Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Mother's Day 2010


Wisteria certainly would not be what it is today without the inspiration of our mothers. Our moms invested decades of effort, almost without our noticing, in finding, winnowing, and polishing the mix of things that have shaped our families' lives and our own ideas of what our house might be like. As we grew older, we wanted our own home as well as Wisteria to be a reflection of our mothers' influence. We hope we've done just that. Happy Mother's Day!

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Employee Spotlight: Angela


Angela is our merchandising assistant. She receives and organizes all of our products when they first get to our warehouse. She is very sweet, a hard worker, and famous for her breakfast tacos!

What are your favorite things about working at Wisteria?
I would have to say the wonderful bunch of smart people I work for as well as my fellow co-workers and of course the great little outlet that is just a few steps away from my desk!

What is one thing about you people probably don't know?
I am a CLEAN FREAK!

What is your favorite place to visit?
My parent house

What is the one place in the world you've never been but would love to go?
ANYWHERE!

How would you describe your personal style?
Very usual

I'm known for:
My power walking.

What is your favorite Wisteria item?
w1377 Vintage Chinese Butcher's Table

What is your most treasured item?
My wonderful, lively grandmother

How many/what languages do you speak?
Spanish and English

My one indulgence is:
chocolate

Craziest food ever eaten:
cows tongue - DELISH!

Favorite spot in my house:
living room

Favorite food:
cheese and onion enchiladas

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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Holi Celebration

A few Wisteria employees just got back from India. They spent time with our artisans, building relationships and searching for products. While there, some of our Indian friends threw the Wisteria travelers a huge celebration in conjunction with the celebration of Holi, a spring holiday in India. At the party, they had elephants, camels, horses with a silver chariot, marching band, men with huge parasols, dancing women, monkeys, a throne fit for a Raja, and one of the most famous sitar players in India!

In the celebration of Holi, people throw colored powder at each other. You can see from the pictures, our travelers did not get out of this celebration.




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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Customer Photos 2

Several of our customers are gracious enough to send us pictures of Wisteria products in their home. It's always so fun to see the unique ways in which they style their homes with our products. Here are a few pictures we recently received. We'd love to see more. Email us your photos to blog@wisteria.com.
Our Birch Wreath (we usually have this online around the holidays)

A candelabrum we sold a few years ago

Our Swedish Secretary. We sold this a few years ago. A customer bought it and painted it white.

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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Snow Day


We got a lot of snow today here at Wisteria. To commemorate this momentous occasion (since Dallas rarely gets this much snow), we stepped outside for a little fun!





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Monday, February 8, 2010

A Valentine's Day Recipe


For those of you looking for easy Valentine's Day recipes, here's a cookie recipe that's quite delicious. (And the cookies look lovely on our French Country Cake Stand.)

Cake Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 box cake mix
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together and spoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Note: You can use any combination of cake mix and candy chips. In this case, we used strawberry cake mix and chocolate chips. Some other delicious combinations: spice cake with white chocolate chips, chocolate cake with dark chocolate chips, yellow cake with chocolate chips.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Creativity with Santa


One of our dear customer friends passed along her brilliant idea for using our Hanging Santa Note Holder. She and her husband live off the coast of North Carolina on Ocracoke Island, and have traveled every year for the past nine years to Midland, Texas, to teach kindergarten classes about their island. They used the Santa Note Holder to help tell their island's story by dressing him up in various outfits, representing the the people who work on the island.

We loved the creativity and humor behind this project and hope you do, too.

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Employee Spotlight: Sang


Sang is our Accounting Clerk. He is probably one of the nicest and most patient people you will ever meet. He and his wife are currently looking forward to the sleepless nights with their first little girl on the way! Please pray they don't lose their sanity!

What are your favorite things about working at Wisteria?
I enjoy being around and working with great people. Also, some of the products we have are really unique and fascinating.

What is one thing about you people probably don't know?
I'm an amateur musician. I love playing the guitar, and I'm currently leading worship at my church.

What is your favorite place to visit?
New York and New Jersey, my hometown.

What is the one place in the world you've never been but would love to go?
Many, many places, but I'd especially love to go to Europe one day.

How would you describe your personal style?
Laid back and soft spoken.

What is your favorite Wisteria item?
w2626 Chicken Note Holder Frame

What is your most treasured item?
My 1991 USA Fender Stratocaster Guitar

How many/what languages do you speak?
Two: English and Korean.

My one indulgence is:
Haagen Dazs strawberry flavored ice cream. I could eat a gallon of those.

Craziest food ever eaten:
Black goat meat soup. Did not enjoy it by the way.

Favorite spot in my house:
My little study room.

Favorite food:
Cheddar's Key West Chicken and Shrimp.

My pet's name is:
Willy, A Finnish Spitz

Favorite place to watch the sunset:
On the small mountain near my house called the Prayer Mountain.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Squirrel Appreciation Day

Today is Squirrel Appreciation Day. Whether you think they are pests or pets, squirrels have a funny aspect to them that we love. In celebration of this holiday, we'd like to share a few photos. And to keep the appreciation going all year round, here's a few of our favorite squirrel items.


This squirrel was taunting one of our employees' dog.

While walking through the Dallas Arboretum, one of our employees spotted this squirrel either sunbathing or trying to camouflage himself on the rock.

This squirrel jumped out in front of one of our employees while he was on a walk.


Fore more info, you can read an article about the holiday here.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mavericks Basketball Game

Before Christmas, several Wisteria employees got together to go to a Dallas Mavericks basketball game. Here's some pictures from the event!



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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Nonprofit Work in Haiti


We wanted to pass the word along about a nonprofit we support that is doing work in Haiti.

In February 2009, we featured One Vision International in our catalog. In the recent years, they have been working in Haiti building an orphanage for over 100 children who had either been abandoned or whose parents couldn't take care of them. The Haitian director and his wife have been taking care of the children since they first found them.

Click here to read an update from One Vision about their work in Haiti since the earthquake hit only a few days ago. If you're interested in supporting One Vision and the work they are doing in Haiti, please visit their website: www.onevisioninternational.org.

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Friday, January 8, 2010

Employee Spotlight: Asad

Asad is our IT Manager. He comes to the rescue when something goes wrong with our computers and calmly deals with all the requests we have for our website.

What are your favorite things about working at Wisteria?
I enjoy working at Wisteria because of its friendly atmosphere and the great group of people that I get to learn from everyday. By working here, I have learned many things and have gained a lot of experience.

What is one thing about you people probably don't know?
I am a huge college football fan. Hook 'em Horns!

What is your favorite place to visit?
Miami. The weather in Miami is beautiful throughout most of the year.

What is the one place in the world you've never been but would love to go?
It's really hard to pick one place but if I have to, I would love to go to Denmark.

What is your favorite Wisteria item?
w447 Inlaid Mother-of-Pearl Bird Mirror

What is your most treasured item?
Family and friends.

How many/what languages do you speak?
Three: English, Urdu, and Hindi

My one indulgence is:
The computer/internet I can't live without it.

Craziest food ever eaten:
Fried Peanut Butter Cup Macaroon at the State Fair of Texas.

Favorite spot in my house:
My living room with the huge TV so I can watch my football.

Favorite food:
Italian. I love Olive Garden.

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Monday, January 4, 2010

Chicken Biryani

Cold weather puts us in the mood for warm food. One of our employees' mother brought by a huge batch of her infamous Chicken Biryani to share with the Wisteria team!

And she was kind enough to share the recipe with us:

CHICKEN BIRYANI

Ingredients for Chicken:
6 tablespoon oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoon garlic and ginger paste
1 teaspoon red chili powder
0.5 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 cardamom
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
2 pieces (1 inch) cinnamon sticks
4 pounds boneless chicken pieces cut into chunks
2 medium tomatoes peeled and chopped
4 tablespoon yogurt
Salt according to taste

Directions (Chicken):
In a large pot, put 6 tablespoons of oil and cook onions until they are soft and golden brown. Add chicken and ginger garlic paste and cook for 5 minutes. Then add red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, tomatoes, yogurt and salt. Cover and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Ingredients for Rice:
4 cup rice (basmati)
2 cloves
2 cardamom
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoon lemon juice
Yellow food color
2 tablespoon fried onions
Cooking Spray

Directions (Rice):
Wash rice and soak in water for 30 minutes. Then boil the rice with salt and lemon juice until it is three fourths of the way cooked. Drain the water from the rice.

Final step:
Transfer all of the chicken into a foil tray and spread rice evenly on top of it. Sprinkle yellow food color and fried onions over the rice. Then spray some cooking spray. Cover the tray with foil and bake on 360 for about 1.5 hours.

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Red and White Collection

We hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. Earlier in December, we held a contest in which the winner received our entire red and white collection. Here's a few pictures from the winner's home.


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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Shadowboxes of Memories


The time of year always makes us feel a little nostalgic, perhaps it's because we're traveling to see loved ones or thinking about the ones we can't see. And as the new year approaches, we're thinking about the past 12 months and wondering what the next year will hold. As an ode to memories and special times, several Wisteria employees filled our Black Shadowbox with items from their past.




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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A Wisteria Employee's Heritage

Janell, our Assistant Finance Manager is from Antigua and Barbuda. The country recently celebrated its Independence Day. We noticed the pin Janell was wearing, and she shared this story with us:

Earlier this month, my country Antigua and Barbuda, celebrated 28 years of Independence. This year's theme is One Family: Reviving our National Pride. It is with this national pride that I share my heritage with the Wisteria family.

The twin island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is located in the middle of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean. Antigua, the largest of the English-speaking Leeward Islands, is about 108 square miles in size, while Barbuda, a flat coral island with an area of only 68 square miles, lies about 30 miles north. Temperatures generally range from mid-seventies in the winter to the high-eighties to low-nineties in the summer. There are 365 beaches on Antigua and Barbuda, one for each day of the year.
Turners Beach

On November 1, 1981, Antigua and Barbuda gained Independence from Britain after becoming dependencies in 1967. The celebration of Independence Day is a festive occasion. The celebrations consist of a week of competitions, parades, expos, and food fairs. About two weeks before Independence Day, local businesses, schools, and government buildings decorate in the traditional fabric of the National Dress, called the madras, which is used for clothing and decoration. The National Dress is worn by many on this day in its original form and in different variations. It is a symbol of national pride and is worn with dignity.

Janell's friends and family in the traditional dress.

The National Flag can also be seen throughout the islands. It was designed by a nationally acclaimed artist and sculptor, Sir Reginald Samuel, in 1967. The colors have different meanings. The black is for the African ancestry of the people, the blue for hope, the red for energy or dynamism of the people. The successive coloring of yellow, blue, and white (from the sun down) also stands for the sun, sea, and sand. The blue also represents the Caribbean Sea, the V-shape is the symbol of victory, and the rising sun symbolizes the dawning of a new era.


As a young girl, I can remember the many activities that took place throughout the island. My fondest memory is of the annual Youth Rally, where thousands of youths from all the schools would come together and parade the streets of the capital, St John's, in an explosion of talent, creativity, and rich cultural display. The annual food fair is also a favorite. It attracts many people, both natives and tourists, to feast on the various local cuisines. Our National Dish, and also my favorite of the many local dishes, is fungie (pronounced foon-jee) and pepperpot, and can be found at any food fair and cooked in every home. Pepperpot is a soup-like dish with a mix of various vegetables and meats, and fungie is a cooked cornmeal paste served into little balls.

Beauty, rich culture, and fine cuisine all depict the majesty of my country as we celebrate 28 years of Independence. Two islands, one people, joined in national pride.



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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Open House

A local realtor used some of our items to stage a house he had for sale. The result was a beautiful, more home-feeling house! What do you think?






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Friday, October 30, 2009

Happy Halloween!

Here's a look at some of our employees past Halloweens as well as some Halloween celebrations at Wisteria! Enjoy!

Paige, our Production Manager, with her siblings. Paige is the scarecrow!

Audrey dressed up for her Halloween close up.

Cooper, Susanna, their friend, and Hudson.


Last year, we had a pumpkin-carving contest between departments.

Several years ago, a few Wisteria employees dressed up as Andrew in his standard outfit, a blue button down shirt and khaki pants (apparently he didn't get that memo because he wore jeans that day).

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