New companies emerge catering to outdoor segment
Cinde W. Ingram -- Casual Living, 9/1/2007 12:00:00 AM
During this month's Casual Show in Chicago, attendees can expect some new kids on the block, with several companies created by those familiar in the casual industry.
Retailers got their first look at Veranda Collections, a cast aluminum furniture manufacturer offering French Country looks and classic designs, during the West Coast Casual Furniture Premarket.
Veranda Collections President Gary Parrott said his Bonita Springs, Fla.-based company is focused on upper-end casual furniture dealers and designers, the same sort of discerning customers he served while working for Pompeii and Pavilion.
"My love is casual furniture and design," Parrott said. "So with a lot of encouragement and working relations with Ted Bell, who is one of my designers and has done some fabulous work for a lot of players in the industry, we created two cast aluminum lines which are the foundation for Veranda Collections."
Sunbrella's standard fabrics and Silver State's Supplier Design Elements by Joe Ruggerio are used for the Analyse Collection.
To develop the collections, Parrott and his wife Lynn partnered with Charleston Forge, a Boone, N.C.-based manufacturer of wrought iron furniture, which is acting as Veranda Collection's finishing and fulfillment center.
Veranda's cast collections, for use indoors or out, feature a full product range of dining, sofas, loveseats, chaise lounges, barstools and occasional tables. Cast products form the foundation of Veranda Collections, with additional lines of woven, hybrid aluminum, wrought iron and outdoor lighting products scheduled to be added next year."
DelTropico Designs will introduce a fresh look in contemporary and traditional outdoor wicker designs to the residential market, following a successful five years in contract business.
Its assortment of high design outdoor collections in an array of wicker colors and patterns with a strong customization program is manufactured by DelTropico, S.A., located in Honduras. The state-of-the-art factory was on the cutting edge in 1990, when it pioneered the 100% outdoor wicker category, offering the Weathercraft outdoor wicker brand through O'Asian Designs for four years, its distribution was taken over by a well-known U.S. brand in 1993.
The casual market has experienced this industry veteran's design and finishing capacities in popular collections sold under other brand names throughout the years. Steve Morrison, formerly with Acacia Home & Garden, is DelTropico Designs' national sales manager., bringing 35 years of industry experience.
Furniture Classics, a resource for accent, reproduction and occasional furniture, will exhibit its new casual furniture collection, Two Palms Casual.
This will be Furniture Classics' first time exhibiting in Chicago, and marks a new category for the company.
"Our company has considerable expertise in manufacturing furniture around the world, particularly Indonesia, China, Vietnam and India," Furniture Classics President Michael Ricks said. "The casual channel is a natural progression for our company, and we look forward to bringing competitively priced, on-target products to the market."
Among the products Two Palms Casual will introduce in Chicago are the Boca Bay and the Bal Harbour collections, which are made of premium all-weather wicker with aluminum, powder-coated frames. Other introductions include deep seating, dining and occasional pieces made of natural materials such as hyacinth, rattan and mahogany for indoor or sheltered use.
Gary and Lynn Parrott formed Veranda Collections
The Bahia chair by DelTropico Designs
The Boca Bay Collection by Furniture Classics new division, Two Palms Casual
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