FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fans Score Coveted 2011 IKEA Catalogs Two Weeks in Advance at the First IKEA-Sponsored Fan Event

And while you’re following us on Twitter, check out our Follow Friday Recommendations:

@ikeadublin ~ IKEA Dublin, the first IKEA store in Ireland, will open its doors at 0800 on July 27, 2009!
@ikeaglasgow ~ We are IKEA in Glasgow. We get up to all-sorts. Want to keep up to date? Follow us!
@IKEA_Oz_East ~ Providing IKEA fans with the latest news and hottest offers from IKEA stores in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
@IKEATampaFans ~ This is the Twitter fan page for IKEA Tampa.
@IKEAKitchen ~ IKEA Kitchens by Dyer Studio

Entries must be received by July 21st and can be your stories in words and pictures or in video format.  Maybe you want to sing a song?  Whatever, just do it quick!  Enter to Win

TAMPA, Fla. – (Business Wire) IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it has begun the recruitment process for its future Tampa store, set to open Summer 2009 in the Ybor City-area. Candidates interested in working at the future IKEA Tampa – the Swedish company’s 3^rdstore and restaurant destination in Florida, 6^th in the Southeast, and 37^th in the United States – should look online (www.IKEA-USA.com) for all available positions at the future store. Candidates without access to a home computer are encouraged to visit a local library for online computer access.

“We are thrilled to offer interested jobseekers diverse positions with limitless opportunity at a global company,” said Monica Varela, store manager of the future IKEA Tampa. “At IKEA, we realize that the ability to do the things in life that bring success and happiness is extremely valuable to our coworkers.”

While IKEA Tampa progresses through construction and outfitting, a variety of positions are open to local residents. Prospective coworkers are welcome to apply for the nearly 400 diverse positions as postings are available in: home furnishings sales, interior decoration, customer service, safety and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse and stock replenishment. Also, setting itself apart from other retailers in the area, IKEA Tampa will offer – among the 400 total positions to be hired for the store – approximately 75 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria.

Named in FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list (three consecutive years), Working Mother magazine’s annual list of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” (four consecutive years) and Training magazine’s annual “Top 100” ranking of companies that excel at human capital development (five consecutive years), IKEA places value and emphasis on coworkers’ personal lives and the importance of a work/life balance.

Drawing from the company’s Swedish heritage, IKEA is committed to a flexible workplace that emphasizes a work/life balance and provides professional opportunities to people from all life situations. If an IKEA coworker needs to take time off to find a nursing home for an aging parent, be home to kiss their child before bed or have flexible scheduling to best juggle caring for a newborn, one can do so without worrying about risking their career aspirations.

IKEA offers family-friendly initiatives and diverse workplace benefits including full medical/dental insurance to coworkers working 20 hours or more per week with eligibility for domestic partners and children. Coworkers working less than 20 hours still are eligible for medical and dental insurance.

Other benefits include: vacation, paid maternity/paternity leave and paid time off for child adoption, tuition assistance, 401(k) match, professional development, training and mentoring programs and, of course, a discount on IKEA purchases. The organization puts career opportunity into the hands of the individual, encouraging coworkers to consider assignments within different functions, at other IKEA stores or even in other countries. IKEA prides itself on the fact that an opportunity to work at IKEA truly can evolve into a career, and also can serve as a gateway to global experience as well.

Under construction on 29 acres along Adamo Drive at 22^nd Street and the Crosstown Expressway, the 353,000 square-foot IKEA Tampa will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, three model homes, 50 room settings, a supervised children’s play area, a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features will include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store. Also, IKEA will generate significant tax revenue for state and local governments. When IKEA Tampa opens in Summer 2009, the new store will welcome 400 coworkers to the IKEA family of more than 11,000 coworkers in the United States and 130,000 globally.

Until the 353,000 square-foot IKEA Tampa opens, customers can shop at existing Florida stores in Orlando and Sunrise or atwww.IKEA-USA.com. Other stores in the Southeast are located in Atlanta, GA and Woodbridge, VA, with a store opening February 18, 2009 in Charlotte, NC.

IKEA believes home is the most important place in the world and, since its 1943 founding in Sweden, has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. As part of this commitment to create a better everyday life for the many people, IKEA incorporates environmentally and socially responsible efforts into day-to-day business, strives to be an employer of choice, and continually supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. The unique and family-friendly IKEA shopping experience currently can be found at more than 290 IKEA stores in 36 countries, including 35 in the U.S., where other new stores are being planned in: Centennial, CO; Charlotte, NC; and Somerville, MA. To visit the IKEA Web site or for information about working at IKEA, please go to http://www.IKEA-USA.com.

Remember – Positive Fanatics is not affiliated with IKEA. Please refer to the instructions above for applying for a job!

We’re thrilled to announce that Positive Fanatics is coming back.  After chatting with Armand about the future of Positive Fanatics and our commitment to the longevity of its position in the online IKEA community, we’ve agreed to take over and continue in the tradition of offering timely news on IKEA, information on store openings, events and sales, and other tasty tidbits about the store we all love – IKEA.

We don’t plan to change much, though we’ll be posting more frequently (like Armand was able to in the beginning) and focusing on the stories of IKEA fanatics – that’s YOU!

So, please…help us get off on the right foot!  Do you have a story to tell?  Photos to share?  A complaint, grudge or just comments?  Send them in!  Let’s get this baby moving!

Welcome back, Positive Fanatics!

Susan and James

www.ikeafans.com

Affordable dreams in tough economic times call for IKEA!
-by Kelly

Why do people love IKEA? Not everyone, of course, but certainly a great number of people all over the world do truly LOVE IKEA.

I can tell you what IKEA does for me…

It’s about accessibility of dreams. I’m a person who has lots of little plans and dreams about my surroundings from clothes to gardens, and like lots of people I’m influenced by television and magazines on what those things can look like. I want to be individual within a cultural context and to express myself through the physical attributes of my surroundings.

Like nearly everyone, my money and my mind are not in synch. I want more than I can afford or have. My eyes are bigger than my wallet. At times, I live firmly in an unbalanced state of desire. I have Plans without Wherewithal.

And then, there is IKEA. There are interesting, even beautiful things at IKEA- lots of them- that are within the realm of my financial possibility. These things are geared toward people who live in small spaces, who need places to put things away, who need a new bed or couch or kitchen or desk, but who cannot or don’t choose to spend a lot of money, but have a desire to purposefully choose the things they live with rather than take things others are done with.

I lived for too long with other people’s hand me downs, and I suspect that these were hand me downs prior to that. Who actually chose these things? Who desired them? In what home did they make sense, and where were they part of an integrated whole? I am not talking about heirlooms, I am talking about a round dining table when you need square, a light wood when everything else is dark, where nothing really matches or is the right size for the space you inhabit. It is always making do.

So, for me, IKEA is about the freedom to pick things I want to live with.

Why do you like IKEA?
Image by Zeuss via IKEAFANS.com Galleries

Mamma Mia IKEA Wedding Giveaway Contest

Burbank, CA (May 29, 2008) – Embracing its Swedish heritage, the world’s largest home furnishings retailer, IKEA, is searching for twenty couples to participate in a special “Mamma Mia!” The Movie-themed group wedding/commitment ceremony as part of the “IKEA ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do’ Want to Get Married at the Mamma Mia! Wedding Event” Couples Search.  Collaborating with Universal Pictures to mark the upcoming U.S. release of the film (July 18, 2008), IKEA is footing the bill for the huge wedding to help the lucky couples celebrate their love of IKEA, the story of “Mamma Mia!,” and, of course, each other!

The wacky and joyous group wedding celebration will take place at the IKEA Burbank store on July 17, 2008.  Participating couples can choose to get married, renew their vows, or participate in a commitment ceremony.  The ceremony and reception will feature a special guest host, festive décor, and Swedish meatballs.  Immediately after the reception, the couples and their guests will attend a private pre-screening of “Mamma Mia!” The Movie at Universal CityWalk.

“IKEA knows that home is the most important place in the world—especially for newlyweds who are starting a lifelong home together,” said Marty Marston, Public Relations Manager IKEA US.  “We’re thrilled to be helping couples celebrate this exciting moment in time and kick-off their lives together in such a fun, entertaining way.”

Wedding gifts from IKEA for the couples include:

-  A wedding reception following the ceremony for up to sixteen guests per couple;

-  Tickets for the couples and their guests to a private advance screening of “Mamma Mia!” following the reception;

-  One $500 IKEA Gift Card (per couple);

-  Additional IKEA product gifts.

Entrants must visit www.ikea-usa.com/weddingcouples between May 27 and June 10, 2008, and complete the entry form by telling IKEA, in 250 words or less, why they want to be selected.  The winning couples will be randomly selected by IKEA and will be announced on June 16, 2008.  The selected couples are responsible for their own transportation to and from IKEA Burbank and must obtain a valid California marriage license, if applicable.  Each couple will be legally married or, by their choice, participate in a renewal or commitment ceremony.

The IKEA/“Mamma Mia! The Movie” wedding celebration kicks off at local IKEA stores around the country in June and July.  Select IKEA stores will host activities such as in-store karaoke sing-alongs, where customers can perform a song from the “Mamma Mia!” soundtrack to receive free tickets to an exclusive, advance screening of the film.  Visit www.IKEA-USA.com and select your local store for more information on what is happening in your area.

ABOUT MAMMA MIA!

Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the beloved musical that has been seen by more than 30 million people in 160 cities and 8 languages around the world.  Bringing the timeless lyrics and melodies of iconic super group ABBA to movie audiences, Summer 2008 is the season for Mamma Mia!

The three women who created the worldwide smash stage hit—global producer Judy Craymer, writer Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd—repeat their roles in bringing this joyful, musical story to the big screen.  The “Mamma Mia!” film is produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman.

Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried, and Dominic Cooper join Streep in this celebration of a mother, a daughter, and three possible dads.

An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna (Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she’s raised alone.  For Sophie’s wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends—practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski)—from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos.  But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own.

On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna’s past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier.  Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities.

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA’s songs from “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S.” to “Money, Money, Money” and “Take a Chance on Me,” “Mamma Mia!” is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.

[via Danielle Rabin/Ketchum]

Official Movie Site

From my MALM bed to yours – happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

We’re looking for bed-making maniacs who aren’t worried about what Mom
says. If you mix and match sheets, have a special blankie for the
Shih-tzu, or the craziest of quilts this contest is for you.

“Break The Rules Bed Making”
Shycast

LINK

[Thanks Damien!]

Jules over at IKEA Hacker is having a contest:

“i’m so happy to announce ikeahacker’s first contest in collaboration with the good folks at arash and kelly. woo! can you tell that i’m excited?

best thing is, you don’t need to have scored an ikea hack to take part. just your ideas, your brainchild, juice, the eureka! i’m sure that’s wonderful for all you “some day” people who may have an ikea hack idea brewing but never got round to actually doing it. now is the time to put it down on paper and win some goodies in the process…”

Check it out

[Disclosure: I'm one of the judges:]