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From Home Furnishing Business

Furniture Hall of Fame Launches New Campaign, Web Site

October 11, 2013  by in Industry, Internet   

“The Hall of Fame has come so far in 25 years, undergoing a transformation during the past seven years into becoming so much more than just a banquet,” said George Cartledge III, president of the Foundation Board.  “When the charter members originally envisioned the Foundation and created our mission statement, they noted that our first purpose is to preserve our heritage but it has only been during the last few years that we actually have become a credible source of our own history.”

The campaign puts a focus on the fact that the Foundation is about the whole industry internationally, including retailing, manufacturing, marketing, supply chain and all categories. New programs have been designed to make history relevant and in some cases even entertaining.

“The projects that we have undertaken benefit the entire industry and seek to capture our collective history. It is our story, and no one else is going to capture our stories or write our history for us,” Cartledge said.  “It is our responsibility to preserve our history for future generations just like other industries have done. It is up to us to embrace our own story.”

Current Foundation history initiatives and information about our leaders can be found on the Web site. Those include:
• Oral History Program: With 48 oral interviews completed and many others in planning, the Foundation has published 39 and the rest are in process.  The next step is to start making them available on the website for research purposes.
• Timeline of History: Because there is no written history of the furniture industry in the U.S., the Foundation is compiling a comprehensive timeline of retailing, manufacturing, marketing and the supply chain through ongoing research by a trained historian; and also drawn from oral histories and memorabilia.
• Industry Memorabilia: Taking the lead in the conservation of priceless historical records and materials, the Foundation provides guidelines and resources to encourage companies to preserve their own histories. The Foundation systematically collects memorabilia and digital files of artifacts such as photographs, sketches, patents, company histories, oral interviews, manufacturing techniques, and marketing materials, using state-of-the art software to organize and catalog all items for easy accessibility.
• Tell Us Your Story Project: The Foundation is capturing industry stories on video tapes each Market. Market-goers--retailers, exhibitors and suppliers--are invited to tape a favorite story of their company or the industry on Saturday, Oct. 19; or Monday, Oct. 21, 5-6:30 p.m. in the AICO/Amini Innovation Corp. showroom, IHFC Commerce 802. Appointments are encouraged but not required for each 15-minute taping. For questions or to reserve a time, e-mail Pam King.