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    In-demand Decor

    Like Cane Rosso's cool upcycled decor? You can buy it at this new store.

    Teresa Gubbins
    Feb 24, 2016 | 10:34 am
    PalletSmart showroom in Fort Worth
    Recycled wood specialist PalletSmart is opening a retail outlet in Fort Worth.
    PalletSmart/Facebook

    If you've admired the rustic wood motif you've seen at restaurants such as Cane Rosso, you can get that look yourself with the opening of a retail outlet of PalletSmart, the North Texas company that specializes in recycling wood pallets into good-looking furniture and decor.

    The store will open on March 4 at 5321 White Settlement Rd., giving PalletSmart a platform to expand from the commercial to the consumer world, with a line of already made furniture and decorative items. It's the latest stop on a brisk trajectory that founders John Zaskoda and Kevin Rennels have experienced since launching their business in 2012.

    "This is our first full-fledged effort at trying to do a solid whack at retail," Zaskoda says. "A lot of what we've done has been custom orders, but that's not something everyone wants. We wanted smaller, lower-priced items if people liked the look and wanted to pick something up."

    That includes general home décor items such as coffee tables, end tables, wall shelves, planters, and bird houses, price from under $10 all the way up to one-of-a-kind dining room tables that are $3,000. "A lot of folks these days like the rustic look, and recycling has become huge," he says.

    Recycling pallet wood has also become a popular home project, but Zaskoda cautions that not all pallet wood is alike. "It's a fun project, but some of this wood you just can't use, and some is not built to last," he says.

    The space they're in was previously an old Fina station and, before that, a combination convenience store and service station. They moved there in 2013 and had a retail portion that did well enough during the holidays, but lacked a cohesive formula.

    "There's a lot of interest in this kind of look, but we had to figure out what would attract people to come to this part of Fort Worth to shop," he says.

    He and Rennels started the company in March 2012, literally in their backyard. "I built some planter boxes, and Quincy Wallace, who co-owns Fred's Cafe, asked me to build a few for the restaurant," Zaskoda says.

    Three months later, they rented an old dance studio on White Settlement.

    "A week later, we were thinking, 'What did we just do?'" Zaskoda says. "But right about that time, we got a call from Rahr Brewery, who'd seen what we did at Fred's. We ended up building their bar.

    "Then Jay Jerrier opened Cane Rosso in Fort Worth, which led to Pecan Lodge, which led to Brian Luscher. Now we're in dozens of bars and restaurants, like Omni and On the Border. We've been very supported by Fort Worth and Dallas."

    Everything they build, whether rustic or refined, comes from a repurposed source, which is a point of pride.

    "It does a lot for the local economy," he says. "Disposing of pallets can be complicated for companies. We're proud that we've taken a lot of that waste off their hands for the last four years."

    openingsshoppingsustainability
    news/home-design

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    Toy News

    Japanese collector toy store to open at Firewheel center in Garland

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jun 11, 2025 | 12:25 pm
    Gashapon store
    Gashapon
    undefined

    A new store for people who like to collect small plastic objects is coming to Garland. It's called Gashapon Bandai Official Shop, and it's opening in June at Firewheel Town Center, where it will sell "capsule toys" — miniature plastic toys packaged in clear plastic capsules.

    Gashapon is a type of vending machine that dispenses capsule toys. The concept is popular in Japan, with machines found in train stations, arcades, convenience stores, and other locations. (The name "Gashapon" is derived from the sounds of turning the handle ("gasha") and the capsule dropping ("pon").)

    The toys inside Gashapon capsules can be characters from cultural realms like manga, video games, or Japanese anime franchises. Or they can be coasters, or food miniatures, or charms you attach to your purse or notebook, or little animal figures, or little whimsical animal figures, or little statues, or an assortment of little plastic hats, or a quartet of tiny jewelry stands in pastel colors (buy them all!).

    The machines take tokens which cost $2 to $2.50 each; most toys "cost" 2 to 4 tokens each.

    The idea of capsule toys — coin-operated vending machines — actually originated in the U.S. in 1907 along with bubble-gum machines. Japan embraced it in the 1960s, and the Gashapon chain was launched in Japan in 1977.

    The first U.S. Gashapon Bandai Official Shop opened in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district in February 2023.

    The entire thing is driven by collector frenzy. The toys are produced in limited quantities, and in sets, which encourages customers to acquire every member of the set.

    Customers do not know what they will get until they turn the vending machine handle — not unlike slot machines. Like gambling. Or as Gashapon says more delicately, "The element of surprise brings excitement during the purchase and gets everyone hooked!" … furthering the frenzy even further.

    Garland will make the fifth location in Texas; following Hurst, which opened in May; Grapevine Mills Mall and Houston, which opened in 2024; and Mitsuwa Marketplace in Plano which opened in 2023 (There's also a kiosk at Grapevine Mills Mall.)

    openingsshoppingkids
    news/home-design
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