Duralee, one of the  largest textile companies in the U.S. has reached an agreement with Clarke & Clarke, a U.K. based fabric and wallcoverings editor to be the exclusive distributor for their products in the United States.

 

Clarke & Clarke was founded in 1999  and is family run by brothers Duncan and Lee Clarke.   They are both passionate about the high quality fabrics and wallcoverings they design & distribute.  The products are developed in the U.K. and are currently warehoused in both the U.S. and the U.K. 

With a strong emphasis on contemporary style , Clarke & Clarke is internationally recognized as one of the leaders in the world of home fashion.  Duralee will enable them to achieve even greater success in the United States.  The product will now be distributed through Duralee's  sales representatives, showrooms and agent showrooms throughout the U.S.

"We are confident that the Duralee distribution channels will make this brand an instant success in the U.S. Market," said Larry McGovern, National Sales Manager for Duralee.  

Duralee will begin introducing product in their showrooms in May 2010 and will begin distributing sample books in July 2010.  They plan to have over 20 collections in the market by July 2011.  Duralee will then launch product two times per year thereafter. The product consists of both woven and printed textiles and decorative wallcoverings that are merchandised in a coordinated collection giving designers all the  options needed  to build lifestyles.

"This product is a wonderful compliment to the Duralee and Highland Court lines, making us an even stronger  resource for design professionals." said Mr. McGovern.

"Clarke & Clarke is known for high quality and cutting edge design which has already generated a loyal worldwide customer base. We have no doubt that our alliance with Duralee will result in the same success in the U.S. Market." said Duncan Clarke, Head of U.S. Operations for Clarke & Clarke. "Duralee with it's unparalleled distribution network and vast experience in The US market is a perfect partner for us"

We just had our house inspected for energy loss and it was a real eye opener. We used Ron Isaacson from Space*Man Home Inspections and he came out with this gadget that pinpointed where all of the energy was and where is was going. He could also tell you variances in energy levels to determine if it was worth worrying about. He found air ducts that were leaking, areas in the ceiling that were leaking, energy that was going nowhere and so much more. Then he told us how we could fix it. I have to tell you, if your house is too cold in the winter I would get him over to do an inspection. It's well worth the time and money,

You can find Ron at www.spacemaninspections.com

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope everyone you know had a safe and happy ending to the first decade of the 21st Century. If you stop and think it seems like the millennium celebrations happened yesterday. That is probably also true about the decor in your rooms. Has it really been 10 years since you put that pillow on the sofa in the family room, hung the draperies and bought yourself a new duvet cover? If so, it's time to start sprucing up. You don't need to buy all new furnishings but a few new items can really help. If the throw pillow fabric is sagging on the pillows and doesn't fit tightly you need new pillows. If the fabric seams on your chairs and sofas don't follow the cushion line and can't be put back in place it may be time for new furniture or to recover. This could be an indication that the interior of your cushions is falling apart. Has the cat ripped everything but the furniture is newer. We slip cover pieces all of the time. These are custom slipcovers that look like your furniture was reupholstered, not slipcovered. I usually have an extra cover made for the area the cat likes to scratch so your new slipcover doesn't get ruined.

More next week.

The annual One of A Kind sale is at the Merchandise Mart this Thursday through Sunday. This is a great opportunity to do your Holiday Shopping and support individual artists. All of the items are handcrafted but not necessarily in the high price range. I have purchased some wonderful items at the show for $20. There will be over 500 artists, artisans and fashion designers at the show. New this year is the Etsy Artist Pavilion with some of the handmade gifts from etsy.com

Show days and hours are:
Thursday, Dec 3   12-9
Friday, Dec 4          11-9
Saturday, Dec 5     10-7
Sunday, Dec 6        10-5

Admission is $12 for all 4 days or contact me for a free pass that I can email to you. The Merchandise Mart is located at Kinzie and Wells in downtown Chicago and the show is on the 8th floor. For additional information you can go to oneofakindshowchicago.com

Stark carpeting and rugs and Baker furniture have again combined forces to bring you a warehouse clearance sale. Stark will be conducting the sale from Nov 19-Dec 20. Baker will only be participating Nov 19-22. The last time these two companies had this sale there were great deals and a huge assortment to select from. They both will be bringing in items from across the country for the sale.

If you are looking for furniture, accessories, fabric, rugs or carpeting this could be a great place to start. Delivery and installation will be available. If you go and are looking to purchase from Baker, ask for my sales person Steve Glassner. For Stark carpeting and rugs, ask for Donna Minnella.

The sale will be held in the Crossroads Shopping Center, 115 Skokie Valley Road, Highland Park, Il.
Mon-Fri 10-8  Sat 10-7  Sun 10-6.

Happy shopping!

I stopped in at the sample sale this morning and it is quite small. Schumacher has wonderful fabrics at $8 per yard and wallpaper at ridiculously low prices. Baker has some furniture out, mostly transitional. 3 rug companies are there along with Ruggeri Gallery Home featuring bedsheet sets and towels. Kenneth Ludwig has many pieces from Arteriors out at wholesale prices but not lower than that. Showrooms on 16, 17 and 18 are also part of the sale but in their showrooms, not on the 7th floor. Along with the furniture, the gift showrooms will continue their sample sale through tomorrow. A great way to pick up some christmas gifts at reduced prices.

Last week I told you about the next Mart Sample Sale. Today I received a pass for free entry for two for Sat and Sun. Follow this link to get to the pass. Print it out and bring it with you.     Mart Sample Sale Pass

It's time for the annual fall sample sale at the Merchandise Mart. I don't have a list yet of who is participating but I can tell you the sale will be Nov 14 and 15. The hours have not been posted as of yet but it is usually 10-5. There will be designer preview days on Thursday and Friday. If you are interested in going early you need to get in touch with me and we can make arrangements to go.

Some of the usual participants are Baker, Ello, Interior Crafts, Schumacher for fabric, Kravet for fabric and Henredon. You never know what may be there.

Pillows are a great way to bring fall into your home.Reds, oranges or browns, the traditional colors of fall, will blend orcomplement almost any color scheme. Retail home decorator stores currently offer a nice selection of pillowsin these colors so you’ll have lots of options. However, if you can’t find just the perfect pillows that work for you,have some custom made. You can choose from virtually thousands of fabrics withvarying weight and texture.  Considerhaving a pillow or two made into a ball shape to add some excitement to theroom.  Add a throw with the pillows andyou have an entirely new look on a very reasonable budget.  Be sure to consider removing some of yourcurrent pillows to achieve your desired effect.. Put these items in storage fora few months and then bring them back out. It will be like having two new roomsin the course of one year.

 

Fall colors are organic and can be used throughout the yearin decorating your home. The colors are comforting and warm in tone, such ascaramel brown with an earthy green or a bright orange with a tawny rust.  These are rooms you can live in and relax inyear round. You just might bring some fall colors into your home and neverreplace them, regardless of the season. 

If you have any questions on implementing any of my suggestions, drop me a line. If you need custom pillows made we are here to help you.

Sam wrote me and asked "What are my best resources for finding merchandise to sell in a retail home decor shop?"


This is a large question that can be answered one of two ways: broadly or specifically. I am going to start by answering it broadly. I found most of my resources through the gift shows. I found the Atlanta show (www.Atlantasmart.com) to be the largest and had the best display of merchandise for sale. Many of the lines carried in Atlanta are carried here in Chicago (www.mmart.com) but the display space aloted the items in Chicago is so small you can easily pass by the items. There are also many more manufacturers in Atlanta than in Chicago. Having said that, there are local manufacturers only in Chicago but if you are not very local I would not make it a must get to gift show. New York (www.nygif.com) is great as they highlight many up and coming designers that are not in the mass production mode yet. Las Vegas (www.lasvegasmarket.com) is still growing and will proabably be a good show in another year or two. High Point is not worth it for home decor. It focuses in on furntirue and the running you need to do to see the accessories is barely worth it. If you are going to any of these shows, plan on staying at least 4 days.

Not knowing what style of home decor you are looking at I cannot go into details of manufacturers. You will find that you will have little bits from many vendors in your store. I would recommend Home Accents Today magazine. It is a free magazine to the trade that highlights new items available. For my store, I found it to be the best resource. They also conduct several different surveys and give you information on treands in the industry.

I also found artists at art fairs that put their work in my store on consignment. We would highlight a different artist each month in our electronic newsletter. As word got out, the artists were calling us. We also found jewelry to be a great seller. I only used local jewelers which made the items endearing to my customer base. You can easily find the local jewelers at the art fairs and holiday markets.