Sarreid Partners With Rudy van Thiel for C-BenchMade

April 12, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on April 13, 2010

Sarreid has partnered with Rudy van Thiel of van Thiel & Co. to create C-BenchMade, a line of solid hardwood furniture that debuts at the upcoming High Point Market.

The hand-crafted, hand-finished C-BenchMade is an extension of the Chatham Crossing furniture line distributed by Sarreid since October 2006. To reflect the major design changes and the more eclectic, less traditional designs and finishes, Sarreid has re-branded the collection as C-BenchMade.
 
Sarreid teamed with former Masco executive Rudy van Thiel on the new line. Van Thiel & Co., founded in 2003, purchases authentic antiques and one-of-a-kind "found items" throughout the world, focusing on items that can be restored to fit well into modern interiors. The company owns an antique restoration and custom furniture production facility near Beijing.

To control quality and design fidelity, the C-Benchmade line is produced at a Sarreid owned facility in India using both responsibly harvested and reclaimed hardwoods. The collaboration launches in Sarreid's newly remodeled showroom on the third floor of the C&D building with more than 150 furniture pieces, including updated and fine-tuned revisions of Chatham's best-selling items as well as a substantial number of brand new designs. 
 
"Combining the skills of the well-trained craftsmen in our new Indian facility with the design and finish expertise of van Thiel & Co has placed us in a strong position to offer well-priced, higher-end product with unique and exclusive designs," said Alex Sarratt, Sarreid partner and president. "Chatham has been a very popular line and we believe that this move will make it even more successful."

Since October 2004 Sarreid has distributed van Thiel's unique offerings of restored antiques, antique reproductions, maps, and accessories to retail furniture stores, high-end mail order, and members of the design trade in North America, more than tripling sales.
 
"The combination of the new C-BenchMade collection, van Thiel & Co. lines, Encore and the best of our occasional and accessory lines enables us to work in depth with professional stores and designers," said Charles Hoffman, Sarreid partner and director of sales.
 
"Partnering with Sarreid has allowed me to focus on what I enjoy most--exploring the world to find good quality antiques and signed art pieces that are distinct from items that are flooding the market," van Thiel said. "With Sarreid handling marketing and distribution and us personally selecting and restoring our unique finds and creating replicas of our favorite discoveries, we have a strong partnership that serves our customers very well."