The Mercantile Trial

Spring is officially here and the season is always a great opportunity for a fresh start.  Speaking of fresh starts, that's exactly the feeling I experienced upon opening the door to The Mercantile - a home design store on Dresden Drive that embraces fresh, clean lines for a "transitional home interior."

Welcome to Secret Shopper sneaky note #6!

The Mercantile is indeed an avenue to a happy home. Fulfilling the mission of its name, the store beckons you inward and entices you to buy-buy-buy. There are hundreds if not thousands - if you include their customization services - of options from which to choose. Furniture, gifts, accessories and art are arranged so beautifully that I'd dare you to enter without considering a buy before exiting!

Barbara Heath, owner, welcomed me into the store within seconds of my arrival. How on earth did she make it from the back to the front without even a sound? Really - exactly how many steps does it take to get to the center of my inquiry? The world may never know.

But Barbara, the daughter of a Chicago-based designer, does. She shared many interesting insights but to summarize them, her store was designed to help people with any budget find a wonderful addition to their homes or the homes of their gift recipients. Her store was like the cross section of a fun shopping trip and a mentoring session, resulting in an ethereal spirit from which to renew one’s dreams of a better world if we all simply valued the unique creativity in each of us.

Enter Donna, a Mercantile team member with another piece of valuable information. Did you know that they will participate in the Atlanta Symphony Association's Decorator's Show House & Garden event beginning on April 16, 2011? What a beautiful act of support for other arts in our community. Kudos! 

Folks say that this is a must-see event and tickets can be purchased right there in the store. But don't wait to see what Mercantile will bring to the table, go visit them now.  In fact, suggest to brides-to-be in your network that they add Mercantile as a registry partner. They will be thrilled and you may score a better table at the reception!

With all of this drop dead gorgeous talk, is there anything less appealing to share? Well, it totally depends on how you feel about being coy. The Mercantile definitely plays coy with their website! After much digging, their goods were finally found on the Mercantile blog.

With so many gems from one-of-a-kind items to thoughtful $3 gifts, how could their website only show two chairs? And how could they make it so difficult to find the goods located on their blog, lovely as it is? Honestly, if you hide the goods too much, you’re subject to get passed over. Flirt a little, Mercantile! Pull the website and the blog together and show it off!

So, until they show me their full flirt, the perfect score won’t find a home there. Score: 3.5 chair legs up.