Shane's Decorative Sales adds Cranston Home, Molteni lines
Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, January 17, 2005
High Point — Shane's Decorative Sales has added two lines to its roster of textile companies — Cranston Home Fabric, a new division of Cranston Print Works, and high-end Italian velvet and jacquard specialist Molteni & C.
The company already represents Diversitex, a converter specializing in piece-dyed goods, washed twills, denims, ducks and suede fabrics for lifestyle retailers, manufacturers and catalog merchants. At the Winter Showtime fabric show here Jan. 10–13, Diversitex will show in a new location, in the Suites at Market Square, space 1-467.
Shane's founder John Shane said the Cranston Home Fabric line will launch this season with licensed collections from Christopher Lowell and Mary Englebreit. Both will include prints from Cranston's vertical printing operation as well as converted woven patterns to correlate with the prints.
At Showtime, Cranston Home will be show in Suites at Market Square, space 1-473.
Shane, who was vice president of sales, furniture, for The Robert Allen Group before launching his company last year, will represent the Cranston Home line in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Hedi Fitz, vice president of sales for Cranston, said Shane will consult with the company as the home decorating program is developed and a sales organization is built.
Molteni & C., which produces velvets, flat wovens, jacquards and flame-retardant fabrics, is located in the heart of Italian fabric production in Como and exhibits at such upholstery fabric shows as Proposte and Decosit.
"I'm excited to have this elite mill as part of my offerings," Shane said. "The market is hungry for something other than commodity goods."
Shane also represents MicroTex, a Miami-based converter of Chinese goods that focuses on value, with goods in stock. At Showtime, MicroTex is exhibiting in the Suites at Market Square, space 1-353.
