Ebony Magazine To Produce Home Decorating Fashion Brand

Article written by: Rodrick Rainey
Posted on: June 30, 2006

Imagine reading the latest Ebony magazine during a relaxing bath, drying off in an Ebony magazine-branded bath towel and climbing into bed between Ebony-branded sheets. The scenario could very well be a reality now that Johnson Publishing Co. has signed its first licensing deal to put Ebony Home bedding and bath products in stores by next spring.

Ebony Home will encompass both Ebony Classics sold at department and higher end stores and Ebony@Home to be carried at mass merchandisers.

“As a quality brand, our goal is to develop alliances with leading companies to bring high-quality merchandise to the marketplace,” Linda Johnson Rice, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The home textile line will be developed, produced and distributed by Dan River Inc. of North Carolina, which produces bedding under the Lilly Pulitzer and Alexander Julian nameplates.

Last year, Johnson Publishing Co. partnered with TurnerPatterson, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based licensing and marketing company for cultural businesses. Their union will work toward forging deals with various consumer product and service companies.

“We’re moving into home, financial services and entertainment, including mobile entertainment,’ said Debra Turner, chief executive officer of TurnerPatterson. “We are in talks with companies now for an Ebony line of apparel.”

Meanwhile, Phat Farm founder and CEO Russell Simmons and Baby Phat creative director Kimora Lee Simmons have also recently signed a deal to expand their respective brands beyond fashion.

Again, Dan River Inc. will team with Phat Fashions to develop and bring a line of Phat Farm and Baby Phat bedding and bath products to shelves by the fall. The Phat Farm bedding collection will include stonewash denim and nautical color blocks embroidered with the brand’s logo.

“Phat Farm has been at the forefront in building a Hip-Hop lifestyle business,” Russell Simmons said in a statement. “This new generation needs its own native interpretation of the bedding/bath business. We are filling a void and reacting to what our consumers have requested.”

The Baby Phat bedding, featuring an Asian look in black, white and exotic prints, is described by Kimora Lee Simmons as “the next step in expanding our lifestyle brand.”