Park B. Smith makes Window magic

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 3/26/2001 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK -Abracadabra!

The new Window Magic collection from Park B. Smith Ltd. is designed to make hooks, pulleys, rings and all the other bothersome hardware typically associated with new curtains vanish into thin air.

The four new window treatment programs within the new Window Magic collection-Button-up Blind, Draw Tie Swag, Draw Tie Panel and Design-A-Pair-will be introduced at April market.

The collection, which is copyrighted and patent-pending, was designed to stress high fashion but more importantly low maintenance. "All you need is the curtain and the rod," said Valborg Linn, director of design and merchandising.

"It's one of the most exciting introductions that one can imagine," Linn said. "Curtains have been more of the same, more of the same for a long time. But what's so inspiring about this new collection is that it makes it possible to get a decorator look without all the hardware. Everything is a simple action that the consumers can do themselves. It encourages consumers to be as creative as they want to be with the merchandise as it comes."

Inspiration for Window Magic came when Park B. Smith Sr., company chairman, challenged the design team, "because of the nature of the window treatment business, to come up with something new and different," Linn explained.

After working on the project for several months, blueprints for the final four designs were completed in October.

"In analyzing the curtain industry, it was our determination that it has been void of innovation and real newness for far too long," Smith said. "Accordingly, I challenged our staff at PBS to reverse this-and we have-to the point of patenting what we've done."

The collection includes 15 fabric patterns and a variety of colorways-certain fabrics are available in only one colorway, while others come in up to six hues. All the curtains in the collection were designed to coordinate with the existing Eco-ordinates line or the Park B. Smith Ltd. signature brand.

• Button-up Blind comes in a variety of fabrics, including chinos, damask and canvas, and is intended for a crisp and modern look;

• Draw Tie Swag comes in sheers, velvet filigree and others and was designed for a soft and dressier look;

• Draw Tie Panel works with "all fabrics" and was inspired "by urban windows, which people draw in the center," Linn said;

• Design-A-Pair is a sheer sewn onto the back of an opaque fabric.

"We think and we hope this collection will be customer-based," Linn said. "It will definitely attract younger consumers who want a look like this but haven't had the time or money to order custom draperies. Ours are ready to hang, ready to decorate. They are intended to spark the consumer's creative side."

Price points for the new curtains have not yet been determined.