By David Gill
NEW YORK–With the recent launch of the licensed Antiques Roadshow quilt collection, Revman International is zeroing on consumers who say, “Old is beautiful.”
These are the consumers who are fans of “Antiques Roadshow,” the public-television series on which antique dealers offer free appraisals of people’s family heirlooms or auction or yard-sale bargains. Potentially, the line could find a sizable customer base: Marking its 12th season on PBS this year, “Antiques Roadshow” claims a weekly audience of 11 million viewers, making it the network’s highest-rated series, according to the series’ Web site.
The “heirloom” nature of the new collection derives from two sources. First, there is the show itself. Second is the fact that this is a collection of quilts, the ultimate textiles collector’s item and a product that has always exuded Americana.
Regarding the expectations for the line, Diane Piemonte, Revman’s vice president of creative services, said in an interview with HFN, “People are fascinated by ‘Antiques Roadshow.’ It’s nice to be a part of it and to support it. Quilts are also becoming popular again. We do a good business in quilts with our Laura Ashley and Stone Cottage brands.”
The designs were inspired by historic quilts, Piemonte said. The collection includes Iris, inspired by an appliqued cotton quilt from early in the 20th century; Diamond Stripe, inspired by the quilts made with alternating fabric strips and found in northern England; Snowflake, a blue and white color scheme; Schoolhouse, a traditional pattern of a house in a garden maze; Double Nines, a pattern of nine-block checks; and Crossroads, a combination of shapes and lines made from individual fabric scraps.
“We picked traditional designs that we feel will be commercially interesting, and we tweaked the colors a little to make them consumer-friendly,” Piemonte said. “But the designs and the inspiration haven’t changed that much from the traditional looks.”
The packaging features lettering on a weathered-look label, which includes the Antiques Roadshow logo and the statement, “Your purchase helps support public television.”
The quilts will begin previews with retailers in August. Revman hasn’t narrowed the line to any particular channels of distribution. “We will have to see where the interest is,” Piemonte said. “There are a lot of opportunities for different channels.” She also said shipments will probably start at the beginning of 2009.