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INDUSTRY
NEWS
LUTRON RECEIVES SEVERAL TOP ADEX HONORS
Lutron Electronics, Coopersburg, PA, has received several 2006-2007 ADEX (Awards for Design Excellence) Awards. The honors were announced in mid-June.
Lutron’s Sivoia QED (quiet electronic drive) family of roller shades, Roman shades and drapery track systems was one of four product lines presented with a Platinum award. Sivoia QED integrates with lighting controls and is designed to be simple to install in new or existing spaces. All systems operate with quiet precision, digital low-voltage electronic drives and offer many options for fabrics and controls, the company states.
ADEX, sponsored by Design Journal, is one of the largest and among the most prestigious awards program for product design of furniture, fixtures and finishes marketed to the design trade. This year’s competition brought a record 1,858 entries.
INTERIORS BY DECORATING DEN HOSTS ITS LARGEST CONFERENCE
Attended by more than 550, Interiors by Decorating Den’s (IDD) May 22 to 25 Nashville, TN, conference presented educational opportunities, award celebrations and a design market.
Becoming the first owner in IDD’s history to achieve annual retail sales in excess of $2 million, Tonie VanderHulst, The Redlands, CA, received the company’s inaugural Diamond Award. In addition, three other franchise owners—Barbara Elliott and Jennifer Ward Woods, Stone Mountain GA; Carol Gagnon, Sanibel Island, FL; and H. D. Pugh and Associates, Leesburg, FL, were recognized for annual sales in excess of $1 million.
The company’s annual design contest, featuring nearly 400 entries, and judged by more than 30 top home furnishings editors and designers, was won by Canadian franchise owner, Luisa Maringola.
Over 80 percent of attendees arrived early to participate in their choice of 14 Lifestyle University Classes, many offering CEU opportunities. Topics ranged from green decorating to designing for the aging market. In addition, 51 workshop opportunities were available throughout the conference.
Ten new vendors, featuring furniture, flooring and accessory products, were introduced and have joined the 110 others in the IDD approved vendor network.
The company’s 39th annual conference is scheduled to be held May 2008 in Washington DC.
3 BLIND MICE RANKS NO. 8 IN SAN DIEGO FAST GROWTH COMPANIES
San Diego, CA-based 3 Blind Mice Window Coverings was named eighth on the bizSanDiego magazine’s Top 10 Fast Growth 2007 Companies list. Three Blind Mice CEO Scot Dietz accepted the honor on behalf of the company at a banquet held May 2.
Twenty finalists were selected from the applications submitted for the magazine’s first Fast Growth recognition program. The methodology for selecting honorees used revenue growth as the main criteria to qualify the top 20, but it counted for only 50 percent of the total weight for selection. Of the remainder, employee growth represented 25 percent of the selection decision and the last 25 percent was set aside for market opportunities, taking into account potential, marketing and advertising activity, expansion into new markets and major clients served.
In an article in the May issue, editor, Jon Hindman, posed a question about the company’s drop in percentage growth for 2006. Dietz replied, “Last year we had more salespeople making less money, and this year we’re really focusing on less people making more money and still producing the same amount of sales. This period has helped me learn to manage expenses and move toward controlled growth, opposed to uncontrolled growth.”
Three Blind Mice Window Coverings provides window treatments—blinds, shutters, solar screens, draperies, motorization and window tinting—to both private and commercial customers. The company was founded in 2003 by Scot Dietz (see D&WC, November 2006, page 28).
HUNTER DOUGLAS SPONSORS SPA PRESENTATION AT FLORIDA SHOWROOM
Hunter Douglas, Upper Saddle River, NJ, in mid-May sponsored a presentation at the Windows of the World Showroom in the Design Center of the Americas, Dania Beach, FL.
Designer and author Cecil Hayes spoke on “How to Make Your Home More Sensual, Tips on Turning Your Home into a Spa.”
WESTGATE LAUNCHING UPSCALE FINISHED PRODUCTS
Westgate Interiors, Dallas, TX, is launching an extensive collection of bedroom ensembles, decorative pillows, table linens and accessories at the International Gift & Home Accessories Show at the Dallas Market Center June 22 to 25.
“Westgate Interiors has successfully developed an international luxury brand in decorative fabrics and achieved 30 percent top-line growth in North America in 2006,” explains David Li, CEO, Home Furnishing International, LLC, the parent company of Westgate Interiors, American Decorative Fabrics (ADF) and Home Fashions International (HFI). “It is a natural extension of our business to leverage this high-profile brand in the finished product and gift markets.”
Jean Brown, vice president of new business development for Home Furnishing International, will oversee this business expansion in the newly created position of president of Westgate Interiors.
“Our goal is to offer our customers a one-stop shopping experience, to allow them to create a totally coordinated home décor look,” Brown states. “We will be featuring designer decorative fabrics by the yard as well as a full range of finished home textiles products, including luxurious bedding collections, decorative pillows, table linens, pet beds and soft window treatments. We also will add hard accessories within the next six to 12 months.”
WARREN STEVEN LAUNCHES WEB SITE, PRICE GUIDE
Warren Steven Window Fashions, Minneapolis, MN, has launched an interactive Web site: www.warrensteven.com. At the site help is provided on its full-line Hunter Douglas fabrication, custom fabric treatments, measuring, installing, repairs, warranty and training.
Warren Steven also has compiled the custom styles most requested by dealers and designers in its updated drapery COM price guide, “The Softer Side of Warren Steven.”
The guide contains a COM price guide, illustrations with representations of the products offered and easy-to-use price charts with retail pricing on custom treatments. Order forms and bid request forms also are included.
3G MERMET 2007 FACILITY EXPANSION NOW IN PROGRESS
The 3G Mermet facility in Cowpens, SC, is currently undergoing an expansion of 85,000 square feet. The planned 2007 expansion will allow for 3G Mermet’s corporate offices, weaving, coating and warehouse operations to be combined in one centrally located 130,000-square-foot facility.
In addition to combining all operational aspects in one facility, the 2007 expansion also provides 3G Mermet with additional space to increase capacity based on market demand and future business growth. The company’s production capacity has already increased 60 percent in weaving and 25 percent in coating to date, it states.
Construction on the expansion began in April and is targeted for completion by the end of the year. 3G Mermet entered the solar protection market in 1976 and during the next 30 years developed technologically advanced products. Mermet’s intelligent, functional fabrics are designed for solar protection, energy savings, visual comfort, decoration, prints, signage and acoustical comfort, it adds.
LENZIP RELOCATES HEADQUARTERS
Lenzip Mfg. Corp., Rolling Meadows, IL, has announced the opening of its new facility in a northwest suburb of Chicago, IL. Lenzip was founded in 1946 in Chicago where it has been located for the past 61 years. The need for increased manufacturing and office space made the move necessary, the company stated.
Housed in a completely redesigned and remodeled building, the 77,000-square-foot facility includes new offices, new production areas and a state-of-the-art quality assurance laboratory.
The company adds that the new facility offers a number of features that will benefit its customers: increased manufacturing space, increased warehouse space, additional machinery and tooling, fully monitored production process and increased customer service and support.
Founded in 1946, Lenzip Mfg. Corp. offers an extensive product line consisting of more than 1,000 different zipper styles serving the needs of over 40 varied industries.
VIEWIT LAUNCHES 3D ONLINE DESIGN TOOL
ViewIT Technologies Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has announced the launch of 3Dream.net™, a three-dimensional online interior design and sales system aimed at creating the “ultimate buying experience” for consumers through three dimensional modeling of real-world design products, the company states.
3Dream.net online users can work with customers to create and view a completely furnished living area from any angle. Employing a sell-the-whole-room philosophy, designers can offer customers instant gratification on a design by showing real world furnishings, fabrics, flooring and lighting that come to life in an online 3D virtual environment, according to the company.
“The biggest single obstacle to a purchase is a customer’s inability to visualize how all the elements of a design will work together. Many customers are afraid of making expensive mistakes,” said Ross Barlett, CEO. “Buying decisions are made faster and with more confidence when a customer can see a full room design layout.”
3Dream.net is available now online to furniture industry professionals including interior designers, retailers and decorators for a monthly subscription fee.
SDP CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY BY GIVING BACK TO LOCAL FAMILIES
The Society of Decorating Professionals (SDP) is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a nationwide campaign, “Special Deserving Places.” This charitable program is designed to give back to local communities and will allow members to share their talents with individuals and families by providing creative services that will enhance their living spaces.
Member companies of SDP are a resource to help homeowners realize the dreams they imagine for their homes. Whether performing general decorating, redesigning services or preparing homes for sale, members of SDP help consumers to enhance their homes and fulfill their decorating desires.
SDP will join forces with regional organizations and companies to promote the “Special Deserving Places” project, which will run through September 9. Efforts to support the project by members are already underway in western Pennsylvania; Michigan; Chicago, IL; Arizona; northern Florida; and Atlanta, GA.
UNITED YARN TO ACQUIRE SANS COLORCORD AND FIBERBRITE PRODUCTS
Sans Fibers, a manufacturer of specialty polyester and nylon yarns located in Gastonia, NC, and Capetown, South Africa, have announced that, effective June 1, 2007, it has agreed to sell its Colorcord™ and Fiberbrite™ business, including inventories, to United Yarn Products Co., Wayne, NJ. Colorcord and Fiberbrite are solution-dyed high tenacity polyester products covering a range of 17 colors.
According to Sans Fibers, the move will enable the company to concentrate its efforts on its core business areas.
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