Lovesac Official Company Blog

Me, Less One Internal Organ...

 For my 100th blog I must share my gratitude toward all those of my LoveSac family who practically healed me, using the ancient Chinese medicine of Xiao hua.  While laying in a hospital bed in Shanghai I received a bunch of emails from my various LoveSac stores back in the U.S., wishing me well.  While laughter is commonly the best medicine, I must say that a few of these may be the reason the scar in my gut will now be a bit deeper than it might have been otherwise.  Check out a few of the best, below...

[In case you missed it, the day after being peeped on by window washers at 100 stories high, while visiting the tallest urinal in the world in Shanghai (see left), and only 6 hours before my 14 hour flight home from China, I awoke with some ridiculous pain in my gut.  I've always wondered how I would know if my appendix were to burst--how I'd be able to tell the difference between a stomach ache or just bad gas.  Well, all I can say is, I knew.  At first it kind of felt like I had done 1000 sit ups using just one stomach muscle on my lower right abdomen.  I actually tried stretching out in bed, but it was clear that this pain was even beneath the muscle layer.  By the time I made it to my laptop to google the "best hospital in Shanghai for a foreigner" I could barely stand.  I threw on some clothes, got in a cab, and headed to the hospital.  While my fellow LoveSac deigners boarded our flight home, I was being shaved for surgery. Sexy!!!]

Let the healing begin.  First up: a word from my own appendix: 

Next up: Mayfair, WI, LoveSac with only this explanation:   "Upon dressing the mannequin, we realized that this young fellow looked much like Tom Cruise in Risky Business.   So then we realized, this sad excuse of a mannequin would be the closest any of us would get to meeting the legendary Mr. Katie Holms, so of course, we had to get our photo op." 

Thank goodness I had warned the stores they had better keep their well-wishes PG-13 or who knows what might have remained behind that pixelated region.    (a sock, apparently)

Then there was Natick, MA LoveSac.  Sadists: 

Katie, from LoveSac, Atlanta, unleashed never-before-seen-footage from the hotel pool at our Georgia store openings.  "Shawn - Remember that time you tricked Torin into giving you his iPhone (that's so cool man, lemme see) and then pushed him fully clothed into the pool? (HA!) And you guys were having a contest for cannonball flips to try mightily to splash the crap out of me? Most importantly : DO YOU REMEMBER WHO WON THE RACE FOR POOL DOMINATION!?!?!? Want to see you back in fighting form soon.

Then there was our next-to-top store in the country: King of Prussia, Philadelphia, PA.  Just stick with it.  It'll give you a read into this magic that we call "LoveSac": 

Needless to say, I'm feeling much better already--and the scar to prove it. Two weeks since my surgery and the stitches are out, I'm back to the grind now.  Many thanks to the many Sac'rs out there who, at least, have to pretend they love me.  

I love and appreciate all ya all.

-- Shawny D.

My Next Hair Style

Walkin' the streets of backwoods China, on this, our latest sourcing trip I discovered the next big trend....the Chinese pompadour.  Adam Lambert, eat your heart out.  I thought I'd share this, my latest collection of ridiculous photos from China....I love this place.

 

  

  

 

 

 

I'm not sure how I missed the memo, but it seems this is the haircut to have.

See ya back in the west!

-- Shawny D.

Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk

In my endless travels China is one place I have been to dozens of times now.  It is still a picture-a-minute.  Of all the many accidents I've seen (and been in) in China, this is the first time I've ever seen a milk truck disaster.  I love the Chinese version of a semi-truck.  Always open-air with a massive net over the top.  Clearly not so effective this time.

  Just another reason to back up traffic.

Now of all the burning cars I've seen (and I've seen many), this is the first burning car I've seen in China.  For some odd reason, when I used to live in California I swear I saw a flaming vehicle once a month.  In fact, one time I even saw the car in front of me catch on fire...I actually dialed 9-1-1 for them!  Then, when they pulled over and got out, we just sort of watched it burn.  

I mean, what do you do?  It's an oil fire and unless you have a fire extinguisher, the flames shooting out from underneath the car, threatening the fuel tank, are pretty much gonna do their thing.  In this case, the car must have gone up fast...not even a fire-truck on the scene yet.

China really is a picture a minute.  

The past few weeks at LoveSac have really just been all about the grind.  TONS of new product development work and office work...not much to write home about.  So I just thought I would share these weird photos I took on my trip.  Hope you enjoy.

 

Look.  It is a giant gold dog and a giant silver dog on the back of a flat-bed semi-truck.  

Look.  This is actually my absolute favorite China vehicle (see my blog about 10 posts previous for the entire list).  If you CLICK ON THE IMAGE it will enlarge and maybe you can see what is going on here. 

 It is a raw internal combustion engine driving the front two wheels directly, pulling the cab and truck bed behind it.  Much like a horse-drawn carriage, only pulled by a crude ode to the modern man, instead of a horse.  The best of these motor-carriages are actually turned by giant handle-bars that the driver holds onto, turning the whole direction of the entire motor/front-wheels part of it, pulling the driver behind.  THIS is the kind of thing that in another 5 years will be totally gone from the ever-modernizing China.

Finally, there was this fish.  This fish is very LoveSac. 

-- Shawny D.

Freakin' Weirdos

My favorite thing about Lovesac is the people.  Retail requires logs of people.  People at HQ.  People in the stores.  Customers, even...and with lots of people we get plenty of weirdos.  I like weird people.  They make the company interesting.  RIGHT: That is a Sactionals Base Box.  Meet Lauren - the woman who makes it all happen at HQ.  If you received product, at any level, its likely at least partly Lauren's fault that you did.  But, as Doreen will tell you, "This is what happens when you don't behave." Don't ask me what she did to deserve this, but take comfort in the fact that we are not a government agency - no your hard-earned tax dollars are not paying for these antics.

Charlie, our resident travelling weirdo, seeing this photo of Lauren was not to be outdone.  He passed along this freakish photo (RIGHT) of himself in a box from years to go via email.  I'm not sure why.  Freakin' weirdo:

Finally, on our last trip to China, Dave Underwood, my biz partner of 10 years and Director of Product Development here at LoveSac was compelled to share a room with his assistant, Product Deisgner, Spencer.  Spencer is a light sleeper and Dave saws logs.  I mean this dude snores like snoring was an Olympic sport. 

Las trip, Spencer ended up sleeping behind a closed door, in the bathtub.  This time, Spencer was not about to be run out of his own room.  He put Dave's butt in the bathroom...in style:  (yes, that is the entire bed) 

 

 

-- Shawny D.

Chinese Automotive Superiority Ch.1

Words cannot describe the thousands of picture-worthy moments which so make me love my visits to China.  With no time to travel or play on these work trips, I still find myself constantly entertained just looking out the window.  I share with you the first collection from my own amateur photography of one of my favorite subjects. I fear it have vanished into the future within just months or years from now the way China is steaming onward. Enjoy....

 PICKUP TRUCK

WIDE LOAD

 

 

BOX TRUCK

 

DEALERSHIP

 

AIRPORT SHUTTLE

 

 

HANDICAPPED VAN

 

STREET RACERS

 

GAS TANKER

 

LOGGING TRUCK

 

REFRIGERATED TRAILER

 

TOW TRUCK

 

COP CAR

 

FIRE TRUCK

 

MOVING TRUCK

 

ARMORED CAR

 

 

GARBAGE TRUCK

 

CEMENT TRUCK

 

CATERING TRUCK

 

TOUR BUS 

 

CHICK MAGNET

 

 

MINI MINY VAN

 

MOTOR DRAWN CARRAIGE

 

MOBILE HOME

 

 

CAR POOL

 

S.U.V.

 

3RD ROW SEATING

 

CHINESE TIE DOWN

 

SELF LEVELING SUSPENSION

 

NOT GOOD

ONE TON TRIKE

 

SOCCER MOM

 

STATION WAGON

 

STRETCH LIMO

 

FLAT BED

 

TRICYCLE

 

TRIPLE -A    (AAA)

 

Catch ya on the flip side.

--Shawny D.

IS THIS RACIST???

So we accidentally took Dave and Spencer to their first Taiwanese Steakhouse tonight.  You see I told our local friend, Michael, I wanted to take our fabrics expert, Stan, to get a steak somewhere nice in HangZhou alongside the historic and legendary West Lake.  Turns out it was a steakhouse, but not the kind any American knows about.  Inside this weird place was this warning on the wall to beware of pick-pockets. [SHOWN LEFT: IS THIS RACIST? Notice any racial type-casting here?].  Judging by this PSA it seems that HangZhou has had problems with Norweigian pick-pockets.  We foreigners run all over China taking the RMB right out of their unwitting pockets.  The best part about this sign: notice how the innocent Asian couple are getting jacked simultaneously - her purse and his wallet.  THAT is how we foreigners do it east side.     Please comment!

I can't possibly do this place justice so I'll just point out some of its finer features and leave it at that.  In the corner, a major focal point of the room, was the requisite indoor waterfall, of course defunct - out of service.  Clearly a good place to park one's bike.

The salad bar, of course, rivaled that of any Sizzler I've ever been too, minus the taco bar.  The highlight are the two vats of pudding-like "salad dressing" in the foreground.  Some things are better appreciated from afar.

We wrapped the lovely evening up with a stroll around the famous West Lake - a lake so beautiful that it has literally found its way into various Chinese literary classics over the last 1000 years!   Now it has been modernized, surrounded by gift shops, cotton candy vendors and even Starbucks Coffee!  What an improvement.  How could we pass up this  diamond-in-the-rough-collectible shown behind glass in the window: Nothing say's ancient China like David Beckham rockin' the dirt bike.  M A N  I  L O V E  C H I N A! 

Truth is, I think I laugh more here in a day than I do back home in a month....and not at anything particularly funny - just at life as it is.   Like a kid wearing his father's coat, these 1 billion people try on the industrialized world with a vengance that can only be blamed on having been deprived of it for the last 100 years, having caught up with the rest of us in only 10. 

I've been coming here since age 5.  I have been blessed to learn the language and love the people.  God bless the P.R.C.

-- Shawny D.

P.S.  Don't forget to leave a comment on my "Sexist" blog a couple of posts previous (below).  I'll send you a MOM blanket if you have something interesting to say.

Jackie Chan Round 2

So I had dinner again tonight with my everybody's favorite Asian, (and hopefully biz partner) Jackie Chan in Beijing tonight.  Hopefully he can help me make the right connections to roll out LoveSac in China and help us take care of a 1/4 of the world in one fell swoop on our way to total global furniture domination.

I swung by his new place in Beijing after.  It is an amazingly cool mansion apartment with a view.  It is still under final construction, awaiting the interior designer but he has Sacs throughout.  Last fall Jackie was filming his new movie, "The Spy Next Door," in Albuquerque New Mexico.   They filmed part of it in a mall and they wanted a LoveSac storefront on the set.  Jackie ended up napping in a BigOne, and just had to have one, so his entourage followed him into our Cottonwood Mall store in Albuquerque where a LoveSac rising star, Mr. Any Morales hooked him up with Sacs for his pad here in Beijing. [ABOVE: Andy, his family & the NM LoveSac crew with Jackie on Sactionals.]  Jackie is going to have a sick Sactionals pit set up in his entertainment room, and Sacs in 3 or 4 rooms throughout the place!  It will definately be the pimpest place in the Eastern Hemisphere, no doubt.

Who knows where the partnership will take us.  We are certainly dealing with the heaviest of hitters her in China.  We've got big plans but I'll keep em under wraps for now.  I feel very lucky for this opportunity.  Yes, mom, I got you a personalized Jackie autograph.

Y'ALL DON'T FORGET TO SHARE A COMMENT ON MY "SEXIST" BLOG BELOW!!! - win something!

-- Shawny D.

[ABOVE: Just a taste of the grandeur to come.  Jackie got a personal fluffing lesson from the ChiefSac himself....that kinda came out wrong, yeah!?]

IS THIS SEXIST??? comment & win

Last month I asked y'all to comment on our bizarre take on Easter (see a few posts previous).  Some of you had some REALLY insightful comments, and I would love to get some more on this month's LoveSac ad/window poster: "Mom's Love Sac too."  IS THIS SEXIST?  Comment here.

I guess it could be viewed as sexist on a few levels...but without any hints, what do you think?  Or is it just cute?  Or just funny?  Or not funny at all?  What feelings/emotions/thoughts does our image conjure up?  Is it good for sales, or not?  Does it get your attention, or not?  Do you care?

Anyway, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.  I read every one last time. I will send my favorite couple of comments (submitted no later than Thurs April 30th) one of our limited edition MOM blankets (shown in poster), just in time for Mother's Day!  Don't hold back.  Say anything you like, good, bad, or ugly (but no F words).  My "favorite" comments aren't always ones that praise our work.  I just like a good point.

Rock on (from the dark side of the planet)... I LOVE MY MOM!  HAPPY MOM'S DAY!

-- Shawny D.

China's Always a Party

I head to China again this week. 

First to Beijing to meet with Jackie Chan again, then on to Shanghai and Hangzhou to work with our Sac and Sactionals factories there.  The Last time I was in China, February of this year, we got a lot of work done.  My friends Joe & Rob came over on a trip of their own to check things out, but ended up hanging out with Dave and I as we worked with our factories somewhat.  It definately added a little life to our party.

I must have been to China now over 30 times.  I first went to China at 5 years old, singing and dancing.  I lived in Taiwan for 2 years as a missionary, then Shanhai for 1 year working as a consultant.  I must have ridden in 1000 Chinese cabs, but on this last trip we actually discovered something new.  You see, Joe is probably 6'2" tall or something, and these little Volkswagen Chinese Cabs are just not meant for big Americans.  Joe leaned back a bit and litereally bent the passenger seat in half, backwards.  We were laughing so hard we were crying.  The seat was in Dave's lap by the end of the trip.  We felt bad, but still, couldn't stop laughing.  It is not every day you see a car seat literally fold in half, in the place where it shouldn't fold in half. 

Crazy Rob ate a chicken foot at lunch.  In my years of travelling to China I have seen  many a toddler happily munching on a chicken's foot (its like the dum-dum sucker for Asians), but have never felt inclined to integrate myself into the culture in this way.  Way to go Rob. 

Dave...was Dave.  Doesn't say too much, but when he does I usually laugh.  Dave is "restricted" according to the giant Chinese character behind him.

I'm seein' Jackie again on Wednesday.  Should be cool.  Hopefully he wants to be our biz partner in Asia.  I guess we'll see.

I'll keep you updated from the flip side.

--Shawny D.

Jackie Chan Loves the LoveSac

So I'm in Hong Kong today meeting with Jackie Chan at the tail end of a product development trip around China to visit our factories.  It turns out that Jackie Chan is a big fan of the Sac having fallen asleep in a LoveSac a few months while filiming his new movie The Spy Next Door, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.   [RIGHT: SHAWNY D. & JACKIE CHAN & DAVE UNDERWOOD AT J.C. OFFICES IN HONG KONG]

We actually built a "LoveSac Store" for the set of the movie, where a scene was shot in a shopping mall.  Jackie took a break in a LoveSac "BigOne," and the rest is history.  Jackie went into our Albuquerque store at the Cottonwood Mall and bought a bunch of Sactionals and Sacs for his place in Beijing.  Jackie's got a 13,000 square-foot apartment to fill, so Sactionals should be good for him.

Dave, my biz partner of 10 years and current Director of Product Development at LoveSac got to hang with Jackie for a while.  We talked about LoveSac, and business....maybe I'll share more another time.  I'd have to say, however, that the highlight of the meeting was Dave PUKING IN JACKIE CHAN'S BATHROOM -- TWICE!  I guess his pork chop noodles + Mrs. Fields Cookies for lunch in the mall at Mong Kok didn't do him right.  He was bent over so hard he busted out of his jeans.  No joke.

While Dave was blowin' chunks in the bathroom, me and Jackie were makin' plans.  I don't think Jackie knew, but his secretaries probably heard him.  Don't know what to say, really.  Davey--you usually handle your noodles so well!  You know, I've been coming to China since I was 5 years old.  1982, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999...and 2 or 3 times a year ever since for LoveSac business.  I learned fluent Mandarin while on a mission for 2 years in Taiwan, and then worked in Shanghai for one year as a Management Training Consultant in the year 2000 while Dave ran a very fledgling LoveSac back home in Utah.  Sometimes I feel like I'm part Chinese, so I must say, it was pretty darn cool to meet Jackie who IS the biggest star in all of Asia (half the world), hands down.    [ABOVE: ME with the pink fan, ON A PERFORMING TOUR AROUND ASIA, 1986]. 

So the craziness that is LoveSac goes on.  What's next?  Well, tomorrow, Dave and I take a train from Hong Kong to the border town of Shen Zhen, China.  We're visiting more of our factories that make LoveSac stuff before we hop the long flight home to NYC.  Then it is on to Las Vegas in the LoveSac Bus for the Bar & Nightclub show, and also to finish merchandising the Las Vegas (Henderson Galleria) LoveSac Store.  Should be a good time.

DON'T FORGET TO SEND ME YOUR EFFING CUTE PICTURES OF PEOPLE OR PETS ON LOVESACS.  (See my previous blog post).  You can win some serious LoveSac shwag....FOR FREE!!!  Even the runners-up get stuff.  I've only received a few pics so far, so your chances are pretty darn good.  Send them to [email protected].  We'll post em and vote on em next week.

Rockin' the Sac from the far east....

-- Shawny D.