Archives: News
Borobudur Lotus, a New Perspective on Jewelry Inspired by Ancient Art
GeoArt by Cynthia Gale has just launched a new collection in sterling silver and bronze, Borobudur Lotus. Inspired by the largest Buddhist Monument in the world, it is located on the Indonesian island of Java. The temple was built around 750 AD and completely finished 75 years later.
Cottage industry Grows at Gardens
Janesville, WI – Sales almost doubled one month after the newly reorganized gift shop at Rotary Botanical Gardens opened July 1.
“Our first full month was phenomenal and we expect the sale of merchandise flying off the shelves to continue,” said Mary Willmer-Sheedy, gardens board chairwoman.
Cottage Garden Gallery, the gardens’ renovated gift shop, offers a wide variety of handmade, one-of-a-kind items from local artists that is very affordable, said Barb Mallon, gardens board member and gift shop committee member.
“If you’re decorating your home, looking for a gift or buyin
Flora’s Feathered Nest Features the Fanciful
Potomac, MD – Seven years ago while driving down River Road, Marcia Copenhaver found a dream come true.
Having searched extensively for a location to open a retail store, Copenhaver was thrilled to come across a 1930s hay barn three miles north of Potomac. In 2004 that barn would become Flora’s Feathered Nest, a shop specializing in home and garden decorations.
Potomac residents may have driven by this specialty shop without stopping. The understated white building, located near the WSSC Water Treatment Facility, is marked only by a small sign.
Small Family Chocolate Shop will Provide Sweet Treats for This Year’s Emmy Awards
Waynesboro, PA – The Tsoukatos family works up a storm at their Pennsylvania chocolate factory.
They’re molding sweet artwork for a big trip to Los Angeles.
“At first I put the phone down and thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh! The Emmys Awards,'” Zoe Tsoukatos, co-owner of Zoe’s Chocolate, said.
Zoe’s Chocolate operates a shop and factory in Waynesboro and a store in Frederick, Md.
Gift Shop Selling only N.H.-Made Goods Opens at Hampton Beach
Hampton, NH – Doors opened Sept. 1 to a gift shop featuring New Hampshire-made products at Hampton Beach’s North Pavilion.
Craftspeople, state officials and customers came out for their first look at the shop and to start the cash registers ringing.
Jude David, who is the director of N.H.
Merchants, Business Leaders Report Strong Holiday Weekend
Petoskey, MI – Even with relatively cool temperatures and rainy conditions at times, visitors found activities to keep them occupied around Emmet and Charlevoix counties during the Labor Day holiday weekend — and often, area merchants stood to benefit.
“On those cooler and rainy days when you can’t go golfing, you come to town,” said Meredith Brown, owner of the Kilwin’s Chocolates store in downtown Petoskey.
Brown said the Labor Day weekend was one of the stronger ones for her store in recent years.
The Polka Dot Tot Introduces Posh Blankets To the Gift Market
Grimes, Iowa September 2011 The Polka Dot Tot is an Iowa-based one stop shop for children’s gift items. The company’s founder, and mother of three, Katie Koester has been running her hugely successful business from her home-based design studio and is now introducing the company to the gift market.
All Polka Dot Tot products are individually hand-made by loving moms in Iowa. From the softest of luxurious fabrics they create whimsical diaper covers, fun t-shirts, pretty pants, sweet scarves and lush blankets.
Pink Ladies Spread Cheer and Smiles in Hospital
Vernal, UT – Within a short walk of the main entrance to Ashley Regional Medical Center is a little room with cheerful stuffed animals, greeting cards and trinkets, as well as equally cheerful saleswomen dressed in pink.
The Pink Ladies Auxiliary have been selling items at the gift shop, welcoming new babies into the world, and helping out whenever they can since 1974 and it’s all done on volunteer time.
Georgia Couture, who has been volunteering as a Pink Lady since 1976, she said they used to walk the floor and help patients as needed, including checking blood pressure, rocking
Flirty, Fun and Fabulous, Retro Aprons are the Latest in Kitchen Couture
Vancouver, BC – Our appetite for the ladylike look seems insatiable. From boardrooms to boudoirs, old-fashioned femininity is all the rage, and now it’s heating up our kitchens too, with a runaway trend in retro aprons.
Of course, aprons are utilitarian things, designed to protect your clothes from splatters and drips. But practical can be pretty, too.
Whimsical and nostalgic, we’ve seen the trend at Anthropologie, at HomeSense and neighbourhood gift boutiques across the region.
Downtown Stuttgart Focus: Too Cute
Stuttgart, AR – For Natalie Maynard, owning Too Cute a downtown boutique at 213 S.
Little Buyers: Eidi Fuels Rush of Gift and Toy Sales
Lahore, Pakistan – Sales have soared at gift shops and toy stores as markets in some parts of the city sprang back to life after the Eid holidays with an influx of shoppers flush with Eidi.
Khalil Ahmad, the cashier at Toyland in the H Block market in Defence Housing Authority, said the shop had re-opened after two Eid holidays and had since been selling hundreds of toys every day. He said sales were much higher than before and during Ramazan.
He said that sales usually rose after Eid each year.
Autumn Fair Preview
Birmingham, UK – The annual Autumn Fair at the NEC, Birmingham, is renowned for being one of the biggest shows of the year. The exhibition covers a total of nine sectors and is dubbed by organisers, EMAP, as the ‘first opportunity of the season to view and secure new product launches and preview for spring 2012’.
Traditionally the number of toy exhibitors appearing at the show was a little on the small side, but over the last few years, the toy area of the event has been growing at quite a pace.
Midori Inc. Introduces French Double Faced Satin
MIDORI is proud to introduce its latest ribbon collection, French Double Faced Satin, which offers a refined air of decadence with its radiant sheen, silky texture and sumptuous, ultra-vibrant color palette.
MIDORI is happy to announce that the French Double Faced Satin is the culmination of customer and sales rep feedback, as well as internal research and development. MIDORI recognizes that its exclusive Double Faced Satin is a customer favorite, but also understands the recent tariff issues – higher prices and longer backorder time – are causing industry concern.
Malika International Gift Shop Moving to N.C., City Linkz to Take Over
Saratoga Springs, NY – As much as Malika International Gift Shop owner Shobhana Ghimire loves living in Saratoga Springs, she loves her sons and grandkids more.
Ghimire is clearing out her store’s merchandise and packing her bags to move to North Carolina and be near her family.
“Both of my sons are medical doctors and they both got very good jobs in North Carolina,” said Ghimire, who has lived in Saratoga for 15 years.
A Strong Business Summer
Gloucester, MA – Signs reading “closed” hung from many storefront windows on Labor Day.
But those signs bear no relation to the busy summer a number of local business owners said Monday they have enjoyed over the traditional Memorial Day through Labor Day tourism season.
“This has been one of the better summers,” said Joe Ciolino, member of Gloucester’s City Council and owner of The Weathervane, a gift and souvenir shop on Main Street.
August Las Vegas Market Boasts Strongest Summer Market Attendance in Three Years, Plus Hundreds of New Showrooms and Exhibitors
Tens of thousands of home furnishings industry professionals around the world turned to Las Vegas Market, held Aug. 1-5, to plug into the latest products, trends and business insights in an effort to boost their bottom line for the second half of the year.
At Small Businesses, It’s Busy at the Top
La Mesa, CA – Lisa Schmidt was among more than 14,000 people who lost their jobs at Bear Stearns during the height of the financial crisis.
“Being laid off after a 28-year career, it was horrible trying to get back in the workforce when your skill set was in one field that had absolutely tanked,” she said. P>Schmidt decided to fulfill a long-cherished dream of owning a gift shop. Using her severance package, she rented the historic post office building in La Mesa, converted it into a boutique and opened her doors last
December.
Consumers Shun Mobile Shopping
New York, NY – When it comes to mobile shopping, so far there’s more buzz than buy.
As the number of people who use iPhones and other smartphones grows, companies selling everything from hardware to high fashion are touting all the new applications they’re rolling out that enable shoppers to do anything from check a store’s inventory while in the dressing room to order prescriptions.
Retailers are betting that selling their wares on a device that people carry around all day can encourage Americans to spend money during an economic downturn in which they’re making fewer impulse b
Antiques Market in Geneva Gets a Little Antique Itself—Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Geneva, IL – It is unusual enough to find an antiques market in business for 20 years in the same location, and rare for the core dealer group to remain nearly unchanged. Now add the fact that the business cannot be seen from the street level and it’s easy to see why the Geneva Antique Market is in festivity mode.
The market’s 20th anniversary observance will be celebrated during the entire month of September and is all about gratitude and giving back.
The Geneva Antique Market is inviting the public to an Anniversary Open House from 10 a.m. to 7 pm. Friday, Sept.
New Clothing, Gift Shop Brings Family Together
Palestine, TX – What started as an “accident” became a family affair for the owners of the recently opened Fashion D’tour Beauty & Gifts in north Palestine.
The clothing and gift shop carries fashion clothing for most ages as well as jewelry, bags, sunglasses, shoes and gift items like picture, frames, perfume and candles. Colored contact lenses, hair accessories, hats and nail polish also can be found at the store.
“We provide style, quality and affordability to the community,” store co-owner and founder Mary Jane Campbell said.