In celebration of his birth, we sent Maxwell Post a “The Donald” wig from BabyToupee.com and he was kind enough to pose for WhyHelser. Shown here is the very hot “just woke up” look, just one of many variations possible with this wonderful rug. Maxwell is the son of Aaron Post, a brilliant member of our crack web team. If any of you need help with your website, and I respectfully suspect that some of you do 
, I highly recommend that you hook up with Aaron.
Open letter to all members of every interior design association,
It occurred to me recently that some of you may benefit from a variant perspective on the trade-show experience, so I thought I would share my experience as an event sponsor and exhibitor at a recent exposition.
Dallas, T minus 72 hours:
I spent most of Tuesday and all of Wednesday preparing and packing with trips to the pharmacy for mini toothpaste, the printer for forms, and the cleaners for shirts, then turned in and slept like a zebra in lion country with sketchy visions of missed flights and forgotten cell phone chargers dancing (like a mosh-pit) in my head.
I somehow managed to drag my haggard butt out of bed at 3:30am Thursday, raced to the airport, hastily consumed an overpriced airport breakfast, wedged into my seat like an out of shape contortionist, then hurtled through the air for 2 hours in an aluminum germ-tube which, judging from the ashtrays and chipped paint, must have been manufactured in the early to mid seventies. 
While counting freckles on the bald snoring head 12 inches from my face, I endured a relentless, persistent, and silent yet deadly nostril assault from the sweet little lactose intolerant old lady next to me who evidently was up all night eating broccoli and yogurt.
After landing in Dallas and retrieving my bag, I was forced to listen to my cabbie on his cell phone engage in what can only be described as an argument with a fellow Martian for the entire white-knuckled 25 minute ride to the expo center. At this point, I thought of a certain Steve Martin/John Candy movie and privately enjoyed a little chuckle.
After paying the pissed Martian, I hustled to my super duper premium upgraded space on the show floor, set up my exhibit, and was doing all the typical nervous pre-show tweaking with strategically placed mints and pens, perfectly stacked contact forms and brochures, and business cards in the shirt pocket. Then I hit the restroom to run some final checks. What’s left of my hair was perfect, no peppers in the teeth, performed the breathe/sniff breathe/sniff into the cupped hand check, no TP stuck to the shoes, the belt buckle perfectly centered, and fortunately my nasal hairs were burned off by the old lady on the plane, which saved some plucking time. I was officially ready to rock and roll.
The first hour came and went without a single attendee in sight. I started thinking; “no big deal, late must still be in fashion,” and “well, they need to come by to get their card marked so they can win the money.”
Hours two and three produced a couple of random visitors that left me hopeful and thinking…. “I’ll bet Paris Hilton is B.F.F.’s with her fathers top designer and they are about to sashay over here, look at my drapery rods, and fall head over stiletto’s. Then I bet she’ll say “that’s hot!” and pout till daddy makes them standard in every room.” and “Maybe this town is just thriving and all the designers are too busy to care about finding new sources,” and “Was that designer really into my drapery rods or am I just another John with a nice sharpie?”
I spent hours four and five feeling like a desperate “carny” at an empty carnival in post-apocalyptic Detroit. There I stood, sucking in the soccer-dad belly and popping mints like candy with a big hopeful permagrin on my face, waiting for those golden business cards. My mind started going again… “Oh snap! Do I have a booger in my whiskers?” and “Maybe if I had puppy-dog eyes…, and ”Jesus, is there a cowboy hat sale somewhere today?” and “I wonder where I can find a Wilson volleyball to paint a face on.”
It was at the start of hour six when I realized that most of the random people milling around had black stripes on their badges! Noooooooooooooooooooooo! (on knees, looking up, with hands outstretched to the heavens) It can’t be!…..It was…..The halls were filled with fellow emaciated and starving exhibitors who had resorted to….wait for it….trade-show cannibalism! Utter desperation and hunger had driven them out from behind their tables and into the halls to feed on their own! I can still hear their gurgling plea, “Sales, must…..have……..sales…” My mind was racing…. “Boy, for some reason those nine dollar cocktails are not looking so expensive now,” and “I love a challenge, but nine hundred dollars per lead?” and “At least I am not being farted on in a metal tube….”
At 5:45 I knocked down my exhibit and headed straight for the bar where I ordered a stiff drink and dinner with extra garlic and extra onions. Very soon my psyche was sedate, and I started to write. Hey, I got a decent blog post out of the experience, right? It’s all good….
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I may have sensationalized some or possibly all of this, and I sincerely hope you all take it in the light-hearted spirit intended, but believe it or not, this is a fairly typical breakdown of an exhibitor experience. Exhibitors spend thousands of dollars, endure travel misadventures, and sacrifice time with their families just to meet you. Please do not get me wrong…usually it is totally worth it. Believe me, I have exhibited all over the country a hundred times and absolutely loved about ninety nine of them!
My message is valid though, and deserves to be heard; please consider the efforts of the industry suppliers who support your associations, and attend expositions as frequently as you can. WE NEED YOU!
Drapery hardware specialist Louanne Yturri brought her little grand daughter Jadyn to work last week. She was a very charming and helpful young lady. Above is her invoice for services rendered. We thought it was kinda cute.
We just wanted to take a moment to sincerely thank you for your business. You have kept us as busy as bees making drapery hardware, and we are tremendously grateful.
I was clickedy-clicking around the other day and tripped (in both senses of the word) over this super-cool Dutch drapery design at nsybrandy.nl. I was intrigued by how the simulated shadow effect creates the oddly relaxing sense that you are high up in the branches of an enormous tree. As a kid, I spent many hours climbing trees. This photo brought back many memories of peaceful time spent watching clouds and thinking from my comfortable perches. Our good pals over at Adaptive Textiles told me that given an image of sufficient resolution, they are capable of large scale printing on a variety of light filtering fabrics similar to the one shown above. This is great news for me, as I am in the process of remodeling my office and have the perfect wall of windows for it! Keep an eye on our Facebook fanpage for photos in a few months.
It is unbelievably rewarding to spend time with our existing clients and meet new friends. We also love catching the new trends from other members of the Interior Design field. I was at the IIDA UnVeiled event in Scottsdale recently and found some noteworthy items.
The event was held in The Galleria, a beautiful venue designed with a more than a passing nod to local icon Frank Lloyd Wright.
My first stop was at the Lights Up Arizona, www.lightsuparizona.com booth where I was entranced by the sassy new lamp styles on display. I loved the bright colors and whimsical shapes. The Rose sconce was really wonderful. The white woven fabric hugs the wire frame and creates the flower.
The keyword for everything this year was BOLD. Bold prints, bold colors and bold designs were everywhere I looked. Wallpaper and fabric designs were large in scale. The Seabrook booth www.seabrookwallpaper.com showcased some really eye catching designs.
Even the new furniture designs were fresh and zippy. I loved this Perillo chair from Dauphin Design, www.dauphin.com . It was every bit as comfortable as it looked.
Everyone at the event was buzzing about the clever motivational phrases and words displayed by Airpark Signs & Graphics, www.airparksigns.com . The bright little motivators were popular swag items.
And since we are such pet aficionados here at Helser Brothers, I had to have my picture taken with the Petutopia Pup, www.IIDASW.org. The Southwest Chapter of IIDA sponsors this annual event to benefit a local animal charity. This year’s recipient is Poverty’s Pets, a Phoenix Community Project. Architects, Designers and Contractors join together to create the perfect “Petutopia.” The finished designs are auctioned off during a day long event for pet lovers.
Hat’s off to the great folks at IIDA for a great show.
You know that you live somewhere hot when you find yourself looking forward to a trip to Miami Beach If you have time, we would love to see you at the HD Boutique Exposition. In fact, just contact Heather heather@helserbrothers.com and she will mail you a free pass! To learn more about the event click here.
Beckert Dining Room Before
In this dining room, the clients had hired someone else to do the blinds, stationary panels and board mounted Empire valance, and didn’t continue working with her because they were disappointed by how “ordinary” the window treatment looked once it was installed. I can see why my predecessor went with a board mounted treatment; the window was in a weird little recessed niche, so there wasn’t room to do a swag valance on a pole set with finials (which is what the client mistakenly thought that she was ordering). What’s more, there were little can lights inside the niche, so you couldn’t mount the treatment on the wall outside and above the niche or there would be light shining through from the back side of the valance. Mounting the valance inside the niche, as the other designer chose to do, required dropping it down well below those can lights, which looked kind of weird and underwhelming.
Beckert Dining Room After
The clients brought me in to design window treatments for their living room and kitchen treatments, specifically requesting decorative hardware and more drama for these rooms. I suggested adding some decorative hardware to jazz up the board mounted treatment in the dining room as a low-cost alternative to expensive rework or scrapping it altogether. The clients were having trouble visualizing how these finials were going to look sticking up at the top of the swag valance, so I did a quick mock up in my design software and assured them that it was going to look like “I meant to do that.” I ordered the finials with wood screws and my installer was able to add them to the dining room valance on-site without even taking it down on the same day that he installed my treatments in the other rooms. The size of those finials was perfect – it looks like the valance was installed at that height deliberately to accommodate the height of the finials, and it seems as though the can lights were installed specifically to illuminate the decorative hardware. The clients got a more formal and unique design for just a couple of hundred dollars’ worth of hardware – and I like the way it turned out so much that I plan to use finials that way “on purpose” for future projects!
Contributed by Rebecca Deming Rumpf of Custom Interiors By Rebecca.
Judith Carol Ellis was at the Victoria And Albert Museum in London recently and was kind enough to bring back some ideas and images in hopes of providing some creative inspiration. It is flattering that one of our clients would think of us while on vacation, but to actually go to the trouble to put together ideas and photos for us is just a beautiful gesture. Thanks Judith!
This swing rod was designed for a customer who needed extra strength and a hand forged look. Our blacksmith forged the rod from one piece of solid 5/8″ round bar, and gave the 2×6″ back-plate a simple but handsome look by hammering the corners into a flare. You will not find this design in any of our catalogs, but is available as a custom item by request. Just refer to this post!
My 30th High School Reunion was this weekend, and I traveled to Ohio to see all my friends from long ago. I was impressed with how accomplished they have all become, and how they have blossomed in their skills. The drive up and back seemed longer than the actual reunion, as it was 12 hours each way. Along the way, I came across the most unusual sculpture I’d ever seen. Ohio is known for its coal mining and steelworkers, and that particular area has also taken an economic hit. But there is still a lot of pride. Take a look at the quality of craftsmanship in this architectural feature found along the side of the road, in front of the Steelworker’s Union House in Niles, OH.
I imagine someone building it onsite, with scrap metal as it came along, fellow workers checking it out as they came and went from their jobs/meetings. It has weathered well outdoors, and is still inspiring others as they pass by.
Helser Brothers Hardware is the same….built on site, compiled by skilled artisans, and a piece of art in the making. Just ask them can they make (fill in your questions about hardware here)….and the answer is usually yes. They are a united team that can make all your draperies look even better. Call for a custom quote now!
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Contributed by Cheryl Draa of Cheryl Draa Designs.
When customers browse through our Tableaux brochure at the designs available, they have numerous options. Design #942 doesn’t exactly stand out and scream “pick me!”, but for Robin Munson of Elements of Design in Henderson, NV, it did more than that! It completed her vision in a simple, modern bedroom. As seen in this photo, the windows aren’t in an ideal location, but the Tableaux worked beautifully. Design #942, (Kyoto), is a great solution for any modern, Asian theme, or even makes a natural additional to your patio. Contact Jocelyn Saccuci at Helser Brothers (Ext. #118) for ordering details.
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Jane Maxwell of Maxwell House of Design just finished a project using customized hardware from our “French Pole” line and was kind enough to share her experience……
If you are a designer, you know, that every once in a while, a homeowner is going to give you a challenging window to dress. Of course, a difficult window is never an auxiliary window, or one that hides in the back, no, it’s pretty much guaranteed that it will be a focal point in the room. This happened with me recently. The client’s dining room had a traditional three-window bay that had fourth window around the corner on the next wall. In order for the treatments to make sense, the fourth window had to be included in the bay. In addition to needing a custom bend to the rods, I knew that traditional finials weren’t going to work because the symmetry would be off. Thankfully, I had learned about Helser Brother’s French Poles in March at a WCAA vendor event with Jackie Von Tobel in Charlotte, NC. Jackie spoke glowingly about them from stage and during the break, I headed for the Helser Brother’s table where Anita Boetsma was able to show me the product and fill me on the details.
Now anytime you use a new product, you hold your breath just a little until they are installed. I had just a couple of concerns; would we miss having finials? Would my installer be able to figure out the installation? Would the product look as good up as I was hoping it would? Well, the product came in looking better than I had remembered, my installer had no issues whatsoever installing, and, the finish on this gorgeous product completely complimented the design. Needless to say, I breathed a big sigh of relief, took pictures and decided to share the adventure.
On side-note, I like the clean look of this product so much, that I am now using them for all of my transitional and modern design jobs.
There is an intrinsic value to being able to relax and trust that a vendor is going to deliver. Anytime that we, as designers, can eliminate some of the stress that accompanies our job, it’s a great thing. Helser Brother’s, as a company, delivers beautiful products that do what they are supposed to do, with great customer service to boot. That’s why they are now my standard go-to source for drapery hardware.
Jane Ann Maxwell is a professional interior designer based in the Charlotte, NC metro area with some 20 years of interior design experience.
She is a Professional Member of the Association of Interior Design Professionals (AIDP) and is the current President of the AIDP Charlotte Chapter…. (read entire bio)
I am as proud as a peacock to have the privilege to display this couture window treatment in my retail store! While at the Vision 10 Conference, I networked with some very lovely and talented people and along the way feel like I had a major coup over my fellow designers! I was entranced with the designs from The Jackie Von Tobel Collection, the amazing hardware combinations by Helser Brothers, fabrics through Sunbrella and Greenhouse Designs and the tapes and welts available through Rowley. Imagine my delight to see them all together in a unique window fashion couture display. The workrooms of Stacie Kennedy and Lisa Forman did an amazing job on putting this all together.
As a designer, I know that sourcing is key, and having the right fabric and hardware really makes a couture treatment, But the
workmanship behind it is also exquisite.
Sleuthing around a little, I was pleased to find out that one of the artists behind the assembly was Stacie Kennedy. Lo and behold, the girl lives in my area of town! I sought her out immediately. Come to find out that in a contest put on by Grace McNamara for Vision 10, Stacie (Divine Drapery Design) won first place in Draperies and Panels while my current workroom (Window Couture by Trini) won second place. So much talent in my region!
After the show, Stacie and I had lunch….”What was she going to do with that lovely display?” Bingo!
It is now hanging in my retail store….displaying high couture window fashion and Helser Brothers hardware!! We are getting rave reviews by people walking in and it is a fabulous way to showcase some other vendors in a unique way.
Trying to place a price tag on it is impossible….so it is not for sale. Thank you to the vendors who
donated their product and time to allow us a fabulous display and I’m so happy that it is out front for all to
see. If you are in the area…pop in our store to see it in person!
Contributed by Cheryl Draa of Cheryl Draa Designs.
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