Archive for May, 2008
Zahid Sardar
Designers at the 20th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York this month were asking hard questions about their use of materials and were veering away from fashionable all-bamboo or all-bio-fuel solutions.
Sustainability is a balancing act. It does not mean we have to abstain from using nature’s resources; we just must use them sparingly.
Some designers are beginning to minimize the amount of materials they use. Some have begun to modify manufacturing techniques to use less energy; others are enlisting traditional craft centers around the world to produce objects that are more in keeping with their ancient traditions.
Disseminating these ideas through a product’s design is the new goal of design, and it was visible throughout the fair and exhibitors’ showrooms in the city.
At the Vitra furniture showroom in the Meatpacking District, “Super Normal,” a traveling show of everyday kitchen tools and household objects selected by British designer Jasper Morrison and Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, was much admired for the basic perfection and unself-conscious design of the objects.
“People are looking for something straightforward. Design has to be about simplicity, not fashion,” says Morrison. “I am interested in normal.”
At Surface magazine’s Conversation Series at the Tribeca Grand Hotel - one of the many events in Manhattan and Brooklyn during the fair, which coincides with New York’s Design Week - two speakers, who both work on international projects, also addressed green issues.
Israeli designer Dror Benshetrit discussed the willingness of the crown prince of Abu Dhabi to entertain all kinds of unexpected ways to preserve the environment. Benshetrit described the sunken luxury eco-resort he designed for him on a Persian Gulf island, camouflaged to look like an undulating green carpet. Benshetrit’s way of keeping nature in balance is to make the island seem untouched by development.
Dutch architect Winka Dubbeldam, on the other hand, crafts art installations that explore abstract notions of space, which then get used in her buildings.
“Until now you never thought of building technology and traditional handicraft coming together,” says Dubbeldam. “I have to see things built as models.”
“With laser cutting (used for building models as well as furniture), materials are stretched to new possibilities. It is the future,” she said.
The quirky, arty Dutch design collectives Droog and Moooi have begun to ask such questions, too: Is it OK to compress a day’s worth of office paper waste in plastic or resin and call that furniture?
Probably not, because of chemical pollution in the plastics, but limiting waste or recycling it may be the right direction, they say. A recent example of their green thinking: An experimental chair has seat warmers so the whole room does not have to be heated.
Seating from Kartell, Molteni, Magis, Blu Dot and Plank was shown in a new layout at the Jacob Javits Center, where the furniture fair is held each year. In a distinctive red and white section, reserved by Italian firms, designs from Milan’s furniture fair, which at first glance did not seem green, proved to be space-saving designs.
Nearby, San Francisco designer Yves Behar premiered his C furniture line for HBF, which won an award at the fair. The angular C-shaped chair, sofa and table are made with recycled wood frames, soy-derived foam and natural-fiber upholstery.
XS, a clear plastic armchair-shaped case filled with discarded bottles, newspapers and other recyclable waste, also turned heads. Designed by California College of the Arts student Nick DeMarco, it was produced under the aegis of Bevara Design House and Wal-Mart, which will produce and distribute it. The plastic bag armchair will be shipped flat for about $60 and can be filled with whatever the user discards.
“The concept of the chair is to encourage recycling without reprocessing,” says DeMarco. Instead of shipping trash across long distances and using large amounts of resources to turn old plastic bottles into new ones, the idea is to continue using them as they are.
At a conference sponsored by Metropolis magazine at the fair, people sat on new Steelwood chairs designed for Magis by French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. As their name suggests, these beautiful (though not entirely comfortable) chairs have a clearly visible steel seat with wooden legs that are simply attached, making them easy to dismantle and recycle.
Also at the conference, Behar presented the latest version of his design for the XOXO laptop, made for children in developing nations.
It will be small, use less energy (just 2 to 4 watts) than its predecessor and may be solar powered, and it should cost less in 2010 than it did in 2007. It will also fold like a book, turn into a horizontal laptop or unfold into a board game.
Pablo, a San Francisco lighting company, won this year’s best lighting award at the fair. One of its two new designs is Peter Stathis’ Link LED lamp, which uses fewer components and less energy than any other task lamp of its kind. The body is designed so its component parts double as nuts, bolts and hinges, and because the lamp is extremely low voltage, it conducts power to the replaceable long-life LED ring shade through the arms of the lamp. Each part is easy to dismantle and is replaceable and recyclable. “Cradle-to-cradle design,” says Stathis.
Emily Pilloton, founder of Web site Project H Design ( www.projecthdesign.com), which supports humanitarian product designs and greener gadgets, promoted such ideas as the Hippo Roller, a colored plastic drum for transporting water that can be rolled like a lawn mower.
In South Africa, with this intriguing new gadget, “men now do the water fetching, and women’s literacy rate is rising” because they have more time to learn, says Pilloton. “Sustainability has a human element. It is not just about green materials.”
Spanish rug designer Nanimarquina, an exhibitor who was also featured at the Conran Shop’s Rojo exhibition by Luis Eslava, has been in business for 20 years, working mainly with traditional craft shops, many of them in India.
She has worked with designers of similar sensibility, such as Tord Boontje and Hella Jongerius, who work with South American artisans. Nanimarquina’s recent line of round rugs made in India pay homage to the traditional street decorations of India called rangoli.
“Activism is needed in design studios, not just college campuses,” says Pilloton.
Lulan Artisans, a Charleston, S.C., company is on that track. Lulan’s Eve Blossom showed handwoven silk fabrics, made in various Asian countries, alongside chocolates made in South Africa, presented by Cameron Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity in Sausalito.
Lulan has helped to rejuvenate small weaving centers whose master craftsmen were languishing, and Sinclair, typically involved in rebuilding communities in areas devastated by war, earthquakes or tsunamis, has turned his attention to small industry that can help underdeveloped communities as well.
Areaware of New York showcased a snappy eco-idea, Strida, a collapsible lightweight, greaseless bicycle designed by Mark Sanders, which commuters can use. It is also available through Design Within Reach, Warm Planet Bikes and Zinc Details. It saves energy, uses fewer metal components than other collapsible bikes and connects the dots for consumers interested in sustainable design.
Southern California exhibitor Orange22, known for simple powder-coated aluminum benches, began a new series in 2006 called Botanist Blank Canvas, for which well-known artists and designers are invited to create patterns or cutouts on simple bench shapes.
A few are auctioned to raise funds for charity.
This year’s Blank Canvas designers, including San Franciscans Behar and Claude Zellweger of One & Co., and Karim Rashid, Massimo and Lella Vignelli, Milton Glaser and others, have chosen to support Surfrider Foundation, Architecture for Humanity, Diffa, Rochester Institute of Technology and International Rescue Committee - an indicator that more and more designers are ready, as Pilloton envisions, to vivify and sustain cultures and communities through design around the globe.
Zahid Sardar is the Chronicle Design editor. E-mail your ideas to him at zsardar@sfchronicle.com.
May 29th, 2008
Tips for protecting some popular materials
Karen Turner, Canwest News Service
Not sure what kind of furniture to buy for your backyard?
Maintenance, comfort and budget are the top three issues to consider when shopping for outdoor room furnishings.
To help narrow your options, here are some of the pros and cons for four popular outdoor materials.
Unlike natural wicker and rattan, which will only last two, maybe three years, when exposed to the elements, PVC weaves are super durable and can be left outside year-round.
The tightly woven faux wickers won’t fade or rust and are mildew resistant.
Quality resin wicker won’t sag over time like cheaper knock-offs.
Many of the sectionals, sofas and oversized armchairs are made from faux wicker and are extremely comfortable.
- How to maintain: Simply loosen dirt with a soft brush or damp cloth and vacuum or hose down.
Cushions — even those covered in weather-resistant outdoor fabrics — should be stored indoors during the winter.
TEAK
This dense hardwood is an environmentally-friendly choice because it is grown on plantations in Southeast Asia and will last a lifetime. It contains a high concentration of oil which prevents it from rotting, warping and splintering.
The best set to buy is made of kiln-dried teak with interlocking joints.
- How to maintain: Teak does not have to be sealed, stained or painted, but if left untreated, it will turn silvery grey from exposure to the sun and rain.
To preserve the natural blond finish oil teak furniture a couple of times a year.
CAST ALUMINUM
Available in a wide variety of intricate patterns and designs, hefty cast aluminum is solid and sturdy.
Its baked-on powder coating won’t rust or corrode, making it totally maintenance free and weather resistant. It will chip and flake over time, but touch-up paint is available.
- How to maintain: Besides a quick rub-down with a damp cloth to remove dust and dirt, try refreshing the finish with an automotive cleaner and wax polish.
STAINLESS STEEL
The most expensive option, but incredibly strong and long-lasting. Stainless steel is ideal for outdoor use because it won’t rust and can be left outside all year long.
- How to maintain: Virtually maintenance free. Wash down with damp cloth and wipe dry to prevent streaks. Again, the cushions should be stored inside.
Sources: May issue of Canadian House & Home (www.houseandhome.com). June issue of Chatelaine (www.chatelaine.com)
May 26th, 2008
It’s official: The board of directors for Furniture Brands International includes three directors proposed by Sun Capital.
The board reconvened Tuesday. Because the election of directors was contested, a final reconciliation of the election results by a special inspector.
Ralph Scozzafava, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Furniture Brands received the highest number of shareholder votes. In addition to Scozzafava, the board of directors is now comprised, in descending order of stockholder votes, of Aubrey Patterson, Bobby Martin, John Jordan, Mickey Holliman, Alan Schwartz, Scott King and Ira Kaplan. The last three were part of the slate proposed by Sun Capital Partners.
Furniture Brands shareholders also approved the company’s incentive plan for 2008, ratified the selection of KPMG as independent public accounting firm for the year, and rejected a shareholder proposal to adopt a resolution to repeal bylaw or bylaw amendments adopted after May 6, 1998, and prior to the election of Schwartz, King and Kaplan.
“We welcome the conclusion of this year’s proxy voting and look forward to continuing to execute Furniture Brands’ strategic plan,” Scozzafava said. “The addition of three new members to our board of directors gives us the chance to gain fresh insights into how we are approaching our business and evaluating new opportunities. I know that we all look forward to working together to bring increased value to all Furniture Brands stockholders.”
May 23rd, 2008
1. If old furniture smells musty … Try this trick to get rid of mold spores: Paint unfinished surfaces inside drawers, on backs or under tabletops with a solution of 1 teaspoon bleach per gallon of water. Paint the finished surfaces with a new coat of thinned-down varnish or lacquer to seal in any remaining odor.
2. Rub it down. Giving wood a good massage with lemon oil or another “wood feeding” or “moisturizing ” product will help it resist damage from fluctuating temperatures and humidity and help prevent cracking or chipping.
3. Be reserved. Only treat your wood furniture three or four times a year. Too many treatments can cause a buildup that will cloud the finish. Also, don’t use too much polish for each treatment. Wipe any excess off before it dries.
4. Avoid sun damage. Keep fine wood pieces out of sunny windows. Sunlight can damage finishes on wood and fade upholstery.
5. Don’t mix it up. If you mix different kinds of polish, you may get a bad result. For example, using oil-based furniture polish over a wax can cause a gummy mess. Thoroughly clean all finish off the surface before changing products.
6. And the usual: Use coasters, wipe up spills immediately, vacuum and dust frequently.
Source: “If I Had a Hammer,” Andrea Ridout, Collins, $17.95
May 22nd, 2008
DENVER, Furniture Row is pleased to announce the grand opening of a new Furniture Row Shopping Center in Selma. The Center will contain four specialty furniture stores in one convenient location. The Center is located at 15380 I-35 North, Selma, TX 78154. The Center’s retail stores include Oak Express, Bedroom Expressions, Sofa Mart and Denver Mattress Company. The new Center will open on May 23rd, 2008 and store hours will be Mon-Sat 10am-9pm and Sun 12pm-6pm.
“The Center will bring a unique furniture shopping experience to the area,” said Bill McKendry, Marketing Director for Furniture Row. “Unlike other furnishings retailers, our centers have four specialty stores at one destination. Each store focuses on a particular category and each store is managed and staffed with people who are extremely knowledgeable about their specific lines. And, best of all, they all guarantee their prices to be the lowest.”
Here’s a run down on each store brand and their specialty …
Denver Mattress is considered unique among its competitors in the bedding industry because it is both a mattress manufacturer and mattress retailer. It manufactures, distributes, and retails its own private-label, ultimately providing full control over how its products are priced and sold.
The company uses the same components and materials as the leading brand name manufacturers, but because it manufactures and sells its own mattresses, it has eliminated the middleman markup. Therefore, Denver Mattress customers get brand name quality mattresses for as much as 50 percent less. Denver Mattress stands behind their product by offering at least a 10-year warranty on every mattress sold.
Sofa Mart specializes in casual leather and upholstery home furnishings, as well as accent pieces such as occasional tables, armoires, and home accessories. The kind of furniture you would use in your living room and family room areas of the home.
The chain provides a large variety of styles, some of which are reminiscent of those found in high-end department stores and fashionable furnishings catalogs, but without sacrificing quality, comfort or durability, more attractively priced and readily available.
Oak Express sets itself apart by only carrying furnishings made from fine woods like oak, cherry, maple, pine, and more. From dining and entertainment to home office, Oak Express offers consumers a chance to own quality, long lasting furniture at very affordable prices. Oak Express is the largest cash buyer of wood furniture in the country.
Bedroom Expressions provides a unique retail experience, a single store specializing in bedroom furniture, offering consumers a larger selection of better quality bedroom furniture at affordable prices.
Furniture Row also offers a 200% price pledge guarantee. This states that if within 30 days of purchase, the customer finds the identical item advertised for less at another local store, Furniture Row will refund 200% of the difference! In addition, Furniture Row provides a variety of financing options designed to cater to the customer’s needs.
Furniture Row is also dedicated to donating to charitable organizations such as World Vision, The Salvation Army, The Arbor Day Foundation, and the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions.
The Furniture Row Companies make up one of the largest family-owned specialty home furnishings and bedding retailers operating over 330 stores in 30 states. For more information, please visit http://www.FurnitureRow.com.
Furniture Row also owns and is the primary sponsor of a NASCAR Sprint Cup team. For more information on the #78 Furniture Row Racing program visit http://www.FurnitureRowRacing.com.
Contact: John Knippenberg
Furniture Row Marketing (303-293-2437)
SOURCE Furniture Row Companies
May 21st, 2008
Players of The Sims 2 will soon be able to add Ikea furniture to their virtual homes as part of a marketing deal between the Swedish company and Electronic Arts, the computer game’s producer.
EA has formed an unusual partnership with Ikea to make a selection of the retailer’s furniture and home furnishings available to players of The Sims 2, sequel to The Sims - the life simulator that is the best-selling PC game series ever.
From June 27 Sims 2 players in Europe, the games franchise’s biggest market, will be able to decorate their virtual homes with a Malm bed, a Leksvik coffee table and Ektorp sofa, or deck out their virtual home office with a Helmer drawer unit and Lack zigzag shelf.
The items will be made available as an add-on software package. EA releases three such packs a year to meet the demands of Sims players eager to expand, evolve and personalise the virtual worlds they create.
“The success of The Sims has generated a number of online communities committed to the game and eager to share content they have created inside the game,” said Nancy Smith, the EA global president for The Sims label.
“As a result, we know not only players’ passion for creating their own content but their desire to interact with brands. It’s an environment in which players like to blur the line between the digital and real world.”
The Ikea UK marketing manager, Anna Crona, added that the Sims tie-up fitted neatly with the brand’s current marketing line, that home is the most important place in the world.
“For Ikea, The Sims 2 represents a media channel. This is a great channel for us to reach young and young at heart,” Crona said.
The Ikea deal comes a year after EA announced a partnership with another Swedish company, H&M, which allowed Sims 2 players to dress the characters they create in the fashion retailer’s clothes as well as enter a competition to create new designs.
Shortlisted entries were showcased throughout last summer in a series of virtual catwalk shows.
In its first year, sales of the H&M Fashion software pack reached 1m. EA also struck a deal with Ford to enable Sims players’ characters to own a Focus or Mustang car. To date, 2.7m Ford add-ons have been sold.
Smith said she hoped the partnership with Ikea would lead to an H&M-style interactive design competition to be staged later this year.
With UK games industry turnover now outstripping film box office receipts, brand owners’ interest in games as an advertising medium is growing fast, according to Mark Boyd, the head of content at advertising agency BBH, which is exploring in-game advertising for a number of leading brands.
Until now, most activity has fallen into two categories: relatively unsophisticated in-game billboard-style advertising and traditional sponsorship, Boyd said.
However, he added that the EA/Ikea deal showed the potential for deeper and more subtle integration of game and brand.
“The games industry has been built on high street sales rather than advertising revenue so it’s not surprising many companies have been slow to evolve in-game advertising. This, however, is now beginning to change,” said Boyd.
“Consumers aren’t up for paying premium prices on products for ever. While the games industry might now seem to be riding high with little need for advertising, this will change as they embrace brands’ potential to underwrite games’ high development costs and lower retail prices.”
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May 16th, 2008
Garden seating is set to rival indoor furniture for chic - and for expense, says Nicole Swengley
Gardening homepage
We’ve put up with grotty garden furniture for far too long. But at last we can dispense with uncomfortable plastic loungers and wrought iron chairs now that manufacturers are producing designs that are as comfortable and stylish as living room furniture.
Take the deeply-padded Dune daybed (£1,600) designed by Vladimir Kagan for Barlow Tyrie in an all-weather synthetic fibre. One arm of the wicker-like frame curls into an integral side-table while an optional ottoman, £300, fits snugly at its foot to create an enormous lounger. Gloster’s Eclipse collection, meanwhile, includes a “relaxer” (£2,999) that’s as spacious as a living room sofa. When combined with a footstool (£1,299) it becomes a sun-lounger big enough for two people to bask on together. Put two relaxers together and you create a gigantic daybed that’s roomy enough to take the whole family. Shade and privacy are provided by an optional sail (£399) which wafts you instantly to the imaginary deck of a yacht.
The catch, you’ll notice, is the high price tags on some of these style-conscious designs. But the technically-advanced materials used in these new pieces allow year-round enjoyment. We also want to “furnish” our patios and gardens with considerably more style than traditional garden -centre offerings allow.
A typical example of this new breed of sophisticated outdoors furniture is the Scoop, a semi-circular, high-backed lounger designed by Mark Gabbertas for Gloster (£2,999). This intimate seat is woven in all-weather, synthetic wicker and deeply-padded with shower-proof cushions. Further integral cushioning is concealed in the seat area beneath the herringbone weave. Gabbertas has also designed a Scoop recliner (£899), lounge chair (£539), ottoman (£209) and dining chairs, (from £359) all with distinctively curved seats, plus dining tables with either slatted teak or ceramic tops (from £799).
Less expensive pieces can be bought online from Italian manufacturer Sedi. Its Trend Relax garden range includes sofas (three-seater, £799), an armchair (£395), coffee table (£215), and side table (£130) in a synthetic woven fibre. And the Trend Modular range allows you to combine various units to create your own seating layout. Both the Chillout Bukawu (£700), a double-size outdoor lounger designed for two people, and the Love Sofa (£899), a circular lounger with retractable canopy, can be left outside all year round.
Fans of the colonial look should check out the all-weather rattan-style furniture from online retailer OKA. The designs are available in various colours and styles with chairs from £165, stools from £155, sofas from £475 and sunbeds from £520.
Italian designer Paola Lenti has also been researching new materials for outdoor use, developing “Rope”, a high-performance, non-allergenic yarn that’s resistant to ultra-violet rays, chlorine and seawater, and “Aquatech”, a straw-like synthetic yarn. These materials give her Aqua collection of outdoor furniture a quality finish equivalent to high-style indoor furniture while colours like tangerine, aubergine, cerise, terracotta and midnight blue - radical for outdoor designs - are just mouth-watering.
“Rope” is woven directly onto the structure of the Wave recliner, £3,230, and circular Shell seat, £1,510, giving the designs a crisp feel.
Such wizardry seems far removed from the humble deck-chair. But even this classic garden staple has been reinvented. Uni Form, a steel-framed design from which a sling of recycled woven nylon fibre is suspended, was recently designed by US architect David Rockwell for Appoggi. Additions this year include a club chair and ottoman (£450 per set), armchair and side table.
Contact Appoggi www.unicahome.com; Barlow Tyrie 01376 557600 www.barlowtyrie.co.uk; Gloster Furniture www.gloster.com; Interdesign 020 7378 5272 www.interdesignuk.com; OKA 0844 815 7380 www.okadirect.com; Sedi 0845 055 8468 www.sedifurniture.com
May 15th, 2008
(ARA) – Interest in the benefits and use of environmentally friendly products continues to grow, making the green movement stronger than ever. This is especially prevalent for homeowners who are looking to build and decorate their homes in ways that support the environment.
Furniture found at a traditional retail store is often mass-produced and shipped half-way around the world to be manufactured and then shipped again — at least once — before actually selling. Green-minded homeowners look for locally built furniture that is high quality and environmentally friendly.
“There are plenty of reasons why people are drawn to this furniture,” says Scott Ekman, vice president of marketing for Rockler Companies, the national woodworking retailer.. “More people are recognizing its environmental benefits as a way to set it apart from the rest.”
Besides requiring less transportation and energy-use, locally produced handcrafted furniture also reduces waste. Through a combination of higher quality construction and heirloom value, it tends to last longer, easing a huge burden on landfills and other waste management facilities. According to the EPA, furniture and furnishings accounted for over 18 million pounds of waste in 2006, about 3.6 percent of all waste in that year — the most of any durable good.
With the interest in green decorating increasing, sometimes there is a barrier for homeowners who don’t know where to go to find these types of goods. The Web site, www.woodworking.com/green matches furniture shoppers across the country with woodworkers and carpentry shops in their area.
“We recognized a big void in the furniture industry,” says Ekman. “Handcrafted wood furniture has huge potential, but right now it can be difficult to find. All we’re trying to do is provide people on both sides of the fence with more opportunities to get what they want.”
According to Ekman, that means more business for local woodworkers and more convenient options for consumers. “There are thousands of professional woodworkers out there creating amazing furniture,” he says. “And even more consumers who, if they knew it was available so close at hand, would love to buy it. This Web site is designed to bring the two groups together.”
Visit www.woodworking.com/green to find a location in your area.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
May 14th, 2008
“Recycle” seems to get all the glory in the reduce, reuse, recycle hierarchy. Who doesn’t love a story about plastic bottles being turned into baby blankets or a rug woven from bicycle tires?
But recycling involves some processing in order to obtain a raw material that can be turned into a new product. Reuse, on the other hand, simply redeploys an object.
So it stands to reason that “antiquing,” as furniture reuse is known in some circles, would be catching on now that green is hot and the economy is not. Yet local estate-auction houses, furniture dealers and consignment shops have experienced just the opposite.
“People just aren’t buying used furniture anymore,” said Redge Martin, president of Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland. His regional estate auction business used to do 40 to 50 percent of its business selling used furniture to dealers; that percentage is now down to 15 percent. “Used-furniture stores are going out of business,” he said.
Like many misfortunes, this one has a silver lining - for consumers.
“There are some screaming buys right now in antique furniture for the middle market,” said Lincoln Sander, executive director of the Antique Dealers Association of America. He said the slowdown in the midrange category is a national trend. “I’m not talking about masterpieces, but very nice-quality, solid and beautiful pieces. It’s cheaper than buying new furniture, and they have better-quality wood and workmanship.”
In the Bay Area, Martin said, the antique furniture in least demand is what he terms “average furniture: European and American furniture from 1870 through 1950.” The industry term sometimes used is “brown furniture”: heavy dining room and bedroom sets of dark hardwoods like walnut. Think French provincial, Mission style or Art Nouveau.
These days, Martin said, brown furniture languishes in shops at a fraction of the price it would have demanded even five years ago.
“A dining room set consisting of a table, six to eight chairs and a china cabinet used to fetch $1,000 to $2,000 at auction,” Martin said. “Now that same set is selling for $500.”
Even the fine china to place on those unsold dining room tables is a bargain: Martin said a Limoges china set that retailed for $1,000 recently sold for $100 at one of his auctions. A Louis XV-style bedroom set - including a bed, armoire and side cabinet - might sell for $400 to $800 now, half the price it would have garnered in the 1990s.
One big reason for the lack of interest: fashion. Julie Brown, of San Francisco interior design firm Re:Design, said: “Just like colors come in and out of popularity for design, furniture goes through cyclical demand. Victorian, Art Deco and French Provincial styles just aren’t as popular right now.”
Instead, the focus is on Modern furniture: “The ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s is the hottest market going right now,” said Jerry Goldman, of the monthly Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire.
“People are buying their childhood. Designers are snapping up the mid-Modern stuff.” Perhaps it’s the nostalgia of Baby Boomers looking to reconnect with the styles they grew up with.
Phyllis Long, proprietor of Ricochet Consignment in San Francisco, said, “We have a set of eight midcentury dining room chairs in the store that the seller is still pricing, and I have a waiting list of six buyers who want to know the minute they’re available.”
In the meantime, a seller recently came to Ricochet with an early American oak chest that he said other consignment stores had advised he burn rather than try to sell.
Technology has changed demand as well. “With the advent of wide-screen TVs that hang on the walls, antique armoires are just not moving anymore,” Long said, compared with the days when they were a perfect storage space for a television set.
Other dampers are the abundance of mass-produced furniture in chain stores and a corresponding loss of the tradition of valuing and understanding antique furniture. The long-treasured mobility of the American family means it’s easier to shop at Pottery Barn for a new china cabinet than to arrange the cross-county transport of one handed down from Grandma.
“Style used to involve owning things with familial value, knowing where a piece was bought and how it was handed down through the family,” Brown said. “These days style is something purchased from the catalogs that arrive in your mailbox every single week.” She adds: “People with true individual taste are few and far between.”
She prefers a more eclectic aesthetic, incorporating an antique Chinese cabinet and antique French chairs with her mid-Modern dining room table. “But an eclectic person has to be patient,” she cautions. “You have to be willing to wait for the right piece, to live in an empty house for a while until you find the right thing.”
It’s that loss of patience that pains Martin, whose auction gallery is a few miles from the UC Berkeley campus. “We used to have students coming here to furnish their dorm rooms with really nice, substantial furniture” that, with proper care, would last for decades after graduation. “Now they all go to Ikea so they can furnish their rooms in one shopping trip.”
Not that you should worry about the demise of the entire American antique industry. “The highest-end piece and masterpiece-quality antiques are still doing fine,” said the Antiques Dealers’ Sander. “In fact, it’s easier for me to sell a $300,000 piece than it is a $3,500 piece.”
Martin, too, has adapted his business strategy at Clars in response to the diminishing demand for brown furniture, shifting to more fine art and Asian pieces in his auctions, incorporating online bidding and reaching out to international buyers. “We’re doing well, in spite of how our furniture is doing,” Martin said.
More about used furniture Page G8
Resources
From consignment stores to antique shops, where to find good deals.
Finding the right piece
Be prepared to put in time as you shop and buy the piece you fall in love with.
Environmental payoff
Furniture typically isn’t recycled - it gets reused or it winds up in landfill.
Resources
Clars Auction Gallery, 5644 Telegraph Ave, Oakland. (510) 428-0100, www.harveyclar.com.
California Resource Recovery Association Reuse Council. www.crra.com.
Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire. www.antiquesbybay.com.
Antique Dealers Association of America Inc. www.adadealers.com.
Ricochet Consignment, 550 10th St., San Francisco. (415) 861-2570, ricochetconsignment.homestead.com.
Re:Design. (415) 346-0455, redesignsf.com.
When Modern Was Consignment Gallery, 1504 Church St., San Francisco. (415) 970-1030.
Nancy Davis Kho is a frequent contributor to Home&Garden. E-mail her at home@sfchronicle.com.
May 14th, 2008
By: Furniture World Magazine
Whereoware, a web-based technology provider with a strong reputation for its work with some of the top names in the gift, home décor and lighting industries, has announced its entry into the home furnishings market with the website debuts of several new clients including: Eagle Industries, Louis J Solomon, LC Creations, Liberty Furniture Industries Inc. and Tag Furniture Group.
“Regardless of the industry, companies don’t just need a website; they need to solve a problem – from finding new customers to broadening their geographic range. Technology is just a vehicle to help solve a problem,” says Eric Dean, founder and president, Whereoware. “Our business is based on the fundamental idea that we help make our customers profitable online by using technology, such as web marketing, to enhance their business,” says Dean.
“Whereoware has completely transformed our online presence with its innovative redesign of our website,” said Holli Hanson, Director of Marketing at Eagle Industries. “It’s all about product knowledge and availability. We told Whereoware we wanted information available on all our more than 500 SKU’s of product and BAM! they made it happen. Now our sales force and customers have 24/7 access to all the detailed information and line art they could need.”
Because the home furnishings industry is product-driven and product-focused, Whereoware recognizes that a product must be attractively presented in order to sell. Whereoware helps manufacturers display their products online in the best light possible. By combining its technology know-how, practical industry experience and web marketing expertise, the company is able to truly bring individual products and catalogs alive on a manufacturer’s website.
“We had some definite ideas about how we wanted our product to be presented online,” said Matt Latimer, IT manager for Liberty Furniture Industries Inc., who worked with Whereoware to create the company’s first website. “Whereoware was very responsive in working with us and was able to tailor the site so the look, feel and even the navigation is exactly what we wanted and presents our product as we originally envisioned.”
For additional information about Whereoware contact sales@whereoware.com, call 1-877-521-7448 or visit www.whereoware.com.
Whereoware’s new client sites can be found at: www.eagle-ind.com for Eagle Industries, www.louisjsolomon.com for Louis J Solomon, www.lccreationsllc.com for LC Creations, www.mylibertyfurniture.com for Liberty furniture and www.tagltd.com/furniture.html for Tag Furniture Group.
About Whereoware
Launched in 2000, Whereoware is a services-based solutions provider that uses technology and the Internet to help its customers increase their sales and improve their service levels. The company helps manufacturers reach out to new and existing customers by developing a comprehensive web-based solution to streamline and integrate e-commerce, CRM, merchandising, web marketing, training and product presentation. Whereoware uses proven technology, enabling companies to take advantage of the next generation of online merchandizing. The integrated systems provided by Whereoware give companies an easy and hassle-free outsourced solution, so they can focus on other activities to grow their business. Whereoware is located at 1175 Herndon Parkway, Suite 500 in Herndon, VA 20170.
May 13th, 2008
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