Dwellings Plans To Sell American-Made Furnishings by 2008

August 2, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 2006 Dwellings, an 8,500 square foot home furnishings and accessories store and whole home design center designed by New York based GRID2 International is under construction and scheduled to open in November according to the owner, Luis Carrillo.

A contemporary offering of kitchen, home décor and bed and bath items are intended to reflect the island’s colorful personality, says Carrillo of his new store. “It’s like the Crate & Barrel of the islands,” he adds, which will target local and international residents owning upscale villas on the island. Selling to non-residents is not in Dwellings’ early forecasting because of shipping issues.

Though home furnishings are not the bulk of his sales, Carrillo says he wants Dwellings to grow into that area.

“Most of my suppliers are from the U.S., we’ve got Calphalon, and Lenox. We’re not doing hard furniture right now there are import tax issues for furniture that is not built in the Carribean. It’s a protective tax, meant to insure the regional furniture manufacturers don’t get hurt. We’re not selling stuff made in the region because it doesn’t fit with the feel of the store. We would love to carry American home furnishings. When that import tax on furnishings is reduced I will look into it,” said Carrillo.

Carrillo said Dwellings plans to expand into furniture sales by 2008.