Today's guest post is from Lynn Switanowski about the San Francisco Gift Show.

Mugwump—Turning Old Books into One-of-a-kind Wearable Art
What do your local libraries do with old kids books? If you live in Oregon and you look closely, you might see your old book on someone's shoulder as a handbag! Books meet Suzanne Keolker from Mugwump. Suzanne is a designer and creator, a former elementary school teacher who believes in not letting anything go to waste, including classroom wallmaps, discarded books and board games, road maps, air mattresses with holes and Bingo cards. She even recycled her old nickname, Mugwump, for her business.

Mugwump is devoted to taking unwanted materials and altering them from their original intent into fun & funky handbags, wallets and other fashion accessories.

Pneuma-Box—Building the Imagination of Kids Everywhere! No supplies needed!
The pneuma box is another great product brought to the US from Magnote whose goal it is to introduce unique toys from around the world. The designer toy "pneuma-box" is a set of four paper blocks to create various shapes and objects beyond your imagination. To assemble, all you need is two minutes or less per block… no scissors, tape or glue! Try one for yourself, and you'll be surprised at what can be made from such a simple design. (Available in two styles now; MSRP $16; wholesale $7.95.)

The Andean Collection—Fashion Jewelry. Fair Trade. Perfect Together.
Combine jewelry and socially conscious fashion and you've got interesting products. Now add fashion forward designs, creating a greener planet, and providing a path out of poverty for artisans using fair trade principles and you've got the Andean Jewelry collection.

Made from eco-friendly materials, the reason d'etre for this brand in your stores is simple: looking good CAN also be making good for others. One final must-have reason for this collection? The artisans who create it are not only helping sustain their families and make fair wages, they share in the profits of the company as partial owners of The Andean Collection.

Today's guest post is from Lynn Switanowski about the San Francisco Gift Show.

I attended the winter edition of the San Francisco Gift Show a couple of weeks ago. This show is always a leading source for new products—especially in the eco-friendly space—and this season was no different. There were many fresh finds that will surely make their way to store shelves shortly.

Below are some of my favorite fresh finds from the show. Kudos to all the manufacturers who were at the show for finding ways to create and interpret the use of eco-friendly products in ways that make the products "consumer friendly" and salable too! It continues to amaze me what innovative manufacturers can do with recycled products!

Papaya! Eco Friendly Stainless Water Bottles with Serious Style
An exciting new addition to Papaya's gift line are stainless steel water bottles designed to invigorate your water with the power of intention. Each 25 oz bottle is made from high-quality, food-grade 18/8 stainless steel, is BPA-free and recyclable. There are six styles to choose from: Joy (WB001), Yes (WB002), Bliss (WB003), Cha-Ching! (WB004), Love (WB005) and Intuition (WB006).

Bottles can be ordered in a minimum of six pieces, assorted at $12.00/each. Orders are shipped from Ashland, Oregon.

Urban Junket. Multi-Purpose with Modern Style.
What do you get when you combine fashion and style with an eco-friendly flair? Urban Junket handbags and accessories. This season’s offerings include the t.o.t.e. bag (To Observe The Earth) and laptop bags. This line is made of eco-friendly materials including organic cotton canvas, azo free dyes and RPET fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. The bags have lots of inside pockets to keep you organized and looking good at the same time—and best of all, it converts to three different bags so you'll have lots of looks for one low price!

To help offset the production and transportation of the bags, Urban Junket makes a $1 donation to carbonfree.org for the sale of every bag. Opening order: 10 bags any combination of colors and sizes. For sales information contact tdyer@urbanjunket.com.

Today's guest post is from Lynn Switanowski about Showcase Ireland.

I have three final great finds from the show!

Inspireland
Inspired by Ireland brings a new concept to the retail gift market. A small group of Irish companies have collaborated to create a capsule collection of products that offer a range of distinctive, yet complementary products for the U.S. gift store market. Available in a pre-designed display unit and demonstrating high quality packaging, this collection of handmade jewelry, glassware, giftware, perfumes, toiletries and inspirational gifts create a consistent consumer experience. Utilizing a U.S. distribution center enables Inspired by Ireland to service U.S.-based retailers with initial orders and rapid reorders while minimizing investment in inventory.

Contact Barbara at barbara@perfumes.ie

The Martina Hamilton Collection
The Martina Hamilton Collection brings a fresh look to the Irish jewelry market. Using cosmic events from the heavens as inspiration and symbolism, former sculptor turned goldsmith Martina Hamilton creates an intricate collection that offers gallery-quality artisan jewelry hallmarked for authenticity and crafted to endure. Launched in November 2008, this collection won the Best New Jewelry collection at Showcase Ireland in 2009 as judged by its peers and other retailers. Working primarily in sterling silver with 18 carat gold accents, each piece in this collection is handmade and truly one of a kind. A deliberate approach to limited product assortment permits rapid scalability in production facilities and the ability get stock in store in its U.S. based distribution center.

Contact Martina Hamilton at info@martinahamilton.ie

Tipperary Crystal
The Graham Knuttle Café Collection is the sixth in a series of celebrity-designed collections offered by Tipperary Crystal. This series is the first manufactured in porcelain as the firm evolves its product selection to meet the changing needs of consumers. Knuttle was commissioned to design a collection of coffee cups and plates with his distinctive and unmistakable style, bringing the art of drinking coffee to a new level. The initial product range includes cappuccino and espresso cups, serving plates in different sizes and large limited edition plates. Tipperary offers quick turnaround delivery opportunities for customers to maximize sales potential while minimizing inventory investments.

Contact Tipperary at sales@tipperarycrystal.com

Today's guest post is from Lynn Switanowski about Showcase Ireland.

I have three more great finds from the show…

Bunbury Boards – Recycled Products with a future purpose.
Do you know the history of the wood from your cutting board? Well now you can. Bunbury Boards' owner William McClintock Bunbury is attempting to save the beautiful old estate, Lisnavagh, breathe new life into the surrounding woodlands and buildings, and return the estate to being the community employer it once was. In the process, Bunbury Boards has created a unique way for the customers to connect with their products and a marketing sensation that has everybody talking. Every Board carries a unique code that tells the story of the tree from which the board was born, and what they have done to replace it. This approach to recycled goods turns a "lifeless" product into a fun customer experience for all.

Fen and Carr – A Natural Twist on Bath and Body Products
Inspired by the Fen and Carr landscapes of the bogs of Ireland, the aim of Fen & Carr is to improve the landscape of your wellbeing. Fen & Carr have created spa quality products made from therapeutic peat, a 100% natural product formed from an array of organic plant life. Fen & Carr products provide holistic treatments that internally relieve muscle tissue and pain, externally treat problematic skin conditions and relax and rebalance the mind.

Contact Info: Clair Quinn Founder
info@peattreat.ie
Direct Contact: (353) 5793 25216

Celtic Roots Studio
Celtic Roots Studio produces unique sculptures and jewelry by hand-carving designs relevant to Ireland from bogwood that is over 5,000 years old. For over 20 years, Celtic Roots has created elegant customized forms and shapes for customers that include heads of state around the world. Celtic Roots Studio offers a wide range of sculptures to members of the trade both at home and abroad. Shipping to the US is provided through FEDEX from the Celtic Roots Studio in Ireland and there is currently no minimum order requirement.

For further information visit www.celticroots.ie or contact Celtic Roots Studio at 00 353 90 6430404 or info@celticroots.ie.

Today's guest post is from Lynn Switanowski about Showcase Ireland.

It's smack dab in the middle of trade show season and gift shop retailers are looking high and low for new fresh finds for their stores. In our never-ending quest to bring you the latest and greatest products to sell in your stores, we jumped on a plane to Dublin to attend Showcase Ireland last week.

Showcase Ireland is the country's premier craft, gift, fashion and interiors trade fair featuring quality design products from Ireland's leading craft makers and designers. The initiative attracts up to 450 exhibitors and 6,000 buyers from around the world.

Every year, Irish creativity takes centre stage at Showcase, but it was especially prominent this year. The show had a new modern identity throughout the marketing materials and with how the show floor was set up (definitely different than what we are used to seeing at shows in the US).
This year's theme was to showcase the modern artisan approaches that craftspeople in Ireland are taking to bring fresh product to the marketplace. Based on what we saw, the days of claddagh and shelailgh are gone. Unique, creative products abounded at the show—and many of them are available to be imported to the US.

I'm going to post about some of our favorite finds over the next few days.

LAF – A New Approach to Recycled Jewelry

Lesley Frew enjoys making old things new again. Taking the plastic bags that we commonly discard, LAF designs gives them a second life by transforming and reusing them in wonderful pieces of artisan jewelry

Owner Lesley Frew is a designer based in Belfast, she graduated from the University of Ulster with a BA (hons) in Fine and Applied Art, specializing in Textiles in 2007. At LAF, Lesley creates contemporary, ethical jewelery using discarded plastic bags—giving these materials a second life by transforming and reusing them. When asked about her work, Lesley muses, "I enjoy confronting people's expectations by taking a discarded material, giving it a new value and showing that it can be beautiful."

You can contact her at les_frew@hotmail.com or via phone at (IE) 44 78490 34346
.

Button & Co – Transforming one object into multiple designs

For jeweler Elaine-Sarah Comerford of Button & Co., Showcase 2010 was twice as nice. Elaine scooped up the overall prize for Best New Product at Showcase as well as Best New Product in the Jewellery section for her Button Charm Bracelet. The two-tone silver and gold bracelet depicting old-fashioned buttons was lauded for its quality, design and innovation. Elaine puts a new twist on jewelry by translating everyday objects into wearable pieces of art that delight and surprise.

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

Even though I've been attending the New York International Gift Fair for more than two decades, I still get a thrill when I see clever products there. You know, the kind of items that make you say, "I wish I had thought of that!"

This past week at the NYIGF — which ran January 30 through February 4 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Pier 94 New York City — many of the most clever products were eco-friendly ones, including those made from recycled materials and others that featured repurposed items.

Among the innovative green companies in the Accent on Design section of the NYIGF was Kwytza Chopstick Art, which offers functional items such as folding baskets and table lamps, made with recycled chopsticks. According to the company, its products are made from some of the 25 billion pairs of single-use chopsticks that are discarded each year.

Just down the aisle was another unique concept: colorful gift bags created from "TerraSkin" paper made from stone, available from Design & Source Productions. TerraSkin combines large amounts of mineral powder with a small quantity of non-toxic resin to create an environmentally friendly, water-free and tree-free paper.

Down in the show's Handmade section, Alexandra Ferguson featured her line of 100 percent post-consumer-recycled felt applique pillows. Each of these cute pillows — many of which feature fun messages such as "Let's Make Out" and "Be Nice or Leave" — is made from the equivalent of approximately four plastic water bottles that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.

Also utilizing recycled plastic water bottles for its line is Mary Meyer, a plush-toy maker exhibiting in the show's General Gift section. Mary Meyer's "Fuzz That Wuzz" plush features an outer fabric and stuffing that are both high-quality polyester fiber made from 100 percent recycled plastic PET bottles. Each of these toys keeps more than 10 bottles out of the landfill.

Seven companies at the show were designated as having attained a "SustainAbility3" ranking, the highest level of the NYIGF's new "Degrees of SustainAbility" initiative, which features a three-tiered ranking system that outlines industry-specific crieteria to identify green products and producers. Among those companies were Bambu, whose kitchen and home products are made from excess organic renewable or reclaimed materials; Fire & Light Originals, which uses post-consumer recycled glass for its handmade dinnerware and giftware collections; and Fab Habitat, whose decorative rugs are made under strict Fair Trade principles from plastic recycled from bottle caps and containers.

Of course, the fact that these products are environmentally friendly in addition to being cleverly designed and manufactured makes them all the more marketable … which means they're not only good for the planet, but good for retailers, too.

Over the last few months I have reviewed hundreds of gift shop websites. One thing that I've noticed is that very few of them post pictures of their new products, or products that are on the way from a recent show trip.

One of the best ways to talk about what you ordered from a show is via a blog (only a third of the websites I reviewed had a store blog), and even if you don't have a store site, you can still start a free blog very easily. One site I recommend is Wordpress.com.

After you place an order at a gift show, ask them if you can snap a quick photo to post on your blog—since you're a paying customer, I'm sure it won't be a problem. And they'll probably enjoy the coverage!

As you're going through the show, take a lot of photos and jot down notes so you can blog about your show experience. Your customers will love reading about it and it will also help your search engine rankings to ensure you come up when customers search for your store or a specific line in your area.

If you're planning on attending the upcoming New York International Gift Fair, Saturday, January 30 to February 4, please stop by the North Concourse in the Javits Center and vote for your favorite green product in one of three categories: most innovative, most sensible use of materials and most sellable.

At the summer show we had more than 175 vendors competing in the prestigious contest co-sponsored by our magazine, GREEN Retailer and the NYIGF.

At the last show I saw so many innovative green products, ones I would've missed due to the sheer volume of products represented at the show. I highly encourage you to stop by and preview the eco-friendly lines (each product has a note card explaining how it's green, and gives you the booth number of where you can locate them at the show).

Our main goal is to increase awareness of eco-friendly business practices. I hope you'll cast your vote and show your green support!

I just returned home from almost back-to-back gift shows (Atlanta then Dallas) and I was thrilled to hear exhibitors reporting increased sales over last year—some as much as 100% higher than last January. At both shows the energy level was noticeably high, as retailers and exhibitors smiled, bustled about and placed orders.

I've also been reading and hearing about overall positive holiday results from retailers on our forum and when chatting with them at the two shows.

This a great sign for the retail industry!

How did your holiday season go?

The other day I was chatting with one of the very successful retail store owners on our advisory board, Patti Harbin of In-Courage, and I asked her about some of the strategies she uses to keep her business growing.

One new direction she started taking several years ago was to set up a booth at a local show (open to the public) that draws more than 30,000 people from a wide radius in Texas. At the show she sold thousands in products and was able to build her brand in the community. For months after, new customers stopped by the store and told her they shopped at her booth and wanted to check out her store.

Although the show is a lot of work, she reports it's definitely worth it.

Here are a few tips if you think a show may be right for you:

1. Patti told me she researched the show and attended it the year before she set up her first booth. While there, she asked the other vendors for tips and if they would recommend the show.

2. The first year, Patti stocked her booth with products that were supposed to go in her stores. She says, "That was a big mistake, so now I order separately for my booth and my stores." It left her empty in the store for some time until the replacement inventory arrived and that lowered her store sales.

3. Make sure you have enough staff. Since the show that Patti does has a big volume of attendees, it requires five to six employees at all times to keep the lines moving, re-merchandise once products sell out and answer questions.

4. Talk to show management and ask loads of questions (how many people do you anticipate, how long has the show been running, what products sell best, who are your top vendors, how do they market the show, etc.). In the second year, Patti asked the show management if she could become a sponsor and hand out bags imprinted with her store name and website. Now "everyone walks the show with an In-Courage bag and that also helps to build brand awareness."

What's great about doing shows is that it enables you to promote your store while bringing in extra revenue. It's like getting paid to market your store!