Technology - July 2005

Kirkland’s launches e-commerce site
Klaussner implements Full Circle solution
Swirls of Color.com adds Paul C. Moran collection
Home building simulation program available to educators

“Kirklands.com will enable our customers access to all the latest from Kirkland’s,” said Jack E. Lewis, President and CEO. “We are most excited about this as every area has been updated using customer conveniences in Web technology.”

The company used the development of the site as an opportunity to fine tune its product focus and refine its brand, according to Andrew Gallina, vice president of marketing and chief architect of the project.

The site offers tools like related merchandise suggestions, last item viewed, on-line returns processing and a special section for decorators. Shoppers also can access their Kirkland’s charge account and pay bills online and browse through seven product categories including candles and accessories, decorative accessories, floral/greenery/garden, gifts and frames, lamps, pillows, rugs and throws and wall décor.

Klaussner Furniture, one of the nation’s largest furniture manufacturers, has chosen the Full Circle solution from MicroD to enhance communication and integrate product selection and ordering tools. The Full Circle solution brings together every aspect of the manufacturer/retailer sales process through a family of proven software products, including PreVue, EasyPlan, EasyOrder and MPCat master product catalog software.

“Starting with the PreVue visualization software and working through to EasyOrder, retailers can complete a sale and place an order after just a few minutes with their customer,” said Bill Cook, director of IT at Klaussner. “In addition, using Micro D's MPCat we can now continually update and integrate Klaussner product information, including ordering rules and product images, into retailers business systems through retailer-specific electronic catalogs that are compatible with FIDX (furniture industry data standards).”

Swirls of Color.com adds Paul C. Moran collection

Swirls of Color, www.swirlsofcolor.com is now the leading resource for award winning Artist Paul C. Moran artwork. 

Paul Moran is a native of Revere Beach, America's first public beach, five miles north of Boston. Its natural beauty and solitude have inspired the way he looks at his palette, producing amazing combinations of the colors of dusk and dawn over this landscape.  In contrast, the architectural patterns of the amusement park's roller coasters and other rides, along with the masses of humanity watching man and machine in perpetual motion, are other roots of his artwork.

Swirls of Color, a Maine based wholesale company, represents artists and crafters from many parts of the world to the United States.  Work includes decoupage, prints, plaques, hand painted clocks, decorative accessories and custom furniture,   

Swirls of Color donates 10% of the net profits to the Alzheimer’s Association

For more information you may view Paul C. Moran’s artwork on our web site.  www.swirlsofcolor.com or contact Amy Knowles, owner: swirlsofcolor@adelphia.net

Home building simulation program available to educators

Across the country, low interest rates and demand are fueling a hot housing market, allowing more people to experience home building and buying for the first time and boosting homeownership rate to a record 69 percent. And now, even sixth graders are getting in on the action.

This month, the National Association of Home Builders launches the new, much anticipated, Network Version 2.0 of the innovative home building program, Building Homes of Our Own. The teaching software, already reaching more than 2.5 million students and educators nationwide, allows middle and high school students to experience each step of the home building process.

From selecting a location and obtaining permits through construction and material selection to reviewing credit histories of potential buyers, Building Homes of Our Own uses interactive gaming technology to teach students the basics of homeownership as well as math, science, civics, language arts, technology and personal financial responsibility.

Building Homes of Our Own challenges students to work within a budget and schedule to design and build a home through three levels of play and four building sites, including urban, suburban, rivers and lakes, and coastline settings. Myriad real-life complications and issues await students, testing their skills, patience and ingenuity. Conducting research, attending virtual town meetings, and working with specialists are just a few of the ways students can confront, and resolve, any possible they face during the building process.