Shopping News

Interior designer debuts home furnishings shop in Dallas' Bishop Arts

Tlazo

A new home furnishings store with a Latin flair has opened on the edge of Dallas' Bishop Arts. Called Tlazo, it's in the vintage building at 411 N. Tyler St., in the former Ann's Nutrition, next door to Hola Café.

Tlazo is from Alejandro Gonzalez, an interior designer who has worked for more than a decade with companies like Deborah Walker and Associates, Embree & Lake Antiques, and Holly Hunt Showroom, where he was representative to Mexico.

His shop is a blend of home furnishings, antiques, art, stationery and candles, with emphasis on his Latino roots. There is furniture, pillows, fabrics, books, kitchenware, baskets, gifts, pottery, art, and more.

Gonzalez is a native of Coahuila, Mexico who moved here when he was four years old. As part of his travels to Mexico as an interior designer, he got to meet many local artisans and reconnected with a more contemporary side of his culture.

"I fell in love with my culture again and I wanted to know more about it, things I didn’t know because I grew up in the U.S." he says.

Owning his own shop had been a dream — one that was realized when a landlord he'd been working with told him about the former Ann's space.

"It was meant to be — divinely guided," he says.

He and his husband Aaron Boals created a space that looks both meticulously designed and warmly inviting. Tlazo means “precious and dear” and is also the root word for gratitude.

“I wanted to bring my culture into my business, and thought was a pretty word,” Gonzalez says.

While the shop carries a significant number of Mexican items, it also includes items from Portugal, England, India, and Colombia, and he plans to continuously expand to other regions.

Examples of the current collection include:

Mended linens, napkins, and table runners. This Dallas organization works with indentured servants in India, helping them get out of the situation through their fair-trade work.
Don Lino — a Dallas-based company that specializes in stylish Mexican tableware, rooted in sophisticated Mexican hospitality.
Caminito — a Los Angeles supplier of beach and picnic blankets, created by Mexican artisans who get to preserve their craft with a fair income.

The shop buys more than 50 percent of their collection directly from artisans.

“I want people to come here and feel joy amidst everything that’s going on in the world. A place to come in and smile," Gonzalez says.

bishop arts openings

IKEA News

IKEA mini-stores will pop up inside Best Buy at 2 Dallas-area locations

Courtesy rendering

IKEA mini-store inside Best Buy

IKEA and Best Buy are partnering in an innovative pilot program that's coming to Dallas: Beginning this fall, the two retailers will combine major appliances from Best Buy with the well-designed and affordable home furnishings from IKEA.

The new in-store collaboration will launch in only 10 stores in Florida and Texas, and that includes stores in Mesquite and Hurst. It'll feature 1,000-square-foot IKEA mini-stores that showcase kitchen and laundry room settings. These spaces are designed to help customers create a cohesive living space incorporating Best Buy's high-tech appliances.

At the IKEA in Best Buy experience, customers can receive support from IKEA staffers to plan and order home furnishing solutions. Best Buy’s blue shirts will also be in the store to provide advice on electronics.

This is the first time IKEA products and services will be accessible through another U.S. retailer. Best Buy shoppers can make purchases for their kitchens and laundry rooms with IKEA merchandise available at Best Buy stores.

In a statement, Best Buy chief merchandising officer Patrick McGinnis says that "with this partnership, we get to combine technology and design and show shoppers what’s truly possible in their home like never before."

“When you’re shopping for new electronics, whether it’s a laptop or a TV or a washing machine, it’s important to understand the technology and make a decision based on how it will help you, your family and your home in your everyday life,” McGinnis says.

“This partnership between IKEA and Best Buy is about making great design and functionality more accessible for the many,” said Rob Olson, chief operation officer, IKEA U.S. “By bringing together our home furnishing expertise, products, and services with Best Buy’s leadership in appliances and technology, we’re creating a one-stop destination where customers can design their dream kitchen, storage solutions or laundry space with ease. It’s a great step on our journey to helping people create beautiful, functional homes at a price they can afford."

The Best Buy stores that will feature an IKEA shop-in-shop later this year include five locations in Texas as follows:

Plus five locations in Florida: Boynton Beach, Daytona Beach, Lakeland, Melbourne, and Waterford Lakes.

To further meet the needs of customers, two stores – Lakeland, Florida and Alamo Ranch, Texas – will serves as a pick-up point for IKEA shoppers, allowing customers in these markets to pick up most IKEA U.S. products for free at the Best Buy store, whether those were purchased through an IKEA in Best Buy design experience or IKEA.com.

Highlights include:

Immersive In-Store Experience: Each of the 10 pilot locations will feature a 1,000-square-foot IKEA footprint inside Best Buy stores, complete with 3–5 planning stations and curated kitchen/laundry setups. Two stores (Lakeland, Florida and Alamo Ranch, Texas) will also serve as pickup points for IKEA shoppers.
Enhanced Kitchen Offer: This collaboration allows IKEA to introduce kitchen planning services to a broader audience, enhancing consumer experience. Customers will be able to integrate Best Buy appliances into their IKEA kitchens.
Customer Benefits: Customers will have access to the same options and benefits as when shopping online at IKEA.com or visiting their local IKEA and IKEA Family members will be able to earn 50 bonus points when they book a planning appointment at any of the Best Buy or IKEA locations.

This collaboration is a strategic response to a shifting retail landscape, one where 80 percent of retail sales are expected to be in brick and mortar stores in 2025. As this number continues to grow, IKEA and Best Buy are investing in new, immersive, in-person experience that offer personalization and convenience.

openings