Whisper Soft to push InStyle brand for juvenile

By Michele SanFilippo -- Home Textiles Today, 11/3/2003 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

Juvenile bedding manufacturer Whisper Soft Mills is repositioning itself for the future by focusing on its InStyle brand to update the way the company is perceived in the marketplace. According to president Vincent DeRosa, the supplier's name reflects the company's roots in satin sheets but doesn't really make sense in the juvenile category, which has been Whisper Soft's focus in the last decade. Therefore the company will now market itself with a new InStyle by WSM logo.

"When I first got here we were just doing printed juvenile comforters and now we do printed comforters, pieced quilts and chenille comforters as well as those with a lot of layering and sewing details, and 180-count percale sheets," said DeRosa. "What we've tried to become a home decorating destination for kids, tweens and teens by offering different alternatives for top of bed and a wide assortment of room décor options with a total of 15 product categories at present."

For example, the company has a premium-grade latex paint collection, wall borders plus stickers, bath accessories for popular designs, painted wood or resin nesting bins, and hand-painted hardwood furniture pieces for about a third of its line.

DeRosa said Whisper Soft tries to hone in on the right colors and shapes but stays fresh by working with a toy manufacturer to make its dec pillows and accessories. It also works with an electronics company for boom boxes and karaoke machines to match its patterns. "You've got to please mom with your selection, but you've also got to please the kids," he said, adding that the company's dec pillows feature lights and sounds, and double as toys or interactive play sets in most cases.