Official Blog of Gallery Furniture's Mattress Mack of Houston, TX

The Animals of Gallery Furniture

When the Gallery Furniture warehouse burned, many people were concerned about the four macaws who live in the store.

They were all rescued, though one of them had to be revived by firefighters.  (Thanks, HFD!)

Now, a week later, it seems like a good time for an update on the birds and the other animals who were fixtures at Gallery Furniture's main store at 6006 North Freeway.

The birds are doing well and seem to have settled into their temporary quarters at the Post Oak store.  You can see them when you come in the door.

Another animal resident of the store is Post Oak, the champion steer from the Houston Livestock Show.  He had his own quarters at the front of the property and was never threatened by the fire.  But with no power and water service, he had to be moved.  So Post Oak has been moved to a local ranch where he has company.  He's reported to be in fine shape.

There were also three miniature horses, the Three Amigos, at the store when the fire started.  They've been moved to the ranch too and all are said to be doing well.

A Special Performance

All of us at Gallery Furniture are honored and humbled by the many expressions of love and support from the people of Houston that have been coming in since the night of the warehouse fire.

In letters, emails, cards, web postings, and personal visits, so many people have taken time to express their feelings about Gallery Furniture and the staff.  

By reaching out to us, you are helping more than you can know.

Friday morning, another message of support came into the Post Oak store in the persons of Leslie Soria and Sh'riff Hasan from the KIPP Houston High School, the dance instructor and Theatre Arts director.

They wanted to tell us that their students in the theatrical ensemble had staged a show to benefit Gallery Furniture and bring by letters of support and donations they gathered at the show.  As we've said, money is not needed so the proceeds from the kids' raised will be given to the Peace of Mind Foundation, a mental health charity. 

Gallery Furniture appreciates the students donations of time and talent, and the money they raised.

Hasan and Soria said that the show Wednesday night a great performance and gave credit to their students for taking the time to rehearse for the program even during finals week.

KIPP has an important place in the community -- if you don't know about KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) and the movement that began in Houston, go to their web site at www.kipphouston.org.  KIPP founder Mike Feinberg is a special friend.

By the way, the Class of 2009 at KIPP Houston High School is graduating now and like last year's class each them has been accepted to college.  That's an unmatched record of excellence.

Gallery Furniture is proud to be a supporter of KIPP and honored by the students' show of support.  KIPP's motto is "There are no shortcuts" and that is a guiding principal for Gallery Furniture too.

Robert Horry Stops by Gallery Furniture Post Oak

Legendary basketball player Robert Horry - a man with seven NBA championship rings and knows the power of working hard, practicing harder, and having that desire to win - stopped by Gallery Furniture Post Oak to say hi, check out the new store, and of course, to lend his support to the Gallery Furniture family.  His presence was a fun surprise for the staff, and of course, the Gallery Furniture family took pictures with Robert Horry, who was a true gentleman as the staff asked for his pictures.  

Robert Horry is a very down to earth man, and he is always welcome at Gallery Furniture as  a member of our own family!  Thanks, Robert, for your show of support.  The Gallery Furniture family always appreciates it when star athletes with the caliber of class like Robert Horry take time to say hi to the Gallery Furniture team.

Pictured above is Gallery Furniture Sales Professional Jimmy "Srirracha" Tran strikes a celebrity pose with Robert Horry.

Below, some more photos from his visit:

Robert Horry takes time to take some pics with our Gallery Furniture Post Oak customers!

Robert Horry with (from left to right) Gallery Furniture personnel Giovanni, Carlos Pastrana, and Salesman John!

Robert Horry with Gallery Greeter Andrea (left) and Saleswoman Irene.

Robert Horry with Gallery Furniture staff phorographer David Rankin!

Drop by Gallery Furniture Post Oak at 2411 Post Oak Boulevard TODAY - you never know who you'll gte to meet!

Logan - A Boy With A Giving Heart

 Logan's story is one that the Gallery Furniture family is happy to tell to Houston, because it is a story about the power of giving.  Logan, who attends St. Thomas Moore Catholic school, is a boy who is a true personification of what it means to be selfless, kind, and to put others ahead of yourself.

Logan came into Gallery Furniture concerned about the Gallery Furniture family and how we were affected by the massive fire last Thursday.  Logan showed his concern by wanting to donate the money he had saved up for an iPod Touch to benefit the employees of Gallery Furniture.  

This gesture warmed the hearts of all the employees at Gallery Furniture, though we wanted to show Logan that his spirit of giving gave us inspiration.  We donated Logan's money to the Peace of Mind Foundation, an organization committed to helping those living with the effects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and other such mental illnesses.  Then, in a final show of support of Logan, the Gallery Furniture family bought Logan a 32GB iPod Touch.  And, just to make sure that he has plenty of tunes to rock out to, Gallery Furniture also gave Logan $100 in iTunes gift certificates for him to use on the iTunes and, obviously, the Apple AppStore.  

What made Logan's story so unique is that he is a true believer in giving unto others and the spirit of helping his fellow man, a spirit that he shows in all his actions.  When speaking with Logan's family, we learned that young Logan once held a garage sale of his toys to raise money for a friend in his class diagnosed with spina bifida, amongst a host of other charitable and giving campaigns that young Logan would come up with.  His story, the story of compassion, caring, and charity, rang true to the core values of Gallery Furniture, and so our show of gratitude to Logan was to make sure he got his Apple iPod Touch.  To ensure that his story was told, we held a press conference for him at Gallery Furniture Post Oak at 2411 Post Oak Boulevard, with the help of KPRC Channel 2's Ryan Karsgard.

Young men like Logan show what a true humanitarian is - his actions speak volumes, and Gallery Furniture feels that this young man is most certainly destined for great things.

Truly Amazing Deliveries

Who would believe that the day after a major fire destroyed its warehouse, a furniture store would be selling and delivering furniture the same day it was sold?

As hard as it is to believe, that is exactly what the Gallery Furniture team was able to do.  Just hours after the four alarm fire at the warehouse, Gallery Furniture trucks were on the road delivering furniture.

I believe only one store could do it -- Gallery Furniture.  And the dedication of its employees made it possible.

Everyone would understand if Gallery had delivered no furniture on Friday.  Even Mattress Mack was ready to delay Friday's scheduled deliveries.  But Gallery Furniture is all about TODAY, and keeping promises, and the staff said they could do it.  So the day began with a focus on making Friday's deliveries.

And the trucks began to roll.  They were filled with furniture from a number of sources.  Some had been shipped in on trucks that had not yet been unloaded at the warehouse.  Other pieces of furniture were picked up from local distributors and manufacturers, replacing items that were lost in the warehouse.

Making those deliveries was not that simple.  

Imagine the difficulties involved.  Someone had to keep track of the furniture that was scheduled for delivery on Friday.  Then furniture to fill the order had to be found, purchased, and picked up.  Delivery trucks had to be loaded and deliveries scheduled. 

And all of this was being done without a warehouse!  There was no access to workstations at the main store, so cell phones and computers were put into play.

Yet the Gallery Furniture staff worked through the difficulties and kept the deliveries going out.

Then, Friday afternoon a temporary warehouse was found, the lease was done, and the warehouse staff turned out to get it in shape and start unloading trucks of new furniture that were arriving all day.

The sales staff rallied at the Post Oak store and when customers came through the door at eight Friday morning, there were people ready to help.   

Rallied is a good word to describe the way all the Gallery Furniture employees responded Friday.  It was a day full of challenges -- challenges accepted, challenges met.

As tough as the last few days have been, it has also been a time of pulling together.  The goal has not changed.  Gallery Furniture is here to delight customers with great furniture at great prices, and deliver it today!

Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau Sends a Letter of Support

For those who come to visit or move to the fine Bayou City, the first stop for many is www.VisitHoustonTexas.com.  The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau is often the face forward of Houston for those not familiar with the greatness of Space City.  Today, we received a very warm and friendly letter in which Greg D. Ortale, the President & CEO of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, expressed his best wishes for the Gallery Furniture family.

A big thanks to the folks ar rge GHCVB for  their support.  

Houston Companies Show Support for Gallery Furniture.

Companies large, medium, and small are all showing their support for Gallery Furniture.  The folks over at New York Bagels, Inc. on Hillcroft avenue have been kind enough to send over some food and a letter (shown below) with their support for our hardworking Gallery Furniture crew.

As the folks at New York Bagels, Inc. wished us luck and sent over some "nosh" (that's Yiddish for food to eat).  

Children's Messages to Mack

Gallery Furniture has received many cards and notes telling us how sad people were to see or hear about the warehouse fire last week.  Almost all of them encourage the Gallery Furniture family to keep the faith, things will be better.

The most moving -- and sweetest -- messages come from children.  A number of classrooms have sent their messages in the form of hand-made cards.  They are on display at the Post Oak showroom so you can see why they have been such an inspiration to everyone at Gallery.

Here are examples of the messages:

"My class depends on you not to give up.  We really appresheate what you have done.  I know you can get through this problem."

"You are in my prayers and I know you will recover from this."

"Thanks for taking care of Houston!  And let luck smile on you."

"We got your back.  Stay strong and keep doing what you are doing."

"I hope you cheer up and get back to bissness.  I love you."

"After every thunderstorm there's always a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end."

"A couple of years ago I lost my home in a fire.  Now it is brand new.  You will have your storemessages 4 back in no time."

"My family loves your commershull.  Please don't be sad about the fire.  We love you."

Logan's Gift

It is amazing, just amazing, how many people have asked how they can help Gallery Furniture recover from the fire.  They've offered to work for free and lots of people have wanted to make a donation.  The donations are not needed but the thought and spirit behind them is just what the Gallery Furniture family needs, the support and good will of this city of Houston, the city with the biggest heart in the world.  

There's one particular donation that has to be mentioned.  Last weekend a young man came into the store with a plastic bag full of coins and bills.  He said his name was Logan and he'd been saving the money for an iPod.  But after seeing the fire on TV, Logan said he knew we needed the money more, so he brought it to the Post Oak store.  Of course he was told a donation wasn't necessary, but he insisted and in the end no one had to heart to refuse him -- it meant so much to him.

So Logan's donation was accepted.  It will be given to the Peace of Mind Foundation.  

This young man's spirit, his passion to help, is an example of the best of our young people and one reason for optimism about the future.  Thank you Logan, not for your gift of money, but for your gift of yourself.

USO and Harris County EMS Cooking Out for Gallery Furniture

The kind folks of the Harris County EMS Team joined forces with the USO in Sugarland, TX today to cook out for the Gallery Furniture warehouse crew who are working hard at making sure the inbound inventory of furniture like collections from HTD's solid wood mango line, Largo, Opus, and that Sumter Solid Wood furniture all are not just accounted for, but also placed in the racks and then delivered to the customers.

While the Gallery Furniture team is busy working on the inside of the new warehouse, the USO and Harris County EMS cooks are outside getting everything ready for a Texas styled lunch.

 

Whether it's burgers, chicken, hotdogs, or corn on the cob, the USO and Harris County EMS are working hard to make sure the Gallery Furniture warehouse team is well fed this Memorial Day weekend.

 

 

Chicken on the grill for Gallery Furniture warehouse employees.