Pulaski Furniture Corporation Launches Kids Furniture Design Contest

Furniture World Magazine

How do you make 11 million kids “beary” happy to make their own beds, while also tapping into a $176 billion market? Pulaski Furniture Corporation, one of the nation’s top 30 furniture manufacturers, is taking a major step toward finding out. Earlier in May, Pulaski announced that Maria Bailey, a nationally recognized author and expert on marketing to moms, had come aboard as special counsel to Pulaski in the development of the new Build-A-Bear Workshop® Home™ brand. This week, working with Bailey and her firm’s BSM Mom’s MindPool database, Pulaski is sending special online invitations to more than 50,000 moms across the country, to encourage them to help their kids enter a kids furniture design contest. The contest is open to any child age 12 and under and has been posted on more than 300 Web sites for moms as well as a variety of contest sites. The contest asks kids to submit 500-word descriptions of their dream furniture as well as hand-drawn and hand-colored artwork. Entries will be judged on creativity, descriptive detail and originality by a panel appointed by Pulaski. Entries also will be judged in age categories, including: six and under; seven through nine; and 10 through 12 years of age. The contest is part of a national campaign to identify young designers to help in the development of the new Build-A-Bear Workshop® Home™ collection, which will be the nation’s first line of furniture, as well as a full complement of home items, that is designed by kids for kids. The contest runs from May 15 – July 15, 2006, and winners of the contest will have a chance to win a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond as well as become a member of Pulaski’s Build-A-Bear Workshop® Home™ collection Cub Advisory Board. Expected to debut later this year, the collection’s initial design team was made up of kids as well as Pulaski designers who met in April at Build-A-Bear Workshop® headquarters in St. Louis for a two-day brainstorming session. In addition to being designed by kids for kids, plans for the new youth collection call for kids’ personalization of both their furniture selection and the shopping experience through interactive kiosks located at Build-A-Bear Workshop® stores as well as furniture retailers. Each touch point will use the same colorful, kid-friendly language and activities which add so much to the Build-A-Bear Workshop® experience. About Build-A-Bear Workshop®*: Build-A-Bear Workshop®, Inc. is the only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own-stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. Founded in St. Louis in 1997, the company currently operates more than 200 stores in the United States and Canada. The addition of franchise stores in Europe, Asia and Australia make Build-A-Bear Workshop® the leader in interactive retail. In November 2004, the company expanded its concept from stuffed animals to dolls with the opening of its first friends 2B made® stores, in which Guests can make their own dolls. Build-A-Bear Workshop® (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $302 million in fiscal 2004. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning Web sites at www.buildabear.com and www.friends2Bmade.com. Pulaski Furniture Corporation In an industry where timing is key, and riding a new trend can tip the scales of success and failure, Pulaski Furniture Corporation stays light years ahead the old fashioned way – by listening and responding to the recommendations of its consumers. Founded half a century ago in Pulaski, Virginia, the company adopted the name of the town as its own and was originally established as a maker of bedroom and dining room furniture. From that point on, Pulaski rapidly carved out a niche for itself by becoming a leader in the production of curio cabinets, home accents and branded furniture collections. Today, Pulaski Furniture Corporation is one of the top 30 furniture companies serving independent furniture retailers, regional chains, national chains, department stores and catalog merchants throughout the United States. The company is known for leadership in design, progressive marketing and expertise in global sourcing. It is further distinguished by patent-pending technology that includes the newly introduced Insight Lighting System™ by Pulaski Furniture Corporation, the patented “Herculock™” bed system (US Patent #6679645) and two-way sliding curio doors (US Patent #6793298). Pulaski continues to build its portfolio of licensed and proprietary brands. In addition to the debut of the new Build-A-Bear Workshop® Home™ collection, the company manufactures the Keepsakes® brand of curios, and Casa Cristina™ and Antiques Roadshow™ branded furniture collections. Antiques Roadshow™ is a trademark of the BBC and is produced under license from BBC Worldwide for PBS® by WGBH/Boston.