April 8,
2013 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Special Events on April 9, 2013
Jena Hall, an original founder of WithIt, will headline the women's networking group's WithIt educational breakfast during High Point Furniture Market.
Hall, president and COO of Jena Hall Designs, is known for her Pinnacle-award winning furniture designs, as well as her integrated marketing and merchandising strategy work with major manufacturers. Currently, Hall is working with Bassett Furniture on the HGTV Home Furniture collection.
At the WithIt breakfast, Hall will offer insights on her own career while challenging audience members to take a look at their own career path and future. With When Opportunity Knocks ¦ Can You Hear It? as her theme, Hall will discuss how to navigate, recalibrate and sustain ones career in the exciting and sometimes challenging home furnishings industry.
The event is open to both current WithIt members and non-members; and it is free to attend, with registration. Registration is highly encouraged as only after registered attendees are seated are open seats made available.
Register at the WithIt Web site or by e-mail.
April 8,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on April 9, 2013
Full-line furniture vendor Actona Co. is returning to High Point Furniture Market with showroom in the International Home Furnishings Center.
Actona, which last exhibited at High Point Market in 2008, has a 12,000-square-foot showroom in the IHFC-C661.
With the U.S. economy and business on the rebound, this is a good time for us to establish a strong presence at the High Point Market, said David King, vice president of sales, the Americas. Were excited to be downtown, in the heart of the market action. We want to make it as convenient as possible for retailers to visit our showroom, and being in the IHFC enables us to do that.
Headquartered in Denmark, Actona offers six main categories of product--dining chairs and tables, stationary and motion upholstery, occasional tables, and bedroom, home office and outdoor furniture. The companys line also features accessories. Price points are in the medium range, and styling is focused on transitional and contemporary.
Were a well-kept secret that offers a high level of service and a great value, said King. Our typical customers in the U.S. are Top 300-size accounts. Actona also has strong distribution in a number of other global markets, including Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East, India and Europe.
Actona sells in the U.S. on a direct-container basis only, offering mixed-product shipments out of its China warehouse. The company has its own upholstery production facilities in China and the Ukraine and additional warehouses in Denmark and England. It also sources products from factories in Vietnam and Malaysia.
The company had worldwide sales of more than $250 million in 2012.
Actona brings another major international source to High Point, the industrys key venue for the introduction of fashionable furniture and accessories across the entire style spectrum, said Julie Messner, vice president of leasing for International Market Centers. This new showroom provides Actona a prime venue for reaching new customers and building new business.
April 8,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Display on April 9, 2013
Furniture experts Leigh and Leslie Keno have translated Manhattans Upper East Side living into a new showroom concept for High Point Furniture Market.
In the Theodore Alexander showroom, 229 W. Russell Av., the new concept brings the Kenos' unique style to life via an eight-room luxury Manhattan apartment. Inside the 6,000-square-foot space, the apartment artfully houses the complete Keno Bros. collection of more than 100 pieces that synthesize traditional styling with modern appeal. Included are approximately 40 new items in case goods, lighting, upholstery, and for the first time, wall décor.
Theodore Alexander will host an invitation-only Open House in the Manhattan apartment for press and design bloggers on Sunday, April 21, 3-4:30 p.m., where Leigh and Leslie will welcome guests to Keno Bros. living.
Were excited to share our lifestyle concept, said Leslie Keno. The Manhattan apartment filled with our furniture brings our designs together while reflecting our own tastes and interests in a way that has not been done before.
April 7,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in on April 8, 2013
from http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-news/dutch-architect-koolhaas-sheds-resistance-to-design-with-11-interactive-pieces-for-knoll/
Shedding his "puritanical" attitude against architects designing objects, Rem Koolhaas has shifted scale to create 11 pieces of furniture for the U.S. industrial design house Knoll.
The Dutch architect's creations, which premiered Monday ahead of Milan Design Week, include a dynamic counter - a stack of three horizontal beams that can be transformed from a screen-like unit to cantilevered shelves and benches that invite people to sit, climb and lean in. The end result is a social/intellectual romper room.
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April 7,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on April 8, 2013
Cresent Fine Furniture will step into a new category of contemporary styling at the upcoming High Point Market.
"We've talked to our customers extensively, researched what is currently available at retail and identified the need for more well-made, contemporary-styled solid wood case goods," said Richard Tomkins, head of sales and marketing for the company.
The collections will be marketed on a new product lifestyle platform called Cresent Contemporary. The contemporary platform initially will feature four solid wood collections-Corliss Landing, Hudson, Hampton and Waverly.
To accommodate the new introductions, Cresent has moved to a new showroom space in the 220 Elm building in High Point. The showroom is located in Suite 201.
"As we developed the concept of Cresent Contemporary, we realized we needed to be in a venue that attracted more fashion and trend-oriented retailers," Tomkins said. "220 Elm was our first choice."
"We are thrilled to welcome Cresent to the 220 Elm family," said Heinz Kattenfeld, 220 Elm's chief operating officer. "Cresent's designs and customers are a great addition to our building and complement our existing showrooms. I am excited to see the new contemporary collections because I think they'll resonate with Cresent's existing customers and bring new customers to their showroom."
Each of the four solid wood collections feature solid construction, consumer friendly features and modern conveniences allowing retailers to present a range of contemporary styles to consumers from a specialist in solid wood furniture.
Corliss Landing features cottage contemporary styling in a weathered, driftwood gray finish on solid wire-brushed acacia. Design details include a shutter-inspired louvered headboard and drawers with fingertip pulls. A four-piece bedroom will retail at $2,799.
Hampton is a casual contemporary collection in solid wire-brushed oak. Hampton features a geometric slatted panel bed paired with relaxed, cottage-influenced cases on chamfered legs.
Hudson has a more urban contemporary influence, with a cantilevered platform bed with floating pier nightstands paired with clean cases on inset plinth bases.
Both Hampton and Hudson collections are crafted in solid oak and are available in two finishes: a light, cerused sand and a black tea with graphite cerusing. Custom t-bar pulls in a white bronze finish complete the look of both collections. A four-piece bedroom will retail for $2,999.
Waverly is a contemporary lifestyle collection combining industrial modern design with natural wire-brushed solid acacia, which Cresent introduced in 2012.
The four Cresent Contemporary collections will be available to mix with the four Cresent Classics collections out of the company's climate-controlled warehouse in Vietnam as well as from the Gallatin, Tenn., distribution center.