Dwell gives floral a modern spin

By Andrea Lillo -- Home Textiles Today, 8/5/2002 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

With a "passion for prints," bedding manufacturer Dwell has taken a twist on the traditional with one of its new introductions this month.

Known for its graphic designs and bold colors, Dwell will debut a modern floral design among its product mix at the gift shows in San Francisco from Aug. 3 to 7 and here from Aug. 10 to 15.

"We try to do some more traditional bedding ideas in funky ways," said Christiane Lemieux, who founded Dwell more than two years ago because she saw an opening in the market for younger, fashionable and affordable bedding.

"Florals are the best-selling patterns overall in bedding," said Jennifer Chused, partner. "This is our take on a modern floral."

The Geo Flower pattern is colored either in light blue or leaf green and is constructed of 210-count Egyptian cotton. A queen duvet will retail for $160.

The company has also found that its brighter colors outsell its muted ones, Chused added. "Our best-sellers last year were our patterns in orange and leaf green." So Dwell has added the orange and leaf green colorways to its Thin Stripe pattern and added orange to the Cubes pattern, as well as solid green sheeting.

"We found out that if people were going for our bold designs, they had generally bolder tastes in colors as well," she added.

Come January, the company will dip into the new category of shower curtains, with the possibility of table linens and decorative pillows to be added in the future.