Heritage Brands collection benefits America's parks

Intercon division to launch line at High Point Market

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, April 13, 2010

HIGH POINT — Heritage Brands, a new division of Intercon, is launching a bedroom and dining collection this market that aims to raise money for America's national parks.

 

The Big Bend bedroom is part of the America the Beautiful series by Heritage Brands. The group is made with solid oak in a mid-tone brown finish.

America the Beautiful includes about 60 SKUs in four distinct styles of solid-wood bedroom and dining room, inspired by the inns and lodges of the parks or the surrounding areas.

The groups include:

• Acadia, a carved traditional birch group in a waxed lacquer brown-tone finish.

• Big Bend, a carved oak group with American country-inspired design elements in a mid-tone brown oak finish.

 

• Lodge Park, a transitional oak group inspired by lodges in the Midwest and Northwest.

• Potomac Ridge, inspired by lodges and inns along the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, is a traditional solid-birch group in a mid-tone brown cherry finish.

Acadia and Big Bend have more formal dining sets with rectangular leg tables and display china units. Lodge Park has a more casual dining element with an oval table and a pantry-style cabinet in addition to a buffet and china unit.

Potomac Ridge also has a more casual or everyday dining component, with an open hutch unit on a buffet.

All tables have self-storing leaves and case pieces have full-extension, self-closing metal drawer guides.

Four-piece bedrooms are targeted to retail from $2,499 to $3,299, while eight-piece dining sets, which include a table, six chairs and a buffet/hutch unit, are targeted to retail from $2,699 to $3,799.

Part of the proceeds from the sales of the sets will be donated in the name of Heritage Brands and the retailer to a charity of the retailer's choice that supports national parks.

In a statement, Tom Turpin, CEO and founder of Intercon, said the program is a way to support "one of America's greatest assets, when our parks really need all the support they can get."

Dave Pinamonti, general manager of Intercon, said the program has been in development since July. While the inns and lodges of the parks have inspired other collections in the past, he believes this is the first program designed to actually give back to the park system.

Based on the number of U.S. national parks — there are nearly 400 parks covering 83 million acres, according to the National Parks Conservation Assn. — Pinamonti said the program has strong growth potential.

"As we were working through our product development for America the Beautiful, our parks and their inns and lodges helped give us specific direction and references in developing many different lifestyles and designs for our bedroom and dining room collections," Pinamonti said. "This is definitely a long-term program and commitment on our part."

He added that the collection, which ships in early to mid-July, will have sales and merchandising support ranging from banners and hangtags to easels promoting the product and the parks.

The collection will be on display in Heritage Brands' showroom in the International Home Furnishings Center, space W-547.