Decorize, Inc., a provider of home accents, was recently featured on HGTV’s special presentation of International Furniture Show 2007, said a news release from the Springfield company.

The show gives viewers a sneak preview of what’s new in the world of furniture and other home furnishings. Co-hosts Monica Pederson and Steven Lee take viewers to The High Point International Home Furnishings Market in Highpoint, N.C., where they see the latest innovations and trends in furniture, accessories and home furnishings. The show will be re-aired on Sunday, at 4 p.m. Read more »

Monica Smiley, publisher and CEO of Enterprising Women magazine, has named Rosalie Stackman Edson as an Enterprising Women National Advisory Board member. Edson is the president and owner of Meadows Office Furniture Company, a full service distributor of contract furniture and related furnishings for the office. Members of the Enterprising Women National Advisory Board provide advice to the publication’s staff to tailor the publication to meet the needs of entrepreneurial women.

News Facts:
· Rosalie Stackman Edson has been named an Enterprising Women National Advisory Board member.
· Edson is the president and owner of Meadows Office Furniture Company, a full service distributor of contract furniture and related furnishings for the office.
· Members of the Enterprising Women National Advisory Board provide advice to the publication’s staff to tailor the publication to meet the needs of entrepreneurial women.
· Monica Smiley is publisher and CEO of Enterprising Women magazine. Read more »

Design industry energized by the emergence of lesser known companies

Followers of Italian design are familiar with the big manufacturing names such as B&B Italia, Cassina, and Kartell, but many believe it is the many small and medium-sized furniture companies that form the backbone of the Italian sector due to those companies’ particular attention to materials and new product development. As design legend Gaetano Pesce has noted, “The owners of (smaller) companies fuel the progress of design through research, experimentation, and the use of new materials.” Read more »

A bicoastal man who grew up in Los Angeles and New York City has opened a modern furniture store in an historic building in downtown Rogers.

Dan Stiel opened Abetica on Friday in 2,500 square feet in the Union Block building at 124 W. Walnut St. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1897 and housed the original Rose Drug Store.

Abetica will have three full-time employees at opening and Stiel said he is hiring more.

“I see a store like this having seven full-time people,” he said.

Stiel plans a grand opening Dec. 21 and said he spent about $65,000 to remodel the space and about $250,000 on initial inventory. Read more »

Ernesto Cohan is thankful his two young sons spilled apple juice on the family’s expensive Italian sofa.

The spill launched the North Miami Beach clothing designer into a new venture: stretch-to-fit slipcovers.

Cohan’s expandable slipcovers are unique because they have a clothing designer’s sensibilities and just enough Lycra to make for a snug, upholstery-like fit.

Think Pottery Barn meets Prada.

Cohan’s patented slipcovers are now available online and in catalogs, and he’s exploring a franchise concept to debut late this year. Read more »

Finding bedding that fits a bed’s style sometimes can be a daunting task, but these days more retailers and manufacturers have it covered.

Their solution for stymied shoppers: Buy the bed and the bedding all at once.

Designers such as Thomas O’Brien, Kelly Hoppen and Ralph Lauren have been doing it that way for some time. They have their own bedding lines to go with their furniture collections for Hickory Chair, Century Furniture and Henredon, respectively.

Store buyers have been paying attention. Page through a Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, or Williams-Sonoma catalog, and you’ll find that the bedding so well suits the beds for sale that you may be tempted to snap up the whole ensemble. Read more »