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| Trend Feature—Getting Back To The Garden: Natural Materials & Nature Motifs Strike A Chord With Customers |
| | | | The environmental movement is making its mark in the gourmet housewares and tabletop segments, and manufacturers are responding to retail and consumer demand with a plethora of new ecologically-inspired products. Natural materials are attracting increased attention, particularly wood, bamboo, glass, metal and ceramic pieces. Trendy design motifs drawn from nature include leaves, birds and branches, while floral patterns continue to be perennial best sellers. Organic, sustainable, repurposed and recycled products also are becoming more popular, as consumers strive to be both fashionable and earth-friendly. |
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Show Feature—Exhibitors Expect Positive Results From NY NOW
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Leading gourmet housewares and tabletop suppliers eagerly anticipate the summer 2013 debut of the NY NOW®, the Market for Home & Lifestyle (formerly NYIGF®).
As part of the Show’s new format, the Gourmet Housewares Show® will be integrated into the Tabletop + Gourmet Housewares neighborhood within the NY NOW HOME collection. More than 300 suppliers of gourmet housewares products and specialty tabletop items will showcase their products during NY NOW, Aug. 18 to 21 at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
“The new name hasn’t changed the quantity or quality of innovative new products and leading resources in gourmet products and upscale housewares,” explains Christian Falkenberg, NY NOW director and GLM senior vice president. “Plus, as part of NY NOW HOME, both buyers and suppliers now have access to the New York market two times a year, in both winter and summer.”
 Exhibitors say they are looking forward to the change. “As a long time exhibitor at the New York International Gift Fair, Zevro is very enthusiastic about the change over to the NY NOW concept,” declares Corky Durschlag, vice president of sales and marketing for the Skokie, IL-based housewares manufacturer. “As a wholesale company that distributes our products in over 35 countries, Zevro has always felt that New York City, the capital of the world, was the ideal venue for providing our customers the perfect context and environment to exhibit our unique collection of home dispensers (right), housewares and barware.
“We are especially pleased with the ‘total concept’ of bringing all home-related products together into one expanded section so that the buyers who concentrate on the home can focus their time and energy in one area without distractions,” Durschlag adds. “Zevro is always delighted, when exhibiting in New York, that the buyers who attend the show are a rare blending of major department and chain stores, better specialty/gourmet stores and International accounts. The exposure for our company’s products at this show is always exceptional.”
 Leading handcrafted luxury tableware company Simon Pearce offers a wide array of complementary products and executives are enthusiastic about the Show’s lifestyle approach. “The broader category for Home, now encompassing home furnishings, home textiles, decorative accessories, tabletop and gourmet housewares, is more aligned with Simon Pearce’s product offerings,” notes James Murray, executive director of design, product development and merchandising at the Windsor, VT-based firm. “The new format is more all-encompassing than simply ‘gift’ and reflects the variety of home, gift and lifestyle products exhibited at the show. It is also more reflective of how buyers are sourcing for their stores today.
“In the past five years, as we’ve evolved to become more of a ‘lifestyle’ company; we’ve begun actively sourcing an assortment of home accents (above, left) that precisely complement our glass and pottery tabletop shapes and designs,” Murray continues. “New York City is the epicenter of fashion, design, culture, art and media. The city is home to influencers and taste makers that help shape and drive consumer trends. The energy of the city provides a source of inspiration for our design team and an ideal location for the sales team to build and foster relationships. We get a lot of joy from delighting our customers with new expressions of glass and ceramic, constantly reimagining the possibilities and how we can engage with new audiences. New York City is the place to do this.”
 California-based luxury apron supplier Jessie Steele will be showcasing new upscale prints (right) and accessories at the August event. “It’s great that NY NOW has consolidated all home-related categories into one easily accessible section,” comments Jovanni Ishaan, sales manager. “The new format will make navigation of the show more efficient and focused; consolidating home-related product categories into one section should improve customer return during the show for many exhibitors—it will make buyers more likely to revisit our booth after walking the floor.
“We offer multiple product categories in the home-related and gift sections,” Ishaan adds. “NY NOW has proved to be of great benefit to our company in terms of reaching a wider audience and establishing our presence in these divisions. We use the feedback received and orders placed at NY NOW as consideration on what new categories to include in our future collections. New York City is known as a trendsetter in fashion apparel, textiles and gift. It’s very important to have a |
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