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Atlanta, San Fran among the markets going 'green'

From the Editors of Home Accents Today -- Furniture Today, July 22, 2007

Around the marketplace
Business moves
Retail briefs

Around the marketplace

This month, Atlanta's AmericasMart debuted the Green Product Showcase, a juried collection of furnishings, gifts, apparel and decorative accessories selected for their use of organic, renewable, pesticide-free, low toxicity materials, biodegradability, and responsible sourcing and manufacturing. All products were submitted exclusively by July market exhibitors. Environmental activist and philanthropist Laura Turner Seydel, daughter of CNN founder Ted Turner, delivered remarks and assisted in the ribbon cutting at the Showcase's grand opening celebration. The San Francisco Mart is launching Live Green, Live Well, a trade and home show dedicated to green furnishings, in September.

Also in Atlanta, OneCoast kicked off its 10th anniversary celebration with the first of several parties planned throughout the summer markets; actress Jane Seymour greeted buyers in the Vintage Verandah showroom where the Jane Seymour Home Collection of lamps and decorative accessories debuted; and Kalaty Rugs debuted Royal Manner: The Rug Collection, a licensed collection of 16 rug designs in 100% hand-spun, hand-knotted wool, with English lifestyle expert and former royal butler Paul Burrell. Regina-Andrews Design doubled its showroom space for the launch of Bohemia, a lifestyle collection of occasional furniture and home decor aimed at the urban-chic designer market.

Dallas lighting market debuts included the Martha Stewart Lighting Collection from Murray Feiss — 10 portable lamp groups comprising 48 SKUs inspired by Martha Stewart's favorite antiques, which will retail from $179 to $799. Elk Lighting previewed its new Trump Home lighting collection — 40 SKUs at retail price points from $129 to $2,500 — and announced an expansion in January 2008 to include additional fixtures and a sizeable line of portable lamps.

Overall, lighting manufacturers remain positive about the summer and fall markets despite increasing production costs and a slowing housing market. Lighting manufacturers interviewed by Home Accents Today last month report a boom in lodge and resort lifestyle designs and a surge in lamp sales and indoor/outdoor lighting. Natural products, irons and uncomplicated traditional finishes are popular, and contemporary also remains strong for the category.

Business moves

Williamsburg and Campania are teaming up to produce a collection of hand-crafted garden containers and sculptures, inspired by the rich design resources, gardens and collections of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. A preview of the line was offered at the July Atlanta market, with the major launch and debut of the collection planned for January 2008.

Rizzy Rugs and its sister company HomeTexco, a soft goods manufacturer, have relocated to larger headquarters. The companies' new offices are within a mile of the former warehouse and distribution center in Calhoun, Ga., but the new space more than doubles the size of the former location. Rizzy Rugs has been in business since 1971, but until now the company only sold to large retailers and only in container programs. The new facility enables the company to offer its products to medium and smaller stores.

"Trading Spaces" designer Christi Proctor is collaborating with home accents manufacturer Decorize to create a lighting collection, sold under the GuildMaster brand, to debut at the Fall High Point Market. Decorize also announced its exclusive line of home office desk accessories, lamps and wall decor for OfficeMax is now available in the retailer's stores nationwide.

Retail briefs

OneCoast has launched a new online showroom for independent retailers at www.onecoast.com with more than 10,000 SKUs and an expanded library of resources.

New York retailer ABC Carpet & Home debuted its 2,500-square-foot Barbara Barry Realized by Henredon gallery, the first N.Y.-area location offering the designer's complete home collection of tabletop, bedding, textile, rug, and lighting products.

National art retailer Personal Preference Inc. of Bolingbrook, Ill., announced a partnership with Staged Homes, a training and accreditation source for home stagers, to integrate its wall décor services and a discounted purchasing program into a national network.

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