Targeting homeowners with an eye for beauty and livability, Dallas-based Room Service Home mailed its first catalog in September to 200,000 rented names and requesters.
“I think we’re about lifestyle,” says co-owner Donna King. “It’s about living in a home, not just having a showplace home.” King says that she and co-owner Ann Fox created the catalog with their own families in mind. “We both have dogs and kids and homes that are unlocked all the time. It’s about finding the beautiful items for those you love, and great gifts.”
Featuring around 250 items, the 24-page catalog’s offering range from a $39 faux rose arrangement to a $1,775 chandelier. The genesis of the business came three years ago, when King’s and Fox’s children were in kindergarten together. King was then director of marketing for Borders Books as well as a customer of Fox’s Dallas home furnishings store, Room Service by Ann Fox. King, who had been researching the catalog industry, suggested to Fox a little over a year ago that they launch a catalog together. “It’s a natural progression [for the store] because 30% of the business is out of state,” says King. Fox retains sole ownership of the store, while the store women share equal ownership of the catalog.
A second mailing, to another 250,000 requesters and rented names, is scheduled for November. Seventy-five percent of the merchandise will be new, King says, with gift items such as pink crocodile bar accessories.