Archives: News
Illinois couple downsizes for a simpler lifestyle
Kewanee, Ill. — Sue and Will Sagmoen no longer commute to their business in Kewanee. They no longer have lawns to mow and leaves to rake around their suburban home.
Living livens up the style of home décor at Ambiente 2009
Living, the leading fair for home décor at Ambiente, will go to the start in Frankfurt from 13 to 17 February, with international brands, new exhibitors and more design space. Spanning seven exhibition halls, the fair will offer buyers from furnishing and furniture stores, boutiques, galleries and lifestyle shops the most attractive furnishing lifestyle and decorating products. Dining, the leading international fair for tabletop, kitchen and housewares, and Giving, the premier platform for gifts, will be taking place simultaneously under the same roof as Ambiente.
Scandle® Body Candle Announces Massage Candle Refills
Dallas, TX – Scandle® LLC, the leading manufacturer and wholesaler of the finest quality massage candles and complimentary spa products, today announced their new Scandle® Body Candle refills for their pourable 10oz ceramic canisters.
Designed to coincide with the company’s already eco- friendly product line, The Scandle® Body Candle refills give consumers the option to reuse their Scandle® canister. In doing so, consumers can save money and ultimately reduce post-consumer waste.
National Stationery Show Unveils New Hours
White Plains, NY — The National Stationery Show® will shift to a new, earlier time frame on its closing day, running 9:00am to 12:00pm, Wednesday, May 20, 2009. All other show hours (9:00am – 6:00pm, Sunday May 17 through Tuesday, May 19) remain the same. The new schedule addresses cost efficiencies, affording considerable savings to exhibitors, particularly in the areas of staffing, hotel and travel.
The 63rd annual National Stationery Show will feature 1,100 exhibitors, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
From bobbleheads to shot glasses, D.C. is awash in Obama memorabilia
There are Barack Obama action figures, coffee mugs, puzzles, bobbleheads, T-shirts, posters, baseball caps, plaques and wrist watches.
Not enough?
Specialty gift store
A patch of this, a patch of that and soon before you know it, you would have created a gift that is beyond your wildest dreams. But this is no dream.
Cheap is chic in recession, NRF chief says
New York, NY – Price has become the most important factor in U.S. consumer purchase decisions and retailers must adapt to that new reality if they are to be successful, the head of a key retail group said on Sunday.
“What’s so intriguing these days, whether you work on Wall Street or in Wal-Mart, is that it has absolutely become chic to be cheap,” National Retail Federation President and CEO Tracy Mullin said during a session at the group’s annual trade show in New York, which runs through Wednesday.
“It’s all about price.
Family business will preserve historic site
Bishopville, SC — A downtown building that has housed a movie theater and served as the headquarters for a rescue squad will soon be the home of a bakery, coffee shop and gift shop.
Lee County native Millie Scott, the county’s 2007 Benevolent Citizen of the Year, has purchased the old Rescue Squad building at 214 North Main St.
By September, Scott hopes to open a family business that will feature her love for baking.
“I’ve always loved baking,” Scott said. “I remember my mother loved to bake.
Skittish shoppers, fewer stores
Central Florida’s retail industry is facing bankruptcies, closings and layoffs as the economy worsens and stores have difficulty recovering from the holiday season dominated by shoppers who responded only to deals.
“The problem is consumers have been really under siege with trillions of dollars lost in wealth in the stock market, trillions of dollars lost in home equity nationwide, rising unemployment, which we’re forecasting to rise throughout 2009,” said University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith.
“All these things have consumers tightening the belt several notches.
Danielson Designs Introduces Biggest New Product Launch Ever at Spring Gift Shows This Month
Trinidad, Colo. – Sluggish economy? Tell that to Danielson Designs, Ltd. of Trinidad, Colo. The country’s top wall décor company, known for wood-crafted quality product made in small town Colorado, just recorded their best sales year since the company’s inception 16 years ago. Bullish for the future? You bet. Danielson Designs is unveiling its biggest product launch ever at upcoming gift shows in Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Toronto, Denver and New York.
New! Chappy’s Lip Balms with SPF 15
Sweet Grass Farm, a New Hampshire based manufacturer of all-natural hand cut soaps and the ever-popular Farmhouse Homecare Collection is introducing a new product to the family…New! Chappy’s Lip Balms with SPF 15.
The New Chappy’s Lip Balms, (SRP $3.50) are now packaged in a stick form and have the added benefit of sun protection – SPF 15. Staying true to their roots, Sweet Grass Farm has infused nature’s best essentials for soothing and re-hydrating cracked lips with olive oil, beeswax, aloe, sunflower and soybean oils, jojoba seed oil and mango butter.
President Elect Obama Inaugural Committee Selects Local Company To Make Commemorative Product
Middlebury, VT – Maple Landmark, creator of award-winning children’s products, has been hand picked to create a wooden toy train engine to celebrate the Inauguration of President Obama. A train engine was chosen because President-elect Obama will be traveling to Washington, D.C. by train replicating the last leg of President Lincoln’s journey to Washington.
Each engine is crafted from native Vermont hardwood and printed with the Inaugural Seal on one side and “Obama Biden Renewing America’s Promise” on the other. The engine measures about 3″ tall and 5″ long.
In N.Y., a Yen for Japanese Shops
With its large Japanese expat population and thousands of Japanese American residents, New York has long offered sushi restaurants and karaoke bars. More recently, the popularity of high-end design and funky pop culture from the Land of the Rising Sun and the Sinking Yen has brought a variety of Japanese-based retailers to town.
Downtown gift certificates boost sales
Traverse City, Michigan — Merchants got some bang from downtown bucks during a wobbly holiday shopping season.
Sales of Downtown Traverse City Association gift certificates soared to $192,425 this holiday season, up 25 percent from last year.
That’s despite a national downward trend in holiday gift card sales.
After sales, will shoppers pay full price again?
New York — Shoppers are getting used to those 75 percent off sale signs, and that’s bad news for merchants who worry they will also have to quickly slash prices on spring goods to attract customers.
Anxieties about how rampant discounts have affected shoppers’ psyches and stores’ profits are running high ahead of expected dismal December sales figures on Thursday. The holiday season is anticipated to be the worst in decades.
Already, retailers including Bebe Stores Inc. and J.Crew Group Inc.
Women’s store opens doors
TN — When Grace’s Shop for Ladies in Green Hills closed its doors last summer, longtime employees Lisha Orman and Jean Stratton took it as a sign.
For 15 years, the pair had dreamed of opening their own women’s clothing and accessories shop.
“But we were so happy at Grace’s, and we knew we couldn’t leave,” Orman said. “When it closed, we both said to ourselves, ‘It’s time.
Holiday sales in Highland Park shops stay steady or increase as economy weakens
Highland Park, NJ —Despite the doom and gloom surrounding retail businesses nationwide, the borough’s downtown businesses did not see a dip in holiday sales.
Fit to a tea: Genteel beverage is carving out a niche in Madison
Madison, Wisconsin — Tea time is starting in Madison.
Although tea is the world’s most commonly consumed beverage next to water, in Madison, like much of the rest of the United States, tea has been a distant also-ran in any beverage popularity contest.
This city continues to celebrate its long-standing love affair with beer, and in the last decade we’ve also enthusiastically embraced dozens of coffee shops as popular annexes to the office.
Furniture Brands Expands Presence at World Market Center Las Vegas
St. Louis, Missouri — Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN) announced today that four of its brands will join the growing roster of World Market Center exhibitors. Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, and Maitland Smith will debut at the upcoming 2009 Winter Las Vegas Market, February 9-13 at World Market Center Las Vegas. These leading furniture companies will join Broyhill and Lane, which have shown at World Market Center Las Vegas since the Market’s opening in 2005.
Laura Ashley Inks Licensing Deal for South America
Ft. Mill, S.C. — Laura Ashley, Inc. announced today licensing rights have been granted to Brazilian textile manufacturer,Artelassê Indústria e Comércio Ltda., to produce and distribute a collection of fashion bedding and bath products and table linens in select Latin American countries.
The collection will offer a range of casual, traditional and formal styles in bedding coordinates including comforters, duvet covers, dust ruffles, sheets and decorative cushions as well as a coordinating line of bath textiles and accessories.