Archives for 2010

Three consumer trends identified by Thorsten Platt, vice president of Liebherr refrigeration North America, for 2011 are simplification, value and health. With consumers leading increasingly busier lifestyles, Platt points out that people will profit from the innovative organizational design of Liebherr products. With budgets being tighter, consumers are doing more research to make purchases that ensure quality and performance over time. And, with more of the nation focused on fresher, locally grown food, Liebherr advanced refrigeration technology will be implemental in storing delicious produce. All around, Liebherr refrigeration products are becoming trendier, which is why we wanted to continue our “Sneak Peek” series with this inventive company.

Liebherr is a worldwide leader in premium refrigeration. This German manufacturing company brings European innovation and design to the U.S. market, providing built-in or freestanding refrigeration units as well as wine storage units.

At the 2011 Architectural Digest Home Design Show, March 17-20 in New York City, Liebherr plans to showcase two new refrigeration units- the CS 2060 and the HC 2060. The 2060 series offers substantial storage capacity and accommodating shelving in the top refrigeration section and double freezer drawers located directly underneath. Freestanding, fully-integrated or stainless integrated, the 2060 series will appeal to consumers as either refrigerator can fit into most any kitchen or home design. Both refrigerators are ENERGY STAR® rated and will be available at appliance retailers across the U.S. and Canada beginning April 2011. – Designers, retailers, media members, and others…Liebherr’s display at the show will be a must-see for all of us.

Keep checking back here for more of our “Sneak Peeks” as ADHDS attendees plan a schedule of booths and exhibitors to see. There certainly are more “Sneak Peeks” to come, so if one of these amazing companies hasn’t peaked your interest yet, we have more to spotlight in the coming weeks and months.

~ Sarah Kate

The inner connection we share with the environment is sacred, and what better way to capture that bond than the unique glass sculpture collection by David and Jennifer Clancy. Introducing their new Landscape Series at the 2011 New York Architectural Digest Home Design Show, this indoor/outdoor collection ranges from breathtaking exotic floral arrangements to harmonious Japanese gardens- exactly why we wanted to include them in our “Sneak Peek” series.

The Landscape series is a body of work that uses nature as its language. Each hand-blown glass piece aims to express the intimate relationship humans have with the environment. Whether the sculpture is showcased as an individual focal point inside a home or integrated into outdoor gardens, Clancy Designs express the fragile beauty of our eco-systems, as testifies the featured Wetland Series piece below.

Clancy Designs are carefully crafted in the United States. These pieces are ideal for retail stores and designers aspiring to promote aesthetic tranquility and a deeper connection to the environment, all by enhancing home or commercial space décor. Bases can be ordered in enamel-coated steel, stainless steel or bronze. All sculptures break down to easy-to-ship parts.

In addition, each Landscape Series sculpture can be custom-made or custom-sized to fit any location. Every piece is unique, providing a personalized touch to its final destination.

We’ll have more “Sneak Peeks” in a few days, so please stop back by our blog for exclusive looks at unique design companies ranging from furniture and lighting to kitchens and baths.

~ Dominique

A world of design awaits at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show this year. For those not familiar with New York’s most anticipated design show, here’s a quick rundown of the show’s happenings. With more than 300 exhibitors housed at Piers 94 and 92 along the Hudson River, the show, ADHDS for short, brings together all parts of the design industry- from manufacturers to retailers to design firms. There will be a fantastic lineup of designer seminar series sponsored by The New York Times and other events / parties taking place over the weekend. The dates for the show run March 17 – 20, 2011, but we will be doing “Sneak Peeks” of exhibitors posted on our blog beginning now. This will lead to some of the featured products being included in select print articles our team (and some of our editor contacts) will be writing in 2011. Watch for other general show news and updates here, too. So, onto the first “Sneak Peek”…

Artist Jamie Harris knows glass. He designs sophisticated pieces like these sculpted Rock Pendants, new this year to add to the collections at Jamie Harris Studios. Harris uses design inspiration drawn from the intricate process of glassblowing to create a modern collection of glass-form light pendants. Each piece twists and hardens into a unique sculpture, but all are similar in style to Edison-style light bulbs. Harris’ artistic sense for fluidity and energy come together in these Rock Pendants. They are available as individual lights (pictured) or together as a custom chandelier.

All of the lighting created by Jamie Harris can be custom designed- the size, shape and colors easily adjusted to cater to any specific taste. The Rock Pendants pictured above (from left to right) are dazzling in brown, alabaster and steel gray. And, the metal fixtures are fully UL compliant as well as being available in a brushed nickel, black or white finish. To see more of Jamie Harris’ work in custom lighting or his other works, visit www.jamieharris.com.

Keep checking back for Sneak Peeks in the days and weeks to follow.

~ Sarah Kate

The statistics are in, and consumers have spoken high hopes despite the weighty words of “economic recession” that have become an American culture catch phrase. Casual Living magazine teamed up with HGTV to produce the 2010 Outdoor Furniture Survey, sponsored by our friends at Pride Family Brands. This exclusive survey is based on the responses of more than 9,000 U.S. consumers via an online questionnaire from April 2010. It examines main casual furniture topics like conversation groups, product selection and service, imported furniture, and the industry as a whole. We are happy to report there is a good deal of positivity in the data and interpretations from the study. We’ve seen people in the industry making some pretty tough adjustments at times but also becoming more creative and purposeful when it comes to marketing and selling products for patios, decks, porches, pool areas, sunrooms, etc. We’ve posted what we think are some of the survey’s high points.

Conversation Groups:

• 29% of surveyed consumers planned to buy conversation groups this year while 37% plan to do so in 2011.
• The most popular places that consumers listed to shop for these groups included home improvement centers, discount department stores and casual furniture specialty stores…mostly noting these places for their convenience and low prices.
• $1,000 – $1,999 is the most popular price bracket that consumers chose when asked how much they expected to pay for conversation group seating.

Product Selection and Service:

• 59% of the survey’s respondents would prefer to buy less expensive outdoor furniture so they later can change it and be more flexible.

• The remaining 41% prefer to spend more because the purchase is viewed as an investment.

• Colors in which consumers are most interested: Browns, Black, Metallics for furniture frames. Greens, Browns, Blues for cushions. Browns, Greens, Neutrals for slings.

Imported Furniture:

• Top 5 countries for the source of U.S. imported outdoor furniture and principal products (in 2009): China, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, and Taiwan

To read all the reports online, simply click this link http://bit.ly/hie5Ds. Comments, thoughts and questions are welcome! In closing, let all of us in the industry make creative strides to proactively market our products and services in new and fresh ways. We stand the chance to continue increasing the positive numbers in the industry during 2011, but this won’t happen without new types of marketing strategy…mixed with a small measure of risk. What are you trying that is new for 2011?

~ Sarah Kate

Here at ECPR we are introducing a new series of ongoing posts called Product of the Month. We’ll feature different products that relate to the home, garden, design, or agribusiness industries. Client and a few non-client products will be featured. Readers, if you would like to contribute to this series or submit a product to be considered for inclusion, please contact us at info@eberlycollardpr.com or post your comments below. Enjoy the inaugural post!

While people are gearing up for the holidays and New Year, magazine folks are gearing up for the spring season. Planning, writing and interviewing for stories that will be published months from now. Our first Product of the Month captures that same “early bird gets the worm” spirit. We want to share with everyone a peek at a new Terracotta container for plantings that Englishman’s Fine Furnishings will be selling to trade and consumers during 2011.

Englishman’s Fine Furnishings weather- and frost-proof Terracotta Collection includes stately plaques, planters, urns, and fountains to add a touch of classic English style to any yard, verandah or deck. These modern adaptations of favorite designs stemming from the epoch of the Greek and Roman civilizations reflect the beauty and grandeur of those times. Practical for exterior use and meticulous in detail, the Terracotta Collection can be viewed online at www.englishmansfurniture.com/catalogview.asp. And, look for Englishman’s new Terracotta pieces like the one pictured above on our social media channels in the upcoming weeks and months.

If you are attending the Atlanta International Home Furnishings, Gifts & Rug Market in January, you can find a comprehensive collection on site in Englishman’s expanded showroom. Let us know if you will be attending. We hope to see you there.

~ ECPR

Important to consider when planning the design of a garden or landscape is the interest the space will yield not only during spring and summer but also all year round. It might be easier to choose some plants during their blooming or primary growth seasons to see their fine form and foliage and a bit tougher to choose the right plant combinations based on their dormant characteristics. Still, many plants show their best characteristics during colder seasons and winter. It’s what people in the green industry call choosing plants with winter interest. Sometimes it is plants which transition to a new leaf color or triumphantly flower through the snow and ice. Other winter interest plants can be those that simply look radiant among winter elements- the green leaves and red berries of holly bushes against white snow or fountain grasses icy with winter frost. There are several of these kinds of plants available through Terra Nova Nurseries; pictured below are a few examples including a Bergenia, Helleborus and Heuchera. If anyone would like additional high-res. photos of these plants or others, please feel free to contact us.

~ Jeff

The changing of seasons is truly magical. There is something sacred about the first winter snow, the first blossoms of spring, and the first long summer day when the sun sets late into the evening. Every fall, I marvel at the changing leaves, and while it is a ritual that is predictable and seemingly nonchalant, I along with many others am happy to be reminded of how incredibly beautiful nature can be. So, fall leaves have become my inspiration for this week’s blog post…a special post for a special fall holiday, Thanksgiving. It’s a Thanksgiving round-up from us here at ECPR, featuring everything one could want or need for a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. So, we hope everyone enjoys our leaf-land, fantasy Thanksgiving dinner!

This refectory table, crafted by Englishman’s Fine Furnishings, is a perfect table for friends and/or family to gather round, and we adore the carved fleur-de-lis details. Fleur de lis translates from French to mean “flower of the lily”, but we like how the symbol resembles three delicate leaves…a perfect base to start with.

Next on our list is the food. Because what is Thanksgiving without incredible side dishes and the showstoppers: the turkey and pumpkin pie. How pretty is this Pumpkin Pie (recipe courtesy of Country Living)?! And, we all agreed that a no-fuss turkey recipe was in order so that the juicy flavors would standout even more so. We found this recipe for a Roast Turkey with Oranges, Bay Leaves, Red Onions and Pan Gravy thanks to Epicurious.com

Hopefully, you all are catching our leaf theme so far 🙂 Next, we moved on to decorating and setting the table…

Imagine our Englishman’s table decked out with beautiful leaves, collected straight from the outdoors. We like the idea of mixing autumn-colored maple leaves with plant leaves, like Heuchera leaves from Terra Nova Nurseries. Scattered along the middle of the table and surrounding dishes of food, these bright, bold leaves would add such festivity to the tablescape. Plus, collecting the leaves is such a fun idea for the kids to do during Thanksgiving Day down time!

We also found some other leafy touches for the table like these Leafy Napkin Rings from Crate and Barrel and this pretty set of Leaf Flatware available through Neiman Marcus. It’s extra decorations like these that guests will see and be impressed by even the little touches.

Finally, we are in love with this Martha Stewart craft project to create a table runner from colorful fabrics resembling leaves on a branch…so pretty.

These are just a few of our ideas for a unique and seasonal tablescape, easy enough for anyone to create yet special enough to use for a holiday like Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at ECPR!

If you read Part 1 of “Blogging and Social Media – Content is King” on our blog the Week of November 5, you know our take on blogging surrounds the fact marketplaces are breeding grounds for interactions, and marketing is foundational upon participation. In short, B2B and / or B2C marketing involves engaging with customers, rather than merely marketing to them.

Continuing in the process of building and maintaining truly beneficial blogs, business professionals stand a good chance of developing new and stronger relationships with customers and others who can reflect well upon business objectives. A solid business blog accomplishes a few important goals. To start, a blog that is oriented for B2B or B2C purposes provides a voice for a company, one that allows for ongoing, open conversations between the persons behind the blog and those who turn to the blog for information and engagement. With that in mind, blogs that provide valuation encourage customers to use or follow the content as it yields new conversation threads. In due course, well-planned and managed blogs offer a nontraditional, nonthreatening platform for free-form dialog. This ability to connect with people whom might otherwise be unreachable leads to guiding positive brand perceptions and addressing customers’ predispositions and assumptions.

However, there are still many businesses not taking advantage of blog relations simply by implementing their blogs as if they are the usual form of marketing communications. Yes, that old familiar norm of marketing is to push-out the message to the customer audience. You know the type: newsletters with one-way offers of specials and discounts; direct mail cards with two-sides of written information but sent with one-way intentions; print brochures featuring written copy infused with hoped-for calls to action. Now, before thinking we do not endorse the aforesaid means of marketing, let it be said all of these marketing forms have value, to be certain. Though, today’s marketing calls for a more communicative and forthcoming information exchange.

In terms of modern marketing, it is no longer sufficient for all assemblages of promotion to be based upon outgoing messaging. With social media and its easy, fast access to everything under the sun, customers now expect to be enabled to interact with their favorite brands, retailers, product manufacturers, growers, designers, etc. They have questions and needs, and they demand answers and solutions – quickly. And, what is wrong with that? – Sounds good to us. How about you?

Whether your company has a blog or is considering one, we recommend consistent development and maintenance with a predetermined B2B and / or B2C approach. Conversely, stray from the usual mentality that every blog post must come with a specific sales offer. Blog content that helps companies connect with their customers – on emotional and supportive levels – leads to augmented exchanges between the two. Liken this to a verbal conversation with a group of customers or industry peers at a meeting or trade show forum. At times like this, you converse peer to peer and share practical experiences that bring about a sense of unification. In the same manner but with a different format, business bloggers can open the door to building trust in their brands, products and companies. By writing and posting blog content that avoids sermonizing or the mere administering of information, companies can simply supply helpful intuitiveness to customers. Facts, figures, trends, ideas, and suggestions are all needed and coveted acumen from which customers can benefit. And, you can contribute all of this as well as participate in the resulting online discourse. During the process link back and forth via other helpful and relative social media channels, connecting the dots of inviting and accessible communication for your company and customers.

Of course, even the best laid blog plans can go awry given busy schedules and business deadlines, so keep your blog on course with a schedule of activities, assigned content to colleagues, and, most of all, collaboration with management and staff members. If you take the necessary time to plan based on your customers’ needs, applicable blog content will become more easily evident. Following through, concentrate upon open-ended subject matter that produces discussion and dissection of multifarious topics of interest. Ultimately, when dedicating your blogosphere responsiveness toward the manifestation of listening, observing and sharing, you play the coveted role of emcee or moderator. And, your customers will slowly but surely desire to partake in the conversation.

~ Don

For all designer-types and members of the media who follow our blog, did you know Englishman’s Fine Furnishings offers decorative accents and style-setting options in addition to high-end European-style furniture? If you are attending The Atlanta Fall Immediate Delivery Show today through Thursday, stop by the showroom to learn more about these options for design jobs, your clients or customers, and your own home or personal use. Special items are being featured during the show this week such as furry pillows to add a sense of plush comfort to any bed, cozy throws to adorn dens and bedrooms, and small occasional tables of many sizes and types. These and many of Englishman’s items are available for immediate delivery.

Anita Vreeland, Englishman’s president of marketing & design, and her staff have brought an unexpected surprise to the company’s AmericasMart showroom. Visitors to the showroom will be able to see a collection of leather purses with subtle yet stunning detail.
With leather purses making a splash in current style trends for fall and winter, these showroom introductions are timely. According to experts like the stylists for Trend Hunter Luxury and celebrity designer Rachel Zoe, leather purses are a must-have style bag for the season, so be sure to stop in this week for immediate delivery.

While there, take a tour of Englishman’s Kitchens & Fine Custom Cabinetry new display area. The new kitchen design / build line was launched this summer based upon the company’s long-standing business of building custom furniture. In addition, if you missed the July market or have not been to Englishman’s Fine Furnishings’ showroom since mid-summer, you will be treated to an overall showroom expansion to include a total 9,300 square feet of display space. Showroom location: AmericasMart Atlanta (Building 1, 11-D 2).

IDS Dates and Hours: Permanent Showrooms – Tuesday, November 9 through Thursday, November 11, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EST.

Temporary Exhibits – Tuesday, November 9 through Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST and Thursday, November 11, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

~ ECPR Team

NOTE: For a larger view of any of the attached photos, simply click on the desired image.

Have you ever wished you could gather all of your customers or clients into one room, and speak with them about all of the incredible information your company has to offer? Or, in line with another approach, would you round up your customers in one place if you could, with a goal of relaxed conversation about their needs and exactly how you can provide solutions for them? While speaking to a group of industry professionals made up of manufacturers, designers and retailers not too long ago, one of the audience members expressed these quintessential ambitions.

The topic of the session was two-way communication with customers, clients and constituency groups, and she said, “My marketing and sales teams believe we have a ton of valuable information to tell our customers – not just about our new product introductions and promotions, but also solid insights we know could provide benefit.” When I asked her how she was communicating with her customers other than the expected advertising and press campaigns, it was revealed her company hosts or sponsors trade events when budgets permit. In exchange, she explained, they hope for a few minutes of “speaking” time at the onset of the events. The problem therein; her company has many brands, varied product lines, and regional-based customer diversity. And, a few minutes of speaking “to” a group of customers with a price tag of $20,000 is just that, a few minutes of one-way talking for a lot of money.

Okay, I am not saying that event sponsorship is inapplicable, far from it in fact. Our own ECPR has sponsored many industry events and believes in the practice wholeheartedly. However, there are other supplements to traditional advertising, marketing and sponsorship that strategically evoke connections with customers in large numbers. Take blogging for instance. While possibly one of the earliest forms of social media, blogging is likely the most misunderstood by businesses. Even with over 110 million active blogs to date, many business leaders still view corporate blogs as toys rather than the valuable business tools they can be to interface with customers. If it is true that our customers can benefit from what I call the three “i’s”: our insights, input, and involvement, then, why shouldn’t we consider the value of blogs? When done correctly, corporate blogs can provide cost-effective, ongoing and solution-oriented content that supplies our customers with advantageous valuation, not to mention calls for action every time we add new posts. Still, blogs should not be for the purpose of selling. Better yet, they have the true ability to yield meaningful dialogue that induces relationships with customers and potential customers.

Ok, we’re just getting started here…Check back the week of Nov. 15 for the second part of this post, where we’ll offer some tips and ideas our team has learned about leveraging B2B and B2C communications through blogging.

~ Don