Today's guest post is from Becky Tyre, Trends Editor of GIFT SHOP Magazine.

Shop Green at NYIGF
The semi-annual Eco Choice Awards, co-sponsored by NYIGF and GREENRetailer magazine, were awarded to “green” gift and home products. Retailers attending the show voted to determine the winners among the products featured in the SustainAbility – design for a better world display. One World Projects, ES Chilote House Shoe and I Design Distribution were the winners.

Michelle Harris, buyer for Dedrick’s Pharmacy and Gifts in New Paltz, NY, noticed that geometric prints and patterns were evident from tabletop to pillows to jewelry. She went on to say that “green” is still around with a new twist being jute. She noted jute showing up on tote bags and pillows with a cottage-style feel, many with scripted words as overlay patterns. She also noted a “bring the outdoors in” theme and lots of fringe vases at the show. Harris mentioned seeing quite a bit of a muted, gray, plum color in home decor choices.

Shop Globally at NYIGF
The fair offers access to more than 300 suppliers from 49 countries. The International Pavilions have the most extensive collection of global resources of any U.S. market. There were booths with Tribalinks jewelry from Africa, British fashion accessories, jewelry from Chile, cutlery from France, glass studios from Germany, metalworks from Israel, kitchen products from Japan, food products from Korea and matryoshka dolls from Russia.

Changes in the NYIGF structure
As part of a 3-year reorganization of the NYIGF, the Gourmet Housewares Show joined the gift fair adding approximately 150 gourmet product suppliers to the roster. These included cookware, gadgets, small electronics and bar accessories. These were in addition to the 200 specialty lines in the existing Tabletop section of the show. TAG, Trade Associates Group, a leading tabletop brand, returned to the NYIGF this summer to join this new section after a five-year hiatus from the show. Vendors in this area welcomed the opportunity to meet specialty gift and gourmet store buyers.

The Artisan Jewelry Showcase inside the New York’s Newest at Pier 92, was another addition. About 30 jewelry makers made their NYIGF debut there this summer.

Most gift buyers said the broad range of merchandise categories at the New York shows, allows them to get most of what they need, at one show. Emese Boone has a lifestyle boutique in Little Rock, AR. Boone’s shop, The Box Turtle, sells gifts, clothing and art. She is able to get much of her gift selection orders placed at NYIGF. She seeks out independent designers and artists. She attends apparel shows and also searches locally for artists to feature in her store. Buyers were looking for new products to excite their existing customers and attract new customers to their stores.

The next NYIGF show is January 28 – February 2, 2012. Hope to see you there!

Today's guest post is from Becky Tyre, Trends Editor of GIFT SHOP Magazine.

The attention given to the visual merchandising of trade show booths can be inspirational for displaying merchandise and decorating retail areas. Buyers likely left the show with display ideas for use back at their stores.

Say It With Book Covers
Say It With Book Covers began as a retail display idea and now has a product booth of its own at the show. Not surprisingly, the booth was cleverly designed.


Andrea by Sadek
Andrea by Sadek had an expanded exhibit space for the summer show and created a snowman display by arranging white snowflake plates in the shape of a six-foot snowman.


Cate & Levi
Vendors sometimes offer displays as an option to accompany their products. Cate & Levi had a wood display with 18 arms for their puppets that are made from reclaimed wool.


Kevin O’Brien
Another interesting display was at the Kevin O’Brien booth in Pier 94 NYIGF At Home. To enhance the display of pillows printed with game boards, full-size vintage game boards hung above the pillow table complemented by scattered logo printed poker chips throughout the display.


Check back tomorrow for more!

Today's guest post is from Becky Tyre, Trends Editor of GIFT SHOP Magazine.

Twice a year, in January and August, an incredible array of the world's best home, gift and lifestyle resources gather in Manhattan for the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF). Over the next few days, I'll be posting about some of the great booths I came across at the NYIGF.

IndieFlix
Back in the gift area, Scilla Andreen, the CEO and co-founder of IndieFlix had just written orders with two major national accounts. IndieFlix is a film festival in a box and a party game for movie lovers. Each box contains a DVD of four short, independent films in themes such as comedies, chillers and love stories accompanied by instructions for conversation-starting topics. Launched in late 2010, the games include the option to vote in categories online at their website after viewing the films. Andreen, a film producer herself, came up with the idea to market the product that she had been giving as gifts to friends. The comedies and love stories are the best sellers, one of her new major accounts ordered only the Pottymouth Comedies.

Paper Punk
Another interesting innovator, Grace Hawthorne, demonstrated her product at the A+ Young Designers’ Platform. This section provided a showcase for emerging designers and featured four companies. Hawthorne’s Paper Punk of Mill Valley, CA, is a paper-based building toy that provides imaginative and creative play for all ages. Fast Company Magazine says that “Paper Punk teaches 3-D thinking with paper building blocks… part origami, part Lego, and 100% recyclable.” Each kit contains the paper shapes, stickers, adhesive dots, a poster and a reusable folder. Hawthorne won one of the Blogger’s Choice Awards for this show.

Manny and Simon
Another Blogger’s Best Award winner was Manny and Simon in the Baby and Child section. Manny and Simon, based in San Diego, CA, won for its collection of eco-friendly, wooden push toys in vehicle shapes. The collection is made from 100% recycled wood residuals and is non-toxic with zero VOC. Eden Yaskil, principal of Manny and Simon, said that they exhibit at NYIGF because of the breadth of buyers that attend. They are able to connect with buyers for gift shops, museum shops, department stores, art studios and home furnishing stores. For summer 2011, they were one of several Baby and Child vendors that expanded their exhibit space.

Anamalz
Wooden toys have clearly been trending with the toy companies that sell at gift shows this summer. First time exhibitor, Anamalz, a line of eco-friendly, maple wood toys that can be posed, had plenty of activity at their booth.


Tegu
Tegu, pronounced TAY-GOO, were back at the NYIGF with their magnetic wood blocks and were busy writing orders. Their booth was simple and designed with stations for assembling their magnetic blocks into shapes.


Check back every day this week for more!

Today's guest post is from Becky Tyre, Trends Editor of GIFT SHOP Magazine.

Twice a year, in January and August, an incredible array of the world's best home, gift and lifestyle resources gather in Manhattan for the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF). This August was no exception. Over 35,000 gift industry professionals walked the aisles of the Javits Center and Piers 92 and 94 in search of the latest trends and offerings in gifting and design.

The show gave access to designers, industry leaders, buyers and more than 2800 exhibitors. At the NYIGF, large and small companies traditionally exhibit in 400 product categories ranging from home furnishings, fashion accessories, stationery, pet products and toys to housewares and handmade art.

Over the next few days, I'll be posting about some of the great booths I came across at the NYIGF.

Cake Vintage Table & Home
One of the busiest booths was the Cake Vintage Table & Home booth attended by owners Robbie and Angie Cook. Their booth, which included the company’s original line, Knobstoppers, was also one of the prettiest booths in the Tabletop section of the Javits Center. Angie attributes the booth’s success in part to the fact that they were able to expand to a triple size booth for the summer show, allowing customers to step in and get their hands on the products. The Cake line consists of vintage inspired linens and paper goods printed with cutlery and place settings.

Angie reports that the pads of printed paper place mats and the 100% recycled, reversible place mats have been excellent sellers. The 50-foot paper runners, sold on a roll, also sold well at the show. Holly Anselmi, the owner of The Italian Dish, placed her first order with Cake during the show. She was excited to find such lovely new products for her retail store in Birmingham, MI.

Anselmi regularly attends the NYIGF show since it also gives her access to vendors from Italy. Open since July of 2005, The Italian Dish holds numerous in-store promotions throughout the year to bring in new customers and to stay in touch with existing clientele. Anselmi estimates that they do at least 6 major events per year and has an artisan event with the vendor Vietri coming up in the fall. She meets contacts for such events at the show.

Sloane Ranger
Another active booth was Sloane Ranger in the General Gift section. Established in 2011, this is only their third show. A “sloanie” is a young, confident, preppy individual named for Sloane Square, an iconic locale in the UK. Available in simple, repeating prints of owls, horses, whales and scottie dogs, the company offers cloth products ranging in size from wristlets to duffle bags. Their target customer is the higher end gift and apparel stores. Alex Chauss, reported that the totes and tablet cases enjoyed strong sales at the show.

Handmade Designer Maker
In the Handmade Designer Maker section, the Tokens & Icons booth was busy writing orders. Buyers seemed to be most interested in the recycled nostalgia sports products geared towards a male gift recipient. This company makes cufflinks, wallets and pens from authentically used football helmets, hockey pucks, baseballs, uniforms and even old stadium seats, coins and maps.

Check back every day this week for more!

Today's guest post is from Becky Tyre, Trends Editor of GIFT SHOP Magazine.

As always, the NYIGF was full of fantastic finds for the gift retailer. Walking down the aisles, it’s hard to whittle down the wonderful selection to a few choice finds. Here's part two of what I loved at the show—and what you will too!

Stroke Of Art
Best known for her watches and clocks, Minnesota artist Debra Dresler has added book vases to her line of products made from vintage found objects. These vases are fully functional and hold water to display live flowers and are one of her best sellers at this summer’s NYIGF.


Fred’s Top Banana
You can count on the Fred and Friends Booth at any market to be full of fun and laughs. One of their new product introductions is the Top Banana Wine Bottle Stopper. Once you’ve uncorked a bottle of wine, you just “slip” this stopper in, peel side up, to keep your wine fresh. The Top Banana merchandises perfectly with the Wine Monkey bottle cover introduced earlier this year.


Zing Artwear
Made from flexible, washable and eco-friendly material, these bracelets and necklaces are created to look like body art. Their NYIGF booth was buzzing with customers trying them on and placing orders.


Game Board Pillows
During the NYIGF show, pier 94 offers a wide selection of decorative pillows. Kevin O’Brien Studio featured a line of printed cotton pillows that looked like vintage game boards. These fun, yet sophisticated pillows represent eight games including checkers and darts.


Knotty But Nice
Continuing their mission of designing and manufacturing unique, high quality products that bring smiles into the lives of others, the Inspired Generations booth at NYIGF was a bit “knotty and nice”. The knotty bowls come in single, double and triple versions. The double bowls are ideal for wedding gifts.

Today's guest post is from Becky Tyre, Trends Editor of GIFT SHOP Magazine.

As always, the NYIGF was full of fantastic finds for the gift retailer. Walking down the aisles, it’s hard to whittle down the wonderful selection to a few choice finds. Here's part one of what I loved at the show—and what you will too!

Paulette Rollo
This small acorn purse hooks onto a belt loop or handbag. Made from 100% hard leather, formed by hand, these small coin purses come in several color combinations and sizes. Also available in apple and heart shapes.

Oclaf Barcelona
Brand new to the NYIGF show. Is it jewelry or is it a scarf? The answer is both. Fashion necklace scarves are made of the softest fabrics and incorporate a piece of hand-made jewelry. From Spain.


Soggy Doggy
The makers of the original Soggy Doggy doormats are introducing the Soggy Doggy Super Shammy. Made of quick-drying, highly absorbent microfiber chenille, these new pet towels have convenient hand pockets for easily drying any size dog.


Mad Party Mats
Carefree, convenient and classic party mats fold up into a neat 10" x 20" packet that ties securely with handles for easy transport. Measures 54" by 6' when opened fully. Take them anywhere in the sun, salt water and rain. These mats are waterproof and stain proof. Made from recycled plastic bottles, packaging and bags. Available in three color combinations. A fair trade company.


EZ Sox
The “I can do it!” sock. Fun learning socks for kids. Reinforced loops give tiny fingers a strong grip for pulling over tiny toes. Cute animal faces act as a guide, showing them which way is up. They help to build the confidence that pre-schoolers need as they learn to dress themselves. Available in a variety of cute designs.


Be sure to check back tomorrow for five more finds from the NYIGF.

Today's guest post is from Meryl Hooker, of CenterAisleGroup.com

Like it or not, 4th Quarter is upon us. If you’re like most retailers, you’re grateful to have made it this far into the year. If you’re not like most retailers, you’re going to develop a strategic plan for how to not only survive—but also thrive—this holiday shopping season.

This year more than ever, it is important to go into the next 90 days proactive, organized and ready to deliver. This is not the year to “wait and see and hope for the best." Take some time to plan and take charge.

Here are the last 4 Steps to a Rockin’ Q4…

6. Put Some Flair Into It. Offer a free giftwrapping service. Figure out where you’re going to set up a wrapping station and offer to wrap any item purchased in your store between November 1 and December 24th. Yep, even those little $5 items, if that’s what the customer wants. Maybe even offer to wrap stuff not purchased in your store for $10. Make shopping in your store easy, fun, and most importantly, convenient. Big Box can't compete with that. Order a big ream of gift wrap, 6 pairs of scissors and a dozen rolls of tape today.

Don’t freak out about the cost either. The return on investment will be worth it, especially when your customers post pictures of that beautifully wrapped gift on Facebook for all of their 589 friends to see. In fact, you can even offer to take the picture and email it so they can post it and link with your store in the post. Now that you have a Facebook page set up, that will be a snap, right?

If you’re worried that all that gift wrapping/customer service is going to take too much of your valuable time, hire a two high school or college students to staff a wrapping table for a couple of hours on the weekends or contact a local non-profit about wrapping in exchange for donations onsite.

7. Keep it Fresh. Visual merchandising is extra important this year. By moving or rotating your inventory, your store will look like it always has something new (even if your incoming new merchandise has stopped). Create theme tables, price point tables, new feature tables, whatever gets you going. Shoppers want to see something new. They want a unique experience each time they come in. There’s a reason the big guys reset their end caps and features weekly. Pay attention and learn from them.

8. Make It Easy. Create a grab-and-go table of under $10 and under $20 gifts. Everyone is on a budget this year so the easier make it to shop for everyone from Uncle Bobby to that Secret Santa girl in accounting, the more they’ll love you and the better your bottom line will look. If you’ve got the room and the merchandise, create a build-it-yourself gift basket station. Customers can grab a basket and pick any four items for $25 (gift wrap included) or whatever configuration makes sense for you. You may need to lower your margin just a bit, but it might be a fun and easy way to move a lot of low price point items.

9. Self Care. No matter what happens, make self-care a priority over the next 90 days. Pack a healthy lunch and snacks the night before… and remember to take them, and eat them. Invest in a crockpot and discover the joys of coming home to a ready to eat meal. Drink lots of water, consider vitamins, turn off the TV and make sure you get at least seven hours sleep a night. This is prime time and you need to be sharp.

Even if you pick only one or two of these steps, you’ll still be on the right track to a great season. This isn’t an all or nothing proposition, plus these steps easily convert to a 2011 monthly strategy guide for your store. Remember, it’s about progress, not perfection… all the way to the bank.

Meryl Hooker is an internationally recognized speaker, consultant and writer as well as an award-winning manufacturer’s representative and all-around sales rockstar. She is the co-author of “Pushing the Envelope: the Small Greeting Card Manufacturer’s Guide to Working With Sales Reps” (Center Aisle Press, 2010) and the writer of “Road Rage: The Blog." Her next book, a guide for sales reps, is expected summer 2011. She can be reached via www.merylhookersales.com.

Today's guest post is from Meryl Hooker, of CenterAisleGroup.com

Like it or not, 4th Quarter is upon us. If you’re like most retailers, you’re grateful to have made it this far into the year. If you’re not like most retailers, you’re going to develop a strategic plan for how to not only survive—but also thrive—this holiday shopping season.

This year more than ever, it is important to go into the next 90 days proactive, organized and ready to deliver. This is not the year to “wait and see and hope for the best." Take some time to plan and take charge.

Here are the first 5 Steps to a Rockin’ Q4… check back tomorrow for the last 4.

1. Get Organized. Create a rollout calendar of when and where you're going to display your holiday and winter merchandise. Decide now when (and if) you're going to mark things down. Schedule and develop one or two special events you can hold for your customers to help bring them into your store and open their wallets.

2. Get Social (Media, that is). If you don't have a Facebook page yet, set one up today. It's FREE and you're wrong if you think your store doesn't need one. Be sure to put a sign next to your register announcing your page and invite people to “Like” you. Even if you only update once a month, use the Q4 foot traffic through your store to build your Fan list.

3. Live to Serve. Schedule a staff breakfast or lunch and have a discussion about what great customer service and a can-do attitude looks like. As a storeowner, have a responsibility here too. Take some time to prepare by investing in a good customer service book such as Customer Service Training 101, Customer Service for Dummies. There’s no shame in getting some help or inspiration from an outside source.

Create some sales incentive programs for your staff too. Contests and weekly sales goals can be a great way to jump-start some selling enthusiasm. Just be sure the prizes are cool… like an iPad… or cash rewards. Lame prizes don’t do much to motivate anyone.

4. Go Virtual. Look at, and do some updates to, your website. If you don't have a website for your store yet, set one up today. You are living in the dark ages if you think your store doesn't need one. Your site doesn’t have to be fancy to start. A simple one page with a picture of your store, your address, phone number and hours will be perfectly fine!

You can buy a domain at Go Daddy or 1and1.com or through your Internet service provider. Building a site is easy! Check out Weebly.com or any number of other free site builders, including those provided by your Internet service provider.

Don’t forget to add a Facebook badge to your website. You can download the code for free.

If all this seems too overwhelming, ask one of your staff to help or find a high school or college kid in your neighborhood. Give them $150 and you’re live.

5. Fix it and Forget it. Plan out your Facebook updates through the end of the year. Be sure to include featured products, events and promotions. This can, literally, be a list on a piece of paper or typed into a Word document. Then, sign up for a Hootsuite account. This super cool site will allow you to enter and schedule social media updates in advance! Load it up and walk away. Again, if this is intimidating, get someone to help you, including your staff.

Check back tomorrow for the last four…

Meryl Hooker is an internationally recognized speaker, consultant and writer as well as an award-winning manufacturer’s representative and all-around sales rockstar. She is the co-author of “Pushing the Envelope: the Small Greeting Card Manufacturer’s Guide to Working With Sales Reps” (Center Aisle Press, 2010) and the writer of “Road Rage: The Blog." Her next book, a guide for sales reps, is expected summer 2011. She can be reached via www.merylhookersales.com.

Today's guest post is from Kathy Krassner, Owner of Krassner Communications.

One of the joys of attending the National Stationery Show, which took place May 16-19 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, is finding new resources that offer fresh merchandise to perk up retailers' shelves. With 125 first-time exhibitors among the 900 or so companies at this year's NSS, the show provided many answers to the perpetually asked question, "What's new?"

There are always several clever, "I wish I'd thought of that!" products offered by new companies at the NSS. Byleedesign made its NSS debut with many creatively designed products, including a "Creative Circle Ruler Journal" featuring an inches and millimeters measurement guide on the cover; and "Long Tags," 10-inch-long gift tags that actually provide enough space on the back to write a meaningful message. These tags are available for various occasions as well as in multiple languages.

NSS newcomer Regreet showcased its eco-friendly "regreet greeting kits." These kits include journey labels, note paper and envelopes to repurpose a greeting card that has been received; the kit can also be given with a greeting card to encourage its reuse. Every recipient and sender of the "regreeted" card can then track its progress online and opt-in to receive e-mail updates as the card travels on another leg of its journey. Regreet also offers a spiral-bound greeting card organizer to hold greeting cards for future reuse.

Another clever new item came from first-time NSS exhibitor Cardigans, which debuted its line of die-cut, paper easels designed especially for displaying photo cards. Cardigans' photo-card holders come in several designs for Christmas, party, baby and wedding, and can hold photos as well as photo cards. Also for displaying holiday photo cards is Cardigans' "Send-a-longs" — another easel-type item that attaches to the back of a photo card and can be mailed with it.

Sky of Blue Cards made its debut at the NSS — expanding its previously online-only presence. Among this company's eye-catching stationery lines was a new "Whimsy" monogram collection of 4-3/4" x 3-1/2" letterpress-printed notecards with colorful envelopes. Also introduced at the show was a "Tween Power" playdate card targeted to the tween-girls' market. Printed on both sides, these adorable, fill-in cards measure 2" x 3-1/2".

The NSS also featured international exhibitors from 17 countries. Hailing from the U.K. was Vivid Wrap Ltd., which introduced its line of luxurious giftwrap, bags, boxes and journals to the U.S. market at the show. Vivid's new Autumn Winter Collection includes packaging products handmade from recycled cotton, as well as journals and photo albums featuring vibrantly colored embossed leather covers with recycled-cotton pages.

The next National Stationery Show will be held May 15-18, 2011.

Today's guest post is from Kathy Krassner, Owner of Krassner Communications.

Walking the aisles at the recent National Stationery Show, held May 16-19 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, certain merchandise categories — and fresh interpretations of products within those categories — stood out among the myriad paper-related items on display.

The eco-friendly, "green" category is certainly one that's here to stay in the stationery industry. What's newly popular in this area, however, are design-oriented, reusable water bottles and travel mugs now available from numerous companies exhibiting at the NSS. Among them were Inviting Company, Lipstick Shades and Fontaine Maury — the latter which offers BPA-free aluminum water bottles that hold 20 ounces and come in a variety of colorful, personalized designs.


Technological advances continue to keep things exciting on the stationery front, too. Following the increasing popularity of 3D movies at the theater and 3D TVs at home are 3D greeting cards and stationery items. At the NSS, Avanti Press showcased a new line of 3D greeting cards that use a lenticular process to give the illusion of depth to the cards' humorous cover designs. Meri Meri's line includes a "3D Dinosaur" greeting card and a "3D Dinosaur" kids' party invitation, both of which come packaged with paper 3D glasses.


There's also a trend toward simplicity and value in the stationery industry, especially when it comes to weddings and other celebrations. With expensive, elaborate cakes often being replaced by more affordable (yet still elaborate) cupcakes at weddings and parties, among the product categories on the rise at the NSS were cupcake holders and other cupcake-related accessories. New from Party Partners, for instance, was the "Paper 'n' Cake" Cupcake Sleeves 'n' Toppers, available in several fun designs for various occasions.


Humor and the Internet were two more themes popular at the NSS, and both of these could be seen on the new "Cheezburger" collection of greeting cards, notepads and magnets from The Madison Park Group. What's particularly unique about this new line is that it takes its hilarious photographic imagery and purposely misspelled versing straight from the Cheezburger Network, one of the largest blog networks in the world. The initial "Cheezburger" product launch features images of dogs and cats — always reliable sellers in the stationery market.

Humor could also be seen in the form of sarcasm throughout the show, and there was no shortage of greeting cards featuring sarcastic messages. Lines that stood out in this genre were Offensive + Delightful, which regularly drops the "f" word on its greeting cards and trade-show booth walls; Bald Guy Greetings, whose "sometimes brutal" greeting cards have garnered a LOUIE "Card of the Year" Award; and Hard Cards, whose tagline is "Times are hard and so are we." Happily, times didn't seem as hard at this year's National Stationery Show, thanks to so many clever new products.