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Archives: News

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

Olive Home: New shop features gourmet food, gifts

When partners Fernando Pereyra and William King opened The Olive Market on Main Street in Georgetown eight years ago, they also had a vision of continuing to expand gourmet and gift services.

That time has come as The Olive Home, developed in a space vacated by Fisk & Company, became available, but the decision was made with a sadness.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

Balancing inventory

Pity the retailer.

If he doesn’t have it, he can’t sell it. But if he orders it and nobody buys it, that’s even worse.

Inventory planning can be challenging in any financial climate. But when consumer spending dries up, small retailers are forced to make even savvier decisions about what and how much to order.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

Wearing her art on her sleeve

At age 6, Joan Carney was already a budding fashionista with a strong preference for selecting her own outfits on family shopping trips. During one such outing, she was allowed to choose only one pair of shoes for the upcoming season. Her parents suggested a practical black pair. Carney’s choice? Red.

“My dad said, ‘If she wants red, she’d better not ask for another pair in black (later)’,” Carney remembers.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

Fall brings spring debut at Atlanta apparel

ATLANTA — Fresh spring lines, edgy new designers and product introductions headline the October 11-14 Atlanta Apparel Market, featuring the Atlanta International Bridal Market. With more than 550 showrooms and 1,000 temporary booths, AmericasMart Atlanta continues to offer the largest apparel market on the East Coast. Contributing to the growth is the contemporary men’s category and the focus on bridal in October, in addition to the burgeoning women’s, children’s, shoes and accessories product mix.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

Midwest Introduces Go Green by Colonial Candle

(Cannon Falls, MN) – Midwest, leading designer and manufacturer of premium Colonial Candle brand of candles and home fragrance products, introduces “Go Green by Colonial Candle,” the first 100 percent recycled wax candle collection from a major candle brand produced in a recognized “green” facility, underscoring the company’s continued commitment to the environment, and supporting independent retailers and their customers in their efforts to go green.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

Gourmet Housewares Show return to San Francisco

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Showcasing the most elite in the gourmet products industry for 33 years, The Gourmet Housewares Show has ignited a demand for the market like never before with its return to San Francisco in 2009. A growing roster of high-end, design-forward companies have already committed to the re-timed and re-located marketplace. 


With tremendously positive feedback from retailers and the industry-at-large, vendors are re-thinking their marketing plans for 2009 and putting their dollars towards the August 8-10, 2009 show in a big way.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

American Craft Retailers Expo Goes Green

(Mooresville, NC) — Wholesalecrafts.com, Inc., producers of the American Craft Retailers Expo (ACRE), and its contractors announce green initiatives.

Wholesalecrafts.com is a virtual office where all of its employees work at home. This eliminates the need to use additional energy for heating and cooling a traditional office space. A virtual office also reduces gas consumption and automobile emissions from employees driving to/from work. Other green initiatives are:
-Use of online artist applications saves paper.
-Internal paperless office strategies.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

Company C goes Pink for October

Concord, NH – On September 15, Company C will unveil its newest product design—the Sachi Pink accent rug.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 15, 2008

SF Housewares show features OXO, BIA Cordon Bleu, and more

White Plains, NY — Showcasing the most elite in the gourmet products industry for 33 years, The Gourmet Housewares Show has ignited a demand for the market like never before with its return to San Francisco in 2009. A growing roster of high-end, design-forward companies have already committed to the re-timed and re-located marketplace.

With tremendously positive feedback from retailers and the industry-at-large, vendors are re-thinking their marketing plans for 2009 and putting their dollars towards the August 8-10, 2009 show in a big way.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 14, 2008

Coffee shop among venues for downtown ‘strolling market’

A downtown “strolling market” concept is getting plenty of interest as momentum builds towards construction this winter and an opening next spring.

Developer Gary Post has at least 10 retailers interested in one of the initial 25 stalls on the Russell Block Market’s first floor.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 14, 2008

Embracing a creative adventure with the Eyes of the World

In the improbable space between Buddha and Sponge Bob, Mishel Vanden Busch makes work a dance.

Greeted by the painted grins of wooden giraffes, the affirming nods of spring-necked camels and the perfume of far-off places, she enters Eyes of the World Imports each day with a grateful heart.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 13, 2008

Control of news, gift shops a rich prize

A high-powered political battle is brewing over lucrative news and gift shops at McCarran International Airport.

The New Jersey-based Hudson Group’s 21-shop concession contract at the airport expires in 2010. Hoping to avoid a bidding war, Hudson is offering to spend $7 million to improve its shops at the airport and give Clark County a larger share of the gross revenue in return for an extension to 2020.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 12, 2008

Woodstock Chimes Introduces Pipedream Java

(Shokan, N.Y.) — Woodstock Chimes, a leading manufacturer of precision-tuned windchimes, surges forward with its top selling Environments Collection adding a new distinctive instrument to its Pipedream Series called Pipedream Java. This carefully designed, precision tuned instrument allows any individual to create their own harmony and surround themselves with peaceful sounds.

“The Pipedream Java instrument continues the mission of our Environments Collection – healing through sound,” says Woodstock CEO Garry Kvistad.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 12, 2008

It’s in the Bag

Consumers are becoming increasingly eco-conscious and more likely to reuse shopping bags, but bags that look stylish have the edge. Smart entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this trend—and garnering free advertising in the process.

Tonya Hart thought her art glass store’s bags looked fine—until she saw someone walking around with one. “I realized it needed a bigger logo and just needed to be jazzier,” says Hart, 40, co-founder of Two Fish Art Glass in Forest Park, Illinois.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 12, 2008

Quilt shop has much to offer

Neosho, Mo. – A lifelong interest in sewing led Donna Sue Hill and her daughter, Robbi Hill Triplett to opening their own quilting store three years ago.

Their shop, Bittersweet Quilts, is located on P Highway and Missouri Highway 86 south of Joplin in northern Newton County. Hill described the shop as a “mom and pop,” only it was a “mom and daughter.”

“My daughter said she would never sew, but her friends got her into quilting,” said Hill.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 12, 2008

Small Retail: Sugarlump benefits from sweet location

From the sidewalk, Sugarlump looks like another baby boutique.

Once inside, though, you realize the children’s store is less chic and more comfortable.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 12, 2008

Acai Berry Wins for New Flavor Idea for Jelly Belly Bean

FAIRFIELD, CALIF. — The tallies are done and Jelly Belly Candy Company announced that fans voted acai berry (ah-sigh-ee), an exotic Amazon rainforest fruit, as the best idea for a new flavor. Almost 200,000 suggestions for new jelly bean flavors were submitted to the contest, and the public voted for the best original flavor concept.

Joel Tokarczyk of Matteson, Ill., a 19-year-old art student, was named a finalist in August and crowned the winner of the $10,000 grand prize for his submission.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 11, 2008

JRPS Offers Eco-Packaging

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Handmade, tree-free paper, a renewable and recyclable resource, is the raw material used to develop the jewelry, accessory and home product packaging marketed by Jennifer Rose Packaging Solutions. This new paper and packaging line are now available.

This eco-friendly paper is made from discarded plant fibers are harvested by local farmers in Bangladesh, India and Napal.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 11, 2008

Shop supplies beach gear

Your day at the beach may begin or end with a visit to Linda Magia, and that’s just fine with the cashier at Folly Beach’s largest gift shop.

Magia has been on the job at Treasure Island Beachwear on Folly Road since it opened in March.

She has been with the company that owns the store for four years and, before taking the job, worked at the company’s gift shop in a Myrtle Beach mall.

A James Island resident and sister-in-law to store owner Moti Magia, Linda Magia lives near the store. She said she works every day of the week.

INDUSTRY NEWS | Sep 11, 2008

Noble Packaging Introduces New Packaging Solutions for Candy Marketers

Cedar Grove, New Jersey – Noble Gift Packaging, a leading innovator of custom-designed gift packaging, has introduced a multi-faceted line of packaging products for candy marketers and retailers that includes display space-saving, stand-up cellophane bags, decorative plastic containers and a variety of elegantly designed paper confection boxes.

Ideal for a wide range of sweets, the new line offers marketers an array of style, color, size and strength options from resilient to delicate packages. Many of the packages also can be custom-designed with branded messages.

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