May 15,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on May 2008
Excelsior Designs plans to boost its national brand presence by showing at this summer’s Las Vegas Market.
The contemporary specialist has taken a 7,000-square-foot showroom in the World Market Center’s Building C, which is set to open at the Market running July 28–Aug. 2. The company will show its case goods, Casa Novalia Leather and the Nicole Miller collections during the Market.
“With the opening of Building C, World Market Center Las Vegas will host a broad spectrum of high-end manufacturers,” said Bob Maricich, president and chief executive officer at World Market Center Las Vegas. “Excelsior Designs is a well-recognized ‘style leader’ and its presence here will greatly enhance opportunities for designers to view premiere upscale Italian contemporary goods at World Market Center Las Vegas.”
New products from Excelsior designed to appeal to the aesthetics of western contemporary lifestyles will be shown at the Market. From white lacquer and leather to golden-hued decorative glass, the color palette is crisp and natural. Eucalyptus and macassar ebony veneers, sparkling stainless and richly grained leathers add depth and elegance.
Designer Nicole Miller will meet with retailers to discuss her design inspirations. She will be in the Excelsior Designs showroom at Building C, 0396 Monday, July 28 and Tuesday, July 29.
“Having a presence in Las Vegas is a pivotal point for us,” said Steven Kayne, president of Excelsior Designs. “We’ve observed the growth of this Market, and we feel this is an optimum time for western-based retailers and design professionals to experience our high-end contemporary offerings. Our finely crafted designs will be right at home in this world-class city.”
May 15,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on May 2008
A dozen industry experts are lined up to judge the 2008 Pinnacle Awards for design excellence, which will be presented by the American Society of Furniture Designers (ASFD) at a gala on opening night of the October High Point Market.
Entries for the awards will be accepted through July 30, and judging will take place Aug. 5 in High Point. The 2008 judges are:
• Terry Allen—retired furniture veteran. Allen is known throughout the furniture industry for his artistry in fabric placement for upholstered furniture. Before retiring in 2007, he was responsible for merchandising at Pearson Co. for almost 30 years. He generously shares his knowledge through ASFD-accredited presentations for students and designers.
• Richard Bennington—professor of business and director of the home furnishings program at High Point University. Bennington coordinates the National Home Furnishings Assn. Management Development Institute and serves on the boards of the Furniture Discovery Center and the Bienenstock Furniture Library. He is a faculty and accreditation board member of the International Home Furnishings Representatives Assn. Certified Home Furnishings Representatives Program.
• Daren Koenig Cronin—manager of the Dianne Davant Academy of Design at Florida-based retailer City Furniture. Cronin created an affordable residential design firm within an already-successful furniture retailer. AOD clients spend an average of four times as much as non-AOD customers at City Furniture.
• Judith Z. Cushman-Hammer—an adjunct lecturer in the Interior Architecture Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Cushman-Hammer specializes in the history of furniture from King Tut to Phillipe Starke. A former
Furniture/Today and
Home Accents Today editor, Cushman-Hammer also has worked with design-driven home furnishings companies through her consulting firm J.Z. Cushman and Company.
• Gary Evans—a senior editor at trade newspaper
Furniture/Today. Evans has been covering the home furnishings industry for nearly 20 years. His assignments have taken him to nine countries and he has served as a design award judge at the Cebu Furniture Show in the Philippines, and at this year’s International Furniture Fair Singapore/Asean Furniture Show.
• Ellen Gefen—home fashion industry spokesperson, hosting “Industry Update’s Home Fashion Report” at the High Point Market for more than 23 years. Gefen and her husband own Gefen Productions, a media production studio in the Triad region of North Carolina, and are known for their work in the home furnishings industry including TV commercials for retailers and manufacturers.
• Jaclyn C. Hirschhaut—vice president of public relations and marketing for the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA). Hirschhaut directs AHFA’s consumer marketing program and serves as the liaison with media, government agencies and related industry groups.
• Sheila Long O’Mara—editor in chief of
Home Furnishings Business magazine. O’Mara has been covering the furniture industry for 14 years for a variety of publications. She lives in Columbia, S.C.
• Max S. Shangle—a teacher of furniture and industrial design at Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Mich. Shangle has served as chair of both the Furniture Design Department and the Division of Design Studies. He also has been managing director of the Grand Rapids Area Furniture Manufacturers Assn., and has been an expert witness and case consultant in product liability cases involving furniture products.
• Julie M. Smith—editor of
Furniture Style magazine and supplements,
Home Fashion Forecast and
The Retail Experience. Smith attends home furnishings markets and trade shows in North America, Europe and Asia and has judged other furniture design competitions including
CWB magazine’s Design Portfolio Awards and the International Woodworking Fair’s Design Emphasis Awards.
• Steve Walker—associated with the Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Walker has more than 20 years of manufacturing management experience with a broad range of furniture companies, including The Hon Company, Ethan Allen Furniture and Thomasville Furniture Inds.
• Rhonda Wolf—assistant vice president, merchandising, Havertys, Atlanta. Wolf joined Havertys in 1986 and has held management positions including store manager, assistant general manager, merchandise coordinator and regional merchandise manager before joining the corporate merchandising team in her present role in 2002.
Pinnacle Awards are given in 15 categories: major collections, stationary upholstery, motion furniture, leather upholstery, bedroom, casual dining, formal dining, home office, juvenile furniture and correlates, lighting, accessories, entertainment centers/home theater, occasional tables, occasional storage and summer/casual furniture.
Criteria for judging include the extent to which the design represents value to the consumer at its suggested price point by combining visual appearance and function; the extent to which the design makes the best use of available materials and production technology; and the extent to which the design incorporates the needs of the retail furniture consumer.
Furniture/Today is the major underwriter of the 2008 Pinnacle Awards. Other sponsors include World Market Center, High Point Market,
Furniture Style, Weyerhaeuser, Showplace, Appalachian Hardwoods, International Home Furnishings Center,
Home Furnishings Business,
Home Lighting and Accessories, Merchandise Mart Properties, Leggett & Platt, Elmo Leather, Hickory Springs, Furniture Design Studios Inc.
Entries should be sent to ASFD at 519 Cornwallis Dr., Greensboro, N.C., 29408, in time to arrive by July 30. Entry requirements can be viewed on the ASFD Web site at asfd.com or call (336) 617-3209.
May 15,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on May 2008
Six trucking firms specializing in home furnishings have merged operations to create a $100 million firm, World Wide Logistics, that covers the largest geographic foot print of any specialized furniture transportation company, according to a recent announcement.
The merger advised by Sequence Investment Partners, Charleston, S.C., brings together fix furniture carriers, including Four Truckers, Morganton, N.C.; Furniture Transportation Systems (FTS), Pomona, Calif.; Milwaukee Delivery Service, Jefferson, Wis.; Palmer Transport, Ontario, Calif.; Rudisill Transportation, Hickory, N.C.; and Warren Trucking, Martinsville, Va.
“We listened to the furniture industry and have created the most complete solution in the marketplace,” said Dan Hunt CEO of World Wide Logistics, who formerly was executive vice president at Warren Trucking. “This world class organization takes the specialized transportation services for the home furnishings industry to a new level. The structure of WWL maintains the existence of the underlying subsidiary companies intact and operational. This ensures that our customers will continue to enjoy the same personal relationships that they have had in the past with each of the WWL companies going forward.”
World Wide Logistics’ warehouses and distribution centers across the country include four on the West Coast, three on the East Coast and one each in the Midwest and Southwest. According to the new company’s announcement, it’s the only specialized residential and office carrier offering less-than-truckload service to all points in the United States. It also offers LCL consolidation, direct containers, de-vanning, split container distribution and regional warehousing for local and home delivery.
May 15,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Accessories on May 2008
San Francisco-based Design Within Reach, which operates 69 stores, announced Thursday that it is opening two Tools for Living stores dedicated to everyday, cash-and-carry items that range from cookware to desk sets to portable dog bowls. The company introduced a range of Tools For Living products in the fall of 2007.
DWR CEO Ray Brunner said, “DWR stands for Design Within Reach, not just furniture within reach. Tools for Living extends the ready availability of design to items associated with everyday use. In many ways it can be simply described as a modern general store.”
The nine-year-old company’s Tools For Living stores will open in September in New York’s Soho neighborhood and in a dedicated space within an existing DWR store in Santa Monica, Calif.
May 14,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on May 2008
Havertys, which operates 124 furniture stores in 17 states, announced Wednesday that it has promoted three executives to top roles overseeing stores and distribution.
Steven Burdette, senior vice president of operations since 2003, has been named executive vice president, stores. Burdette, who has been with the Atlanta-based company for 24 years, will be responsible for all aspects of store operations. Five regional managers will report to him, and so will Thomas Curran, senior vice president of marketing.
J. Edward Clary, chief information officer since 2000, has added senior vice president, distribution, to his title. A 17-year company veteran, Clary was instrumental in the development an execution of the company’s prorietary distribution systems and its integration with all of the company’s operating systems, which form the foundation of the company’s recent move into e-commerce.
Scott Miles, assistant vice president of stores since 2006, has been promoted to vice president, stores. Since joining the company in 2002, he served as the market area manager in Cincinnati, a new market for Havertys, and also served as operations manager for the District of Columbia area. In addition to continuing to work with the company’s market area managers, he has the added responsibility of having the company’s supply chain team reporting to him.