Archives: News
Grand Opening of Berkshire Blanket, Suite 939
Opening in time for the Home Fashions Market, this Massachusetts-based company produces exceptionally soft and warm blankets.
Berkshire is committed to offering the greatest quality, selection, value and comfort to the most people in the most places.
‘A Fun, Girly Store’
Winston-Salem, NC – When Friedberg Elementary School let out in June, kindergarten teachers Jennifer Norman and Keri Johnston didn’t head for the pool or leave for an extended vacation.
They got to work.
Norman and Johnston had decided to open a shop that would sell gifts and accessories for girls of all ages.
Their store, simply PiNK, opened Aug. 13 in the Shoppes at Oliver’s Crossing off Peter’s Creek Parkway.
Oconee Designer Moves Into Her Own Studio
Athens, GA – Artist and textile designer Jennifer Heynen has been building a following for her jewelry, ceramic beads and fabric designs from her home for the past 14 years, but recently the level of orders grew to the point that the Oconee County transplant had to open her own studio and gallery.
Heynen, who moved to Watkinsville in 2006 with her husband, Nik, from Kokomo, Ind., opened Jennifer Jangles Studio and Gallery that occupies space in commercial building shared by Mary Lou’s Garden and Glo Salon on Barnett Shoals Road just off downtown Watkinsville’s Main Street.
Jennif
Q & A: St. Anthony’s Book & Gift Shop
Seymour, CT – Kathleen Conroy-Cass of Seymour is the proprietor of St. Anthony’s Book & Gift Shop at 131 Main St. in downtown Seymour.
It’s one a few brick and mortar Catholic shops left in the area.
Valley Indy: How long have you been open and what made you decide to open a Catholic store in the middle of an antiques district?
Kathleen: I started with $300 worth of rosaries, selling rosaries at churches. We’d do a display at churches after masses on Sunday. I did a Christmas fair here in Seymour at St.
Franconia Heritage Gift Shop Wants to Make Tracks to Telford Train Station
Telford, PA – After four years of looking, the owner of the gift shop at Franconia Heritage Restaurant says the former Telford train station is the right place to open a second store.
“I think this is the best place I’ve looked at,” Sheryl Derstine told Telford Borough Council Sept. 6. “I think it’s a great location.
Second Local Entrepreneur Picked for the Emmys
Mechanic Falls, ME – A second Central Maine mom has been called to the Emmys.
Shannon Bissonnette, founder of the Mechanic Falls-based Better Than Average LLC, Jams, Jellies and Sauces, has been asked to make 800 jars of her all-natural jam for the official gift bags of the 32nd annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards on Sept. 26.
Like Lewiston’s Sarah Dube Legare, whose EllieAnna Purse Co. has been tapped to make 800 fabric-covered notepads for the Emmy gift bags, Bissonnette got an email inquiry from the New Hampshire company that’s pulling together the gift bags.
Latest Home, Gift and Children’s Products on Display at Top Drawer
UK – The latest products from a range of British and international designers will once again be showcased at home furnishings and accessories trade show Top Drawer, this year held September 11-13 at the London Olympia.
Riverfront Arts Fair Has Long History, Yet Welcomes Newcomers
Northfield, MN – Yes, the Riverfront Arts Festival has a half-century of success under its belt. But it welcomes newcomers into the fold, too.
Take, for instance, Kathy Melton of Sarona, WI, which is about 150 northeast of Northfield. She and her husband, Frank, produce jewelry from handmade glass beads she creates in a Plexiglas and wood booth next to their exhibit tent.
The Meltons are displaying and selling their goods at the Northfield Arts Guild-sponsored festival for the first time this year.
Artisanal Snacks Hits an Attractive Price Point in Philadelphia’s Society Hill Snacks’ Midi-Size Gift Canisters for Holiday Gift Giving
Ronna Schultz, President of luxury snack manufacturer, Society Hill Snacks, announced that a smaller clear plastic canister, called midi-size, would be available as a packaging option for every snack in its roster. It bridges the price point at retail between Society Hill’s popular larger canister and its value bag.
Summer 2011 Las Vegas Markets’ Gift+Home Show Has Strength in Numbers
At the recent Summer 2011 Las Vegas Market the Gift+Home show continued its trend of success, exceeding expectations with a boom in gift buyer attendance. Gift buying groups doubled and new exhibitors and events drew excitement to the show-in-show at Las Vegas Market, which took place Aug. 1 – 5.
A surge in overall buyer attendance at the recent Las Vegas Market delivered the strongest Summer Market in three consecutive years. In particular, gift and decorative accessory retailers showed up in droves with a 35 percent increase at the recent show over last year.
NYIGF’s Like for Life Campaign Nets $1,000 for Gift for Life
Tapping the collective power of social media, the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) has successfully concluded its month-long “Like for Life” Facebook campaign, benefitting Gift for Life – the gift, stationery and home décor industries’ sole charitable organization.
Throughout the month of August, GLM pledged to donate $1 to Gift for Life for each Facebook user who “liked” the NYIGF Facebook page, with a $1,000 fundraising goal for the campaign launch.
Dennis Township Antiques Shop Uses Email, Social Networking to Build Business
Dennis Township, NJ – Tucked away about a mile off Route 9 in South Seaville, Treasures Past Antiques can be an easy shop to miss.
That’s one of the reasons why its owners adopted computer-aided means to promote their antiques co-op, using Facebook, Craigslist and email blasts.
“We’re a little high-tech for an antiques store,” said Carrie Dickinson, who owns the business with her husband, Phil. “I think we try harder because we are off the beaten path.”
Currently, they are experimenting with a contest on Facebook, trying to get more people to “like” the business.
Crafter’s Paradise
Hyde Park, UT – Design is the name of the game at Carolee’s Creations in Hyde Park.
For this family-run business, known on the internet and in business circles as ADORNit, Carolee McMullin’s brand of highly creative, original design comes in the form of scrapbooking paper, home decor and now fabric.
Michelle Barton Advances to Senior Vice President and Controller at AmericasMart Atlanta
Michelle Barton has been named senior vice president and controller at AmericasMart Atlanta in a promotion elevating her role within the company’s financial operations and emerging business growth strategies, according to Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., president and chief operating officer of AmericasMart Atlanta and its AMC, Inc. parent entity.
Barton advances to the office of senior vice president and controller following her 14-year tenure at AMC, most recently as vice president and controller.
SnapRetail named to Social Media Examiner’s “Top 10 Small Business Facebook Pages”
SnapRetail, a company that makes it easy for independent retailers to use email, Facebook and Twitter to market products, drive increased sales and compete with larger retailers, has been awarded third place in Social Media Examiner ‘s 2011 contest for “Top 10 Small Business Facebook Pages” nationwide.
“The team at SnapRetail is thrilled to be recognized by Social Media Examiner as one of the nation’s Top 10 Small Business Facebook Pages in 2011,” said Ted Teele, CEO of SnapRetail.
Jack Ryan Rejoins AmericaMart Atlanta as Chief Financial Officer
Jack Ryan returns to AmericasMart as acting Chief Financial Officer with the appointment signaling continuing senior management team strength and advancement in the company’s 50th-anniversary year, according to Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., president and chief operating officer of AmericasMart Atlanta and its AMC, Inc. parent entity.
Ryan rejoins AMC following his 2001 retirement from its presidency, which he held from 1994 during AmericasMart’s early formative years following the 1996 rebranding of the former Atlanta Market Center.
Temple in Paradise Scramble Squares Puzzle Receives “Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Socially Responsible Products Award for 2011” and “Dr. Toy’s Best 100 Children’s Products Award for 2011”
b. dazzle, inc. of Redondo Beach, California, has announced that its newest Scramble Squares® 9-piece puzzle, “Temple In Paradise,” has been named one of “Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Socially Responsible Products for 2011” and also among “Dr. Toy’s Best 100 Children’s Products for 2011” by The Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco.
In announcing these awards, noted child development authority, Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. (a.k.a. Dr.
MFA Provides Helping Hands!
Mark Feldstein & Associates, inc. (MFA), a product development company and importer of housewares, giftware, and electronics for over 25 years, believes that giving back is a way of life and part of its corporate responsibility.
Each year, MFA donates money, products and employee time to various nonprofit organizations in the Toledo area, as well as nationally and worldwide.
“As a company, we feel that we have a social responsibility to the community to improve quality of life,” said Mark Feldstein, President, Mark Feldstein & Associates, inc.
Joann Miller-Marshall Named Executive Vice President of AMC Tradeshows
JoAnn Miller-Marshall has been named executive vice president of AMC Tradeshows in an advancement bringing all AmericasMart home, gift and apparel and LIGHTFAIR International sales under her direction, according to Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., president and chief operating officer of AmericasMart Atlanta and its AMC, Inc.