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From Home Furnishing Business

West Elm Opens this Week in Alpharetta

October 28, 2014  by in Furniture Retailing, Industry, Store Openings   

The store is located in Avalon, a new mixed-used community that also is celebrating its grand opening the same day, followed by a week of special events. The more 9,500-square-foot-plus West Elm store will feature a curated selection of products made by local artists and makers through West Elm’s "Local" initiative. To celebrate the opening, a limited edition Alpharetta tote bag designed by Atlanta-based Brown Parcel Press will be given away to the first 300 shoppers with a $50 minimum purchase.

West Elm’s Local initiative taps into local entrepreneurship by empowering the teams in West Elm stores to find makers and designers to create their own assortment, building and nurturing a creative network of craftspeople.

“It’s exciting to be a part of the Avalon grand opening and to bring local makers and artists to the forefront of the celebration through our local assortment,” said West Elm President Jim Brett. “We now have local assortments in more than 20 of our West Elm stores across the country.”

The store will include design details and installations that are reflective of the local landscape and culture. To create the back and front cash wrap areas West Elm used wood organ pipe covers, a nod to the area’s musical legacy. Each of the covers has an anthropomorphic flair at the top where the air is released, making them look like smiles. Like all West Elm locations, the store will be a creative, community-driven space designed to help customers discover their personal style at home. Customers can work with a free Home Stylist in the store’s Design Center, or in their home, to pick paint colors, fabric swatches or design a furniture plan.

Headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y, Williams-Sonoma brand West Elm introduced its first catalog in 2002, its first store in 2003, and now has 67 retail stores in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.