Posts filed under 'Furniture World News'
Max Furniture is making people’s lives easier by having Agio Patio Furniture available at www.maxfurniture.com.
Houston, TX (PRWEB) June 3, 2007 — Agio is one of the leading names in outdoor patio furniture including umbrella, fire pits and outdoor pub tables with many contemporary designs.
Max Furniture is now an importer of Agio Reserve Outdoor Patio furniture. Whether you have a small patio or a complete outdoor living area, you will need furniture to complete that space, and Java teak outdoor furniture can be an excellent choice.
Agio Patio Furniture may be just the answer to enjoyment of the new season’s arrival. By joining with Max Furniture, two companies are joining to create a lovely lifestyle at your convenience. At Max Furniture, all items are delivered direct to the customer’s door and fully guaranteed to arrive in new condition. With years of experience in providing outstanding value and customer service, Max Furniture can meet your home decor desires.
With Agio patio furniture at Max Furniture, customers can enjoy a rustic outdoors woodsy look that will endure the weather with stoic indifference. Still others go all out for a grand weave of grace and charm that envelopes the user in a rapture of comfort. Some people might enjoy a Victorian wicker patio set that combines comfort and appearance into an attractive setting.
Whatever you might like, Agio outdoor furniture and Max furniture will fit a person’s furniture desires. Keep in mind that patio furniture sets the tone for a backyard experience. A rustic, wooden patio set invites the family outdoors for an evening of roughhousing and fun. Agio patio furniture set begs a father to fire up the barbecue grill for a neighborhood cookout.
Outdoor patio furniture is made for pleasure, especially Agio Patio Furniture. Outdoor patio furniture has the privilege of bringing people together for a time of togetherness in an outdoor setting that provides all of the comforts of indoor furniture. Chaise lounges are great for relaxation. Chairs with thickly padded cushions and adjustable backs are perfect for comfortable dining.
Another style of outdoor furniture is known as teak furniture. Most people are familiar with cedar and oak furniture, but not everyone knows exactly what Java teak is. Java teak is a honey-brown colored tropical hardwood that has long been prized for its beauty and durability. Some styles include contemporary teak furniture, traditional teak furniture and rustic teak furniture. No matter what your particular preferences, you should be able to find the perfect piece of outdoor furniture to suit your needs.
The look of this long lasting outdoor furniture has a very elegant and appealing design, many high end country clubs and gardens use teak furniture to decorate their garden areas because of it uncomplicated designs.
June 4th, 2007
By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The international body overseeing wildlife trade may throw a lifeline to the shark popular in fish and chips and the aromatic cedar tree used for fine furniture and humidors, as it considers new limitations on commercial fisheries and timber.
A meeting of the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species will wade into commercial issues as never before, in hopes of intervening before species’ survival reaches a serious level of risk, its secretary-general, Willem Wijnstekers, said Sunday.
Until now, CITES has stepped in “at a far too late stage, when the species were already or almost commercially extinct,” he said, referring specially to timber like mahogany.
The ongoing struggles to control elephant poaching and to protect tigers from extinction are also on the agenda of the 12-day gathering under CITES, a treaty that came into force in 1975.
The conference will consider a European proposal to regulate the trade in the spiny dogfish, a small shark exploited for the fast food business, and the porbeagle, another shark valued for its meat and fin. Both sharks grow slowly, mature late and have few young.
The United States and Canada, which are among the world’s top three exporters of spiny dogfish, have signaled they may oppose the proposal, as has New Zealand, said Sonia Fordham, of Oceans Conservancy in Washington.
Another proposal would help protect sawfish, with a famously serrated snout, which are popular aquaria items and also are exploited as food.
Proposals need a two-thirds majority of voting countries. Nongovernment organizations may present papers, speak at meetings and lobby delegates, but cannot vote.
“We think it’s still winnable, but the sharks will be one of the biggest battles of the conference,” said Carroll Muffett, of the Greenpeace environmental movement.
“This is about more than sharks. It’s about the future of commercially valuable fisheries within CITES,” Muffett said.
The conference also will consider listing the Spanish cedar, a tropical hardwood from South America prized for its salmon-colored wood used in cabinets, musical instruments and the aromatic lining of cigar boxes. Conservationists say loggers are stripping that and other hardwood trees from national parks and protected areas in several countries, especially Peru.
Other proposals would limit trade in the wood of the pau brazil tree, used to make high-end bows for stringed instruments. Protection also would be increased for several species of gazelles.
CITES lists more than 7,000 animals and 32,000 plants whose trade is regulated, including about 800 highly threatened species that are banned from commercial trade without special licenses.
Addressing the 1,750 delegates, Wijnseker supported a proposed resolution calling on CITES to consider the livelihood of the people who live closest to wildlife — often the rural poor in developing countries — while enforcing the protection of endangered species.
Species must be listed according to scientific data, he said, “but implementation of the relevant trade regime should take the interests of the livelihood of the poor into account.”
“Wildlife species are fundamental to livelihoods and economic growth,” he said. “I attach great importance to the role CITES can play in this context, and I find it unfortunate that this role is being denied by some.”
Some nongovernment organizations object to the resolution, saying it deflects CITES from its original mandate of rescuing vulnerable plants and animals.
“There are any number of agreements and treaties that deal with the human condition, but precious few that focus on species,” said Will Travers, chairman of the Species Survival Network, a coalition of about 80 wildlife protection agencies.
June 4th, 2007
WoodMarc is one of the town’s largest employers
By WILLIAM RYBERG
WoodMarc Enterprises, a manufacturer of residential bedroom furniture, announced Friday that it is closing its manufacturing facility in Winterset, eliminating most of its 114-person workforce.
WoodMarc is one of the largest employers in the town of 5,000, about 30 miles southwest of Des Moines.
“We’re going to weather through this,” Winterset Mayor James Olson said. “It’s a blow to us.”
WoodMarc said in a statement that it will remain in business as a furniture importer and will continue with its product lines that are currently made in China.
Chief Executive Jerry Ruff said the manufacturing portion of the business has been losing money, and the company was not effectively competing against similar imported products.
“I feel very bad,” Ruff said.
The company’s employees have worked hard, “but just got caught in the middle of a very difficult competition situation caused by cheaper production off shore,” he said.
The U.S. furniture manufacturing industry has been hurt by lower-priced imports, primarily from China and other parts of Asia, said Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of the American Home Furnishings Alliance.
“There’s no question that our domestic manufacturers have been challenged with products that are coming in from overseas,” she said.
A significant number of furniture factories operated by well-known, brand-name companies have closed during the past five years, she said.
St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International, parent company of Thomasville Furniture, and Hooker Furniture both recently announced closings to reduce cost by sending production overseas.
The Winterset factory once employed about 200, but the number has gradually dropped during the past two years.
In Iowa, the number of business locations described as manufacturers of household and institutional furniture fell from 95 in 2000 to 72 in 2006, according to Iowa Workforce Development. Employment fell from 2,900 to 1,900 during the same period.
The average wage in the industry in Iowa in 2006 was $33,297. Ruff declined to disclose WoodMarc wages.
Olson said he hopes the Winterset area economy will be able to absorb the WoodMarc workers. “Our biggest resource we have here is our people,” he said.
Winterset, the birthplace of movie legend John Wayne, has a lot going for it, Olson said.
Among the pluses mentioned by Olson: Plans for a new John Wayne museum, Madison County’s popular annual covered bridges festival and a vibrant downtown.
Ruff said most of WoodMarc’s 114 Winterset employees will be dismissed when current production schedules are completed, estimated to be at the end of July.
Some workers will stay on in the office and warehouse after WoodMarc shifts to a strictly import operation, Ruff said.
He couldn’t estimate the number, but said about 15 work in those areas now.
WoodMarc’s 265,000-square-foot building has been put up for sale.
The import operation will remain in the building until it’s sold, but WoodMarc will then look for a new location, Ruff said. He expects the company to remain in central Iowa.
WoodMarc was created in Des Moines by the Merschman family in 1990 to produce furniture for the family’s Homemakers furniture stores.
The plant was moved to Winterset in 1992, and the client base was expanded.
Omaha-based Nebraska Furniture Mart bought the Homemakers operations in 2000, and sold WoodMarc to Sentinel Acquisitions, an investment group registered in Illinois, in 2005.
Reporter William Ryberg can be reached at (515) 284-8104 or bryberg@dmreg.com
June 4th, 2007
By VALERIE WHITNEY
Business Writer
DAYTONA BEACH — Furniture Row Cos., a Denver-based chain of home furnishing and accessory centers, wants to open its first Florida complex here.
Engineers representing the company recently applied to the St. Johns River Water Management District for approval of a stormwater management plan for two lots in the Interstate Commerce Park on North Tomoka Farm Road.
Bill McKendry, Furniture Row marketing director, said company officials were eager to get to the Sunshine State for a couple of reasons. “Obviously Florida is a growing state,” McKendry said in a telephone interview.
Also, the area is home to the NASCAR. Furniture Row is the sponsor of the No. 78 car driven by Kenny Wallace on the Nextel Cup series.
Founded in 1974, Furniture Row now operates 330 centers in 31 states. The typical center has between 55,000 square feet and 85,000 square feet. They are divided into four sections — Denver Mattress, Sofa Mart, Oak Express and Bedroom Expressions — each with its own entrance.
“Each store has its own set of buyers who specialize in that merchandise,” McKendry said.
Denver Mattress is both a mattress manufacturer and mattress retailer.
Sofa Mart specializes in casual leather and upholstery home furnishings, as well as accent pieces including occasional tables and armoires.
Oak Express offers real wood furniture for almost any room of the home.
Bedroom Expressions specializes in bedroom furniture.
McKendry said officials have not purchased the land but have tendered an offer to property owner Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co.
“It’s a bit premature,” he said, declining to reveal what the company offered to pay for the land.
Bill McMunn, president of Consolidated-Tomoka, could not be reached for comment.
In other news, the area is losing another large furniture store.
The owners of Vermillion Furniture have decided to call it quits after about 15 years in business.
The store has had several locations during that time. It is on North Ridgewood Avenue in Port Orange now.
The business is having a going-out-of-business sale. A clerk who answered the phone at the store Friday said they are not sure when it will officially close.
June 4th, 2007
People take pride in the patio
BY ROSA COLUCCI
Before you decide to run to the store and buy new patio furniture, check your budget - and your design style.
Manufacturers are strutting out bold pieces that can do double duty indoor or out. Sectional sofas are taking center stage in collections. Overstuffed cushions, custom fabrics, tassels and trims are now becoming the norm alongside chairs that look like they belong in the family room and tables carved from glamorous granite slabs and manufactured synthetic stones.
The new “outdoor room” has taken on a new meaning with homeowners - it’s an extension of their home.
“People take a lot of pride in the patio. That’s the room that everyone in the neighborhood can see. It’s becoming a design statement,” says Marci Buckiso, a design consultant.
One of the big outdoor trends this season is accessories. Everything from tables to lamps to privacy screens tailored to match cushions is all the rage. But before you start with the small stuff, you need great furniture to end up with a great look.
Manufacturer Brown Jordan, in business since 1945 and whose original “luxury leisure collections” marked the birth of outdoor furniture, sets the standard for the industry. The company creates pieces in cast, wrought and extruded aluminum; stainless steel, resin-weave and teak wood.
Seamless welds, alternative tabletops of granite or synthetic stone and stunning architectural lines in every design style are the hallmarks of the dozens of collections that look and feel good from every angle.
One look at the Asian-inspired “Fusion” collection and you’ll be tempted to make it your new living room suite. Lovers of the modern and minimalist look will gravitate to the “Nxt” collection constructed of stainless-steel square frames with see-through sling-style seat backs and bottoms in primary colors that appear to float in the frame.
Next in line is Lloyd & Flanders. Its new “Rendezvous” collection features outdoor sectional seating made of dark, hand-woven all-weather vinyl on aluminum frames with sleek, deep lines that can be rearranged to meet virtually any entertaining need. Customers can choose cushions designed from 160 all-weather acrylic fabrics.
Winston, a mid-priced line, offers various designer collections with a sling design seat that can be replaced with various woven blend fabrics in a multitude of solid, stripe and textured designs to meet homeowners needs for years to come.
If you love cast-iron and aluminum furniture with intricate scrollwork, you’ll want to check out Hanamint, whose finishes in various colors weather well and look elegant and stately in any setting.
Target now carries Smith & Hawken’s trademark hefty teak and outdoor hardwood collections that are guaranteed not to blow off the patio. Alongside, you’ll find other collections in basic wicker and sling styles.
Kmart is still having success with Martha Stewart’s Everyday Garden Collection, which features pieces in all-weather wicker and rust-free aluminum. Sam’s Club and Costco, meanwhile, offer their own brands in woven resins, cast products and wood.
Over at IKEA, easy and breezy is the buzzword. The Swedish retailer is showing cushions in fun primary colors like blue and orange that sit on basic white, outdoor teak or aluminum frames - family-friendly and easy on the budget.
Buckiso says there are other clever ways to make a statement.
“When upgrading indoor countertops to granite, customers are ordering an extra slab for an outdoor table.”
This enhances the indoor/outdoor transition, especially if the patio is off the kitchen. She also has a healthy business from customers ordering new cushions as a way to update an older but still useful patio set.
“Fabrics can be pulled to coordinate existing or new indoor decor. Custom cushions cost about half the price of new furniture, making it another smart choice.”
All of these choices come with a cost, but Buckiso finds that customers are no longer surprised by the price tag. A properly done space will easily run into a few thousand dollars. She advises customers to develop a long-term design plan, consider the cost of the investment and deal with a company that offers service for the future.
“A well-selected and designed patio should be totally useful, enjoyable and calling your family outside for years to come,” she says.
June 4th, 2007
By: Furniture World Magazine
ViewIT Technologies Inc. (formerly known as Masterplan Magnetics Inc.), creators of innovative planning solutions for professional interior, landscape and casual living designers, today announced the launch of 3Dream.net™, an innovative 3D online interior design and sales system that creates the ‘ultimate buying experience’ for consumers through three dimensional modeling of real-world design products.
3Dream.net online users can work with customers to create and view a completely furnished living area from any angle. Employing a ‘sell the whole room’ philosophy, designers can offer customers instant gratification on a design by showing real world furnishings, fabrics, flooring and lighting that come to life in an online 3D virtual environment.
“The biggest single obstacle to a purchase is a customer’s inability to visualize how all the elements of a design will work together. Many customers are afraid of making expensive mistakes,” said Ross Barlett, CEO for ViewIT Technologies Inc. “Two dimensional drawings are fine to make sure something will fit in a space, but they have always fallen flat with customers wanting to see the complete look.”
Using intuitive ‘drag and drop’ commands to create a scene, furnish and paint walls, the program is easy to use and learn. “Buying decisions are made faster and with more confidence when a customer can see a full room design layout before spending any money,” added Barlett. Future applications in development for designers include laying out a design using The Board™ Space Planning System with 2D scaled magnetic replicas of furniture, then scanning the layout into 3Dream.net for an instant 3D virtual environment within seconds.
3Dream.net™ is now available to furniture industry professionals including interior designers, retailers and decorators, at www.3dream.net. The monthly subscription service starts at only $39 (USD) per month and a free thirty-day trial period is offered to test-drive the program.
About 3Dream.net: 3Dream.net is an innovative 3D online interior design and sales system that creates an ‘ultimate buying experience’ for consumers through 3D modeling of real world furniture and fabrics. Using intuitive ‘drag and drop’ commands to create a scene, furnish and paint walls, the program is easy to use and learn.
June 4th, 2007
By: furniture World Magazine
The High Point Market Authority has established a new calendar of Spring and Fall Market dates through the year 2015.
According to Brian D. Casey, president and chief executive of the High Point Market Authority, the new dates will become effective in Spring 2008 and will not impact the 2007 Fall Market dates—October 1 through 7.
Modifications to Market’s calendar were made in response to results of an in-depth industry research project launched late last year focusing on the experiences of Market attendees. Based on the findings of that research, the High Point Market Authority board of directors voted unanimously last month to shift the bi-annual Market’s dates back to a traditional April/October calendar. Market will continue to maintain its new Monday to Sunday pattern.
Starting next Spring, the new calendar for the High Point Market is as follows:
SPRING FALL
2008: April 7-13 October 20-26
2009: April 27-May 3 October 19-25
2010: April 19-25 October 18-24
2011: April 4-10 October 24-30
2012: April 23-29 October 15-21
2013: April 22-28 October 21-27
2014: March 31-April 6 October 20-26
2015: April 20-26 October 19-25
About the High Point Market Authority:
The High Point Market Authority is the official sponsor of the High Point Market: The World’s Home for Home Furnishings. Featuring more than 2600 exhibitors and attracting tens of thousands of visitors from more than 110 countries, the High Point Market is the driving force of the home furnishings industry.
June 4th, 2007
By: Furniture World Magazine
FabricTech 2000, an innovator in the mattress and pillow protection industry, said it would begin distribution of its second generation PillowBarrier™ Pure Flow™, which includes a patent pending air-filtration membrane that traps allergens, dust mites, germs and impurities before they reach either the pillow or the consumer.
PillowBarrier™’s new technology is available nationwide at better mattress retailers or through the company’s internet site, www.fabrictech.com.
Allergens are all around us, but dust mites thrive on skin particles and moisture, making a pillow their home of choice. Bedding products in even the cleanest home will attract dust mites. For example, tossing and turning in bed each night creates friction that causes dead skin cells on our bodies to flake, permeating bed linens and landing atop an unprotected mattress or pillow.
Likewise, everyone excretes bodily fluids while sleeping, most commonly through perspiration. In some homes, small children may climb into bed and have an accident, or pets can leave hair and dander on a mattress or pillow. Two-thirds of pet owners sleep with their pets.
FabricTech2000’s flagship products are BedBarrier®, BedLiner™ and PillowBarrier™, which are made with proprietary OmniGuard® and OmniGuard® Ultra fabrics and MightTight® construction seams that work together for non-stop protection against dust mites, moisture and other allergen triggers.
All FabricTech 2000 products prevent skin particles and moisture from reaching your mattress and pillow, using a three-step approach.
OmniGuard®’s breathable PolyKnit™ outer layer absorbs perspiration, moisture and stains, while the waterproof InnerShield™ Membrane protects them from reaching the mattress or pillow. It wicks moisture away instead of creating an uncomfortable “puddle” effect. This also prevents mold and mildew from forming. OmniGuard® is naturally stain and water resistant, and is made with no added chemicals, so it is safe for children and pets. The products are waterproof, quiet and cool, unlike noisy, sticky vinyl. The InnerShield™ Membrane also safeguards your mattress manufacturer’s warranty since it can be voided if there is a stain on a mattress –regardless if your claim is for another reason.
Another important property of all FabricTech2000 products is that the OmniGuard® and OmniGuard® Ultra’s engineered fabrics won’t alter mattress or pillow comfort, including the temperature sensing properties of memory foam mattresses. All of the our products come in sizes that fit every mattress and pillow, including a low profile size that snuggly fits today’s premium memory and latex foam mattresses, or inner-spring mattresses with low profiles. There are also BedBarriers® and BedLiners™ for the Jumbo and custom size mattresses.
When the consumer launders the PillowBarrier™ in the wash, do not use chlorine bleach, close the zipper and use hot water and dry medium or high heat. The air filtration media will be cleaned.
June 4th, 2007
By: Furniture World Magazine
Porters of Racine, one of the midwest’s oldest retail establishments announced the celebration of its sesquicentennial this year. a mainstay in Racine, Wisconsin since 1857, Porters continues to offer fine furniture and interior design to its customers.
it’s unusual for a retail establishment to reach its 150th birthday and even more uncommon when the store is locally owned,
Says Micah Waters, vice president of Porters, “We take pride in continuing the legacy founded 150 years ago by W. A. Porter. Throughout its long history, this store has maintained a mission of offering only the finest in home furnishings, rugs and interior design.” to commemorate this milestone, Porters has redesigned many of the store’s showrooms, bringing in the the latest and finest in home furnishings. Replica pieces from theodore alexander and handcarved furniture from Karges grace the main showrooms. the Guild GalleRies, Porters’ model room settings, have been renovated with eight of the rooms featuring furniture from stickley. says h. Robert Waters, president of Porters, “We have a long-standing relationship with the Stickley Company. Advertising postcards created by Porters in the early 1900s show classic Mission furniture from Stickley. The quality and integrity of this furniture is indicative of Porters’ mission and continues to be one of our best-selling lines.”
The highlight of Porters of Racine’s anniversary celebration is the $25,000 furniture shopping spree, to be awarded this Fall. one lucky winner will win $25,000 in merchandise from the store. (no purchase necessary.) With 80,000 square-feet of furniture, the winner will choose from one of the largest collections of home furnishings in the state. In addition to the shopping spree, Porters will be giving away specific pieces of furniture and accessories to other lucky winners.
June 4th, 2007
Clint Engel — Furniture Today,
New distribution center and expansion plans revealed to charity golf event attendees
SUGAR LAND, Texas — Retailer Finger Furniture took the occasion of its annual charity golf event to give
the industry an early look at its new high-tech distribution center, and to update attendees on its unprecedented expansion plans.
The Top 100 store is moving into a roughly 400,000-square-foot distribution center and headquarters here that can be expanded to 500,000 square feet.
The nearly $30 million facility has state-of-the-art stock-picking and other equipment, with energy-efficient lighting and a Red Prairie computerized warehouse management system, which Finger has been using for about three years in its two smaller warehouses.
“It was a little like driving a Lamborghini on a dirt road,” said Rodney Finger, president of the seven-store metro Houston retailer, which is embarking on the most aggressive expansion plan in its 106-year history.
The company had six stores until last week, when it opened a 50,000-square-foot Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Conroe, the first of eight to 12 planned for the greater Houston market. A second opens in Katy next month, followed by one in Pearland in August and Pasadena in October.
Chairman and CEO Robert Finger said the company is negotiating on property for the remaining Ashley stores. “It won’t take long” to build them out, he said.
In addition, Finger is working on at least three full-line Finger stores of about 100,000 square feet. The first is set to open in the Willowbrook shopping area in northwest Houston by the end of July. A second will follow in Woodlands, north of Houston, in the second quarter of next year.
Some of the large Finger stores will replace smaller units. “Our goal is to have five to six Finger stores that are 100,000 square feet or better,” said Robert Finger.
On top of the new stores, Finger soon will expand its largest store and former headquarters on Houston’s Gulf Freeway by 65,000 square feet to 210,000 square feet. Construction is expected to start shortly after the Willowbrook store opens.
The privately held retailer doesn’t disclose sales figures, but has said it expects to more than double its 2005 sales by the end 2008. Furniture/Today estimated its sales at $258 million in 2005 and $274 million last year.
Unlike sales for many retailers around the country, business for Finger has held up nicely this year, Robert Finger said. “We’ve been up every month — not by big numbers, but we’ve been up.”
Some 300 industry leaders, government officials and other guests attended a grand opening cocktail reception and dinner at the new distribution center and headquarters, where the company honored individuals instrumental in moving its expansion projects forward.
About 180 people participated the next day in Fingers’ golf outing at the Sweetwater Country Club. The event raised over $100,000 for several children’s and other charities.
June 4th, 2007
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