This week in design, typical dorm room decor may include movie posters and Ikea furniture—or, if you’re a student at the University of Chicago, a print by Picasso. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, events, recommended reading and more.
Business News
Franchise Group—a holding company that includes brands like American Freight and Buddy’s Home Furnishings—has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Home News Now reports. While the other brands in the company’s portfolio will continue operations, the filing revealed that American Freight will shut down immediately pending court approval. The news is the latest installment in a troubling few years for Franchise Group, which went private under the leadership of former CEO Brian Kahn in 2023 with roughly $200 million in financing from investment and brokerage firm B. Riley Financial. Then, in January of this year, Kahn stepped down amid an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into his alleged contributions to the collapse of hedge fund Prophecy Asset Management (allegations Kahn denies). Now Franchise Group owes approximately $1 billion to lenders, listing assets between $1 billion and $10 billion.
Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Casper Sleep has been acquired by a subsidiary of polyurethane foam manufacturer Carpenter Co., Retail Dive reports. The news follows a tumultuous few years for Casper, which went public in 2020 after gaining major traction in the DTC space. Less than two years later, the brand went private again via an acquisition by private equity firm Durational Capital Management. Despite cost-cutting measures, Casper faced challenges as venture capital funding dried up, and sold its Canadian operations to retailer Sleep Country in 2023. For now, a statement shared by Carpenter revealed only that the company plans to “assist Casper on a comprehensive growth and profitability strategy, as well as the appropriate future channels to market.”
Luxury home sellers are increasingly turning to auction companies to help facilitate their sales after failing to find buyers in a stagnant market, The Wall Street Journal reports. Despite listings sitting on the market for longer on average, sellers are largely refusing to lower prices—high-end home prices rose 9 percent last quarter, at a rate three times faster than non-luxury property prices. In hopes of offloading their properties more quickly and reaching buyers outside of their local market, many are opting to auction off their homes through companies like Interluxe, which has seen business more than double annually for the last three years. The approach has been further legitimized in recent years as major luxury home auctioneers receive investment from companies like Compass and Realogy (parent company to Sotheby’s). For sellers, however, the outcome still isn’t always ideal—a WSJ analysis found that a majority result in sales well below listing price, with an average discount of 46 percent for home auctions last year through auction house Concierge, and a 26 percent discount through Interluxe.
A group of Italian furniture companies is teaming up to create a new organization geared toward reducing waste and recycling end-of-life products, Women’s Wear Daily reports. The new group, called the Extended Producer Responsibility Consortium, was created by 15 founding member companies—with collective annual sales of roughly 2billion euros—as well as FederlegnoArredo (the Italian federation of woodworking and furniture industries). Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro is on its board of directors. According to a statement from Porro, the group’s aim is to implement a waste management and reuse system that adheres to regulations set forth by the European Green Deal, which aims to put the EU on a path toward climate neutrality by 2050.
Nemo Group—a Milan-based lighting company that includes Nemo Lighting, Reggiani and Ilti Luce—has acquired heritage lighting brand FontanaArte and home furnishings brand Driade from ItalianCreationGroup, Women’s Wear Daily reports. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. In a statement, Nemo Group said that five brands under its umbrella will continue to operate as “separate entities.” The purchases mark the company’s latest in a string of acquisitions beginning in 2020 with Ilti Luce and followed by Reggiani in 2023.
Household items made from black plastic may contain toxic flame retardants, which are made from chemicals linked to serious health risks such as cancer, neurological damage and hormone disruption, according to new research from nonprofit Toxic-Free Future and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. As Fast Company reports, the October study included tests of a range of home items sold in the U.S., with the highest level of chemicals found in a spatula, a sushi tray and a beaded necklace. The group surmised that the toxic chemicals came from mismanaged recycling of waste from electronic products like TVs and computers, which are often covered in flame retardant–treated plastic (though states like New York and Washington have already moved to ban the chemicals from future products). Experts suggest replacing all kitchen utensils made of black plastic with ones made of stainless steel or wood, as many of the plastic products tested in the study were not labeled as made from recycled materials.
Launches and Collaborations
Florence, Italy–based heritage brand Loretta Caponi tapped designer Carlos Mota for the debut of a new collection of tablecloths and placemats. Handcrafted in Italy, the collaboration brings Mota’s signature style to the brand’s array of hand-stitched embroidery.
Global lifestyle brand Enkay has teamed up with Belgian furniture company Ethnicraft for a collection of sustainably made furniture, including dining tables, chairs, benches, sofas and sideboards. The product assortment represents both brands’ shared commitment to the environment, utilizing ethically sourced materials such as wood from responsibly managed forests.
Pet brand Lay Lo tapped Brigette Romanek for the debut of a new assortment of dog beds and blankets. The result is a collection crafted with textured cream and taupe textiles designed for durability—and it’s free from harmful substances that could endanger furry friends.
Thompson, a supplier specializing in hand-hammered metal sinks, bath tubs, range hoods and more, and heritage hardware brand Keeler Brass Company have announced the formation of a partnership. The two brands will offer curated product selections matching Thompson’s finishes with Keeler’s portfolio of knobs, pulls and decorative hardware, with the goal of making pairings easier for designers and homeowners.
The Black Artists + Designers Guild has debuted an installation at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum for the institution’s “Making Home: Design Triennial” exhibit, which opened November 2. One of the 25 installations, “The Underground Library” draws inspiration from the Underground Railroad with a selection of objects, artifacts and books curated by a team that includes Malene Barnett, Jomo Tariku, Leyden Lewis, Nina Cooke John and Penny Francis.
Showroom Representation
Kravet is now the exclusive distributor of British fabric and wallcoverings brand Scion in the U.S. and Canada. The partnership will see Kravet offer more than 250 of Scion’s colorful designs, including popular prints such as Mr Fox, Lohko and Shibori.
Recommended Reading
As editor in chief of Town & Country and editorial director of Elle Decor, Stellene Volandes has spent the last few years bringing two titans of the print magazine heyday into the digital age—but her climb through the publishing ranks might not be finished yet. For The New York Times, Alyson Krueger profiles Volandes, offering a glimpse at how the editor embodies the spirit of the magazines she leads—and why she might be poised to follow in the footsteps of Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour.
Last week, news broke that Amazon’s upcoming discount shop would feature a $20 sofa. For Curbed writer Bridget Read, the possibility of such a product is simply the latest nightmarish installment in a fruitless, monthslong couch-buying process, in which the current array of options on the market are largely devoid of quality, comfort and unique style.
When New York was covered in an orange haze of wildfire smoke last summer, the air pollution infiltrated many homes and apartments across the city—though not in the case of former Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson, whose passive house in Brooklyn enjoyed near-perfect air quality throughout the entire ordeal. For The Washington Post, Hannah Seo explores why Dickerson is part of the growing wave of passive-house dwellers living in healthier, more efficient homes thanks to a building boom powered by lower costs and energy code changes.
