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DoubleTake: Los Angeles (July 31, 2007)

-- Gifts and Dec, 3/27/2008 7:24:00 AM

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TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2007

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DoubleTake: Los Angeles from Gifts & Decorative Accessories

California Market Center lobby

Anyone who gave in to the temptation to sneak out and enjoy the nice weather (if you’re from New York like us, you understand how rare comfortable sunny days are) may have missed the interesting product on view at the California Market Center, the California Gift Show (presented by George Little Management) and the L.A. Mart (operated by MMPI). Inside, traffic was steady and vendors reported good sales. “We are very pleased with our traffic gains this market, with our many loyal customers returning and new buyers discovering the value the L.A. Mart delivers,” said Michael Kessler, vice president and general manager, L.A. Mart. “The market was strong throughout the week, giving our showrooms and exhibitors a consistent, lucrative flow of new and expanded orders.”

Many of the trends we’ve seen at other markets were just as strong in L.A. Black and white and glitz were prevalent, as were butterflies. According Alex Wittkowski from Leonardo, butterflies were also spotted at the European shows. They’re everywhere! Green products were also big, and we spotted many unique, interesting variations, including lanterns made out of remnants from aerosol and soda can factories by Design Ideas.

Baby is always a hot seller and we saw fun things at the Karen Alweil Studio showroom: Puj is a new baby sling that comes in different sizes for different heights, to make carrying a baby that much easier. Also spotted was Ready Set Deliver, a gift set for moms-to-be that comes with a stylish nursing gown, slippers, headband, eye mask and lip balm.

Of course, you can’t go to a California show and not spot seaside accessories, and there were plenty in L.A. to satisfy the West Coast shoppers. We also saw a number of animal-themed accessories — from dog-shaped soaps at Gianna Rose Atelier to dog silhouette wall art at Butch & Harold, there was plenty to choose from.

Show managers overall were pleased with this market. “Key buyers continued to take advantage of the California Market Center’s destination lines, and we saw a significant increase in many categories. Most significant was the increase in buyers looking to purchase products in the garden, patio and lawn category,” said Jon Weiglin, director of leasing for Gift & Home, CMC.

GLM’s California Gift Show featured 350 new exhibitors, and saw an increase in two categories: World Style and EXTRACTS. “As the gift and home industry’s largest collection of multinational handcrafted products, World Style has long been the hallmark of the show and a critical resource for buyers and importers,” said Dorothy Belshaw, senior vice president, GLM. A 12 percent increase in exhibitors brought the total number to 250. EXTRACTS also saw a significant increase of more than 60 percent. “This growth surge reflects category strength and recent progress in the marketability of sustainable, organic and natural products through mainstream gift, home and lifestyle retail channels,” concluded Belshaw.

Next up: DoubleTake Chicago. — Bessie Nestoras, Trends/Features Editor and Maria Weiskott, Editor in Chief

Design Ideas’ (www.designid.com) Reclectic lanterns are made from remnants from aerosole and soda can factories.

Design Ideas’ Reclectic lanternsare made from remnants fromaerosol and soda can factories.

Green
Eco-friendly products are hot, with vendors offering product made from recycled or organic materials or sustainable merchandise. But don’t mistake this product for anything but stylish. Many of the items we found were sleek and chic — being green was a bonus.
More >>

Ducks from Transpac Imports

Animal Attraction
There were plenty of creatures at the market in Los Angeles. Dogs, cats, butterflies, roosters and more found their way into many collections — sometimes as the main attraction.
More >>

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Gold was also big atThe Import Collection

Glitz & Glam
Black and white and glitzy accessories were seen throughout the market. The trend has been spotted at all the shows this summer, and continued strong in California. Why not? This is Hollywood, after all.
More >>

Seaside accessories from C&C Floral

By the Sea
With the beach so close by, seaside accessories are big on the West Coast. In fact, the theme for Gift for Life’s charity benefit was Takin’ it to the Sea. Here are some of the more interesting things we spotted.
More >>

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Luxurious packaging is alwaysan eye-catcher. D.L. Company.

Pretty Packaging
Packaging is vital when trying to sell product. We found many vendors who came up with some interesting packages, as well as innovative ways to display product in their booths. Follow their lead and use some of their ideas — they may even inspire you to come up with your own.
More >>

Baseballs at USAopoly.

Cool Stuff
There were lots of fun products to be seen in Los Angeles.
More >>

Fulanitos

Cool Displays
How do you get people to look at your product? With interesting displays of course! Here are some that we found intriguing.
More >>

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