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New York Home Textiles Market Week announces Summer 2008 Best New Product Awards
(NEW YORK, NY) — Andrew Morgan Collection’s Palace Gates knitted blanket received the “Best of Market” award today in the New York Home Textiles Market Week Best New Product Awards. Awards also were presented in four product-specific categories – Bed, Bath, Dining and Home Accessories – to winners and finalists selected by a prestigious panel of trade and consumer editors.
Ex·Tracts Announces Summer 2008 Best New Product Award Winners
(NEW YORK, NY) … Sohum’s Royale Collection Bon Bon Packaging claimed the “Best of Show” title today in the Best New Product Awards at EX·TRACTS: New discoveries in beauty and wellness. Awards were also presented in five product-specific categories – Bath & Body, Beauty Accessory, Cosmetic & Fragrance, Natural/Organic and Packaging – with winners and finalists selected by a panel of trade and consumer editors.
An outlet for Dene art
Enterprise – For 24 years, Winnie Cadieux has been selling Dene arts and crafts in Enterprise.
Today, she owns and operates Winnie’s Dene Art Gallery and Gift Shop.
All of the pieces of aboriginal art and fine crafts in the store are bought directly from the creators.
Shoppers go for the gold on tax holiday
Savvy shoppers crowded Boston-area malls and stores yesterday, taking advantage of the state’s fifth annual sales tax holiday and saving 5 percent on items ranging from school supplies to expensive electronics. Retailers, fearful that the sluggish economy would keep spending down, were relieved.
“We are extremely busy,” said Mohammed Azad, manager of Sears at CambridgeSide Galleria, where families pored over gas stoves and examined refrigerators. Nearly 100 of his 135 employees were on hand yesterday to handle customers – three times a normal Saturday’s staffing.
School start indicator of retail health
Retailers will be paying special attention to sales totals this weekend.
School begins Monday in some South Dakota towns, including Sioux Falls. The shopping for supplies and clothing in preparation for the return to classes usually is a key indicator of economic health for the rest of the year.
That’s true for Sioux Falls-based pharmacy and retailer Lewis Drug.
With record gas prices and rising grocery costs buffeting U.S.
Accent on Design Awards Recognize Design Excellence
NEW YORK, NY … Four exhibitors in the juried Accent on Design division were recognized today for design creativity and ingenuity. The awards were presented at the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF), where Accent on Design runs through Thursday, August 21.
Accent on Design awards were presented to:
Best New Product Design: Artecnica (Los Angeles, CA), for the WirePod designed by Jors Laarman, for integrating the shape and form of electric wire into the overall design environment, freeing wires once hidden from view.
Wife, mom inspire engineer to enter retail business
If you ask David Touwsma about the key to his success in the retail business, he’ll say go into business with your wife and mother.
That’s what Touwsma, 35, did four years ago when he and the two women founded Limetree, “a gift experience.”
Their first shop opened in Peachtree Battle Shopping Center. Today, they have five locations and a lease for a sixth store in Newnan.
Thousands hit Houston-area stores on tax-free weekend
While clouds kept temperatures relatively low on Saturday, shoppers’ tempers were hot as they flocked to stores during Texas’ annual sales tax holiday weekend.
Scarce parking and long lines plagued some retailers, making shoppers grumpy and less than polite.
“This is crazy. I’ve never seen people act like this,” said Trey Robinson, who went to The Woodlands Mall to buy a last-minute anniversary gift Saturday afternoon.
Unaware of the tax-free weekend, he found himself amid thousands of shoppers.
“It’s definitely worse than Christmas.
‘Made in Canada’ gains cachet
High oil prices and increased environmental awareness are combining to change our shopping habits and the origin of goods available in stores.
Not only are Canadian-made goods more popular and more affordable, but there’s some evidence that consumers are starting to shop closer to home.
The trend to Canadian-made goods is much in evidence at the Canadian Gift and Tableware Association’s fall trade show in Toronto this week, where 52 per cent of retailers polled said they plan to increase the number of Canadian-made products in their stores, compared with only 34 per cent of the same
Woodstock Chimes Introduces New Fountains to Environments Collection
(Shokan, N.Y.) — Woodstock Chimes, a leading manufacturer of precision-tuned windchimes, helps bring serenity to any environment with its latest fountain additions to the company’s ever-expanding Environments Collection: Woodstock Moon Fountain and Yin Yang Fountain. Each fountain offers tasteful design in a striking granite finish with gentle sounds of cascading water to create relaxing and soothing environments.
“Our evolving fountain series creates a whole new dimension of design and development for our company,” says Woodstock CEO Garry Kvistad.
Bobi Leonard Featured Speaker during First Friday at Las Vegas Design Center
(LAS VEGAS) –– Las Vegas Design Center at World Market Center Las Vegas will welcome Arcara Enterprises, Inc.’s founder and CEO on Friday, September 5, for a presentation about legal and financial issues for interior designers.
Bobi Leonard’s talk, “The Legal Aspects of a Successful Design Business – How to be a Financially Independent Interior Designer” will take place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. during the monthly First Friday at Las Vegas Design Center event.
Local logs grace new shop
The Montana Historical Society opened its new gift shop on Thursday, sporting a roomy interior that blends the warmth of a ski-lodge with the charm of a pioneer cabin.
Months in the making, the $21,000 remodel incorporates hand-hewn logs and mossy granite stones pried from the frozen earth in the dead of winter.
“Hauling the logs was the fun part,” said Todd Saarinen, museum preparator. “I did that with a snowmobile and a log arch on skis I used behind my sled. The hard part was hewing the logs.
Tax-free shopping starts Sunday
Farmington, CT — With the struggling economy, the state’s annual week-long sales tax holiday has never been more welcome.
The back to school shopping frenzy is well underway at Westfarms Mall and every other mall across the state. Starting on Sunday and for seven days after that there will be a bargain from state government.
The sales tax exemption for clothing and shoes jumps from $50.00 – $300.00 starting Sunday.
Take a pair of sneakers priced at $49.99 for example. There wouldn’t be a Connecticut Sales Tax on those sneakers because they’re priced under $50.00.
Society Hill snacks refines brand strategy
(Philadelphia, PA) — Ronna Schultz, President of Society Hill Snacks, unveiled its new advertising campaign and theme today, as part of its enhanced branding initiative. Working in conjunction with industry specialist, GroupLevinson Advertising, Society Hill Snacks’ goal is to more effectively define and communicate its position as a leading manufacturer of premium quality snacks.
The new branding strategy is anchored by the theme, Snack Luxuriously!, to underscore the superior quality and creativity of their snack line.
Simply Re-Gift It debut at NYIGF
Wantagh, NY – It’s never easy adding an entirely new twist to the stationery industry. But that’s just what Jennifer Paretta, founder and president of Simply Re-Gift It LLC, has done as she created a resounding industry buzz when her firm’s eco-friendly, patent-pending Friendship Gift Bags were introduced at May’s National Stationery Show.
With the recent company’s name change from The Friendship Gift Bag Company to Simply Re-Gift It LLC Paretta wants to ensure the firm’s moniker quickly and clearly explains the mission-driven concept behind the product.
Melissa Borrell Design introduces Fantasy Shade designs on Eco-Friendly fabric
(Houston) — Fantasy Shades as featured in the SustainAbility: Design for a Better World Exhibit at the Javits Center during the NYIGF August 16-22 are now available on Eco-Friendly fabric. Vela by 3G Mermet is 100% PVC free fabric is an alternative to the industry standard of PVC coated fiberglass. Vela does not emit toxins into the air and has received the GREENGUARD Certification, which recognizes the low VOCs of the fabric and its contribution to improved indoor air quality and health.
Borrell first launched her Fantasy Shades last May, 2007 at the ICFF.
Heart of America catalog features inspiring new works
(MANCHESTER, VT) – Applejack Art Partners recently released its new comprehensive catalog for the Heart of America primitives and folk art division, a “healthy re-vamp of its prior look and offerings,” according to Vice President Jim Giller, “and already sales are strong.” This latest catalog offers the best of the classics that have always done well along with whimsical new images that refresh the line.
Peking Handicraft Introduces New Bird-Themed Accessories
(San Francisco, Calif.) — According to the U.S. Forest Service, 70 million Americans go out at least once a year to watch birds. Now, the popular hobby of bird watching is making its way into the home décor industry, with bird designs being one of this year’s hottest trends.
Little Shop in Blue Hill Offers Big Gift Ideas
Blue Hill — For more than a decade, Linda Lyons has owned and operated Hinckley Ridge Gardening, from her home in Blue Hill.
She still runs the landscaping business, but also opened The Little Shop earlier this month on Route 172, next to Yanni’s Pizza.
“I want to have something to do when I’m older and can’t push the mower or lug the mulch anymore,” she joked while waiting on customers in her gift shop.
Retail sales drop for first time in 5 months
Washington—Retail sales fell in July, the weakest performance in five months, as shoppers shunned autos and other big ticket items.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales dipped 0.1 percent last month when a variety of economic woes combined to blunt the impact of billions of dollars in government stimulus payments to U.S. households.
It was the first decline since sales had fallen by 0.5 percent in February and it was a worse showing than the flat reading economists had been expecting.