Lawson Arthur | Lakewood Dallas Design Store

The Story

Giving old pieces a new life.

At 22, Mark Bennett opened Lawson Arthur with $20,000 from his father and an idea that was unusual for its time: find overlooked vintage furniture, reimagine it, and mix it freely with classic, contemporary and playful design.

The shop at 6341 Prospect Avenue in Dallas's Lakewood neighborhood was part retail store, part interior-design studio and part creative laboratory. Bennett designed the Lawson Arthur identity, logo and interior; sourced and merchandised the inventory; and served as the store's designer.

The name came from Bennett's grandfather, Lawson Arthur Bennett. Dropping the surname gave the shop the character of an established design house—exactly the kind of brand Bennett imagined it might one day become.

FounderMark Bennett

Address6341 Prospect Avenue

Telephone214-823-3350

The Idea

Great Style &
Fun Frenzy.

Lawson Arthur deliberately resisted the idea that a room had to belong to one period or one price point. A Duncan Phyfe dining table could live beside a playful flea-market find. An inexpensive wine table could become special through a faux finish. A vintage sectional could become the room's most contemporary statement.

Inventory came from garage and estate sales, vintage and junk stores, and clients themselves. Bennett chose the pieces; faux finisher Tim Bingham helped transform many of them for resale; and Cody Glover worked as Bennett's assistant.

“We call it Home Economics.”

The phrase captured the premise: good design could be imaginative, personal and affordable. Decades before “upcycling” became everyday design vocabulary, Lawson Arthur was already building a retail identity around reinvention.

Lawson Arthur advertisement featuring a 1950s red sectional — Original Lawson Arthur advertising: “How to Turn Your Living Room Into WORLD HEADQUARTERS.”

Hand-drawn concept sketch for the Lawson Arthur storefront — Bennett's hand-drawn storefront concept, showing the colors, signage and rooftop pennants.

From Sketch to Storefront

A complete identity.

Bennett created more than a shop. He developed the logo and branding, redesigned the interior of the space and conceived the storefront itself. The surviving sketch documents the thinking behind the finished facade—from the Lawson Arthur sign to the decorative rooftop flags.

The Prospect Avenue location had character, but it was not on Lakewood's primary retail street. Even as the shop began attracting a growing clientele, visibility remained a concern.

June 18, 1992

Champagne Reception

A surviving invitation documents a Thursday evening champagne reception celebrating Lawson Arthur's new Interior Design Studio. The event ran from 6:30 to 9:30 and carried the same confident identity as the store's advertising.

The date is an important fixed point in the Lawson Arthur archive. It is presented here specifically as the studio celebration date, not as an assumed original opening date.

Lawson Arthur Champagne Reception invitation dated June 18, 1992 — Original invitation, June 18, 1992.

The Advertising

A voice of its own.

Lawson Arthur advertised extensively in the Dallas Observer, using wit, strong typography and product photography to turn inexpensive vintage finds into a point of view.

“Dine with Duncan Phyfe.” “If you can't go to the Paris Flea Market…” “Strokes of Genius.” “Throw a Rug!” The ads weren't simply price announcements. Together they created a recognizable personality around the shop.

Dine with Duncan Phyfe Lawson Arthur ad — “Dine with Duncan Phyfe.” Preview reception advertisement.

Lawson Arthur full page Dallas Observer advertisement — Full-page advertisement presenting the store's classic-to-contemporary philosophy.

Paris Flea Market Lawson Arthur ad — “If you can't go to the Paris Flea Market…”

Strokes of Genius faux finish Lawson Arthur ad — “Strokes of Genius.” Faux finish services.

House Dressing Lawson Arthur handmade pillows ad — “House Dressing.” Handmade pillows and the Home Economics message.

Wine table faux finish Lawson Arthur ad — “Wine Table. Faux Finish. Thirty-Five Dollars.”

What Are You Waiting For Lawson Arthur ad — “What Are You Waiting For?” An interior photographed for Lawson Arthur advertising.

Throw a Rug Lawson Arthur ad — “Throw a Rug!”

Original Mark Bennett Lawson Arthur business card — Original Lawson Arthur business card: Mark Bennett, 6341 Prospect Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75214.

The Archive

What survives.

The surviving Lawson Arthur material includes the original storefront photograph, newspaper advertisements, business card, champagne-reception invitation and Bennett's own storefront sketch. Together they preserve a small piece of Dallas retail and design history that otherwise survives only faintly in period directories.

Period advertising described the business as offering interior design, faux finishes, redesigned period pieces, antiques, consignment services, color coordinating, room planning, pickup and delivery.

Looking Back

Talent before experience.

Bennett remembers Lawson Arthur with both pride and perspective. At 22, he had the eye, the design ability and the instinct for branding, but not yet the experience or discipline required to manage a growing business. Once the creative excitement of opening the store had passed, he was still a young man learning—sometimes while being more interested in friends and nightlife than the less glamorous work of running a company.

At the same time, the business was beginning to work. Lawson Arthur was developing clients and a recognizable identity. Bennett, Bingham and Glover could see momentum building.

Then the store was burglarized twice. Combined with Bennett's concerns about Prospect Avenue's limited retail visibility, the break-ins made the location feel like a mistake. At that age, without the business experience to know how to regroup strategically, Bennett ultimately chose to leave the business.

“If I knew then what I know now, it would be an established, well-known brand in its own right today.”

What remains is evidence of a remarkably complete idea created by a 22-year-old: a name with personal meaning, a distinctive logo, a designed environment, a sourcing philosophy, a memorable advertising voice and a point of view about interiors that would become far more familiar in the decades that followed.