Austin acquires Eastern Breeze
Debuts in Las Vegas as Studio A
By Jenny Heinzen York -- Home Accents Today, 9/15/2009 10:43:00 AM
Sculpture and home decor producer Austin has acquired Eastern Breeze and is launching it this week as a new line for the company -- Studio A.
Eastern Breeze is a Southern, Calif.-based designer and producer of decorative accessories and accent furniture, founded by Mary and Bill Wilson and Will Foster. The line is known for its innovative designs and its creative use of materials and finishes.
“In the marketplace, there are very few designs that stand out as not only being saleable, but being fresh and design-driven,” said Andy Cymrot, senior vice president of Austin. “They offer a very non-cookie cutter approach. In such a homogenized environment, they are the exception to the rule.”
“This is a great combination of strengths,” said Mary Wilson. “Austin is a phenomenal organization in terms of its sales force and marketing, which is something that our teeny, tiny company always dreamed of having.”
The acquisition will generally lower the pricing and reduce the lead times of the Eastern Breeze line, due to Austin’s buying power and manufacturing partnerships overseas, Cymrot said.
The design sensibility of the company and its principals were what drove the acquisition, he added.
“Their passion for what they do is electric,” he said. “It’s contagious.”
Foster said the story-telling aspect of design is what Eastern Breeze, and now Studio A, are all about.
“We are all about creating an emotional connection,” he said. “If we don’t have an emotional response, for us it falls flat.”
This week marks a soft launch of the Studio A line, though Cymrot promises big things in the longer term.
“What we’ll do going forward is really the prize.”
Austin and Studio A are located in WMC B-476.
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