Archives: News
Antique and Historic Maps Come to Life
North Vancouver giftware designer and manufacturer Mum’s Creations will unveil new serving trays and coaster sets depicting old and seldom seen images from the past this January.
Antique and historic maps of the United States and the world have been reproduced on ceramic tiles to create mosaic images. The serving trays are wooden, generously sized at 19″ x 13″. The coasters are 4 inches each, sold in a set of four that fit together like puzzle pieces. The serving trays also feature glass antique-look handles.
Sparkle Designs Brings Innovative Cards to Atlanta
January 2008 – Eloyce Newman, founder of Sparkle Designs, brings her unique line of greeting cards to Atlanta’s AmericasMart for the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market Temporary Exhibits. The exhibit runs from January 11 – 15, and Newman will showcase her cards on the fourth floor at booth 518.
New ideas flow consistently out of Newman’s studios.
Sellers Publishing Titles Tally Over $40,000 For Charities
Portland, Maine – Sellers Publishing is proud to announce that it has donated more than $40,000 to non-profit organizations dedicated to preventing and curing cancer. The money was generated through royalties from three of its book titles, Forty Things To Do When You Turn Forty, Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty, and Sixty Things To Do When You Turn Sixty.
All contributing authors for these three titles provided essays on a pro-bono basis, allowing the royalties produced, $40,421, to go directly to charity.
OneCoast Hosts Ribbon Cutting in Expanded Atlanta Showroom
Join OneCoast as it celebrates a 9,000 square foot expansion of its Atlanta showroom. Enjoy sweet treats & champagne immediately following the ribbon cutting.
All retailers are invited.
When: Thursday, January 10 4:00 PM
Where: OneCoast showrooms AmericasMart Atlanta, Building 2, Showroom 1801
Background:OneCoast is expanding its home decor product offering to Southeastern retailers. To support the new lines, OneCoast has increased the size of its Atlanta showroom by over 9,000 square feet.
‘Moonpies N Dragonflies’ Announces Grand Opening of Permanent Showroom in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA – MoonPies N Dragonflies, a partnership that combines the creative vision and entrepreneurial savvy of five business-owning moms, announces the grand opening of its permanent showroom in Atlanta’s Americasmart, January 10 – 16, 2008. The MoonPies N Dragonflies showroom will offer visitors a unique buying experience designed to delight and tempt them with an array of quality artwork, bedding, furniture, accessories, and clothing for infants and children.
Each partner in MoonPies N Dragonflies has built a successful business in her own right.
Innovative Bilingual Greeting Card Company Partners with Hispanic Comedian Jade Esteban Estrada
Nos VemosTM Greetings (“See you later” Greetings) announces a partnership with Hispanic comedian Jade Esteban Estrada. In January 2008 Nos VemosTM Greetings will launch Jade Esteban Estrada for Nos VemosTM Greetings, an all new designer humor line of greeting cards. Six new designs will feature Jade Esteban Estrada, as seen on Comedy Central, acting out each character on the front and inside of each card. Take a second look and you’ll see Jade plays more than one character!
Homespice Decor Celebrates 10 Years as a Leader in the Rug Industry
Tucker, Ga. – Ten years ago, when most people associated braided rugs with their grandmothers, a 24-year-old entrepreneur had a vision of changing how braided rugs are designed and produced – and who buys them. Now celebrating his company’s 10-year anniversary, Junior Gupta, president of Homespice Decor, continues to envision innovative ideas for his company and the rug market. Having already achieved massive sales growth and numerous awards and recognitions, Gupta says he is just getting started.
“I like a challenge, it’s what motivates me,” says Gupta.
Tulani Rose: Collective economics, selective gifts
Detroit—Another holiday season has come and gone —for those determined to buy from independent retailers, an extra pat on the back is deserved since even a well prepared and dedicated proponent of local spending can be tested.
As part of the Spiral Collective, Tulani Rose is one of the shops in the Wayne State area that, after five years, serves as a reliable gift option for city shoppers dedicated to keeping dollars in the city.
Branding label promotes items from Delta region
Chance Williams wants you to do your shopping in Tyronza instead of the mall. Buy a painting from Marianna, find honey in Osceola or a get a wirewrapped gemstone pendant made in Piggott.
“If you have the option, why not purchase something that you can experience another person through?” Williams, a student at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, said recently.
Cafe happily grounded in Lakeville
Lakeville — The sun shone through the bay window at Outer Grounds, lighting two stained-glass items hanging in front of it.
With soft folk music playing in the background, it was hard to imagine it really was a cold winter day.
Yes, there may be only three rooms to the Outer Grounds experience, but while many places claim to be unique, this one truly is.
For starters, how many places do you know open only three days a week —- Thursday, Friday and Saturday?
But the real uniqueness comes in owner Shirley Rynearson’s food, flair and approach.
There’s a map of the area painted on t
Saving mom and pop; Downtown business owners work to stay in business
The bell rang at Ye Ole General Store in Florence, signaling the arrival of a customer.
Owner Gordon Glasscock looked up to see who it was and his eyes immediately lit up.
It was one of his regular customers. Immediately, she started asking Glasscock how his mother is doing.
Hop the train to Hingham chic and cuisine
Hingham – Since Greenbush rail service got rolling from Hingham this fall, residents have had easy access to Boston. Yet the reverse commute is also possible. City dwellers should consider hopping the train to this South Shore town that is much more than just a sleepy suburb.
These days, downtown is buzzing. Chic upscale boutiques located in antique storefronts offer clothing, accessories, and home decor, and stylishly designed restaurants entice diners with cutting edge cuisine.
Man finds artistic inspiration in wood
Most people throw tree limbs to the curb to be hauled to a landfill or reduce them to ashes in a burn pile.
But those same old tree limbs inspire Kirt Dunlap. By the time he’s done with them, they’re curved and knotty pieces of art.
“I just try to highlight what nature has done to them,” the 53-year-old Dothan man said.
Pecan limbs have a pretty color once the bark is stripped away. Chinaberry limbs are hollow. Oak is plentiful in this area, and the bark comes off easily. Crepe myrtle limbs have a nice pale color.
Dunlap has been creating his sticks of art for eight years.
Business is booming in Manitou Springs
Manitou Springs seems to be a sweet spot amid a generally sour economy.
Certainly it appears to be doing better than its bigger neighbor to the east. While Colorado Springs’ budget was plagued by largely stagnant sales tax revenues in 2007, Manitou saw its key summer months post increases in sales tax collections as high as 27 percent from the summer before.
As downtown Colorado Springs looks to fill numerous vacant storefronts, businesses are said to be desperate for a spot to open up on “the avenue” — Manitou Avenue — in downtown Manitou Springs.
CD sales plummet, leaving retailers spinning
Like Britney Spears’ reputation, CD sales declined dramatically in 2007 — 19 percent, to be exact.
That news hits especially hard in the Twin Cities, a national hub for record distribution for a half-century.
World Market Center Plans Half Million Dollar Cash Give-Away
Las Vegas – The odds are better than ever in Las Vegas this January for what will be a truly winning market, as World Market Center announced today plans to give away a total of $500,000 in cash to qualified buyers attending Las Vegas Market, January 28 – February 1, 2008.
Dubbed The Fashion 500 Runway Rewards, the promotional event will include 10 daily winners who will win $5,000 each and will be selected randomly each day of market. On Wednesday, January 30, the grand prize will be drawn in which one lucky buyer will return home with a grand prize of $250,000.
New from Joya Candle
Boutique home fragrance brand Joya continues to surprise and inspire with a new collection: Perfume in Porcelain. Available in 6 scents (‘Gunpowder Green Tea,’ ‘Orange Blossom & Pale Musk,’ ‘Blue Lotus & Wild Grass,’ ‘Pomegranate, Laurel, & White Pepper,’ ‘Himalayan Goji Berry,’ and ‘Quince & Heliotrope Petals’), Perfume in Porcelain items can be purchased as scented candles or fragrance diffuser sets.
Deb & Co. Debuts New Christmas Collection at Atlanta Gift Show
Deb & Co., the maker of hand-crafted polymer clay ornaments and gifts, will debut three new Christmas Collections in Atlanta: Angelina Angel, The Elves of Whimsington and Petey Penguin. In keeping with Deb & Co.’s style, each ornament features a design that can be personalized with a name and year, but has a completed look without personalization.
Feeling inspired late one night, designer Debi Allison created Angelina Angel with a story in mind.
Bust? What bust? Store owners use superlatives to describe their sales
The word cropped up everywhere in national media reports of slow holiday sales that frazzled shop owners and big retailers alike. Other words cropped up too: credit crunch, sagging housing markets, tight household budgets.
But in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, a different word surfaced, at least among a few retailers.
Exceptional.
The Source, a Wasilla clothing store that also sells skateboard and snowboard gear, had a “record year” with December sales up 22 percent compared to a year ago, owner Lucy Orr said.
How to Keep Momentum Going for Customers and Employees
It’s the first week of the new year and, small retailers may ask, now what?