Pier 1 Imports is awesome

Hi everybody! It's the holiday time again. I was wondering how many of you get really into the home decor thing for them. The overall quality of Pier 1 Imports and the holiday discounts you can get "after the day" decorations sales is one of my favorite shopping traditions now. I go every year with my Mom.
Halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas.
First of all, Halloween, at Pier 1 Imports comes very early. The change in the seasons at this store is always full of things that they did not have last year, plus the "wish items" that I did not get, so I do look forward to it.
I also want to point out that if you have ever complained about customer service that is too pushy or not helpful or friendly enough, this store will be a total refreshment. I have made friends of the people who work there, and see lots of the same customers, again and again, too. These folks actually seem to like their job. And why not? It looks like total fun to help decorate the place settings, arrange the furniture, and find all the deep clearance discounts before we, the customers do.

Here's a little trick to not spend hours roaming around inside the place, or several trips, you can actually search all the clearance stuff online, and you can reserve an item for pick up. Then the store will locate my item, and call me to tell me if it's not in stock. If it is something that I need an amount of, like a dish or place setting, they will call around to the other stores in the town for me and find the number of them. They certainly go all out on this point.

Speaking of the internet shopping, you can actually use a Macintosh to upload a picture of a room you are designer, and then drag and drop pieces of furniture in different colors in it to get a virtual idea of how its going to look.

I found that when I was home-staging for Realtors and families, that I could get a designer discount membership of 15%. That could be applied to all of the home purchases for my clients. This place is perfect for home staging ideas. They have the styling in the lines of the chairs and fabrics that have the updated, custom look, and I was told by the manager when I inquired that the buyers go through a lot of trouble to secure things that are exclusive to this store, for a level of quality that is up there with exclusive stores like Ethan Allen. Those and others are the stores that allow you to custom order fabrics, but Pier 1 has such an array of unique fabrics, you can get that custom look that home-buyers are so attracted to and want to see in looking through a staged home.

I find things that I really treasure that I most certainly do not find anywhere else. They will always tell me how the process works for lines that buyers choose to become a year after year line of furniture, so that I can add to things as Christmas or other occasion gifts. If something is a special find though, in the catalog, it may only be around for one season but then its gone.

The quality and design may resemble other stores to me like even TJMaxx or Ross at first glance, but then when you really check it out you find its not that stuff at all, and makes my new first home feel a lot more upscale than the apartments i have rented that I decorated.

So back to the holiday thing. Well, the day after a holiday, everything goes 50 percent off, so if you really wanted those wicker pumpkins things with the lights in them, but thought they a little pricey for something you put out once a year, then you get them right afterwards and use them next year. The next thing that happens is every week or few days after the holiday, the stuff goes even deeper and for Christmas?? It goes 90 percent OFF. The stuff is soooo adorable, the Christmas tree ornaments are very unique, and they always are a huge hit as gifts.

I seem to always be able to find gifts for men in this store, you can find a desktop item to go in someones study, and for weddings and showers, this is a really good place to hunt for gifts.

The summer time stuff goes on clearance as well, and things like hammocks, porch umbrellas, high quality outdoor furniture, those things can add up for stuff you only take out half the year.

I know I am not the only one who goes banana over this place. I was on a trip once over seas, and there was a lady in the shuttle boat with us crossing from the main Island of Greece to this teeny little place called Skopelous. We all started chatting, and it turned out this woman was a store manager and had been at the same store for like twenty years, I started telling her how much I love the stuff, and all the time I spend browsing, and all of a sudden there were like two other older ladies who chimed in and were Oh totally! I LOVE that place, the manager was a like a celebrity!
One of the ladies husbands, was saying something like, shes not kidding, I have to drag my wife out of that place!