Direct from Market: Chicago Living & Giving
By Caroline Kennedy -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 7/22/2008 8:09:00 AM
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Lake House Display goes "Green." |
This market, the show once again constructed its popular Lake House display in the Merchandise Mart lobby. This time the display focus was on “green” products drawn from among exhibitors’ offerings that reflected not only the Lake Living lifestyle, but were also environmentally friendly. Designed by Mick Santiago, the Lake House itself was constructed with eco-friendly materials.
Come January, the Stylemax fashion apparel show, January 15–21, 2009, will run concurrent with The Chicago Market, January 17–20, 2009, bringing a fresh energy and additional resources to shop for buyers looking to broaden their merchandise mix. “The Markets have always shared some crossover retail customers, and this brings those buyers to Market at the same time,” said Joan Ulrich, senior vice president, Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. (MMPI) “Plus, exhibitors will benefit from potential new customers who may not have experienced the other Market until now.” Stylemax will take over the 7th floor temporaries space.
In addition, the new Gallery Suites will debut on the 12th floor presenting a grouping of home accessories temporary exhibitors in a boutique style setting. Beckman’s will move to the 8th floor Market Suites area and will also undergo a change in internal management. The oversight of the handcrafted show is being transferred over by the team that oversees the One-of-a-Kind Shows, bringing the management of all craft areas under one umbrella. The One-of-a-Kind Shows, which are high-level juried artisan craft shows, held in Chicago and Canada, are open-to-the-public shows, but the first wholesale version debuts in New York next month the same time as the New York International Gift Fair. It will be held in the permanent showroom building, 7 W New York, which is also owned by MMPI.
Showroom Activities
On Saturday evening was late night shopping in the permanent showrooms. The 15th floor was alive with celebration as two showrooms marked anniversaries at the mart. In the Style Visions showroom, three editors from the consumer publication Domino were on hand to meet attendees and chat about design trends, fashion tips for home and store, and answer questions about what customers will be looking for. This was part of the showroom’s 15th anniversary celebration at the Merchandise Mart.
At the same time, the Casa Bella showroom also hosted buyers for cocktails and refreshments to marking its 10th anniversary at the Merchandise Mart.
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Suzy Toronto, right, chats with buyers |
The Sarm & Nastovski showroom was running a series of events that were attracting buyers to the showroom. One was a tasting and introduction to Tea Forte, which was of particular interest and introduced buyers to the holiday selection of teas and tea accessories.
New to the showroom is Creative Candles. The candle company, known for its long elegant, hand-dipped beeswax tapers, has repositioned itself with new packing and imagery. Being highlighted this market are it Celebration Candles, which have been embraced by the likes of Martha Stewart. These ¼” candles come in two lengths, 6” and 15” and are intended for use on cakes and cupcakes for those special occasions such as birthdays and other holidays, but they may also be used in other ways to add illumination on a table or elsewhere. The 15” candles come in 17 colors and the 6” ones come are available in five colors including a new aquamarine.
Burton & Burton had another successful Ballooniversity session. Although the exact attendance figures had not been tallied, it was estimated that the session drew nearly 200 buyers interested in learning how to decorate with balloons and more. Most of those in attendance had never previously participated in such a program; a number were also new to shopping the Merchandise Mart. This parallels the attendance figures of a similar program that was held in Atlanta.
Style for the Home
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Amore Designs' lighted Buddhas |
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Herve Gambs home fragrancing |
Generating a lot of buzz in the Melange showroom was a new line from France, Herve Gambs. This high end home fragrancing line consists of room sprays that have their own wooden block holders that give them a sculptural look that will blend with any décor. The line also includes silk botanicals that can be sprayed with the fragrance for continuous scenting.
Looking for something new and different in candles? The Austrian Atelier presented the Candle Artistry line of unusually shaped candles in chic decorator colors. The European styled selection included large discs, flat triangles, wavy tapers, hearts and other contemporary shapes.
Euroline, had a large presence in the temps. The displays of its home décor lines were presented in attention-getting vignettes that drew buyers in. The vignettes were also inspirational, showing how groups of products in the line can be successfully and dramatically merchandised in a small amount of space. Key colors being highlighted: soft, spring green and mauve.
For setting an attractive table for casual entertaining or everyday, Taos Twist exhibited an attractive collection of handcrafted 18/8 stainless flatware — and we use the term “flatware” loosely, because the pieces are far from flat. As the company name implies, the handles of the pieces are “twisted” to create a knot-like embellishment at the end. They are well balanced and comfortable to hold. This line is "jewelry for the table."
Focus on Green
The Whitney Howard Designs booth was active and drawing interest from buyers. The artisan company known for its blessing rings and other inspirational gifts introduced Green Strings (It’s an Earth thing) line, simultaneously in L.A and Chicago. The Earth Strings are Blessing Rings on 100 percent organic strings as bracelets and necklaces, and were proving to be quite popular. Also of particular interest to the group of buyers we observed were the Heart Rocks — cast metal hearts with inspirational sayings mounted on natural rocks. Originally produced as a display item to highlight the cast heart pendant/charms, they proved to be so popular with customers asking for them, that the company decided to add them to the line. In a nice gesture of customer good will, Howard bestowed upon each customer a Blessing Ring token as he concluded the transaction. Customers were thrilled and will remember the pleasant experience and how good it made them feel.
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Planet Saver Sacks |
Planet Saver Sacks offered another take on reusable, eco-friendly shoppers. The fun, eye-catching illustrations include Roy Lichtenstein-like captioned comic book artwork and super-hero influenced artwork on one side. The reverse side presents a statistic such as “It recycled aluminum can is back on the shelf in less than six weeks.” The bags are customizable.
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Scrappynation |
Scrappynation caught out eye in the White Ginger showroom with its display of a whole armchair full of Scrappies, imaginative handmade stuffed creatures made from primarily recycled wool sweaters that are felted, cut apart and sewn into each critter. These endearing characters were included in the Lake House display.
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Sue Rosengard's Flying Paper Jewelry |
Good to Go Gifts
Ganz’ mini personalized snow globe ornaments, which were introduced in January, continue to do blow out sales. These sweet holiday collectibles make great stocking stuffers and can be hung by themselves on a tree or hung together in multiples on a special hanger to present a family record.
A delightful new product, “Cashells – The Gift That’s Meant to be Broken,” debuted at the show. Intended as an alternative to gift cards, Cashells are real decorated egg shells that are more that just a decorated egg; each one has a slot cut into it, into which cash can be inserted (kind of like a piggy bank). The slot is then sealed and the egg presented as the gift. The recipient then must break the eggshell open to retrieve the cash gift.
Jewelry Gems
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Class Art |
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Dunitz & Company |
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Suncrest Creations |
