Changing of the Designer Guard at Venus

Foothill Ranch, Calif. — Cynthia Lerner will join Venus Group on Jan. 1 as corporate design director.

Lerner, a veteran home textiles designer, was with WestPoint Stevens (WestPoint Home) for 12 years, most recently as vp of design for bath products. Earlier she was design director for Fieldcrest Cannon where she supervised development of Royal Velvet, Charisma, and Fieldcrest. She started at Barth & Dreyfuss.

Raj Patel and Kirit Patel, owners of Venus Group said, “We are very excited about Cynthia coming on board. With her expertise and wide experience, we hope to take our company to the next level in line with our growth plans in towels, sheets and bedding, that includes a number of licensing/strategic tie-ups.”

The announcement came after it was learned that home textiles industry veteran Vivie von Walstrom had resigned from her post as director of design and marketing of Venus Home.

Over the past six years with Venus, von Walstrom is credited with guiding the company into the bedding and bath categories at a time when it was just offering kitchen textiles.

Twice, in 2000 and 2002, von Walstrom won the Cotton Inc. Designer of the Year award for the bed and bath category. “I feel like I accomplished a great deal while at Venus, but it's time for me to try something new,” von Walstrom told HTT.

Prior to Venus, von Walstrom, who is based in Greenwich, Ct., was the executive vp at Baltic Linen Co., where she helped expand the company's reach into retail, beyond its focus then on institutional business.