Direct from Market: Atlanta
Bessie Nestoras, Meredith Schwartz and Caroline Kennedy -- Gifts and Dec, 7/20/2011 1:11:25 PM
The mood at the Atlanta market remained upbeat. With so many thousands of square feet absorbing any perception of buyer volume, reports of traffic were all over the map; some vendors reported dramatic double-digit increases in sales while others complained about continued soft numbers and empty hallways. Perhaps Ron Knutson of SPI summed it up best when he told Gifts & Decorative Accessories, "Though the traffic was soft, especially after Thursday, we continued to find serious buyers. I think that was the tone of the show, those that were there came to buy. The bottom line - weak traffic and an increase of between 40-50% from last July. [...] So, perhaps, there really is light at the end of the tunnel." Needless to say, the light was shining on products and there was plenty to be seen and experienced all over AmericasMart, as we ourselves discovered.
Simon Pearce
Foreside Home & Garden introduced a new tabletop collection this market. There are two patterns in the line: Barcelona and Descado. The stoneware plates feature bright, bold patterns and a scalloped shape. The decorative accessories company also introduced two new home collections: Mountain House, which features items with a rustic flair and also includes Christmas decor, and French Market, a collection of accessories and accents with, just as the name reflects, a French market look. The accessories boast light gray and weathered finishes.
Like so many other vendors, Simon Pearce continues to expand its boxed sets, this time with block photo frames in a variety of sizes. The pieces were a long time coming, in that it took some time to perfect how the blocks were made so as to ensure that no bubbles were apparent. The result is a sleek, yet earthy accessory.
Tervis Tumbler announced its collaboration with Harley Davidson. The line features four emblems and four wraps.
Burton + Burton
Pink played an important part in Aidan Gray's new collection. The collection, which is made up of four lamps, was done in memory of Marlene Weeks, a wife, mother and grandmother who lost her fight to breast cancer. Some 50 percent of the sale of each lamp will go to breast cancer research and women's services.
Lazy Susan made a statement in a very big way with oversized basket "ginger jars." They come in three sizes, the tallest of which is about 5' high.
Burton + Burton is making a major push in plush, having relocated all of its plush offerings into a separate showroom near the company's main space, and adding whimsical offerings like a pair of animal slippers with built in stockings. Also notable in plush is Baby Aspen's "socktopus," an adorable octopus in classic pastel pink or blue, wearing mismatched colorful baby socks. Gund introduced baby blue and pink versions of its classic Snuffles bear, as well as blue and pink Mickey and Minnie Mouse Disney plush..
In our previous report, we mentioned the resurgence of pet accessories and pet-related products for pet lovers, and pet charity tie-ins of some of those lines. Another line that we came across is a gourmet snack product that has nothing to do with pets other than its tie-in to The Homeless Pet Foundation. That new product? Bentley's Reserve, a delicious caramel-coated popcorn in three different flavors: Praline Pecan, Cinnamon Almond and Toffee Caramel. This melt in your mouth sweet treat comes in individual grab'n'go pouches and 6-oz. boxes perfect for hostess gifts, stocking stuffers and just plain sweet indulgences.
Carson Home Accents
FUN FINDS
Eluding characterization - though they might loosely be called fashion - are Wood Thumb, a line of jointed neckties made of reclaimed wood in the U.S.A. Yes, you read that right, wood. Meanwhile the Optari backpack comes in six colors and features holes for charms to make each unique. Kids who like Crocs will love these.
Wine, always popular, is bigger than ever, and several vendors have paired it with that other eternal feminine love, shoes. But so far our favorite wine find is one of a kind - the Redneck Wine Glass by Carson Home Accents is a jam jar on a stem, and a salesperson told us people aren't just buying one or two for a laugh - they're buying six.
Hand Vibes
Vying for the position as the next tween craze following those shaped rubber bands are two new fun contenders. Hand Vibes from Caseyboy Productions are fun collectible rubber rings with "attitude." Each ring bears an icon, emoticon or expression. Flipoutz, from Wild Creations are bracelets with collectible, tradeable tokens that have an interactive online element. The token coins can be tracked online as they get traded from friend to friend.
Persona Designs
Pails seem to be the popular packaging alternative du jour. Zebi offered a Bucket of Burpees packaged in a paint pail. A new line from Santa Barbara Design Studio is called Lil Tootsies. It is a new collection of hand-painted baby shoes that come packaged in a can; the Mary Janes are packaged in a purse. Persona Designs, which debuted its Gift Pails at the National Stationery Show, expanded its offerings to include pre-made kits. Whether it is a DIY kit or pre-made these pails add personality to any gift or celebration. The decorated pails can be used as gift wrap, a party "goodie bag," fun storage container and even a creative activity at a kids party. New for the fall are Persona Dots and Persona Bots kits for kids.
Moni's Mudworks
Moni's Mudworks debuted its first collection which will be available through Under Stella's Umbrella. The first collection is a group of five angel figurines, each with its own personality and story card.
BRANCHING OUT
Transpac Imports broke away from its comfort zone and entered a new gift category: jewelry. Perch is a new collection by jewelry designer Debra Mitchell. There are three lines within the collection. Chain Gang, features layered draped, twisted and charmed mixed metal chains; Well Dressed, is a more classic collection with pearls and rhinestones combined with matte silver, and gold and gold finishes and Natural Elements, which finds inspiration in Mother Nature and mixes cultures, metals and texture.
Square Feathers is expanding its pillow collection to include more decorative accessories, such as frames and fabric covered waste baskets, and bedding - a natural extension to the line.
Beehive Kitchenware
Beehive Kitchenware, best known for its metal kitchen and decorative accents, expanded into stoneware with a collection of bowls, butter dish, sugar and creamer and utensil holder.
Blissliving Home is expanding its bedding line to include fashion, more tabletop textiles such as tablecloths, runners and placemats, as well as totes, shoe bags and laundry bags. The company is also expanding into gourmet with a line of tea and decorative accessories with a small introduction of wooden candleholders, trays and utensil holders. Expect a bigger foray into decorative accents in the coming months.
In a departure from its core lines of inspirational giftware and figurines, Pavilion Gifts has introduced a new giftable chocolate line, Feel Good Gifts. The line consists of gift boxes containing four pieces of chocolate, a sentiment card and 10 hearts with printed sentiment messages to spread to spirit, a greeting card gift with chocolate and a coordinating tea light. The chocolate gift boxes and the greeting cards bear messages for different occasions/recipients: birthday, mother, friend, etc.
Also going the sweet chocolate route, in partnership with Praim Group, popular humorous stationery lines Anne Taintor and Knock Knock have introduced branded chocolate bars bearing each licensed line's imagery and humor. The high quality chocolate bars come in 3½ oz. sizes and are available in both milk and dark chocolate.
Barbara Cosgrove
Apple & Bee has expanded its line to include personal care. The company introduced new bath salts and lip balm. The bath salts come in Rejuvenation, Relaxation and Indulgence; the lip balm is available in honey and peppermint, and paw-paw and sweet orange.
Marc Tetro has expanded his selection of dog art on Giclee prints and greeting cards to now include notebooks and tote bags. The Pop-Outs line of charming three-dimensional cardboard art figures has expanded to include 14 dogs, a cat and seven New York City icons.
STYLE TRENDS
This market game themes were a strong trend. Barbara Cosgrove, who is adding more accessories to her lamp collection, featured an oversized domino set. Europe 2 You showcased bowling pins, as did Cyan Design. Oomph featured a red lacquer backgammon table, Spicher and Company featured playing card wall art and HomArt highlighted whimisical playing cards and dice.
Creative Co-Op
Oversized wall clocks were used as wall decor throughout many showrooms. Chehoma Home, Four Hands, Que Spaces (which also used a clock face as a table top), Creative Co-Op and Two's Company all featured oversized clocks as wall decor.
Fur, skins and feathers are also important this season. Several vendors used these elements when creating everything from decorative accessories to fashion items. Square Feathers introduced a fur pillow, Consuela also featured a feather pillow and Two's Company featured feather placemats. Fashion accessories vendor Stephanie Johnson featured a collection of cosmetic cases in a rainbow of skins. Also in fashion, Maximal Art introduced a collection of jewelry using real fur as part of the design, as well as another collection with feathers. Natural Life introduced pin-in feather hair accessories for the teen and tween set.
The Mane Lion
With healthy eating such an important message these days, it's no wonder that olives and olive branches are being used as design elements. Vagabond House, Abbiamo Tutto and The Mane Lion all used this Mediterranean staple in their collections. And speaking of the Mediterranean, a handful of vendors dabbled in Greek designs using the Greek key and other Greek imagery in their collections. Most notably at The Mane Lion, which expanded its Greek key collection from last market which was done in soft pastels to jewel tones, at Square Feathers where the classic motif was used on pillows and from Starling Designs which featured framed hand-poured Grecian-inspired intaglios.
The French flea market and Belgian look has been a popular trend for some time now, but there seems to be a shift towards more European looks in general, especially British country looks. Perhaps the royal wedding and the upcoming Olympics to be held in London next year are the inspiration. At Creative Co-Op, a new collection by artist Jeff Cane featured imagery of his photographs of angel statues found throughout London. Last market Aidan Gray focused on the industrial look, this market softer looks were front and center and also took on a more European look. The company introduced 40 pillows based on stone carvings throughout Europe. Juliska's new dinnerware collection Country Estate features an English landscape by Deborah Sears, designer and painter of Isis Ceramics in England. While this more refined and serene look was on the upswing, more contemporary British looks were also spotted. Again, at Creative Co-Op, the Union Jack was used as a design element, as well as at Peking Handicraft, where the Union Jack, British guards, the queen's silhouette and crowns were used, and at Spicher and Company the company featured crown wall decor.
Wisdom continues to be in fashion: owls were spotted on everything from personal care products and candles by Designing Ducks to wrap from Gift Wrap Co. to ceramics from Andrea by Sadek to tees and other fashion accessories from Natural Life. One unusual offering blended the traditional "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkeys with owls seen at Urban Trends.
What's trending up in fashion accessories? Could be belts with bold buckles. They were seen at 8 Petals, Princess & Butch and Chart Metalworks.
Arteriors
COLOR TRENDS
Color will be playing an important role in the coming season. Red was one color that was used extensively in decorative accessories at Arteriors Home, Pomeroy, Oomph and Cyan Designs.
Turquoise is still an important color to watch as it was spotted at Vietri in its Damask collection, Four Hands' Marrakesh drop table light and throughout the Global Views and Cyan Designs showrooms.
Tapping into another part of the blue family, Tag's new tabletop collection tells an indigo story. The textiles are made by a block printing method in India.
Pink tones were also seen sprinkled around market. It was shown predominantly at Design Legacy by Kelly O'Neal. And, as mentioned, it was shown at Aidan Gray. While the use of pink at Aidan Gray is to honor breast cancer awareness, Randall Weeks, founder and CEO, said that he "felt pink was on trend as color seems to be rushing back, but for European decor, the colors have to be more subtle, but impactful, and I think when combined with the neutral tones of gray and beige, these pops of understated colors are perfect."
Bright colors are the look for spring holidays 2012, if what we are seeing at Kathrine's Collection, Foreside Home & Garden, Kaemingk, Burton + Burton and elsewhere is any indication. The pale pastels of yesterday - pink, yellow, green, or blue - are no longer the order of the day. Instead, look for bright sugar candy versions of those hues. The spring decoratives at Katherine's Collection were presented in a Mad Hatter's tea party-like display that was a mad profusion of colorful chicks, bunnies, eggs and more in a mix of textures and iced with a lot of sparkling glitter and sequins.
LET'S GET FELTED
Felt is a medium being used creatively in many ways from fashion jewelry and personal accessories from Funkyness to fashion totes, laptop cases and lunch totes from Milano Series to whimsical decorative animal figures and ornaments from Kalalou, Roost and Foreside Home & Garden to the Mimi Couture lines of children's accessories from Carrie and Co.
Maggie Bags
Alicia Klein previewed a new line of earth-friendly felt totes and accessories made from recycled plastic bottles. Debut items include two different sized totes and an iPad sleeve. The items is part of the Owl line of recycled accessories.
Speaking of recycling... Maggie Bags drew a lot of attention to its wallets, totes, belts and handbags made from recycled seat belts. If you want to go collegiate, they are available in school colors.
CELEBRATE
Birthday celebrations continue to be a popular category and vendors are taking a novel approach to make it fun. Burton + Burton introduced a collection of plush birthday decoratives: party headbands with large plush cupcakes on them, several plush birthday cake centerpieces in different sizes, as well as plush bears in jelly bean colors and other coordinating motifs.
Eric Smith Art brings her edgy humor to birthdays with the new handmade Reality Bites cupcake toppers and sleeves and a Holy Crap! Birthday tiara. And Midwest-CBK featured a collection of birthday motif entertaining accessories and decoratives.
Taking a different tack to aging, Oak Patch Gifts continues to mock the passage of time with its Vintage Dude line of men's giftwares and its Sexy Soft Bodies line, a reconfiguration of its Over the Hill humorous gift line, celebrating aging.
And because birthdays aren't the only occasions that are cause for celebration, Coton Colors hosted a celebration to launch its Happy Everything Cookbook. The party presented a tasting menu of recipes from the cookbook. The book, set for November release, is filled with hosting tips and stories, in addition to the menus and recipes.
CANDLES & CARE
Seda France Candles
New faces in personal care include Beecology, a line of personal care made by beekeepers. Even the displays are made out of real hives! (Bees not included).
Lucy B.'s Royal Collection was developed in honor of the British Royal wedding, but the scents span the globe, with offerings such as Pink Frangiapani, Tiari Coconut, Wild Jasmine and Green Fig & Woods.
Cameos and silhouettes, which hit home decor as a hot motif several years ago, are now making their way into the consumable side of the market. Seda France introduced a cameo collection at the show, and Binu Natural Soap offers handmade soap sculptures in the shape of cameos as well as other designs.
21 Drops
Also new on the scented side is 21 drops, a line of serious aromatherapy made simple - and visually appealing. Distributed by 21 Drops LLC, the therapeutic grade essential oils are targeted to common ailments from hangovers to headaches. Another unusual offering, on the less serious side, is Glitter My Tattoo temporary body art, a waterproof, hypoallergenic, patent-pending product that's made in the U.S.A.
New in candles is Nell's Compass. Created by the mother and daughter team of Mary Steenburgen and Lily McDowell Walton in honor of grandmother Nell, the line donates $2 to charity Heifer International for each candle sold. And if you prefer to be your own candle brand, check out Aunt Sadie's new personalization program, which will put your store name on a wide variety of designs with an order of as few as six candles! Owner Gary Briggs tells Gifts & Decorative Accessories the new program has been very successful so far.
LICENSES EVERYWHERE
One trend we spotted was the spread of licensing off the usual suspects and into more surprising product categories. Standout offerings include The Sportula from Wildman Business Group Co., a solid, grill-style spatula featuring licensed collegiate designs on the blade. Cumberland Designs offers realistic looking resin pumpkins embossed with collegiate logos, just in time for football season. Meanwhile Cool Works Cups takes it to the next level with professional, rather than college, sports: the company's concept coolers look like the front end of NASCAR racecars and feature wet and dry storage compartments; hold two six packs, and even float!
Candy Cottage
CHRISTMAS SURPRISES
While the dominant feel in holiday product continues to be traditional, we did find a few twists for Santa's list. Too Too Bella is a brand new company offering decorative holiday pillows. While some of her brightest designs are the most eyecatching, the owner tells us her runaway hit is a plain, light brown, burlap looking pillow bearing a plaque on a ribbon with a holiday sentiment. The secret is, the plaque is removable, and plaques for other holidays will be coming soon. Also creative is treeform by Heidi Adams, available through Karen Alweil Studio. The 100 percent recycled cardboard Christmas tree comes in white or natural, ships flat and can be decorated or used unadorned as a sculpture. Would also make a great store display. And our favorite Christmas find of all is The Candy Cottage, a reusable plastic gingerbread-style house that can be playfully decorated with candy and store-bought frosting, then cleaned and kept for next year. Marketed to those who don't have time for baking, it will also appeal to those whose architectural efforts never seem to stay standing.
Judging by what we saw in Atlanta, to quote Ron Knutson again, "Perhaps, there really is light at the end of the tunnel."
We would love your feedback!
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Direct from Market: Atlanta, part 2
Jan 19, 2012 -
Direct From Market- Atlanta
Jan 13, 2012 -
Direct from Market: New York
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Direct from Market: Atlanta
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