Association Blog

Bob Winter’s obituary noted that he enjoyed family activities, including making homemade ice cream. How fitting, given that homemade frozen custard, crafted from their own cows’ milk, was the featured item at his parents’ “Howdy Come In” soda fountain in 1930s Emporia, Kan. Family traditions were important for Robert F. “Bob” Winter, who died Feb. 17 at age 85. He was co-owner of Home Furnishings Association member Furniture Mall of Kansas, which serves frozen custard today at Howdy Come In cafes in its stores in Topeka and Olathe. Ben and Eva Winter purchased a gas station that came with a

Not much is ordinary about Crowley Furniture & Mattress in the Kansas City, Mo., area. Certainly not its warehouse. On a snowy day in February, Greg Crowley guided visitors through a security checkpoint into one of the world’s most distinctive business complexes. Called SubTropolis, it features a series of tunnels dug into the bluffs that rise above the Missouri River. Miles of paved roads lead to vast chambers carved out of ancient limestone deposits. The entrance to one tunnel carries a Crowley sign. The road inside is smooth and well-lighted. It leads past a row of thick limestone pillars and

The coronavirus epidemic in China is threatening global supply chains and events, and the furniture industry is watching. Fortune magazine last week contacted the Home Furnishings Association for insights. “We have received notice from various manufacturers and suppliers that they are extending the Chinese New Year (holiday) for at least one extra week to accommodate the quarantines,” the association’s president, Jesús Capó, told the business publication. Capó is chief information officer for Florida-based Top 100 retailer El Dorado Furniture. “We will run a little short on some products — but if it continues, after a while you are going to have

Pittsburgh Magazine’s Ultimate House is a $2.65 million luxury terrace penthouse crowning a 17-story downtown residential development called  Lumière. Not just anyone would be asked to furnish all three bedrooms. PerLora, a contemporary furniture and design store with locations in Pittsburgh’s South Side and Strip neighborhoods, was selected. It’s not a job. It’s a gift. The Ultimate House is a showcase that attracts paying guests. Reserved tickets for public tours, which run from Feb. 21 to March 1, are $20 each. A Dine & Design event Feb. 26 costs $35. All proceeds support the Free Care Fund at the University