Shopping for a cause

Dallas' favorite home shopping event celebrates a decade of design

Dwell with Dignity is marking its 10th anniversary Thrift Studio with a party that lasts all month long. The much-anticipated fundraising pop-up shop — open April 5-27 in the Dallas Design District — features luxuriously furnished vignettes designed by North Texas’ leading designers, showrooms, and retailers, as well as a selection of fine art from 34 prestigious artists.

All of the high-end home décor items and original artwork on display are available for shoppers to purchase at deep discounts, with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting Dwell with Dignity. DwD's mission is to provide low-income families and their new permanent housing with furniture, bedding, kitchen supplies, art, professional interior styling, food in the pantry and their first night’s meal. Thrift Studio is the organization's largest annual fundraiser.

"Nine renowned designers created eight vignettes displaying their talents, luxury furnishings, and original art pieces," the organization says in a release. "The vignettes may be an office area, dining room, bedroom, living area, or even a hotel lobby, but all are elaborately designed and furnished."

The design cast of the 2019 Thrift Studio reads like a “Who’s Who” in the design world.

The 2019 artists are: Lydia Abigail, Jennifer Ayyad, Barbara Baldwin, Anne Beletic, Jessica Bell, Brenda Bogart, Stephanie Bray, Teresa Bristol, Linda Chidsey, Ginger Cochran, Foster Cranz, Carolyn Joe Daniel, Nicole Davis, Melissa Ellis, Ben Fluno, Jordan Gomez, Margaret Harris, Silky Hart, JoJo Herda, Stacie Hernandez, Andrea Holmes, Carolyn Kerr, Joyce Landry, Cathy Manning, Amy McKenzie, Christ Merril, Clare Minella, Ethan Moss, Roma Osowo, Gregory Piazza, Nataliya Plambeck, Mione Plant, Lori Rayfield, Margaret Rehwinkel, Laura Runge, and Kristina Taherzadeh.

Designer and retail partners include:

Brant McFarlain
Judy Aldridge + Genesis Thrift Store
Pulp Design Studios + S. Harris
Maestri Studio + Mitchell Gold-Bob Williams
Holly Hickey Moore + RJones and Associates + SUPPLY
Russell Brightwell and Alice Cottrell + Stark
Peters Cates Designs + Kravet
Harbinger Designs + Casita

"The interior design teams have partnered with an assortment of retail partners to keep the shopping experience fresh," the organizers say in a release. "For instance, interior designer Judy Aldridge, well-known for repurposing furniture, partnered with Genesis Thrift Store. Couture collector Russell Brightwell has some of his rare, out-of-production, contemporary design objects, vintage ceramics, editions, and rare fashion, art, and design books on display and available to purchase."

Each vignette showcases a selection of luxury home décor and furnishings from high-end retail stores. Sofas, dining room tables, chandeliers, curtains, coffee table books, rugs, and more are discounted dramatically, often starting at 60 percent off.

Also, each of the vignettes will be replenished throughout the month of April, so — pro tips — shop often and ask a Thrift Studio staff member if there are specific days and times when they replenish, so you can coordinate your next visit.

Also, follow Instagram @DwellwithDignity for additional markdowns on featured products of the day.

Dwell with Dignity’s Thrift Studio Pop-Up Shop is open 10 am-5 pm Monday through Saturday through April 27 and is free for attendees to explore and shop. The shop is located at the Dallas Design Center, 1250 Slocum Street, #550.

A room designed by Holly Hickey Moore.

Photo by Lance Selgo, Unique Exposure Photography

A room designed by Holly Hickey Moore.

charity shopping

Closure news

Beloved Dallas retailer Weir’s Furniture to close after 78 years

Facebook/Weir's

Weir's Furniture is closing all locations.

Weir's Furniture, a family-owned company that has sold home furnishings to generations of North Texans since 1948, is closing the doors to all stores for good.

Going-out-of-business sales will begin Thursday, March 26, and the stores will close when all merchandise is sold - likely May or June, a spokesperson says. Weir's currently has four locations in Dallas-Fort Worth: on Travis Street in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood, in Farmers Branch, Plano, and Southlake.

Online retail operations will wind down, as well.

"Founded by J. Ray and Bea Weir with a single storefront on Knox Street in Dallas, Weir’s was built on a simple but enduring philosophy: honor God and serve people," says a release. "What began as a modest neighborhood store has since grown into four locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, grounded in unwavering commitments to courtesy, respect, integrity, and offering high-quality furniture at a fair price."

Al Boulden, Weir’s Chairman of the Board, says the decision to close after nearly eight decades was made only after exploring "all reasonable alternatives. They carefully evaluated the company's long-term financial position, difficult market conditions and operational challenges, he said, but ultimately they determined that Weir's could no longer continue to operate sustainably.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, but closing now enables us to honor J. Ray and Bea’s legacy by finishing well and taking care of our employees,” Boulden says in the release. “From the very beginning, Weir’s mission has been rooted in honoring God and serving our people.

"We are incredibly grateful to our customers, employees, and the broader community who have supported us for so many decades and made Weir’s a beloved retailer throughout North Texas.”

Weir's Furniture Plano The Weir's store in Plano.Photo courtesy of Weir's

Over the decades, Weir’s grew beyond a traditional furniture retailer into a retail institution in Dallas-Fort Worth, with ties to local charities, ministries, and schools. Its in-store “Country Store,” introduced in 1963, became a draw with its old-fashioned candy and inexpensive treats that appealed to generations.

Leadership of the company remained within the founding family for much of its history, passing from founder J. Ray Weir to his son Dan Weir in 1972, and later to nephew Mark Moore, who served as CEO until 2024 as the last family member in the top role.

The company also built a reputation for prioritizing relationships — from paying vendors promptly, even during challenging periods like the COVID-19 pandemic, to maintaining a workforce with unusually long tenures, with some employees staying for more than four decades.

“We’ve built generational relationships with both customers and employees,” Weir family member, current board member and former CEO Mark Moore says in the release. “While your patronage has sustained us, it has been your friendships, encouragement, and faith in our team that truly defined us. We are proud of what we created and thankful for every person who has walked through our doors.”

Closing sales will begin on March 26 and customers are encouraged to visit their local store while merchandise is still available, they say.

furniture closings