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Home Textiles Today
August 6, 2012
News
> hometextilestoday.com
America’s Next Great Home Textiles Company A SPECIAL REPORT
Simple Syrup Design House, Booth 7974 Simple Syrup co-owners Danielle Duer and Mandy McNeil were brought together by television after some of Duer’s paintings were featured on a local Nashville program. McNeil began commissioning Duer’s work, and eventually the two started to think about creating a product line featuring the designs. “We both love art, and we both love the idea of art not just on the wall but in different combinations in the home,” said Duer. They made their first foray around 2008 with baby onesies — “because I was pregnant at the time,” said Duer — and managed to get some retail placement. About 18 months ago, Duer turned her hand to decorative pillows. Her mother-in-law — “a crazy good seamstress” — assembled the first pieces. She now oversees a group of women in the Nashville area who handle Simple Syrup’s cut-and-sew operation. The company made its first trade show outing last fall at High Point and followed up at the Atlanta gift show this past January. “Everywhere we go, people say: ‘You should have these in New York,’” said Duer. And so now, they are.
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Danielle Duer, left, and Mandy McNeil, right.
8/2/2012 5:22:39 PM