Fruit and vegetable designs net sales health

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 4/15/2002 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

While winter chills continue to breeze into the city, table linen suppliers are making sure their showrooms this market feel more like colorful botanical garden refuges budding with new flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables ready for plucking.

Golden Holidays, based in Irwindale, CA, is introducing table runners in three new patterns: Royal Tulips, Rajah's Dream and King's Garden. All are made of 100 percent cotton and are hand-loomed in natural colorways. They coordinate with window panels, cushions, place mats and napkins.

"Home decor and home entertainment has become an everyday activity and not only for the holidays anymore," said Kirit Shah, president, Golden Holidays. "This is a great opportunity to get into that area, and we are getting a tremendous response [for our new items]."

Seattle, WA-based Corona Decor Co. is launching a new upscale table runner program available in four designs, two of which are floral and fruity — Floralia and Pineapple Melange.

Floralia is comprised of 13" x 72" runners in green and gold and embellished with a three-panel patchwork and tassel fringe. It is lined with poly-cotton backing and is made of a tapestry/brocade construction. And Pineapple Melange, in shades of green, red, gold and topaz, features a medallion on a lattice background in the pattern. The tapestry fabric is imported from Italy.

The Villeroy & Boch collection of table linens by New York-based Elrene Home Fashions — under the company's Newbridge brand — is adding a full line of coordinates to the floral Flora pattern. Likewise for the company's licensed line of goods designed by artist Carol Shieber, whose latest collection is titled "Eat your vegetables."

Long Beach, CA-based Foreston Trends is introducing 12 springtime jacquards, coordinating dobbies and solid colors, all in a variety of looks, including floral, aquatic and nature motifs. The product line spans place mats, napkins, tablecloths and kitchen towels.

Louisville/Saydah Home Fashions' new Aari Embroidery collection includes two separate groupings of table linens. The first grouping is a 100 percent cotton printed place mat with a shiny viscose embroidered background. The second grouping, titled Arabesque, is a floral pattern done in a shiny embroidery yarn and is available in ivory, butter, pink, sage and blue.

Louisville, KY-based Louisville Bedding Co. said its new Pushkin pattern is "intended as a twist for fall because it features a garden theme in harvest colorations," said Marliese Krivobok-Johnson, head designer. Pushkin is a double needlepoint place mat with a solid back. The collection — including the place mat, napkin and chairpad — is made of 100 percent cotton and is available in either sage or taupe.

Fine linen manufacturer Patricia Spratt, Old Lyme, CT, is introducing a new line of laminated fabric place mats in four shapes — including a flower petal shape and a scroll. The collection is available in 16 patterns.

A highlight of the new table linen introductions stemming this market from Ex-Cell Home Fashions, based in NewYork, is the Claire Murray Cherries and Berries pattern, available in multiple colorways. The collection includes tablecloths, place mats, runners and kitchen textiles.

The new Americana Apples pattern by Rock Hill, SC-based Home Based Creations is the first kitchen textiles collection by Home Based Creations. It includes an oven mitt, and an oversized 8" x 10" potholder. It also coordinates with washable cut-pile and tufted outdoor mats bearing the same design.

New York-based Town & Country Living's new Cherry Pie coordinate collection is composed of a hard plastic place mat, a fabric place mat, a printed kitchen towel, an embroidered kitchen towel, an oven mitt and a potholder.