Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
August 13,
2006 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Display on August 2006
Retail design consultant GRID2 has promoted four project managers to the associate level in response to their growing account responsibilities.
Susan Weingarten has been named senior associate for environmental graphics and signage, and project management. An associate with New York-based GRID2 since 2004, Weingarten has made significant contributions on behalf clients UPS, Duane Reade and Harden Furniture.
For Harden, she worked on the manufacturer’s signature in-store custom-design kiosks, called The Harden Home Studio. Prior to joining GRID2, Weingarten was design director for Carbone Smolan Agency, also based in New York.
Wendy Burns has been promoted to associate, in recognition of for her expertise in environmental and fixture design and planning.In her new role, she will retain project management responsibilities. Burns has done extensive work with GRID2 clients HDS Retail, Norwalk Furniture and Hale & Hearty Soups. She is a former intermediate designer with Retail Environments Marketing Corp.
David Pinter has been promoted to associate responsible for architecture and interior design. He was a partner with JumpNY prior to working with GRID2. Representative projects with GRID2 include Kornmeyer’s, HomeMart, a multi-channel retail store in Shanghai, and custom home developer John Laing Homes.
Felix Pinto has been promoted to associate with a focus on store planning and project management. He served as project manager for R. Ceretti + associates prior to joining GRID2 in 2004. Pinto has been influential on projects for Mont Blanc, American Leather, and L’Occitane during his tenure with GRID2.
Associates work collaboratively with the GRID2 partner-in-charge of client projects. GRID2 partners include Martin Roberts, who also serves as company president, Akka Ma, Betty Chow, Marcelo Albertal and Dimitri Vermès.
August 13,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on August 2006
The 250,000-square-foot Atrium Furniture Mall in High Point will convert from retail to a wholesale furniture showroom, The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer reported.
Building owner Ikerd Enterprises of Hickory, N.C., has appointed John Schenk, former president of the Hickory Furniture Mart, to lead the conversion.
The four-level Atrium, located at 430 S. Main St. in High Point, was built in the 1980s for use as a wholesale exhibition space. The structure was expanded in the early 1990s to its current size and for 18 years operated as a retail home furnishings complex.
Ikerd Enterprises also owns and operates Catawba Furniture Mall and the Park Inn Gateway Conference Center and hotel, both in Hickory.
August 13,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on August 2006
The Rainforest Alliance will hold its second annual workshop on wood certification and sustainability for furniture manufacturers Sept. 21, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at South Cone Trading’s High Point showroom, located in Space P402 of Union Square, 410 English Road.
The workshop will include presentations regarding current initiatives within the furniture industry promoting responsible sourcing and procurement; discussions of national and international trends in sourcing within the furniture industry, including associated risks and the role of forest certification; a forum for furniture manufacturers and suppliers to learn more about Forest Stewardship Council certification developments and processes; an opportunity to discuss forest certification and trends in certified products market with a panel of experts with direct experience in the subject; and participation in a networking forum with a group of key companies and organizations.
South Cone President Gerry Cooklin will host the event. The featured speaker is Penny Bonda, eco-editor of Interior Design magazine, and a leading voice in designing interiors from sustainable products. Other invited speakers include Bill Perdue of the American Home Furnishings Alliance; Amy Chender, ABC Carpet & Home, New York; Lou Newett, Knoll Furniture; and Matt Gilchrist, Northland Forest Products.
Lunch will be provided. There is a registration fee of $85 to help with expenses, many of which have been covered by The Conservation Fund and South Cone Trading.
For updates, details and registration, please visit the Web page www.rainforest-alliance.org/furnitureworkshop; or contact Helen Rock at hrock@smartwood.org; or (802) 434-5491, ext. 750.
August 13,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 2006
Year-over-year retailer purchasing trends posted a second consecutive month of lower dollar volume in July compared to the same month last year, dropping almost 16 percent.
That’s according to the FurnishNet Index, which tracks the purchasing patterns of retail furniture stores.
Month-to-month purchases also fell with a 14.7 percent decline in dollar volume in July 2006 versus June.
The year-to-date trend fell from 4.67 percent ahead of 2005 in June to only 1.36 percent above 2005 through July.
The FurnishNet Index is a statistical compilation of purchases made by participants in its electronic-exchange network. For the complete view of the July issue of the FurnishNet Index visit, www.furnishnet.com/company/fnet_index.html
August 13,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 2006
HomeSpace, a retailer in Soquel, Calif., has opened a 2,000-square-foot Zocalo Living gallery that includes items from six Zocalo collections.
The coordination of case pieces with Zocalo’s Metropolitan Leather Collection and accessories from Zocalo vendor partners, has already increased the sale of Zocalo goods in the store, said HomeSpace owners, brothers Kevin Dueck and Brian Dueck.
“Incorporating leather pieces makes the room settings stand out because it adds great color and completes the dynamic presentation,” said Kevin Dueck, who oversaw the completion of the installation with his brother. “Within the first month of opening the gallery, we sold six sets of the same bedroom group–the Madison Collection with the leather Folsom Bed–because we presented a single, unified look and feel.”
The Zocalo Living HomeSpace gallery program carries almost half of Zocalo’s 16 collections, including Sterling Park, Milano, Bella Toscana, Madison, Cinnamon Bay, Echo and Metropolitan Leather. Plans are in the works to add the new Revelle and Hampton Library collections.
Zocalo’s gallery program manager, Robert Maurer, and Visual Merchandiser Nicolas Gutierrez tailor the product selection and merchandising of Zocalo Living to the needs of each store. Gallery retail partners can purchase a series of custom point-of-purchase displays, laminate wood flooring and free standing walls at cost. Specific vendor partners are pre-approved for lighting, art work and bed linens. Additional benefits include pricing rebates, priority shipping, store design assistance and free marketing materials.