For consumers, furniture delivery is often a Kafkaesque nightmare of endless delivery-day vigils, exorbitant fees, missing trucks and months-long waits for that popular out-of-stock sofa — even damage to walls and floors once pieces finally arrive.

Consumer complaints against the industry have grown — to 14,553 in 2005, up from 13,817 the year before, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

But now, many companies are taking steps to address those problems and make order and delivery faster and more efficient. Read more »

Della Rovere S.p.A, part of the ‘GRUPPO FBL, DELLA ROVERE, CASA D’ESTE’ has been in operation for over 27 years in the Italian and International markets and has announced their participation at the forthcoming Office Exhibition 2006.

Renowned not only for their superb quality office furniture, Della Rovere are particularly well known for their production system and sales management which have distinguished them amongst their many competitors. Holders of a number of accolades, not the least of which being the first Italian furniture company to be awarded the ‘CI 100% made in Italy’ mark, a sign of distinction and an additional assurance of the company’s efficiency and competitiveness. Read more »

The Ashland Lions 28th Annual Giant Flea Market and Craft Fair will be held on Boston Marathon Day, April 17, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Ashland Tech. Parking Lot, just up from the Dairy Queen on Route 135, at Chestnut and Brook streets.
Handmade crafts, Jewelry, Flea Market Merchandise and much more available. Admission is $1; children under 12 free. All proceeds go to eye research and local charities.

AN impressive array of contemporary and traditional crafts awaits visitors to the three-day Weald of Kent Craft Show taking place over the Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday, April 29 to Monday, May 1 2006.
Set within the beautiful grounds of Penshurst Place stately home, visitors will discover a huge array of quality crafts, handmade by more than 250 artists and craftsmen.
Many of the crafts are unique to the show and cannot be found on the high street. With such an enticing collection of beautiful handmade gifts and artwork, visitors can take advantage of this unique shopping opportunity to purchase special gifts for friends and family or items for the home.

Choose from exquisite hand blown glassware, luxurious silk wall panels, chunky gemstone jewellery, hand woven textiles, porcelain animal sculptures, bespoke teak furniture and original art works in watercolours and oils.
This year’s show promises to be a real treat for all the family and the Middy has got 25 pairs of tickets, worth £10.60 a pair, to give away to readers. Read more »

Thousands of shoppers thronged the opening of IKEA’s biggest Asian store in Beijing on Wednesday as the Swedish furniture maker launched a bid to expand its share of China’s thriving home improvement market.

The store — IKEA’s biggest after its Stockholm flagship — is part of a wave of expansion by retailers, both Chinese and foreign, that want to cash in amid a boom in home ownership in China.

Traditional Peking opera dancers performed outside the new IKEA outlet and crowds were held back by white metal barricades before the opening. Read more »

Setting up a new home? Looking for sleek furniture for your new office space? Zak Interior-Exterior international furniture fair is being organised from April 20 to 23 at the Chennai Trade Centre, Nandambakkam.

Addressing a press conference, Syed Zakir Ahmed, Managing Director of Zak Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, said that over 150 companies would be participating in the sixth edition of the fair in Chennai. Read more »

The Anti-Defamation League, a premier civil rights/human relations organization recently announced its 2006 National Home Furnishings Division American Heritage Award Recipients.

The Division will be honoring Wayne and Rod Johansen of HOM Furniture and Bill Wittenberg of Berkline/BenchCraft at their annual Dinner Dance. Read more »

Homeowners and renters can select interior design plans online or at kiosks through City Furniture thanks to new software designed by IBM.

IBM announced Monday that its WebSphere, DB2, and DB2 Everywhere, combined with xSeries servers, are powering City Furniture’s Academy of Design, a unique multi-channel retail solution.

The company’s center for e-business innovation in Atlanta helped the furniture and design service center develop a custom business model and innovative applications for design kiosks in the Florida stores, as well as a Web site that will allow customers to add, view and change design details, based on budgets, schedules and personal style. IBM is also providing ThinkPad notebooks loaded with custom applications – for floor plans, palettes, budgets, materials and suppliers – for house calls. Read more »

Swedish home furnishings retailer IKEA on Monday unveiled a new outlet in Beijing that will be its biggest in Asia _ a seven-story, $100 million facility that the company hopes will put it ahead in China’s thriving but crowded market.

The new store, due to open Wednesday, will be IKEA’s third in China, and the company plans to have a total of 10 outlets within five years, said Ian Duffy, president of the company’s Asia-Pacific division. Read more »

Thai export growth in 2006 would reach a targeted 15-17.5 percent, despite of current strong baht, according to a senior commerce ministry official.

Chantra Purnariksha, director general of Export Promotion Department, was quoted by the Thai News Agency on Sunday as saying that the country’s export is expected to grow to more than 130 billion U.S. dollars this year as orders continued to roll in.

The country’s exchange rate now stood at about 38 baht for one U.S. dollar, causing widespread concern that the strong local currency would have an impact on this year’s export figure. Read more »