Design Authorities

These distinguished Texas designers rate among best in world

The new year is looking bright for three Texas designers and architects. Jan Showers, Emily Summers, and Lake Flato Architects have been named to Architectural Digest's 2016 AD100, a list of influential and cutting-edge designers and architects from around the world anointed as the tastemakers for the upcoming year.

"Some are daredevils, some are classicists, but all are supremely confident," notes the mag. "From dynamic decorators recalibrating beloved traditions to enterprising architects shaking up a skyline near you, these 100 thought leaders — among them 19 additions from Belgium, Brazil, England, France, Spain, and the U.S. — are raising the bar for global design today."

The two Texas interior designers on the list hail from Dallas.

Emily Summers' modern style has so hypnotized Dallas that her Highland Park Village boutique, Studio 54, has become a magnet for those seeking timeless style with a contemporary punch. Jan Showers has been lending her elegance to interiors for more than 25 years, and many flock to her Design District showroom for a taste of her European-inspired decor. If visiting in person isn't possible, her acolytes get a taste for luxury from her books such as Glamorous Retreats.

Lake Flato Architects is the sole Texas architecture firm on the prestigious list. The San Antonio-based firm is behind such iconic Texas projects as Austin's Hotel San Jose, Marfa's El Cosmico, and the San Antonio Pearl Brewery redevelopment. Next up for this firm: a net-zero desert house near Las Vegas.

Lake Flato Architects designed Austin's Harry Ransom Center.

Photo courtesy of Lake Flato Architects

Lake Flato Architects designed Austin's Harry Ransom Center.

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GOB Sale

All Austin-area Big Lots stores hold going out of business sales

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Big Lots

Discount retail chain Big Lots is hosting a massive "GOB" — going out of business — sale, in anticipation of a possible company-wide closure.

The Columbus, Ohio-based chain has not come out and said it is going out of business — but instead that is holding the going-out-of-business sales to protect the value of the company.

"We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Big Lots President and CEO Bruce Thorn said in a statement. "While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB process."

The sell-off comes after a stalled sale of Big Lots to Nexus Capital Management, which was in motion after Big Lots initiated bankruptcy proceedings under Chapter 11 in September.

At that time, they executed a first round of closings — a total of 344 stores that included just one in the Austin area. More rounds of closures followed in the coming months.

On December 19, Big Lots determined that the sale would not be moving forward.

According to Fast Company, Big Lots did not explain why it was unable to complete a sale to Nexus, other than reports that an appraisal of Big Lots' inventory came in below expectations, which would make it unviable for Nexus Capital Management buy the company.

While they continue to look for alternatives, the plan now is to do the GOB sale in anticipation of a company shutdown.

Fans will miss Big Lots for their good-quality furniture, household goods, seasonal items, and gourmet foodstuffs, as well as basics like cleaning products and cereal.

There are currently four stores still operating in the Austin area:

Cedar Park: 850 N Bell Blvd., Ste. 104
Round Rock: 1201 S. Interstate 35, Ste. 200, Round Rock
Spicewood Springs: 8666 Spicewood Springs Rd.
Southeast Austin: 801 E. William Cannon Dr., Ste. 135b

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