Willow House

Willow House began as Southern Living at HOME. Southern Progress Corporation, the Birmingham publisher of Southern Living magazine, started that party-plan business in 2001 to sell home accessories and dishware at in-home parties. Bill Shaw helped launch it. He later also helped create a smaller competitor in Wisconsin, Entertaining at Home.

In 2009 Time Inc., which owned Southern Progress, put Southern Living at HOME up for sale. Media of Birmingham reported in August 2009 that it had been sold to Entertaining at Home. Shaw wrote to the sales force that the two would run side by side for a while.

“The simple truth is we need each other, and together we can once again lead an industry with an unrelenting commitment to excellence.”

Bill Shaw, in a letter to consultants — Media of Birmingham, August 2009

The merged company launched as Willow House in August 2010. Its founders were Bill and Robin Shaw, and its offices were at 2100 Riverchase Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The website described the brand as embodying “grace, warmth, and a bit of magic,” and the company gave part of the profit on selected products to JDRF and the domestic-violence charity Cut It Out. In late 2011 it added a second line, Jewelry by Sara Blaine.

Willow House sold what it called “simply good design” for the home: classic pieces for entertaining, decorating and getting organized. The line was sold through a printed catalog, at parties and, from 2010, through an online store and Consultant websites.

• Serving and dinnerware: platters, bakers, tiered servers, beaded-rim plates and bowls, glassware and flatware.
• Kitchen and table: flatware and utensil caddies, trivets, napkin holders, oven mitts and pot holders.
• Home decor: candles, lanterns, mirrors, clocks, wall art, vases and seasonal wreaths.
• Ironwork: wall shelves, baskets, side tables and fireplace screens with scrolled metal details.
• Outdoor living: planters, tiered baskets and outdoor lighting.

Many pieces were sold as multi-purpose. The old Direct Sales Aid profile, written by a Consultant, pointed to caddies that organized flatware day to day and then went straight to the buffet table. From late 2011 the company also sold Jewelry by Sara Blaine: bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings. Willow House described Blaine as “one of America’s top jewelry designers” and said customers could buy her designs at savings of up to 70% off retail.

Sellers were called Design Consultants. They held home parties, helped guests choose a decorating style, took orders and, by 2011, could also sell through a personal website between parties. Products shipped from the company.

Starter Kit

According to the old Direct Sales Aid profile, the home decor Starter Kit cost $199 and held 18 best-selling products that the company valued at more than $550. Smaller kits and kit specials were offered from time to time. Running costs included a Consultant website fee of $29.85 a quarter, an optional customer newsletter service at $17.85 a quarter and a $35 yearly renewal. By January 2013 the company was selling jewelry kits instead: a Standard kit on sale for $149 with $400 in jewelry credits, a Business-Builder kit for $499 and a Bling-It-On kit for $699.

Pay

The same profile listed a 25% commission on personal retail sales, plus 5% back as business supply credit. Personal and team bonuses of 2% to 10% of wholesale sales were paid according to a Consultant’s “paid as” rank. A Success Start program gave new Consultants product credits, supply credits and gift cards worth up to $2,000 in their first 30 to 90 days, depending on sales. Consultants who sold $1,500 or more in a month got a $50 fuel bonus, and there were trips and contests on top. Sales from the jewelry line counted toward rank too.

“Good design should be accessible and affordable, because the days of fussy and overpriced products are gone forever.”

Bill and Robin Shaw, founders — Willow House website (willowhouse.com), 2011

Hosts

Party hosts earned 10% to 20% of party sales in free product once a party passed the $125 minimum, plus half-price items. Guests who booked their own party earned the host another half-price item, and a party of $250 or more unlocked one item at 70% off.

The end came in two steps. On October 1, 2012, Consultants were told that Willow House would drop its home decor division during the latter part of 2013 and keep only the Sara Blaine jewelry line. A Consultant who had joined the month before posted the news that day on the WAHM.com forum, writing that “none of us heard a peep about it until today.” In January 2013 the company began clearing out its Style for Home stock. By December 2013 the online store was selling decor at 81% to 89% off, with a $90 urn marked down to $10.

Then the jewelry line went too. Wayback Machine captures show willowhouse.com, the online store and the jewelry store all returning “not found” errors from early January 2014. On January 9, 2014, a Consultant blog that had shared Willow House photos noted that Willow House Home Decor and Sara Blaine Jewelry by Willow House had closed. The company did not publish a reason that we could find.

Today the brand is gone. The willowhouse.com address shows only an error page, and the company has not returned under its own name or another one. Sara Blaine continued to sell her own label through retailers after Willow House closed. Former Consultants kept whatever stock they had, and Willow House serving pieces and ironwork still turn up on resale sites. People who liked the party format can look at live companies such as Pampered Chef and Scentsy on Direct Sales Aid.