CHF to Intro Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Domestics

By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 2/23/2009 12:00:00 AM

New York —

In an unusual alliance, furniture and home décor designer firm Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams will launch a decorative bedding and accessories collection with CHF Industries.

The collection will debut in April during the High Point Market at the MG + BW showroom. The initial retail debut in August will be at Bloomingdale's, which will carry the bedding collection in all stores that have home textiles departments, according to Joe Laneve, svp, home. In Bloomingdale's units with furniture departments, the bedding will be cross-merchandised in both departments, Laneve added.

Distribution beyond Bloomingdale's for the first round launch will be confined to the network of MG + BW retail stores, as well as to the approximately 100 independent retail furniture dealers carrying the MG + BW furniture line. There currently are 20 MG + BW stores, including three that are company owned. The company expects to add another three dedicated stores this year. Mitchell Gold, co-owner and co-ceo told HTT.

An important part of the distribution for the bedding program will be interior designers, already a focus group for the dedicated stores, Gold explained.

In recent years, MG + BW has expanded is product reach beyond its original upholstered furniture collection, into case goods, occasional furniture, rugs, lighting and accessories.

The bedding and textile accessories program began with Bloomingdale's, said Frank Foley, ceo of CHF. "They've been very excited about the results of their August furniture launch and the results. They suggested doing home textiles."

Gold added, "We had been thinking about it for a while. We wanted to keep the whole styling sense of what we're all about — an easy, modern look that's understandable for people, but that they can coordinate, and be consistent with what we do in other categories. The color palette all works together."

"They had very clear likes and dislikes," said Joan Karron, evp of CHF. "They wanted 'crisp sheets' — thread count was second to a highly constructed sheet."

The core program includes Signature Solid sheets in six colors, duvet covers, two coordinating sheet set styles for each duvet cover, coverlets, quilts, throws and decorative pillows — including the MG + BW signature Beach Ball pillow, now covered in the bedding fabrics as compared with the furniture cover fabrics used in the furniture line.

Karron said the components can be in mixed in a variety of ways to change the tone of each bed, a concept she referred to as "one bed, two seasons." Thinking of consumer reception to the line, she said, "It's a very practical and easy system of design."