Archive for September 26th, 2007
By Jean Gil, Kaye Llanto, Jose Soriano, Maybs Uy
Backtrack to some 25 years ago, and chances are, furniture was made by a Mang Ambo, a furniture maker from Baliuag who specialized in carabao bone inlay. People did not just take a trip to the mall and come home with ready-made pieces right off the shelf for their ancestral homes. Mang Ambo would actually come over, and bring a set of chairs in unfinished stages to have them approved, before actually proceeding to complete the project. Or the customer would drop by the shop to check on the chairs.
Such was the meticulous process that was involved in customizing furniture. Today, you can practically furnish a house with ready-made furniture bought on the spot from a showroom, but the charm of custom-made furniture still remains.
Particular about the form, color, fabric, trim, or finish of your furniture? In need of furniture that fits the exact specification of an area of your house? Tired of fitting your growing family into the standard six-seater dining table or itsy-bitsy living room set? When what they have on the showroom floor simply won’t do, custom-made furniture is the way to go for you.
No small expense
An important consideration is cost. Custom-made furniture generally cost more. Ready-made furniture is affordable because these pieces are mass-produced. These manufacturers do not ask you the exact color you prefer for that sofa or whether you want wooden or metal legs for your lounge chair. They simply attempt to make something that they hope would fit most buyers’ tastes.
Custom furniture allows you countless options, from the design of the piece, down to the last piece of material. Despite the cost, however, you can ensure the quality of the piece, and save up on costs of having to repair or replace store-bought pieces that are made of more economical materials.
In some cases, custom-made furniture is actually the practical alternative when the furniture piece that you set your heart on is not available locally, or when you can’t spring $3,000 for a single Hans Wegner JH 501 chair.
Also, as opposed to ready-made furniture, you usually don’t have to pay the full amount right away, as you can pay it in installments until you get the finished piece depending on your arrangement with the manufacturer.
The long wait
Time is another important consideration. How long can you wait?
In ordering custom-furniture, you have to allow for a lead time of three weeks or more, depending on the complexity of the design.
Even the time of the year can play a significant part on production time. More often than not, manufacturers usually need a longer lead time during rainy season to allow for wood finishes to dry completely, or during exhibition periods, when they are rushing pieces for foreign buyers.
Still another consideration is if you have some patience for coordination. Generally you will have to communicate with the manufacturer very clearly about what you need.
However, it doesn’t stop there. In cases of larger furniture, like a sofa or built-in furniture, you would have to bring the furniture manufacturer to your place to have them measure the area where you intend to put the pieces. Then you have to check on them and make adjustments, if needed, before they proceed.
Other details also come into play. An actual finish, especially with wooden furniture, has to be agreed upon. If you are using fabric, decide on whether you will source it yourself or have them show you swatches for approval.
Finding the right manufacturer
Ask for recommendations for starters. They can show you the pieces they’ve had commissioned, and you can get an inside track on their furniture makers and their working relationship with their customers.
If you have an interior designer, his/her services generally include sourcing suppliers as well as communicating the design to the furniture maker. An added bonus here is that if you have your own design, both your furniture maker and interior designer can tell you if the design will work or can be produced or if the measurements are comfortable or not.
If you cannot get referrals, you can look through the yellow pages or go to malls and shops. This will require more research on your part. You may have to visit them first and ask them questions. Ask them about their furniture and more often than not they will be glad to show you pictures of what they have made. Ask also to see the actual finished items which they generally have in their showroom or factories. Ask about their lead times, materials and finishes, prices, etc.
You can also get in touch with furniture associations like the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines at www.cfip.org.ph, who may be able to refer you to the right furniture makers based on your needs.
Find out more about furniture and interior design at the Philippine School of Interior Design Advanced Class of 2007’s graduation exhibit, dubbed as “Forty, Filipino, and Fabulous” (“F3”) on Sept. 29 to Oct. 31, at the Paseo Center, Paseo de Roxas cor. Sedeno Streets, Salcedo Village, Makati City.
September 26th, 2007
JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
APPOMATTOX, Va. - Creative Interiors, a division of Thomasville Furniture Industries Inc., said Friday that it will close its 200,000-square-foot plant in Carysbrook, Va., by Nov. 23.
The plant specialized in making ready-to-assemble furniture. It has a work force of 170, down from a peak of 300 employees in 1999. Industry analysts said that makers of ready-to-assemble furniture have been less vulnerable to global competition because the products are less labor intensive.
The production from the plant is being moved to Creative Interiors’ plant in Appomattox, about 50 miles away, where it has 440 workers.
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September 26th, 2007
HCM CITY — Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation, which ranks among the top five businesses of its kind in the country, announced it will go public with an initial offering scheduled for October 1 at the HCM City Stock Exchange.
TTFC will auction 2.8 million shares at a starting price of VND75,000. The price on the over the counter (OTC) market was slightly higher, said Vo Huu Tuan, director of the HCM City branch of Bao Viet Securities Company that provides consultancy to Truong Thanh, last Wednesday.
Sales from the issuance will be used for increasing the company’s chartered capital to VND150 billion from the current VND100 billion and raising working capital.
After the IPO finishes, the company will apply to be listed with the HCM City Stock Exchange, said Chairman and General Director Vo Truong Thanh. He expects his company to get on board prior to the year’s end.
Thanh also has aspirations to list with a stock market overseas, especially with support from foreign strategic partners Aureos South East Asia Managers Ltd, VinaCapital’s Viet Nam Opportunity Fund and Deutsche Asset Management.
Truong Thanh expects net profits to reach VND65 billion in 2007 and VND100 billion in 2008. — VNS
September 26th, 2007
Resurrection Project launched in 9th Ward
By Valerie Faciane
Josephine Scott-Brown and her husband, Charles, used all of their finances, including their Road Home money, to renovate their house in the Lower 9th Ward. Now that they are done, there’s no money left to buy furniture.
That’s where the Resurrection Project comes in.
The program, run by local grass-roots organization All Congregations Together in partnership with churches and other nonprofit organizations, distributes donated furniture and building materials to needy families in one of the most devastated neighborhoods in the city.
ACT Executive Director Mary Fontenot said for many storm victims, the money goes only so far.
“Many of the checks received through the Road Home program are not enough to restore families most impacted by Katrina,” she said.
The project was launched last month when the group began working with 29 families. To prepare their homes for the new furniture, volunteers painted the walls and made minor repairs.
Then rooms of donated furniture showed up on their doorsteps.
The Resurrection Project continues to offer eligible residents new and gently used furniture at minimal to no cost. It also provides free building materials and volunteer help with minor renovations.
To participate, residents must prove that they were impacted by the storm, but “we don’t want to become another entity that ties people up in red tape,” Fontenot said. “Our goal is to not have donated goods stacked to the ceiling, but to make sure that whatever is received is quickly moved into the hands of the citizens.”
The Resurrection Project will soon provide case management services, and hopes to eventually start workplace training and a consumer co-op, Fontenot said. The project also plans to expand to other hard-hit areas of the city, including the Upper 9th Ward and eastern New Orleans.
Partners in the Resurrection Project include Xavier University, the New Orleans Disaster Relief Insurance Program, Emergency Interiors, Furnishing Our Neighbors, the Unitarian Universalist Association/Unitarian Universalist Gulf Coast Volunteer Program of Cambridge, Mass., the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and A La Maison of California.
As for the Browns, they’re excited about the prospect of once again having a furnished home.
“We greatly appreciate it from the heart,” Josephine Scott-Brown said. “Words can’t express our gratitude.”
For information or to donate to the Resurrection Project, call ACT at (504) 304-2281.
. . . . . . .
Valerie Faciane can be reached at vfaciane@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3325.
September 26th, 2007
TROPE GROUP SEEKS LEED CERTIFICATION FOR TWO DESIGNERS
BY LORALEE STEVENS
SANTA ROSA – The Trope Group, long-time office furniture and interior provider, is training two of its design directors to be LEED-certified.
Mavis Allan and Heather Leachman-Beck are attending the green building professional certification program at Sonoma State University according to Trope Group President Christina Pratt.
“Herman Miller, our major supplier of office furniture is very supportive of its retailers using green materials and practices,” said Ms. Pratt. “They were founders of the original movement, back in the 1950s.”
Paint, flooring, cubicles and furniture are all candidates for green certification under the U.S. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building standards.
A separate environmental agency, Greenguard, certifies air quality, which can be affected by fumes from paint, carpeting and upholstery.
The Trope Group carries Herman Miller’s proprietary panel fabric Kira, which is made entirely from corn and can be used to compost crops. It mimics petroleum-based polyester in look, feel and durability but contains no oil.
Ms. Pratt said the Trope Group is by no means the first office furniture dealer to promote sustainability and non-toxic materials.
“Most office furniture dealers are on board the green movement now, but we think having two LEED-certified design professionals on the staff will give us an edge,” said Ms. Pratt.
So far the two Trope Group design directors have attended one of the four sessions at Sonoma State.
The program teaches that not all natural materials are green if large amounts of fuel are necessary to transport them.
“You learn to look for materials that are natural to the region: mud finish rather than stucco, for example. Concrete takes a huge amount of energy to produce, I found,” Ms. Allan said.
She and Ms. Leachman-Beck will finish the program by creating a green project of their own.
“It could be a made-up business where we specify the greenest possible paint, carpeting and acoustical tile. Or it could be working with an actual business to improve its materials and practices. We’re going to try to do both,” she said.
Herman Miller is very supportive of what Trope Group is doing. Many of its buildings are LEED-certified, and it has been using recycled plastic bottles in some of its furniture for years.
“I visited their headquarters in Zeeland, Mich. 20 years ago. Even then, there was practically no waste generated by their operations. It was turned into energy. Every worker was close to a source of natural light. It made me think about how green practices are as healthful to the people as they are to the environment,” said Ms. Allan.
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September 26th, 2007
DUBLIN, Ireland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c69470) has announced the addition of Retail Futures: UK Furniture & Floorcoverings Q3 2007 to their offering.
Introduction
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Source: Verdict Research
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press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax: +353-1-4100-980
September 26th, 2007
NEW SALISBURY, Ind. - Child Craft Industries, a family owned company that has made cribs and other children’s furniture for nearly a century, may lay off most of its remaining work force by fall 2009, a company official said.
Mark Suvak, Child Craft vice president and chief financial officer, said Tuesday the company is working “desperately” to avoid laying off most of the plant’s 55 workers by 2009, but that those job cuts are a possibility by September 2009.
Child Craft, founded in Salem in 1911, makes wooden baby cribs, changing tables and children’s bedroom furniture that’s sold through Costco, Target and other retailers.
Suvak said the company had moved its furniture production to Asia and Honduras in recent years and the remaining workers at the New Salisbury plant about 15 miles west of Louisville, Ky., perform light finishing work on products, packaging and distribution.
“All of our production right now is coming primarily from Asia or Honduras and that continues to be the plan given that it’s cost prohibitive to manufacturer in the state,” he said.
Last month, company executives reapplied for displaced-worker benefits Child Craft first received through the Indiana Department of Workforce Development following a flash flood in Salem that caused more than $10 million in damage to its equipment and inventory.
The company obtained $8.9 million in federal loans to help relocate to New Salisbury, where the shutdown of another furniture maker, Keller Manufacturing Co., provided a factory.
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
September 26th, 2007
NEW SALISBURY, Ind. — Child Craft Industries, a family owned company that has made cribs and other child-related furniture for nearly a century, will lay off most of its work force and shift production to Honduras.
The layoff of about 80 workers is expected to take place between next month and September 2009, according to a filing with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Company executives notified the state agency of the planned layoffs and production shift last month while applying for displaced-worker benefits, citing overseas competition and the need to outsource its furniture manufacturing as the reasons for the moves.
They also indicated the plant about 15 miles west of Louisville, Ky., may be shut down.
Child Craft, founded in Salem in 1911, makes wooden baby cribs, changing tables and children’s bedroom furniture that’s sold through Sears, USA Baby and other retailers.
A message seeking comment was left today for Mark Suvak, the company’s vice president and chief financial officer.
Child Craft President William Suvak, who is Mark Suvak’s father, said in interviews three years ago that the company was on the brink of bankruptcy after a flash flood in Salem caused more than $10 million in damage to its equipment and inventory.
The company obtained $8.9 million in federal loans to help move to New Salisbury, where the shutdown of another furniture maker, Keller Manufacturing Co., provided a factory.
Ray Moistner, executive director of the Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association, said Indiana’s wood-products industry has been hurt by imports from China and other countries where low wages and lax environmental laws make it far less expensive to produce goods.
“Obviously, overseas competition has been the big factor,” he said.
September 26th, 2007
By: Furniture World Magazine
Tradewins Furniture will introduce four new collections in their newly expanded showroom at Center Point 106 in High Point during the October Market. The expansion, which doubled the size of the former space to 12,000, allows the company to display every SKU offered in their group of almost 30 collections. “By adding more room, we are able to bring more merchandise to Market, and give our buyers the chance to experience the breadth of styles of quality product offered at this price point,” said company CEO Tom Underhill.
Tradewin’s new Bay Cruiser Bed has a clean nautical look, authentic seafaring shape, and crisply striped drawer storage. The matching nightstand and chest make it an imaginative youth bedroom choice. “The themed look of this collection engages the kids and their parents, while the price is highly competitive with that of other pieces targeting the youth market,” said Mike Facchini, Vice President of Sales.
The other three new collections, Belle Provence, Cypress Hill and Heartwood are each designed to fit a niche that has already been filled by Tradewins through collections offered exclusively to select national retailers. “We’ve redesigned these popular proprietary collections and are introducing them in High Point for wider distribution,” Underhill explained.
Crafted from sturdy American black cherry, with its sleek contemporary lines complemented by the more traditional accents of expressive paneling, deep molding and scalloped bases, Belle Provence is a transitional group featuring two distinctive bed options. Cypress Hill is an oak collection whose clean profiles give it a modern ambience. With extensive built-in storage throughout, including drawers with full extension glides, Cypress Hill is designed for those with limited floor space. With the versatility characteristic of all the Tradewins collections, the Cypress Hill armoire does double duty as a wardrobe or entertainment center. Another solid cherry collection with a darker finish, Heartwood conveys an urban appeal. Custom hardware designed in an oval shape echoes the spoon foot on this fashion forward collection.
Tradewins Furniture is located at Space 106 at Center Point in High Point and in Space 901 in Building B in Las Vegas.
September 26th, 2007
Gary Evans — Furniture Today,
New approach includes Klaussnerhome store network
ASHEBORO, N.C. — Long known as a behind-the-scenes truckload supplier to major accounts, upholstery manufacturer and case goods importer Klaussner Furniture is making itself more visible as a brand, and taking sweeping initiatives to change how it does business.
“The company has been immersed with some really big retail partners and didn’t really need anything to be pushed because they were big enough to carry us,” said Bryan Myers, the company’s marketing and brand manager.
But in an essentially flat retail market, suppliers are forced to find new ways to grow, and this Top 5 manufacturer is no exception.
“What we’re really looking to do is move forward and move Klaussner from behind the rocks, so to speak,” said Myers.
At the heart of the process is the rollout of a new chain of licensed stores called Klaussnerhome furnishings. The company also has announced a new transportation and logistics program, a new e-commerce initiative, a new logo and a major revamping of its showroom here. Visitors to the market next week will get a sampling of things to come.
“It’s the beginning of an entirely new era for Klaussner Furniture,” said Jeff Davis, senior vice president of marketing and business development, and mastermind of a strategy that he says will make the company “better, more efficient, more effective and in keeping with the demands of today’s supply chain — be it wholesale, retail or otherwise.”
The store rollout will be a major tool in defining the Klaussner brand. But Davis said that turning the company’s transportation program over to Salem Logistics is the most sweeping immediate development and one of the most important initiatives. The change will allow Klaussner to offer less-than-truckload shipments, guaranteeing delivery in seven days or less on selected items and 30-day delivery on custom orders — an important element in supplying stores quickly and helping them keep inventory to a minimum.
Klaussner has opened four Klaussnerhome stores, and will add three to five more by the end of the year. The company plans to have as many as 100 stores by the end of 2009, and has identified more than 200 markets that can sustain a store, Davis said. In all, he said research indicates those markets can support as many as 336 stores.
Besides bearing the company name, the Klaussnerhome units differentiate themselves from 20 company-owned Sofa Express and More stores in that they will carry only Klaussner product, while the other stores can source from outside vendors.
In developing the new stores, officials are keeping the company’s target customer in the forefront. Since Klaussnerhome is focused on the middle market, with customization a priority, stores will be merchandised in three categories, called the 3Cs — Contemporary, Casual and Classic. If a market area leans toward contemporary, the store’s selection will be weighted that way; likewise for other categories.
“We didn’t do the traditional or the transitional (categories) or all that because a lot of customers don’t know what that is. They don’t have a clue,” said Myers.
He said sifting through hundreds of fabric choices can be perplexing to consumers, so selections will be separated into plain and patterned sections and grouped by color and price point. Myers said the company wants to give the stores “a fun atmosphere — not a place where consumers go and they automatically hate it before they get there because they don’t know what the prices are going to be and if they’ll be hoo-dooed.”
Designer and TV host Genevieve Gorder, the spokesperson for Sofa Express and More, will play a larger role in Klaussnerhome. Hollis Anderson, creative director for Red Squirrel, a brand marketing firm working with Klaussner, said Gorder’s role will ease consumer anxiety by defining trends and inspiring the consumer not to be afraid of making choices that reflect her personality and lifestyle.
“She’ll be kind of a shopping twin, providing reassurance and saying it’s OK to be different, it’s OK to get that purple sofa,” said Anderson.
The Klaussnerhome model also will give the company an opportunity to expand categories such as accessories.
“There’s a lot of business out there that we haven’t even touched,” said Myers. “Accessories are a great tool on the retail floor to make your product really look nice. They’re items that people will come back to buy frequently, and it’s also a way to get them into the store more often than a bigger purchase like a piece of furniture.”
Davis said he expects the first 30 to 50 of the Klaussnerhome stores, which will average 22,000 square feet, “will come relatively slow. I’m an optimist but also a realist. But I think the next 50 will come like a landslide.”
He said that if the company reaches its goal of 100 stores in three years, “that can constitute between $300 million and $400 million in wholesale business for us.”
He added the company will continue to support truckload customers, but “also make it just as feasible for those who chose to buy and flow products to do so in a multi-stop, LTL environment.”
The company won’t implement any initiative at the cost of disrupting or upsetting existing distribution, Davis emphasized.
“Our dealer partners in the marketplace are just that — partners,” he said, adding the company won’t seek licensees to open new stores in areas where it’s comfortable with its market share.
“There are a lot of markets where we enjoy less than an acceptable percent of the market and we have to address that,” he said. “And the first way we will address that is by working with the dealers we have in the market area.
“It’s not a threat. It’s a tool to help us grow our business together with a group of partners.”
September 26th, 2007