The business of soft goods is pretty hard right now — as is nearly every business these days.

But vendors interviewed by Home Accents Today said they are upbeat about the future and are working hard at controlling costs, developing new and innovative products, and focusing on good design that creates perceived value to both the retail buyer and end customer.

"We are challenged to bring great looking and fashionable goods to market at an affordable and reasonable price," said Shauna Snyder, creative director at HomeTexco and Rizzy Rugs. "There is demand out in the marketplace and we must provide the quality and fashion at a reasonable price."

Snyder said soft goods are an important and growing segment of the company's business. "It's tough to really give a true comparison of sales due to our starting our rug business long before we launched our soft goods. At the beginning of this year, the soft goods were about 20% of our total business. Soft goods have gained momentum as the months have passed and it is now performing around 40% of our total sales," she said. "This is due to our capability to change the style of what we have to offer quickly and make sure that we are developing the product at the right price points and to our customer's style needs. We have tremendous capability to do this because we own and run the factories that produce all of our products. We control everything from quality, price point and design."

Patricia Spratt, owner of her eponymous company, does 100% of her business in soft goods, dominated by table linens, but also including pillows, curtains and recently, top of bed. "I consider us in a fair but steady situation," Spratt said. "I do anticipate an upswing for the January 2010 market (season), because there is a real pent-up demand — I think everyone has scraped the bottom in terms of inventory."

A John Rose, co-owner of throw producer Textillery Weavers along with his wife Judith, said his business is about two-thirds contract and one-third residential.

Rose said Textillery has been in contract for about 10 years, "but it has really grown over the last four to five years." Though he said that very recently the hospitality business has slowed a bit and retail has picked up, "hospitality has basically replaced the business we did with major because they are so price-driven, and we are design-driven. I still maintain you get what you pay for, and there's a certain cost to design."

Lee Anne Downey, president of Luxe Brands International, said her company's Canadian business has helped keep business steady. "Canada has been far less affected by the economy and business has carried on," she said. "The U.S. market has changed to stores ordering only when they have an order — not stocking anything. This may be a permanent change in the industry, which seems unhealthy. No inventory in the stores means a long delivery for the customer who may not be willing to wait."

Spratt said one factor impacting her business is the "domino effect of being cautious. Mills aren't keeping inventory and retailers are ordering at the last minute, so manufacturers are caught in the middle."

But overall, the outlook is quite positive.

"We're feeling busier and we've seen an uptick and have more of a backlog (of orders to fill)," Rose said. "I think that the consumer is ready for quality of design. My consumers ... have had money, but have been nervous and not been spending. Some of them are fed up with wanting. We are a consumer society — we're not going to get away from that."

"Things are fair — we have all sort of adjusted and made the necessary sacrifices," Spratt said. "We're doing better business and smarter business. This has been a real acid test for business — do you have the savvy and wherewithal to be in business? — and we have learned that we do. But we are digging in and working hard."

"The mood among the customers is upbeat and positive," Snyder said. "Most customers are looking for fresh ideas and new merchandise. We have continued to develop and bring new things to every market, so we are in an advantageous position."

Downey echoed the positive vibe. "Customers are optimistic," she said. "This week has been incredibly busy, perhaps a good omen for the rest of the quarter. I am cautiously optimistic for early 2010."

Patricia Spratt has found success with new custom offerings, especially custom-sized tablecloths, which the company can produce quickly because of its domestic production, Spratt said. She also said she is in the second season of offering a top of bed lineup that is available in any of the fabrications used in the table linens line.

Luxe Brands is doing its custom work now without its usual premium charge, Downey said, to help the company stay competitive. "We have (also) passed along cost savings at the manufacturers' level to our customers, to encourage more business," she said.

At Luxe Brands, "Our embellished silk pieces have been very popular, even though they are an expensive price point," Downey said.

At Patricia Spratt, the trend is toward happy patterns and colors — "not silly, not whimsical or cute, but happy with a wonderful, familiar feeling," Spratt said, adding that New England influences and classic American designs are selling well, especially when updated with a fresh color palette including shades of turquoise, coral, pink and green.

From a color and trend standpoint, Textillery's Judith Rose said it all depends on the market. The furniture stores are staying more conservative with classic colors such as reds, oranges, browns and neutrals. "The gift people are much more interested in going out and being more creative," she said. The company's new bamboo throws (85% bamboo, 15% cotton) are the hottest thing in the line, the Roses said.

"The strongest style for us is just simple pattern, even traditional designs that have been simplified are selling very well," Snyder said. "These simple patterns that are performing well have up-to-date colors and are enhanced by using interesting embellishment or construction techniques. Color palettes that are strong for us are the light blue with yellow and white or soft green. Also, very saturated spice tones (brown, rust, sage) with bright red orange and bright dark turquoise."

Textillery had an upbeat High Point Market, following a great New York gift show, A John Rose said. "I came home feeling like there's a momentum starting to build, and we're in business."

As for his customers, Rose said "I see a little more positivity — when I ask, 'how's business?' I hear that it's OK. The people who are still around — they've made some cuts — and now I think everyone's ready for some semblance of normal. There are clearly opportunities out there."