Rugnews.com Fashion Feature:
SHARP LOOKS IN FLAT-WEAVES BRING FRESH ENERGY TO STYLE CATEGORY

By Lissa Wyman

Everyone is talking about flatweaves these days. Again. It's a style category that has had its ups and downs over the past 20 years, and now the pendulum is swinging back to the upside.

LAPLINK OFFERS COMPUTER
RECYCLING SERVICE TO AID DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

BELLEVUE, WA – Laplink, in partnership with InterConnection Seattle, is offering a way to recycle old computers with little or no shipping costs, according to Thomas Koll, chief executive officer of Laplink.  Rugnews.com strongly supports this initiative.

AMERICASMART CALLS FOR
NOMINATIONS FOR ROY AWARDS 

ATLANTA, GA – Americasmart  has opened nominations from Area Rug Center exhibitors for this year's Retailer of the Year (ROY) Awards, the prestigious industry event which takes place during the Summer Atlanta International Rug Market.

ABC CARPET MAKES
DEBUT AT ICFF 2008

NEW YORK – ABC Carpet, the floor covering and home furnishings retailer, will exhibit for the first time at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), May 17 to 20 in booth 2252 at the Jacob K . Javits Center, here.

COURISTAN TO OPEN LAS VEGAS
SHOWROOM IN BUILDING C
OF WORLD MARKET CENTER

FORT LEE, NJ -- Couristan, Inc. will open a permanent showroom for rugs and broadloom carpeting on the 8th Floor of Building C at the Las Vegas World Market Center. The showroom, C-854/856, will be open for the Summer Home Furnishings Market,  July 28 to Aug. 1, 2008.

BLOOMINGDALE'S BY MAIL CATALOG TO CLOSE;  COMPANY FOCUSES ON WEBSITE

By Lissa Wyman

NEW YORK -- Home Fashions styles and colors for Fall/Winter 09/10 will be driven by worldwide cultural and social trends. That is the word from the editors of Trend Bible, the forecasting company headquartered in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

This is the first in a series of articles celebrating Rugnews.com Fashion Month. As the month progresses, look for more stories focusing on cutting-edge rug trends and the world of contemporary furniture.
 

RECESSION BUSTING TIPS:
NEW ENGLAND JORDAN'S FURNITURE:
NOT JUST A STORE -- AN EXPERIENCE

By Janet Herlihy 

BOSTON -- Lots of retailers talk about becoming a destination and making shopping a fun experience, but few have been as successful reaching those goals as Jordan’s Furniture with two locations in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire.

RUGNEWS.COM EDITORIAL:
LINENS 'N' THINGS CHAPTER XI
COULD HAVE FAR-REACHING EFFECTS

By Lissa Wyman

When Linens ‘N Things filed Chapter XI on May 1, I felt a twinge of dread. Does this signal the beginning of the end for the Big Box concept of home furnishings retailing?

RUGSALE.COM ADDS 
"SHOP WITH A FRIEND" FEATURE

HOLYOKE, MA – RugSale.com has partnered with DecisionStep Inc., a technology company, to develop a new site feature which allows customers to shop and chat with a friend from separate computers.

NEW MASS-MARKET RUG VENTURE
TO MANUFACTURE BRAIDED RUGS 
IN RHODE ISLAND AND INDIA

CUMBERLAND, RI -- International Textile Manufacturing has been formed here as a braided rug and home textiles resource. Principals in the new company are former executives of Homemaker and Rhody Rugs.

CMI  RUG COLLECTIONS
WIN ADEX DESIGN AWARDS

PAWTUCKET, RI – Colonial Mills, Inc. (CMI) has received the Design Journal’s 2007-’08 ADEX (Awards for Design Excellence) gold and silver awards for its Bamboozle twill and Oak Harbor dusk rug collections.

Rugnews.com Guest Editorial:
BUSINESS IS OUT THERE: LOOK DEEPLY,
SHARE IDEAS WITH  CUSTOMERS

By Bill Mitcheson

It's amazing, if you look deeply, there is business out there, sometimes it's being in the right place and time. 

ORIAN EXPANDS SALES AND
MARKETING EFFORTS IN CANADA

ANDERSON, SC -- Orian Rugs a vertical manufacturer of machine made woven area rugs is expanding its Canadian sales and marketing operations with a new office and showroom  in Cambridge, Ontario.

CHATTANOOGA, TN – CarpetsPlus/ Color Tile will hold its 2008 member summit in Colorado Springs, CO October 10 to 13, 2008. CarpetsPlus/ Color Tile member Mark Strauch, owner of Floor Craft, will host the event.

JURIED DESIGN SHOWCASES TO BE
FEATURED AT LAS VEGAS SUMMER MARKET

LAS VEGAS --A broad selection of innovative designs and luxury product from around the globe will be featured as part of three juried design pavilions on the fifth floor  Design Center of the new Building C at the July Las Vegas Market July 28  to Aug. 1, 2008.

RECESSION BUSTING TIPS:
IN HARD TIMES, HAGOPIAN
HAS A TOOL KIT FOR SURVIVAL

By Janet Herlihy

BIRMINGHAM, MI -- Hagopian World of Rugs is no stranger to hard times. The family-owned company has survived and prospered for nearly 70 years and has weathered  many ups-and-downs in the economy.

7 W NEW YORK BUILDING OFFERS
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION SPACE FOR
NY HOME FASHIONS WEEK  SEPT. 15-19

NEW YORK -- 7 W New York, the permanent showroom building at 7 West 34th St. here, is now leasing temporary Market Suites for the New York Home Fashions Market, Sept. 15 to 19.