Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
July 25,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on July 2007
Industrial auctioneer Rosen Systems, Dallas, Texas, is handling an online auction of the equipment, fabric and other assets of Smith Furniture, the Waco, Texas-based upholstery manufacturer that closed in May.
The first lot of assets begins closing today at 11 a.m., Eastern time. All bidding is online at
www.rosensystems.com .
Smith Furniture, founded in 1939, closed due in part to poor business conditions and because of owner Harry Smith’s battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Harry Smith continues to receive treatment, and Mark Smith, vice president and chief operating officer is going to law school.
While in law school, Mark Smith will work as a consultant for Profiles International, which specializes in employment evaluation and human resource management assessment tools.
Mark Smith said his father is not allowed plants or flowers, but suggested people donate blood and have it credited to the Harry Smith Blood Drive at Providence Hospital in Waco.
July 25,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on July 2007
The International Home Furnishings Center in High Point has announced a series of 10 educational programs that will run Oct. 1-6 for designers and retailers attending the Fall High Point Market.
The seminars will address important style, design and color trends, professional reinvention, practical insights from celebrity designers, succeeding online with local search methods, transformational use of decorative accessories, and precision use of friends and family to build a million dollar sales book.
“For retailers and designers attending our seminars, their valuable market time will be enhanced by gaining some practical knowledge that they can use to help them improve their businesses,” said Thomas M. Lindh, IHFC president and chief executive officer.
The complimentary seminars include food and beverages, and can be attended without reservations with the exception of a special breakfast session on Oct. 2; and luncheon sessions on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3.
The seminar schedule is as follows:
Oct. 1, noon, Ballroom B, Club Level, Green Wing: “S.O.S. (Start Out Smart) Applying the Market’s Hot Styles and Designs Now,” a unique street level analysis of design and style trends from a panel featuring moderator, Gale Steves, Open House Productions, and including Marta Benson, Gump’s, San Francisco; Jennifer Keys, Parker Furniture, Beaverton, Ore.; Rebecca Miller, Gabberts Furniture and Design Studio, Minneapolis; Jeff Pipes, Carl’s Furniture, Coconut Creek, Fla.; and Warren Shoulberg, HFN, New York.
Oct. 2, 7:30 a.m., Ballroom A, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: In support of Women In The Home Industries Today, Juli Ann Reynolds, chief executive officer of the Tom Peters Company will draw upon her personal trajectory of continuous reinvention to help “women roar” with success in “Reinventing Yourself is a Contact Sport.” Reservations are required, and are available by phone at (336)888-3751; by e-mail at akelley@ihfc.com; or online at
www.withit.org.Oct. 2, Ballroom B, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: “Emotional Rooms: Inspirations for Personal Design,” with Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, author and designer of Metropolitan Home Collection; in conjunction with the Carolinas Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association. Lunch is $15, and reservations are required, and are available at (336) 888-3751, or akelley@ihfc.com.
Oct. 3, 9 a.m., High Point Room, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: “Get Found or Get Lost — What You Need to Know About Local Search and Succeeding with Online,” with Andy Bernstein of FurnitureDealer.net.
Oct. 3, noon, Ballroom B, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: “Getting in Touch with Your Own Internal Design Celebrity,” with celebrity designer and HGTV personality Kenneth Brown, in conjunction with the Carolinas Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association; lunch is $15, and reservations are required, available at (336) 888-3751, or akelley@ihfc.com.
Oct. 4, 9 a.m., High Point Room, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: “Design Kabuki — The Intimate Dance of Texture, Color and Application,” with designer and HGTV host Joe Ruggiero.
Oct. 4, noon, High Point Room, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: “Raymond Waites Gets All Dressed Up with Accessories,” with designer Raymond Waites dressing himself and a room.
Oct. 5, 9 a.m., High Point Room, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: “Cultivating Friends & Family — How Carefully Managing a Sale Produced Millions,” with Nancy Conway, La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, Las Vegas.
Oct. 5, noon, High Point Room, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: “Building a Brand with Personality — Standing Out From the Crowd,” with author and retailer Mary Liz Curtin, Leon and Lulu, Clawson, Michigan.
Oct. 6, 12-noon, Ballroom B, IHFC Club Level, Green Wing: “Huetopia — A Colorful Place Full of Inspiration,” color Becky Ralich Spak, senior designer, Color Marketing & Design, The Sherwin Williams Company.
July 25,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Markets on July 2007
San Francisco Mart will host a sustainable home furnishings and design show, “Live Green, Live Well,” Sept. 19-20.
The expo bills itself as the first trade fair solely dedicated to sustainable furnishings and design. Attendees will learn about viable product resources and ideas from exhibitors and educational programs.
“Education is a very important component of this show,” said Roseann Carini, the SF Mart’s general manager. “Designers and retailers must understand sustainable terms, certifications and processes so that they can educate their clients and customers. The individuals we have presenting at the show are experts in the field, and attendees should be very edified by the caliber of educational content.”
The seminars are being co-sponsored by ASID, the American Society of Interior Designers.
“We believe that all responsible professionals must make a commitment to finding ways to diminish interior design’s impact on the environment,” says Suzan Globus, FASID, President of ASID. “It is also a smart way of doing business.”
The seminar schedule begins Wednesday, Sept. 19, with “Practice Green Interior Design Now!,” 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and resented by Victoria Schomer, ASID, AIA, LEED-AP, and principal of Green Built Environments.
Jennifer Roberts, author of “Good Green Kitchens,” will present “Dream Green Kitchens,” 11 a.m.-Noon.
David Bergman, principal of David Bergman Architect, and Fire & Water Lighting
instructor at Parsons the New School for Design, presents “Let There Be Light, But Let It Be Green,” 1-2 p.m.
Also 1-2 p.m., Rowena Finnegan, certified Bau biologist and owner of Healthy Home Design/Finn Design/Eco-terric; Francisco Pinedo, CEO and founder, Cisco Brothers; and design consultant Nicholas Greene will offer “From Fabric to Frame: Making Upholstery Green & Healthy.”
Presented by
From 2:30-4:30 p.m., Annette Stelmack, Allied ASID, proprietor of INSPIRIT, and former design director of Associates III, will present “Sustainable Residential Interiors.”
“Sustainable Building: An Introduction to Implementing Green Building in Your Designs” is scheduled for 3-4 p.m., and presented by Eric Corey Freed, principal of organicARCHITECT.
Also 3-4 p.m., Eco Interiors Principal Lydia Corser, will present “Going Green: Everything You Need to Know but Are Afraid to Ask.”
On Thursday, Sept. 20, 11 a.m.-noon, Gerry Cooklin CEO & Chairman of South Cone, and founder and chairman of the Sustainable Furniture Council will present “Full Circle Sustainability.”
To become an exhibitor, contact Dawn McCann at dmccann@sfmart.com or (415)437-7131.For registration information, contact Guest Services at buyerservices@sfmart.com or (415) 552-2311.
July 25,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 2007
Bob’s Discount Furniture sill open its second Long Island store and 29th overall in Freeport, N.Y., this coming Thursday. Bob’s Discount, Manchester, Conn., has stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
A 10 a.m. grand opening is set for the Freeport store, situated on the southern edge of Long Island at 240 E. Sunrise Highway in the Meadowbrook Commons.
“This past February, we opened our first Bob’s Discount Furniture store on Long Island. I still can remember the overwhelming response and huge crowds that visited us that opening week. And it has not stopped. Families living in the Metro New York City area know how easy and relaxed it is to shop in a Bob’s Discount Furniture,” said Bob Kaufman, president, in an announcement.
Kaufman will make an in-store appearance Thursday. On Saturday, Bob’s Discount Furniture television personality Cathy Poulin will be on hand to to meet and greet the public.
July 25,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on July 2007
Participants in an industry forum organized by American Home Furnishings Alliance in Arlington, Va., to examine potential federal fire safety standards for upholstered furniture agreed Wednesday to recommend that regulators create a standard on smoldering fires such as cigarettes, but called for further research on any open-flame standard for upholstery.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s open-flame mattress flammability standard took effect July 1.
“The majority of the group, including the entire furniture industry supply chain, was in favor of urging federal regulators to move forward on a standard that would ensure all upholstered furniture sold in the United States is constructed to resist ignition from smoldering cigarettes – which cause nearly 90 percent of residential furniture fires,” said AHFA CEO Andy Counts.
The group was in agreement that continued research is needed to achieve a satisfactory approach to making residential upholstered furniture more resistant to small open flames – such as lighters, matches and candles – without exposing consumers to potentially toxic flame retardant chemicals. To that end, Underwriters Laboratory, a participant in the forum, announced it will conduct an extensive small open flame testing program over the next 18 months.
“There was considerable discussion about the differences between mattress construction and upholstered seating construction – and how standards applied to mattresses do not necessarily translate into upholstery construction,” Counts said.
Representatives from CPSC attended yesterday’s forum, but they are not permitted to voice opinions at consensus-building exercises. In addition to the CPSC, organizations represented at the forum included the International Association of Fire Fighters, National Home Furnishings Association, Polyurethane Foam Association, American Fiber Manufacturers Association, National Textile Association, National Cotton Council, Underwriters Laboratory, Friends of the Earth and several environmental, chemical and burn victim organizations. The National Association of State Fire Marshals was invited to participate but was not represented.
Staff from the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees CPSC funding, asked AHFA to spearhead the effort to reach stakeholder consensus on the furniture flammability issue. The Senate Commerce Committee has held hearings on CPSC activities throughout this legislative session. Congressional hearings on the furniture flammability issue are anticipated later this year.
However, the CPSC currently has only two of its required three members and cannot take any action until a third appointee is confirmed.