Best New Product Awards Presented at Summer 2010 NY Home Textiles Market Week

Press Release

New York, NY — Five companies participating in Home Textiles Market Week® in New York were presented with Best New Product Awards Tuesday, with Designers Guild receiving the “Best of Market” award for its Orangerie Cushion. All of the winners and finalists are exhibitors in At Home featuring Home Textiles, which runs through Thursday, August 19, at the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®).

Awards also were presented in four product-specific categories (Bed, Bath, Dining and Home Accessories) to winners and finalists selected by a panel of trade and consumer editors. Criteria included innovation in design, creative use of materials/construction and new fiber, material or technology.

The summer 2010 winners and finalists, selected from 104 products, are:

BEST OF MARKET:
Designers Guild (New York, NY), for its Orangerie Cushion, designed by Tricia Guild. Manufactured in the United Kingdom, the Orangerie design features hand painted florals on a fresh white base—which are digitally reproduced and printed onto the cushion’s cotton percale front fabric. The cushion’s trimming and solid silk back provide some extra contrast to its patterned front. www.designersguild.com

BED CATEGORY:
Winner: Bōdmer Blankets (Carlton, OR) for its Jaspé Blanket, designed and hand woven by Craig Bōdmer. Made of 100% natural baby alpaca yarn and bound with 100% hand-woven silk, the blanket provides both beauty and comfort. The non-dyed blanket has an all-natural alpaca color, which is revealed as its color subtly transforms from dark to light, and is woven with a classic 2/2 twill weave structure and available in twin, double, queen and king sizes. www.bodmerblankets.com

Finalist: Sefte (San Francisco, CA) for its Kisma Collection.
Finalist: The Thai Silk Association/Pimplus Co., Ltd. (Bangkok, Thailand) for its Royal Thai Silk Bean Pillow.

BATH CATEGORY:
Winner: Brahms Mount (Hallowell, ME) for its Linen Towels, designed by Claudia Brahms. The towels, which are woven in North America, are 100% linen and naturally anti-microbial and available in 3 sizes: and six colors. www.brahmsmount.com

Finalist: Scents & Feel (Miami, FL) for its batch and hand towel set with lurex
Finalist: Mastro Raphaël® (Spoleto, Italy) for its Carillon II towel set.

DINING CATEGORY:
Winner: Blissliving® Home (Rockville, MD) for its Samsara Table Linens, designed by Mei Xu and Amber Kleiner. The Samsara Table Linens include a runner, square placemat and matching dyed linen napkin and is available in two colorways. The linens traditional embroidery is borrowed from their Samsara decorative pillow. www.blisslivinghome.com

Finalist: Scents & Feel (Miami, FL) for its set of tablecloths and napkins in jacquard stripes.
Finalist: SFERRA (Edison, NJ) for its Quilted Dots Placemat and Dots Embroidery napkins.

HOME ACCESSORIES CATEGORY:
Winner: Alicia Adams Alpaca Inc. (Stanfordville, NY) for its Travel Set. Designed by owner, Alicia Adams and manufactured in Peru, the travel set comes with a blanket and eye mask, which conveniently fit in a travel-size pouch. Made of 100% baby alpaca, this soft blanket provides the ultimate in luxury for travel. www.aliciaadamsalpaca.com

Finalist: Brahms Mount (Hallowell, ME) for its Zephyr and Verdura Day Blanket with Matching shams.
Finalist: Bōdmer Blankets (Carlton, OR) for its Dark T throw.

“The winners and finalists in each of these categories raised the bar in terms of design creativity,” said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president.

The panel of judges included: Julia Noran, managing partner, Editor at Large; David Gill, senior editor, HFN; Jenny Heinzen York, editor-in-chief, Home Accents Today; Abby Tabak, marketing editor, House Beautiful; Wanda Jankowski, editor-in-chief, LDB; and Eugenia Santiesteban, senior style editor, Veranda.

New York Home Textiles Market Week offers buyers access to 500+ better bed, bath, linen and home products vendors at the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 92 & 94, 230 Fifth Avenue and 7 West 34th Street. Products represented at each of these venues include bed and bath fashions, table linens, kitchen textiles, towels, decorative accessories, area rugs, window treatments and decorative fabrics.

The winter 2011 edition of Home Textiles Market Week will take place Friday, January 28, through Thursday, February 3, 2011, at locations throughout New York City. Additional information is available online at www.nyhometextilesmarketweek.com.