Martha Stewart Previews New Collection with Bernhardt

June 5, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on June 2006 Martha Stewart greeted retailers from between 60 and 70 Bernhardt accounts Monday at the vendor’s High Point showroom for a first look at Katonah, the fifth collection for her licensed furniture line, Martha Stewart Signature.

With about 70 case goods pieces predominantly in veneers of cherry and acoume, an African mahogany species, the new collection—inspired by Stewart’s 1925 farmhouse in Bedford, N.Y.—includes some of the line’s most formal settings to date, with a style theme of refreshed takes on traditional American styles.

Several accent finishes, including updated, atypical chinoiserie paint treatments, muted grays, and red and black lacquer, spice up the color palette.

Around 30 new upholstery frames utilize 35 new fabrics, including striking green velvet and bright corals, as well as earth tones.

In all, Martha Stewart Signature now has close to 400 wood pieces, 135 upholstery frames and 200 fabrics. The line, which debuted in October 2004 with a 6,000-square-foot presentation, has doubled its footprint in Bernhardt’s showroom.

“It’s always interesting to come to High Point in the off-season,” Stewart told the gathering. “We’re the only ones here right now, so you have to focus on us—we like that a lot.”

Stewart had just flown in from Atlanta, where she was visiting a new upscale housing development that’s part of Martha Stewart Omnimedia’s partnership with national builder KB Home that creates communities of Stewart-designed houses. In addition to Cary, N.C., and Atlanta, similar developments are in the works for Charlotte, N.C., Houston, Las Vegas, California and Orman Beach, Fla.

Those developments, Stewart said, represent a real opportunity for retailers carrying the furniture line in their respective regions.

“The first seven or eight show houses in each of these communities are completely furnished with our furniture,” she said.

When asked by a Florida retailer when to expect a KB/Stewart development in that state, Stewart said the Florida one is on the way for October.

“We’ll be back with a (furniture) collection with specific appeal to that area,” Stewart said.