If you’ve been to our New York Showroom in the past week or so, you may have already had the chance to play around with the Fortuny Showroom Assistant. We developed it with our app design company Rounded Corners, and we’re extremely excited about it, and we think you all will be too. In effect, we’re replacing the memo pad with the iPad (don’t worry, you can still request swatches the old fashioned way).

The cool thing is, it’s smart. While you’re perusing our wings, you can add a fabric to your “memo pad”. Once you do this, you can see all of its details (width, repeat etc), its pattern card, all of the other colorways for that pattern, similar fabrics, images of that fabric applied to furniture, draperies, walls etc, and….(drumroll)….stock!

Brunschwig & Fils Announces Restructuring

Kravet Provides Financing and Bids to Purchase Company

NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Olivier Peardon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brunschwig & Fils, announced that the family-owned company has filed for Chapter 11 restructuring and, concurrently, that Kravet, a fourth generation family company, one of the largest privately held distributors of fabrics and home furnishings with locations worldwide, has agreed to buy Brunschwig & Fils subject to a competitive bid process.

Kravet has agreed to provide financing to ensure that Brunschwig & Fils can continue as a financially sound trading partner during this time of reorganization.

Mr. Peardon stated, “The restructuring is a business decision that will not affect the quality of our products, or present and future orders.  This restructuring will improve our services and supply chain flow.  Our relationships with the lines we represent remain intact and the Brunschwig & Fils Design Studio is creating new patterns for future release.”

Brunschwig & Fils is an internationally respected brand that, for the past 110 years, has been the preeminent destination for luxury fabrics, wall coverings, trims, lighting, furniture and accessories.

Kravet, throughout its 93 years in business, has firmly established itself as a distributor of high-end brands such as Lee Jofa and GP&J Baker.

For information on the Chapter 11 filing or the auction process, please contact:  Halperin Battaglia & Raicht, LLP, 212-765-9100, Alan D. Halperin, ahalperin@halperinlaw.net or Robert D. Raicht, rraicht@halperinlaw.net, or Charles D. Benjamin of Benjamin Capital Advisors, Inc., 914-821-1826.

Brunschwig & Fils:  Over one hundred and ten years ago, Brunschwig & Fils was founded as a tapestry weaving mill in Aubusson and Bohain, France. Brunschwig & Fils designs and distributes traditional and contemporary decorative fabrics, wall coverings, trimmings, upholstered furniture, lamps, tables, mirrors and accessories. All design is performed in-house at the Studio in the Decoration & Design Building, NYC and they work with 150 mills around the world.  The company is headquartered in White Plains, NY with 21 national and international showrooms.  Additionally, there are agents and distributors in 24 countries.

First there were the trees, and then there was the car, now we have the bull. This particular cozy was created by NYC-based artist Olek as a Christmas gift to the city. If the bull looks familiar, it should. It’s the Arturo Di Modica sculpture located in Bowling Green Park near Wall Street.

Great concept and thank you.