceiling. That would look odd." When it comes to size, just about any room can use a 54-inch fan. In rooms that are really large, more than one fan in the same style can be used, she adds. (The Fanimation Palisade Fan is shown at right) "That's a really elegant look. It really enhances the room and adds drama, but it's also functional." Whether you add a light to your ceiling fan depends on the other lighting in the room. Usually you only put lighting in the fan when it is the main source of light when you enter the room. Most of the time we feel that a fan should not have a light in it. It should function on its own as a useful ceiling sculpture," she says. If a light is needed, Black says popular styles are dome lights and so-called up-lighting that shines on the ceiling. Up-lighting can be a good choice because it gives "a soft look and is a nice way to light up a room when you walk in. It's also good if you want to show off a ceiling perhaps one that is textured or colored in some way, or when there is a ceiling medallion.

Variety of styles
Buyers should look at the general architecture of the house when picking a fan, she says. "If you have a more rustic or casual house, you want to try to choose a fan that reflects that. It might have a beautiful metal patina that gives it a little bit of surface interest." Black has three fans in her Historic Third Ward loft. "I have 12- foot ceilings and there are mechanicals up there so you can see how the fan would be useful. The one I have is by Fanimation (http://www.fanimation.com/) and has woven palm blades. My house is pretty contemporary." Hank Albert, owner of BBC Lighting & Supply, 2015 W. St. Paul Ave. , recommends using full-size fans for most rooms. "A 10-by-13 or 10-by-10-foot room can take a 52-inch fan. I have a small kitchen nook and it has a full-size fan in it. The room has an eating area, and it's a smaller space, but the bigger fan looks fine." (The Fanimation Volare Fan is shown at right) The only time a buyer should go to a smaller fan, he says, is when there are size restrictions in a room, such as cabinets that jut out in a small kitchen or a narrow hallway space. Then, a 24- inch fan works well. (Fan sizes are measured by the diameter of the blades.) Albert, who has been in business since 1979 and has more than 150 fans on display at his store, says the pitch of the blades is an important consideration when choosing a fan. The more pitch you have, the better the air circulation. A fan that has more pitch will also have a better motor because a weak motor couldn't handle the resistance. A good example is a 24-inch turbo fan. "It has a very huge blade pitch, which forces a lot of air," he says. Albert says lower-end fans might have an 11-degree pitch and the highest-end fans a 20-degree pitch. "A 20-degree pitch is exceptionally high," he says. A 13- to 15- degree pitch is usually sufficient. You'll get a big blast of air from a fan with a 15-degree pitch set on full speed," he says. "I never turn them on full speed if they have a 15-degree pitch." A higher-pitched fan can cool sufficiently even on a slower speed, which helps save money.

Styles and prices
Some of today's most popular fans, the Maui Bay and a line of Tommy Bahama fans, are made by Emerson. "They look like island fans," Albert says. "The styles are outstanding." (The Tommy Bahama Marine Fan is shown at right) As for prices, he estimates that ceiling fans can range from around $39.95 to $1,000. For those who would rather have a fan that is sleek in style, there are lots of options. Ron Rezek, founder of The Modern Fan Co. in Ashland , Ore. , formed his company in 1997 "to give the contemporary architect an alternative." He describes his fans as sleek metal sculptures and says they work in contemporary or traditional homes. Many have lights integrated into the design or can be added. Rezek likes the sleek look because he says most other fans are too complex in terms of parts. "Most ceiling fans on the market are copies of antiques or at least influenced by them. They have lots of brass and ornate glass. The ceiling fan was invented in the 1890s and everything was ornamented," he says. "A ceiling fan that is simple works OK in any environment. It disappears." Fans in his line range from $290 to around $500. His top seller is called the Ball fan. "It's almost a sphere. I think people like that one best because it's the most basic of the designs," he says. (The Casablanca Mission Fan is shown at right)

Indoors and out
Linda Bishop, owner of Elektra Lights & Fans Inc., 7222 W. North Ave. , Wauwatosa , says outdoor fans also are gaining in popularity. They have been around for about 20 years, she says, but until the last few years have been casual and generic looking. "Now some of the new fans are so nice looking that I use them a lot inside, too," she says. These fans can be used in gazebos, open porches and areas where water could hit them. "The motors are completely sealed so water and moisture aren't going to hurt the motor, and the blades are usually made out of elements that are water resistant." Bishop has been in the lighting business for about 30 years. She recently installed three outdoor fans over a very large indoor swimming pool, she says. "The tropical-style fans not only enhance the space but also to help circulate the air," she says. In addition to circulating moist or warm air and providing a comfortable breeze, outdoor fans are also great for keeping bugs at bay, Bishop adds. At Hampton Bay , an East Coast firm that has manufactured fans for 20 years, the new Aero Breeze Blade Technology Series was designed to save energy by increasing air flow 40% more than standard ceiling fans. According to information from the firm, this can save homeowners up to 40% on home energy costs in both summer and winter. In summer, fans draw the cooler air upward, thereby creating a soft, refreshing breeze. In winter, when the fan's direction is reversed, it also saves money because it forces warm air that is trapped near the ceiling downward.

Buying the best for you
Wondering what size ceiling fan to buy? Emerson Ceiling Fans provides this information:
-- 29-inch fans are for bathrooms, hallways or rooms up to 50 square feet.
-- 36-inch fans are good in breakfast nooks or rooms up to 75 square feet.
-- 42-inch fans are a good choice for small bedrooms and kitchens or rooms up to 100 square feet.
-- 50- or 52-inch fans work well in standard-size bedrooms, family rooms or rooms up to 400 square feet.
-- 54-inch fans or larger can go in great rooms or other areas that are more than 400 square feet.

Tips for drawing the most benefits from fans
Here are ceiling fan basics from Hank Albert, owner of BBC Lighting & Supply, 2015 W. St. Paul Ave.
-- In summer, run your fan counterclockwise to draw cooler air up. In winter, run it clockwise to push warm air down.
-- Fans range in size from 24 to more than 60 inches. Most have three speeds that go forward and in reverse.
-- Fans come with three to five blades, but the number of blades doesn't make a difference when it comes to efficient air flow.
-- Fans come with short down rods, unless you buy a fan that is meant to hug the ceiling. A short rod is better than no rod, as your fan will operate more efficiently because it can create airflow.
-- Rods are available at up to six feet, but it's generally best not to use more than a 4-foot down rod as your fan may wobble.
-- Many fans can be installed on sloped ceilings, but a special bracket is required.
-- Most fans can be used with lights and some come with their own.
-- For rooms with very high ceilings, the bottom of the fan can be 10 to 11 feet from the floor. If the room is very large, you can go up to 12 feet.
-- The lower your ceiling fan is, the more effective it will be at pushing air down. If there is no space above it, there is no air to pull down.
-- When building a home, inform builders in advance so the correct wiring can be done for fans.
-- Remote controls are available for some models.

• To shop Fanimation Fans at Carolina Rustica, click here
• To shop Emerson Fans at Carolina Rustica, click here
• To shop Casablanca Fans at Carolina Rustica, click here

The High Point Marathon

Last year was the inaugural run of the North Carolina Marathon, run in Greensboro. It was a great run, well organized and well attended for a first effort. This year, they staged it in High Point, which was a stroke of genius because High Point is totally geared up for thousands of visitors anyway because of the furniture market. It was scheduled for the day after the High Point Internationa Furniture Market officially ended, but continued the excitement and got some good press. I thought it would be a great opportunity to put a team together and get sponsored by one of our furniture suppliers. So I emailed a bunch of my running buddies and got a team of five guys together, including myself. I then sent out my sponsorship proposal to a three of our largest or most preferred furniture and lighting suppliers.

My pitch was this: We would all wear team jerseys with the suppliers logo on it, and being in the center of High Point, running as a team, we would be very noticeable. It would be a great form of guerilla marketing. I was delighted when Currey and Company, one of our absolute favorite suppliers, stepped up to the plate and agreed to support the team. Team members included Ted (Frank), whom I run with almost every weekend, Bobby Christansen, Ron Hall, and a surprise fourth member, Ultra-runner extraordinaire Charlie Engle. Charlie is best known for his epic run across the Sahara Desert last year, documented in the newly released film "Running the Sahara". It was an honor to have him on the team, and we sent out a press release announcing the team and our sponsorship.

Race Day, May 2, came up quickly, and Ted and I drove up (we had to leave at 4 am) to meet the guys, get registered, and get some pictures taken. Unfortunately, I was not going to run because of an injury, but it would be fun crewing for the team and watching everyone run.

Sonny Koontz, CEO of Currey and a great guy with loads of furniture industry experience, showed up that morning too and got to meet his team. He is shown here at left, with myself, Ted, and Ron. We are all wearing our snazzy singlets I had made, with the Currey logo. I did not feel it was appropriate to promote Carolina Rustica, since we weren't paying for anything. Next year, however, I will sponsor a team. In any case, it was beautiful we, boding well for the race, and the High Point organization did an outstanding job of organizing the race (both before and after).

The race itself weaved through the center of High Point, passing all of the showrooms, and then up in a northerly direction across one of the lakes. I was able to follow our team pretty well, parking every 5 to 8 miles and running with the guys for a little bit. It was actually a lot of fun crewing for the team. At mile 19, it had gotten pretty humid, and a light rain began falling, offering a cool reprieve.

What I have not mentioned is that Charlie and Bobby were actually on their second marathon

of the day. They are ultra runners, and had started their first loop of the 26-mile course at 2 or 3 am. And amazingly, they both looked great, even at mile 46 (mile 20 for the rest of the mortals). I ran in with Ted from mile 23 on, and could sympathize with how he was feeling at that point, being a veteran of over 50 marathons or ultras myself.

The race finish was exciting, full of music and cheers, with lots of great crowd and race support.

Our Currey and Co. team looked pretty impressive (if I may say so) when we gathered at the finish. We were the only ones in team shirts, but I'm willing to be we may see more of that next year. There was plenty of food afterwards, and I talked to lots of folks I have met from previous races. I drove back with Ted in the early afternoon and then got changed and took Claire to her Bethel Elementary "Fun Day". It was hot and I was exhausted, but she enjoyed the inflatable rides, and it was for the PTO after all.

My hat off to the race organizers and the city of High Point for an outstanding job, and thank-you to Currey and Company for sponsorship of our team!

Hubbardton Forge on "How Its Made", Tonight!

Its always exciting when one of our favorite suppliers gets some good coverage. Hubbardton Forge sent out this press release:

HUBBARDTON FORGE TO BE FEATURED
ON HOW IT’S MADE
FRIDAY, MAY 1ST, 2009
9:30PM ET
ON THE SCIENCE CHANNEL
Hubbardton Forge is pleased to announce that the start-to-finish creation process of one of their iconic forged chandeliers will be featured on the Science Channel’s popular
documentary series How It’s Made. The show’s debut will be Friday, May 1st, 2009, 9:30 pm ET. The episode is titled “Season 6 Episode 2.” Additional air times can be found in local listings.

Hubbardton Forge is a Vermont-based manufacturer and marketer of high-end hand-forged lighting products and accessories sold predominately through residential and
home furnishings retailers as well as contract distributors.

(p.s. That would be us, Carolina Rustica!)

High Point Wrap Up

I'm sure I have written about the High Point Furniture Market before...the penultimate furniture event that happens twice a year here in North Carolina. Although it is true that much of the NC furniture manufacturing capacity has moved overseas, and although it is true that Las Vegas has a newer, flashier, competing furniture market...High Point is still king. It is true that I am biased, having been a visitor to the HP market for over 15 years now, but still, the scope and breadth of the market is still astounding despite the challenges.

It is very difficult to say what the overall design trend is this year. Manufacturers are just happy to sell anything right now, whether its "in style" or not. In fact, I guess the overall design trend is "whatever will sell". But thats not a bad thing...instead of pushing out collections to the retailers (like us) that they hope will sell, manufacturers are looking as closely as possible to what is piquing consumers interest. I am going to focus on one particular trend in this post and add more in later updates.

The most obvious trend is an increasing use of organic, reclaimed and recycled materials. This includes the use of cast-off materials in the design and incorporation of life-like, naturalistic designs. Here are a few that we carry that typify this trend.

The Soma Series by Palecek is a "green" collection from Palecek, featuring unique recycled wood plank tops mounted on an iron base in matte chocolate finish. The recycled tops will vary in grain and color, of course. This is a totally fashionable and stylish minimalist design using unique materials, only from Palecek. There is a coffee table, end table, and console table in this collection, and it does indeed reflect a great use of reclaimed material.

In that same spirit, Bago Luma has a wonderful collection of Myrtlewood Furniture, which uses wood that was discovered in a forgotten warehouse. Myrtlewood grows in small groves throughout the coastal areas of Southwestern Oregon and the southern Pacific Coast. The wood was sliced into thick slabs almost 30 years ago, and had been in dry storage since. The shape of the slabs is very irregular and the natural bark is still attached to many pieces. No other hardwood excels myrtlewood in beauty of grain and variety of coloring, and Bago Luma did a great job of incorporating this rescued wood into its designs. (Please call us at 800-205-7819 if you are interested in this collection).

Another one of our absolute favorite suppliers using organic materials is Currey and Company. The Malaga Chandelier is a perfect example of how brilliantly they bring found materials into a design, and not only build around it, but actually build from it for inspiration. This breathtaking chandelier is made from recovered sea urchin spines! I have never seen anything like it, and actually bought one there on the spot in Currey's High Point showroom. The way this chandelier flows, using the elongated shape of the spines, to create a stunning visual presentation, all in a manner that can be incorporated into any number of interior designs. Its exotic and yet accessible. This piece measures 22rd x 42h and, although it is not yet on our site, can be ordered for late spring delivery.

Lastly, a very sophisticated take by Century Furniture, as green a company as I have ever had the pleasure to represent. They incorporate earth-conscious procedures in everything they do, from use of renewable domestic hardwood to recycling every used resource they can. This commitment to the environment is also the essence of the Natural Collection from Century. The delicate balance of enduring design and enduring materials - Long sweeping lines, graceful curves and generous dimensions complemented with luxurious organic fabrics. Handcrafted here in NC from the finest sustainable materials, using time-honored craftsmanship, Century's Natural Collection is a great reflection of how manufacturers can honor the materials from which they are made by bringing the full beauty of that material to the surface. (Please call us at 800-205-7819 if you are interested in this collection).

Next post I'll be exploring some of the color trends that were most prevalent at High Point, as well as some trends in functionality with regards to home office an entertainment.

Some Clearance Goodies

The most visited section of our web site (not surprisingly) is our Clearance Section. It provides a great opportunity to pick up brand-name lighting or furniture items at a huge percentage off list retail. Clearance items are discontinued products, overstock items, or some customer returns. Customer returns are always marked as such, but we guarantee they are in perfect condition. Clearance items are in-stock and ship in 3 days. Here are a few of my favorites:

Golden Lighting Marquis 3 Light Fan Light Kit on Clearance
Free Shipping Discontinued Item on Clearance
$60.21

Comes in Roman Bronze Finish. 12 Dia. x 4.5 H Champagne Glass. Overall Size: 12 W x 6 H. Discontinued Item on Clearance

Slices Collection Console Table Lamp on Clearance
Discontinued Item on Clearance
$68.00

…is a contemporary piece with a hint of the 50's style. It comes in a chrome finish and requires a 1-100W medium base bulb. Discontinued Item on Clearance
Related Searches: Kovacs

Bamboo Magazine Rack by Sadek on Clearance
Discontinued Item on Clearance
$50.00

Minka-Lavery Raiden Wall Sconce on Clearance
Customer Return Perfect Condition
$57.52

Minka Lavery's timeless architectural collection designed for the needs of the 21st Century. Sleek, elegant and meticulous detail distinguishes our Raiden Collection. All Raiden fixtures by Minka Lavery Lighting come in Iron Oxide Finish and Venetian Scavo Glass. This wall sconce holds 1-100W Bulb.…

Oxblood Charger by Sadek on Clearance
Customer Return. No Defects.
$61.39

The beautiful oxblood charger features a deep warm red accented by the unique and ornate pitted edge. Finish color and pattern may vary due to the glazing process.

Lion Bookends by Sadek on Clearance
Discontinued Product
$65.00

Recession-Proof Furniture

I have been around long enough to suffer through three recessions (although this one is the worst of those, in my opinion). As certain as it is that we will eventually pull through this downturn, it is also predictable that we will see lots of media coverage of "returning to the basics". Not that this is a bad thing, on the contrary, but how many articles on the benefits of meatloaf and mashed potatoes can we read? (you know, comfort food and all that). But the basics also include spending more time with friends and family, making things last longer, and shopping smarter. Maybe this was inevitable, given the excesses of the past few years, but its not always a bad thing to revisit the classics across all lifestyle aspects.

Part of this Return to Basics is a resurgence of traditional design, particularly in the home and fashion markets. We see traditional design as longer-lasting, perhaps more conservatively tailored to reflect a more somber mood. But nothing could be farther than the truth! In fact, today's "Traditional" furniture styles incorporate elements from many design influences, and no collection reflects that better than Lexington Furnitures outstanding new Barclay Square Collection.

Taking traditional elements into the new age, the Barclay Square Bedroom features a rich blending of materials and design elements. With supple nail-trimmed leather, bold zebra patterns on upholstered benches, and the warm luster of the Brownstone finish on Rustic Cherry, the collection exudes an air of sophisticated and understated elegance. For example, the Columbia Accent Chest shown at left features a deep cranberry finish behind elegant door with brass inlay and hardware. Its a stunning, classical piece, however, shown with the Kendal Leather Wing Chair, the traditional form takes on a unique and eclectic appearance. This effect is even more prominent when supplemented by the Park Drive Mirror with its captivating sunburst effect.

Another wonderful use of this cranberry hue takes form with the Hyde Park Arm Chair, shown at right surrounding the breathtaking Abingdon Dining Table. Its a picture of traditional elegance, but the designs are augmented with some updated touches to make this furniture truly timeless. Also pictured is are a pair of Greenwhich Display Cabinets, which feature gentle downlights and antiqued glass doors. Modern updates include a fabric-backed interior in linen and chenille.

The recession is a temporary thing, but your furniture will last for years and years. I don't think there is a better choice than The Barclay Square Collection to satisfy your yearning for traditional furniture with a current day influence.

Search Engine Secrets Revealed!

My business consists of equal parts furniture/lighting sales and search engine marketing (SEM). Without SEM, our business would not have the national reach that it does. Well over 75% of our sales are to customers across the country who find us via the internet. They find us because we invest money in advertising with Google, Yahoo, and MSN. They also find us because of our Search Engine Optimization efforts (SEO). SEO is the activity that gets your site higher in the natural search rankings.

Over the 12 years I have been marketing on the internet, I have learned quite a lot, and seen many trends and sites come and go. I shared some of this knowledge with MultiChannel Merchant, one of the leading trade magazines about the incredibly challenging and diverse world of marketing through the internet, catalogs and retail stores. You can find the article here and I have copied it below. Not sure if I am allowed to do that, actually, but I wrote the article so we will see. Anyway, there are no secrets to SEO, just common sense. I hope that came out in the article because I would hate for Google or anyone else to think that I have some sort of secret process to get high rankings. In fact, for many keywords I consistantly fail to get on the first page (but then on others, we do quite well. Its a trade off on what is the most important to your business). Here is the article, again as it appears in MultiChannel Merchants latest edish:

Carolina Rustica CEO Spills SEO Secrets

Apr 6, 2009 3:55 PM, By Richard Sexton

The rise of personalized search (a la Google), social networking platforms, and consumers’ increasing reliance on local and mobile search have created new opportunities to gain visibility for your Website through good SEO. This past January alone, more than 60 million people used their mobile devices to access online information. With good SEO, your Website has a significant opportunity to be found by these users.

SEO also plays a role in maximizing your search engine marketing budget. Put another way, SEO is more cost-effective than paid search programs.

For example, the .10/click we paid for our keywords in 1997 is $3/click today for the same keywords. And there is no end to the number of new competitors we see every year, which further drives up the cost of these terms for our paid search campaigns.

So how can i-merchants perform good SEO easily and cost-effectively?

My list of best practices brings together SEO, paid search and other practices, as true SEO does not operate in a vacuum. It’s also generated from more than a decade of operating my furniture and lighting retail Website, Carolinarustica.com.

Content is king
This is the single most important consideration for optimizing your Website. Yet it’s amazing how many Website owners and designers neglect Website content.

You should be an expert on the products you sell, and be able to address any conceivable questions customers may have, either on your product pages, or in your FAQ’s, or elsewhere. Including customer reviews on your site is a great way to accomplish this.

Also, make your site informative and straightforward, and other folks will not only want to visit your site, but they may link to it from their own sites and blogs.

Pay-per-click
Although PPC programs do not technically count as SEO endeavors, they are an important step in bringing potential customers to your site, and work with your SEO efforts to generate Website traffic. Your immediate PPC efforts are directed towards converting those visitors you have paid for into customers. But the secondary effect of PPC is that you are generating interest in your site, whether those visitors buy or not.

We continue to dedicate a large portion of our SEM budget to Google AdWords. This is not only for conversions, but because those paid visitors are bookmarking our site and many are placing orders at a later point in time—or they’re telling a family member or friend about us. PPC can act as a catalyst for viral marketing of your site even if you are not measuring immediate conversions.

On-site search and site champion
We use a third-party Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) provider called SLI Systems for our on-site search. SLI has developed a technology called “Learning Search” that provides the most relevant search results when visitors are looking for specific products on our site.

SLI has another hosted service, Site Champion, which is critical to our SEO efforts. Site Champion creates landing pages of search results for particular keywords on our Website. Those landing pages can be indexed by most search engines and actually appear in the first or second page of search results when customers are searching the Web using those same keywords.

Site Champion generated more than 25,000 leads to our site in the first quarter of 2009, with customers clicking on Google, Yahoo, and MSN search results for keywords such as “shell chandelier” or “countertop brackets.” This approach is much more cost effective than bidding for top placement for those same terms on the search engines, which allows us to allocate our PPC budget to other keywords that don’t rank as well.

What’s more, these search results tend to convert well since the customer is directed to a landing page that is basically an on-site search result—not a generic company page. We continue to rely on Site Champion as our third-most significant vehicle for site referrals.

Paid inclusion
Carolina Rustica also uses paid inclusion, which involves a third party taking our raw product feed and essentially reformatting it for optimal placement on specific search engines. This is a paid service, independent of PPC efforts, and it gives us an acceptable conversion rate for our investment.

Best of all, it involves virtually no effort on our part after we have set up the product feed. We use a company called Booyah for this service.

Analyze and optimize
You can’t improve SEO without understanding the dynamics of your site’s traffic. And you can’t beat Google Analytics for providing an in-depth snapshot of your Website dynamics.

Google Analytics is linked to our AdWords account so we can see how our AdWords spend converts into sales, but just as important, Google Analytics looks at our other sources of paid and non-paid traffic to examine those same dynamics. It’s also a great way to measure and compare your site’s performance over segments of time.

E-mail campaigns
E-mails can help your SEO efforts by generating interest and traffic to your site. Websites that deluge new customers with e-mails day after day, however, face diminishing returns and higher opt-out rates.

We send out e-mails to our 30,000 contacts when we have something interesting or unique to offer—about once a month. Our click-through rate is higher as a result, and this further helps with SEO. We use Vertical Response for our e-mail service.

Blogs
Blogging is one of the easiest ways to generate content for your site, and you control it 100%. With a blog, you can create your own third-party site that points to your main site.

You should focus on topics that are important to your site’s visibility, but also add content that is a little more daring or personal than what you may have on your Website. I try to write at least an article a week for our blog, http://carolinarustica.blogspot.com. We use Google’s free Blogger, which makes it easy to add content.

You can also promote your Website through other people’s blogs that are relevant to your industry. Try exchanging articles or using a sweepstakes for blog readers, which is always appreciated. While search engines frown upon paid links, creating useful and relevant links on other blogs to original content on your site is a great way to increase your site’s visibility.

Affiliate programs
We are just beginning to explore affiliate programs, but I believe they can help your site’s SEO endeavors by the propagation of coupon sites that use affiliate networks to provide coupon content.

Two of the largest coupon sites, Retailmenot.com and CouponMountain.com, don’t rely on affiliates, but there is a host of others that do—and more are appearing every month. Coupon sites provide inbound links to your site, but you need to determine you can afford the cost of the affiliate programs and the decreased profit margin generated by coupons.

Social networking
If you sell products or services targeted towards Gen Y, Z or beyond, social networking via youth-oriented sites like Facebook is an extremely cost-effective pursuit. Twitter, which everyone seems to be using, can also give your site increased exposure by links to your company blog and updates (tweets) on genuinely newsworthy events. Other more targeted social networking platforms such as LinkedIn provide exposure to more technically oriented communities.

Social networking sites are built primarily on user-generated content (UGC), however, and this may be out of your control to moderate. We have found YouTube to be a great platform for our business, since our furniture and lighting lends itself to a more visual presentation.

Wikis
Pioneered by Wikipedia, wikis are sites that provide non-commercial, non-promotional content—just the facts. I can say with certainty that wikis cannot hurt, particularly if you are trying to make some clarification about your business or Website.

But wikis may not be the best avenue unless you have a compelling, unique story to tell. If you have customers or suppliers who want to tell your story for you on wikis, however, they can become a good source of inbound content.

SEO is a long-term endeavor. My list, while not exclusive, provides useful ways to build your site’s visibility.

The relevance of your site is determined primarily by others, so your SEO efforts should be directed at getting other Websites to link to you. You should also be using third-party platforms and services to enhance your overall visibility and measure your success.

Richard Sexton (richard@carolinarustica.com) is president/CEO of furniture and home decor merchant Carolina Rustica.