What happens when the CEO's. VP's and owners of 23 contemporary furniture stores from all around the country meet with the CEO's and reps from 56 Furniture companies for 2 days in beautiful Miami Florida?

Fun, problem solving, brainstorming, laughter and good old fashioned camaraderie!

The Contemporary Design Group is a national association of retail furniture showrooms whose owners are passionate about sharing their love for contemporary and modern design with their clients and customers.  Founded in 1983 the member stores of CDG share ideas, enthusiasm and a common interest in beautifully designed furniture.  Our mission is to provide collaborative opportunities for contemporary home furnishings retailers to become more successful through shared knowledge, performance standards, best practices and collective buying opportunities.

CDG members travel to furniture shows and expositions across the country and around the world to find original designs that will appeal to you. Our collective buying power allows us to build relationships with our suppliers who create unique product with terrific value exclusively for the Contemporary Design Group Collection. In our products we seek originality, functionality and high quality. In our suppliers we seek innovation, creativity and integrity. The buying power among our group ensures that our clients will receive tremendous value in their shopping experience.

Once a year, the first week of December we gather and discuss the “State of the Union” and what we can do to improve it. We start our meeting with a key note speaker, this year we were blessed to be entertained and educated by Mike Stayer. His book “leadership is not for Cowards”was the topic and was enthusiastically received. We learned that it is best to make incremental changes rather than try to change everything at once.  He made us all feel like we are not unique or alone with the problems that we struggle with.

Our days are full and our nights are fun. What a great way to improve the way you see and operate your business. For more information and to see our partners please visit their website.

We have a wonderful facility here in Boca Raton called The Florence Fuller Center. Their mission is to make a difference through education for economically challenged children and their families. They provide daycare, medical services and food programs to children aged 6 weeks to 5 years of age. Any parent knows how often little children get sick and when that happens they usually cannot go to school or daycare with a fever. This means lost workdays and income and possibly even jeopardizing their job or career advancement. Florence Fuller has a full size infirmary so even a sick child can still come and be taken care of just like his parents would.

For the last several years we have had the great fun of adopting a class at the holidays. We get their Santa list and each and every one of the Sklar Elves goes out and tries to make their dreams come true. The best part of this is that these little ones come to our store the Wednesday before Christmas and we have a party and watch them open one of their gifts – the rest go home for under the tree!

The first year the bus pulled up and we thought it was empty. Until we realized these are the 3 and 4 year olds and their heads don't even reach the windows! When the doors opened, out they poured, jumping from one foot to the next filled with excitement. The first thing they do is sing us several songs, filling our store with love and joy! 

Every staff member at Sklar Furnishings claims that this is the best day of the year and the most fun event we do all year.  May your holiday be filled with the same joy, love and wonder of a three year old and may you be lucky enough to be surrounded by those you love.

“Gratitude is the best attitude”  – Author unknown

As we pause in our busy lives, Rick and I would like to take the opportunity to wish all of our staff, friends, vendors, and customers a very Happy Thanksgiving, and to give thanks to all of you. 

Our lives are enriched by you and we appreciate the parts that all of you play on a daily basis in the running of our store.  We frequently say that the retail business is one with many moving parts – the moving parts couldn’t move without the help of all of the above and then some. 

We thank our staff for making Sklar Furnishings a pleasant, fun and stimulating place to work. We thank our vendors for your friendship and professionalism and most importantly, we thank our customers for your trust and business. 

On this Thanksgiving holiday we wish for everyone the opportunity to be close to loved ones, to be healthy, to be safe and to stop and be grateful for all that we are blessed within this country. 

Lastly remember, “Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.” ~G.B. Stern

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  

Four Surprising Health Benefits

1. Longer Life Expectancy – Did you know that you could live longer simply by standing up more and sitting down less? Studies show that active people have a longer life expectancy than their sedentary counter- parts. Sitting at a desk for long periods of time can actually cause physical harm. As you sit, fat accumulates in your heart, liver, brain and other organs. Your muscles lose their tone and definition, and your body tires more easily. Sitting also places more pressure or “static” loading on the upper body than standing. Standing relieves the pressure on your back by 40%. So rather than growing tired in a seated position, why not give your back a rest by standing for a short time.
2. Burn More Calories – How many calories can you burn by switching from a sit-down desk to a stand-up desk? More than you think. A Sit-Stand Desk can help you avoid the health pitfalls of sitting down all day. In fact, you can burn up to a third more calories during the course of a seven-hour workday if you stand up. If you are trying to lose or manage your weight, the calories can really add up.
3. Increase Energy & Reduce Stress – A Sit-Stand Desk increases your focus, alertness and activity level allowing you to more easily release restless energy. Combine that with the good circulation, stable blood sugar and the active metabolism that standing requires – and it is easier to focus on the task at hand. Standing while working also helps energy levels by fighting off the naturally occurring slumps and bouts of fatigue that often happen mid morning or early afternoon.

Isn’t it time you stood up for your health?

Happy Anniversary to Sklar Furnishings! On November 14th 2014 we will celebrate our twelfth year of business in Boca Raton.  This is a wonderful community to live and work in and we are proud of our commitment to our staff, customers and community.

Our tagline “Your Space, Your Lifestyle, Your Choice”  captures our core philosophy – we are passionate about design and so are our talented design staff.  We are driven to provide the right combination of product ideas, color dynamics and textural solutions in order for our clients to realize their vision for their home.   We are also passionate about the community and are involved in many philanthropic groups.  Habitat for Humanity, Boca Helping Hands, Florence Fuller Home and Military Boxes overseas are just a few of the organizations we support on an ongoing basis.

We know that our most powerful asset is our staff – we are blessed with talented, dedicated, caring people – many who have been with us almost since our inception.  We have fun in the store and you are almost guaranteed to hear lots of laughter on a visit to the showroom.

This has been a special year for us – not only were we chosen Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce’s 2014 Small Business Leaders of the Year we were also the proud recipients of the Office Depot Small Business Leadership in Green Practices.  We are excited about the year to come and look forward to welcoming you into the store.