Barbara Barry Collection launches with accents at Henredon
By Carole Sloan -- Home Accents Today, 4/1/2005
With her two furniture and home furnishings collections now realities — the launch last month at Bloomingdale's in New York and this month at the specially created showroom at Henredon in High Point, N.C., designer Barbara Barry sees her home designs as offering "true luxury that is not about opulence or great expense. It is a pleasure of using one's best things — even if quite simple — every day."
The exclusive Bloomingdale's furnishings — the Oval Collection — is a complete furniture offering with bedroom, dining room, living room, occasional and wall units, as well as the complete range of products she has created in accessories, rugs, wall art, throws and decorative pillows, explained Joe Laneve, senior vice president, home at Bloomingdale's.
Just 10 after the products were introduced at the store, Laneve said, "I'm very pleased. It's doing better than I expected - and across all areas: bedroom, dining room, upholstery and occasional."
The full "Barbara Barry realized by Henredon" collection, is a co-branded program with this week's major launch, said Steve McKee, Henredon president.
The collection will have a full array of home furnishings with rugs, accessories, wall art, throws and decorative pillows that will be available only through Henredon, McKee said. All together, he said, there will be 87 SKUs in furniture and about 132 accent items across all rooms in the home. "It is the most comprehensive single launch of home furnishings," he claimed.
Later this year, a home textiles bed and bath collection will join the program, and tabletop is expected.
The larger Henredon collection represents "a fully integrated home offer," McKee said. "We're launching a brand, not a collection. It's a very focused style and a point of view for interior design — clean interiors, not over-embellished."
McKee added, "She has a very feminine point of view with a lot of shapes, a lot of mix of materials creating a mood that is soft, elegant, gracious."
The Henredon launch will be housed in a special 7,500-sq.-ft., two-story space created as a luxury retail store in the company's building in High Point. There will be selective distribution with exclusivity an important element, McKee said.
Exclusive Barry designs in home furnishings for the program include rugs by Karastan, lamps from Visual Comforts, accessories from Global Views, art from Sacher Marian, throws from Textillery and bed and bath textiles from DWI Holdings.
Barry already has a high-end decorative fabrics and trim collection on the market since October at Kravet, one of her licensees. "It's such a different category — it's its own look — soft, easy, spa influences, livable peaceful," said Scott Kravet, one of the principals of the designer fabric, furniture, trim company.
Within the collection, Barry said, "I just started doing blues, and now my new favorite is deep navy — also reds like oxblood and pomegranate." Her previous favorite was celadon and greens were her signature.
But Barry is quick to note, "I largely work in my own bubble. I'm not looking for the next trend; I'm looking to offer a philosophy of living, not so much as a style: ease, simple, elegant.
"I'm not about fashion; I create timeless design. I do what I want, if it is relevant to the way I live."
Barry is expected to do a number of personal appearances across the country beginning with the High Point launch. The program will ship during the summer and be floored by Sept. 1, McKee said. There will be significant national advertising.
An arm chair and slipper chair flank one of the Oval Collection sofas, here a fully upholstered style, with the linen and wood cocktail table topped with a wood nesting tray holding Barbara Barry Collection decanters.
Barbara Barry
The dark walnut open shelf unit is used by Bloomingdale's to hold part of the Oval Collection decorative pillows and throws.
