Martha hints at bedding license

By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 5/26/2003 12:00:00 AM

RIVER EDGE, NJ —

As her Signature furniture collection is rolling out to 284 furniture stores, Martha Stewart says her licensees look at the program "as a decorating system."

At the launch of the furniture collection at Huffman Koos here earlier this month, Stewart emphasized the concept of the Signature merchandise in all categories as being beyond just individual product and more a decorating lifestyle.

And Stewart, chairman and ceo of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, also anticipates "that we will have a bedding licensee within a year." At the debut of the Shaw flooring program last year, she expressed the hope that the bedding program soon would be in the works.

As for the Shaw program she characterized the breadth of its scope "as basics with some special pieces and colors" in rugs "but I want more and more unique offerings in the next collection."

The Signature collection can draw from 416 shades in the Sherwin Williams paint collection which offers a broad base for all the products.

Looking at the fabrics that are used for the upholstered furniture made by Bernhardt, the furniture licensee, "I that all the future fabrics for upholstered pieces will be Martha Stewart Signature fabrics."