kravet

Brunschwig & Fils Files Chapter 11, May Be Sold To Competitor

Filed under: Decor

Luxury wallcovering brand Brunschwig & Fils recently announced that the family-owned company has filed for Chapter 11 restructuring and that Kravet, a fabrics and home furnishings company and former competitor has agreed to buy the company. Brunschwig & Fils is an 111-year-old distributor of wall coverings and upholstery fabrics. It listed assets of $10.9 million and debt totaling $18.4 million. The recession led to a 35% decline in sales in 2009 and a 30% decrease in 2010 as less people poured money into their homes.

Home Textiles Today reports that Kravet , a 93-year-old-brand, has offered $6.5 million in cash plus other considerations. Brunschwig & Fils wants other offers by March 3, with an auction not more than two days later to see if anyone will top Kravet's offer. There are no plans to close the 17 Brunschwig & Fils showrooms in the U.S. and three abroad. Brunschwig CEO Olivier Pearson called the restructuring a business decision and said that "our relationships with the lines we represent remain intact and the Brunschwig & Fils Design Studio is creating new patterns for future release."

Tags: brunschwig fils, chapter 11, fabric, kravet, wallcoverings

Thom Filicia To Unveil New Art Line

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art, Celebrity Design

Designer and television personality Thom Filicia is on a creating role lately. Last month we mentioned that he has a collection of fabrics for Kravet for its to-the-trade home furnishings lines, now he's creating a new art collection.

Filicia is best known as being the designer on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and currently appears on "Tacky House" on the Style network. Filicia and Ed Marin of Soicher Marin began working together last year. According to Home Accents Today, Filicia traveled to Sarasota, Florida in early July to work with Marin to finish the line which will be unveiled at the High Point Market in October (check out behind the scenes shots of the pair at work on the Soicher Marin blog). No visuals yet but look for a little minimalist designs that incorporate both nature scenes and industrialist images along with a heavy dose of nostalgia. Soicher Marin also works with other designers including Suzanne Kasler, Jamie Drake and Mariette Himes Gomez.

Filicia is fast becoming a one man empire. He also sells the Thom Filicia Home Collection made by Vanguard which includes a mix of living, dining and bedroom pieces. His rug collection for Safavieh spans the range from more formal rugs to casual rugs including some woven with yarns made from recycled soda bottles.

Tags: interior design, kravet, safavieh, soicher marin, thom filicia

Thom Filicia's New Fabric Line

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Celebrity Shopping

Designer and television personality Thom Filicia has created a new collection of fabrics for Kravet for its to-the-trade home furnishings lines. Filicia is best known as being the designer on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and currently appears on "Tacky House" on the Style network. The collection is available in Kravet showrooms in North America. Maddie's Nest has images of the new line which shows colors and styles for a variety of tastes from subdued pinstripes and herringbone tweeds to graphic prints and colorful naturalistic styles.

"I chose to partner with Kravet for this collection because they really allowed me to convey my point of view and design aesthetic," said Filicia. "Kravet fabrics are known for their quality, but more importantly for being beautiful and accessible, and that was really important to me."

Other designers who have a fabric line with Kravet include Barclay Butera, Candice Olsen and Barbara Barry. Kravet also makes fabrics for Ralph Lauren Home and Calvin Klein Home as well as lines inspired by famous homes like Winterthur and the Biltmore Estate.

Tags: designer fabric, kravet, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, thom filicia