Homestead Refreshes Burlington House Brand

New York — After an absence of several years, the Burlington House brand is returning to the home textiles field and will make its debut this week at market.

Li & Fung's Homestead division became the master licensee for Burlington House earlier this year. Homestead president David Greenstein described the company's approach to the brand's design as easy-to-understand, mix and match motifs featuring florals and delicate patterns in vibrant colors.

He added: "It's an updated traditional American look with a Scandinavian touch."

That's Scandinavian as in white-washed walls and clean colors, as opposed to Marimekko, he said.

Burlington House is launching this week in bed, bath and home décor, and Homestead is already looking to expand it into rugs and window — categories that were traditionally strong for the brand, which was established in 1923. Burlington House brand owner ITG is considering some of Homestead's designs for the branded upholstery business, noted Greenstein.

In developing Burlington House, Homestead also worked with ITG's Nano-Tex division to bring some unique technologies into the product line — particularly to enhance the solid color sheet and towel lines.

Spilldefense technology resists spills; Coolbliss is a moisture-wicking technology that also helps regulate body temperature; and Freshtex neutralizes body order. "Really good for college dorm kids," remarked Greenstein.

Also during market, Homestead will preview the soft home program for Good Housekeeping's "quick & simple" brand. Homestead's hard home collection will debut in a few weeks during the New York Tabletop Market. The line will include throws, pillows and table linens.

"There is an appetite for coordination in hard goods, and we are one of a few who cross over for hard and soft," Greenstein told HTT.

Also through its partnership with Good Housekeeping, Homestead has set up a conceptual room under the publishing house's "thedailygreen" brand. The space will be used as a forum to talk about making eco-friendly improvements from green manufacturing to supply chain to packaging and waste.

"It's the linear movement of what we would define as green, greener, greenest," said Greenstein. "It's a long-term process. It takes a big investment from a factory level to move the needle."