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BGMH Auxiliary sells more than just candy
Gridley, Calif. – Sitting in the lobby of Biggs-Gridley Memorial Hospital are owls, penguins, whales, elephants, ducks and bears. Wild animals are not cruising the halls of the hospital, they are ensconsed in glass cases, as the Auxiliary sells more than just candy as a means of fund raising. Well known for their August Ice Cream Social, the Auxiliary sells unique toys, cars, planes, helicopters and firetrucks for the children, along with Disneyland wooden characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and friends that are legally chartered.
The Big Reveal! Artisan House to Debut 40 New Metal Art Sculptures at High Point Market
Burbank, CA — As president of Artisan House, Inc.(r), designers and crafters of unique, fine-quality metal sculptures for wall, floor and tabletop, John Shilling understands the importance of giving prospective buyers a visual and tactile preview of the firm’s new 2009 metal art sculptures – even in a slow economy.
NYIGF “Night on Broadway” Tickets Available Now
White Plains, NY — Specially-priced tickets for West Side Story will be offered to New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) participants through the Fair’s popular “Night on Broadway” during the summer 2009 market. Tickets for the Tuesday, August 18, performance cost just $90 each.
“NYIGF’s ‘Night on Broadway’ event is one of the most anticipated highlights of market week,” said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director.
Austin Gift Company
Austin Gift Company is an emporium for area artisans and crafts makers. The majority of its 120 booths are dedicated to local products, ranging from soy candles to Texas music to magnets featuring postage stamp art. Owner Mike Lopez sells his own merchandise, such as Longhorn gear, T-shirts and historical flags.
“If you don’t need it, we probably have it,” he said from behind the counter of the 5,000-sq. ft.
Jayda Unveils Eco-Friendly Product Line and New Website
Coral Springs, FL—Jayda, the online boutique specializing in eco-friendly invitations and announcements, unveiled today a new eco-friendly product line and a newly redesigned website JaydaOnline.com. The new site serves as the portal to their recently introduced brands, JaydaWedding, JaydaBaby, and JaydaEvent.
JaydaWedding offers their customers a complete collection of unique wedding invitations, save the dates, and other necessary wedding stationery. JaydaBaby includes baby shower invitations, baby announcements, and birthday party invitations.
Shaman Chocolates Launches New Organic Bars Featuring Superfoods
Soquel, CA – Shaman Chocolates has expanded its socially responsible collection of gourmet, organic chocolate bars to include two unique new flavors. All profits from the sale of the certified organic and Fair Trade Shaman Chocolates help support the Huichol Indians, a tribe living in central western Mexico in the Sierra Madre Mountains, who are said to be the last Indigenous Tribe in North America to have maintained their pre-Columbian traditions.
7 W New York Announces Public Viewing Days for Ceramica Magnifica!
New York, NY – 7 W New York, a wholesale showroom trade building located at 5th Avenue and 34th Street, is pleased to announce 4 public viewing days for Ceramica Magnifica!, a limited-time exhibit and sale of ceramic art. The exhibit features the best of the Este Design Triennale of contemporary ceramics, created by international designers and artists and crafted by artisan in Italy.
Coffee shop, bistro is take 2 for Savage depot
Between the two of them, Jim and Karen Lewis are betting a lot on their belief that the southern suburbs can succeed in creating charming, animated town centers virtually from scratch.
Karen co-owns a gift shop at a key corner of Burnsville’s Heart of the City — a project, she concedes, in which “not as much is happening as anyone in Burnsville wants.”
Jim has just opened a hybrid coffee shop and bistro a few miles to the west, in the old railway depot that has become the centerpiece of Savage’s attempt to revitalize its historic town center along Hwy.
Wheeling’s America’s Market shop goes retro
America’s Market in Wheeling brings customers back to the time of old fashioned root beer, candy buttons and pop rocks.
The specialty food store at 9 Huntington Lane features thousands of products produced mainly by smaller businesses across the United States.
“About 95 percent of what I sell is American made products,” said owner Todd Schultheis of Lake Zurich. He operates the shop with business partner, Bryan Fellhauer of Elgin.
The shop specializes in glass bottled sodas.
“I believe we have the largest selection of bottled sodas around. We have 250 now,” he said.
Proud Traditionalists’ Drive Green Sales
Contrary to popular belief, sales of green products are not tanking in a down economy and it’s not the diehard enthusiasts who are buying these products either, according to a new report by market research firm Information Resources Inc.
IRI tracked consumer-purchasing behavior in key green segments, including eco-friendly, organic and commodities produced through Fair Trade agreements.
Planet Dog Introduces New Green T Collection
Portland, Maine – Planet Dog, the values-based leader in the pet industry and globally recognized designer and developer of premium dog products, has created a new line of eco-friendly T-shirts. Each is printed in the U.S.A. with earth-safe, phthalate-free inks after being made in India in a factory that operates with partial wind and solar power. The 100% certified organic short-sleeved shirts are as soft as a puppy’s ears and meet the Global Organic Textile Standard.
The Green T collection includes four styles: “reduce your carbon pawprint”; “reduce. reuse.
Brandwise and GHTA Announce Updates to Atlanta, Dallas Gift and Home Indices; Release of Los Angeles and Chicago Market Indices
Lakewood, CO — Brandwise, an application service provider well known in the industry for its software solutions, and the Gift & Home Trade Association (GHTA), the industry’s leading trade association, have announced significant updates to the initial Atlanta and Dallas Gift and Home Indices showing marked improvement in the sales data.
“We received a number of calls from clients stating that they believed the index numbers would reflect differently on the markets in question, if we gave confirmed orders a longer period to clear the system than the two weeks after-market that was the
Midwest Introduces New, Convenient Online Shopping for Independent Retailers
Cannon Falls, MN — Midwest, leading designer and manufacturer of the Seasons of Cannon Falls®, Colonial Candle® and Delight™ brands, introduces a new way for independent retailers to conveniently view, search and shop Midwest’s complete product line online at midwestofcannonfalls.com by clicking on the red bar titled “Midwest Retailers: Log on now to Shop Online.” Designed to streamline the process and help retailers save time by providing information and online ordering 24/7, Midwest’s new e-commerce site also allows retailers to efficiently search more than 5,000 product pho
Hospitals in Michigan look to shops for revenue
Don’t be surprised to visit a hospital and be able to walk out with a mattress or a Honey Baked Ham.
Borrowing a page from airports and shopping, hospital systems are expanding, renovating and taking back their retail and food operations from outside vendors and hospital auxiliaries, or working with volunteers to introduce retail concepts.
Amid lean times, they are finding that there’s money to be made from selling plush bathrobes, jewelry, take-out ethnic foods and birthday cakes.
Henry Ford West Bloomfield, a $350-million hospital that epitomizes the new trend, doesn’t o
Social Networks, Blogs Pass Email In Usage
The rapidly evolving world of social networks and blogs has officially grown up.
Last year, the largest increase in visitors to such “member community” Web sites came from those ages 35-49, according to a new report from The Nielsen Co.
“Social networking isn’t just growing rapidly, it’s evolving–both in terms of a broader audience and compelling new functionality,” said Alex Burmaster, author of the study and communications director across EMEA for Nielsen Online.
But grow rapidly it did.
While some businesses are closing, others open
Oroville — Teresa Bachellerie milled around her small florist shop Tuesday, looking at hundreds of gift items stacked on shelves and hanging on walls.
“It’s hard to believe that in about a month all these walls will be empty,” she said.
Like some other small business owners in Oroville, Bachellerie is closing the doors after months of decreased sales.
But the business arena in Oroville is somewhat like musical chairs.
February Denver Gift Show: Upbeat & Busy
Denver, CO — Buyers turned out for the February 2009 Denver Merchandise Mart Gift, Home, Jewelry & Resort Show in numbers nearly matching last February’s. “More importantly, many exhibitors commented that they had a great show with lots of orders placed,” said Carol Hash, Gift Show Director, “and permanent tenants, temporary exhibitors and buyers alike, talked about the positive energy at the show.” Some comments from our show participants:
“You’ve really pulled something off here. This has been a good show for us, especially given the (economic) environment.
Retailers’ bag of tricks includes smell and lighting
Bargain is the new black, and marketers have caught on.
But when is a sale a deal?
Retailers have developed myriad techniques to entice customers into the store, over to their products and eventually to the checkout line. Understanding the often subliminal messages is one way to sift through the barrage of sales.
“Consumers are less affected by interruptive marketing now,” says Daniel Stein, founder of Evolution Bureau, a California-based digital advertising agency that services companies like Microsoft, Office Max and Burger King.
Collectors’ Information Bureau Announces Finalists for Collectors’ Choice Awards
Grundy Center, IA — The glitz and glam of awards season continues this month, as the Collectors’ Information Bureau, a trade association comprised of top manufacturers in the field of limited edition collectibles, announces its finalists for the 2009 CIB Collectors’ Choice Awards. The public is now invited to cast their votes — selecting the crème de la crème of the collectibles industry.
Companies throughout the United States were invited to submit products, across a variety of categories, including ornament, dolls/plush, and home décor and gift, in late 2008.
Recession responses differ
In trying to ride out the recession, two local businesses have taken opposite tacks. One has built its own building and taken on tenants; the other has consolidated to cut expenses.
Scott Mace opened Rock Hill Healthmart Pharmacy 4½ years ago upon the opening of Crystal Run Healthcare to capitalize on the patients who would be marching from the building with prescriptions in their fists. But he quickly outgrew the 1,200-square-foot space and about two years ago realized he had to move.
Being a Rock Hill resident, he cast his sights locally for a new space.