Aussino teams with HGTV designer Summer Baltzer

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 6/9/2006 12:48:00 PM

New York — Summer Baltzer, one of the designers on HGTV's "Design on a Dime" show, has signed a master home license with Aussino USA for a line that will debut following the August textiles market.

The five-year agreement will include an initial offering of bed and bath textiles, bath ceramics and signature loungewear. Summer Baltzer Home for Aussino will be a lifestyle brand targeting a fashion-conscious mid-tier marketplace with moderate price points, said Steve Lewis, president of Aussino.

The initial line will consist of eight bedding designs in four collections. Lewis said they will be introduced post-market because "we want to be sure we get it right the first time." He said the company expects to offer other products branded by the designer, such as dinnerware, cookware, kitchen textiles, furniture and other housewares in the United States and globally.

"Summer is very involved," Lewis said in an interview. "She is actually doing the designing" in collaboration with Aussino's in-house design and development teams. "With her status in the celebrity market along with her ambition and her hype, that alone will help us bring the product to market."

The effort marks Aussino's entry into the designer branding marketplace. Baltzer, who has built a following with the with the popular show over the past five years, mixes traditional design with modern elements and has also built a successful private client design business over the past 10 years.