It is no coincidence there is a highly visible focus on mental health being brought to the forefront. KDR Kansas City showroom manager Kelly Specht and her husband Bob started Carl’s Cause charity 4 years ago in honor of their son Carl who took his life. Their goal is to bring mental health awareness to the stadium level. Last week the University of Kansas Health System and the Kansas City Royals made that happen. Over 500 supporters of @carls.cause in green t-shirts, and hats provided by the KC Royals, celebrated this worthy cause beginning with Bob Specht’s first pitch! A great night with well-earned recognition! All of us at KDR are proud to support Kelly, Bob and Carl’s Cause to help make a difference with mental health awareness. 🙌🏻👊🏻💪🏻⚾
From Kevin Kenney,
President/CEO
Scroll below to see more photos from the Kansas City Royals game.
In her spare time aboard planes and trains during recent travels to Italy and India, Design Director for Travers, Erin Finn was kind enough to share a glimpse of her impressive career in the textile industry. As I recently shared, KDR is fortunate enough to now represent all six lines from the Zimmer + Rohde family of textiles, including Travers, in all three of our showrooms.
Q: Can you give us a snapshot of your background prior to your current role with Travers?
A: I’m a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology. I was with Robert Allen for 10 years, Vice President of Beacon Hill for five years. I left Robert Allen to start my family and was hired by Travers in 2007.
Q: What attracted you to the opportunity with Travers?
A: The fact it was a boutique luxury collection with lots of personality—I liked that it offered designers something out of the norm, a bit unusual. I was drawn to the international opportunity it presented; a chance to learn the artisanal development from textile masters.
Q: What was your main objective for the line?
A: It was important to keep Travers true to its design sensibility and distinct color palette, to continue with its traditional spirit but make it more “now.”
Q: What do you feel is the main difference between Travers then and now?
A: The main difference is that now we have a more global distribution. Being purchased by Z+R gave the line recognition worldwide, allowing us to enter new markets throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Russia etc.
Q: If you had to sum up Travers in one sentence…
A: Travers offers the new traditional with an unexpected whimsy visible in its prints and wovens. I marry new technologies to the design process to create casual glamour.
Q: I’m curious (and truth be told, envious) of your job, as the Design Director, what exactly does your position entail?
A: As design director my job is to travel the world, research design trends and create a product for the interior designer. I work with mills worldwide to find the best sources for our Travers creations while being mindful of the client’s needs and wants.
Q: As the brand continues to evolve, what direction do you see it taking?
A: My plans for the future include revisiting designs from our extensive archive and breathing new life into them.
And for that, we anxiously await.
Until next time…
Emily
Photos provided by zimmer-rohde.com.
For more information on Travers or to request sampling contact the showroom or your KDR Sales Representative:
Kim Caldwell (St. Louis and Kansas City), 314.368.6101 or kimc@kdrshowrooms.com
Dianna Sether (Minneapolis), 612.669.9947 or diannas@kdrshowrooms.com
Patterns in the new collection transition quietly from the line’s signature gates, chains and scrolls to a bold ikat, a geometric diamond velvet, playful prints and a variety of simple weaves.
Emily
Fans of Zimmer + Rohde textiles, in case you haven’t heard, we have recently announced the expansion of our territory to include St. Louis and Kansas City in addition to Minneapolis. This exciting new addition includes the entire Z+R family of textiles: Zimmer + Rohde, Ardecora, Etamine, Hodsoll McKenzie, Travers and Warner Fabrics.
Each of the six lines offers a unique perspective, from subtle, modern and sophisticated to opulent, elegant and extravagant. But before I delve into a little intro to each line, I can’t possibly mention Z+R without giving well-deserved praise for their amazing website (below) that puts anything you could possibly need to know right at your fingertips. No substitute of course for your brilliant KDR sales representatives—the irreplaceable Kim Caldwell (STL and KC) and Dianna Sether (MN).
- The page for each individual fabric provides everything from the repeat and additional colorways, to the fabric care and content with an enlargement of the pattern itself serving as the background for the page.
Not only is the site user-friendly, an in-depth search function lets you browse by color, design, brand, use, properties, weave, manufacturing or composition. The site is as informative as it is beautiful, right down to the music that accompanies your search.
Whether simply a refresher, or your first introduction to Z+R, the brief preview of each line below should provide a bit of insight.
Zimmer + Rohde: A variation of modern classic, timeless elegance.
Ardecora: Sensual opulence, elegant extravagance.
Etamine: A reflection of the French way of life, natural, romantic, light and fresh.
Hodsoll McKenzie: A reflection of the British way of life, traditional with modern flair.
Travers: A translation of English country to urban and rural living in America.
- Warner Fabrics: Purveyor to the Royal Family, distinguished elegance, English charm.
One more web feature that I must mention is the ability to save “sample books” as PDF’s for your own files, or you can send an entire sample book via e-mail through the website. To create a sample book, select your fabric, go to the Colorways tab and on the upper corner of your final selection, hit “Store” and it will appear in your Sample Book below. Once you have compiled your options into the Book you can either save as a PDF (see below for an example) or send the entire book to a client or co-worker.
I could go on, but I’ll leave you and hope that you continue to, or start exploring this exciting new addition to our textile department. Stay tuned for a Q&A with the design director for Travers, a look at her interesting career and the new direction she has given the line.
For more information on Zimmer + Rohde products contact your KDR Sales Representative.
St. Louis and Kansas City: Kim Caldwell, kimc@kdrshowrooms.com or 314.368.6101
Minneapolis: Dianna Sether, diannas@kdrshowrooms.com or 612.669.9947
Until next time,
-Emily
