Sferra debuts baby-only catalog

By Marvin Lazaro -- Home Textiles Today, 1/29/2001 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK -With the introduction of its baby catalog, Sferra Bros. Ltd. is looking to mature that segment of its business.

Sferra Baby is the Cliffwood, NJ-branded company's first baby-only catalog. Baby items had been and will continue to be part of its traditional catalog.

"We're known primarily for our table and bed linens, and we did a separate baby catalog so we could attract the baby buyer and have them understand that we have a fine quality baby program, too," said Alesandra Lopez-Kiely, marketing manager, Sferra Bros.

Fitted crib sheets, crib skirts, shams, quilts, blankets, bumpers and pillows are available in plain linen or embroidered and in a variety of patterns in butter, pink and blue colorways. The quilts are hand-smocked, and the shams are hand-smocked with embroidery from Madeira and the Azores. All of the items are made with Italian-Egyptian cotton percale in a 210-count. All of the items are also available for custom monogramming. Wholesale prices range from $12 for a 12" x 16" linen sham to $95 for a 34" x 42" embroidered quilt.

The newest patterns are Wooly Sheep and Eloise. Wooly Sheep depicts whimsical sheep in a meadow of field flowers and grasses, while Eloise features hand-smocking with field flowers and floating butterflies.

Sferra Bros. started manufacturing its baby line in the early 1990s, but it wasn't until three years ago that the company started to expand the line and give it more prominence.

Lopez-Kiely explained that all of the baby bedding is source-appointed from Early's of Witney by the Queen of England, which means the same quality of linen would also be found in Buckingham Palace in London.

"It sets us apart," Lopez-Kiely said of using Early's.

Also new from Sferra Bros. is a new bedding pattern called Francesca and a tabletop pattern called Bordeaux.

Francesca, available in white only, is a 406-count Italian-Egyptian cotton percale. It is hand embroidered with a lace inset with a floral scroll design and will wholesale from $25 to $265.

Bordeaux is made from 100 percent Swiss cotton organdy and is also hand embroidered, but in a floral vine pattern.