Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
August 2,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on August 3, 2011
Western Home Furnishings Association celebrated its new Web site Tuesday with a "flash mob" at Las Vegas Furniture Market.
Sixty participants met up in the World Market Center(http://wmclv.com) courtyard at 2 p.m. with their beach balls in hand. When the Go-Gos song "The Beat" started, beach balls started flying in the air as everyone played beach volleyball.
The new WHFA.org Web site, created by Grey Suit Retail allows retailers to easily purchase light bulb, warehouse and touch-up products within a few clicks from start to finish.
Video of Tuesday's flash mob can be seen here.
August 2,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on August 3, 2011
Viewpoint Studios, a High Point photography studio with a specialty in home furnishings, has expanded into an adjacent site.
Phase one of the studio's strategic growth plans bring 24 total sets, including 18 new modular sets and 17 bays with natural daylight capabilities
Larry Pritchett, president of Viewpoint Studios, said the new facility already is fully operational. Administrative and sales personnel, as well as digital services, the companys executive offices and warehousing will remain in the original adjacent building located at 4328 Federal Dr.
"We're pleased to report that the move has been virtually seamless for our clients, all of whom have expressed great enthusiasm for the improved services we can now offer," Pritchett said. "In making this move, a primary goal was to become more efficient from a communication standpoint. We will enhance the level of communication our clients receive from the VP Studios team, and improve our overall customer service experience."
Inside the new location, the Viewpoint team can mix and match sets to create more unique looks for each client. Additionally, the advent of digital design along with the company's significant investment in the technology means Viewpoint designers can produce CAD programs and digital renderings for clients prior to the start of any shoot.
"The ability to show our clients what a set will look like in advance makes it easier for them to pre-plan and they can incorporate those results into the finished product," Pritchett said. "At a time when budgets are tight across the board, it's a tremendous advantage for clients to have a clear idea of what they are getting."
In other cost-saving measures made possible by the move, Viewpoint Studios' clients now have the ability to modify bays without considerable construction costs thanks to the installation of new modular sets and bays which make it easy and efficient to swap out walls and windows.
Long a specialist in the home furnishings industry, Viewpoint's client list includes Ashley Furniture, La-Z-Boy, Lowe's Home Improvement, Carolina Business Furniture, OFS (Office Furniture Systems), MasterBrands Cabinets Inc., Mohawk Home (flooring), Mullican Flooring, Tarkett (flooring), Improvements (direct mail), Ferguson Enterprises (fashion plumbing), Sferra Bros. (bedding) and Springs Window Fashions.
The recent expansion will enable the company to strengthen relationships with alternative market segments, including hospitality, contract and the residential and commercial healthcare industries.
We are on the lookout for new design and photographic talent interested in working in our next-generation environment. From freshening our logo and corporate identity and updating our brand, to moving ahead creatively to better reflect whats happening on the technology front, Viewpoint Studios is a company that is literally on the move, Pritchett says.
The company also has launched a social media initiative with a Facebook page, and improved Web sites, located at vpstudios.com and vpdigitalmedia.com.
August 2,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Home Office on August 3, 2011
The American Society of Furniture Designers (ASFD) is accepting entries for the Student Design Challenge 2011 through Nov. 1.
This design competition, open to junior, senior and graduate level students enrolled in an accredited college design program, showcases the talents of furniture design students and is an opportunity for ASFD to give back to the industry by promoting future talent.
This year ASFD is partnering with
Stanley Furniture to create a competition that will benefit the students, add excitement to the curriculums, foster student mentoring and show ASFDs support for future designers. The competition will afford students real world design experience and exposure.
The project for Challenge 2011 is to design a writing or executive desk that has new technology capability and translates into one of four of Stanleys current style categories--relaxed European/cottage; casual artisan/transitional; continental/Tuscan; or contemporary (not modern).
A panel of ASFD members and Stanley Furniture executives will judge the entries. Stanley Furniture will manufacture a prototype of the winning design and showcase it in its showroom during the April 2012 High Point Furniture Market. http://www.highpointmarket.org Monetary prizes for the winner and finalist will be made possible by the ASFD scholarship fund and special guest co-sponsor,
Zenith Global Logistics.
Last years winner, Alix Armour, is a recent graduate of
California State University. Her winning entry was designed for Design Challenge 2010 co-sponsor
Phillips Collection. The cocktail table, inspired by pine cone scales consisted of three parts: two pairs of intersecting legs joined in the middle and a glass table top.
August 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Acquisition on August 2, 2011
E.L.K. Lighting Inc. has acquired
Bailey Street Holding Co. from
Red River Ventures. The acquisition through E.L.Ks sister company, Mount Summit Lighting, Inc., closed Monday.
Bailey Street distributes accent furniture, case goods, chairs and mirrors through a network of furniture showrooms across North America. This combination of companies with ELK owned
Sterling Industries, known for accessories will give its retail partners a single source for home furnishings.
Bailey Street is a well-respected name within the industry known for providing quality and value driven products to its customer base for over 10 years, said John Haste, vice president of sales and marketing for E.L.K. Lighting. Our goal is to build upon these core competencies while delivering new, innovative furniture collections combined with cross promotional opportunities with our other product lines."
With the addition of the furniture offering through Bailey Street, the company will cater to a wider range of market segments. By leveraging the respective expertise of the combined entities, the focus will be to deliver coordinating styles and collections across many home product categories.
Bailey Street was founded in 2000 as part of The Bombay Co. Red River Ventures acquired Bailey Street from Bombay Co. in 2005.
August 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on August 2, 2011
Diakon Logistics has expanded its partnership with specialty retailer
Conn's to include three additional markets in the Southwest.
Home delivery provider Diakon will provide a full range of delivery services, including customer service, home delivery and assembly and installation of furniture and appliances for Conn's in Dallas and Beaumont, Texas. In Lafayette, La., Diakon will manage the retailer's cross-dock facility, as well as providing a full range of dedicated home delivery services.
Working with Conn's since the 1990s, Diakon has been providing a full range of dedicated home delivery services, including customer service, home delivery and assembly and installation of furniture and appliances, in the Houston, Texas, market and a full range of warehousing services and dedicated home delivery services in the Austin, Texas market.
Beaumont, Texas-based Conn's has 75 stores in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma and sells furniture, consumer electronics, appliances and lawn and garden products.
"Our corporate strategy is based on one philosophy, Its Mrs. Jones Day, a premise based on the principle that each delivery is done with the thought that it is the only delivery we are making that day¦making it Mrs. Jones day, said Charles Johnson, president of Diakon Logistics. Our retailer clients are recognizing the competitive advantage of our customer service approach and it is driving the continued growth of our company. The difference is in the details and we will continue that focus in making our retailer clients even more successful.
Diakon, based in Manassas, Va., serves many of the top 100 furniture, appliance and electronics retailers in the U.S. The company operates more than 300 vehicles and makes more than 1.5 million deliveries to consumers a year.