Daily News Archive
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September 9,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on September 10, 2012
Reclaimed teak furniture vendor Groovystuff and Auburn University will partner again for the Groovystuff: By Design Challenge.
Popularity for the Groovystuff: By Design Challenge has grown so much within the Industrial Design department at Auburn that professor Tin-Man Lau has now included the challenge in two different classes to accommodate the rapidly growing student interest.
Twenty two students under the leadership of Professor Tin-Man Lau are charged with designing a furniture, lighting, or home décor product that emphasizes form, structure, and sustainable manufacturing practice using the reclaimed materials found in the Groovystuff brand. The student design must be aesthetically pleasing, expressive, innovative, and considered for mass-production and inclusion in the exclusive, celebrity endorsed, Dick Idol Legends Collection.
Professor Tin-Man Lau is originally from Hong Kong, and he received a B.S. in Industrial Design from the National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, a M.A. in Industrial Design from Ohio State University, and has been a faculty member at Auburn University teaching both undergraduate and graduate design courses since 1986. In 2007, Professor Lau was named by Design Intelligence Magazine as one of only four Industrial Design Educators of the Year. In both 2008 and 2009, Design Intelligence Magazine, named Professor Lau as one of the 25 Most Admired Educators of the Year.
To properly introduce future graduates to the residential home furnishings market, the Groovystuff: By Design Challenge is set up as a two stage process. For stage one of the contest, students will be competing for the Popular Vote at Market and a cash prize, by submitting a 20 by 30-inch product board, a ¼ scale model, and a 42-inch tall pedestal for display and presentation of their models to the retailers, designers, and trade professionals attending the Oct. 13-18 High Point Furniture Market.
For stage two, Groovystuff will put those designs into production and launch the finished goods six months later at the April 2013 High Point Furniture Market. Students then will compete for the grand prize: Most Written Orders at Market and rewarded with an additional cash prize, inclusion in the celebrity endorsed Dick Idol Legends Collection, permanent royalties for life, and a reason to join the residential home furnishing industry.
For the High Point Market, Groovystuff and co-sponsor International Market Centers help broaden the educational outreach of university programs across the country by giving them real world market experience and exposure in The University Hall of Design and Innovation, a sponsored space at market that provides future graduates with networking opportunities and a platform to build on their association with the industry prior to graduation.
September 9,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on September 10, 2012
The Made in America Pavilion has added 17 new exhibitors for the Oct. 13-18 High Point Furniture Market.
Located in the Suites at Market Square, the Pavilion now has more than 40 exhibitors, providing an easy-to-shop venue for the latest developments in made-in-America furnishings, including furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, wall art and decorative accessories. The Made in America Pavilion debuted at the October 2012 High Point Market.
This is the third market for the Made in America Pavilion, and since its launch a year ago, the area has proven to be a big hit, developing into a cant miss destination for retailers, designers and other buyers interested in Made in the USA product, said Julie Messner, vice president of leasing for International Market Centers. The Pavilion now features a wide range of furnishings, designed and produced by some of the industrys leading companies.
New furniture and accessory sources participating in the Made in America Pavilion at the October High Point Market include:
* American Gas Log and Americast Architectural Stone: Vented and vented-free gas logs, outdoor gas grills and grill islands, outdoor fire pits and gas log sets, and cast stone mantel surrounds.
* Borkholder Furniture: Amish-crafted furniture, including dining room, bedroom, office, entertainment and living/occasional furniture, using time-tested techniques such as tongue-and-groove glue joints.
* DLD Exports: DLD International is an American company whose mission is to form partnerships with American manufacturers seeking to improve their bottom line by exporting their products and services to China.
* Fontenot Glass Designs: Custom glass sconces, pendants and chandeliers, cabinet knobs and suspended glass art designed by Carey Buckner.
* Hudson Industries: Featuring specialty sleep products, including specialty pillows, mattress overlays and Swedish memory foam, and the Gold Medal line of beanbag chairs for kids, teens and adults of all ages.
* Leather Creations: Custom-crafted leather furniture, including sofas, love seats, chairs, ottomans, recliners, sofa-sleepers, home theater seating and sectionals.
* Millcraft Handcrafted Furniture: Hand-crafted, Amish-made, solid-wood bedroom furniture in a range of traditional and transitional styles.
* Mill Wood Art: Mill Wood transforms rough-milled logs into original art in a wide variety of themes, including lighthouses and landmarks.
* Primitiques: Specialist in heirloom-quality, Colonial-style case goods and upholstered furniture using white pine, historic painting techniques and Old World woodworking methods.
* Rhino Truck & Case: Quality storage trunks and cases, including camp trunks, college trunks and footlockers, in a wide range of styles, sizes and color options.
* Scott Thomas Furniture: High-end and custom-designed furniture, including chests, cabinets, tables, desks, bookcases, bedroom furniture and seating.
* Signature Shutter Shoppe: Custom window treatments, including Signature Shutter custom wood and PolyWood interior plantation shutters.
* Tana Bana Design Services: Textile design studio specializing in jacquard and dobby upholstery, drapery and panel fabrics, and wallpaper designs, for residential and contract markets.
* Tucker + Hollander: Custom, hand-crafted cabinetry in natural materials with styles ranging from traditional to contemporary.
* Vieuxtemps Porcelain: Hand-sculpted, botanical-inspired porcelain painted with richly colored glazes in the style of 18th-century Meissen and Chinese pieces.
* Whit McLeod: Handcrafted furniture from reclaimed materials, including dining, bar/entertaining, outdoor, seating and occasional tables.
* Woolrich: Furniture, bedding, home accents and rugs inspired by the outdoor lifestyle brand.
September 9,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on September 10, 2012
Multichannel specialty retailer Brookstone has teamed with AQ Textiles and Design Weave for the Brookstone Sleep Smart Bedding Collection.
Using patented technology, the companies collaborated on design and development of the collection, featuring both bed linens and basic bedding products. The collection is designed to provide superior sleep through the use of permanent wrinkle resistant, anti-static, allergen reduction, and moisture management technologies.
The Brookstone Sleep Smart Collection's bed linens--sheets, pillowcases, duvet covers, comforters, pillow shams and blankets--are made with Intellatex patented technology from AQ Textiles. The use of advanced moisture control provides dry, cool comfort while the wrinkle resistance and anti-static qualities make for easy care. Leveraging science and technology, Intellatex creates a permanent infusion of a negative ionic field which bonds to the molecular structure of the cotton bedding, resulting in an allergy-reducing barrier. The features will not wear out or wash off.
The new collection's basic bedding developed with Design Weave--mattress pads and down/down alternative bed pillows, comforters, bed toppers and filled blankets--utilizes a patented technology that permanently incorporates active particles from nature, that have micro porous structures, into the fibers. This helps effectively manage the one ounce of moisture per hour your body generates overnight by accelerating evaporation and reducing dry times, and ultimately increasing the performance of your sleep system in both hot and cold environments. The ultra-fine weaving process also serves as an effective barrier against allergens.
"We sought to collaborate with partners who, together, could build on Brookstone's stellar reputation in innovation and product design to create a line of bed linens. This helps our customers get the best possible sleep," said Stephen Bebis, Brookstone president and CEO. "We're proud we could extend our technology expertise into bedding items and look forward to continually developing and improving products in home furnishings."
The bedding products will be available for review by department and specialty stores at the New York Home Textiles Market this month. The Brookstone Sleep Smart Collection will be available for purchase in select Brookstone stores, via Brookstone.com and other department and specialty stores in early 2013.
September 6,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on September 7, 2012
The Furniture Buying Index, as tracked by America's Research Group, moved up two points this month to a reading of 72. That's up two points from the August reading of 70.
Consumers are now focusing more on their homes going into the fall selling season, said Britt Beemer, chairman of the research groupResearch Group. Most consumers are still very cautious, but they are a little more optimistic than they have been the past few months."
Beemer said pent-up demand is high because consumers have delayed furniture purchases. "The fall selling season will release some of that demand," he said.
The Furniture Buying Index is compiled each month by America's Research Group from interviews with 5,000 to 8,000 consumers across the country. In a typical month, 80 percent of the consumers interviewed can name a specific furniture item they intend to buy. The Index's mark signifies what percent of the benchmark 80 percent actually have a particular item in mind.
September 6,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Mattresses on September 7, 2012
The California state senate has voted down a mandatory mattress recycling bill.
The bill--which would have added millions of dollars in costs for mattress manufacturers that sell in California by requiring them to fund the cost of collecting used mattresses from consumers, dismantling them and recycling their components--failed in the final minutes of the 2012 California legislative session. The bill also would have required the industry to prevent consumers from illegally dumping their used mattresses. California is the third state this year to have considered, but failed to enact, a used mattress recycling law.
For over 20 years, the International Sleep Products Association and its members have supported responsible mattress recycling, said ISPA President, Ryan Trainer. However, the approach proposed in California would have been bad for consumers, retailers and manufacturers. Instead, we believe that a national system for mattress recycling, rather than an inefficient piecemeal, state-based system, is best for this industry. The strong unified voice that California legislators heard from the mattress manufacturing and retail industries demonstrates that this legislation was short-sighted and that a comprehensive national solution is needed.
A national program, according to ISPA, would take advantage of economies of scale to make mattress recycling efficient and cost-effective. ISPA will continue to advocate for federal legislation with the goal to build a mattress recycling solution that suits both consumers and industry.
According to some estimates, 20 million used mattresses are discarded annually. Through mattress recycling, many components of used mattresses can be used to make other products. Existing mattress recycling programs have also demonstrated that mattress recycling can create jobs while helping to protect the environment.
For more information about a national system for mattress recycling, visit the ISPA Web site.