Assuming Mother Nature doesn’t expedite her next tirade on the east coast, I’ll be headed home in a few hours. Wanted to stay an additonal day, but the combination of hotel, airfare rebooking fee, and the ice and snow storm headed this way convinced me the original plan was best.
I’m anxious to get back on the blog with an upcoming post about green papers, based on wisdom shared by the woman I consider an expert in the field-—Joan Schnee, owner of Green Paper Company. [click here to continue…]
I see a lot of interesting booth designs traversing so many shows. Interesting good, and interesting “what the heck were you thinking?”
Umbra created a third category: Interesting “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Their walls and display cubes are covered entirely in pieces of white, light weight card stock, stapled into place like random fish scales. The only signage is a spray painted stencil of the company logo, centered on the back wall. The 3D effect is terrific; the all white palette makes their colorful product pop.
This could easily be translated into a store display window. The key is to use coated stock that meets fire codes (assuming you care about such things). Very cool. Very hip. Very inexpensive.
Home run.
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.
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…]
Just in: The final day of the National Stationery Show will be shorter than before, closing at noon instead of the customary 3:00 p.m.
For retailers hoping to fly out that day, the extra airport time will be appreciated. For those who typically go into panic mode over how much is yet to be covered on Tuesday night, however, well…. Put on your running shoes and consider the stepped-up pace part of your new workout regime.
Hint: Plan ahead using the exhibitor search and list features on the NSS site. You can select and print out a “hit list” of must-see booths before leaving home, making your plan of attack much easier.
For the past three years, stationers have been wrestling with increasing losses as more customers opt into online photo services for printing their holiday cards. From Snapfish to Tiny Prints-—one of the latest entrants to the race-—they’re getting it from all sides.
Three years ago, retailers cut their boxed photo card inventory in half…and still had tons on clearance in January. Two years ago, they halved it again. Still clearanced a truck load. This past holiday season, they cut the total in half yet again. Yup. More clearance tables.
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Planning to attend NYIGF in January? Then keep Sunday, January 25th open, because there’s a heck of a great party on the horizon…the annual Gift for Life bash, this year under the new moniker “The Stakes are High.” This year’s a big one, partly because of our new affiliation with DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids); partly because it’s our 17th anniversary…
…and partly because we’ve never had a casino night before, and if you’ve been to one lately, you know how nuts those are. (Word of warning: I am not, nor will I ever, be a professional gambler, as many who attended Casino Night at the GHTA conference will attest. The house, however, loves me.)
For more info, click here. The party starts at 6:00, runs ‘til 10:00, and promises to be a lively, rip roarin’ time.
This is one gamble that’s well worth taking. See you at the tables.
