Trends and Displays
Quinn Halford -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 9/1/2001
The slow days of the summer season are over, the busy fourth quarter is quickly approaching, and planning for 2002 introductions is well underway. In this issue, we focus on a number of industry trends. Editor Bessie Nestoras writes about the move to bright colors and distinctive patterns in decorative accessories, editor Meredith Schwartz looks at the new vegetable waxes being used by many candle manufacturers, and, in personal care, editor Sarah Mandel covers the private label niche.
Visual merchandising is another focus of this issue. Linda Cahan provides tips for holiday displays in her column, page 26, and we ask our retailers how they measure the effectiveness of their displays, page 176. Most importantly, editors Eliza Gallo and Matthew Kalash cover the four winners in the Visual Merchandising category of the 2001 Merchandising Achievement Awards (MAA).
And that brings us to the MAA Gold and Silver Award winners, which were announced during the August 19 dinner and presentation gala. Here they are:
Visual Merchandising: Elysian Fields Books & Gifts took the Gold Award home to Sarasota, Florida. Silver Awards went to Draeger's of San Mateo, California; The Grove Homescapes of Carmel, California; and Hanna's Candle Factory Outlet in Tontitown, Arkansas. Their stories begin on page 30.
Promotion: The Gold Award went to Mary Engelbreit Studios in St. Louis for its commitment to literacy and reading among the children of America. Silver Awards went to Fair Oaks Pharmacy in South Pasadena, California, for a day-long event that celebrated the store's 85th anniversary; OOP! of Providence, Rhode Island, for a charity raffle that raised funds for an AIDS organization; and the Tannenbaum Holiday Shop in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, for a shopping bag promotion that spanned the world.
Store Design: Two Golds were awarded for Store Design. Ripley's Cargo Hold Gift Shop of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, received the Gold for stores with annual sales of more than $1 million.
Wind & Water of New York took home the Gold for stores with annual sales of less than $1 million. Silver Awards in the latter category went to Creative Kidstuff in Pittsburgh's International Airport and to JC's Hidden Treasures in Merriam, Kansas. Professional architects designed Ripley's, Wind & Water, and Creative Kidstuff; the owners of JC's applied their own skills to convert the old family home into a retail venue.
The complete stories of the Store Design winners are in the July issue of Gifts & Dec; the Promotion winners are in the August issue. Be sure to watch for coverage of the awards gala in next month's issue.
