Leather showrooms broaden color choices

FURNITURE |TODAY
www.furnituretoday.com
SEPTEMBER 24, 2012
41
Industry News
Leather showrooms broaden color choices
HIGH POINT — Color was a
major theme in leather upholstery showrooms at Premarket
and believe it or not, the dominant color wasn’t brown.
Lighter colors with names
such as tangerine, mango, red
clay and coconut were featured prominently in several
showrooms. Many executives
said they believe such colors finally are poised to gain wider
acceptance among retailers
and consumers.
“I think consumers are becoming bolder when it comes
to color,” said Heather Eidenmiller, director of brand development at Bernhardt. “They’re
gaining more confidence that
they will make the right decision.”
Bernhardt’s upholstery in-
Leather Italia did well at
Premarket with the richly
colored Mirella stationary
seating group.
troductions included leather
sofas with blue, teal and charcoal covers, while others were
even bolder, using shades of
red, orange and white.
“At the high end, it’s all
white. That’s a timeless color,”
said Henry Cierler, director of
North American operations
for Chateau D’Ax.
But outside of the company’s high-end goods, he said
X Upholstery
FT040,041i4 3
— Larry Thomas
Shades of
blue were
prominent at
Premarket.
This Bonham
wing chair
from Sam
Moore
highlights
the color on
an updated
traditional
silhouette.
from p1
The Meridian armless sofa
paid homage to contemporary design and combined
hot blue hues with cool sage
green.
Highland House is launching a collection by Candice
Olson at fall market, and
the pieces at Premarket highlighted another major trend
for fall — a hint of shimmer
in fabrics. Olson talked about
the decision to add a slight
shine to finishes and upholstery.
“I have a purse that has
our new glint finish,” she
said. “It’s a medium ground
between silver and gold. And
a lot of the fabrics correspond
— they are not really silver,
but warm gold tones with silver references.”
The global trend continues
to be strong for fall.
The Sam Moore showroom
included a mix of textures
in upholstery — tweed body
cloths paired with velvet pillows, as well as tailored neutrals with ikat and suzani
accent fabrics.
Bassett is merchandising
60 body cloths at one price
point, according to Keena
Leonard, furniture designer
for Bassett.
The company’s HGTV collection will also feature new
products in October, and
one of the best selling colors is
tangerine.
“And we’re doing very well
with blues, grays and teals,”
Cierler said. “I think people
are getting tired of all the
brown.”
Bradington-Young reported
Premarket success with a new
settee covered in a leather
named spa green, as well as a
contemporary sofa covered in
a red clay leather.
“They got rave reviews,”
said Craig Young, senior vice
president of sales. “We’re trying to drive business with fresh
styles.”
HGTV’s Sock Arm Sofa in Kiwi showcases one
of the favorite “pop” colors at Premarket and
complements accent pillows that showcase two of
fall’s strongest trends — teal and turquoise hues
and global-inspired patterns.
Leonard said that color and
profile options will be expanded.
“With HGTV, we’re offering a variety of body cloths
and pre-merchandised accent
pillows,” she said.
With just a few weeks until the October market opens,
Premarket upholstery exhibitors said buyers responded
favorably to the new introductions.
Don McCoy, senior vice
president at Mayo Furniture,
said the response indicates a
positive sales trend for this
year will continue.
“Our business this year is
up 14% over last year, and
last year was a record year
for us,” said McCoy. “By the
time we get to fall, that’s usually the busiest time and if
that holds, we’re on track for
another record year.”
Folio 21 brings dining to market
HIGH POINT — Case goods
importer Folio 21 will introduce a dining room program
at the fall market here that
the company says will complement its best-selling bedrooms and target the “sweet
spot” between casual and
formal dining.
The dining continues Folio’s focus on better-end goods
at affordable prices with
multi-step finishes, hand-applied distressing and detailing, a press release said.
Plans are for the line to
begin shipping to retailers in January. Retail price
points for a five-piece set
range from $899 to $1,299.
The program includes sideboards and china cabinets
and bar-height and counterheight options for stools and
chairs.
“We started talking with
retailers about correlated
dining right from the beginning,” said Bill Benton, president and CEO. “Now that our
bedroom program is in place
and growing, we’re ready to
add another key product category with an equally strong
value proposition.”
Correlated dining includes
Avignon, a Hilco Woudstra
design in transitional style in
poplar solids and primavera
veneers and champagne-finished hardware and bowed
panel drawer fronts; Cologne,
a large-scaled European traditional design; Lisbon, a
clean-lined transitional set;
and Metro, a contemporary
group in rosewood veneers.
A fifth dining group, as yet
unnamed, will accompany a
new transitional bedroom
with a contemporary feel
and mixed-media effect, in
ash solids and veneers with
mirror inserts.
The company offers retailers the ability to mix and
match orders from any of its
collections in a single container.
The groups will be shown
in Folio’s showroom in the
International Home Furnishings Center, W-647, which is
being expanded by 3,600
square feet. The High Point
Market runs Oct. 13-18.
9/20/2012 5:26:11 PM