Atlantic Furniture Richmond Desk with keyboard tray in Antique Walnut The Richmond Desk provides a simple, sturdy space for all your child’s study needs, with a large CPU storage area with cable guide hole and an easy pull out keyboard tray. Metal euro-glides on all drawers with solid hardwood construction and dove tail joinery. Constructed of of Read more »

Trevor Webb found something worth admiring at the furniture show here: nail holes, scuffs and dents.

“It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” asked Webb, admiring a massive wood table made by his Van Nuys, Calif.-based furniture company Urban Woods LLC. “You wouldn’t know this is reclaimed wood from soundstages and old buildings in California unless you look closely.”

Webb, and his furniture, are part of a growing green movement in the home decor industry that promotes recycled materials, wood collected from certified sustainable forests, cushions created from soy, vegetable-based stains and environmentally sound fabric and foam.

Yet there are no national standards that spell out what makes one couch more environmentally friendly than another. Currently, any company can claim their eco-efforts are more green than the next guy.

Dozens of manufacturers touted eco-friendly products at the High Point Market two weeks ago — the twice-annual home decor and furnishings trade show that previews what will be in stores next season.

Industry analysts see it as both a response to a growing need for accountability and an effective marketing tool.

“The industry is reaching out,” said Jerry Epperson, a furniture industry analyst with Richmond, Va.-based investment firm Mann, Armistead and Epperson. “Retailers see it as important to the younger generations.”

Wood used for tables, dressers and frames is typically harvested from responsibly managed forests. Glues and finishes are water-based. Sofas use recycled steel springs, while cushions are soy-based. Fabrics are organic cotton, hemp, bamboo and leather byproducts.

Then you have the more unusual offerings, such as chair slip covers made by using multicolored thread scraps or upholstery made from recycled water bottles.

“Everyone has a little something different to offer,” said Hamed Alaghebandian, who’s planning on opening a furniture store later this year in Maryland. “My job is to find things that my customers will want to help them maintain a greener lifestyle.”

The shift comes from small producers as well as large manufacturers such as Precedent, Rowe Fine Furniture Inc., Century Furniture LLC, and Harden Furniture Inc.

Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. has vowed to plant one tree for every tree it uses to produce its furniture — roughly 150,000 saplings a year. That’s a bold commitment for the Virginia-based company, which is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of wood furnishings.

“We admit we needed to do something proactive,” spokesman Doug Bassett said.

The Sustainable Furniture Council offers guidelines and bases its membership on “evidence of performance, and of commitment to continual and demonstrated improvement in the sustainability of all company operations.” The Chapel Hill-based organization even provides a brochure with questions consumers can ask while buying furniture.

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Trevor Webb found something worth admiring at the furniture show here: nail holes, scuffs and dents.

“It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” asked Webb, admiring a massive wood table made by his Van Nuys, Calif.-based furniture company Urban Woods LLC. “You wouldn’t know this is reclaimed wood from soundstages and old buildings in California unless you look closely.” Read more »

Herman Miller Inc. said it’s buying Brandrud Furniture Inc., which makes health care furnishings, for an undisclosed price.

Seattle-based Brandrud makes seating products for waiting areas, patient treatment areas and lobbies and waiting rooms, and also sells to higher education and office markets. The company’s 2007 sales are expected to be about $20 million. The company was acquired by Lee Falck and Bobby Holt in 2000; both serve as co-presidents. Read more »

MONROE – Clayton Marcus, the last of three furniture units put on the selling block this year by La-Z-Boy Inc., has been sold to Rowe Fine Furniture Inc.

The sale of the upholstered furniture subsidiary was announced yesterday by La-Z-Boy, one of the nation’s largest furniture makers, and Rowe. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed.

Clayton Marcus, a maker of medium to upper-priced upholstered furniture, didn’t fit into the long-term strategy in the operations of the $1.6 billion a year Monroe firm, Kurt Darrow, president and chief executive officer of La-Z-Boy, said in a statement.

The deal follows last week’s announcement of the sale of Pennsylvania House by La-Z-Boy to Universal Furniture, with no disclosed price. Plans to sell the two furniture units and Sam Moore, a manufacturer of upscale upholstered chairs, were made known in February by the company. Read more »

Alliance Data has signed a multi-year agreement to provide private label credit card services for leading regional retailer Gardner-White Furniture Inc. Headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Gardner-White is a top 100 U.S. multi-channel furniture retailer of high-quality, affordable home furnishings. Gardner-White sells merchandise through its website and six retail locations in Michigan, with a seventh location opening later this summer.

Alliance Data will provide private label credit card services including account acquisition and activation; receivables funding; card authorization; private label credit card issuance; statement generation; remittance processing; customer service functions; and marketing services for Gardner-White. Alliance Data’s platform will also seamlessly integrate with Gardner-White’s inventory management system, which tracks in real time all merchandise inventory, delivery, and purchases, including purchases made with the Gardner-White private label credit card.

“We continually strive to enhance the experience of our customers across all channels at Gardner-White stores or through our website,” says Barbara Tronstein, Vice-President of Gardner-White Furniture. “Alliance Data’s marketing expertise and flexibility makes them the perfect partner. Finance-based promotions are a critical component of our marketing strategy. Alliance Data’s offering allows merchants to customize their program. Equally important, they think like a retailer and understand the need to satisfy the consumer, and to drive sales.” Read more »

Hudson Valley Office Furniture Inc. is celebrating 30 years in business.

The Main Street, City of Poughkeepsie business, is managed by Steven Chickery. The business is family-owned.

Hudson Valley Office Furniture got its official start on March 10, 1977, as Hudson Valley Stationers at 270 Main Street, according to the Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce. Read more »

The huge irony was not lost on Kevin Sauder.

As president and chief executive of Sauder Woodworking Co., the $700 million ready-to-assemble furniture giant in Archbold, Ohio, he made tough calls in recent years to move some production to Asia to cut costs and stay competitive.

Then, last July, who should show up on his corporate doorstep but Ikea officials, who had a similar problem. The Swedish retail giant had to cut costs – and planned to do so by moving cabinet frame and shelf production from Europe to America.

“Ikea designs in Sweden, runs the costs of shipping, resources, materials, and labor, and found that it was cheaper to make furniture in Archbold for distribution than to make it at its Poland plants and ship it to the U.S.,” Sauder said.

“We are to Ikea what China is to a lot of furniture companies.”

Global competition has been tough on many industries, but it has struck the $22 billion domestic furniture industry especially hard in the last 10 years. Read more »

THE HUGE irony was not lost on Kevin Sauder.

As president and chief executive of Sauder Woodworking Co., the $700 million ready-to-assemble furniture giant in Archbold, he made tough calls in recent years to move some production to Asia to cut costs and stay competitive.

Then, last July, who should show up on his corporate doorstep but Ikea officials, who had a similar problem. The Swedish retail giant had to cut costs — and planned to do so by moving cabinet frame and shelf production from Europe to America.

“Ikea designs in Sweden, runs the costs of shipping, resources, materials, and labor, and found that it was cheaper to make furniture in Archbold for distribution than to make it at its Poland plants and ship it to the U.S.,” Mr. Sauder said.

“We are to Ikea what China is to a lot of furniture companies.” Read more »

Getting the “biggest bang for the buck” is often a key consideration when looking for new office furniture, including cubicles. Here are 7 tips for finding the best value:

1. Take the Long View. Before making your decision, consider both your short- and long-term work space needs, then compare the pros and cons of each purchase option to determine the best course of action.

2. ‘Deal’ Does Not Equal ‘Value’. Save $ now, spend $ later. Unfortunately. Read more »