Elrene signs celebrity chef for kitchen line

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 7/9/2001 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

Elrene Home Fashions, based here, recently entered into a licensing agreement with renowned chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck to create a full line of 100 percent cotton table linens and kitchen accessories.

The new collection will include coordinating solid-color and patterned programs for tablecloths, place mats, napkins, oven mitts, potholders and kitchen towels.

The new collection will be introduced in October at the New York Home Textiles Show.

The Austrian-born Puck was trained in France and owns a string of restaurants — most notably Spago — and is a regular guest on the CBS program "Good Morning America." He just launched a new cooking show on cable television's The Food Network.

"Wolfgang Puck is one of the most pre-eminent chefs in the country today," said Christine Ullman, vp, design, Elrene. "His name is immediately recognized by the consumer, and we felt it was a perfect umbrella for our upscale Bistro table linens and kitchen line."

The collection, consisting of Tuscan-inspired linens and kitchen items that share a theme with Puck's specialties in cuisine, will be sourced from four countries in Asia and Europe.

Several key retailers will be invited to preview the line prior to the fall introduction.

"We hope it will be transitional in design," Ullman said. "We hope that it will go easily from the kitchen to the dining room."

The collection will target department and specialty stores, Ullman said. Retail price points are estimated at $4.99 and $7.99 for kitchen textiles and $19.99 for tablecloths.