It’s always a treat when we get to introduce you to a new member of our team here at The Black Goose Design! Today, that’s someone is Karaden Lodder. She comes to us with years of experience, a passion for design, lots of tips for making your next design project a great one.
Get to Know Karaden Q&A
Q. Tell us a bit about your design background.
A. I’ve been doing design work for more than a decade now, with much of my background in new home construction. I also attended interior design school in Scottsdale, AZ, and managed a well-known home décor store.
Q. What is it about this kind of work that appeals to you?
A. Above all else, I love that being a designer allows me to work with people. I like getting to know my clients and discovering what it is that’s most important to them. Connecting in this way is key to a successful design experience, but it also makes everything I do feel that much more meaningful.
Q: What can a client expect when they start working with you?
A. Besides a personal connection, we’ll spend time up front identifying your style. You might not even know what your style is, and that’s okay. We can discover this together. This could be from looking at your photos or a favorite décor piece, or it could be through exploring an inspiration/Pinterest board together. We’ll have fun capturing your style and taking it to the next level … putting our own unique and custom spin on an idea.
Q. How do you put a custom spin on a design project?
A. For me, it’s all about creating little moments in a home. A beautiful way to approach this is with a sentimental item or family heirloom. For example, how can we take Grandma’s old table and weave it into a modern project in a way that feels natural and thoughtful? It’s fun to achieve this goal and watch as old pieces are given new life! Every home has a story to tell. The story of those who live there. Every home should feel like a sanctuary. These are what we focus on when bringing a concept to fruition.
Q. What is your favorite space in a home to design?
A. The main living spaces, because they revolve around family and entertaining and making memories. Homes are a wonderful way to tell your story and much of that story happens in the main living areas where people gather.
Q. How would you define your personal design style?
A. I’m very eclectic! I love how timeless transitional is, but I’m also drawn to French and coastal and whimsical. With French, it’s classy and timeless. Plus, I just adore florals, which are a significant aspect of French design.
A. (continued) What draws me to coastal is the calm it creates. People often think coastal means blue and white and shells and palms, but it can be so much more than this. In fact, I just sold this chair to a client and love how, when paired with this rug, it immediately pulls coastal and creates a relaxing mood. It’s also a common misconception that coastal = vacation home. This isn’t true. At least not entirely. You can create a coastal getaway right here in landlocked Utah. Why not bring that beachy vibe home and enjoy its soothing impact? You don’t have to be overtly “beach” to take advantage of the soothing effects.
A. (continued) I also have a blast decorating children’s rooms because they are a great space to play with whimsical. Don’t be afraid to mix patterns and prints and vibrant colors.
Q. You mentioned flowers. What are some of your other go-to design favs?
A. Texture is another must when working on a space. Incorporate different finishes to add interest and personality to a space.
A. (continued) Did I happen to mention we just got these AMAZING artificial peonies in? Flowers are a beautiful way to add texture, and artificial flowers are extra nice as we’re heading into the winter months.
Q. What is your favorite color scheme?
A. I’ve always been drawn to blues and pairing various blue shades. There’s just something special about the way blues can cast an immediate calm over a space. Whether it’s gray blues or warm tones, the colors are timeless and never go out of style.
Q. You used to work with new home builds, helping clients select their home fixtures. That can be an overwhelming process. Do you have any advice for someone embarking on a build?
A. Don’t rush to get it all selected. This seems counterintuitive, but it actually helps to finish up some of your selections after the home is done. Live in the space a while. See how you really use it. Let it marinate. You might even want to design one room at a time. Put simply, avoid rash decisions and ditch the idea that it has to all be “done” on move-in day. It’s okay to go slow and build that relationship and understanding first. If that isn’t an option (or even if it is), it’s also always helpful to seek design help from an expert.
Q. Do you have any design takeaways to leave us with today?
A. Less is often more! With that, it can sometimes help to start fresh. If you’re ready for a new look, try taking everything out of a room and slowly adding it back. While you’re at it, don’t be afraid to move stuff around from time to time. See what different placement does. I move stuff around in my home all the time. I love how it gives the area a whole new look. You don’t necessarily need new pieces to create a new feel. Of course, weaving in a few new items from time to time is always fun!
Thank you for the great suggestions, Karaden! It’s clear you know what it’s like to work on new construction as well as updates to an existing space. We love your people/story-first approach and how much heart you put into everything you work on.
Stop by The Black Goose Design and get to know Karaden even more. You’re sure to gain additional valuable insights and have fun exploring your many creative options.
Wednesday Oct 18 2023 by Stacey Beyer
It’s always a treat when we get to introduce you to a new member of our team here at The Black Goose Design! Today, that’s someone is Karaden Lodder. She comes to us with years of experience, a passion for design, lots of tips for making your next design project a great one.
Get to Know Karaden Q&A
Q. Tell us a bit about your design background.
A. I’ve been doing design work for more than a decade now, with much of my background in new home construction. I also attended interior design school in Scottsdale, AZ, and managed a well-known home décor store.
Q. What is it about this kind of work that appeals to you?
A. Above all else, I love that being a designer allows me to work with people. I like getting to know my clients and discovering what it is that’s most important to them. Connecting in this way is key to a successful design experience, but it also makes everything I do feel that much more meaningful.
Q: What can a client expect when they start working with you?
A. Besides a personal connection, we’ll spend time up front identifying your style. You might not even know what your style is, and that’s okay. We can discover this together. This could be from looking at your photos or a favorite décor piece, or it could be through exploring an inspiration/Pinterest board together. We’ll have fun capturing your style and taking it to the next level … putting our own unique and custom spin on an idea.
Q. How do you put a custom spin on a design project?
A. For me, it’s all about creating little moments in a home. A beautiful way to approach this is with a sentimental item or family heirloom. For example, how can we take Grandma’s old table and weave it into a modern project in a way that feels natural and thoughtful? It’s fun to achieve this goal and watch as old pieces are given new life! Every home has a story to tell. The story of those who live there. Every home should feel like a sanctuary. These are what we focus on when bringing a concept to fruition.
Q. What is your favorite space in a home to design?
A. The main living spaces, because they revolve around family and entertaining and making memories. Homes are a wonderful way to tell your story and much of that story happens in the main living areas where people gather.
Q. How would you define your personal design style?
A. I’m very eclectic! I love how timeless transitional is, but I’m also drawn to French and coastal and whimsical. With French, it’s classy and timeless. Plus, I just adore florals, which are a significant aspect of French design.
A. (continued) What draws me to coastal is the calm it creates. People often think coastal means blue and white and shells and palms, but it can be so much more than this. In fact, I just sold this chair to a client and love how, when paired with this rug, it immediately pulls coastal and creates a relaxing mood. It’s also a common misconception that coastal = vacation home. This isn’t true. At least not entirely. You can create a coastal getaway right here in landlocked Utah. Why not bring that beachy vibe home and enjoy its soothing impact? You don’t have to be overtly “beach” to take advantage of the soothing effects.
A. (continued) I also have a blast decorating children’s rooms because they are a great space to play with whimsical. Don’t be afraid to mix patterns and prints and vibrant colors.
Q. You mentioned flowers. What are some of your other go-to design favs?
A. Texture is another must when working on a space. Incorporate different finishes to add interest and personality to a space.
A. (continued) Did I happen to mention we just got these AMAZING artificial peonies in? Flowers are a beautiful way to add texture, and artificial flowers are extra nice as we’re heading into the winter months.
Q. What is your favorite color scheme?
A. I’ve always been drawn to blues and pairing various blue shades. There’s just something special about the way blues can cast an immediate calm over a space. Whether it’s gray blues or warm tones, the colors are timeless and never go out of style.
Q. You used to work with new home builds, helping clients select their home fixtures. That can be an overwhelming process. Do you have any advice for someone embarking on a build?
A. Don’t rush to get it all selected. This seems counterintuitive, but it actually helps to finish up some of your selections after the home is done. Live in the space a while. See how you really use it. Let it marinate. You might even want to design one room at a time. Put simply, avoid rash decisions and ditch the idea that it has to all be “done” on move-in day. It’s okay to go slow and build that relationship and understanding first. If that isn’t an option (or even if it is), it’s also always helpful to seek design help from an expert.
Q. Do you have any design takeaways to leave us with today?
A. Less is often more! With that, it can sometimes help to start fresh. If you’re ready for a new look, try taking everything out of a room and slowly adding it back. While you’re at it, don’t be afraid to move stuff around from time to time. See what different placement does. I move stuff around in my home all the time. I love how it gives the area a whole new look. You don’t necessarily need new pieces to create a new feel. Of course, weaving in a few new items from time to time is always fun!
Thank you for the great suggestions, Karaden! It’s clear you know what it’s like to work on new construction as well as updates to an existing space. We love your people/story-first approach and how much heart you put into everything you work on.
Stop by The Black Goose Design and get to know Karaden even more. You’re sure to gain additional valuable insights and have fun exploring your many creative options.
Thursday Jul 4 2019
The Black Goose Design is ecstatic to welcome our new store manager, Georgia Kendall! We are absolutely thrilled to have Georgia be a part of our talented interior design team.
Georgia is a very familiar face to Gardner Mill Company. For five years, she did an outstanding job managing Layers Bedding, one of our charming sister stores that specializes in beautiful bedding and located at Gardner Village. Gardner Mill Company holds a special place in Georgia's heart as she has close ties with this amazing company located in West Jordan Utah. Her grandmother, Nancy Long, is the founder of Gardner Village, and Georgia is the third generation of her family to be working at Gardner Mill Company. She feels fortunate to be able to work side by side with her her uncle, Joe Long, and aunt, Angie Gerdes, who own Gardner Mill Company and Gardner Village, along with her mama Chris Fawson, who manages CF Home.
Georgia is delighted to be able to share her expertise and design talents with The Black Goose Design!
Georgia's years of experience working at Gardner Mill Company give her essential knowledge on the many high-quality companies that we carry. Ensuring every client has a wonderful design experience complete with supreme customer service that results in total project success is her top priority. Georgia's focus is to create beautiful spaces for her clients to enjoy, but most importantly a functional space that fits her clients' individual design needs. She enjoys collaborating timeless pieces with fresh, new design elements, creating a unique look specific to her clients' personalities.
Georgia has assisted in home renovations, and has enjoyed the process of seeing a space come together beautifully. Georgia truly embraces collaborating all the principles and elements of design together to create excellence. She specializes in space planning, material selection and remodeling.
Georgia is currently renovating her 1975 brick rambler and it's well underway to becoming a beautiful space! Georgia was gracious enough to share the tremendous before and after results of one of the powder baths in her home.
As you can see, Georgia has such amazing talent! We absolutely adore this gorgeous refreshed bathroom. Stunning crisp, white shiplap gives a completely different look to this space. Can you believe the difference? The handsome touches of industrial lighting add an eye-catching contrast and this renewed bathroom is now a lovely tranquil space. We are looking forward to seeing more of her renovation projects, and we are positive they will be captivating.
Georgia is an absolute expert when it comes to beautiful, cozy bedding. One of her passions is creating inviting, restful bedroom retreats complete with luxurious bedding.
She loves introducing and educating her clients on high-quality fine linens, and allowing each client to experience the gift of a good night's rest in spectacular bedding. We can all relate to that!
Georgia loves what she does; and with her skill set, we are so excited to see her thrive at The Black Goose Design.
Georgia's passion, knowledge and expertise in design make her a well-rounded designer and will be a tremendous asset to The Black Goose Design. Georgia has such an enthusiasm for interior design and embraces the entire process. Welcome Georgia to The Black Goose Design!
Thursday Apr 25 2019
We are ecstatic to bring an exclusive inside sneak peek at the latest designer trends in the design industry! Today we will be taking you inside High Point Furniture Market, located in North Carolina. This is where the very best in furniture, rugs, and home accents come together in one spectacular space!
Randi, our talented manager and buyer at The Black Goose Design, recently attended High Point Market. She is thrilled to give you a behind-the-scenes look at all of the latest design-savvy trends that will be gracing our showroom at The Black Goose Design here in Utah.
Within the past year or so, the design industry has seen bolder colors present within upholstery and home accents. This year, the trend has moved to deeper jeweled toned coloring. Rich greens, moody blues, and beautiful burgundy tones made a gorgeous debut at the Wesley Hall showroom. Wesley Hall is an upholstery company that we have proudly carried for many years and is made with the highest-quality in materials and craftsmanship. Their stunning showrooms at High Point Market are always top-notch and filled with the latest trends.
Lavish texture was very apparent throughout Hight Point Market and was showcased beautifully on this sleek accent chair. Paisley and muted damask patterns have always been timeless and classic prints in design. These prints were a perfect companion for all of the rich jewel-toned colors displayed at High Point. This stunning damask type pattern displays a soft, vintage look that we absolutely adore!
Plush, velvety textiles were combined with varied fabrics that created a sophisticated and transitional style. The posh look of velvet combined with this streamlined wood exposed chair gives a chic and modern vibe. This year is all about incorporating lush textures and indulging in classy fabrics. Velvet seemed to be one of the most sought-after textiles and with good reason. With its luscious soft hand, who wouldn't want to cozy up in a velvet chair?
You may be wondering, what about all the light and brighter neutrals? Not to worry, with all the rich color palettes we are seeing in the design industry, neutrals remain very present! Neutrals are still a large part of the design market, and we are seeing the rich pops of color paired with neutral upholstered pieces! This light and cheery showroom is a perfect example of pairing the two worlds. A crisp white sofa with natural wood elements combined with an eye-catching art piece that include intense indigos tied togther the light and dark colors perfectly. The deep colors gave this showroom depth and dimension while still keeping the "feel" of the room light and airy.
Traditional looks were showcased with an edgy and urban feel. Metalic finishes were mixed with classic patterns and geometric prints that gave an inviting look.
Warm and natural wood tones with streamlined features in this dainty desk gave an organic presence. Incorporating wood tones within home decor brings character and essential versatility in a space.
One of our favorite upholstery companies, Lee Industries has introduced an appealing line! Beautiful fabrics that are shown here are part of a laundered line that have a super "soft to the touch" presence and bring a relaxed yet refined feel to upholstery. There was such a naturalness and simplicity to the line. These wonderful textiles with fabulous prints will be a popular choice for upholstery this coming year.
Lee Industries also has an incredible line of durable, outdoor furniture that we absolutely adore! Lee has a distinct style of making outdoor furniture look ultra chic and comfortable. This long-lasting furniture has easy-to-clean performance fabrics that will astonish you with its beautiful high-designer style and resilience.
Heirloom-type area rugs are always a favorite find at Market! Just look at those rich, ravishing colors! We are thrilled to bring the latest artwork for your floor back to our showroom. Fabulous new rugs will be arriving from Joanna Gaines within her new Magnolia line. Also, one of our most popular rug lines, Loloi Rugs, has brought on stunning new additions into their line. We cannot wait to incorporate some of these amazing area rugs into design plans.
As designers, we cannot stress enough the importance of including a rug in your space! It is absolutely key for pulling together your room with ease! Area rugs always make an impactful impression with color, texture and pattern, and these gorgeous new rugs will not disapoint. Be sure to stop by our showroom located in Midvale, Utah to see all of these ravishing rugs ready to adorn your home.
Interior design is our greatest passion, and were delighted to share with you the industry's latest design and fresh new market trends! This year's market was another tremendous success, and we are enthusiastic about filling our showroom floor with exclusive pieces and beautiful accents for you! We are looking forward to a fabulous year full of gorgeous, on-trend interior design!
Thursday Mar 28 2019
The Black Goose Design and Gardner Village are humbled and honored to participate in our annual Feed My Starving Children food pack program.
If you could, imagine just for a moment that you have to put your precious little ones down for the night, starving, crying and feeling helpless to comfort them. It seems unlikely anyone reading this can fully understand what that may be like. Thankfully! But there are many in the world who can. This is why Gardner Village and The Black Goose Design co-owner, Angie Gerdes, is so passionate about Feed My Starving Children.
This program puts food in the mouths of the hungry… Actually, “hungry” isn’t even enough. It’s called Feed My STARVING Children, because these babes are severely malnourished.
The statistics are startling. According to UNICEF, at least 6,200 kids die from hunger-related causes EVERY DAY. “We just don’t understand poverty like that,” Angie said.
Helpful volunteers are coming together at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village located in West Jordan, Utah to pack meals. Gardner Village and The Black Goose Design owners, Angie Gerdes and Joe Long, have donated the event space to make this effort possible. Representatives from the Feed My Starving Children organization will be on site to coordinate the effort, which includes packing food and praying over each meal packed.
The packed food is then sent out to missionaries throughout the world, who get the meals into the hands of those who so desperately need them.
Feed My Starving Children works with professional nutritionists to create the food mixtures. They make certain the nourishment is there to turn severely malnourished children into healthy, happy children. The lasting benefits are vast. Malnourished children often suffer permanent developmental/mental complications, making it difficult for them to change their circumstances as adults (if they survive to adulthood). By helping these children, it helps the entire community better their situation. Healthy adults come out of this cycle, which is so very important.
DONATE MONEY
Financial donations are greatly appreciated and will help those children in extreme need. Just 25-cents will feed a child for a day! That means a single dollar will feed four children for a day, and just $80 will feed a child for an entire YEAR! Please reach out and touch the lives of those who need it the most.
If you would like to donate to The Gardner Village/The Black Goose Design fund, you can do so here.
The Gardner Village shops, along with The Black Goose Design store, located in Midvale, Utah will also be accepting generous donations to feed malnourished children now through April 27, 2019.
“We’re a business. We should give back to our community and the world. By partnering with Feed My Starving Children, it feels like we can make a dent in this massive problem and see the impact we’re making. It just feels nice and is something we can all get behind as a company and a community.”
It would make a great impact if the community would get behind this and take a minute to share this post online. Together, we can do tremendous things to help those who have so little.
Thank you for donating and opening your heart to support this wonderful worthy cause. We always appreciate your generous support!
Friday Apr 20 2018
At The Black Goose Design we proudly carry high-quality, unique and ultra comfortable upholstered funiture pieces made by Wesley Hall and Lee Industries. Each amazing company offers gorgeous well-crafted upholstered pieces with a large stunning collection of fabrics to select from. Today we invite you to take an exclusive behind-the-scenes factory tour. Made entirely in the USA, with precision and care, each upholstered piece that is created is truly a work of art that will endure many years of use.
So what exactly goes into a superior piece of upholstery? Be sure to do your homework, not all upholstery is created equal, but we are prepared to show you exactly what "high-quality" defines.
We had the extraordinary opportunity to tour the Wesley Hall factory located in Hickory, North Carolina. Our tour guide was Ron Deal, the Founder of Wesley Hall. We are so grateful for his time and expertise. Wesley Hall is known for their attention to detail and hand craftsmanship on every single piece of furniture.
The results are inspiring with luxury textiles and leathers which cannot be surpassed. One of our talented designers Ali mentioned, "The hands-on approach at Wesley Hall is what really took my breath away. Each employee had a vast knowledge of the product and many years experience in their specific field. We stopped to speak with one of the seamstresses who had been sewing at Wesley Hall for 18 years. Ron expressed most of his employees had an extensive upholstery background to ensure that the 'Wesley Hall quality' would be maintained."
The details are exquisite and Wesley Hall is known for saying YES to custom requests. They bend over backwards to add details, match patterns, mix custom finishes, and the sky's the limit!
We were able to watch a craftsman eight-way hand-tie the springs into the seat of a sofa as he explained how he tied the knots and the labor it took to get each one just right. The quality at Wesley Hall is outstanding, and we could see the care and attention each piece of furniture receives in the factory.
Lee Industries was our next stop and the quality, expertise and high level of craftsmanship were all outstanding as well! An endless sea of sturdy, kiln-dried wood frames were ready to be graced with the finest fabric and cushioning for custom orders.
Ultra cozy and quality cushioning are only used in Lee products. When creating your personal sofa or chair, Lee has many cushion options from an all down fill, to a firm seating cushioning. Lee Industries takes pride in creating a piece of upholstery to suit your individual style.
These large fabric laser cutting machines cut out the pattern of the specific sofa or chair with perfection. These machines are so precise and accurate when cutting a pattern there is very little textile waste when the cutting is complete.
Lee has thousands of beautiful fabrics to choose from, and this entire room is dedicated just to the "samples" of each fabric in their fabric line. We understand, when choosing fabrics it can be challenging to decide! Lee has great customer service. You can order fabric samples, and Lee will send them directly to you to keep! How wonderful is that?!
This gorgeous chair started out as a simple wood frame, with many skilled hands it is now is ready to be welcomed into a beautiful home. Lee Industries takes first-class care in every upholstered creation. Each one is perfection!
In addition to our upholstery tours, we also toured Valdese Weavers, which is the largest textile Mill in North America. Located in North Carolina, this mill has been in operation since 1915. It was founded by Italian immigrants and originally known as the Swiss Embroidery Company. This company has a very rich heritage, and it was an honor to see the fabric process in person!
This factory has state-of-the-art technology with some of the loops weaving at 800 miles per hour. These machines work at such a fast pace and are very loud making it difficult to hear. Headphones are used when walking through the factory floor. To communicate, the instructor talked through a microphone. You could even feel the floor shaking as we walked by these massive machines.
Valdese weaves the popular residential fabric known as Cyrpton which has the highest level of interior residential performance on the market today. We also viewed the in-house design studios where their designers draw and draft fabric selections taking inspiration from all over the world.
Valdese has the most technically-advanced, world-class computer operating system ensuring their customers the finest fabrics available and delivered in the shortest amount of time. They produce tens of thousands of yards daily. We were blown away!
Take a look at this gorgeous fabric being woven right before your eyes with thousands of threads coming together to create one marvelous work of art!
Wesley Hall, Lee Industries and Valdese Weavers all create excellent and high-quality products allowing each company to reign supreme in the design industry. The Black Goose Design understands that furniture is a large investment, and this is why we love to educate our customers! When selecting furniture, especially upholstery, it is extremely important to know exactly how your furniture is made and that is it held to a high-standard of quality craftsmanship.
A special thanks to our manager, Randi and interior designer Ali, for giving us an inside look at these amazing factories! It is always a pleasure to share interesting and educational design experiences with you, our valued reader.
Our showroom is filled with outstanding upholstery and the latest designer pieces arriving weekly! Partner with one of our talented interior designers to create unique, quality upholstered pieces to complement your home for many years to come!
Friday Apr 13 2018
The Black Goose Design is thrilled to bring you stunning spring inspiration for your home! Located in North Carolina, Wesley Hall is one of our high-quality upholstery companies we proudly carry in our showroom. Today you are in for a treat, Wesley Hall is giving us exclusive access into their gorgeous showroom. With the renewed season of spring, there is no better time to refresh your home with new upholstery with all the designer details.
Make a statement with perfect prints and bring life into your space! Renew the look and feel of your entire home, add a pair of cozy chairs or mix in throw pillows with a vivid and striking pattern. These simple changes can invigorate and revive any space!
Bright and bold blues caught our eye in a big way! The contrast of the deep blue hues with a crisp fresh white makes a perfect combo for a springtime setting. We adore the framestyle on the chairs with the wood detailing, so light and airy just right for spring!
These barrel back chairs have curves in all the right places and are perfectly paired with a gorgeous textured fabric! Textured fabric can bring depth and visual interest into a room which is an essential design element. Using various textures in accent pieces such as upholstery will give a look of simplistic yet elegant design.
This splash of pink makes such a design statement, so chic and modern. The striking pink on the ottoman surrounded by softer colors makes this vignette really pop! Accent your space with a luscious hints of pink and bring springtime indoors.
With so many delightful pattern combinations and energizing color palletes, Wesley Hall has hit it out of the park with the ultimate spring collection for upholstery!
Create a sophisticated colorful scene in your home, The Black Goose Design has unique funiture pieces to complement any space. Take advantage of spectacular savings up to 30% off on custom upholstery during our Spring Sale going on now through April 28th.
Our talented designers would love to create and customize a master design plan for your space. Refresh and rejuvinate your home this spring with bright and beautiful color, prints and texture this spring.
You will not want to miss our splendid Spring Sale!
Thursday Mar 29 2018
The Black Goose Design and Gardner Village are humbled and honored to once again participate this year with Feed My Starving Children program.
If you could imagine just for a moment of putting your precious little ones down for the night, starving, crying and feeling helpless to comfort them.
It seems unlikely anyone reading this can fully understand what that may be like. Thankfully! But there are many in the world who can. This is why Gardner Village and The Black Goose Design co-owner, Angie Gerdes, is so passionate about Feed My Starving Children.
This program puts food in the mouths of the hungry… Actually, “hungry” isn’t even enough. It’s called Feed My STARVING Children, because these babes are severely malnourished.
The statistics are startling. According to UNICEF, at least 6,200 kids die from hunger-related causes EVERY DAY. “We just don’t understand poverty like that,” Angie said.
Helpful volunteers are coming together at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village located in West Jordan, Utah to pack meals. Gardner Village and The Black Goose Design owners, Angie Gerdes and Joe Long, have donated the event space to make this effort possible. Representatives from the Feed My Starving Children corporate office will be on site to coordinate the effort, which includes packing food and praying over each meal packed.
The packed food is then sent out to missionaries throughout the world, who get the meals into the hands of those who so desperately need them.
Feed My Starving Children works with professional nutritionists to create the food mixtures. They make certain the nourishment is there to turn severely malnourished children into healthy, happy children. The lasting benefits are vast. Malnourished children often suffer permanent developmental/mental complications, making it difficult for them to change their circumstances as adults (if they survive to adulthood). By helping these children, it helps the entire community better their situation. Healthy adults come out of this cycle, which is so very important.
DONATE MONEY
Financial donations are greatly appreciated and will help those children in extreme need. Just 25-cents will feed a child for a day! That means a single dollar will feed four children for a day, and just $80 will feed a child for an entire YEAR! Please reach out and touch the lives of those who need it the most.
If you would like to donate to The Gardner Village/The Black Goose Design fund, you can do so here.
The Gardner Village shops, along with The Black Goose Design store, located in Midvale, Utah will also be accepting generous donations to feed malnourished children now through April 10th.
“We’re a business. We should give back to our community and the world. By partnering with Feed My Starving Children, it feels like we can make a dent in this massive problem and see the impact we’re making. It just feels nice and is something we can all get behind as a company and a community.”
It would make a great impact if the community would get behind this and take a minute to share this post online. Together, we can do tremendous things to help those who have so little.
Thank you for donating and opening your heart to support this wonderful worthy cause!
Thursday Aug 10 2017
The most inspiring and best time of the year has arrived! We are giving you an exclusive look into this year's interior design furniture market located in Las Vegas. We are gushing over the latest in design-savvy trends and are thrilled to share them with you today.
Our talented designers are excited to explore the latest and greatest in the design industry, but most of all we love to share it with our wonderful clients. We are always ecstatic to bring back the industry's most exquisite upholstery, artwork and accessories to make your home beautiful!
Feast your eyes on the new goodies from one of our outstanding rug lines Dash and Albert! A gorgeous selection of fun new rug patterns and colors were introduced this market, from bright and bold to soft and subdued. Dash and Albert have ultra durable rugs that are super design-savvy and are sure to suit any style.
Rich tones with and texture were scattered throughout the showroom showcasing a dramatic design feel. Check out that stunning velvet mixed with a modern print, we are loving this great twist on a classic texture.
One of our favorite items we look forward to is all of the lovely layers of bedding! We cannot get enough of these delicate details that will be gracing our beautiful beds at The Black Goose Design. Creating a heavenly retreat and dressing your bed with the best bedding is a must!
Elegant and striking lighting fixtures were glowing with great designer style. Large-scaled lighting can make a major impact in any space and is great for adding in an extra architectural detail.
The popular farmhouse style was mixed with modern accents creating a new classic look that we adore.
This market was all about combining bits of bold color with soft neutrals and introducing textures from shabby chic to shiny and sleek! We found this Las Vegas market to be very well-rounded in designer style.
We were all "blushing" over the touches of this soft color that reigned supreme this market, blush- the perfect pink!
Simple and stylish storage options are making our hearts beat fast! These darling baskets are not only functional, but are also a fun design feature that can be clustered together for ultimate organization.
Here is our fantastic team of managers, buyers and talented designers from Gardner Mill company stores The Black Goose Design, CF home and Down to Earth. We are passionate about hand selecting the perfect pieces for each of our unique stores at market! Design Market is a little slice of heaven on earth, just look at those cheery faces!
The design industry is not particularly focused on following "trendy" styles right now, but rather following the style that is true to your own personal design tastes. A touch of every classic and timeless style was displayed at the Las Vegas Market. Design market is all about how you combine those styles to fit the look you love! The designers and buyers are delighted to bring back the very best of what each unique design company has to offer. The Black Goose Design's showroom is always filled new and fresh product, and we cannot wait to indulge our clients with many fabulous new market finds!
Thursday May 11 2017
Welcome back to our second part of top interior design trends of 2017. Our designers had the great opportunity to attend High Point furniture market located in North Carolina and we are bringing you an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the best in interior design for this upcoming year!
In our last segment there was a pronounced trend in gorgeous soft neutrals combined with rich textures perfect for keeping a simple timeless feel. Next up we will be spilling what was seen all over the best showroom floors, that is COLOR and a lot of it! Color is making a huge comeback and market was filled with timeless furniture pieces with a classic updated feel and playful pops-of-color added to the mix!
Bursts of beautiful color were applied in whimsical accent pieces, these eye-catching colors showcased big personality. Large patterns were playfully emphazied in much of the upholstery giving such life and vitality to each individual detailed piece.
This wall displayed best of durability and longevity in the upholstery world, Sunbrella Textiles by Lee Industries unveiled and entire wall of new vibrant fabrics that will be introduced this coming year. Just look at all of those cheery choices!
Plush throws in ravishing reds combined with simple plaid patterning made for pure pillow perfection!
There was a significant refelction on classic colors but with a fresh updated approach, deep moody blues paired with bits of bright coloring in this collection captured a timeless refeshed feel.
Can you say pink perfection?! We adore this sweet happy showroom filled with dazziling pink shades, and notice the mixing of striking pattern throughout many of the accent pieces!
Bold accent pieces especially in artwork were real head-turners, we loved the striking black and white features of this collection with just an added hint of blush. Introducing bright pinkish hues into many different pieces gave such a fun flare while displaying serious design-savvy style!
Rich supple leather combined with knockout color combinations made for effortless design! Overall, color is back and it is bolder, bigger and brighter than ever this market.
This year displayed vivid color choices letting the personality of each piece be noticed in a spectacular way. We are excited to bring back captivating color to our showroom and cannot wait to share it with our wonderful clients! Creative color combinations are bigger than ever and we are not feeling shy about being bold, our designers are ecstatic about the comeback of color!
Interior design is our greatest passion and we are delighted to share with you the industries latest design and fresh new market trends! This year's market was another tremendous success and we are enthusiastic about filling our showroom floor with exclusive pieces and beautiful accents with the latest in"colorful" timeless design.
Thursday May 4 2017
It is the most wonderful time of the year, welcome to High Point Furniture Market located in North Carolina. This is where the best of furniture, rugs and home accents throughout the design industry all come together in one charming space! High Point is basically the superbowl of the design industry and we are giving you an exclusive VIP pass throughout the showroom's of our most adored furniture and accessory companies. Our talented designers are thrilled to give you a behine-the-scenes look at all of the latest design-savvy trends that will be gracing our showroom at The Black Goose Design.
This year's design market focus was all about returning to timeless classic design with sophisticated lines and noted texturing. Neutral coloring was kept fresh, simple and showcased beautifully throughout bedding and accent pieces.
All new neutral fabric introductions were soft, subuded and blended so effortlessly together creating an interesting cohesive feel. These fabrics were all unique in patterning and design which told a captivating neutral story, we are thrilled with all of the many fabulous textile combinations this market and cannot wait for our new high-quality upholstery pieces to arrive!
Gorgeous classic warm wood tones with a lighter twist were introduced and were combined with a clean transitional appearance in many furniture pieces. Elegant lines with a timeless feel brought a "modern" yet ageless approach to many accent pieces.
We are delighted to share the best furniture and accent pieces of the design industry to you, our beloved clients. Stay tuned for more magical market finds we will be posting soon, you won't want to miss out on the biggest trend of the year!
Thursday Apr 20 2017
The Black Goose Design is thrilled to give you an exclusive look into our latest project our talented designers have been working on at our beautiful furniture and design store located in Midvale, Utah. Our radiant new retail space is pure bliss and we are so excited to share this magnificent transformation process with you all!
We adore our charming building and wanted to improve and refresh a portion of our showroom floor with an updated designer look! It has been such a pleasure seeing every step of the design process and having this amazing transition take place.
This refreshing new "parlor room" space all started by closing off what was once an adjoining room. Our remodel project kicked-off with one giant wall patch, and we were off to a great start!
Next we opened up the entrance to the room by nearly doubling the original width and extending the doorway up to the ceiling creating a spacious grand look. The ceiling was also dropped about 6" and new recessed lighting was installed to illuminate every inch of this new spacious showroom. These few simple changes already have brought a feeling of light and airiness to the room!
With a fresh new canvas to work with we had envisioned doing a dramatic wall treatment with crisp lines encompassing the entire room floor to ceiling. This particular wall treatment we wanted to apply is all the rage in the design industry right now and is an exceptional wall accent. Can you guess the material we used? That's right, shiplap!
This building material is ultra-chic and can give a classic, clean look to a space. Our "shiplap" was created with 12" routed MDF boards and installed with perfection throughout the parlor room displaying lucious lines! A fresh new coat of Benjamin Moore's paint in Swiss Coffee was applied to the shiplap completing this wonderful wall treatment and bringing bright new life to the space.
A warm and inviting textured wood floor was also installed creating a complementery foundation to the new room. The combination of the warm wood tones and crisp white accents are a match made in designer heaven! We are giddy about the texture throughout the new floor and the appealing presence it brings to the space.
We are all in awe of this new parlor room. It actually feels more spacious, lighter and renewed! If you are craving a refreshed look in a particular space, you can achieve it by simply applying a light paint color. This it will instantly brighten and promote a feeling of fresh airiness into your home.
Intergrating texture is a crucial part of completing a well-designed room and adding a wall treatment is a great way to incorporate texture into a space without overwhelming an area. Consider a simple clean-lined shiplap wall application. Shiplap will contribute classic character and charm while giving dramatic texture and added interest.
If you are craving a bright and and refreshed feeling in your space, light neutral colors are always considered a designer's top choice! Crisp, white walls are versatile and blend well with any color pallete allowing flexibility for accent colors in furniture, accent pieces, artwork or draperies.
This stunning new space is beyond dreamy, and we are absolutely delighted with the end result. Allow our talented designers to give you an up close and personal tour of all the inspirational details in our new "parlor room!" We are always delighted to share expert designer tips on how to achieve this refreshed look and help you lighten and brighten up your own home!
Wednesday Apr 12 2017
“Can you imagine putting your babies down to bed and they’re starving and crying?”
The pain in Angie’s voice was evident as she asked this question. To answer, it seems unlikely anyone reading this can fully understand what that's like. Thankfully! But there are many in the world who can. It’s why Gardner Village and The Black Goose Design co-owner Angie Gerdes is so passionate about Feed My Starving Children.
This program puts food in the mouths of the hungry… Actually, “hungry” isn’t even enough. It’s called Feed My STARVING Children, because these babes are severely malnourished.
The statistics are startling. According to UNICEF, at least 6,200 kids die from hunger-related causes EVERY DAY. Think about that for a moment. It’s difficult to fathom, isn’t it?
“We just don’t understand poverty like that,” Angie said.
While it seems an overwhelming situation, there are ways we can help.
On April 28 and 29, volunteers (ages 5 and up) are coming together at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village to pack meals. Gardner Village and The Black Goose Design owners, Angie Gerdes and Joe Long, have donated the events space for the weekend to make this effort possible. Representatives from the Feed My Starving Children corporate office will be on site to coordinate the effort, which includes packing food and praying over each meal packed.
"They keep it fun,” Angie said, discussing her experience packing when they hosted this same effort last year. “They play music and tell you what you’re doing as you do it so you get a real idea of the difference you’re making!”
The packed food is then sent out to missionaries throughout the world, who get the meals into the hands of those who so desperately need them.
While fun, the experience can also be quite emotional.
“I just cried half the day,” Angie continued. “The staff really gets their hearts involved in what they’re doing. They’ve been there to deliver the food and know firsthand the impact it makes in the communities receiving it.”
Feed My Starving Children works with professional nutritionists to create the food mixtures. They make certain the nourishment is there to turn severely malnourished children into healthy, happy children. The lasting benefits are vast. Malnourished children often suffer permanent developmental/mental complications, making it hard for them to change their circumstances as adults (if they survive to adulthood). By helping children, it helps the entire community better their situation. More healthy adults come out of this cycle, which is so very important.
DONATE MONEY
While all volunteer spots have been filled this year, you can still help in a major way--a financial contribution. Just $0.25 will feed a child for a day! That means a single dollar will feed four children for a day! Talk about an impact! And $80 will feed a child for a YEAR! Isn’t that remarkable? If you want to donate to the Gardner Village/The Black Goose Design fund, you can do so here. Or you can do so in any of the Gardner Village shops between now and April 28. Jars are set up to collect those quarters.
Anyone lucky enough to work with Angie and Joe would agree they're some of the kindest business owners you’ll ever meet. They lead with heart and genuinely want to make life better for all who interact with Gardner Village and The Black Goose Design. To see them extending such compassion on a global scale comes as no surprise. That’s just the kind of people they are. Of course, Angie sees it slightly differently.
“We’re a business. We should give back to our community and the world. By partnering with Feed My Starving Children, it feels like we can make a dent in this massive problem and see the impact we’re making. It just feels nice and is something we can all get behind as a company and a community.”
It would be a wonderful thing if the community would get behind this and take a minute to share this post online. Together, we can do great things to help those who have so little.
Thank you for supporting this worthy cause!
P.S. If you want to experience what it's like to be a part of the packing fun, you are not out of luck. Plans for a 2018 event are already in the works. We'll be sure to mention the opportunity to sign up when the time comes, so please keep your eye on our various social media channels early next spring. In the meantime, those financial donations sure are appreciated! Thanks for your support and interest!
Friday Feb 24 2017
The Black Goose Design is delighted to share with you a sneak peek into a refreshing remodel work-in-progess of our beautiful furniture and design store located in Midvale, Utah.
This charming building was originally built in the late 1800's yet still displays tremendous character today. A timeless and classic brick exterior and an endearing awning greets every guest as they enter through our beloved storefront. The Black Goose Design cherishes this historic building, and we feel grateful to have had this remarkable space to host our many wonderful customers for over 30 years.
This building has many unique design features including original stunning transom windows which carry and enduring classic feel throughout the building. We are pleased to treasure these historic features today.
This exciting transformation started as a vision to refresh and update our retail and designer workroom space while still maintaining the integrity of the building. Ultimately our end design goal is to create a warm ambiance and proper functional retail space throughout our building while still presenting a refreshed and updated designer look.
This space will soon be transformed into a refreshed private professional design presentation room. This room will be complete with custom built-in cabinetry and a floating island piece from one of our companies that we carry, Bramble Furniture.
The ceiling was dropped six inches and framed in to allow for this space to house new lighting pieces for display, including this spectacular lighting fixture. The nickle-board wall treatment and crisp new coat of paint in Benjamin Moore's, Swiss Coffee, gave this room a huge facelift! Ahh, it feels lighter already!
Benjamin Moore paint in Swiss Coffee
Large built-in cabinets will be installed and provide ample storage space. There will also be additional desk space. Beautiful design samples to catalog books will be at our fingertips in one convenient space. This built-in unit will grace this bright and cheery space. We cannot wait to put it to excellent use!
A beautiful wood-stained finish will be applied to our furniture island piece giving rich texture to the room.
This area is an interior designer's dream for the ulitimate funcitonal workspace! This spacious work area will allow our designers to present their design plans to their clients in serious style.
Get ready to pick your jaws up off the floor, the photo of these stunning doors pictured below are our inspiration that will soon be replicated welcoming you into this amazing design workroom.
A warm and inviting wood floor will be installed throughout the newly-updated areas. The combination of the gorgeous wood finish with crisp white accents are a match made in designer heaven!
The new "parlor" room will feature a stunning wall treatment. A 12" routed MDF board will be applied to the walls displaying beautiful lines. The room will be completed with a fresh new coat of paint and will bring the new space and treatment to life. What once was an opening to the adjoining room is now closed off allowing for additional showroom space to feature our stunning furniture pieces.
Beautiful lighting will be added in the parlor as well. We will have two of these amazing chandelier pieces illuminating this room.
But the eye candy lighting does not stop there! We will also be adding this breathtaking piece in the parlor as well.
The Black Goose Design is looking forward to sharing this amazing new space with our wonderful clients. We anticipate the completion of this incredible design project soon so stay tuned for the full reveal of this fresh, new inspirational space!
Monday Jan 23 2017
Hello there! The Black Goose Design is delighted to share some exciting news with our dearest friends! We are delighted to announce we have combined our wonderful website and beautiful blog into one amazing space where you will find incredible interior design inspiration, expert design tips, client home tours and the lastest in design trends all at your fingertips under one lovely space. We are thrilled to be able to present some spectacular blog posts with you throughout this new year!
We would love for you to join us for all of the fabulous fun!