Mother and daughter launch bedding business
HIGH POINT — For Debbie and Taylor Permenter, the fabrics business is part of their DNA.
The High Point mother and daughter are launching Threads for the Bed, a combination manufacturing, showroom and retail space at the corner of Wrenn Street and Westwood Avenue.
When they open on Wednesday, they will sell pillows, coverlets and other bedding components made from fabrics that are cut and sewn in the back of the building and then exhibited in the front.
“We are probably the only showroom that does manufacturing in the same facility,” said Debbie Permenter. “Being able to have it all here is going to make us pretty unique.”
After graduating from N.C. State University in May with a degree in fashion and textile brand management and marketing, Tayor Permenter initially considered starting her career in Raleigh.
Instead, she decided to partner up with her mother in launching Threads for the Bed.
“I love this. I grew up in it,” she said. “I think we complement each other well.”
After running a fabrics company, French Laundry Home, for several years, Debbie Permenter said she wanted to scale things down and get back into the creative side of the business.
She launched the new venture tapping into connections with local upholstery manufacturers that had excess fabric left over after they finished filling orders.
This provides a supply of high-end materials at a reasonable price point, she said.
“One thing I love about what we’re doing now is, it’s fun to take something that otherwise would have been cast off or discarded and figure out how to make something new out of it,” she said.
The next step was finding a space that could accommodate a High Point Market showroom component with other uses.
She settled on about 2,200 square feet in a multi-tenant building on the edge of the Hamilton Wrenn district.
She hopes it will provide steady walk-in traffic during Markets and from the general public the rest of the year. In addition, she said interior design firms remain their largest customer base.
“There is not a lot of small to medium-sized showroom space available,” Debbie Permenter said. “So many tenants have moved out of the big building kind of in this direction.”
Threads for the Bed is the latest in a growing cluster of non-Market businesses in this area, following Nomad Wine Works and Boxwood Antique Market, as well as The Point apartments.
Taylor Permenter said the merchandise is not being marketed just for high-end buyers and that she hopes it will have wide appeal.
In addition to bedding and some furniture, she is adding vintage barware to the shop’s offerings.