Sears, Kmart team with Design on a Dime

-- Home Textiles Today, 4/30/2010 10:52:00 AM

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – For the second time, sister retailers Sears and Kmart are teaming up with Housing Works Thrift Shops to present the sixth annual Design on a Dime Extravaganza.

The interior design charity event is scheduled May 6 to 8 in New York City., and an exclusive preview will showcase stylized vignettes with designs from the Kmart’s and Sears’ Fall 2010 home collections, include Jaclyn Smith, Ty Pennington and Country Living.

Also joining in with her first collaboration will be Leslie Segrete, who appeared on TLC's While You Were Out and Trading Spaces and is now the host of A&E's new series, $100 Makeover, premiering June 19. She attend the VIP reception to offer design-specific advice on outdoor living.

Design on a Dime has asked 50 renowned interior designers to create room vignettes with new merchandise, which is donated and then sold at a 60% to 80% discount of the regular retail price.

Since its inception, Design on a Dime has raised more than $2 million for Housing Works Inc., New York's largest AIDS service organization. Last year's Design on a Dime Extravaganza – which represented Sears' and Kmart's debut as the major sponsor – raised more than $600,000 for Housing Works.

"Sears and Kmart are enormously pleased to be partnering with Housing Works for the second year in a row," said Doug Wurl, vp/gmm Sears Holdings' home fashions. "Having a presence among such notable industry talent allows us an incredible opportunity to premiere our collections and showcase the abilities of our own designers – all while contributing to a very special cause."

Tickets start at $150 for the May 6 Design on a Dime VIP reception, which will be located at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th St. For tickets or more information, visit www.housingworks.org/dime or call 347-473-7457.

The VIP event is followed by free and open-to-the-public shopping from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 7 - 8.