designer’s notebook

by Christine Cellucci

02/27/08

New York’s Fashion Week

Take a Peek at Autumn

Color Trends
As far as I am concerned, Spring officially arrived on Friday February 1st, with the kick off of New York Fashion Week in the Big Apple. There is nothing like viewing autumn attire to fool the spirit into thinking spring is near at hand. During this, “Super Bowl of Fashion” the world is treated to a preview of colors and palettes that will impact every consumer product from plastic cutlery to stilettos in the coming months. Pantone, Inc., the gurus of color for design industries worldwide, released their Spring ‘08 color preview, last September. If you want to get a peek at the colors you will see hitting the racks in the months to come, visit: http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends/2007/Pantone-Fashion-Color-Report-Spring-2008.html

You will find a palette that is dominated by soft neutral pastels, with quirky saturated vibrant hues mixed in to accent and surprise. For a shot of adrenaline, check out the Spring Crocus and Rococco Red. Contrast these with tranquil Cantaloupe and Daiquiri Green. Combined, these restful notes evoke a sense of calm which easily translates to domestic goods, paint colors and area rugs.

If you would like to see what we will all be wearing next fall, check out pics from New York Fashion Week at http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/elements/2008/02/08/style_fashion/photoessay3807955.shtmlpreviewhttp://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends/2008/Pantone-Fashion-Color-Report-Fall-2008.html

Happy Spring

GREEN: We talk the talk AND Walk the walk

We would like to point out a new collection from one of our FAV vendors, Vermont Tubbs. The Chelsea collection is featured in birch, a less grainy and more attractive wood for contemporary designs. The pieces are still available in all the same great finishes and, most importantly, made using new methods that help Vermont Tubbs continue to make headway on being sustainable and GREEN.

Here are a few things that may be important to the Circle Furniture customers and readers.

We use sustainable woods.

We harvest our woods from local mills within 150 miles of our factory making us a bit greener than anyone importing lumber.

We only do business with reputable mills that don't clear cut and that have regenerated forest growth.

We use Sherwin Williams paints that have no lead or metallics. What that means is our filters that once had to be removed as hazardous waste can now be dumped into a local landfill.

There are no formaldehydes in our paints.

We use a water based glue.

We use renewable, biodegradable materials for our packaging.

We are about to launch a few water based finishes.

We currently manufacture under a private label for a private company product that is recommended by Healthy Child Healthy World, which is a non profit group helping parents find non-toxic, eco-friendly, products for their children.

This same private product we produce is also certified by the Greenguard Environmental Institute, a nonprofit group that evaluates and verifies products that meet exacting low-VOC emission standards.

This is just some of the great green avenues we have already taken and will continue to educate ourselves as well as our customers.

Thank you Denise and all at Vermont Tubbs!

Something is missing in the bedroom

When designing your perfect bedroom don't forget the accent chair. A chair in your bedroom is something often overlooked when picking out the bed, dresser and lamps. Sometimes you want to curl up in the sanctuary that is your bedroom to relax or read a book, and you don't always want to lie down. I know if I lie down on that bed I am falling asleep, which is fine if its late, but not if its only 6 pm. A chair can create an atmosphere of a full room not just a place to sleep and can facilitate conversation as opposed to immediately lying down and flipping on the TV. Be sure to pick a chair that is cute and really ties the room together to avoid it being just another place to throw your stuff. Chairs come in all shapes and sizes so you can surely find one to fit your style and space. In my city apartment I have an armless Chloe chair with pink and green stripes to accent the other colors in the room. My parents recycled a beautiful blue and white striped chair to their bedroom with blue walls after they redecorated the living room. My little brother's room recently had a makeover and went from graffiti walls to a more mature, you are about to graduate from college, wallpaper. In the midst of this crazy time in his life he needs a place to kick back and relax in style, and what better way to do that than in a chaise lounge.

We love our Vendors and Our Vendors Love Us

Perhaps it a product of being raised by a mother with great taste and tact, but I find myself basing my decisions on whether or not to support businesses based on the service experiences I have. For example there is this little dry cleaners down the street from my apartment, one of three or four in a few block radius, and after one visit I was sold as a customer for life. They only accept cash, which is hard sometimes because, as I am not a waitress anymore, I don't always have cash on me, and their prices can be a touch higher. HOWEVER, after one visit the elderly gentleman who runs the place, who is literally there every day, recognized me and I was immediately welcomed into the family of clientèle. Each customer that squeezed through the door to the shop had a very personal exchange with the shop owner, it just made me smile. The experience reminds me of the early years of Circle Furniture, a little mom and pop shop run by my grandparents who worked diligently for so many years. Today just because there are more stores and one more member at the helm (see note earlier about my wonderful mom) doesn't mean the values of family and quality service have gone, our family has just grown exponentially. Our family now includes vendors and sales people and more and more customers. It is the strong bonds created between all of us that keeps our business alive. Thanks again to all the great folks at BDI, our Vendor of the Year as voted by our designers, for all your contributions to our success!

Circle Gets Jazzed For February

Circle Furniture is helping to sponsor this years Jazz Fest at the Reggatta Bar at the Charles Hotel. Come celebrate opening night with us on February 8th featuring the musical rhythms of the legendary Dr John. If you get there early you will definitely have a comfortable seat. If you want more info or to purchase tickets to this or any of the Jazz Fest performances check out the Jazz Fest homepage.
Speaking of jazz and comfort, check out the new Jazz chair by Ekornes. We have always LOVED Ekornes chairs for their unrivaled quality and comfort and this year they are delivering a new design to fit a more modern style.

"The Stressless Jazz will be right at home with today's modern interiors," says Peter Bjerregaard, president of Ekornes. "The sleek, unique design says 'retro' to some and 'futuristic' to others, but everyone agrees on the comfort of Jazz, the comfort for which Stressless is known around the world." We recommend a test drive, so come on in to one of our locations and put your feet up for a bit.