eNews Banner   
In This Issue
Existing Home Sales Stumble in June
Les Jardins USA Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Tropitone Introduces Valora Brand
Tropitone Introduces Montreux II and Updates of Lakeside
Radiologists Study Libby Victims
Home Exterior

Existing Home Sales Stumble in June

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

 

From Wells Fargo Economics Group

Sales of existing homes fell 1.2 percent in June and May's numbers were revised modestly lower. Sales of lower-priced homes fell sharply, likely reflecting fewer distressed deals. Investor and cash sales also declined. 

 

Investors Retreat and Traditional Buyers Return  
June's weaker than expected existing homes sales may not be as worrisome as they first appear. While the drop marks a surprise relative to the improving pending sales figures, we believe most of the decline is due to fewer bargain-priced homes for investors to purchase, particularly in the West.  

 

Distressed transactions accounted for just 15 percent of June sales, while first-time buyers inched up to 29 percent.  

 

Fewer Lower-Priced Sales Send Median Prices Higher  
Sales of homes priced less than $100,000 plummeted across much of the country, tumbling 53.5 percent in the West and 18.5 percent in the South on a year-over-year basis. By contrast, sales of homes priced over $250,000 rose solidly across the country, and homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million surged 38.5 percent in the West. The changing mix of home sales, along with relatively lean inventories, is pushing price measures higher

Les Jardins USA Celebrates 10th Anniversary

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

  

 

Les Jardins USA, the American subsidiary of the France-based, award-winning, high-end outdoor furniture manufacturer Les Jardins, is turning 10 years old in 2013. To celebrate, it's unveiling a new logo, a revamped website, and a string of products from a trusted brand that has become revered worldwide not only for its signature modern, refined designs but for its excellent value and quality.  

 

Inspired by French joie de vivre, Les Jardins pays homage to the Provençal lifestyle - its people and places, its lush colors, climate, foods and fragrances. For more than two decades, the company has provided exquisite exterior furnishings and lavish accessories to five-star luxury hotels and resorts on five continents, as well as to private residences from St. Tropez to St. Barts. Les Jardins has offices in Paris, Aix-En-Provence, Singapore, Hong Kong and, for the last 10 years, in Los Angeles.

 

In 2003, Pasadena-based Frédéric Raffenne launched Les Jardins USA in order to bring this exclusive yet affordable and durable brand to American audiences. Not only did Les Jardins USA weather the shifting economy, it has thrived, increasing its annual earnings every year since its inception.

 

The company has supplied pool and patio fixtures to Hyatts, Westins and Hiltons from Indian Wells and Santa Barbara to Aspen and Napa, and to shopping, dining and entertainment complexes from San Diego to Sherman Oaks. The make is also sold to individual consumers at chain stores and unique shops throughout South Florida, Southern California, Texas, the Pacific Northwest and Chicago.  

 

Two new products celebrating Les Jardins USA's decade of American success include:

Meridienne   

The Jetstream Meridienne 
A sexy, sturdy, sleek conversation starter, this chaise lounge has a silhouette that oozes sensuality and sophistication. Measuring 26 in. wide, 61 in. long, and 33 in. high, and designed by Les Jardins' chief product developer Henri Valerio, the Jetstream Meridienne consists of an aluminum frame and a Batyline sling. MSRP: $735.

Hegoa Dining Table

The Hegoa Dining Table 
Combining class and cleverness, this dining table represents an industry first in that it marries a teakwood base to a high-pressure laminate top. Unquestionably classic yet elegantly modern, not to mention eminently practical, the Hegoa Dining Table-designed by Claude Robin-measures 55" in diameter and comfortably seats up to six bons vivants. MSRP: $1,845. For more information call (213) 745-8883. 

Tropitone Introduces Valora Brand

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA

 

Tropitone Furniture Company opened the International Casual Furnishings Association Preview Market at the Chicago Merchandise Mart by introducing its new Tropitone Valora brand and products. The new brand includes six new seating groups and seven new table groups. 

 

"Since our beginning in 1954, the core Tropitone brand has been synonymous with Total Performance," said Tanya Stevens, vice president of Marketing and Service Operations. "Last year we introduced the new Tropitone MODA brand into the High Style market space to complement the core Tropitone brand's Total Performance market position.   

 

"Tropitone MODA is the urbane and elegant companion to the Tropitone brand's fun-loving and approachable personality." 

 

Stevens continued, "This year we are introducing the Tropitone Valora brand into the Utility market space to complement the Total Performance market position of the core Tropitone brand. Tropitone Valora provides attractive products for those commercial and residential outdoor spaces with a tight budget. The products in the portfolio were specifically designed and built to meet basic utility requirements with appealing style." 

 

The 23 new seating models and 25 new table models were designed to utilize a variety of materials to create an attractive appearance yet fit into tight budgets.  

 

"We wanted to use a variety of attractive materials to cover a wide range of outdoor spaces," said Peter Homestead, vice president of Design. "The products are beautifully styled. However, all the designs were in consideration of basic utility and budget constraints." 

 

The six seating groups include four powder-coated and two woven material-covered aluminum frames. The powder-coated aluminum frames are available in four universal colors - black, brown, white and silver. The two woven material-covered frames continue the universal color approach by offering one black, two brown and one white weave colors. 

 

All seven powder coated aluminum table groups are available in the same four universal colors - black, brown, white and silver - to coordinate with the seating groups. One table group includes Faux Wood slat tops in either Dark Gray or Brown Teak.

 

For more information about the company

Tropitone Basta Sole visit the website. 

 

 Visit the Tropitone MODA website.  


Lakeside
Lakeside Swivel.

Tropitone Introduces Montreux II 
and Updates of Lakeside

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA

 

Tropitone Furniture Company has introduced Montreux II cushion seating models and updates of Lakeside cushion seating models. Both were designed to better complement the innovative designs of Montreux URComfort and Lakeside URComfort cushion seating collections.   

 

"Both cushion and sling versions of Montreux URComfort and Lakeside URComfort were introduced in 2011 with great success," said Tanya Stevens, vice president of Marketing & Service Operations for Tropitone. "With all the excitement created by URComfort, our customers requested regular versions of Montreux and Lakeside seating that replicate the styling of URComfort. The updated sling models became available earlier this year. We are now completing the lineup with cushion models. 

 

"The adjustable URComfort system allows you to find the most comfortable position without getting out of the seat," said Stevens. "There is an adjustable tension knob on each side of the seat that allows you to restrict or encourage movement. Whether you want less movement sitting at a table or more movement with your feet on an ottoman, the URComfort system can be easily adjusted to your satisfaction. The Montreux II and updated Lakeside cushion seating models are a great complement to the URComfort line."

   

For more information about the company visit the website.

   

 Visit the Tropitone MODA website.


Radiologists Study Libby Victims

LIBBY, MONTANA

 

Three new doctors have joined the Libby Epidemiology Research Program (LERP), bringing expertise that will help better understand lung disease in people exposed to amphibole fibers from vermiculite mining in Libby. 

 

When Dr. Stephen Levin died last year, the program was left without a primary investigator. 

 

In June, Dr. Raja Flores took over that role for the project, which is part of Libby's Center for Asbestos Related Disease and tends to victims of lung diseases resulting from decades of mining by W.R. Grace and Co. 

 

Flores, chief of thoracic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, has been ranked in the top percent in his field. 

 

Drs. Claudia Henschke and David Yenkelevitz, both professors of radiology at Mount Sinai, bring lung imaging experience from their international lung cancer screening study that revolutionized the approach for early detection, said Brad Black, the Libby clinic's CEO and medical director. Bringing such high-level health care professionals onto Libby's team is a winning combination for research and health care in the town where so many already have died from lung diseases, he said. 

 

"To have them on board is tremendous, just tremendous," he said. 

 

The three join the program in the fourth year of a five-year, $5 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

 

Their work will help collect statistical information to form a baseline for understanding and comparison of lung disease from exposure to amphibole fibers in Libby. 

 

"And then, hopefully, there's some treatment. But you can only get there by improving imaging," Black said.

Libby Aerial
Libby, Montana. Photographer: Rick Bowmer.

People exposed to amphibole asbestos in Libby who develop lung disease largely suffer from pleural fibrosis, in which amphibole fibers migrate out of the lungs and invade the pleural, or outside, lining. They cause a layer of tissue, or scarring, around the lung. As the layer gets thicker, it loses elasticity and makes it more difficult for the lungs to expand. Patients experience shortness of breath and even death, Black said.  

 

Amphibole fibers are composed of three different types of fibers. The needle-like fibers don't deteriorate or dissolve, but do break apart into slivers. 

 

Lung disease caused from amphibole is difficult to see because it develops subtly and forms a thin layer along the chest wall, where it may blend in with shadows, Black said. 

 

Scarring of the lungs is progressive in Libby patients who were exposed to asbestos fibers, so being able to see the scars and gauge its growth through scans is important for care, he said. 

 

"What we need now is better imaging to see this," he said. 

 

The LERP research project seeks to enable doctors to quantify the scarring behavior to better understand the disease. 

 

"We set up a project where we'll have baseline CT scans, and then we'll repeat those in three to four years," Black said. 

 

The program looks at people who had environmental exposure outside of direct participation in W.R. Grace's mining operations, including people who were exposed as children and then moved away from Libby. Those patients are compared to people who were heavily exposed to chrysotile, more commonly known as a form of commercial asbestos, in Mount Sinai. 

 

Research also examines autoimmune outcomes, which could hold the key to why some people react differently to the amphibole fibers, Black said. 

 

People in Libby have more autoimmune antibodies than the rest of the population with no exposure, as well as people who have been exposed to different kinds of fibers, he said. 

 

"We don't know what it means yet, but there are certainly indications that this fiber does something different when it gets in the body," he said. 

 

The findings in Libby could have larger implications for helping doctors across the country better diagnose people who were exposed to the amphibole fibers and moved away or were exposed to the fibers through one of the many products made with asbestos from the northwest Montana mine. 

 

Doctors might not recognize the more progressive form of lung disease caused by amphibole fibers, instead believing patients were exposed to chrysotile fibers, which make up 95 percent asbestos use, Black said. 

 

"Ultimately, this may lead us to intervention that could benefit people," he said. 

For more on the research and clinic, go to the website.
Solair Ad