FURNITURE WORLD Magazine announced that it will publish a special March/April 2010 edition to celebrate its 140th year of delivering news, commentary and educational content to the home furnishings industry.
“Every once in a while,” said Barton Bienenstock, publisher of FURNITURE WORLD, “something special comes up that grabs the attention of an entire industry. This commemorative magazine will be mailed to 20,000 subscribers, and will also be distributed at the spring High Point Furniture Show. It will look at furniture retailing, manufacturing, design and marketing as told in the pages of FURNITURE WORLD, founded in 1870.”
“The main text,” he continued, “will be supplemented with additional stories, advice and vintage photos collected from important home furnishings retailers. That is why we have asked FURNITURE WORLD subscribers to share their founding stories, defining moments, business firsts and innovative policies that have ensured their long-term success.”
Said Russell Bienenstock, editor, “Before we went to an all-educational editorial format, FURNITURE WORLD was the industry’s weekly newspaper. A complete 140-year history would easily fill many hundreds of pages, so we are concentrating on periods of rapid change in our industry, such as 1870 and 1895, the Depression years, World War II, the 1970s and several others. It is surprising to see both how much and how little the home furnishings industry has changed.
“The parallels, for example, between the news and economic commentary from our industry today and in 1929 and 1939 are striking,” Bienenstock said. “There are interesting lessons to be learned about consumer behavior, government intervention and the unanticipated movements in history.”
Manufacturers and importers will also be able to use this issue to tell their stories of growth, value, integrity, industry and community service in an “advertorial” format, Bienenstock noted.
To learn more about this important issue or to contribute information on the histories of furniture retailers, contact russ@furninfo.com or call 914-235-3095.