Back on August 21, 2008 I was one of two lucky winners in CasaSugar's Summer Style Contest. The prize was a $500.00 gift card to Crate & Barrel and I was practically torturing myself by pre-shoppping on the Crate & Barrel website since then.
Well the gift card arrived, via FedEx, on Tuesday, September 2, and it was almost like it was burning a hole in my pocket. So yesterday I took a trip to the store in King of Prussia.
Let me tell you it was almost like Christmas. The staff at the store was very cordial and interested so it really was a lot of fun. Here are the pics of my loot. Yes - I'm still stoked!!!
Details. Details.
My biggest and bestest prize has to be the Genesis rug! I chose a single 4x6 after unrolling a bolt of fabric in the room and truly experiencing the lengthening effects of a longer area rug in the space. Seriously, the room does not need to be any longer. Too: I LOVE the colors of the rug and the circle pattern repeats throughout the room. I'm currently adjusting the placement by inches but both my husband and I adore the look and feel.
I also picked up a 2x3' Kiran rug for our guest room. I adore the color and the texture of the woven jute. I'm just not thrilled with the size. Honestly, a 30x50" would have been the perfect fit but those are rather hard to come by.
More prezzies...
- A set of 12 appetizer spoons
- The Helsinki Platter
- a set of 8 "Rings" 12 oz. Double Old-Fashioned glasses
- An OXO Mandoline
- 2 sets of Waffle Weave dish cloths
- A Lodge cast iron grill pan
- 2 Beechwood spoons
- 1 Cupcake spatula
- 1 Mario Batali Spoonula
Not Shown
2 Euro pillows that are being shipped out of the warehouse in Cranberry, NJ.
My favorites out of all of this are the appetizer spoons and the Helsinki platter. That is totally gorgeous. It reminds me of ice.
More
I'm frequently disappointed by the merchandise carried by other retailers, similar to Crate & Barrel. In most cases it all looks wonderful and just so but I am often left down by the quality after closer in-home inspection and repeated use of the purchased goods. I don't find that to be the case with the wonderful goodies that I got from Crate & Barrel. The quality is very good, considering the price point, and in the case of most of my purchases, exceeds my expectations.
If I had to focus on one factor that made this shopping trip more of a fun adventure, I would have to point to the staff. Their comittment to customer service is evident and each and every person on the floor was willing to stop their task and take the time to assist me in my search for the perfect prizes. More they were intrigued and did not seem suspicious of my rather odd sort of shopping behavior that normally would have set off bells, potentially marking me as a possible shoplifter.
Picture this:
I have my hierarchical list in hand and I am eager to take care of the big things first. The two rugs and two pillows amounted to $310.00 which left me with an additional $190.00 to spend. Of course the bottom of my list was peppered with possibilities - the appetizer spoons and Helsinki platter, being among them. So I'm more or less twittering back and forth between aisles of merchandise: from serving pieces to kitchen gadgets to utensils and tools. Anyone in retail will tell you that this is a behavior that is usually indicative of a problem.
After spending 12 years in retail I am very much aware of this so I was not surprised when an associate approached me and engaged me in a bit of conversation. But the difference that sets this sales person apart from the pack is that he was interested in hearing what I had to say and I was not prejudged on the basis of my flitting about. Once he found out that I had won this fabulous prize, he promptly issued me an invitation to ask him for any assitance and informed all other sales people in his area that I was "having fun" with my prize.
I'm telling you, if Crate & Barrel could bottle this formula for making a potentially "difficult customer" happy they could sell it by the case and make a fortune.
congrats! Love the rugs and ALL your goodies. You should black-out your name and address from that last pic before we all come over to your lovely pad and crash-lol! 
Haze,you got such great stuff!!!
And the rug - looks AWESOME in your living room! Perfect choice!