Designer’s theme = fun
Designer’s theme = fun
By Lisa Casinger -- Kids Today, 4/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
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Who: Anne Russell, vice president merchandising, Powell Company
Background: Anne Russell has worked for Powell for nearly 18 years and has always been involved in the company’s youth business.
“I was directly involved in many of the early designs as well as the CSPC and ASTM standards,” she said. “Powell has always built kids furniture but initially it was mostly bunk beds. We’ve since evolved into full collections and I’ve continued to include my input in the design process from start of sketches to marketing and productions.”
Many of the groups Russell has worked on are theme-based, something Powell is well-known for. She also worked directly with the licensee to launch all of the LittleMissMatched groups, a new one of which will debut in April in High Point.
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| Powell’s best-seller and Russell’s favorite design — Z-bedroom. |
The Process: Russell collects trend ideas, color schemes and themes and then starts sketching. The initial sketches are then reviewed by committee and then they move on to CAD drawings after which samples are made.
“All of the samples are built in our overseas factories,” Russell said. “We review the samples from the start of the process —selecting the materials —on through to the finished product. We may change details as the sample progresses. Once the final samples are approved we launch the introductions at market.”
Russell says the themes of the collections and how they relate to what’s going on in the youth market make Powell’s youth products unique. She looks at what kids are relating to in their environment — movies, toys and the environment because, even though they aren’t the ones making the purchase, they are the end consumers and more and more often, the purchase influencers.
Powell’s best seller, Z-bedroom, is Russell’s favorite design.
“It’s suitable for tweens to teens and it appeals to both boys and girls,” she said.
Furniture is sold through major retailers, big boxes and is drop shipped to many Internet companies and prices range from accents at $39 to furniture at $1,200; the average retail price for bunks or lofts are $499-$699.
“The demand of the marketplace plays a major role in influencing what we design and include in our assortment,” Russell said.
The Challenges: The biggest challenges for Russell are “finding new and innovative materials and educating our factories in the need to exposing these materials.”
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