Closing doors
Dallas home decor store with loyal following closes the curtains after 2 decades
UPDATE: Wednesday, July 8 is the last day to shop online, Wisteria announced in an email to customers. Everything is at least 50 percent off, and all sales are final.
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Wisteria, the much-loved Dallas luxury home furnishings and decor brand, is calling it quits after nearly two decades.
"After 19 rewarding years, our journey is coming to an end," the company wrote in an email to customers and posted on social media June 29. "Wisteria.com, along with our retail stores and outlet, will soon be closing down permanently."
Catalog mailings have been discontinued as well, they said. They did not cite a specific reason for the closure, nor hint whether it was COVID-19 related.
Shannon and Andrew Newsom founded Wisteria in 2000, primarily as a way to pay for their travels and the treasures they acquired during them. They brought back unique items for their home and sold the surplus to friends and family and via newspaper ads until they started a catalog in 2001 and, in 2004, a website.
The original store at 6500 Cedar Springs Rd. opened in 2010 and also housed the couple’s “flea market” deals in the back.
In 2015, they opened a store in ritzy Inwood Village and moved their outlet from its spot near Dallas Love Field to a 15,000-square-foot space in Farmers Branch, at 13460 Midway Rd. Their catalog grew to have national reach.
According to The Dallas Morning News, in 2018, the Newsoms sold Wisteria to UK-based OKA Direct Ltd., which had its eye on expansion. A Houston outpost opened in November 2019.
Blending furnishings and home decor with interior design accessories, Wisteria sought artisan creations from all over the world. A typical store display might evoke a seaside cottage, bringing together abstract art, a tufted coffee table, an acrylic ghost table, hand-knotted wool rug, and an African warrior vessel.
Their beautiful holiday decor displays were inspirational for festive DIY decorators, as well.
"From day one, our customers have been at the heart of everything we do, and we have loved nothing more than sharing our globally curated offerings and exclusive designs with you," their farewell post says.
One bright spot for customers: with the closing come going-out-of-business sales. Beginning June 29, all merchandise in store and online is marked down at least 50 percent, and all sales are final; find more information about final sales here. An exact closing date has not been determined.
