INDUSTRY VETERANS TEAM FOR SUCCESS

9/24/02 – – – Clearwater, Florida – – – For over fifty years, Austin has continued to introduce products imbued with a particular sense of style. A strategic decision, five years ago from industry leader Andy Cymrot, President of Austin, called upon a friend and veteran of the home décor industry, Carolyn Kinder for some thought on a new direction. “We are an established company and for many years have always done everything in-house, so for us to go outside was a major change in philosophy,” stated Cymrot.

As evidenced in the growing yearly success of Austin’s Kinder collection, Cymrot was right on target.

“Her vision has pushed us farther than we originally wanted to go, but this has proven to be a great opportunity for all of us. We continue to enjoy our partnership with Carolyn and benefit from her vast experience and developed relationships. This has enabled us to achieve more in design and product development than we would have been able to do on our own,” remarked Cymrot. “The brilliance of Carolyn is not only in her design, but in the finish she is able to achieve.”

“It has been a team effort and the results have been incredible. We have fun working with Andy and his team. Austin has literally re-invented themselves. We are excited about the new collections and feel they turned out startlingly well,” said Kinder.

Carolyn Kinder International, CKI, under the direction of veteran designer, Carolyn Kinder, is a multifaceted company focused on licensing collections of innovative products across a growing family of companies, each already a leader in their own market sector. CKI continues to bring added value and services to its client base through exclusive designs, product development and ancillary media exposure.