The new year is finally here, and amid flurries of resolutions and fresh habits, the industry pushes on. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches and events, recommended reading, and more.
BUSINESS NEWS
Fresh off its recent acquisition by New York–based private equity firm Centre Lane Partners, Lenox Corporation has announced an acquisition of its own: flatware and cutlery company Hampton Forge, along with its Hampton Forge Signature, Tomodachi, Skandia, and Argent Orfèvres brands. The news follows the shuttering of Lenox’s factory in Kinston, North Carolina, and the closure of its outlet shops. According to CEO Mads Ryder, Lenox has spent the last 24 months shaping its operational platform for optimal growth, beginning with this acquisition.
HomeGoods has announced that it will unveil a shoppable online store in 2021. The site will offer exclusive discounts, but there will still be inventory exclusive to the physical retail locations. The move comes at a time when the acute need for curbside pickup and socially distanced shopping has forced many businesses to reevaluate solely brick-and-mortar business models.
In May 2020, Tuesday Morning filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after prolonged store closures assailed its financial performance. The company has now emerged from bankruptcy, having completed its financial and operational restructuring supported by a $110 million asset-backed lending facility from J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, reports Furniture Today. The company will move forward with a reduced brick-and-mortar footprint that includes 490 of its best-performing stores, down from the nearly 700 retail locations that existed before the filing.
Dallas-based flooring company Artisan Design Group, a portfolio company of The Sterling Group, has announced its acquisition of Pacific Carpets, a flooring supplier in Huntington Beach, California. Since its founding in 2016, ADG has completed 15 acquisitions, seven of which came in the last two years under The Sterling Group’s ownership.
New York magazine has named Lindsay Peoples Wagner the new editor in chief of The Cut, the editorial site that covers culture, style and design. Peoples Wagner returns to the site from Teen Vogue, where she has been the editor in chief since 2018. From 2015 to 2018 she worked as The Cut’s fashion market editor under founding editor in chief Stella Bugbee, who announced in October that she would transition into the role of editor at large at New York.
With the latest round of COVID-19 relief signed into law, the Paycheck Protection Program has been reopened. The refundable loan program seeks to provide financial aid to small businesses, available to both first-time PPP recipients as well as those who’ve already received a loan but experienced significant revenue losses in 2020. According to Inc., those looking to take advantage of the program should begin by determining eligibility and organizing accounts before revisiting the PPP application and calling a lender.
LAUNCHES, COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
RoomMates Decor, the peel-and-stick division of York Wallcoverings, has revealed its 2021 color of the year: Green Aloe. The bright yet soothing hue draws from Pantone’s spring/summer 2021 haute couture fashion palette while also speaking to biophilic design.
RECOMMENDED READING
The Wall Street Journal has released its top interior design trends for 2021: Having surveyed 200 design professionals, contributor Kathryn O’Shea-Evans writes of the year’s incoming trends, and the ones being shown the door. From hardware-free kitchen cabinetry to the decline of white-on-white bathrooms, designers including Mally Skok and Marika Meyer comment on shifting tastes.
What does the future hold for New York’s real estate market? While rent and sale prices skyrocketed in many parts of the U.S., it was not so in the Big Apple—those who could fled the city, and demand plummeted. Unemployment reached 12 percent in November, compared to the national rate of 6.7 percent. According to The Real Deal, though, experts forecast that New York’s real estate market will make a slow and steady recovery as vaccines make their way into the world.
CUE THE APPLAUSE
The High Point Market Authority has announced the eight designers who will comprise the 2021 Style Spotters team: Sara Malek Barney of Bandd Design; Lauren Clement of Lauren Nicole Designs; Heather French of French & French Interiors; Breegan Jane; Molly Kay Johns of MK Interiors; Steve McKenzie; Keia McSwain of Kimberly + Cameron Interiors; and Justin Shaulis. The Style Spotters program is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year as a platform for home fashion trendsetters to showcase their favorite products from High Point Market exhibitors.
Pottery Barn has set a goal to plant 3 million trees by the end of 2023 in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. The company will also plant one tree for every piece of indoor wood furniture sold in regions that demonstrate great need.
British interior designer Ilse Crawford has been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to the design industry. Crawford is the head of multidisciplinary design studio Studioilse, and in 1998 founded the Man and Well-Being program at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
IN MEMORIAM
On January 1, design visionary and legendary Architectural Digest editor Paige Rense passed away in her West Palm Beach home at age 91. During her 40 years with the publication, Rense “single-handedly shepherded the transformation of the Los Angeles quarterly into a glossy international style arbiter,” wrote Business of Home editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen in her profile for the Fall 2018 issue of BOH magazine. Rense filled AD’s pages with celebrity homes (including Elton John, Julia Child and Giorgio Armani, to name a few), and introduced the AD100 to the industry in 1990. She will be remembered for her formidable role in shaping interior design media and her tireless spirit.
Artemide Group founder and president Ernesto Gismondi passed away on December 31 at age 89. Gismondi launched the company in 1960 with fellow designer Sergio Mazza to champion Italian design through lighting fixtures. His innovative approach to business and design and commitment to beauty have left a guiding legacy at the company.
Homepage image: Courtesy of Pottery Barn
