Lesli Chastain Named Merchandising & Design Manager at Magnussen Home

Furniture World Magazine

Lesli Chastain has been named merchandising and design manager for case goods and licensed collections for Magnussen Home. She will report to Nathan Cressman, Magnussen Home vice president of merchandising and international operations. “It is rare to find someone with both a strong background in furniture design as well as production and manufacturing,” Cressman says. “Lesli already is bringing great insight and creativity to the summer and fall introductions for our bedroom, dining room and licensed collections. We believe she will help take our product development to the next level.” Chastain is responsible for the direction of product design for the Magnussen Home collections for the dining room and bedroom as well as Biltmore Estate For Your Home collections. “Lesli’s extensive background in design with one of the industry’s leading design firms coupled with her manufacturing experience will go along way to adding to the velocity that we have created,” says Jeff Cook, Magnussen Home president and chief executive officer. “She has proven to be gifted in interpreting home furnishings trends and the addition of her to our family will bring added creativity, vibrancy and depth to our team.” Prior to joining Magnussen Home, Chastain was director of product design for Fine Furniture Design and Marketing, where she led product design and merchandising for case goods and fine accents. She also served as design manager at Palliser Furniture, where she helped create the company’s stylistic direction and managed the design department. Chastain began her career at Otto & Moore, a furniture design firm, where she won a Pinnacle Award for her work on Lane Furniture’s National Geographic Collection. Magnussen Home Furnishings, Inc. designs, imports, and distributes medium- and upper-medium-priced occasional tables, accent furniture, bedroom, dining room and home entertainment across all style categories for retailers around the world. The company brings more than 20 years of experience with offshore sourcing focused on quality control of state-of-the-art technology, workmanship, finishing and timely delivery. As a result, the Magnussen Express and Accents Express programs deliver products domestically within five working days to participating retailers in the United States and Canada. In addition, Biltmore Estate For Your Home by Magnussen Home is a valued licensing partner. Magnussen Home has permanent showrooms in High Point, Toronto and Las Vegas with a state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution center in Riverside, Cal. Its U.S. Sales and Marketing Offices are located in High Point, N.C. The company headquarters are based in New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada.