Young America debuts hand-painted collection
By Jane Kitchen -- Kids Today, 10/1/2004
High Point — Youth case goods manufacturer Young America is launching a new Young America Boutique line at the fall market here. Select case pieces from Young America's existing girls' groups, including Caroline, Contentment, Starlight and Isabella, will be hand-painted with designs from New York artist Shira Niedel's work.
"We're taking a great-selling design and adding the artwork," said Glenn Prillaman, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Young America.
Six designs are launching this market, including Uptown Alphabet, available in pink, baby blue and lemon; soaring bees and dragonflies in The Buzz; Button Stripes; Beach Day, which features colorful beach umbrellas; Birthday Baby; and Shoes. The Young America Boutique hand-painted pieces include armoires and chests and will sell for about 50% more than the regular white-painted pieces.
Prillaman said he had a great reaction to the line at pre-market, and existing dealers plan to use the pieces to attract attention and to sell to consumers who want an heirloom piece.
"Yes, it's whimsical, and it's related to the young side of life, but you don't really outgrow it," Prillaman said. "It's speaking to a consumer who wants to personalize things and not have cookie-cutter pieces."
The pieces work in either nurseries or girls' rooms and can transition easily between the two.
Young America debuted its first crib with its Isabella collection in spring 2003. This market, the company is making a real statement with 12 nursery collections with cribs, dressers, changing stations, chests and armoires under the name Young America Baby.
The nursery collections are modeled after Young America's top-selling youth collections, and include a range of styles for both girls and boys.
Shoes and Uptown Alphabet are two of the designs in the collection.
