Newport/Layton Chooses Tamblyn to Grow Businesses

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 9/27/2004 12:00:00 AM

Portland, Ore. —

As decorative pillow and bedding supplier Newport/Layton Home Fashions grows its window treatment, shower curtain and table linen businesses in an effort to expand its category offerings, the company recently hired Richard Tamblyn to the newly created post of design and marketing director.

He will be in charge of overseeing all design and marketing initiatives for these three product categories.

Tamblyn will be based out of the company's New York showroom at 295 Fifth Ave., and will report to Corey Faul, president.

Prior to joining Newport/Layton, Tamblyn worked at Dan River.

“Our whole motivation here is that these categories represent for us a very small percentage of our total business,” Faul said. “If we really want to develop them, we needed someone like (Tamblyn) to devote 100 percent of their time developing them.”

Faul said decorative pillows and top-of-bed goods currently each make up 45 percent of Newport/Layton's business, with shower curtains, table linens and window treatments bringing in collectively the remaining 10 percent.

“We'd like to bring that 10 percent figure up to about 25 to 30 percent over the next two to three years with (Tamblyn's) help,” he said.

Also helping the company move in this direction are its expanded importing efforts. Newport/Layton, which turns 50 years old this fall, has recently forged new partnerships with manufacturers in China and other countries.