This improvement is totally by design

Leave it to me! At a time when a whole bunch of case goods is coming from China, here I sit thinking about something that our country has imported from Japan.

No, it’s not furniture, but it certainly is furniture related. I’m thinking of Kaizen, a management technique that calls for continuous improvement. In this issue of Furniture/ Today, you’ll see our Kaizen initiative in the form of Behind the Design, a new feature that, as the name suggests, will examine style trends in home furnishings.

Behind the Design (see the online version) is written by Susan Pantaleo, a gifted and spirited interior designer and founder and president of Concepts In Design, a full-service interior design firm in Barrington, Ill.

A member of the American Society of Interior Designers since 1988, Susan also is certified by the National Council for Interior Design Qualifications and has taught at the Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg.

We’ve asked Susan to bring her credentials to the paper in order to spot trends and design directions not only within our world but from other industries as well.

She will keep tabs on the apparel, automotive and jewelry arenas, and on whatever else she thinks will have an impact on home furnishings designs.

This week, for example, Susan selected some standout products she spotted at the just-concluded market, and tells why they stood out and, best of all, how they should be positioned at retail

I am confident you are going to enjoy this new monthly feature. She calls it Behind the Design; I call it Kaisan. Since our first issue, Furniture/Today’s promise has been, and continues to be, to bring you all the information you need to successfully manage and grow your business.

Behind the Design is our latest effort to deliver on that promise. Susan’s first two features will focus on what she saw at market. After that, she has a compelling list of topics she’s planning to report on.

As always, I’m eager for your feedback. Send me an e-mail at rallegrezza@reedbusiness.com and tell me what you think!