April 9,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Casual Furniture on April 10, 2012
The Chicago Merchandise Mart will reconfigure its casual outdoor furnishings floors to offer designers and buyers a more seamless showroom shopping experience.
Shoppers currently must visit casual/outdoor furnishing tenants, often intermixed with different industries, on floors 15, 16 and 17 in The Mart. By consolidating these showrooms on floors 15 and 16, a casual furnishings destination will be created.
"The colocation of the casual/outdoor furnishing showrooms to one area of the building has been requested by many buyers, tenants and the International Casual Furnishings Association over the years," said John Brennen, executive vice president of MMPI. "This relocation will allow MMPI to renovate the floor and tenants to upgrade their presentations. We are happy to realize this goal and provide a cohesive destination in the Mart for buyers and designers to source the best in outdoor/casual furnishings and accessories on a daytoday basis, and during our September International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market."
The new layout will increase the casual furnishings current 250,000-square-foot Mart footprint by 10 percent.
Visitors to the new casual floors can expect to see redesigned, contemporary floors and exciting showroom buildouts from the industry's top manufacturers. Together, these showrooms represent some 75 product lines.
The Merchandise Mart is securing designer Gary Lee to bring his awardwinning creativity to the design of the corridors of the 15th floor. An existing stairwell connecting the 15th and 16th floors will be complemented by a dedicated stairwell connecting the 14th and 15th floors, improving flow between the casual and residential showrooms.
While the casual furnishings tenants will enjoy these two dedicated floors, they will remain a part of the Design Center at The Merchandise Mart and benefit from trade and consumer business. The changes will not affect the July ICFA Preview Show, or the September market.
It is estimated that the restructuring and construction of the casual/outdoor furnishing floors will be completed by end of 2012.
April 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Occassional Tables on April 9, 2012
New occasional and accent furniture vendor LaurelHouse Designs will show its line for the first time at the April 21-26 High Point Furniture Market.
John Labarowski, former president of Hammary Furniture, founded Valdese, N.C.-based LaurelHouse, which will exhibit in a 4,500-square-foot showroom, space G782 of the International Home Furnishings Center.
The initial product line consists of 25 table groups and 50 accent items in casual contemporary, transitional and relaxed traditional styling. Designed in America and the Philippines, the line will be produced in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Mexico.
Occasional tables, designed to correlate with better-end upholstery, will feature a mix of contemporary, transitional and traditional styling. Design details will include the use of relaxed finishes in combinations of iron and wood, stainless steel and wood, and nickel plating with both wood and glass.
"We've created a stylish, sharply priced assortment of tables that provides an exciting new range of decorating options for the living room and family room," said Liz Wilson, LaurelHouse's creative director, who served 24 years as director of creative merchandising for Hammary.
The accent furniture--including chests, accent tables and trunks--will blend indigenous materials from the Philippines and India with rustic finishes for a vintage look.
"Our accents are designed to blend with a variety of styles and add interest to any room of the home," said Wilson.
In addition, LaurelHouse also will be showing some casual dining and home entertainment furniture, such as consoles.
Priced at the medium to upper-medium price points, LaurelHouse Designs is targeting better department and furniture stores and will be available to the design trade.
A ribbon-cutting for the new showroom is scheduled for Friday, April 20, at 8:30 a.m.
April 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Rugs on April 9, 2012
Antique Rug Connection, which makes upscale, handmade area rugs and carpeting made in its Pakistan facilities, will make its
High Point Furniture Market this month.
The Chino, Calif.-based company will exhibit in a 1,062-square-foot showroom at 200 N. Hamilton, Space 333.
Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Nadeem Akbar and Mehnaz Rokerya-Akbar, the company has sold semi-antique and antique rugs for almost 25 years and operated a specialized repair facility before evolving to its current business of reproducing antique-look carpets in steely color ways.
In 2009, the company introduced its Platinum Oushaak & Kotaan line, an upscale look with a unique texture and rich patina featuring a palette of blues, celadon greens, grays and taupes. With the collection, Antique Rug Connection pioneered the use of the steely colorway, according to Rokerya-Akbar.
"For many years, we operated a store in Los Angeles and did exhibitions throughout California," said Rokerya-Akbar, director of business development. "Recently, we refocused our business to concentrate on the design and production of high-quality, trend-setting, one-of-a-kind rugs sold through designers and upscale rug boutiques."
The rugs are eco-friendly "because of the process by which they are made and the materials and dyes that are used," Rokerya-Akbar added.
Antique Rug Connection operates a "to the trade" by appointment warehouse in Chino, Calif., where it maintains stock of its entire line, which can be customized to a client's specifications.
This market, Antique Rug Connection will introduce Susani, a whimsical collection that combines steely colors with lovely, fun accent tones. In addition, it will add new designs to the Platinum Oushaak & Kotaan line.
The company also offers a unique spin on wall-to-wall carpeting applications--providing an affordable, handmade product in plain or patterned 100 percent wool or wool-and-silk combinations.
April 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on April 9, 2012
The Sustainable Furnishings Council will offer a free "Sustainability Essentials" webinar at noon (EDT), Monday, April 16.
This one-hour webinar provides a grounding in the environmental issues related to home furnishings, including the factual basis for climate change, problems with indoor air quality, toxic waste, and water conservation. Source documents are public records such as the U.N. IPCC 4th Assessment Report and the U.S. EPA, translated from technical jargon into easily understood concepts with common references all explicitly linked to the home furnishings industry.
Content also includes a synopsis of GREENleaders, the industry first certified sustainability training course. The webinar is intended to give participants useful information they can begin using in their business immediately as well as answer questions about getting the most out of SFC membership and participating in the full exam program to receive credentials as a local expert in green furnishings.¨¨To reserve a seat at the webinar, follow this link.
April 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on April 9, 2012
Ready-to-assemble furniture vendor Z-Line Designs will show its No. 18 Toyota race car, noon-5 p.m., Monday, April 23, in the courtyard of 220 Elm in High Point.
Denny Hamlin drives the vehicle in NASCAR Nationwide Series races at tracks all over the country.
Z-Line Designs is an award-winning design manufacturer and leading import manufacturer of RTA home office, home entertainment, office seating, garage storage systems and home decor. The company also manufacturers outdoor casual furniture and is launching a new leather division at the April 2012 High Point Furniture Market in its showroom, space 206 of 220 Elm.