My own history with Bombay Company is long but uncomplicated, one of decorating fidelity and trust.
When I moved into my first apartment (it was actually a rented condo), I was short on cash and long on dreams for how I would feather my new nest. I knew I wanted something rich and traditional, but at the same time budget-friendly. Enter Bombay Company.
Bombay Company was always one of my very favorite places to shop for my new home and to get ideas for putting a signature style together. They had everything: furniture, artwork, lamps, knicknacks, you name it. I loved it all (and I think I bought it all, too). What wasn't actually purchased at Bombay Company was inspired by them. I still remember fondly my first Christmas at my new apartment with my then-boyfriend (now husband), a candlelit Christmas Eve with dining table and chairs, Christmas decorations and tablescape all provided courtesy of Bombay Company. If I had had a fireplace, I think I would have been in my idea of heaven.
And it was all affordable. At that point in my life, I didn't care if something was a real antique or created by a master craftsman as long as it looked good (and did I mention I was short on cash?). Now, that's not to say that the pieces I bought at Bombay Company were chintzy or cheap (in the pejorative sense). To the contrary. As far as I was concerned, Bombay Company was a godsend, effectively allowing people of all levels of income to have a beautifully-appointed home with a decidedly Old World feel. Ten years after the fact, I still have numerous pieces in my home that came from the land of Bombay and I still love them all.
In the years since those early days of furnishing an apartment on a shoestring budget, I've moved on to a house in the suburbs with my husband, but I never completely moved away from my love of all things Bombay. If I was looking for candlesticks or decorative gold mirrors or a reasonably priced desk chair or even baroque Christmas ornaments, their website or their retail store was the first place I'd go looking. I always knew I'd find something beautiful and affordable.
That's why I never understood how Bombay Company filed for bankruptcy and closed its retail stores in 2007. There were literally hundreds of stores doing hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. It seemed like every decorating diva I knew was a fan. Nevertheless, the unthinkable did happen and Bombay Company was no more...until now.
Recently having launched their new collection on QVC, you can start looking for their new collections in the near-future at high-end department stores and specialty shops, mid-tier home furnishings stores and discount chains. Rumor has it that their new website will also launch in Spring 2011, allowing the faithful to purchase smaller items direct.
Rest assured that I'll be watching for it all, with my credit card at the ready and my memories intact.
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| Copyright 2010 - All rights reserved - Pamela Yeaton |
