Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
April 4,
2013 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Special Events on April 5, 2013
Christopher Rose, Master of Design from London's Royal College of Art will speak at the American Society of Furniture Designers Spring Furniture Market dinner.
The dinner, open to ASFD members and all Market attendees with reservations, is April 22 at the High Point Country Club.
Rose currently teaches in the Graduate Furniture Design Program at Rhode Island School of Design. He has contributed seminars, workshops and master classes in design here in the United States as well as in India, Australia and the European Union.
Recently, his work has expanded into the broad area of arts-sciences-design collaborations. At RISD he works with other contributors, to a major NSF funded program, to improve practices for arts and sciences interactions in education. RISD is a key player in exploring and promoting a "STEAM" (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) approach to research, teaching and practice where exciting and effective intersections between design thinking, arts and humanities, and scientific insight are developed in studio collaborations.
Rose will speak about examples of recent work and ideas in this field to explain how design touches lives. His work in furniture design led Rose naturally into this approach of design thinking. The study of furniture design provides the natural domain for a close understanding of the most tangible forms and qualities of human interaction in our material environment.
For event reservations, please contact Christine Evans, ASFD executive director, at 910.576.1273 or by e-mail.
April 4,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on April 5, 2013
Bedding supplier Tempur-Pedic International (NYSE: TPX) plans to donate beds to every participating Ronald McDonald Family Room located in hospitals across the country.
This new commitment is the latest in a long-standing relationship between Tempur-Pedic and the non-profit, whose mission is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Additionally, by the end of 2013, Tempur-Pedic will fulfill its goal of donating mattresses to every participating Ronald McDonald House in the United States.
Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, most of which are located just steps away from a pediatric or intensive care unit, offer family members a place to rest and regroup at the hospital, close to a sick child. Tempur-Pedic will celebrated its expanded bed donation commitment Thursday with the opening of a new Ronald McDonald Family Room at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, N.M., which is among the first in the nation to receive donated Tempur-Pedic beds.
"Our mission at Tempur-Pedic is to help people get their best possible night's sleep," said Rick Anderson, president. "We're proud that we will reach our 2013 milestone of providing mattresses to the families who are served by RMHC. And we are pleased to have the opportunity to continue our support by making a new pledge to donate more mattresses to Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in hospitals, so we can help provide comfort to families in their time of need."
Tempur-Pedic began outfitting Ronald McDonald Houses with beds in 2009 with an initial donation to four Ronald McDonald Houses. Since then, the company has provided more than 5,000 beds and more than 1 million nights of rest to families served by Ronald McDonald Houses throughout the country. By the end of 2013, many families facing the illness of a child will have benefitted from the donation.
"The impact of Tempur-Pedic's gift is immeasurable - we know that children cope better and heal faster when their families can be close by and Ronald McDonald Houses provide all the comforts of home, keeping families together while their child receives critical care at a nearby hospital," said J.C. Gonzalez-Mendez, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities. "The additional mattress donations to Ronald McDonald Family Rooms will have an even broader impact, allowing families to stay together right in the hospital. We are very grateful for Tempur-Pedic's generosity and ongoing support."
April 4,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on April 5, 2013
Luxury bedding vendor E.S. Kluft & Co. has landed Mexico's two most prominent department stores as customers in its first year in the market.
Liverpool operates the largest chain of department stores in the nation with 85 locations; while El Palacio de Hierro is rapidly expanding across Mexico and actively adding luxury labels to its stores. Several other smaller, successful mattress retailers are also carrying the brands.
For its Mexican venture, Kluft partnered with Colchones Atlas, the largest seller of mattresses in Mexico, and now manufacturing both E.S. Kluft & Co. and Aireloom brand mattresses at its Toluca facility outside of Mexico City.
Our first year in Mexico has been very exciting for us, and were confident we found the right partner, said E.S. Kluft & Company President and CEO Earl Kluft. "I have a long personal history with the principals of the company, and its their dedication to excellence and impeccable craftsmanship that brought us together. That coupled with an ability to promote the luxury sleep experience to major retailers in the upscale Mexican marketplace has made them a profitable partner.
Mexicos increasingly stable economy has sparked a demand for extravagant goods. For the luxury consumer, this means fewer shoppers will need to travel to the United States to get the products they desire. They can experience and buy American-style luxury at home. Weve strategically priced our collections for Mexico so that the aspiring luxury consumers making up the growing middle class may also own an Aireloom. Mexico may not be growing at the same pace as China, India or Brazil, but getting in at the ground floor now means well be firmly implanted when it does. We are layering and growing our business in a very strategic way.
Mexico, Latin Americas second-biggest market, will have 6.4 million people with annual incomes more than US$60,000 by 2030, according to AC Nielsen estimates.
April 3,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on April 4, 2013
Jensen-Lewis Furniture has joined furniture buying and performance group Contemporary Design Group.
Jensen-Lewis has two showrooms in New York City, one located in the Chelsea neighborhood, the other on the Upper East Side. Jensen-Lewis Furniture opened its doors in 1964 selling canvas sofas and chairs, and quickly expanded collections.
Today the store is very contemporary and carries an international assortment of intelligently designed furniture.
CDG members are excited about the expertise that Jim Ehrenthal, industry veteran and co-owner of Jensen-Lewis, will bring to the group.
The Contemporary Design Group is a national association of independent home furnishings showrooms, specializing in modern and contemporary design. Currently the performance/buying group is $100 million-strong with retail
members in more 35 cities from coast to coast.
April 3,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on April 4, 2013
RTA furniture vendor Sauder Woodworking has completed a 5,500-square-foot expansion of its showroom in the 220 Elm Building for High Point Furniture Market.
The expanded showroom, now totaling nearly 30,000-square-feet, will enable Sauder and sister company Progressive Furniture to more effectively showcase new and existing products as well as expanded categories of RTA.
"This space addition is thoughtfully designed to enhance our ability to exhibit the growing Sauder furniture line in lively at-home and retail environments," said Kevin Sauder, president and CEO of Sauder, Archbold, Ohio. "It also provides more room for Progressive Furniture to expand its accent and dining displays, while still giving ample room to host dealer traffic and meetings."
Sauder first occupied its present showroom in the 220 Elm Building during the April 2001 market. Through the years, the space has conveyed the companys strength in home office, entertainment and bedroom furniture. Since April 2008, Sauder subsidiary designer and importer Progressive Furniture has showcased its wood bedroom, accent and dining furniture in about 60 percent of the total showroom space.
Designed by Diane K. Troum Inc. of Greensboro, N.C., the renovation includes a new Sauder interior entry lobby directly off the building escalators.
This improved entry point speaks volumes about 220 Elms continued commitment to the success of their tenants, said Michael Lambright, Sauder director of marketing.
The addition enables both Sauder and Progressive to improve respective showroom shop-ability while maintaining the high ceilings, architectural details, and a flexible open floor plan that create an appealing buying environment and inspiration to dealers looking for merchandising concepts. Integration has been maintained as well, allowing buyers the opportunity to cross-shop both companies in one visit.
In addition to the existing showroom amenities, such as the expansive courtyard lobby, six conference rooms and 80-seat bistro naturally lit by large windows, the newly expanded showroom offers technology upgrades as well. The entire showroom now features full wireless coverage with expanded bandwidth; and wireless video in every conference room offers the opportunity to virtually extend the showroom from any wireless tablet.