by Cinda Baxter on January 27, 2009
in Need This
My coffee gets cold too fast. Just one of the downsides to being on the phone in the morning, unable to swig it down during conversation. As a result, I’ve been on a mission the past year to find something-—anything-—that will keep my java hot for longer than 15 minutes.
Enter Tervis Tumblers (3345 Javitz).
I heard about Tervis from two verrrry enthusiastic devotees, both named Kelly, while at the Gift for Life function on Sunday. They couldn’t impress upon me enough just how much I needed to see this line. [click here to continue…]
by Cinda Baxter on January 27, 2009
in Want It
Yes, they make a statement.
Clever Carriage Company (Pier 92, 30021) is a company built on creative handbags, accessories, and decorative items using Springbok hides-—the most abundant roaming antelope in Africa, similar to deer in the U.S. The designs are great, and the products beautiful.
On occasion, they offer Cleverboks, their answer to Uggs. Much more chic. Much more fashionable. Much more comfortable.
These are only available in limited supply; women’s half sizes. Retail $495.00.
If you think you know what the annual GFL bash is, well…toss those memories out the window. Tonight, a new chapter was written, and folks, it was fantabulous. “Stakes are High/Gift for Life Casino” rocked.
By 6:30, la.venue was jammed with familiar faces from the show, George Little Management, AmericasMart, DIFFA, and all imaginable segments of the gift industry. By 6:45, the music was pumping, people were laughing, and the tables were rolling as attendees ponied up and partied down. Three hours later, even the most subdued personalities morphed into extroverts on the dance floor amid floating trays of mini ice cream cones and feather-clad dancers. [click here to continue…]
Tonight’s the big night-—the annual Gift for Life fundraiser, this year’s theme being Casino Night.
This equates to hilarity for anyone near me at the Blackjack table. I stink. Unless I stand next to Randy Eller, in which case I gleam. He’s my lucky charm that way.
This also equates to a lot of big hearts coming together in support of a worthy cause as we raise funds for our new partner, DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). We may not hear it with the frequency of the late 80’s, but rest assured, there’s still a lot to be done in the battle against this gut wrenching disease, and every dime counts.
I’ve lost friends to AIDS. Good friends.
This industry’s lost friends to AIDS. Talented friends.
Tonight, we do our best to chip in as an industry built by those talented souls. Tonight is our chance to fight back.
Color me astonished.
At no time in the past fifteen years have I seen such a chasm between vendors who “get it” and those who don’t. The ones in the former camp are adjusting minimums, reorder requirements, and program rules; the ones in the latter seem to think that forcing retailers to buy deep and reorder large is still a successful business model. [click here to continue…]
Amidst the inevitable rumors that swirl during the gift show circuits, one keeps cropping up from numerous sources, in remarkably consistent form. While I haven’t been able to locate anyone with hard facts, it appears that Swoozie’s is buying at least a fair chunk of the Blue Tulip store chain. [click here to continue…]
Here we go…the New York International Gift Fair. As is normal, there’s a lot of pre-show buzz about what will happen the next few days. One camp says the show will be soft since Atlanta was so strong; another camp believes the opposite, coming off what was arguably a solid Dallas outing. Truth be told, no one knows what to expect since right now, no “normal” rules apply. [click here to continue…]
I read an article on the Glee newswire that really resonated, discussing trends in the hardware business—a market segment eerily similar to the gift industry (Glee, for those of you unfamiliar with the British shows, is the annual equivalent of our NSS, instead focused on garden, pet, and outdoor life products). Zeroing in on consumer motivation and big box competition, the article makes it clear—the keys to survival for independent retailers are necessity, communication, and information.
Based on comments made in the piece, here’s my suggested strategy for survival in this crazy, topsy-turvey business climate-—all of which can be accomplished in one week: [click here to continue…]
