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Direct from Market: Atlanta

By Bessie Nestoras, Meredith Schwartz and Caroline Kennedy -- Gifts and Dec, 7/15/2011 9:48:21 AM

Enesco

The Heat Is On in Atlanta!

Market heat, that is. Hotlanta is living up to its moniker here at AmericasMart; the market is off to a very good start. Buyers were lined up at registration early on Wednesday morning eager and ready to begin their buying ritual. Katherine Kleski of Katherine's Collection remarked that they were having a very good first day with good traffic in the showroom. That opinion was echoed by Noel Weintraub at Road Runners and several others to whom we spoke; some even indicated a fair amount of drop-in traffic on Tuesday before market officially opened, as well as the early scheduled appointments. The early mood is upbeat and positive which bodes well; the outlook is sunny and bright.

Rah! Rah! Go School Go!
Collegiate licenses have been a popular category for a while now, especially here in the South and in the Midwest. But this summer, it is stronger than ever. From tabletop accessories to fashion accessories, buyers could find products for their favorite teams. Wellspring has caught the school spirit and has introduced a collection of licensed collegiate personal and stationery accessories, including mirror compacts, Flip Notes and more.

Magnolia Lane

Long an important part of its offerings, Tervis continues to expand its licensed collegiate tumblers, adding polka dot designs in school colors along with logos. The polka dot motif appeals more to the female customer.

Occasionally Made offered a selection of gifts and accessories featuring collegiate colors. And for those looking for team logos, Legacy has a wide variety of accessories as does SceneWeaver, Magnolia Lane and Glory Haus.

Barking Up Gifts
Pet accessories are making a comeback. Companies like Creative Co-Op, o.r.e., and tag all highlighted pet gifts and accessories this market. Lifeguard Press, with its new Nifty Gifty dog accessories collection from Jonathan Adler, Enesco with its new pieces from Our Name is Mud, and Furry Friends & Co. also joined the pack.

o.r.e.

Where there are dogs (and cats), there are dog (and cat) people who love dog (and cat) motifs on products for themselves. And when those products have an animal charity tie-in, there is double appeal. Pavilion Gift introduced the Rescue Me Now line featuring dog and cat motifs on hand towels, ornaments and hand-painted ceramics. A portion of sales goes to support the WSPA - World Society for the Protection of Animals. Tervis also offers a collection of seven designs for which a portion of the proceeds goes to the Morris Animal Fdn. to support canine cancer research.

For the cat person, Enesco introduced Kit n'Kaboodle, a whimsical licensed line of gifts - mugs, figures, magnets, change purses and more - by Nancy Wolff.

Yepser's social media café

Technology is Everywhere

In addition to SnapRetail's packed seminar offerings, yepser offered a Social Media Café which provided free coffee, social media advice and a playful retro take on promotion.

Also notable were several companies taking advantage of their window real estate to plug their online offerings, from Lifetime Brands to Yankee Candle to Dayspring. Brandwise is livetweeting at-market events, and the GSMA lounge offers a wireless hotspot.

Get Ready-to-Gift
Of course, gift sets are an important part of this business. Vendors are focusing on their gift packaging to make it a little easier on the retailer (and their customers), especially for the upcoming holiday season.

Lindsay Phillips

Lindsay Phillips introduced a new holiday gift collection. The line includes a set of flip flops, three nail polish colors and snaps called Pedi Set Go. The company also has boxed its snaps in sets and its ballet flats with two snaps in gift boxed sets for gifting.

Oka b. is now also offering its flip flops in shoe boxes for easy holiday gifting.

Beatriz Ball is now offering a Grab and Go gift program. There are currently three products available: mini trays, bowls and wine coasters. All come in a gray box with a grosgrain ribbon.

For the first time, the Andrea by Sadek is offering pre-packaged gift sets for the holidays. The majolica leaf design accessories are done in solid seasonal colors and come already wrapped in red paper.

For the holidays, Colonial Candle will offer its first gift set - a candle and an exclusive holiday music CD of known artists packaged together.

Volcanica

Flame On

Candles, real and flameless, continue to burn bright sales. Candle Impressions debuted a new showroom for its flameless LED candles; Volcanica offers new carved candles which hold their shape as they burn down, direct from Bali.

Another new candle line, Hoot Candles, offers colorful packaging and tall slender glass votives for an elegant shot glass effect. Fringe is offering a new line of Alchemy candles.

Vance Kitira also debuted a new showroom which, he told Gifts & Decorative Accessories, means the brand has a whopping three locations at this market: the new showroom, The Gardens and its place in the HomeStyle rep showroom. Kitira says the company intends to keep both its own showroom and its rep presence, but will give up The Gardens location once the transition is complete.

Yankee Candle is offering new pillar-shaped jars with peel off labels, and is offering more items and display examples to help Yankee Candles "come off the wall" in stores. The company is also offering more gift sets and travel tins that scent without flame.

Woodwick

Wood scents continue to be a trend, with a new collection from Paddywax joining offerings from Thymes and Northern Lights.

Meanwhile, Woodwick is also increasing its wood quotient with its new patent-pending "pluswick," a pair of crossed wooden wicks that, the company says, burn better and fragrance faster.

Dreaming of Christmas
Black is big in Christmas, adding a contemporary punch to traditional red and green: notable examples were seen in the Evergreen Enterprises, Mud Pie and Burton + Burton showrooms.

Also notable in holiday is a line of ornaments from Lisbeth Dahl, featuring a sophisticated feminine palette and extensive adornments, like jewelry for the tree.

Holiday tabletop was front and center at Andrea by Sadek. The company introduced three holiday patterns: Chickadee, Cardinal and Partridge and a Pear. Sadek also introduced its Bird Toile pattern, originally in brown, in red which is great for holiday, but can easily be used year-round.

Paddywax

Arte Italica introduced a new holiday pattern this market. Amorini, which means little loves in Italian, features a subtle grapevine pattern in holiday colors. Because it is so subtle, this is another dinnerware collection that can be used year-round.

Fashion Flairs Forth
Mud Pie continues its big push into fashion. The company has introduced scarves, gloves designed for texting, handbags, headbands, as well as dresses and tunics for summer. Mud Pie introduced a small collection of jewelry and this market has expanded the collection with more necklaces featuring sentiments perfect for gift giving. Also new is a collection of travel accessories with TSA-approved plastic bags.

Burton and Burton

Burton + Burton has introduced a collection of resort wear-beach totes, sarongs, beach dress cover-ups in tropical prints - for spring 2012. The tropical patterns are sophisticated florals that are colorfully bright, yet subtle.

Waxing Poetic continues to grow its collection of jewelry with a line of customizable pieces. Customers can personalize items with initials, names, special dates and more.

Petit Coterie is a new company that manufactures tote bags, pillows, laundry bags and more made from natural fibers like linen, burlap and cotton. Everything is produced in the States.

Fringe

Fringe , best known for its soaps, candles, and decorative items, has moved into a new category - jewelry. After introducing jewelry-like paperweights and ornaments, this was an obvious addition to the line. The pieces all feature images that you might find in its existing lines, as well monogram necklace.

So many women wear their hair elastics on the wrists, that Alexa's Angels thought why not make them look like a bracelet? So the company developed Bandazzled, a collection of bracelet bands that can also be worn in your hair.

That's it for now. We'll have more for you in a few days.

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