Times Advocate, 1995-01-25, Page 11SPECIAL. FEATURE
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Times -Advocate, January 25, 1995
Page 9
comfortable
-'Continued from page eight.
room accessories.
Tiffany -style lamps were being
shown by exclusively by several
lighting manufacturers - again as
evidence of the efforts to make
rooms warmer and cosier.
Halogen lighting was shown at
only a few booths. One man-
ufacturer had tiny little pot lights,
little bigger than a dollar coin that
could presumably be mounted into
any overhead surface.
Scorpio Lamp had some fas-
cinating halogen lamp heads, sus-
pended on fine cpunterbalanced
wires, which almost invisibly car-
ried all the current to the lamps.
Dining rooms: The Shaker look
is still taking the dining room fur-
niture market by storm - combining
the warm looks of wood with paint-
ed or stained coloured bases of ta-
bles and cabinets. Colours include
the favourite hunter green, wedge -
wood blue, and rosewood. Some
were showing combinations with
charcoal and mauve shades.
T&J furniture was demonstrating
the strength of traditional styles of
wood furniture for the dining room
and bedroom. Oak remains a fa-
vourite, as are mahogany and cher-
ry. Massive. square legs and sup-
ports are giving way to more
rounded, turned legs and supports,
however.
For those fascinated with the
earthy look, it is possible to get a
dining room` table made out of a
polished granite top with un-
polished legs. Others manufactur-
ers were showing granite finishes
on their wood dining sets.
Again, wrought iron in several
tones was being incorporated into
the trim and supports for dining
room tables and chairs.
Accessories: Almost as im-
portant as the furniture itself are the
accessories you put with it. Some
are purchased to complete a room's
decor, while other customers °are
buying up special items to add a
new look to their old furniture.
"During the recession, a lot of
people couldn't afford new fur-
niture," said Kathy Wilby at the
Austin Sculpture Gallery. "So a
new piece [of•sculpturej could add
a bit of interest."
Wilby's company has a full line
of sculptures, ranging from clas-
sical reproductions to Art Deco, to
wildlife pieces. She said there is
also a lot of interest in south-
western designs. such as Reming-
ton bronze copies, and "primitive''
designs. to complete rooms in those
styles.
Rustic African wood carvings
were also in evidence at other dis-
plays, using bright colours, bold de-
signs to carry on the theme of
warm colours and rough textures.
Artwork for the walls has drifted
away from nondescript watercolour
florals designed to match the fur-
niture rather than make an artistic
statement. Instead, the biggest
theme was the demand for re-
productions of Renaissance clas-
sics. For instance, you could buy
your own Mona Lisa, in sizes rang-
ing from smaller than DaVfnci's
original, to a huge oversize re-
production that would dominate
any wall or room.
Danielle Marotta of Kilon-
treal's National Woodcraft
stands beside one of her
company's new designs in•
contemporary entertainment
units.
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ya,.•t , .
Sculpture is returning to a place of prominence in the home.
Austin Sculpture Gallery displayed at the furniture show a
complete line of sculptures, from classical reproductions to
wildlife.
Canadian furniture
gaining recognition
Ontario's manufacturers are making
inroads into the U.S. market
TORONTO-' While the Canadian home furniture market has taken
a beating the past few years from the recession mid the dropping of
tariffs on American imports, the industry is regaining ground in re-
cent months.
Despite the attractive pricing of some American furniture, many
Canadian dealers have found the product has not lived up to the
standards expected by customers and dealers. One dealer said he
stopped importing most American furniture, after complaints about
wear and quality from customers.
On the other hand, the exchange rate on the dollar has made Ca-
nadian -made furniture more attractive in the U.S. market. At Can-
ada's Home Furnishings Market in Toronto last week, the American
presence was strongly felt. Manufacturers had their U.S. sales reps
ready to convince American dealers that a Canadian product was
what they needed in their stores.
Bruce Hunter, the southeastern U.S. sales representative for Sher -
mag summed up the Canadian advantage in three points: excellent
quality furniture, a good supply of hardwoods, and a favourable ex-
change rate.
"Certainly it's very beneficial from a currency standpoint," said
Hunter. "It's a very powerful combination."
The Ontario government also made a big show of support for the
furniture industry in the days before the show. The Ministry of Ec-
onomic Development and Trade gave its endorsement to a strategy
to build the furniture industry's Tong -term competitiveness and
create jobs.
There aro currently 250 residential furniture companies in Ontario,
making some $558 million worth of wood, upholstered and other
types of furniture.
The province is contributing $350,000 from its Sector Partnership
Fund to get the market plan under way.
r
J
on Dinney walked 22 miles,
talked to 67 furniture and
design experts and negotiated
thousands of dollars in savings to bring the best
dollars in savings to bring the best Toronto
Furniture Show values in years to his customers.
Now the only problem he has is making room for
the large shipments of furniture which will be
arriving any day. ,
Prices have been slashed on all our floor models to
make room for the new purchases. Choose from an
excellent selection quality furniture... all on sale at
prices you'll love.
Don't wait... because when they're gone they're
gone. �1
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Fine Furniture,
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