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WMC Las Vegas announces new fall and winter market dates
(LAS VEGAS) — Responding to the evolving dynamics and desires of home furnishings buyers and manufacturers from around the globe, starting in 2009 World Market Center Las Vegas will host Las Vegas Market in Fall and Winter instead of Summer and Winter. The change in Market dates – based on extensive third-party surveys, conducted by Trade Show Week Research, and feedback from key constituents – is designed to better serve every segment of the home furnishings industry both domestically and internationally.
In addition, starting with Sept.
Candy lover’s dream come true
Avon, MA – For Annette M. Harnett, starting her own retail bulk candy store in Avon in 1998 was her “Sweet 16” dream come true.
“I loved the retail environment. It has been my dream,” said Harnett, owner of Pinches & Pounds.
Ten years later, Harnett has moved out of the Avon store and reopened at 785 Bedford St. in Whitman under the same name. The store celebrated its grand opening on Saturday.
The new 1,000-square-foot store is home sweet home to a wide assortment of specialty candy.
“It’s a great location.
Sur la Table, Thermador create partnership
SEATTLE, WA – Sur La Table, the premier retailer for creative cooking and artful entertaining, and Thermador, the quintessential luxury cooking brand, have created a national partnership to outfit Sur La Table cooking class kitchens with Thermador’s state-of-the-art appliances.
Sur La Table operates cooking class programs in many of its retail stores, teaching 50,000 cooking enthusiasts a year how and what to cook. Most classes are “hands-on” providing students the opportunity to cook alongside professional chef instructors.
Partnerships create “adopt” specialty plate for Maine
(Portland, Maine) – Planet Dog is proud to announce the Maine Adoption Leaders Team (MALT) has succeeded in pre-selling the required 2,000 “adopt” specialty license plates to Maine citizens in order to propose a bill for the 2009 legislative session.
MALT is a partnership of Maine private businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies working on behalf of Maine’s animals.
WMC Las Vegas features ‘Covered’ event
(LAS VEGAS) –— Presentations on well-dressed windows, upholstery fabric selection, color trends and eco-friendly leather are among the many highlights planned for the “covered” event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14 at Las Vegas Design Center, 495 S.
ArfDog themed gift boxes featured at International Show
(Long Island City, NY) –– When the industry’s movers and shakers assemble for the 2008 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IHMRS), a unique exhibitor will be among them. Slated for November 9–11, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, the exhibition will feature ArfDog’s complete collection of high-end dog-themed gift boxes as well as the individual dog bowls, dog treats, dog toys, dog grooming treatments and other personalized doggy items that are contained therein.
Olde Gingerbread House Gift Shoppe offers plenty of knicknacks and trinkets
Sherrill, NY – Opening a gift shop is something that Cory Marsh always wanted to do.
Finally, with the help of her family, she will have that chance as The Olde Gingerbread House Gift Shoppe has its grand opening Oct. 10.
The gift shop, which is located on Route 5 in Sherrill where the Gingerbread House Restaurant formerly operated, has been months in the making. Marsh’s husband, Dan, has been busy making improvements to the building and working on shelves for the shop.
Eclectic Ardmore, Oklahoma, shop makes for colorful stop
Ardmore, Okla. – The Cloverleaf Boutique is crammed with potential impulse purchases, but the mother of all impulse buys sits outside the shop.
Store owner and dedicated junker Heidi Chapman had no intention of buying anything big at the Round Top Antiques Fair last year.
“I had not driven my big box truck, which I usually take, because I wasn’t going to buy anything big,” she says. “But I saw it within a few minutes and said, ‘I have to have that.’ ”
And so she bought a giant ice cream cone sign that had stood outside the Sugar Shack in Great Bend, Kan., in the 1960s.
Turning back to tea
Souderton, PA — Tea has always been a part of Trish Stubbs’ life.
As a child, her British mother would coax her into behaving by promising she could have a cup of tea in a special glass. When she was sad or upset, her mother would always soothe her with a nice, hot cup of tea.
So when Stubbs was looking for a new career, it was only natural that she turned back to tea.
DIFFA’S Dining by Design 2008: Chalkboard China
(Dallas, TX) – Chalkboard China was recognized by Design Industry Foundation Fighting Aids (DIFFA) designers to be the tabletop must-have for any occasion.
Chalkboard China, the latest product line from Cooper & Brinkley’s, a Dallas-based creative team, made its DIFFA debut at the 2008 Dining By Design event on September 26 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas.
DIFFA’s Dining by Design brings together some of the most talented and celebrated individuals in the worlds of fashion, interior design, art, and architecture, to create spectacular dining environments.
Going Green for the Holidays
Sterling, VA — As economic conditions continue to tighten this year, consumers have a great “green” option for turning old electronic products in their closets into new holiday gifts: by participating in Office Depot, Sam’s Club or NEXCOM electronics trade-in programs powered by ecoNEW(R).
For consumers who are looking for smart, efficient, and responsible ways to ease the burden of holiday spending, the ecoNEW program is an environmentally friendly, free, and convenient way to trade-in older, unwanted, small- to medium- size electronics and receive money back in the form of gift cards
Freshly brewed comfort: Portsmouth Tea making move to new retail location
Somersworth, NH — At the Portsmouth Tea Company new retail store, it will be all about comfort, life and beauty.
After three years in the mill building in Somersworth on the Salmon Falls River, owner Marshall Malone has decided to move the business down the street to be more in the public eye.
But the move isn’t just physical.
AmericasMart Housing Sweepstakes Winners Announced
ATLANTA, Ga. — The nation’s largest apparel market on the East Coast held an exclusive housing sweepstakes for the October 11-14, 2008, Atlanta Apparel Market. Buyers that booked their hotel reservations through AmericasMart’s travel services were automatically entered to win a free hotel stay in downtown Atlanta.
One buyer was selected from each downtown hotel partner — totaling 12 winners, including:
Minda G., Virginia
Renee B., North Carolina
Kim B., Alabama
Elissa M., West Virginia
Dorothy W., New York
Christa J., Georgia
Comfort toys from Maple Landmark offers comfort, familiarity, and fun
(Middlebury, VT) – In this time of economic upheaval, uncertainty and stress, adults often turn to comfort foods – mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese – or comfort activities – gardening, sewing, canning, but children, who are not immune to the recent turmoil, often do not have an outlet for their anxiety or fears.
Video games bombard the senses with light and sound and the desire to “get to the next level” is far from calming. Electronic hand held games are limited in their play value – no open-ended play – and youngsters become bored quickly.
Shirley Nichols does it all in a high-end gift shop
Norman Wells, Canada – Visitors to Norman Wells are often surprised to find Creations, a high-end gift store located in the town square. Thanks to store manager Shirley Nichols, she keeps the store looking like one you might find in a big city, not a small Northern town.
Holidays will be a big test for stores
Marie Clifford, owner of a gift shop at Westroads Mall, has heard the dire financial projections for retailers.
2009 Philadelphia show retuns home
ATLANTA – The Philadelphia Gift Show returns to the suburban Philadelphia metro area this January with a full roster of buyer services, show highlights and new product resources. Moving to its new home at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, the January 17-20, 2009 edition will bring retailers throughout the mid-Atlantic and Tri-state regions an unrivaled selection of new product resources and buyer services in a convenient, cost-effective, casual and relaxed show setting.
Holiday sales barely predicted to rise; local retailers predict sales will be OK
Beaumont, TX — Christmas has arrived at GiGi’s, A Children’s Boutique, on Dowlen Road.
And Halloween still is four Fridays away.
Owners Cara Kinchen and Suzette Smith already have received a shipment of Christmas clothes, and they’re gearing up for the busiest shopping season of the year.
Kinchen said there hasn’t been talk among customers of cutting corners this Christmas or spending less money. And she hopes she won’t hear that anytime soon.
“A lot of our customers are regulars that we know will come in,” Kinchen said.
Full of Doubts, U.S. Shoppers Cut Spending
Cowed by the financial crisis, American consumers are pulling back on their spending, all but guaranteeing that the economic situation will get worse before it gets better.
In response to the falling value of their homes and high gasoline prices, Americans have become more frugal all year. But in recent weeks, as the financial crisis reverberated from Wall Street to Washington, consumers appear to have cut back sharply.
Christmas sales begin
Muncie, Indiana — The calendar says October, but Christmas is here.
Stephanie Richards has the trees, wreaths, garland and glitter to prove it.
Standing in the back room of her store, Country Charm Christmas, at Muncie Mall, Richards and manager Lori Ledbetter laugh as Richards tries, without luck, to wipe a speck of glitter off her chin.
“We go home covered in glitter every night,” Richards said.
Country Charm Christmas — a seasonal store that opened at the beginning of September — sells fall, Halloween and Christmas decor and accessories and is part of a popular