Glen Raven to debut Joe Ruggiero Sunbrella fabrics
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 18, 2002
GLEN RAVEN, N.C. — Furniture designer and home design authority Joe Ruggiero has teamed with Glen Raven Custom Fabrics on a collection of Sunbrella fabrics that will debut at the April market.
The Joe Ruggiero Collection for Sunbrella will offer 12 original patterns in five color themes: Boulevard, an urban sophisticate look; Eurocountry, based on designs from the Swedish countryside; Spice, an Asian, ethnic look; Garden Room, adapted for the look of sunrooms and conservatories; and Design Studio, the most contemporary.
Ruggiero launched a home collection in 1999 that includes furniture, bedding and decorative accessories.
"The one missing ingredient," he said, "has been in textiles. When I learned the Sunbrella brand was coming indoors with interior fabrics, we began experimenting with various techniques, and I realized we had only been scratching the surface of possibilities. I have been a proponent of solution-dyed fabrics for many years because of their colorfastness.
"Sunbrella also fits perfectly with a trend in which indoor furniture and outdoor living spaces are coming closer together," Ruggiero said.
"We are excited to be working with Joe," said Suzie Roberts, sales manager of residential fabrics at Glen Raven. "He clearly understands what consumers want and how we can meet their needs for function and fashion."
Sunbrella fabrics, made from solution-dyed acrylic yarns and engineered to be durable and colorfast, have a number of outdoor applications. Adapted for indoor use, the fabric maintains its performance characteristics and is enhanced through advanced jacquard and dobby weaving techniques and yarn combinations, Glen Raven said.
Last year, Ruggiero's home collection received the American Society of Furniture Designers Pinnacle Award and the American Furniture Award for outstanding furniture design.
He is executive producer, design director and host of "The World of Design" and host and creative director of the "Home Across America" series on the Home and Garden Television network.
| Joe Ruggiero, the host of two popular programs on the Home and Garden Television network, has an award-winning home collection that includes furniture, and now is entering the textiles arena. |
