For the Week of August 18th

Twenty Four • Seven (Portland, Ore., brand communication and design firm) has named Craig Wollen vp, creative services. Wollen, a 17-year retail industry veteran, will lead the company's efforts in brand communications with a focus on strategic and environmental branding and implementation.

Davaco (Dallas retail services provider) has hired Thomas Remby as director of sales. Remby most recently served as president and ceo of Retail Services Group Inc., and has also held management positions at The Broadway Stores Inc., May Department Stores Co., Sterns, Lazarus and G-Fox Department Stores.

FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati architectural and design firm) has appointed José Garcia as vp, architecture design, responsible for leading the design staff and maintaining client relationships for the Retail Centers studio. Garcia, whose career includes stints at Michael Graves & Associates, was most recently design director at Al Neyer Inc.

Martin Professional (Aarhus, Denmark, manufacturer of computer-controlled entertainment lighting equipment, speaker systems and smoke machines) has added Matthias Hinrichs as a control product specialist, providing sales and technical support for Martin's line of control products. He is based out of the company's West Coast office.

RPA (Columbus, Ohio, retail design firm) has announced the following appointments: Eric Kuhn, account director; Jeffrey Packard, senior graphic designer; Carrie Keeneth, senior environmental designer; Brandon King, graphic designer; and Carey Stumpf, sales coordinator.

Graham Downes Architecture Inc. (San Diego architecture and design firm) has hired Alexander Van Osten as junior designer/draftsman and Karyn Rovner to oversee all interior design assignments.

Fry Communications (Newport Beach, Calif., luxury bath/kitchen and hospitality industry products representative) has named Leslie Hart executive vp. Hart is a former editor-in-chief and publisher of Kitchen & Bath Business magazine and most recently served as senior account director at Meredith Corp.

Cloud Gehshan Associates and Kelsh Wilson Design, the two firms that joined to form Thinkframe (Philadelphia), are operating as independent companies again. The new contact information for Cloud Gehshan Associates (Philadelphia, design firm) is: phone: 215-829-9414; fax: 215-829-9066; Internet: www.cloudgehshan.com. The company's address is the same.

Jamestown MetalWorks Inc. (Bradford, Pa., welded and stainless-steel showcase frames and components manufacturer) has been consolidated into Allegheny Store Fixtures Inc. (Bradford, Pa., custom wood fixtures manufacturer).

Drago Illumination (Ardmore, Pa., lighting design firm) has been founded by Dan Edenbaum, former senior lighting designer at Grenald Waldron Associates. The firm specializes in lighting design for retail, office, residential and exterior lighting.

Miratec Systems (St. Paul, Minn., wholesale manufacturer of graphic components) is celebrating its 15th year in business. The firm services the sign industry, screen printers, advertising agencies and design firms.

Scm Group USA Inc. (Dulutn, Ga., machines and systems provider for the woodworking industry) has partnered with Wood Werks Supply Inc. (Columbus, Ohio, distributor) to distribute and service its products.

Core Architecture + Design (Washington, D.C., architecture and design firm) and eroc builders (Washington, D.C., general contractor) have been hired to provide design and construction services for Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café in Washington, D.C.

The RoomPlace at Harlem Furniture (Chicago furniture retailer) has broken ground on a 28,000-square-foot store. The original 6,000-square-foot store, which opened in 1950 and is located next to the new store, will remain open until construction is completed. Then the old store will be torn down to provide additional parking.