Almanac Market Data

Job prospects have consumers confident, and more likely to spend

Things are looking up, from the consumers' point of view, optimism rising on the jobs front and in business expectations, according to the Conference Board Consumer Conference Index. Confident consumers are more likely to spend on home improvements and furniture. And the sense of improved job security is a key factor in driving home sales.

Almanac Market Data

Top 5 states people moved to, and from in 2015

Home remodelers, cabinet makers and closets firms are seeing business blossom with the housing recovery - especially in the top five magnet states to which people are moving. Also driving business: remodeling for homes left behind, either as fix up for sale or to prepare for the new resident. Texas topped the annual list compiled by Allied Van Lines.

Project Gallery

Sticks - lots and lots of poplar sticks

I am fascinated by complex phenomena that emerge from very simple processes. This is the underlying behavior of the natural world, and vivid examples can be found at every scale. . . Unbounded, my installation at Rice Gallery, is essentially a distillation of this idea. Simple and predictable units are accumulated until an unexpectedly rich range of physical and visual phenomena result. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"81573","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image"}}]]

Panel Supply

Hunter Douglas Contract shows its mettle in wood ceilings

The striking laminate wood panel and veneer ceiling projects based on sophisticated fastening systems from Hunter Douglas Contract show design possibilities. The Hunter Douglas brand is part of the global Hunter Douglas Group, based in Rotterdam, employs 21,000 at 66 manufacturing centers and a 102 assembly plants - including one in Norcross, Georgia.Subsidiaries in nearly 90 countries around the world help Hunter Douglas remain flexible in adapting products to meet local architectural design standards.