Month: April 2007

While at Conference in Minneapolis last week, some organizing colleagues took the trip to Mall of America, the largest enclosed shopping mall in the United States.

Hearing about their shopping trips got us thinking about Bloomingdale’s, and their new retail plan to compete with Macy’s, their largest rival.  Is Bloomingdaless finally getting the drift that Macy’s has Martha?

Bloomfield, Minnesota isn’t the only location for extreme shopping.  Here in Southern California, our own South Coast Plaza boasts luxury brands, too.  Its Costa Mesa-stores generate revenues of more than a billion dollars per year, making it the highest-volume mall in the United States.  So it’s no surprise that Bloomingdale’s chose their location at South Coast for a new location, and a new home concept, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

May 4th will ring in the new Bloomingdale’s at South Coast Plaza.  Their new store will reveal a restructuring that will redesign their home department and do away with vendor shops, and lay out the 50,000-square foot home department by lifestyle instead.  This is an interesting strategy, because the chain hopes to build their stores around the Bloomingdale’s image, and not around their brands, like most stores did in the 1990s.  Macy’s continues the concept of branding themselves with vendor brands, like Martha Stewart.  We wonder who will win their strategy, and your dollars?

So, now that Macy’s has Martha, might we see some high-end, hip organizing goodies at Bloomingdale’s this Spring?  What do you think?

Organizing Galore was on the menu at the 19th Annual National Association of Professional Organizers National Conference this past week in Minneapolis.

Blogging about Conference while it was happening just seemed impossible.  So this week we plan on bringing you highlights from last week (as our client organizing sessions allow, obviously.)

Pictured here for last Thursday’s unofficial Los Angeles Chapter photo are:  Ann Gambrell, Jean Furuya, Robin Davi, Hiroko Ono, Dorothy Breininger, Nadine Levy, Tanya Whitford, John Trosko, Debbie Gilster, Marcy Melton, Chantale Bordonaro, Tom Nevermann, Christie Gelsomino, Joanna Sletten, Linda Rothschild, Donna McMillan, Mishele Vieira, Claire Flannery, Barbara Rickets, Deborah Kawashima, Carol Hogg, Sheila McCurdy, Cindy Kamm, Toni Scharff, John Harris, Dina Durrer, Jodie Watson and a few, unnamed friends.

Related Posts:

• OrganizingLA and John Trosko’s travel schedule

Beginning June 15th, newsstands across Southern California and the nation will debut a new magazine devoted entirely to organization.

Editor-in-chief Joyce Dorny, will over see the bi-monthly Organize Magazine.  They’re calling it "doable organization projects for real people with real lives."  Content will focus on how-to ideas, product resources, advice/tips from professionals, and interviews with leaders in the industry.

Here’s a sample of the July/August premiere issue, which focuses on summer vacation and travel organization:

• Organizational Guru: An interview with Peter Walsh of TLC’s Clean Sweep and author of the NY Times best-seller It’s All Too Much.
• Clutter Quiz: Take a quiz to find out where you are on the clutter scale.
• Vacation/Travel organization: How to prepare so nothing gets left behind.
• An Organized Car: Get ready for a summer road trip organizing Is for everyone! Learn how the whole family can get involved.
• Laundry Room: One woman’s quest for space in a challenging room.
• Common Organizing Mistakes: Save time by learning what not to do.

You can subscribe to the magazine for $20 bucks a year, by clicking here.

Source:  Wooden Horse Publishing