My growing collection of pins!
Not since Facebook my freshman year of college have I seen a social network take off so wildly as Pinterest.
I’ve been collecting clever ideas and pretty kitchens for years on another, less visual bookmarking site but have finally given in.
I’ve traded my tags for pins! Find me and plenty of kitchen and home inspiration under Warners’ Stellian.
If you like, follow some of my boards. And then please add your account in the comments below so I can follow you back!
When Eric Wenzel of Cottage Grove battled cancer a couple years ago, his church provided the necessary help and prayers.
As a thank you for the support they received, Eric and his wife — Karen — decided to pay it forward and began collecting coats and other winter necessities for those in need within the community.
As a result, their organization — Coats of Kindness — collected 450 coats and $500 last year.
Again this year, you can drop off your clean, gently used coats, snowpants, hats and gloves at Warners’ Stellian’s six Twin Cities appliance stores, in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Edina, Woodbury, Maple Grove and Apple Valley. Edina, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Apple Valley, Maple Grove, and Woodbury.
Also accepting donations are Fury Motors in South St. Paul and Lake Elmo, Wenzel Financial Service in Cottage Grove and Eric’s church, All Saints Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove.
You have till Jan. 15 to drop off your coats. Monetary donations can also be made, which will be used to purchase new coats. Contact: Coats of Kindness 7584 80th St., Suite 3, Cottage Grove, MN 55016 or by calling 651.485.9981.
Artist's rendering of customer
Yesterday, we received pretty much the sweetest letter from a customer in recent memory.
Not only did it remind us how great our customer service department is, it rhymed (well, mostly).
We’re so very appreciative of our customers (especially now through 10/24 during our Customer Appreciation Sale), that we’re delighted whenever the sentiment is returned.
I’m publishing the poem with you here, because it’s too cute to be shared with only an envelope:
I arose this morning
Happy as can be
Went into my kitchen
And what did I see?Water all over
My nice clean floor
I opened my refrigerator
And couldn’t believe what I sawA small lake in the bottom
Some frozen, some melted
I dashed for the phone
I really needed helpTomorrow, they said,
My fridge would be fixed
I said OK
My popsicles melted off their sticksI called back again
And with Lauren in St. Paul I pleaded,
Oh somehow can my fridge get fixed today?
And by gosh she conceded and they were on their way.An hour or so later
Mike & Bill did arrive
When the truck pulled up
I was so happy I almost criedWhat a great team
They saw the problem right away
Out came the tools
And eventually, the ice melted awayWhat a great company
to do business with
Which I have for many years
Give a toast to your employees, use champagne not beerI wanted you to know
What great people work for you
Anytime stop by for a cold one
The bottles are cold thanks to your crewRegards, Mike
Seriously, customers. Any time you offer creative appreciation AND beer, you have our attention 
Months ago, we helped the super cool, Minneapolis foodies Carrie and Robert Shidla create a cook’s kitchen for their episode of DIY Network’s “I Hate My Kitchen.”
Magnetic Productions' videographer shoots our pink truck during the delivery of the Shidla's appliances. Remember all that snow? Ick.
Delivery guys Dave and Brian navigate the range into the living room, where it lived during the remodeling.
Our episode finally aired last Tuesday, Sept. 20, so I can finally share the photos.
Carrie is such a doll; she happily posed with her new LG fridge for me. She LOVES to cook, so she was so excited to have a beautiful, functional kitchen.
And now for the big reveal (drumroll, please?)…
Photo courtesy of DIY Network
We chose all LG appliances. Click on the image for more information on the specific product.
Photo courtesy of DIY Network
Photo courtesy DIY Network
Photo courtesy of DIY Network
Photo courtesy of DIY Network
If you missed the episode (I can’t post it online, unfortunately), you can catch it when it replays on DIY Network (ch. 121 on Twin Cities Comcast). Here’s the schedule (all times in CST):
Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m. & 2:30 a.m.
Sept. 29, 4 p.m.
Oct. 11, 9 a.m.
Oct. 16, 1 p.m
Architect Jean Rehkamp and Carla Warner check out a kitchen on the Homes By Architects Tour.
So, you’ve heard of the Parade of Homes, but this weekend visit a select group of homes in Minnesota designed with all the thoughtfulness and beauty an architect can lend.
Now in its third year, the Homes By Architects Tour runs Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18 from 10-5.
Want a sneak peak?
Carla Warner previewed Home #6 in Edina with architect Jean Rehkamp of Rehkamp Larson Architects about integrated appliances (streamlining the look of appliances into your kitchen cabinets).
And in case you missed it, a couple months ago, I visited with the owners of Home #11 in Grant and learned how a perfect kitchen is created for the Homes By Architects blog.
>> Read “For the Love of Appliances”
Dana Wheelock photo
I was jealous of their setup, to say the least. It’s a must see!
Since Warners’ Stellian is featured in several of the homes (also #7 and #10), we’re sponsoring the tour.
Buy tickets online through Friday or at the door at any house Saturday and Sunday.
Coming to a pantry near you. Actually, it could be your pantry, which is really nearby.
Warners’ Stellian Appliance has jumped on the homemaker-trend bandwagon by offering our very own canning class.
Partly inspired by our beautiful, functional kitchen vignettes and partly motivated by my desire to pickle, I managed to wrangle master food preserver Liz McMann of Mississippi Markets Co-op and blog Food Snobbery Is My Hobbery into teaching a small group how to can their own Dill Pickled Green Beans.
You’ll walk away with plenty of know-how for your own food preservation efforts, and most importantly, your own jar of beans. Plus, it’s only $10 — we provide everything.
Canning class: Dill Pickled Green Beans
Saturday, Sept. 24
1-2:30(ish) p.m.
Warners’ Stellian-St. Paul, 1711 N. Snelling Ave. (more location details)
Want in? RSVP to me (Julie) at jawarner at warnersstellian.com. Hurry! Spots are limited to 10.
While we might not be “at” the Fair — as far as having a booth or being in the Grandstand — Warners’ Stellian annual State Fair appliance sale, Savings on a Stick, is a big one for us.
Not only do the Warners have a storied history with the Minnesota State Fair, but we also have some of our best deals (through Labor Day).
Because I’m a notorious spiller (and when are stains more apropos than during fair time?), I’m going to play favorites and talk laundry.
You can replace your washer and dryer for as little as $699 (which includes delivery, re-installation and recycling of your old units in the Twin Cities metro) with this Amana laundry pair.
But the smartest move is to upgrade to a front load washer and dryer — which tend to offer more capacity while using less water and energy. Energy Star washers can make up for the cost of the dryer in energy savings over their estimated lifetime. Plus, this Frigidaire washer and dryer pair is $300 off right now.
My personal favorite laundry feature, though, is steam. You can get the cleaning power in you washer (plus some more capacity) and the refreshing capabilities in your dryer for a few hundred more, starting with this Frigidaire steam washer and steam dryer.
If you happened to see us at the Eco Experience building in the Common Cottage exhibit on Sunday, you probably were lucky enough to score a $50 off coupon. In fact, there might still be some left if you hurry…
A sign posted in view of State Fair traffic at the edge of our flagship store's parking lot on Snelling and Larpenteur avenues, two blocks north of the Fairgrounds.
Back since Warners’ Stellian was simply Stellian in the 1950s, our appliances were warehoused at the State Fairgrounds all but two months of the year.
Many different buildings housed our refrigerators, washing machines, etc. through the decades we spent there. After a customer bought something, our guys would just drive the two blocks to the Fairgrounds, load the appliance into the truck bearing our name on its stakes, and deliver it — sometimes beating the customer to his own house, my grandpa, Jim Warner, would brag.
An earlier iteration of our delivery fleet. My grandpa retained our own trucks so we could paint our own name and logo on them to further awareness of our appliance store.
We kept overhead low enough to offer great prices. In exchange, we had to completely clear our stuff out for the State Fair and for the circus (before which my dad remembers hauling appliances out as the elephants walked in — probably when we were in the 4-H Building).
We also shared a building with Steichen’s grocery. Still another building we used across the street lacked a toilet, so the side of the building had to do…sorry!
When we’d return all the inventory hauled from the building to our (then) little single store in Falcon Heights, we barely had space for it, thus creating our annual State Fair Warehouse Sale (a little different from our now EXTREME Warehouse Sale!).
Finally in 1995, we built our first warehouse in the North End neighborhood of St. Paul, which we expanded a few years later and outgrew by 2004, at which time we built our current Warners’ Stellian warehouse and corporate headquarters.
Our current 150,000-square-foot warehouse is a far cry from our days dodging horse maneur in the 4-H building.
For some years now, we’ve been referring to our history there and our former annual warehouse sale with our “Savings On A Stick” promotion during the Minnesota State Fair.
“Make sure you say they were good to us,” my grandpa said, referring to the State Fairgrounds. He said being able to store our inventory so cheaply probably deserves much credit for keeping us around to today.
Sounds fair to me.
When you think of customer service, you immediately might picture your salesperson helping secure available rebates or choose the perfect appliance for a tricky space.
And you’d be right.
But our delivery and install crews also deserve much credit for our stellar reputation for customer service. We offer free delivery and freestanding installation in the metro for orders $499 and up, but you get way more than you pay for.
Some purchases are routine replacements with nothing special in terms of selection or installation, but I love the emails from customers who’ve experienced our expertise in more complicated situations (especially when they come with photos).
Here’s a recent email that Susie sent to her salesperson at our Apple Valley appliance store:
I had to take a moment out to again thank you for all your help. It seemed so hopeless when we started to replace the Jenn-Air microwave, but with your help I was encouraged. I never dreamed it would turn out so well. These fellows were priceless.Quickly they assessed the situation and made a few modifications and soon we were in business.
Unless you had seen the Jenn-Air in place you would think the KitchenAid was made to order. I’m so thrilled we could use the old trim plate.
We are very happy with the new unit and truly appreciate all you did to make it possible. Thanks again, -Susie & Jack
Warners’ Stellian brought in a custom cigar roller for an event we hosted last week, and the cigars were a hit.
Many of us had never smoked a freshly rolled cigar, nor watched the process, so it was certainly a treat.
Our Liebherr humidor XS200 wasn’t for sale (photo left), as this was a trade association event, but it was such a hit, we actually sold some right there. While it doesn’t come with a custom cigar roller, the Liebherr humidor is the perfect addition to any cigar aficionado’s collection.
Haven’t heard of the Liebherr humidor? Read my previous post.
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