Exciting News for Southern Living!

Happy May Everyone! 

Today I am very excited to share with you Southern Living and Ballard Designs have joined together to launch a new tabletop collection. This marks the first time that Ballard Designs has paired with a magazine brand to launch a product line, and the collection is absolutely beautiful! It includes coordinating table linens, dinnerware, glassware, serving pieces and centerpieces. 

Take a look at some of the pieces:

Aren't they wonderful? They would make such great Mother's Day gifts. I can already see them in a Summer tablescape, and I have a feeling some of them will quickly become a part of my entertaining staples! 

SOUTHERN LIVING ANNOUNCES DEBUT OF FIRST TABLETOP COLLECTION AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH BALLARD DESIGNS

Designed in Collaboration with the Southern Living Staff and Ballard Designs, These ‘Instant Heirlooms’ Start at $15

(New York, NY and Atlanta, GA) – Southern Living and Ballard Designs announce the launch of a tabletop collection, available exclusively through Ballard Designs.  

This marks the first time that Ballard Designs has collaborated with a magazine brand to launch a product line. Designed in collaboration with the Southern Living staff and Ballard Designs, the line contains 32 products (84 SKUs) and will be available exclusively at http://www.ballarddesigns.com/collections/southern-living-collection on Friday, April 27^th and in over 12 million Ballard Deslgns catalogs, expected to be in homes May 2 ^nd.

The line of entertaining essentials consists of coordinating table linens, dinnerware, glassware, serving pieces and centerpieces.  Pieces include a sleek marble cake stand, three-layer cake dome, mixing bowls made in Kentucky by Louisville Stoneware, and baskets inspired by the sweet-grass baskets of Charleston, SC.  Products start at $15.

"I've always admired and shopped from the Ballard Designs catalog, and more recently dreamed of partnering with them on a branded tabletop collection," said Southern Living editor Lindsay Bierman. "We're targeting a lot of the same consumers, and as a Southern-based company, they appreciate our unique culture and aesthetic. Ballard's creative team synced perfectly with ours to create a range of elegant, versatile, and truly affordable must-haves for every Southern table.”

“Working with Southern Living to develop this new tabletop collection is a natural fit for Ballard Designs,” said Ryan McKelvey, President, Ballard Designs. “Their expertise in food, home, and décor will infuse these new items with unique features and benefits that will ensure they are instant heirlooms for both new and old customers.”

Partnering with Ballard Designs, a leader in home décor and classically inspired home furnishings, the Southern Living team, including staff from the Birmingham-based Test Kitchen, set out to design products that are aesthetically beautiful, functional and distinctively Southern.  Like the rigorous development and testing each recipe goes through before its published in Southern Living, each product was meticulously planned and tested for ease of use.                             

Some of the products will be packaged with Southern Living recipes and point consumers to the Ballard Designs’ Web site to see videos of Southern Living editors demonstrating uses for the products via a QR code.

Southern Living will introduce another line of products with Ballard Designs for the holiday season.

This partnership expands the Southern Living brand’s product licensing program that includes collaborations with various companies and includes a plant collection, indoor and outdoor furniture, towels, basic bedding, and a branded newsstand at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport.

Southern Living celebrates the essence of life in the South, covering the best in Southern food, home, garden, and travel.  Reaching more than 16 million consumers each month, Southern Living connects consumers with the region’s rich culture through a variety of print, digital, mobile, tablet and event platforms.  Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, the rapidly expanding Southern Living brand is part of Time Inc., one of the largest content companies in the world and the largest publisher in the United States. TimeInc. is a Time Warner company.

Ballard Designs is one of the premier multi-channel sources for European-inspired home furnishings and accents. A full-color catalog is published monthly, and over 50 million are circulated around the country each year. Ballard Designs was founded in 1983 by Helen Ballard Weeks. The brand offers a unique combination of exclusive products, trusted design expertise and competitively priced, classically inspired home furnishings.  In 1997, Ballard Designs joined forces with Cornerstone Brands, one of the largest direct marketing companies in the United States. In 2008, Ballard Designs became part of HSN, Inc. under the Cornerstone Brandsumbrella. Ballard Designs’ corporate headquarters are located in Atlanta, GA.

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