Janet Setterland is not sure where in the pantheon of fine arts and crafts her new decorative-painting enterprise belongs. Her work could be characterized as trompe l’oeil for furniture and features a Mediterranean theme that is very popular.

A painter and furniture restoration enthusiast, Setterland was awestruck after entering the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, in 2005 and gazing at the frescoed walls. On the flight home she decided to quit her office job and start a business painting and decorating furniture by hand.

The daughter of a furniture store owner in Canada, Setterland studied art and design and refurbished several homes in Southern California with her husband, Chuck, an engineer.

Five years ago, she made the prototype of her line. She needed a small table for a kitchen nook and made one from a metal base and wooden top Chuck built for her. She painted it and told her husband, “I think we can market this thing someday.” Read more »

Stanley Furniture Company’s sales for the first quarter of 2007 were $75.1 million, down 10.1% from the first quarter of 2006. Earnings per share of $.15 compares to $.43 in the year-ago quarter. Both sales and earnings were at record levels in the first quarter of last year.

The company said lower margins resulted from lower sales and production levels, operating inefficiencies and higher raw material and compensation costs.

“Our business has stabilized over the past few months and we experienced little change in overall sales trends since late last year”, commented Jeffrey R. Scheffer, President and Chief Executive Officer. “While we are disappointed with lower sales and earnings, we believe this is consistent with current industry-wide conditions.” Read more »

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c54257) has announced the addition of Household Furniture, Misc.: State Market Index to their offering.

The metrics in this report cover three year trends in SIC 2519 [Manufacturing sector], broken out on a state-by-state basis. Analysis is based on data applied from 919 industry firms. Industry market vitality measures for each state are benchmarked against US averages for the industry, creating easy comparison of state-by-state performance. Industry sales are detailed for both company-wide headquarters data and locally generated sales levels. The report also compares proprietary BizMiner measures in each state and the US, including failure rates, entrepreneurial activity and new branch development rates in the industry. Read more »

Mark L. Baum, Esq. is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (”USPTO”) has issued and published US Patent Number 7,198,313 entitled “Home Furnishing and the Like Mobile Selling Systems and Methods.”

Commenting on the patent issuance, Mr. Baum stated, “I am pleased that after more than three years, the USPTO has acknowledged the uniqueness of my invention and method and has issued this important patent. The patent issuance is especially gratifying as the mattress and furniture business is an industry that I dedicated myself to understanding while growing up in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, I often found myself trying to design a better way to make a better mattress. Ultimately though, I came to believe that there would always be many companies competing in the mattress design arena. This has proven to be true as air and foam mattresses have created a revolution in the consumer mattress business, dramatically taking away marketshare from traditional innerspring mattresses. The greater challenge was to design a new way of selling mattresses. Years later, the product of my effort is US Patent Number 7,198,313.” Read more »

By the end of the month, furniture makers Swarzędz and Paged Meble will sign a letter of intent concerning a merger.

“We have met, and following a discussion, decided that the merger of Swarzedz and Paged Meble is a favorable solution for both companies,” said Krzysztof Bukowski, president of Paged, which owns Paged Meble. Recently both companies suffered financial woes and the merger would give them new energy and a strong position on the Polish and European markets.

Walk into Homes r Us and you could be lost for choice amongst the large range of furniture on display. The fabulous range of furniture available at Homes r Us, the fastest growing home furniture & furnishings brand in the Middle East, is incredibly large, and offers a never-before choice to the shopper. The collection ranges across living, dining, bedroom and kids room, besides an inspiring collection of furnishings, accessories and outdoor furniture across different styles. With this fabulous range, available across all Homes r Us showrooms, the brand aims at making shopping for your home a very satisfying experience.

Besides being high on quality as always, the refreshing range of furniture introduced at Homes r Us is also very aesthetically beautiful. The vast range includes 65 Living Rooms, 55 Dining Rooms, 25 Kids Rooms and 65 Bedrooms in modern, classic and ethnic styles.

Commenting on the same, Mr. Viraf Raimalwala, General Manager - Homes r Us says “Homes r Us has a range so wide and deep, it will leave you stumped for choice. While we have always been the choice of shoppers with an elegant eye for home décor, this new range with its unbelievable ‘value, variety & style’ combination is sure to mesmerize our customers!” Read more »

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c54148) has announced the addition of The UK Market For Office Furniture 2007 to their offering.

The research took place during the period from December 2006 to February 2007 and this report presents the findings from that investigation. Read more »

Wickes Furniture Company, Inc., a Sun Capital Investment Company and one of the nation’s largest furniture retailers, has announced grand opening plans for its two new retail showrooms in Beaumont and Corona, Calif.

Grand opening festivities are scheduled April 28 and 29 at the recently opened showrooms at 1482 Second St., Beaumont (in the new San Gorgonio Village shopping center) and 3615 Grand Oaks, Corona (exit off the Corona Pkwy. at Cajalco Rd.). Highlights at both locations include: Read more »

Special types of furniture are made for special needs.

The telephone table — a small table with an attached chair — was made for people who wanted a comfortable spot to talk on the phone. The 18th-century writing-arm Windsor chair was made for a man who wanted a special place to sit while he worked. The dressing table was made with a mirror, drawers and compartments to hold cosmetics and toilet articles.

Municipal water plants that sent running water into the house were not common in the United States until the 20th century. So instead of flush toilets, people used a large bowl known as a potty or “thunder mug.” The well-to-do sometimes had furniture made to conceal the bowl or to make it easier to use.

These special pieces of furniture are not popular with collectors today, so they are sometimes altered to hide their original purpose.

Large wooden chairs were made with holes in the seat above a low shelf that held the bowl. Today the seat with the hole might be replaced or upholstered. Sometimes a bedside commode was made to look like a small table with a cupboard space or drawer to hide the potty. Today, the bowl is removed along with any signs it was there. Read more »

Donald Trump has been known to call himself the “”biggest name in real estate,” but at the recent High Point Market the world’s largest wholesale home-furnishings show he may have been the biggest name in TV storage.

Trump made a brief appearance here to unveil two Trump Home furniture collections for Lexington Home Brands, inspired by some of his penthouses, estates, and historic homes, including those in Westchester County, N.Y.

The furniture is intended for “”aspirational” consumers who want a luxury lifestyle, and apparently one of the things these consumers aspire to is a large flat-screen plasma TV. One of the pieces in the Westchester Collection is an entertainment console with a remote control that lifts the television in and out of the unit. Read more »