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For a company that will mark its official launch at the New York Tabletop Week in April, Grant Dawson Collections is off to a remarkable start. Founded by designers Sheri Gorsen and Cindy Testa, the socially and environmentally responsible company has already padded the gift baskets at both the Grammys and the Oscars and received the Sustainable Furniture Council's first Silver Exemplary Membership for 2008. The initial collection includes tabletop and decorative accessories such as vases, candleholders, trays and chess sets, handcrafted of FSC-certified plantation woods and wood remnants as well as lead-free pewter, silver and recycled glass. Prices range from $100 to $10,000.

Contemporary design enthusiasts should mark their calendars for the fifth annual Ca Boom show, taking place March 14-16 at Santa Monica Airport's mid-century designed Barker Hanger. In addition to the impressive lineup of exhibitors (Poliform, Dellarobbia, Knoll and Herman Miller, to name a few), highlights include Design + Architecture Home Tours and a new modern kitchen and bath section. Allison Arieff, former editor in chief of Dwell, will moderate “The Four Women of Prefab” panel discussion featuring architects Michelle Kaufmann, Jenifer Siegal and Rocio Romero.

Peel & Company and The Versailles Foundation unveiled the first collection of hand-woven Aubusson and Savonnerie rugs in January. Inspired by historical palace collections, the launch collection features elegant, classical designs in a lush, rich palette; hand-woven Aubusson tapestries, pillows and handmade accent furniture will be rolled out at a later date. “The resources of the public and private collections of the Palace of Versailles provide our company with such a vast amount of source material and inspiration that we literally could spend several lifetimes producing compelling home furnishings products through this partnership,” said Mickal Adler of Peel & Company. “It is not only inspiring for us from a design perspective, but it is an honor and a privilege to work on a design project that has such importance.”

Residential and commercial interior design firm J Banks Design tipped the style scale with its first furniture collection, blending elegance with unabashed fashionable flair. The J Banks for Stanford Furniture Collection, designed by Joni Vanderslice, combines clean lines with colorful chic in a series of wittily executed tables, sofas and ottomans, such as the glamorous Anna sofa. Vanderslice has also licensed her designs to wall decor vendor Big Fish.

Dwellstudio has launched a new home and baby collection at Target, America's purveyor of affordable chic. Founded by Christiane Lemieux, Dwellstudio translates Old World design motifs with signature minimalist style into six bedding patterns, such as the chinoiserie-laden Perch and scroll-printed Baroque. Tabletop linens and kitchen accessories round out the adult collection, while Baby consists of nursery bedding, furniture, layette and accessories. Retail prices range from $3 to $290.

Normann Copenhagen's Familia dinner service won the IF Product Design Award for 2008; the Familia kitchen series has been honored with the 2007 Good Design Award, based on form, function and aesthetics. “Today it is difficult to separate the kitchen from service, or service from the kitchen. Therefore, it was natural to make the Familia pots in connection with the Familia dinner service,” said Familia Designer Ole Jensen. “The pots are simple and unrefined — perhaps even primitive in their form language. They are designed to radiate warmth, life and appetite. When ordinary objects are revealed as something engagingly new, our daily life becomes particularly valuable.”