“Business as usual” at the New York Home Fashions Market means lots of new products and designs—and the market week last month was no exception. Vendors raised the curtain on a variety of introductions in decorative bedding, basic bedding and accessories.
The decorative styles on display ran the gamut from traditional to contemporary. In basic bedding, the emphasis was on improving the quality of sleep through construction and with anti-allergen elements.—David Gill
Peking Handicraft
As usual, designers took center stage at the showroom of Peking Handicraft during last month’s New York Home Fashions Market. Among the company’s introductions were groups of decorative pillows by D.L. Rhein and Valori Wells, and a collection of aprons and hand towels from Dena.
The Rhein line included Marseilles, a linen pillow with a modern interpretation of a retro-inspired pattern with a multidimensional appearance; Amalfi, a linen pillow featuring a hint of Bollywood with moving lines and embellishments; Damask, a Victorian-inspired velvet pillow reminiscent of a classic lace pattern; and Nautical Knot, a velvet pillow that mimics the look of intertwined ropes.
The Wells collection is called the Bloom series. A pillow from the series is shown here. It has two rug and pillow designs, which showcase oversized flower patterns in a multidimensional appearance. The series comes in two colorways, cobalt and cocoa.
The collection of Dena includes five everyday kitchen-textile themes: Breeze, Ikat Sunset Medallion, Sunday Afternoon, Ikat Sunset Floral and Ikat Sunset Pink/Yellow. Each of these themes blend classic white with bright, bold colors such as blue, orange, yellow and pink. Overall, this line encompasses 13 aprons and kitchen towels. pkhc.com
CHF
CHF, which has been gradually expanding its portfolio of brands, launched a new one during New York Home Fashions Market.
Called Style Lounge, the new brand is what Katy Chapman, CHF’s director of creative services, terms a “fast-fashion brand.”
CHF also established a theme for the first line of Style Lounge ensembles, called Art of the Mix. Chapman described this theme as a cross-cultural approach mixing design elements and textural techniques from other countries with American elements.
Among the ensembles in the first Style Lounge rollout are Istanbul, shown here, an ikat design on the top of the bed with stripes and prints on the sheets and pillows; Kyoto; a solid-color top-of-the-bed design mixed with tick-tack ruching; Rio, a wavy chevron design; Guatemala, a bold fiesta design with an ombre layered quilt; Copenhagen, a white solid with highlighted stitches; and Mumbai, a graphic Indian-styled medallion look.
Style Lounge also encompasses bath ensembles which are designed to be separate from the bedding. Included in these groupings are towels and accessories. chfindustries.com
Northwest
Northwest marked the New York Home Fashions Market by unveiling its new showroom at 261 Fifth Ave. The showspace is on the building’s 25th floor.
Among the showroom’s features is the “Man Cave,” which displays NFL team-logoed bedding and throws. One wall displays throws themed around Warner Bros.’ Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Harry Potter properties. The Disney and Nickelodeon licenses also have their own sections.
During the September market, the new showroom also gave major play to Northwest’s new line of drinkware, shown here. The first drinkware lineup is designed with sports team logos from the NFL and college football.
On offer in this collection are tumblers measuring 16 ounces, 20 ounces and 24 ounces; acrylic shot glasses; 16-ounce crystal mugs; and vinyl coasters sold in sets of four.
According to Stan Mieskowski, executive vice president of sales and marketing, the drinkware line will eventually expand to include designs based on Northwest’s entertainment licenses. thenorthwest.com
Sleep Innovations
The September New York Home Fashions Market brought the REJUVENATION Mattress Topper, shown here, Sleep Innovations’ latest effort at offering a customized sleeping experience.
The new topper, which is an extension of the company’s REJUVENATION bed-pillow program, consists of two layers—one with gel-infused memory foam and the other a layer of Luratex foam. The customizable element comes by stacking the two layers in three different configurations before securing it to the fabric cover. The layers can be stacked to produce a soft, firm or massage-like feel, depending on the consumer’s sleep preferences or needs.
The combination of the memory foam and the Luratex foam is also intended to provide the ideal balance of sleep temperature, support and cushioning. According to Sleep Innovations, the softness of the gel-infused memory foam layer eliminates painful pressure points and improved air circulation to help maintain a comfortable sleep temperature. The Luratex layer adds extra support.
The topper has received the endorsement of Dana Torres, the Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer.
Mike Loomis, executive vice president of business and product development for Sleep Innovations, said, “With consumers being able to customize everything from their cars to their coffee, we thought it vital to provide them with options when it comes to their sleep surface.” sleepinnovatoins.com
Royal Heritage
During the New York Home Fashions Market, the company introduced four bed ensembles under its new license with Williamsburg. For this collection, Royal Heritage focused on florals and images of nature, with patterns rooted in the traditional style from the archives of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
The company also brought back two long-time bedding favorites from Williamsburg: the William & Mary and Bruton matelasses. These are now available in fresh colors that complement the printed ensembles.
Royal Heritage also announced that it would acquire Allergy Solutions, a manufacturer of environmental- control and allergy-solution products. Allergy Solutions markets allergy-preventative mattress protectors, HEPA air-purification systems, sinus-relief products, bed-bug treatments, respiratory masks, water filters and asthma products direct to consumers and wholesale.
The acquisition is the fifth since Jeff Tauber, Royal Heritage’s chairman and CEO, purchased the company, then known as Poly Commodity, in 2004. “Allergy Solutions has a lot of products and opens a lot of opportunities for us at retailers,” Tauber said. “We see ourselves opening up allergy-product shops as a result of this acquisition.” As to further acquisitions, he added, “We’re not done yet.”
For the spring 2012 market, Royal Heritage will move to a new showroom at 261 Fifth Ave., room 404, which will provide about the same amount of show space but will have more office and studio space. royalheritagehome.com
London Luxury
Key licenses got major play for London Luxury during the New York Home Fashions Market.
The company’s Claritin line of anti-allergen products went back to school during the market, in a big way. London Luxury unveiled a grouping of mattress and pillow protector sets with allergy-resisting qualities, geared specifically for back-to-college purchases. According to Amanda Keller, director of licensing/marketing, this line will also include comforters and fiberbeds.
London Luxury’s Arm & Hammer line added the Oasis Home and Allergy Luxe collections of basic bedding. This includes bed pillows, comforters, sheets, pillow protectors and mattress protectors—all treated with Arm & Hammer’s odor-resisting technology.
Featured in the company’s Elizabeth Arden licensed program are new colors in the towel collection. Earth tones and what Keller described as “lagoon blues” joined the color lineup. Also new to the program are coordinating microfiber rugs that are treated to be fade-resistant.
The Elizabeth Arden line also welcomed Esscents, a group of bedding that is treated with technology that helps the products to absorb the scents from detergents when they are washed. This technology is also being used in the towels. londonlux.com
For more market product go to: http://hfnmag.com/product-gallery [2]