ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603190005
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BARBARA MAYER ASSOCIATED PRESS
HERYLE Williams Dent answered her sister's SOS from medical school and started a career.
The year was 1987, and Dent's sister wanted her dorm room decorated to reflect her black heritage. No small feat, considering that few, if any, decorative accents of African design were available.
``There were no slipcovers, no fabrics, and definitely no wallpaper,'' recalled Dent, a New Yorker. She finally rustled up some fabric from a small import store in Brooklyn. ``And I made bed covers and cushions and curtains for the windows.''
The room was a hit, and Dent's phone started ringing. She and a partner now run African Home Inc. They do custom furnishings such as window treatments, cushions and panel screens and sell laminated fabric tableware.
In addition, Dent and her partner, Kim Bressant-Kibwe, recently licensed a collection of wall coverings and fabric made by the Gramercy division of F. Schumacher & Co., New York. The collection of 12 wall patterns, six borders and five coordinating fabrics is called L'Odyssee Africaine.
Researchers spent weeks in Africa traveling to towns and villages, visiting museums, galleries and shops. The collection draws from nature and fabrics, carvings, printed parchments and drawings, basket weaves, pottery, jewelry and bead work indigenous to various African countries.
``While plainly drawn from African motifs, the patterns are diverse enough to appeal to a wide range of customers,'' Gramercy's design director, Vivian Infante, said. ``The simpler designs blend with traditional furnishings, while the more complex patterns are suited to contemporary interiors.''
Prices for the Gramercy furnishings are about $26 for a single roll of wallpaper, $21 to $35 for borders and $34.50 a yard for fabrics.
Wallpaper and fabrics are only one part of a quiet but steady growth in home furnishings of special appeal to black Americans. One measure of the trend is special catalogs developed by large mail-order retailers such as JCPenney and Spiegel. The catalogs, introduced in 1993, focus on family apparel. But they also offer a selection of home furnishings such as bedding and table linens, gift ware and accessories.
``Many Americans like to mix ethnic accents with whatever else is in their home in order to give decor an edge of color or pattern that is unexpected and creates excitement,'' said Betty Rosenberg, home fashions coordinator for Spiegel.
Sand River Safari Trading Company of San Antonio, Texas, offers three different lines of South African products: carvings from 100-year-old leadwood logs, exotic hardwood furniture and handwoven Zulu baskets.
Small carvings take a month to finish while larger pieces sometimes take a year. With the 100-year-old railroad ties being replaced with concrete, the company recycles them into furniture, said Richard Moses of Sand River.
Clothworks of Evanston, Ill., makes nursery accessories in colorful kente cloth.
``We were doing the usual bunnies,'' product manager Marlene Norris said. ``But last year we said, `Why wait until the kids are in college to learn about their heritage?'''
So they introduced kente cloth crib ensembles at the Black Expo trade show in Chicago. Prices range from $30 for a blanket to $90 for a quilt.
David Rice, founder and chairman of the Organization of Black Designers in Washington, D.C., says families look to children's room accessories as a way to introduce heritage and imagery at an early age.
Overall, he says his clients are seeking textiles, decorative accessories and art that are imported from Africa or reflect the black American experience. And, says Rice, a designer of home furnishings and interiors, retailers and manufacturers are finally waking up to the market.
``A recent study done at the University of Georgia estimated that African Americans will have disposable income of $399 billion by the end of 1996,'' Rice said. ``Furthermore, African Americans, like the rest of the population, are becoming more interested in home decorating.''
For more information about Sand River Safari Trading Company, call (800) 525-4868 or write P.O. Box 791574, San Antonio, Texas 78279-1574.
Staff Writer Beth Day Pashley contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. AP. Barkehi Cloth, a wall covering inspired by theby CNBbold geometrics of the Botshabelo painted walls of Ndebele, is part
of the L'Odyssee Africaine collections of fabrics and wallpaper from
the Gramercy division of F. Shumacher & Co. 2. Sand River Safari
Trading Company. The elephant above is carved from 100-year-old
leadwood logs. 3. The exotic hardwood stools (right), chair and 4.
chest (below) are made from 100-year-old yellow jarrah and Rhodesian
teak railroad ties. The South African handwoven Zulu baskets are
made from ilala palm and natural dyes (below). 5. (no caption). 6.
(no caption). color.