Town and Country Upscales Laura Ashley Home

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 8/8/2006 12:00:00 AM

At the New York Market — —

At the New York Market — Four years into its licensing partnership with Laura Ashley, Town and Country Living is taking the program a notch up with the introduction this market of a new collection under a different, more upscale label — Laura Ashley Home.

For the past four years, Town and Country has been creating the Laura Ashley Lifestyles program exclusively for Kohl's. It comprises table linens, kitchen textiles and decorative pillows categories in popular floral, plaid, and check coordinating patterns.

But this new Laura Ashley Home branded collection hits a higher price bracket in its use of more sophisticated designs, heavier fabrications, and added details and embellishments — and, importantly, its availability to a broader distribution channel, namely home textiles specialty chains and warehouse clubs.

“This new look [vs. Laura Ashley Lifestyles] is more updated, and much more in line with what is going on with Laura Ashley in London,” explained Dipali Patwa, vp, design and product development, Town and Country. “It is a distinctly different look, a more upscale-casual look.”

The price points range from $29.99 to $59.99 for tablecloths, $29.99 to $49.99 for decorative pillows, and $8.99 to $12.99 for oven mitts.

The program bows in two designs.

Sophia is a cotton chintz floral in blue shades on a tinted white ground. It coordinates with a matelasse called Anna, a crochet place mat called Circles, and a quilted mat called Cynthia Scallop.

The second group, Emilie, is a yellow and blue floral pattern on a chambray blue twill base fabric. It coordinates with a damask called Trellis Damask, a reversible printed quilt dubbed Vintage Rose, and a group of eye-lit place mats called Penelope.

The components for each designs include: tablecloths, place mats, runners, napkins, chair pads, oven mitts, pot holders, terry kitchen towels and embroidered flat-woven kitchen towels, and decorative pillows in various sizes and shapes.