ABC Carpet & Home creates India experience in flagship store
By Carole Sloan -- Home Accents Today, 4/1/2007
Gateway to India, a month-long storewide event at ABC Carpet & Home in New York City, was designed "to plant seeds in consumers about India," said Paulette Cole, principal and CEO of the multi-unit home store group.
"India has been a deep influence on ABC and on me personally over the years," she said, "both from cultural insights and intellectual wisdom. With this event, we hoped to create a happy relationship between indigenous Indian culture and modern culture, keeping alive the DNA of its design."
For the event, ABC assembled a vast array of Indian textiles, crafts and art — both contemporary and classic with handmade silks and brocades used on both vintage and contemporary furniture as well as replicating the textiles into products from window coverings and furniture covers to quilts and top of bed. About 50% of the product featured, she said, was one of a kind.
The event which has offered an ongoing program of artisan exhibitions, lectures and performance presentations "has had a tremendous turnout and sellout for the talks," Cole said.
The concept of the entire program "represents a new paradigm —— we have the theater and the educational activities as well as the merchandise," Cole explained. "We're trying to develop this program vertically with goals like a contemporary line of furniture, and textiles for all aspects of the business. It will be a cultural shift in the market. We planted the seeds and it will take time to develop the legs."
As part of the month-long event, ABC invited some 900 people to the opening night where Cole and author and health and self-help guru Deepak Chopra greeted the audience. Daily presentations were held in a specially designed Marigold Theater on the store's second floor, the Chopra Center for healing and beauty had a space at ABC healing and beauty center, and the cuisine of India was featured in the store's two restaurants as well as classes for consumers.
Five percent of the proceeds of the event will be donated to the William J. Clinton Foundation for its HIV/AIDS Initiative.
Peacock is one of the six color statements that use classic Indian fabrics with both European traditional and contemporary furniture and accessories.
Exotic and contemporary moods are mixed on a long table holding wooden ware and natural table settings.
Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
