Thomas Russell —
Targets European market

HIGH POINT — For years, high-end case goods and accent manufacturer Maitland-Smith has targeted an audience with highly traditional tastes.

That isn’t changing, but the company has diversified its design portfolio with a contemporary collection called Evolu-Zione, introduced at the Cebu furniture market in the Philippines in February.

Products range from accent and occasional tables to sofas, armchairs and lighting, with mainly clean lines and lower profiles than Maitland-Smith’s traditional line. But as with the traditional product, mixed-media elements and exotic veneers are the norm.

The target audience for EvoluZione is mostly the European market, which typically attends shows like Cebu for products with mixed-media and other unique design elements.  Designs could appeal to the Asian market as well.

EvoluZione has about 200 pieces, but could grow over the next six months.

The existing items represent a modern interpretation of some classic forms. EvoluZione also has some Art Deco and Retro influences from the 1940s, ’50s and early ’60s, with some modern art influences thrown in as well.

A sofa in the collection has a frame with rosewood veneers and sits on cast aluminum feet. Nesting tables have beaten brass tops with silver plating and veneers designed to look like fabric.

Dining chairs have been painted in bright greens and blues. Cocktail tables have chrome legs and satinwood and crotch mahogany veneers.

The project was launched while Seamus Bateson was company president. He left the company last week to become president, CEO and board chairman of contract furniture supplier Commercial Furniture Group.

“We wanted to do a high-end execution of styles that would approach that marketplace in a better way,” he said in a March interview, noting that international sales represent about 10% of Maitland-Smith’s business.

“We took this very eclectic approach and applied it to these modern style interpretations. We wanted to do something very different to attract a whole new customer.”

The company, which is part of Furniture Brands International, will launch some lighting and accessory pieces from the collection at the market here, Bateson said.

But to avoid confusing the majority of its customers with strictly traditional tastes, it will not have any furniture on display this market. Instead, it will show slides of furniture items to interested retailers.

Working with those customers, the company will help launch the group in select metro markets, Bateson said.
The company will use feedback from the High Point market to make some changes for the U.S. market, but the overall contemporary design approach likely will be the same.

By October, a larger introduction tailored to the tastes and needs of U.S. buyers may be offered. This may take place in the company’s current showroom or an off-site location.

The show here at 227 Russell Ave.