Interiors Monthly

Milestone for Bensons in store opening dash Bensons for Beds has completed the opening of 15 branches in three weeks, including some of the former Carpetright stores it took over in August. The openings include a return to Northern Ireland after a four year absence, with a store in Belfast, along with stores in Aberdeen, Exeter and a high-street store in Sutton, breaking away from the brand’s usual retail park format. The openings have created 50 new jobs along with employing 20 former Carpetright staff. ‘The scale of openings we have managed to take on in the past few weeks is unprecedented by us as a business and is a huge feat for any retail business, particularly in the current economic climate. Whilst market conditions have remained challenging, Bensons will be well placed to capitalise on a recovery in the market. This is all due to the continuing transformation of the business to become the leading bed specialist, offering expert advice and fantastic value for money, all going towards helping our customers get a great night’s sleep. Since our return to profitability in 2023, we have continued to see significant market share gains across all our core categories, reflecting the hard work from all of our colleagues across the organisation. These store openings are a testament to not only their hard work but our confidence to continue investing in the business and our ambitious growth plan,’ says Nick Collard, Bensons ceo. https://lnkd.in/epUvEViH

Straw turns to gold for QEST Sanderson winner The winner of the £25,000 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award has vowed to use a substantial part of the prize to teach and raise awareness of endangered fibre techniques after winning for her pioneering use of straw for embroidery as a sustainable alternative to metal threads. Hanny Newton is a specialist embroiderer with a passion to preserve and revitalise this near-extinct craft which dates to the 1700s. She is the first person to commercially pursue the use of straw in lieu of metal threads. ‘I am delighted and incredibly excited to have the honour of winning the QEST Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award! The competition was really tough, with five inspiring and exceptionally talented other finalists. Since being introduced to straw thread two years ago, I have been passionate and driven to champion straw embroidery as an exquisite, sustainable ‘natural gold’, and the honour and significant boost of this award at this formative time in my career allows me to dream big as I innovate with historical craft techniques. This really is a dream come true,’ she says. ‘It will allow me to study rare collections and make important contributions to the scarce knowledge and tools of straw embroidery so they can be carried forward for future generations. I will then build on this period of study by using it as a foundation for pushing my art practice, creating new works for exhibition that innovate with sustainable materials. It is my hope that these new works will stimulate and inform debate around the sustainability and value of materials.’ ‘We are delighted to recognise Hanny in an impressive group of outstanding talent presented as finalists. Hanny’s ambition to bring back a precious and ancient artform that reflects our interest in sustainability of materials and literally weaving nature into art, is the unique opportunity that we support and celebrate with this award. We wish Hanny great future success in building the foundations of her business and recognition of her craft,’ says Lisa Montague, Sanderson Design Group ceo. ‘We are delighted that Hanny has won this award. Her work demonstrates an exceptional understanding of the historical use of straw, whilst also taking an innovative and sustainable approach to technique. Hanny’s passion for preserving the art of straw embroidery deeply impressed us, and we hope this recognition will support her on her journey. QEST awarded Hanny with a scholarship in 2023 and we’re proud to see her continuing to flourish. We greatly value our partnership with Sanderson whose commitment to craftsmanship in all its many forms continues to inspire and make a lasting impact,’ says Deborah Pocock, QEST ceo. https://lnkd.in/esDqMjWJ

Unilin to invest €20m in laminate recycling push Unilin is to invest €20m in recycling facilities that will see laminate floors recycled. The group says it will licence the technology behind the investment so other producers can boost their recycling eforts. The development builds on Unilin’s 2021 investment which saw the first recycling technology for MDF and HDF on an industrial scale. Since then it has improved the technology at its Bazeilles, France plant so that laminate floors with a HDF core can be recycled. ‘We know that today the recyclability of MDF, HDF and laminate floors is sometimes called into question. After two years of testing on our industrial pilot line, we have been able to ascertain the efficiency and quality of the new technology. This investment proves that MDF and HDF are fully recyclable. An absolute milestone for the industry,’ says Veronique Hoflack, Unilin Panels president. ‘The new investment will have a capacity of 70,000tonnes of wood fibres per year, or almost 30% recycled fibres on the production line where the technology is deployed. The next step consists of collecting sufficient MDF waste to drive our recycling installation. To collect this waste, we are setting up several take-back programmes with our customers and partners. We also hope to find an ally in the government by recognising the recyclability of MDF, HDF and laminate floors in order to motivate the general public to sort their waste. This way we hope to avoid the unnecessary incineration of valuable waste streams.’ ‘Innovation is central at Unilin. And we are definitely not keeping that innovation just to ourselves. As with our invention of the click system in the 1990s, we believe our recycling technology will drive the industry forward so that everyone benefits. The breakthrough in the recycling of MDF and HDF is a crucial step in the ongoing process of making panel and laminate floors more sustainable, on the one hand because the wood retains the CO2 longer but also because the technology will lower the energy consumption for the production of MDF and HDF. Unilin is continuously looking for ways to further reduce the carbon footprint of its products,’ says Wim Messiaen, Unilin ceo. The new installation at Bazeilles is expected to be operational next September. https://lnkd.in/e7s6XihU

Kettle ceases trading for the second time Furniture supplier Kettle has ceased trading for the second time in 19 months. Kettle Home began trading after Kettle Interiors went into administration in March 2023, with debts of £16m and the loss of more than 120 jobs. Kettle Home purchased £2.7m of stock, which had been valued at £6m, from Kettle Interiors shortly before Kettle Interiors called in administrators. Kettle’s Home’s closure has left retailers scrambling to find stock to complete orders and leaving some staff, who had been employed by both companies again trying to find a new job. Image: Google November 2022 https://lnkd.in/eXSKqYwe

Interiors Monthly talks to Tristine Hargreaves, Executive Director of the NBF Tristine tells us about her career, her role within the NBF, the challenges facing those in the beds industry and the benefits of being a member, as well as discussing the up and coming Bed Show in Telford this month. https://lnkd.in/e4EqAZyG https://lnkd.in/eDpkzD2H

imm cancelled for 2025 Next January’s imm Cologne exhibition has been cancelled. Organiser Koelnmesse said the decision had been made in the face of falling demand in the German domestic market and German manufacturers reducing spending. ‘Pausing the imm cologne at this point in time is a logical decision, in view of the situation the industry currently finds itself in,’ says Gerald Böse, Koelnmesse chairman. ‘It was an extremely difficult decision to make, but it was also unavoidable in order to show our international customers some consideration. Due to its January date, imm cologne did not take place three years in a row during the pandemic. This lack of continuity, coupled with the current economic environment, makes it impossible for us as event organisers to guarantee an attractive range of exhibitors for the retailers in Cologne in January 2025. ‘We still intend to offer the furniture industry an international stage in Germany in future. We are already jointly developing very promising concepts that meet the changed requirements of all stakeholders as best as can be. Koelnmesse is the world's number one in interiors, as impressively proven by Orgatec, interzum and spoga+gafa. We must now steer our flagship back on course, together with the furniture industry.’ According to the Association of the German Furniture Industry, the German furniture market recorded a significant fall in turnover in 2023, as well as in the first six months of 2024. It dropped by 9.7% including a 11.2% fall for upholstery. ‘I understand the decision to skip next January's trade fair, and I'm sorry that the industry did not lend better support to its leading international trade fair. The imm cologne has been an important meeting place for the industry for decades. By taking a break next year, we will not only lose a central platform for innovation and exchange, but also an important stage for serving the international market. All of the industry's stakeholders are now urgently tasked with getting together and finding joint solutions. More than ever before, we must now concentrate on securing and strengthening our position. The industry needs a strong platform like imm cologne in order to restructure itself in a way that ensures its future viability,’ says Markus Meyer, German Furniture and Kitchen Retailers Association president. ‘We're extremely sorry to be skipping imm cologne, but ultimately, this is a necessary, and the right step,’ says Leo Lübke, Association of the German Furniture Industry president. ‘Like many other industries, the furniture market has also changed considerably over the past few years - and along with this the demand for trade fairs. Unfortunately, the industry's current situation is forcing many companies to change course. As an industry, we are working intensely with Koelnmesse on the development of new concepts tailor-made specifically for the individual furniture segments. As Europe's largest furniture nation, we ...

Dreams to strengthen homelessness support Dreams is to strengthen its partnership with homelessness charity Shelter in a new boost to mark World Homeless Day. The bed chain will donate £5 to the charity for every transaction from 10-13 October. The campaign, to ‘help make a safe night’s sleep a reality’ is part of Dreams’ three-year partnership with the housing and homelessness charity. The funds raised will be used to fund Shelter’s emergency helpline that supports people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. There are now a record 117,450 households living in temporary accommodation in England, a type of housing provided by the council when a person or household becomes homeless. Temporary accommodation is not designed for permanent living, but the lack of safe, secure and affordable homes means families are often trapped there for long periods. A record 151,630 children are also homeless and living in temporary accommodation, a increase of 15% over the previous year. Dreams’ support for the charity has already raised more than £238,000 for Shelter, exceeding the target set for the partnership which began in February 2023. ‘Almost two years on from the launch of our partnership with Shelter, we’re still driven by the belief that everyone should have a home with a bed to call their own. That’s why, this World Homeless Day, we’re enabling our customers to help make a safe night's sleep a reality. Every purchase supports our joint efforts to address homelessness in a practical and sustainable way,’ says Jonathan Hirst, Dreams ceo. ‘Every day our frontline services see the devastating impact of the housing emergency, from families stuck in cramped and grotty temporary accommodation for years on end, to renters struggling to keep hold of their homes due to skyrocketing rents. With homelessness levels at an all-time high, Shelter’s work to fight the housing emergency is more important than ever. We simply couldn’t do this work without the support of our amazing partners like Dreams and their customers. Every purchase made this weekend helps us to be there for people who don’t have a place to call home,’ says Polly Neate CBE FAcSS LLD(hc), Shelter chief executive. https://lnkd.in/ej26EERg #furnitureindustry #furniture

Registration opens for JFS Registration has opened for 2025’s The Furniture Shows - MFS & JFS. The 19-22 January event returns to The NEC, Birmingham with new features and more than 500 anticipated brands. 2025 will see an enhanced Hall 1 – which is already sold out – with more premium brands, which have been vetted by the show’s advisory board. The Champagne Bar in Hall 2 returns along with the Festival Food Court in Hall 4 to extend the food and beverage offering across the show. The Crafting the Future Networking Hub and the BFM Pavillion will return to Hall 5. The 2025 edition will see the introduction of the Social Studio in Hall 2, which will host various networking events throughout the show offering a space to rub shoulders with retailers, interior designers, architects, garden centre buyers, property developers, manufacturers, wholesalers and exhibitors. https://lnkd.in/e6QSm-yA #furniture #furnitureshow #furnitureindustry

People matter: Fibreline Ltd is investing for its and the industry’s future The furniture industry’s foundation is built on people and relationships. These relationships are not only between customers and suppliers but also within the businesses themselves. As a labour-intensive sector, furniture manufacturing – and the production of its essential components – faces significant challenges. Among the most pressing is the need to attract young talent into a environment that is often overlooked by the younger generation. Fibreline understands this challenge well. A key supplier of upholstery kits and cushions to UK sofa manufacturers, the company has a long history of investing in technology to enhance product quality and streamline processes. At the same time, it also recognises that the future of the industry hinges on having a flexible, skilled and engaged workforce. Fibreline employs almost 250 people, collectively boasting over 1,500 years of experience in manufacturing comfort solutions. The company’s private ownership – it is a family-owned and managed business, now in its fourth decade – allows it to make decisions with a focus on long-term objectives. With the third generation of the family now involved in the business, Fibreline remains committed to the continuous development of its team.In 2019, Fibreline became an early adopter of the Degree Apprenticeship programme. This four-year scheme offers an alternative to traditional university education, allowing school leavers to work in the business four days a week while studying and attending university on the fifth day. This model enables participants to earn a degree without incurring debt. So far, two employees have graduated with a 2:1 degree, and seven more are enrolled in the scheme. The company is a strong supporter of initiatives such as the British Furniture Manufacturers’ Future of Furniture campaign, emphasising the need to work together to attract young talent. The furniture sector offers a wide range of career opportunities in areas such as design, operations, distribution, sales, marketing and finance. More must be done to highlight these opportunities and make the industry an attractive career choice for the next generation. https://lnkd.in/eeyjCJyv #furniture #furnitureindustry

Oakdene Hollins strengthens team Environmental consultancy has bolstered it team of #sustainability and circular economy consultants with the appointment of Dr Pelin Yilmaz. Yilmaz has become managing consultant, bringing her extensive academic and commercial knowledge of the application of material science and engineering in the energy and automotive sectors, to the company's wider scope of client industries, including #textiles, #furniture, #construction and #plastics. ‘A primary focus for businesses in all industry sectors these days is sustainability which is largely driven by growing legislative expectations around carbon neutrality and the circular economy,’ says Yilmaz. ‘One effective approach to advancing sustainability is using Carbon Accounting and Life Cycle Analysis to assess their products and processes, identifying key areas of environmental impact, and them implementing strategies to mitigate those impacts.’ https://lnkd.in/eSmqhPsh