John-Richard opens first retail showroom in Nashville
High-end furnishings and accessories manufacturer John-Richard is venturing into the retail business with the opening of a designer showroom in the affluent Nashville, Tenn., community of Belle Meade.
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Olympic aftereffects
The Beijing Olympics' mind-blowing opening ceremonies against a backdrop of equally impressive architecture suggests there's a lot of creative energy at work in China. Was there anything about the country, the culture or the Olympic pageantry that you found especially inspiring? Any visuals, colors, textures or shapes that might find their way into one of your future projects? Or that sharp sho...
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Las Vegas Market moves to September date pattern in '09
The Las Vegas Market has pushed back the dates for its second 2009 show until September, and will shorten the market to a four-day event — Sept. 14-17. Dates for next year's winter show in Las Vegas, a five-day event beginning Feb. 9, remain unchanged. “Our research clearly shows that buyers and exhibitors don't want more days in a market; rather they want to focus on a market th...
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Looking for fortune in misfortune
Several key retail forecasts and studies came out just as I was turning my attention to this month's column. It's not great news, but it's not totally bad, either — if we invoke the reasoning of one of my favorite characters from childhood: Ned from the book Fortunately by Remy Charlip. Ned is a guy who finds himself alternating between potential triumph and tragedy with every turn of th...
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Social Sherwood
One Saturday afternoon this past August, Lake Gaston, N.C., retailer Mary Sherwood invited customers and friends to an in-store luncheon event. The purpose was to kick off a fall fund-raiser for O'Sail, a nonprofit organization that supports the arts and infrastructure of the Lake Gaston community, and to celebrate the shop's selection as one of Home Accents Today's 2008 Retail Stars.
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Décor & You honors Russ Jones of OneCoast
OneCoast consultant Russ Jones received Décor & You’s “Most Valuable Partner of the Year” award. Jones led 100+ designers from the company on a tour of the Las Vegas Market in July.
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Increased awareness fuels growth in green home accents
Increasing consumer awareness continues to grow the green segment for manufacturers of home furnishings. Buyers have learned what to look for, and with wholesale clubs, furniture chains and department stores getting into the green groove, there's more to choose from. Greater interest among the accessories, lighting and rug categories led to the Sustainable Furniture Council's August announceme...
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ART Conference attendees 'makeover' Charleston retailers
Four Charleston retailers agreed to let attendees at last month's ART (Accessories Resource Team) Conference spend one afternoon making over their storefront window displays. The event, which took place during business hours, was the designated team activity and competition for this year's annual conference, themed “Southern Inspiration” and held Aug.
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Extreme green
Savannah home furnishings retailer Structured Green walks the talk A store opened in Savannah, Ga., earlier this year that may have set the standard for what it means to be a green retailer. It's demonstrated not only in the merchandise — furniture, art and accessories made from sustainable, reclaimed and environmentally friendly materials — but also in the no-frills warehouse-turn...
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Accessories Resource Team hosts annual conference in Charleston, S.C.
Charleston Place Hotel in Charleston, S.C., was the site of the Accessories Resource Team's 2008 annual conference, held August 21-24. Accessory industry manufacturers, retailers, representatives and suppliers enjoyed seminars, workshops and social events designed to promote camaraderie and provide ideas, inspiration and useful information.
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A new chapter
Vance Kitira has just started a new chapter in his life. It begins with the discovery that, according to a recent CT scan, the lung cancer surgery he had in March of this year was a complete success. As a result, Kitira says he appreciates things more and is living his life more fully. The experience also left him more sensitive to the air he breathes.
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Home Accents Today welcomes new Retail Advisory Board
This month we welcome a new group of retailers to Home Accents Today's Retail Advisory Board and offer a big round of applause to our outgoing board members, whose insights, feedback and story ideas during the past few years were surpassed only by the great conversation shared during our market luncheons.
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Silk tithes
Kris Nolan is the founder and CEO of Artistry in Silk, maker of the elaborate silk botanical designs that adorn the Furniture Classics showroom surfaces in Atlanta and High Point. It's an effective pairing of flora and furniture that benefits both companies. For the furniture maker, there's the added interest provided by the colors and textures of seasonal blooms and preserved greenery.
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Moe's Home Collection stores opening in California, Washington
Two NEW Moe's Home Collection stores are set to open: one in Fremont, Calif., and another in Federal Way, Wash., a Seattle suburb. The 20,000-sq.-ft. Fremont store is located just north of San Jose and marks Moe's first retail venture in California. The Federal Way store, the company's second retail location in Washington, will bring the company's total number of stores to five.
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Lamp and lighting manufacturers stay plugged in with new markets, energy saving options, more accessories
Interviews conducted forthe lamp and lighting Business Update that ran exactly one year ago revealed an industry-wide commitment on the part of manufacturers to remain positive, in spite of rising production costs and slowing retail and housing markets. Twelve months later, lighting manufacturers still maintain that times are tough, yet they're finding some solace in the fact that nearly every...
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Retailers benefit from ethnic design and merchandising strategies
In April, I blogged about a finding from WSL Strategic Retail's 11th biannual study, How America Shops. Since WSL's 10th study, the amount spent by African-American women on home decor has increased by 6% compared to decreases of 21% for Caucasian women and 30% for Hispanic women. WSL Senior Consultant Shilpa Rosenberry advised retailers to take note of the growing spending demographic.
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Creative Curators
Colorado Springs retailers Rich Schell and Greg Wragge are using sniggywhatsits and discounts to lure customers to their furnishings, floral and fine art gallery, Rich Designs Home. It's all part of a year-long advertising campaign that involves registering for a December shopping spree, being rewarded with a sniggywhatsit (a small floral bouquet) and redeeming the postcard invitation for a 10%...
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New legislation seeks to lower credit card processing fees
A subcommittee of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee recently began considering legislation that would control the rising interchange fees credit card companies charge to merchants who accept plastic from their customers. Titled the Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008 (H.R. 5546), the bill was introduced by Rep.
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Vintage Renaissance Man
Fifteenth century Italian architect Leon Battista Alberti is credited for the quote “a man can do all things if he but wills them,” an aspiration shared by many of his knowledge-seeking peers of the Renaissance. Today that idea endures as the casually invoked “where there's a will, there's a way.
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