Brian Mehler Joins Tropitone As Design Project Manager
Irvine, Calif., March 29, 2007 – Tropitone Furniture Co., a leading manufacturer of fine casual furniture, recently named Brian Mehler to serve as the company’s design project manager.
According to Peter Homestead, Tropitone’s vice president of design, Mr. Mehler’s background both in design as well as his significant experience managing multi-faceted and extensive seasonal product development plans are key to his new responsibilities as Tropitone’s design project manager.
“Tropitone is bringing more new products to market over a shorter period of time every year while at the same time utilizing an expanding array of materials and managing various aspects of our production in Asia as well as the United States. We needed a ‘point person’ focused on overseeing each new product as it progresses from design concept through production and into the market.
“Brian is filling this role at Tropitone and is responsible for monitoring the progress of our new products throughout the design, development, and manufacturing cycles. He also serves as the liaison with each department at the company that is involved in the highly interconnected endeavor of creating, producing, and launching our casual furniture collections,” Homestead said.
With the addition of Mehler to the Tropitone team, Homestead says he expects to spend more time designing new products rather than tracking their progress toward completion.
Most recently, Mehler led product development at Small World Toys, a specialty and mass market developer of children’s toys, which designs and manufactures such products as wood doll houses, infant development toys as well as children’s playground sports equipment. Prior to these responsibilities, he directed product development at Maui Toys, a manufacturer and worldwide distributor of spring and summer children’s activity toys. He also led product development at Educational Insights, Inc., a developer of educational toys for both children and adults.
Commenting on his new role, Mehler said he is looking forward to utilizing his experience in both design and manufacturing to support Tropitone’s ongoing commitment to designing fashionable, yet durable, casual furniture and delivering it to the marketplace in a timely way.
“I am excited to be a part of the Tropitone team with its strong traditions and future opportunities in the expanding casual furniture market,” Mehler said.
With a bachelor of science in product design from California State University, Long Beach, Mehler also studied art, design, and marketing at Loyola University Rome Center in Rome Italy. Earlier, he also owned a custom woodworking and design studio.
Founded in 1954, Tropitone is based in Irvine, California, and is recognized throughout the casual furniture marketplace for its design leadership as well as its commitment to service and value. The company sells its products to retailers, designers and the hospitality trade under the Tropitone and Basta Sole trademarks. In addition to its headquarters and manufacturing plant in Irvine, the company operates a manufacturing facility in Sarasota, Florida.