Ballard Design

Ballard Designs was the brain child of an Atlanta entrepreneur named Helen Ballard Weeks. Weeks started her home furnishing mail order catalog almost by accident. In 1982, a contest for the magazine Metropolitan Home chose Weeks's condo as the top choice for its Southern region. The blitz of publicity which followed the award motivated Weeks to liquidate her condo and start up her own business catalog.The very first Ballard Designs catalog made it to mailboxes in August of 1983. This simple brochure was only two pages. Yet by virtue of Weeks's moxie and her exquisite design sensibilities, she was able to grow her one-woman business into a home decor empire. Today, the Ballard Designs catalog goes out to more than 40 million individuals across the US.Fifteen years after its founding, Ballard Designs was melded into a major corporate parent called Cornerstone Brands, Inc. This superstar catalog publisher also promotes a home and garden product line called Frontgate, a travel essentials publication called TravelSmith, and the fine bedding and design specialist branch, Garnet Hill.Popular Ballard Design creations include media and storage armoires, ceiling sconces and medallions, shades, floor lamps, and home office furnishings. The catalog also offers an array of bath and laundry room furnishing products. All told, you can find hundreds of superior creations from this company, from whimsical art prints to true investment furniture. These furnishings and decorative items encompass a variety of styles, from French Provencal to Cape Cod beach house.