La-Z-Boy, a leading manufacturer of upholstered furniture, has announced the reopening of a La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® store in Spokane, Wash., located at 10205 N. Division. The store was renovated to boast the design-focused format of the company’s “new generation” stores, which help customers in every step of their furniture shopping experience.

The newly remodeled 15,300 square-foot store features the full selection of stylish La-Z-Boy® furniture, beautiful accent pieces, and a professionally staffed design center to help customers put it all together. Read more »

Andreas Furniture carries one of the widest selections of furniture in Northeast Ohio — more than 90 brands — and has set out to increase store traffic and attract new customers from greater distances. The Sugarcreek, Ohio-based store seeks to accomplish these goals with the support of its new marketing communications firm, Hitchcock Fleming & Associates Inc. (hfa). Andreas conducted a review of marketing communications firms before choosing hfa, which is a full-service marketing agency based in Akron, Ohio.

“We searched for a full-service agency to help formulate and direct a new marketing strategy for Andreas,” said Tim Sisler, vice president/general manager of Andreas Furniture. “We sought a firm with the proven breadth and depth to develop and execute a new strategy, and hfa really stood out with its marketing experience and capabilities.”

It’s planned that the marketing hfa will develop for the family-owned and operated store will encompass ethnographic account-planning research; interactive marketing; print, broadcast and nontraditional advertising; media planning and buying; and public relations. Read more »

Andreas Furniture carries one of the widest selections of furniture in Northeast Ohio — more than 90 brands — and has set out to increase store traffic and attract new customers from greater distances. The Sugarcreek, Ohio-based store seeks to accomplish these goals with the support of its new marketing communications firm, Hitchcock Fleming & Associates Inc. (hfa). Andreas conducted a review of marketing communications firms before choosing hfa, which is a full-service marketing agency based in Akron, Ohio.

“We searched for a full-service agency to help formulate and direct a new marketing strategy for Andreas,” said Tim Sisler, vice president/general manager of Andreas Furniture. “We sought a firm with the proven breadth and depth to develop and execute a new strategy, and hfa really stood out with its marketing experience and capabilities.” Read more »

Clars Auction Gallery’s Spectacular November Antique and Estate Sale which will be held on November 4th and 5th, will bring to the block some of the finest in antique European furniture and a collection of rare American historic ephemera and local San Francisco history not seen before on the market.

The very important collection of European antique furniture, paintings, lighting and sculptures comes to the block from the Collection of Cor de Chasse, an international investment corporation. Among the many highlights from this collection will be a stunning Louis XVI (circa 1770) gilt bronze-mounted Table de Salon by Roger Vandercruse. This important piece is estimated to sell for $50,000 to $70,000. Also coming from this collection is a 19th century North Italian mother-of-pearl and ivory inlaid rosewood desk (estimate $15,000 to $20,000) and a French 19th century Regence style Kingwood veneered ormolu-mounted cabinet which is estimated at $18,000 to $20,000. A beautiful pair of Regence 18th century candelabras is estimated to sell for $18,000 to $24,000. Perhaps one of the most exciting pieces in this collection and definitely the most unusual is a French 16th century Renaissance limestone chimneypiece which was originally part of the Hearst collection. This fabulous lot is estimated at $120,000 to $180,000. Read more »

The widely respected industry veteran Michael Pitman has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Durham Furniture, one of North America’s largest and leading producers of better quality solid wood bedroom furniture.

He assumes his post on October 2, 2006 and succeeds Keith McSpurren, who has served as chief executive officer for the past 18 months.

Mr. Pitman brings 25 years of industry-specific experience to his new position. Most recently, he served as Vice President/Division Sales for Schnadig Corporation. He has also held senior sales and marketing positions with Lexington Home Brands.

“His primary focus has been on driving sales results for both of these significant case goods producers,” Mr. McSpurren said. “He possesses a strong understanding of the Canadian and U.S. markets coupled with a reputation for integrity and strategic thinking. He consistently demonstrates an ability to bring together all functional areas of the business (sales, marketing, product development, manufacturing, finance and human resources) to deliver superior results.”

“This is an exciting time to join Durham in a leadership position and to continue growing the legacy of North America’s premier solid wood bedroom manufacturer,” Mr. Pitman said. “We will continue to provide our retail partners with fashion forward, high quality furniture of unparalleled value supported by manufacturing excellence, superior service and supply chain stability. These strengths aid them to profitably grow their businesses.” Read more »

Furniture Direct, one of America’s most popular furniture retailers offering discount furniture prices and nationwide delivery on brand name North Carolina furniture and known for its catchy tag line: Legendary Brand Names at Down to Earth Prices, announced today the launch of their newly redesigned website.

Whether you are looking for elements that make up a comfortable bedroom, a gracious dining room, that perfect living room, or maybe even an entire dream home, through its more user-friendly design format and comprehensive search abilities, FurnitureOfAmerica.com aims to make your online furniture shopping a convenient, inspiring and pleasurable experience.

“TOP SELLERS” one of the great new categories offered in the new site showcases Furniture Direct’s most popular selling products. Visitors to the site can get a preview of the retailer’s hottest selling bedroom, dining room, and living room furniture.

Other added highlights include a decorating blog, a home decorating directory, and a section that features Furniture Direct’s special sales and promotions on well-known lines like Henredon, Ralph Lauren, Bernhardt, Martha Stewart, and Tommy Bahama to name a few. Read more »

The newest permanent exhibit at Bethel College’s Kauffman Museum has been in the making for more than 15 years.

“Mennonite Immigrant Furniture” opens to the public on Saturday, Sept. 23. Based on the museum’s 1991 temporary exhibit of the same name, the new permanent collection contains pieces either brought by immigrant Mennonites in the 1870s or built by their first-generation descendents. It will be installed in a new gallery in the museum.

The collection is an official project of Save America’s Treasures, a partnership between the White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic and National Preservation. Since its creation in 1998, Save America’s Treasures has identified historic places, artifacts and documents in need of immediate preservation. “Mennonite Immigrant Furniture” is one of only seven designated Save America’s Treasures projects in Kansas. Read more »

When beginning a home decorating project, it’s helpful to know the most common interior design pitfalls. Avoiding these will improve your design, save time and money, and help make your experience more enjoyable.

Furniture.com lead design consultant Davis Remignanti offers these approaches to avoid when tackling interior design projects:

• The Big Bang. Don’t expect to go from blank canvas to finished interior in one fell swoop. Interesting interiors are created in layers, over time. Don’t try to get it all at once. Read more »

More and more consumers, feeling the pinch of the new higher minimum payments on credit cards, are driven to seek bigger and bigger bargains when they shop, according to the latest Consumers’ Mind Reader™ survey conducted by America’s Research Group (ARG). In the past two months, from 43.0% to 53.4% of Americans have noticed a larger required minimum monthly payment.

“Retail stores are feeling the pinch of the bargain-minded consumer in lower earnings,” says C. Britt Beemer, founder and CEO of ARG. “This is not a good omen for the upcoming holiday sales period,” he added. Read more »

La-Z-Boy Residential has appointed Chuck Seilnacht to the newly created position of director of Furniture Galleries Excellence. In this role, Seilnacht will lead the continuous development and implementation of the Furniture Galleries Excellence (FGE) performance improvement system to drive consistency and operational excellence within the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® store network. Seilnacht will report directly to Mark Wagner, vice president of store development and marketing.

“Furniture Galleries Excellence provides our proprietary dealers with the tools and support programs necessary to drive continuous and focused improvement,” said Wagner. “Chuck has the retail performance improvement experience and need assessment techniques required to ensure that the FGE program continues to provide our stores with an incredible advantage.”

In addition, Seilnacht will lead all retail training and education programs to achieve company goals and growth initiatives among all La-Z-Boy distribution channels. Read more »