Six upholstery merchandisers honored
Gary Evans and Susan Andrews -- Furniture Today, September 29, 2003
High Point — In the production of upholstered furniture, someone has to decide which fabric to put on each frame.
It sounds easy, but it's not. The fabric has to suit the frame in a multitude of ways. The pattern has to fit, the color has to work and the price has to fall within a certain range. Consideration has to be given to the suitability and cost of trim, welts, pattern matching and a host of other esoteric details.
If the "matchmaker" is talented and thoughtful, the marriage will be successful — even sublime. If not, the marriage will be ordinary at best, and dreadful at worst.
The mating has to look good and be priced properly in order to sell successfully at retail.
Fabric vendors have a unique vantage point from which to view this pairing of fabric and frame. They are gratified and delighted to see "their" fabrics beautifully presented on sofas and chairs when they walk through showrooms at market.
They know where the talent lies, and that's why Furniture/Today asked fabric vendors to choose six leading upholstery merchandisers for the first Furniture/Today Upholstery Merchandising Leadership Award.
