New York Market Report
By Caroline Kennedy, Bessie Nestoras, and Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 2/1/2006 9:16:00 AM
NEW YORK — The Mood
The New York International Gift Fair got off to a flying start on Saturday, with buyers packing the Piers on opening day. They weren't just looking — they were buying, and exhibitors were excited.
"We've been swamped," said Sharri Wolf of Henry Brown.
"I'm feeling the energy," enthused Nima Oberoi of Lunares.
"Traffic has been great, with more qualified buyers. There might be fewer people coming to the show, but there are more orders," noted Alfredo Garcia of Parasol.
In fact, business was so good that at times it was difficult getting into a booth to talk to someone. Everyone we did speak to (once we pushed through the crowds!) had nothing but good things to say. And that was just a couple of hours into the show!
"New York's our strongest market,” said Leigh Brown of Match. “Ask anyone, they'll tell you."
Steve Bolla of Studio Vertu agreed: "New York is always our best, so we have high expectations."
The mood was much the same at the Javits Center, where a palpable air of confidence filled the aisles, booths and all the public areas — which were also packed with buyers and attendees. Vendors said that business was good, and the busy-ness held up all day, both upstairs on Level 3 and downstairs on Level 1.
“I had the best opening day ever,” enthused jewelry designer Jessica Lee of Jessica Lee Designs, in the Handmade pavilion.
"It's fabulous," agreed Paul Strauch of Paul Strauch Studio, maker of handcrafted doorbells and more.
Stationery manufacturer Anne Taintor had a surprising flurry of early traffic in the booth. “Because of where we are located (the 2500 aisle), that’s unusual,” she said. “Most people start [walking the show] in Accent on Design. I’m very happy!”
“It's been nice and busy,” said Mitchell Merrick of TerraNova personal care. “The Javits center is set up and everything flowed smoothly. They had everything well-organized this year.”
NEW YORK — The Sections
The new Details area in the Personal Accessories section of the show launched in grand style with upscale, boutique fashion accessories. Not one, but two runway fashion shows held in the Crystal Palace highlighted many of the stylish fashion accessories to be found in Details and throughout the fair. GLM’s head of visual merchandising, Matthew Goodman, emceed in true Seventh Avenue style, creating a buzz of interest that underlined the increasingly important position fashion accessories play in gift retailing. In fact, we encountered several new exhibitors to the New York International Gift Fair who had previously only exhibited at apparel and accessories shows.
Gourmet housewares made an appearance at the NYIGF in a display located between the Accent on Design and the Tabletop and Homewares aisles. The display area showcases upscale, high-style housewares such as cappuccino machines, design-forward toasters, espresso cups, and vegetable peelers. Although this area is intended partially to promote the Gourmet Housewares Show in Las Vegas, it also illustrates the growing presence of upscale housewares within the gift/lifestyle range, highlighting the increasingly important role of home entertaining as a social activity.
Danielle Nye, owner of Dani personal care, said, “Traditionally, Sunday's not the hugest day. But we're talking to Whole Foods right now, so that's exciting for us." In addition to Whole Foods, we spotted a buyer for The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, shopping the Accent on Design section.
The New York International Gift Fair also celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, and offers a list of more than 150 vendors who have exhibited for 25 or more of those years. Topping the list is Palmer-Smith, booth 2912, which has exhibited at the New York show for all its 75 years! Among the golden anniversary vendors, which have participated in the NYIGF for 50 years or more, are such well-known names as Gift Box Corp. of America, S.S. Sarna Inc., The Neuwirth Co., Woodbury Pewters, and, of course, Gifts & Decorative Accessories.
NEW YORK — New and Noteworthy
Pet accessories manufacturer Two Simmons Studio has expanded its line to include dog biscuits. These nicely packaged, gourmet doggie treats are a perfect addition to a specialty gift store looking to offer high-end petcessories that pet supply stores don’t carry. Also new is a selection of outdoor dog beds, all of which are mildew proof, sun protected and smell resistant. (For more on this hot product category, look for the article “Pet-A-Porter” by Caroline Kennedy in the upcoming February issue of Gifts & Decorative Accessories.)
A noteworthy new exhibitor was Caleb Siemon, showing high-end art glass in the Handmade section. Siemon previously only exhibited at a Baltimore show, but his work has been featured in publications from People to the international men's edition of Vogue. And he comes with a distinguished gift pedigree: his father is Bob Siemon, of Bob Siemon Designs, the inspirational products company, and his sister exhibits jewelry under the name Kelly Metal in the Javits North Pavillion.
Vagabond, a company known for its selection of home accents that look like they were discovered in a French flea market, is showcasing a new collection of jewelry with a similar feel. Pieces feature semi-precious stones, glass or pendants from around the world, including places like Tibet, India, the Czech Republic, Afghanistan and China. Fine artist Heather Haase said she usually designs a necklace or bracelet around one of the “finds.” She told us the response has been good. In fact, it's been so good she said she was a little frightened. “I'm a fine artist, and I'm thinking about making the leap to wholesale.” Looks like she already has.
Elsewhere, New York-based pillow and linen manufacturer Ankasa's booth was so busy we barely had a chance to talk to anyone. But we did see a wide selection of embroidered, embellished and simply luxurious decorative textiles — all of them handmade in Bombay.
Alessi, the high design tabletop company, has reorganized its lines, and separated the plasticware into its own brand identity, A di Alessi. To celebrate the new brand, the company has started a project with Amici dei Bambini to benefit abandoned children in Ukraine.
Arte Italica debuted a new flatware pattern featuring handles made of Mebatek, a manmade materal that is exclusive to the company. It resembles horn, and is an extension of the company’s horn collection.
Pear-Sun Designs has just introduced a new collection of lighting that features writings from deeds from the 1500s, as well as Beethoven's sheet music.
Tabletop and gourmet goods manufacturer From Spain offers a wide selection that includes hand-painted ceramics, olive oil, linens, sea salts and more.
We also spotted even larger than usual crowds around Burt's Bees Natural Products, Yvette Fry's fashion accents, and Northern Lights Candles, whose president, Andy Glanzman, said, “We've hit a lot of home runs this year.” The big hits include new products at a higher price point, from silk-boxed, highly fragranced soy candles to larger candle/vases and holders to embroidered boxes that hold three levels of coordinated tealights.
This year's most eye-catching giveaway was a plastic, neon-colored measuring stick that doubled as a walking stick. The sticks read "Noble", from Noble Gift Packaging, booth 1882. We saw them all over the show.
NEW YORK — The Trends
The nautical look could be seen throughout the show. All things beachy were a big theme for many companies, including Lunares, Bella Campagna and Archipelago.
When asked what trends she saw in her customers' choices, Bethany Lowe of Bethany Lowe Designs replied "I don't know. They're just buying it all."
And that seems to be the theme for this market. While we noticed a few changes to watch — such as the growth of assemble-it-yourself wall decor that straddles the line between wallpaper and framed art, displayed in the Accent on Design section — no single strong trend in new product jumped out.
However, it seems that everything is trending up. Almost every vendor we spoke to cited lots of traffic and good sales already, even in the first hours of the show.
