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Editorial
Is It Spring Already?
The new year is getting off to a fast and furious start! Perhaps it doesn’t seem so for many dealers, fabricators and workrooms because January is often down time, the end-of-the-year rush is over and some even find time to clean up, reorganize, review and plan ahead. (Dare we say take some time off and relax a bit?) But business is a 12-month-a-year endeavor, so while taking a break to recharge and reacquaint yourself with your family is very important, no time should be wasted. Some things to consider:
In January there is Heimtextil. Textiles rule the day at this annual show—drapery fabrics, bedding, upholstery fabrics and leather. Fashion-setting trends from around the world are displayed in 10 product areas. Floor and wall coverings are featured, too.
February starts off with the International Builders’ Show. What’s that have to do with window coverings? Anyone interested in the commercial/contract market—or in meeting 110,000 homebuilding professionals—will find this the place to be. This year the NextGen Demonstration Home (a two-story home built in the convention center’s parking lot!) will showcase the latest in window coverings innovations (see our Special Report on page 22 for all the details).
February 15 to 18, Draperies & Window Coverings presents the 15th Custom Home Furnishings Conference & Trade Show at the Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, NC. This is a premiere event for workrooms and designers to increase their confidence, skills and profits. The seminar program really covers it all: Help with accounting software, dressing window treatments, shades, installation, upholstery tips and tricks, swags, cornices, zippers, pillows, fabric and right down to business fundamentals, sales techniques and even help with photographing your work. In all, a faculty of 17 instructors with the training, experience and knowledge to lead these highly complimented seminars will present a total of 49 sessions. As a bonus this year, HGTV designer Wolfgang Schaber will present a luncheon keynote address. (For information, including a registration form, start on page 24!)
Speaking of bonuses, we’d like to welcome Margie Nance and the Custom Home Furnishings Academy to D&WC magazine. A new monthly column, Academy Annex, makes its debut in this issue with the first of a multi-part series on the five basic window treatment styles (see page 42). Each month, Nance or one of the many qualified instructors at the CHF Academy will bring a little of the knowledge, help and ideas from the Academy campus to our pages. We’re pleased to have them!
And that just covers the first two months of 2007!
Howard Shingle
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