Archives: News
Herman Prior Gift Shop Holds Grand Reopening
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba – The gift shop at the Herman Prior Centre is finally open after two months of renovations.
Hospital Auxiliary Starts Annual Fundraising
Fort Dodge, IA – In sparkling, clear glass, the 2011 Angel of Love holds a star.
And that star could shine in memory of or in honor of a loved one for anyone who donates to the Trinity Regional Medical Center Auxiliary’s annual campaign.
A suggested donation of $10 is asked for each angel, but more will glady be accepted, said LaVonne Jacobson, president of the Auxiliary and co-chairman with Pat Hill of the Angel of Love campaign.
Angels will be sold beginning Nov.
Santa in October? Stores are Doing ‘Christmas Creep’
Fresno, CA – It’s October and store shelves are stocked with werewolf masks, Spider-Man costumes and Santa figurines.
Santa? In October?
Yep, the “Christmas creep” has retailers displaying holiday merchandise earlier and earlier as they battle to win a share of deal-seeking customers’ dollars.
“Early is an understatement,” said Jeff Green, a Phoenix-based retail consultant. “I was shocked to see in mid-September that Walmart already had Christmas merchandise.”
Retailers once traditionally stocked Christmas decor and gifts after Halloween, but they keep shifting earlier.
Nielsens Gifts Prepares for a Celebration
Tulsa, OK – Nielsens has gone full circle just in time for a major anniversary. The legendary gift shop, which started as a mom and pop operation in the living room of a private home in Brookside in 1946, is returning to that home as it opens a second location in Tulsa. It is a culmination of almost miraculous coincidences.
It all started with a dinner in Wisconsin in 1940. A gentleman named Gayle Jensen was dating Dorothy Verheyden, a student studying speech therapy who had a yearning to start an upscale gift shop.
From Ashes to Rocks at the High Springs Emporium
High Springs, FL – Fire licks its way up the delicate feathers, consuming the creature in a pile of ashes. Out of this mass rises a colorful bird, reborn.
The mythical phoenix is the logo for the High Springs Emporium. Owner Sharron Britton, 60, knows a little about rising from the flames.
“My first store burned to the ground,” she said. “I lost everything I had. I had to reinvent myself.”
She is now the owner of what she says is the only rock and mineral store in North Central Florida. Her store sells a large variety of mineral products in a wide range of prices.
FundHub Launches UNIQUE Way For Vendors to Reach Consumers
FundHub officially launched their new sales agency focused on the school fundraising channel. Vendors will finally have a way to reach the 1.2 million school targets nationwide.
Kelly Gunn, a long time leader in the gift and home industry, will be leading this new firm.The agency will represent 12 vendors exclusively and will have an interactive website in place by year’s end.
FundHub Launches UNIQUE Way For Vendors to Reach Consumers
FundHub officially launched their new sales agency focused on the school fundraising channel. Vendors will finally have a way to reach the 1.2 million school targets nationwide.
Kelly Gunn, a long time leader in the gift and home industry, will be leading this new firm.The agency will represent 12 vendors exclusively and will have an interactive website in place by year’s end.
C & F and Gallerie II Add Design Talent
C & F and Gallerie II are pleased to announce the addition of Kari Phillips, a 25 year veteran of the design and home fashion industry to the position of senior designer. Phillips brings a fresh outlook with an eye for fashion and market trends balanced with years of importing and product development.
Phillips began her career as a Ladies Sportswear and Textile Designer in New York City during the 1980’s.
Jumping Jack Press Wins Fourth “Best Pop-Up Book” MoonBeam Award
Jumping Jack Press, the pop-up book imprint from Up With Paper, has been honored with its fourth Moonbeam Children’s Book Award in the Best Pop-Up/Cut-Out Book category. The company’s Snowflakes title received the Gold Moonbeam Award for the Best Pop-Up or Cut-Out Book published in the last year. The juried Moonbeam Awards honor the year’s best children’s books, authors, and illustrators.
Art and Culture to Admire, and Wrap Up for the Holidays
New York, NY – Museums are not just about learning and culture. Increasingly they are becoming shopping places for the committed consumer. As the holidays approach and New Yorkers are overwhelmed with family, friends, gift-buying and entertaining, museum gift shops are an obvious stop.
In fact, when the pressure mounts, some insiders bypass the culture and concentrate on the consumption. Museums make it easy. No ticket is needed to get to the gift shop at most museums around town.
Unique Shop Opens at Nino’s Restaurant in Mt. Pleasant
Mt. Pleasant, PA – Is it a gallery, an antique shop or a cafe?
Actually it’s a unique and fun combination of all three and more as the new Laurel Garden Shop at Nino’s Restaurant is now open and ready for business.
Located just off the parking area of Nino’s restaurant, the new shop is in what was once the horse stables of the restaurant when it was a private home.
Used predominately for storage for many years, the Barsottis had the shop remodeled and have now opened the area as a gallery and gift shop, which also offers light fare.
Small Sector Crafts Growth Potential
Dublin, Ireland – Irish craft and design is worth almost €500m to the economy and employs about 5,800
FROM NEXT month, passengers passing through Dublin airport’s Terminal 2 will be greeted by an exhibition of contemporary jewellery from some of Ireland’s up-and-coming designers.
The display, located in arguably one of Ireland’s best tourist shopping thoroughfares, is the latest initiative by the Craft Council of Ireland to mark Year of Craft, a year-long campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the council’s founding which will showcase and promote Irish design.
New Boutique Opens in Claremont
Claremont, CA – Rob Lewbel and Becky Morgan want Heirloom, their joint business venture, to be more than just a cool new addition to Claremont.
Their dreams include having the diverse and interesting boutique be a meeting place for area residents to stop, shop and get to know each other.
Lewbel and Becky Morgan also want their shop to reflect the emotion and longevity they hope to establish for their business, which opened earlier this month,.
“Becky always wanted a big family,” said Lewbel, a former lighting technician for the film industry.
Shoppers, Merchants Team up to Give Local Economy a Boost
Clifton, NJ – Clifton Journal has partnered with the area’s small business community in a new coupon program that promises significant savings for shoppers while helping to support the local economy.
Small Business Saturday kicks off the holiday shopping season with a savings program that begins on Saturday, Nov. 26. The program offers consumers exclusive discount coupons for use in Clifton shops. These coupons will publish in the Nov. 25 edition of Clifton Journal and be good for two weeks.
Char Crews Sells Gifts That Last a Lifetime—and Then Some
Hinsdale, IL – While serving an obvious purpose at the dinner table, the fine china and silver many families treasure play a role beyond being a vessel for food and drink.
As a generation ages, they hand down plenty to the one below it—wisdom, stories, love, tradition—and the place-settings found at many tables represent the tangible incarnation of those gifts.
As the holiday season approaches and the flatware is polished, the china unwrapped and the Christmas Waterford dusted off, we are almost forced to remember those who came before and smile.
At Char Crews Inc.
SerendipiTea Introduces the U.S. to Guatemalan Tea
Eagerly awaiting their first shipment, SerendipiTea is poised to introduce the U.S. to organic, full leaf black tea (Camellia Sinensis) from Guatemala.
The unique leaf from the Chirrepec Tea Cooperative in Coban has been grown in this region, at approximately 4,300 feet above sea level, since the late 19th century.
How an Ohio Garden Center ‘Dressed up’ its Inventory – And Made a Killing
Westlake, OH – Garden center operators looking to find a previously untapped profit center should take notes from Pam Donzelli at Gale’s Westlake Garden Center. The store’s president decided to market fashion apparel and accessories at the Westlake, Ohio, store. Here’s the story, along with its happy ending, per Donzelli …
GARDEN CENTER: What prompted your store’s management team to decide to get into selling fashion items?
PAM DONZELLI: [We] decided to go into ladies apparel for several reasons.
NRF: 60 percent of Shoppers are Buying Themselves Gifts this Holiday
Armed with savvy shopping skills and a renewed focus on value, consumers this holiday season will shop at a variety of locations and channels as they scope out ways to get the best bang for their buck. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, holiday shoppers say they plan to shell out an average of $704.18 on holiday gifts and seasonal merchandise, down slightly from last year’s $718.98.
Joya Army Candle Project: Limited Edition Fall/Holiday 2011 Launch
Joya, the New-York based fragrance design studio, is releasing the Army Candle Project, a striking double-candle housed in vintage British Army soap dishes marked 1945.
Two scents are poured in a natural soy wax blend: Dawn (Amber Absolute) and Dusk (Bitter Orange Leaf). The candles are packaged in British DPM camouflage that has been tailored by hand in the size of a traditional handkerchief. This can be used as a coaster for the metal candle, which may become hot while lit.
Best of Atlanta Gourmet Products Celebrated
The Best of Atlanta Awards were celebrated as a highlight of the Atlanta Gourmet Market, which was staged with the Atlanta Fall Gift & Home Furnishings Market and Atlanta Apparel Market October 14-16.
The Best of Atlanta Awards recognizes superior achievements in taste, originality and packaging of products presented at Market. The Awards are bestowed annually among independent submissions from the Gourmet Temporaries showing at Market and from permanent exhibitors in the Gourmet Market Center.