Creativity Comes Naturally™

Happy Thanksgiving from Gold Leaf Design Group

2011-11-23T10:31:00.000-06:00

On Monday, we had a pot luck lunch for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. We had a lot of great selections of home-made dishes, from Keiana's chicken pasta to Allan's dressing to Dora's spicy (!) potatoes.

This year, we're thankful and grateful for our loyal customers like you and for the hard work all of our fellow co-workers put in at each level, from customer service to shipping our great products.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween from Gold Leaf Design Group

2011-10-31T14:55:00.003-05:00

We dressed up for Halloween for the first time in our company history, all thanks to Dora!

Chicago Marathon 2011

2011-10-24T08:53:00.002-05:00

On October 9th, Darren and Jose ran the Chicago Marathon again this year. Since it was warmer, it was a little more difficult to run in the Windy City than last year, but they still both completed the 26.2-mile course.

Gold Leaf Product on New Book Cover

2011-09-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

Gold Leaf Design Group's Circle Wire Vases are featured on the cover of Lena Malouf's new book, Events Exposed: Managing & Designing Special Events, due to be released in the Spring of next year.

The author is the first Australian to receive a Special Event Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Events Industry Awards last year.

The event shown was designed by Chicago's own Into the Woods, who were approached to feature their photograph on the front cover. Kudos!

Wall Play @ Hyatt Rochester NY

2011-09-02T14:17:00.000-05:00

Therese Virserius Design in New York City just sent us a photo of their beautiful installation at the Hyatt Rochester NY using our silver Wall Play Cubes and Pivots!

Look what we won at the New York Gift Fair!

2011-08-15T09:01:00.000-05:00

"Best overall!"

"Gold Leaf Worked For Us!"

2011-07-20T11:11:00.000-05:00

"We, at Inner Design Studio, wanted to share how your product was used as part of the recently completed Loma Linda University Medical Center in California. We were able to use your birch dividers in the main lobby and wanted to show you how your product helped us achieve a unique healthcare design.

Attached is a photo that shows how your product looks within this design. We are big Gold Leaf fans and want to show you how we put your dividers to use."

Westin Houston Memorial City

2011-06-30T14:16:00.002-05:00

Gold Leaf recently completed artwork for the newly opened Westin Houston Memorial City hotel in Houston, Texas. It was designed with the assistance of Morris Architects. The panels, featuring our Wall Play and custom-painted with a silver nickel finish, were assembled in our design center in Chicago.

The piece, entitled "Memorial City Sky", was created by Gold Leaf Design Group's creative visionary, Allan Howze.

St. John's on The Lake

2011-06-24T15:16:00.002-05:00

Gold Leaf just returned from Milwaukee, our neighbor to the North, after performing a custom installation at St. John's on the Lake, a retirement community located on the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan.

The installation features our dried branches with our original Wall Play, custom-colored specifically for this project. Gold Leaf worked with with the creative designers at Perkins Eastman in Chicago over the past few months to create these pieces as part of the properties' brand new expansion!

Gold Leaf Featured in Hospitality Design

2011-06-10T16:39:00.000-05:00

The recent renovation of the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay was featured in this month's Hospitality Design magazine. Gold Leaf worked with WATG Interiors to produce a few original pieces using our monkey ladder vine and natural kuwa branches.

Click here to view the full photo gallery of the renovation!

El Amazonas

2011-05-11T15:49:00.003-05:00

Our trips to the Amazon Rainforest never cease to amaze us. We are on the never ending search for sustainable resources such as natural dyes, decorative pods and seeds, natural branches and indigenous handicrafts. Since our planet receives the majority of its oxygen from these forests, this is the heart and lungs of our world. Sadly, our research shows that 1.5 ACRES (the equivalent of ONE FOOTBALL FIELD) of Amazon Rainforest is destroyed EVERY SECOND!

We hope that our products bring people closer to our natural world, and serve as an elegant and gentle reminder of all that we have to lose.

On the Move

2011-04-12T08:17:00.010-05:00

This year has been full of so many exciting developments. One new project that we are beginning today is the redesign of our website. Although our website has served us and our customers well, it has its shortcomings. Our new site will be state of the art, offer online ordering, be more intuitive and user friendly. We hope to launch the new site before the summer Gift Shows. Stay tuned! If you haven't looked at our online catalog recently, you will be in for a surprise. We have added 70 pages of items for this Spring. We have updated the format, to make the catalog easier and quicker to view. Our warehouse is full, with more merchandise arriving daily. We continue to add more products to enhance outdoor living. We have been travelling the world, creating even more new designs and entering new categories. Many will be unveiled on our new site and at the upcoming shows. As we approach our 17th anniversary, we thank you for your continued support! We think you will be quite happy to see what is on the horizon. Thanks.

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

2011-03-08T15:49:00.016-06:00

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Gold Leaf Design Group partner to create “outside of the box” artforms and plant designs for the December 15, 2010 opening.

March 01, 2011

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - The much awaited luxury resort, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, contracted Gold Leaf Design Group of Chicago to design and manufacture “unexpected” offerings showcasing custom high end stainless steel, fiberglass, wood, permanent botanicals and mixed media artwork.

For almost one year, Gold Leaf worked on developing site specific details in internal feature areas which include East and West Valet, Hospitality Suites, Fitness Center, Sahra Spa and Hammam, Wicked Spoon Buffet, Employee Dining and High Limit. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas approached the well known company, Gold Leaf, because of their attention to detail, their creativity and their reputation for well constructed elements.

Gold Leaf Design Group worked on-site as well as off-site in their 75,000 square foot, high ceiling facility. The company is capable of in-house woodworking, fiberglass, painting, foil leafing, sculpting and tree and plant building. Four internal recessed loading docks can accept 53’ semi-trailer/ containers while its production department can easily manufacture mass quantities of “one-of-a-kind” botanical and sculptural elements.

Later, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas became part of Marriott International’s Autograph Collection. Gold Leaf Design Group is a valued approved vendor for Marriott International presently working with seven of the Marriott corporate brands.

For additional information, please contact quotes@goldleafdesigngroup.com or contact any of our personable associates at 1.877.738.1790.

I Am Gold Leaf: Tony

2011-02-10T15:29:00.007-06:00

Employee Profile:

Tony, Shipping

What neighborhood do you live in?

Humboldt Park, born and raised.

Why do you love Chicago?

Lots of activities. My family, baseball league that I play in, parks, Chicago in the summer! Ohh, and the pizza!

You say you like pizza, but I see a lot of pizza puffs in your hand. Why is that?

Man, its all about the pizza puff. Its like a french fry and pizza in one. Can't beat it.

Pizza puff beats pizza?
Yeahhhhh!!!!

Do pizza puffs beat the Chicago White Sox?
Did you not see the 2005 World Series. Its all about the Sox. I can eat something else.

Are there any Gold Leaf products that you like as much as pizza puffs?Marco Sculptures. I like art and this is the most artful unique item Gold Leaf has. Marco has a very distinct style and it makes me think of the warm weather that is elsewhere.

Snowpocalypse 2011

2011-02-01T14:16:00.001-06:00

Amongst other nicknames, they are dubbing it "Snowpocalypse 2011" as a large Winter storm bears down on the Midwest, including the Chicagoland area. To make sure our employees get home safely and avoid the heaviest parts of the storm, we will be closing early today.

There is also a chance that we may not be open on February 2nd, so if you call our number and don't get an answer on Wednesday, fear not: We'll be safely trapped inside our homes but returning to the office on Thursday.

Stay safe!

Setting Up the Booth at the NYIGF

2011-01-27T11:31:00.000-06:00

Darren, Allan and Jose have just begun setting up the booth for the New York Gift Fair and have already hit a wall. Wait, strike that. Reverse it.

12:10pm EST - "Jose crushes foot and toe setting up booth. We are now down one person but must continue."

We Love New York in January, How About You?

2011-01-27T09:16:00.001-06:00

This morning, Darren, Allan and Jose checked out the 18" of snow that was dumped in New York last night.

On to New York?

2011-01-26T09:23:00.007-06:00

Booth photos from this year's Atlanta Market will be on our website today! Just log in to goldleafdesigngroup.com and click on "HD Exhibitions" to see how it all turned out. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth.

Darren and Allan are at the airport now ready to head to New York International Gift Fair... but are now facing the same issues that plagued their delays into Atlanta and threatened their show attendance: Snow.

6:43am CST - "Going to O'Hare Airport. Changed to earlier flight to beat New York snow storm."

8:15am CST - "On plane, ready for take off."

8:32am CST - "Sitting on runway now. A sudden snowstorm in new York delays us for 50 minutes, they say. Will we leave?"

9:16am CST - "New York airport closed. Sitting on runway for 45 more minutes."

9:29am CST - "Sleeping."

10:16am CST - "Going back to gate. No take off."

10:37am CST - "Here we sit!" (Broken-hearted)

11:15am CST - "De-planing."

11:57am CST - "Back on plane. The only flight supposed to now leave. All other flights today are cancelled into New York."

3:07pm EST - "Just landed in New York. After almost 5 hour delay. Lot of snow!"

4:30pm EST - "Made it to the hotel and now going to work. More wintry mix starting. 5 inches expected tonight."

5:05pm EST - "Slippery."

Phew! Catch us January 29 through February 2! Pier 94, At Home division, Booth #45044 at the Javits Center!

Atlanta Market Marathon: Thursday Evening

2011-01-14T09:08:00.007-06:00

8:12pm EST "Now our scanners and bar code labels don't work."

9:13pm EST "Finished." They set up the booth for over 20 hours straight.

9:51pm EST "Leaving Mart. Back at 7 am to price."

Atlanta Market Marathon: Thursday Afternoon

2011-01-13T12:13:00.012-06:00

12:04 pm EST

1:17pm EST 12th straight hour of setup...

2:55pm EST "Tired!" (Darren and Allan have been up now for nearly 36 hours straight.)

3:35pm EST "Joe just got here."

Atlanta Market Marathon: Thursday Morning

2011-01-13T10:25:00.003-06:00

11:50pm EST Arrived at the Mart. There will be a booth here by tonight.

12:50am EST The walls have begun to go up.

2:31am EST "walls are all up"

5:56am EST Time to add product

8:23am EST Things are taking shape

9:41 am EST "Going for coffee. Have not stopped."

10:47am EST "Atlanta ice"

10:48am EST "Jorge arrives to help"

Atlanta Market Marathon: Wednesday Night

2011-01-13T10:05:00.002-06:00

5:19pm CST: Waiting at O'Hare

7:22 CST: "Yea, boarding! Stopped at Starbucks and purchased Via instant coffee and snacks for our "all nighter"."

10:00pm EST "Made it to Atlanta airport 10 pm Wednesday."

"Expecting the worst on every step of our journey. But, we did get our luggage. Now, going to rental car center to get our rental car. Driving in ice ridden Atlanta (so we've heard) will be reality soon."

11:17pm EST "Discussing additional insurance"

11:24pm EST "So far, roads are clear"

Trying Again to Leave

2011-01-12T16:47:00.003-06:00

Darren and Allan are on their way back to O'Hare Airport! We hope they catch a flight out to Atlanta tonight. They are planning an unprecedented marathon set up of our booth over the next 24 hours to be ready for the show on Friday!

Stuck in Chicago

2011-01-11T16:47:00.001-06:00

This week we've been reminded that Mother Nature can be ugly sometimes, too.

Darren and Allan are trying to make it to the Atlanta Market, but have been stuck in Chicago for the past two days. On Monday morning, flights were cancelled because of snow in Atlanta. Today, it was snow in Chicago. So, we've got a booth (2 West Wing 1-115) but no one to attend to it!

The forecast is calling for the snow to lighten up in the next day. Will they make it out in time to show off our brand new products for 2011? Stay tuned. In the meantime, we'll just have to keep digging!

Gold Leaf in Flowers &

2010-12-27T12:28:00.003-06:00

Our products sure have the design world buzzing lately. We have 15 original pieces featured in the January 2011 issue of Flowers & as "Style Trends of 2011."

Turn to pages 48-51 for our four-page spread!

Pick up a copy today!

We're Featured in today's New York Times

2010-12-23T10:01:00.003-06:00

Our Wire Nest Lamps are featured in today's issue of the New York Times! Go to the Home section, page three.

For an online version of the article, please click here.

Annual Holiday Party

2010-12-19T20:13:00.015-06:00

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over.

Although we love creating new ideas and pushing the envelope, every so often it is nice to fall back on tradition. On Friday, we headed out after work for our annual holiday party. As we have done for the past 4 years, we celebrated at Diversey River Bowl. And it truly was a celebration. It is a great time for staff and spouses to let loose, have a cocktail (or 2 or 3...), bowl a few games, exchange gifts, receive a "Goldie" and enjoy each other's company. We look forward to this event all year. None of us are bowlers, some don't even like bowling. But that doesn't matter. The opportunity to all be together for a raucous good time, is what the night is about. We have one of the hardest working teams that I have ever seen. It is such a pleasure to spend time outside of work, and our bowling party is the perfect setting!

Thanks for an amazing year, filled with huge ups and huge downs. Here's to 2011!

Gold Leaf in Elle Decor

2010-12-13T11:42:00.001-06:00

Gold Leaf's Resin Durian Fruit were featured in the November issue of Elle Decor!

Find it on page 214!

Gold Leaf in Boutique Design

2010-11-29T14:50:00.001-06:00

Some of our original arrangements and containers were featured in an article about Seattle's Pioneer Square Marriott Courtyard in the November-December issue of Boutique Design.

Gold Leaf in Interior Design magazine

2010-11-12T10:18:00.002-06:00

Gold Leaf products were recently featured in the October 31st issue of Interior Design magazine.

If you look on page 172, you will find our Wire Nest lamps in matte iron wire.

If you look on page 218, you will find our Wire Crystal sculptures in clear coated raw wire with brass holds.

Pick up a copy today!

Are you RUNNING out of ideas...

2010-10-12T16:29:00.004-05:00

...because Gold Leaf Design Group never does. Gold Leaf is always exercising our creative side and last week a couple Gold Leafers exercised their brawn for the annual Chicago Marathon. A congratulations are due to Darren and Jose for running and finishing the marathon yet again. Pictured to the right is Darren on mile 23 closing in on the race, and Jose's picture... well we couldn't show you Jose's picture because after the first mile Jose had nearly ripped off all his clothing competing against his own personal record and the 80 degree heat.

Fall is here, soon Halloween and then the winter. If you need new ideas for the holidays who are you going to run to? Give Gold Leaf Design Group a call at the office (877.738.1790) and see what we can do for you. We are always creating and thinking of new ways of designing and arranging for our customers.

Happy Fall!
Todd

Music in the Park

2010-09-10T16:42:00.007-05:00

The seasons are changing quickly and Fall will soon be upon us, so the folks at Gold Leaf decided to indulge in some good Chicago fun by having their annual company outing at Millennium Park on August 26th.

Chicago provides free concerts all summer long and this night's performance featured Latin Jazz. It was a beautiful night on the lakefront. Todd and I took some photos that really capture the great atmosphere of this event.

Fun in Atlanta

2010-08-05T10:08:00.002-05:00

Our fearless leader utilizing our new Rattan Vine Slices in Atlanta. You gotta make those long trade show hours fun!

Come see us in Atlanta this weekend!

2010-07-16T11:11:00.005-05:00

Darren, Allan and Jose are at our booth in Atlanta at AmericasMart this weekend! We have great products to show that are in stock and available now, as well as items we are receiving this fall!

Our location is 2 West Wing, Booth #1-115. Come visit us if you're in town!

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-02T09:53:00.003-05:00

On July 4th, 1776 a remarkable event occurred. On this epoch day a nation of diversity, freedom and full of dreams was formed. It is a day to commemorate all our beliefs as a nation. These same values still hold with us today. So on Sunday, get out there and celebrate our great country. Be proud of the red, white, and blue. Enjoy the beautiful scenes of fireworks, barbecues, and celebration; but never forget the ones that have struggled and fought for the United States. Happy Fourth of July from Gold Leaf Design Group!

I am Gold Leaf: Michelle

2010-06-01T15:02:00.007-05:00

Employee Profile:

Michelle Barrios

Operations Manager

What neighborhood do you live in?

Actually a northern suburb, Deerfield

Why do you love Chicago?
I’m a Midwest girl from Michigan and what better way to get the beautiful big city activities and Lake Michigan together?

What is your favorite Gold Leaf product?
Hard question, after 13 years I have learned that my favorites change frequently… This week I love the one of a kind “Cement Leaves”.

Biking the Drive

2010-05-31T14:27:00.002-05:00

Darren, Allan and I participated in Chicago's Bike the Drive event on Sunday. It was the first time any of us participated in the event, which is in its ninth year.

The weather was perfect. We started at 6am and the whole 30-mile round trip, from Bryn Mawr to 57th Street and back, took about 2 hours and 45 minutes. The time just flew by. We definitely want to do it again next year.

We're biking the drive this weekend!

2010-05-28T10:36:00.002-05:00

Darren, Allan and myself are officially registered for the 2010 Bike the Drive this weekend. We're very excited about this. The weather is supposed to be perfect and it's supposed to be a great experience. The only downside is that the event starts at the nightmarish hour of 5:30am, a time of day which I didn't know still existed. The plus-side of that, however, is that we will be able to watch the sunrise over Lake Michigan, something that I've really not done in my 3 and a half years of living in Chicago. And I'm surprised I haven't heard about any of my friends doing the event. Come on, people!!

International Food Day!

2010-05-27T16:40:00.008-05:00

What do Sudan, Poland, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Mississippi, Mexico, Italy and Japan have in common? Today at Gold Leaf Design Group headquarters we held an International Food Day and demolished several plates of some of our favorite foods from around the globe. We had traditional African dishes, Polish pierogies, Thai curry, greens from Mississippi, French desserts and many more items that are too numerous to mention. We also learned that Jose has the best flan in the city.

Lets make this post short and sweet like Molly's Bon Bons because Memorial Day weekend is nipping at our heels and half of us will probably be by the beach with friends and family, riding bikes, barbecuing and taking in the beautiful sights and smells of Lake Michigan. Take care, enjoy yourselves and cheers to you and yours!

Customer Photos

2010-05-25T13:16:00.003-05:00

Our Gold Seed Wall Play™ adorns the wall above a fireplace as a subtle and surprising accent for this home. If you are unfamiliar with our Wall Play™ you can head over to www.GoldLeafDesignGroup.com and register to gain access to our online 2010-11 catalog and see what else Gold Leaf Design Group is up to. If you are registered click here to see our Gold Seed Wall Play™ or check out our other 13 styles. Because of if its playful nature our customers love creating their own unique designs and sending us great images of their hard work. Designed for easy installation these little gems are not just for the inside. We have 8 styles that can go inside and out. We'd love to see what you can come up with. Feel free to send an image of Wall Play™ that you have worked with or pass a question along to Todd@goldleafdesigngroup.com.
Play on!

Customer Photos

2010-05-20T10:07:00.011-05:00

The customer photos keep coming in. More of our Wall Play™ adorns the wall at the very modern and hip Cherokee Lofts.

If you haven't seen our catalog yet head to www.GoldLeafDesignGroup.com and register to use our site. See how we may inspire your next design!

Photography provided by:
Tara Wujcik and Sandra Sharma of BLANKSPACE DESIGN

Customer's Photos

2010-05-18T13:44:00.010-05:00

We just couldn't believe our eyes when we saw this one. A variety of custom made Wall Play™ grouped together by the hundreds to make this pirate chic themed bar a magical and mysterious environment. A truly original and creative use for one of our favorite products. Bravo!

Bring the Art Gallery to the Garden

2010-05-06T09:26:00.030-05:00

Even though the weather in Chicago has just started to reveal its summer self, the leaves of Hosta, Rhubarb and Burdock have been growing in full force up around the Midwest. Our seasonally available Cement Leaves are one of a kind, made with live leaves and pressed by hand into Portland cement. Each live leaf is only used once and no two are exactly alike.

Multi-functional, lay in the garden as a bird bath, bird feeder or use the smaller Cement Leaves to hang on the wall as ornamentation with a sturdy hook that comes attached to the back. Guaranteed to bring out the urban botanist in you.

We are currently harvesting leaves and mixing cement getting ready for our first shipment of the year due to arrive in our warehouse in just a couple of weeks. We couldn't be anymore excited to get these back into our hands and get them shipped to gardens around the county and even get them into our own gardens here at Gold Leaf.

Plant, grow and enjoy!

I am Gold Leaf: Molly

2010-04-22T10:47:00.005-05:00

Employee Profile
Molly Surowitz

Hospitality Quotes

Neighborhood
Oak Park-one of the coolest urban/suburban locations in the country. We have the largest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the country, I live around the corner from the FLW Home and Studio. It is a great place to raise my two sons.

Why do you love Chicago?
I love the diversity and the relaxed neighborhood feeling. Chicago is very cosmopolitan but people are friendly here. I also enjoy the great theatre and food. And Lake Michigan is a huge plus.

What's your favorite Gold Leaf product?
I really love the custom arrangement on page 6 of our new catalog, Stainless Steel Planter with Brown Kuwa, and black polished river rocks at the base. I also like this arrangement with Harvest Kuwa in our signature bronze/black color custom container. Throw a few of our small stainless steel spheres at the bottom for added interest.

Fun in Austin

2010-04-22T10:46:00.007-05:00

We just returned from our first time showing at the Museum Store Association Expo. The show was held at the Austin Convention Center. If you've never been to Austin, Texas, I really recommend it. It is the "live music capitol of the world." Everywhere you go, you hear bands playing. Music streams out of bars, from street corners and back alleys. We took a trip to the flagship store of Whole Foods. When we got there, there was a band playing on the outside patio. The crowd was crazy with families dancing and hanging out, at the Whole Foods. We had never seen anything like it! I could spend all of my Saturday afternoons there. Running in Austin was also inspiring! The green spaces throughout the city and downtown are tranquil and peaceful. We visited the world's largest urban bat colony, a Reggae festival, museums, amazing restaurants and shopping districts! We will definitely return.

Earth Day

2010-04-22T10:20:00.003-05:00

Today is a day to celebrate our planet!

Its a day to step back and take a few moments to reflect on the beauty that nature provides. Gold Leaf is a proud participant of this day. However, this is not a one day event for us. This is our lifestyle! We continually remind people to participate in this movement, in order to save what is precious to us all, here on earth. The small differences in our personal lives make a huge difference in the future. These small steps can be stepping stones to our communities, businesses and government that will eventually make a huge difference in our future.

We constantly state creativity comes naturally and this creativity would never be possible without the main factor in our statement: nature. So we as a company ask you to participate in this worldwide event and make those small steps to a brighter future!

Customer's Photos

2010-03-23T09:20:00.006-05:00

Thank you Rob for the images. If you are interested in doing something similiar at home, Rob adapted the water-tight planters for seasonal outdoor plantings by simply drilling drainage holes into the base of each planter.

Springing Forward

2010-03-10T13:42:00.004-06:00

On your marks, get set... change your clocks!
You usually can feel it before it officially becomes Spring and here in Chicago we are starting to feel it. This is the first time seeing the ground in what feels like months. I forgot what sunshine on the skin felt like, until now!

It is time to grab your planters, get those knees dirty and start planting your garden. Or you can do what Gold Leaf does and grab a Stainless Steel Planter, fill it with water, float some wonderful blooms with our Stainless Steel Spheres and have a photo shoot.

As for your garden needs, Gethsemane Garden Center is located in the heart of Chicago's Andersonville/Edgewater neighborhood. A wonderful family owned and operated business that has highlighted their collection of Gold Leaf Design Group products just in time for spring. Check out what they did for us by clicking here.

So long for now and enjoy the simple Earthly pleasures that nature brings us. It may be inspiration for your next great idea.

Todd

2010-03-01T17:05:00.005-06:00

What a use of our Wallplay! Keep the photos coming!

I am Gold Leaf: Jason

2010-02-25T15:41:00.030-06:00

Employee Profile
Jason Perez
Shipping

Neighborhood
Humboldt Park

Why do you love Chicago?
Because I was born here. Family, Marcello's pizza, Chicago Cubs, the architecture, city life, Ukrainian Village buddies, the snow and cool breezes.

What's your favorite Gold Leaf product?
The Stainless Steel line

All of them?
All of them.

Why?
Because I like them raw.

2010-02-23T15:21:00.012-06:00

Mississippi Sausage Social!!!

Last week Allan's mother down south sent us some sausage, well a whole lot of sausage. We had no choice but to dim the lights, turn the computers off and make big decisions like sport peppers or jalapenos. I was surprised how much ketchup was used, being Chicagoans and all, but we did demolish that bottle of mustard. Go Bears!

Every now and then us Gold Leafers plan a social as a way to let loose and enjoy each others company. We join forces at lunch and each person adds to the meal. Sometimes contributions aren't food but Neil reading aloud the missed connections section of the Chicago Reader and Michelle telling us about Nintendo Wii battle stories. Jason from shipping contributed with lightning the load in the refrigerator. The poppy seed bun and sausage was so good that I actually saw him sneaking some more later in the afternoon, plain, nothing on it, like he just unwrapped it in the bleachers at Wrigley Field. Just a bun and sausage.

We have been so busy with show orders, new products and a new catalog that this was a good exercise for the mind, body and soul. A nice little way for us to bond as friends as the new season and year for Gold Leaf starts to make some waves. I can feel the spring slowly arriving here, and we can't wait. This was a nice little taste of summer. Thanks everyone!

Gold Leaf Gets Fit!

2010-02-16T11:30:00.000-06:00

Gold Leaf has been getting in shape over the past year! Many of us have taken the high road to a happier and healthier lifestyle and have experienced great results.

Starting in April of last year, Darren and Jose began training to run in the 2009 Bank Of America Chicago Marathon, which they eventually participated and completed last October. Since they began their training, they both have lost 20 pounds each. They both intend to run in the marathon again this year.

Their experience has inspired Cathy, a member of our production team, to begin running again. Cathy was an experienced runner who trained throughout high school and college.

Since she began working here a year ago, Molly has lost 5 pounds and is looking to lose 8 more by the end of the year.

As for me, since January of this year, I have lost 18 pounds! I have been keeping a personal blog of my efforts. My goal is to lose 56 more pounds. Wish me luck!

Neil

Chicago Showroom

2010-02-15T10:46:00.008-06:00

It is almost 2 years since we moved from a very central, trendy design area to our facility on the outskirts of Chicago. Even though our location is less convenient, the number of clients that come to visit, keeps increasing. With that in mind, this week, we are setting up our recent trade show booth in our warehouse. We are excited for our local customers to see our new collection fully displayed. For those who haven't been here, it's worth the trip. Please call to make an appointment, or to make sure you are included on our invite list for an Open House!

I am Gold Leaf: Todd

2010-02-08T16:44:00.007-06:00

Employe Profile:

Todd Diederich

Photographer/Sales/Customer Service

Neighborhood:

Ukrianian Village, Chicago, IL

Why do you love Chicago?

Thats easy, PIZZA!!!! Besides that I love Chicago for

its originality, that can be most evident along the lake front in the summer when everyone and everything gravitates towards Lake Michigan. On those hot summer days I like to just ride my bike, play basketball and take pictures of all the interesting people and situations I may stumble upon.

Favorite Gold Leaf product?

Hands down the Wire Crystal Set. It can really fill the void of any space with a modern edge but its form can seem rather delicate. I love the tension this product can achieve... I also love the price.

New York

2010-02-05T17:03:00.006-06:00

Thanks to everyone for visiting us in New York this week. We are really excited about the outlook for 2010! There was a definite "buzz" in the air at all the trade shows. We saw customers that hadn't attended the show in over 3 years, and we met many new customers. We appreciate your time and interest, and look forward to working together.

Please be on the lookout for our new catalog- we just approved the final proofs today. This year's catalog is quite a departure from our previous catalogs. The products are featured to provide display and design ideas; not just picture items. We think you will be rather inspired. If you can't wait to receive it in the mail, just log in, and view it online. Thanks.

Wall Play at Cherokee Lofts in Hollywood

2010-01-25T16:23:00.003-06:00

Rock and roll! Our Wall Play can now be seen at the unique Cherokee Lofts in Hollywood, California. The lofts were inspired by three rock stars who recorded at the Cherokee Studios and were designed to reflect their music and image.

Our Wall Play was used in the "30 Seconds to Mars"-influenced loft, which was designed by Blankspace Design's Sandra Sharma. You can view more information about the lofts at http://www.loftsatcherokeestudios.com/.

Prepping for Atlanta!

2009-05-28T15:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Gold Leaf Design Group blog! Today at our Design and Distribution Center in Chicago, we began preparations for our exhibition at the Atlanta Market in July. We are planning quite a large booth this year, with amazing new products being showcased. The booth is so huge that we are removing a few walls from our offices to build it!

What will it end up looking like? You'll just have to come to the Atlanta Market to find out. Our booth number is 2 West Wing 1-111.

If you missed us at Las Vegas earlier this month, our booth there got quite a lot of attention. You can view photos from the show at goldleafdesigngroup.com. If you don't have a username or password, you can register by clicking here. The review period following registration can take up to 24 hours to be approved during the work week.