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May 6,
2013 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on May 7, 2013
Michelle Jennings Wiebe of Studio M has won the April High Point Furniture Market Style Spotters event.
The Tampa, Fla., designer Wiebe received the most votes through likes and re-pins on her Pinterest board of products and trends from the April High Point Market.
The Style Spotters program, launched during the October 2011 Market, features home fashion trendsetters that showcase their favorite products and top trends from Market exhibitors on Pinterest.
Michelle even went an extra step with her Style Spotters board, adding trend branding to each photo, says Cheminne Taylor-Smith, vice president of marketing for the High Point Market Authority. She has a terrific eye, and really worked her social media audiences for votes. She will win a free trip back to the October High Point Market, and will head up our fall team.
The Style Spotters roamed the April Market, on the lookout for top products and trends, and presented exhibitors with signs that highlighted the Style Spotters name with a QR code and URL for the Market Pinterest board. Market attendees also participated by voting on the pinboards and products.
The product that received the most votes on any of the Style Spotters boards was the Bradstreet Spool Chair from C.R. Laine, which was spotted by Kelly Kole of Kandrac & Kole. The chair was featured in Zig Zag Onyx Linen fabric with a finish that can be customized in any Benjamin Moore paint color.
High Point Market has received international recognition as one of the top brands using Pinterest. Social media and branding experts such as Hubspot, Social Media Today, Likable Media, eModeration, and FrontLine have touted the Markets Style Spotters program as a unique way to take advantage of brand building on Pinterest.
Named alongside such top-shelf brands as The Today Show, Whole Foods, Pillsbury, and Random House, the High Point Market also has been listed as a brand that creatively used Pinterest as part of its overall marketing plan.
May 6,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Special Events on May 7, 2013
The American Home Furnishings Alliance will hold its annual marketing meeting June 24-26 in Raleigh, N.C.
With an agenda dedicated to the home furnishings industrys rapidly changing marketing needs, the program is titled, Think Fast, Move Faster! Marketing Strategies and Tactics for Bottom-Line Results.
A presentation of proprietary research presented by Design Research L.L.C as part of the firms American Living Survey will headline the event. Titled Beyond the Great Room, the presentation will offer a quantitative look at how Americans are living in the modern family room--how they use the space, how theyve decorated it and how they aspire to add to it in terms of function or furnishings.
The survey will examine the colors, styles, materials and finishes consumers want in todays great room, and the results will be analyzed by demographics, regions, income and education.
In keeping with the Think Fast, Move Faster theme, successful social media marketing case studies will be presented, including one reviewing the multi-faceted launch of the HGTV Home Furniture brand at Gallery Furniture in Houston.
Additional sessions offer management tips for making the most of personality differences in the workplace and the role of marketing in achieving business goals.
The meeting will be held at the Raleigh North Hills Renaissance Hotel, beginning with an opening reception and group dinner Monday, June 24. The business program will run 8 a.m.--5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25; and conclude with a half-day program on Wednesday morning, June 26.
Registration is $599 for AHFA members and $900 for non-members. It includes the program along with dinner June 24, lunch June 25, and breakfast both June 25 and 26. An optional group Dutch dinner is planned for June 25.
Rooms at the Raleigh North Hills Renaissance are available at a group discounted rate of $169 a night prior to June 6. Contact the hotel directly for reservations at 919.571.8773. Registration for the meeting is online at ahfa.us under EVENTS.
May 6,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on May 7, 2013
Furniture and bedding components vendor Hickory Springs has rebranded as HSM.
President and CEO Dave Colburn announced the rebranding initiative, which includes the consolidation of a number of brands and divisions under the HSM name. The name change is effective immediately and is supported by a new logo and Web site for the global manufacturer of integrated solutions and components to the transportation, furniture, bedding, and a growing number of diversified markets.
"HSM is not just a name," Colburn said. "It's a new way of thinking. HSM represents one name, one identity, one voice and one company with a single-minded dedication to customer needs."
The announcement of the new name is the culmination of a series of organizational and corporate structural changes announced earlier this year that support the company's migration from a components supplier to a provider of integrated solutions with a market-focused strategy.
"HSM speaks to the rich heritage and manufacturing strength that have characterized Hickory Springs for more than 68 years," said Colburn. "At the same time, the new name looks to the future, emphasizing our vision to establish a single, unified presence to our customers by providing high-value solutions manufacturing that enhances quality while reducing supply chain complexity.
"Today, our product offering encompasses a broad range of products and integrated solutions - very thing from foam formulations and a wide selection of other wire, metal forming and fiber components to a host of more complex integrated solutions - that serve customers in multiple industries around the world. It's time that our name more accurately reflects the transformation that has occurred within our company in terms of the products we manufacture and the markets we serve, as well as our vision for the future."
As a result of the name change, some former company names previously associated with Hickory Springs will now become product names. In addition, some existing product brands will remain the same.
In addition to a single, unified HSM brand, the company is also placing greater emphasis on research and development, increasing its engineering staff and leveraging its Corporate Innovation and Research Center, which opened in 2012. These initiatives provide customers with access to the latest materials and manufacturing techniques, helping them achieve their design visions and respond rapidly to changing market demands.
The company's four new business units--HSM Transportation Solutions, HSM Bedding Solutions, HSM Furniture Solutions and HSM Diversified Solutions--serve as the centerpiece of a new business model that will leverage HSM's core capabilities to develop and execute a business plan for profitable growth of both components sales and integrated solutions to customers in their respective markets.
"This is an exciting time for our company," said Colburn. "We look forward to building on the HSM brand as the strategic transformation of our company continues to unfold, inviting customers and employees to join us in our progress as 'One Company, on the Move, Together.'"
May 6,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on May 7, 2013
John Conrad of Powell Co. is the new president of the American Society of Furniture Designers.
The organization installed newly elected officers and directors at its recent April 22 meeting in High Point. Christine Evans continues as executive director of the nonprofit organization.
Conrad has served on ASFD's board since 2008.
"It is an honor and privilege to take over the ASFD helm from Dudley Moore," Conrad said. "The coming year promises to be one where we build our membership, increase networking and mentoring opportunities, and provide exclusive information supporting our members in building their design careers and our industry in truly "touching lives by Design."
Dudley Moore, Jr. of Otto & Moore, High Point will serve as chairman for the next two years. Vice presidents are Rick Schroeder, Stanley Furniture; Fred Schubert, Schubert Design; and Jason Phillips, Phillips Collection.
Newly elected to the executive committee, Phillips has served as a member of the board since 2009. Arto Szabo continues as ASFD treasurer. Ongoing directors are Nicholas Blair, Turnkey Products; Denis Kissane, Stanley Furniture; Stephanie Lena, Lena Designs; Matthew Maher, VIA Design; Jason Payton, Haywood West & Co.; Jonsara Ruth, Jonsara Ruth Studio; Jesse Schopmeyer, American Drew; Fred Spector, Frederic Spector Design Studio; and Mark Tucker, MT3Dzines.
New directors to the board are C.J. Grudzinskas, Catina Unlimited; Timothy O'Hare, H. Thomas Keller Associates; and Katy Skelton, Katy Skelton.
May 6,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Display on May 7, 2013
from http://www.designweek.co.uk/we-like/concorde%E2%80%99s-nose/3036437.article
Using five tonnes of stainless steel, burr walnut, bronze, and the nose cone from a Concorde prototype, Sebastian Conrans new Icon sculpture aims to celebrate the intersection of art and technology.
Conran, who had worked on the interior design of the Concorde for British Airways, was contacted by engineering specialists from Rolls-Royce, who had rescued the nose cone
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