It used to be that if someone wanted to update their living room to look like it came straight from a magazine, the place to shop was Pottery Barn. But times have changed and that’s apparently not great news for the home decor retailer, who has seen sales fall along with the size of consumers’ living spaces. [More]
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West Elm Launching A Hotel Chain Where Guests Can Test Drive Furnishings, Buy Online
By 9.26.16
Ever looking inside a West Elm catalogue and just wanted to curl up on the masterfully made bed or read a book on stylish chaise? Soon you can, as the home furnishing company plans to launch a chain a boutique hotels instead of more bricks-and-mortar stores. [More]
Williams-Sonoma Wasn’t Really Running A ‘Buy One Knife, Get 99 Free’ Sale
By 12.23.15
Some of our readers experience a modern moral dilemma: they order an item online, and multiple duplicates of that item appear on their doorstep. The retailer makes no attempt to collect the extra items, and sometimes doesn’t want to bother with getting them back. Two of our readers have experienced this recently: one changed a TV order and received an extra by mistake, and the other ordered knife and received 99 extra. That is not a typo. [More]
NY AG Probing Gap, Target & 11 Other Retailers For Possibly Illegal On-Call Scheduling Practices
By 4.13.15
Over the past several years, companies that employ hourly workers in New York have come under scrutiny for a variety of practices, including not providing reimbursement for uniforms to requiring some work be performed off the clock. Today, the state attorney general’s office began scrutinizing another practice by major retailers: the use of on-call scheduling. [More]
West Elm Quietly Removes “Made In Brooklyn” Items That Weren’t Actually Made In Brooklyn
By 1.13.15
If a company slaps “Made In USA” on a product, it could get in trouble with the Federal Trade Commission when that product turns out to be made elsewhere. But the folks at West Elm didn’t see a problem in labeling products as “Made in Brooklyn” even when they were made elsewhere (unless China is part of Brooklyn) — at least not until the media noticed. [More]
Williams-Sonoma Pulls Pressure Cookers Out Of Massachusetts Stores
By 4.25.13
Two weeks ago, two improvised explosive devices detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and injuring hundreds more. The bombs were made from pressure cookers filled with gunpowder and shrapnel. Pressure cookers, which use an airtight seal to trap steam and cook food above the normal boiling point of water, aren’t popular cooking tools in American homes today, but they are commonly available. At Williams-Sonoma stores, for example. Except in the Boston area: Patch reports that stores around there have temporarily pulled pressure cookers from their shelves. [More]
Star Wars Baking Accessories On Sale At Williams-Sonoma
By 1.11.12
Knowing our readership, this information is much too important to hold for tomorrow’s Morning Deals. First: Williams-Sonoma has Star Wars kitchen accessories, ranging from Boba Fett cookie cutters to Stormtrooper silicone spatulas. More importantly: these items are on sale for as much as 66% off, making them significantly less overpriced than usual. [More]
Rad Or Bad: The Individual Pie-Making Machine
By 11.16.10
For anyone that ever wanted to make a pie but doesn’t want to share with others (or spend several days feasting on pie leftovers), there might be an answer — the Breville Pie Maker. [More]
Williams-Sonoma's Registry Policies Are Top Secret, Unless You Can Use The Internet
By 7.22.10
One would think that a luxury kitchen goods retailer like Williams-Sonoma would be absurdly friendly to couples preparing to set up a gift registry before their wedding. How difficult is it to discover the store’s policies for registry completion discounts, returns without a receipt, and other relevant things? Dan writes that at his local Williams-Sonoma, customers aren’t permitted access to that information until they sign up for their registry. Even though it’s on the store’s website. Huh? [More]
Make Your Own Haunted Gingerbread House
By 10.15.09
Are you decorating your house for Christmas Creep, and your Halloween tree just isn’t enough? Williams-Sonoma has combined Christmas and Halloween traditions, and is selling a kit to make your very own haunted gingerbread house. Haunted gingerbread house?
Pottery Barn to Target: You Stole Our Stockings
By 12.19.06
- “Williams-Sonoma, which operates Pottery Barn and other chains, claims in a federal lawsuit filed last week that a quilted Christmas stocking sold at Target stores contains “every distinctive element of Pottery Barn Christmas stockings,” right down to the snowflakes and blue sky.
Williams-Sonoma isn’t the first to sue Target over copyright infringement. “Lucky Brand Dungarees, which sells $100-plus jeans worn by the likes of Salma Hayek and Sandra Bullock, filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York, accusing Target of copying its distinctive floral design jeans and its rear-pocket stitching.” It seems like Target is taking their knock-off aesthetic a bit too far. They’d better get back to partnering with designers and stay away from ripping them off, lest lawsuits drive up prices.—MEGHANN MARCO
West Elm Needs to Hire Studlier Boys
By 12.19.05
The real shocker of this story is that the furniture store West Elm is just a division of Williams-Sonoma. Horror! It was one thing to be chased out of our old neighborhood by a hip, independent New York furniture boutique, but now we’re unsure how we feel about West Elm. Does it make us cooler or more lame to have been chased out of a neighborhood by a big chain or a small, burgeoning store? These are heady questions for a Monday morning.
The Bathroom Scale: Williams-Sonoma Holiday 2005 Catalog
By 12.12.05
The Catalog: Williams-Sonoma Holiday 2005. The catalog for cooks and those who once saw Alton Brown in a Nashville Arby’s.
