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Giftware

Ironwood Gourmet Cheese Board & Knife Set

28681_CheeseBoard_KnifeSet_600x400Ironwood Gourmet, a Fox Run USA brand,  joins the kitchenware manufacturers celebrating the strength of Americans’ interest in quality cheeses with its new Cheese Board & Knife Set, launched in March at this year’s International Home + Housewares Show. The acacia wood cheese board covers a wood box with inserts that hold three utensils for cheese service: a fork, Parmesan Knife and Spreading Knife for a beautiful set that would make a gorgeous gift. The set measures 9 inches by 9 inches and is 1.75 inches high. It retails for $68.99.

A World of Creativity at Las Vegas Market

Dorothy Belshaw, President Gift+Home Décor, International Market Centers, has been working overtime since she joined the organization upon her departure from the company that produced the NY NOW trade show to improve the selection of gourmet housewares and giftware that’s offered in the Las Vegas Market’s showrooms. Over the last year or so, we’ve seen those efforts come to fruition with expansive displays in the temporary booths in the Pavilions, a collection of exhibit spaces across the courtyard from the three main buildings that house the Market’s permanent showrooms as well as Building C, the permanent home of many gourmet housewares, tabletop and giftware collections. This year’s Winter Market offered an impressive array of hot new products.

CASOFrieling launched the CASO German Design VC300 Vacuum Food Sealer, which the company is positioning as the premium quality choice for fresh food storage and sous vide cooking. The system provides an airtight seal every time, and a double sealing bar with electronic temperature control ensures the seal’s durability. The vacuum pump offers both power and precision, and the unit offers a vacuum roll storage box that eliminates clutter and simplifies use, while a snap-out bag cutter makes it easy to customize bag size. The unit retails for $199.99.

PrintFrieling is also offering the CASO Air Fryer, a sleek countertop appliance that uses high volume hot air circulation technology to fry food with little or no added oil. The Air Fryer features digital touch controls with six presets for popular fresh and frozen comfort foods and a large LED display. Temperature is adjustable from 140 to 400 degrees F, and there’s a 60-minute timer with automatic shutoff. The removable parts are all dishwasher safe, and the stainless steel interior wipes clean. The unit retails for $199.95.
Capresso frotherCapresso showed off its froth MAX Automatic Milk Frother, which offers patented frothing technology that delivers maximum milk froth at the touch of a button. There are three temperature settings and a large capacity – 8 ounces for frothing or 12 ounces for heating without frothing. The machine comes with two frothing disks and one heating disk and retails for $59.99.

The Capresso 8-Cup Perk features durable stainless steel construction with a glass view-through lid. It can brew four to eight cups of coffee in less than a minute per cup and has an automatic keep-warm function. The drip-free pouring spout and detachable power cord simplify serving, and it’s countertop-friendly, with a heat-resistant base that’s safe for any surface. It retails for $59.99.
Kuhn Rikon_Easy Cut

The Kuhn Rikon Easy Cut operates with a pull mechanism that rotates the blades in the four-cup container to slice and grate cabbage, potato, carrots or cheese. This energy-efficient design is safe and incredibly fast, and the high-quality stainless steel blades on the cutting discs stay super sharp. The Easy Cut retails for $80.

The Kuhn Rikon Wine & Champagne Bottle Sealer is dependable enough to allow the wine bottle to be stored on its side. The sealer is made of stainless steel with an expandable silicone gasket that keeps flavor in and air out. It’s 1.5 inches in diameter and 3.25 inches high and retails for $10.

PeugeotPeugeot’s Tahiti Duo Mills are now available in a fresh new color palette inspired by the seasonal colors of nature. Each set features gracefully curved 6-inch pepper and salt mills made from beech wood in France. Each set includes one mill with its mechanism optimized for pepper and one for salt. These mechanisms are highly efficient and fully adjustable, offering a consistent high-output grind. At $65 per set, they come in Spring (green and yellow), Summer (blue hues), Autumn (two shades of orange) and Winter (chestnut browns with red undertones). See them along with the Peugeot Whisky Set and Peugeot’s Mahe Mill, which features Peugeot’s iconic spice-specific mechanism in a simple design that has no shaft, which allows more room inside for a greater quantity of peppercorns or sea salt.

RSVP Old BensonRSVP International, Inc. offers its Old Benson Bottle Butler. Available in chrome and brass finishes, this is a remake of a 1930s classic inspired by Rollin Kirby’s political cartoons of Senator Andrew Volstead, father of the Volstead Act that ushered in Prohibition. The RSVP Old Benson Bottle Butler is 6-1/2 inches tall and features a corkscrew and bottle opener that will provide a humorous focal point in gin joints, speakeasies, bars, kitchens and homes. Zinc alloy construction provides strength and resistance to corrosion, and it’s dishwasher safe. The Old Benson Bottle Butler retails for $16.95.

pils01Endurance® Pilsner Glass from RSVP is made of dishwasher-safe 18/8 stainless steel with satin exterior and mirror interior and has a 16-ounce capacity. It retails for $19.95. For further information about the RSVP products visit www.rsvp-intl.com or email Krista Jenkins at kristaj@rsvp-intl.com.

lodgesMenus and Music was at the Winter Las Vegas Market with “Dining at Great American Lodges,” a cookbook with recipes from legendary lodges, national parks lore and wilderness art along with a music CD that blends bluegrass, country, western swing and jazz inspired by traditional American songs. Perfect for those who like to dance around the kitchen while stirring the stew and enjoying a nip of the cooking wine, “Dining at Great American Lodges” comes gift-boxed. For more information, visit www.menusandmusic.

Abbiamo TuttoAbbiamo Tutto brought new patterns in its ceramic glasses and coaster set collections, which now include 11 patterns. The glasses are 6.75 inches tall, and the coasters also act as lids. They’re designed by Donna Marie Territo, founder of Abbiamo Tutto, and made in Italy.

Reversible Veggie PeelerWidgeteer’s Rotating Vegetable Peeler is a smart peeler that adapts to the user’s preferred method of peeling and converts from a vertical position to a horizontal position with a simple sliding motion. Its stainless steel swing blade provides quick and effortless peeling for any kind of vegetable, and a built-in extractor removes potato eyes with ease. Comfortable to use, it’s also dishwasher safe. It retails for $12.99. For more information, visit www.widgeteerinc.com.

catstudio towelcatstudio offers original designs featured on embroidered pillows, dish towels and drinking glasses. [Image: catstudio tumblers] The original Geography Collection by catstudio is comprised of all 50 states and an ever-expanding list of cities, international and favorite vacation destinations. The new, licensed Collegiate collection features a growing number of university campuses. In all, there are more than 200 designs.
The pillows retail for $158 to $228, the dish towels for $20 and the glasses for $14.75 to $16.25. You can find the company at www.catstudiosales.com.

The collections from B by Brandie include dinnerware and stainless steel flatware in designs that combine elegance with drama and the innovative Olivia Wine/Champagne Combo Glass pictured here. [Image: BbyBrandie] Each of the items exemplifies luxury presentation and a host who dares to stand out in a crowd. The five-piece flatware place settings retail for $84, the Olivia Wine/Champagne Combo Glass retails for $64 and prices vary for the dinnerware items. Visit wholesale@bbybrandie.com for further information.

DEMDACObyDesign Toasting Bottle Socks from DEMDACO protect and insulate wine bottles. They’re made with double knit construction and turn a bottle of wine into an inspired gift. They retail for $9. Also look for the Uncorked & Unwind wooden wine lanterns that elevate the wine gift bag by doubling as lighted home decor and wine gift packaging. See more at DEMDACO.com. [Image: Demdaco]

WellnessMats’ new Studio Collection challenges preconceptions about the “anti-fatigue mat” with striking scalloped and semi-circle shapes in stunning designs and a myriad of colors. WellnessMats are inherently antimicrobial, easy to clean and stain resistant, so Studio is ideal for the kitchen, especially for a smaller kitchen, but these mats will also work in any other room in the home. See them at www.wellnessmats.com.

Park DesignsFarmhouse Inspired Flour Sack Dishtowels from Park Designs are made of 100 percent cotton. These flour sack fabric dish towels feature designs that pair nicely with the trend for farmhouse-style living. There’s a Duck, Rooster, Pig and a Cow, each themed with the lyric from a nursery song. They each measure 19 inches by 28 inches and retail for $8. Visit www.parkdesigns.net.

Vestiges offers a kitchen towel collection featuring geographical designs created in collaboration with students from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. These 100 percent cotton pique towels are printed with environment-friendly inks for high quality products that can help you add local flavor to your product assortment. Get more information by emailing mary@vestigesinc.com.

The Bloom Apron, designed by Bonnie Christine, from Peking Handicraft Inc. is hand printed on 100 percent cotton and features dart detail on the front. It measures 28 inches by 32 inches and retails for $29. The Bloom Kitchen Towel, also designed by Bonnie Christine, carries out the cheerful spring floral theme and features crochet trim. The suggested retail price for the towel is $10. Email sales@pkhc.com.

Las Vegas Market Names Global Goodness Award Winners

Four exhibitors at the 2017 Winter Las Vegas Market – Anji Mountain, The Cottage Potters, Dunitz & Company and Quilling Card – are winners of its sixth Global Goodness Awards, recognizing furniture, home decor and gift companies for environmentally-friendly, sustainable and socially responsible activities. The 2017 Global Goodness Awards were presented at the Winter Market.

“Las Vegas Market is pleased to recognize companies whose production and business practices are making positive impacts not only on the industry, but also to communities around the world in the course of sourcing and manufacturing their products,” said Dorothy Belshaw, President of Gift Leasing and Chief Marketing Officer, International Market Centers. “As the leading furniture, home decor and gift destination in the western United States, Las Vegas Market is proud to support these corporate “good citizens” who are dedicated to are doing well by doing good.”

A panel of industry sustainability and social responsibility experts – Colvin English of ByHand Consulting, Susan Inglis of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and Carol MacNulty of Aid to Artisans – reviewed a record number of entries and selected one winner from each of the Market’s core industries: gift (Dunitz & Company), home décor (The Cottage Potters) and furniture (Anji Mountain). A fourth “People’s Choice” winner (Quilling Card), was determined by popular voting on the Las Vegas Market Facebook page.

Dunitz & Company, a two-time winner of the Global Goodness Award, is known for providing beautiful beaded and fused glass jewelry handcrafted by more than 100 women and men in Guatemala. Company founder Nancy Dunitz visited Guatemala for the first time in 1989, and dedicated herself to working with local artisans to develop designs that would appeal to the U.S. market. Dunitz & Company is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, a Gold Business Certified member of Green America and a founding member of Fair Trade Los Angeles.

Home décor winner, The Cottage Potters, produces and designs high-quality wheel-thrown clay fired with wood. Its Mexico-based workforce of designers, potters, and artisans who apply colors, are considered as individuals, and the company credo involves respecting their dignity, recognizing their merit and providing each with an opportunity to make a fair profit. The company also has responsibilities to the communities where we live and work, and has adopted a program to assist women in distress.

Furniture winner Anji Mountain’s mission is to innovate within the floor covering space by using genuinely sustainable and recycled materials. The company has partnered with Trees for the Future to plant one tree in a needy East of West African community for each rug that the company sells. This sense of duty and urgency to address the powerful man-made pressures on our fragile environment are creating a powerful positive impact for the people living in these vulnerable communities.

People’s Choice award winner Quilling Card is known for producing exquisite handmade greeting cards crafted by artisans in Vietnam using the centuries-old art of quilling, which involves rolling, coiling, shaping and gluing paper to create a unified, decorative design. Founded in 2012 and based in Framingham, Massachusetts, Quilling Card is certified by the Fair Trade Federation and currently employs more than 300 quillers in Vietnam, primarily women who are provided with safe working environments, sustainable wages approximately 20 to 25 percent above the national average, and health care.

The Global Goodness awards program supplements an ongoing partnership Las Vegas Market has with the Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC) to create One Good World, a guide to sustainable furniture and home décor products to help connect legitimate suppliers and retailers in this new era of sustainability and accountability. The effort includes a sustainable products locator program, showcasing relevant at-Market resources, expanded educational offerings addressing issues and opportunities connected with sustainability.

 

New England Trade Show Offers Locally Made Giftware, Foods and More

This fall’s New England Made Giftware & Specialty Food Show will take place at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, on Sunday, September 11 and Monday, September 12, 2016. Admission is complimentary for qualified buyers of wholesale giftware, specialty food or home furnishings.

The New England Made Giftware & Specialty Food Show features unique, locally-made goods from more than 100 businesses from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. This fall’s Show offers specialty gift and gourmet food retailers an entree into the wide world of artisanal merchandise produced in the region, including everything from quality jewelry to stationery to fine chocolate to maple syrup to leather goods to organic beauty products.

“Buyers and retailers who attend our show are looking for new, unique items for their customers. They have discerning, quality-focused clientele and they’re seeking the kinds of handmade, rare products that are not available at big box retailers or shopping malls,” said NEM Show Producer Stefa Normantas. “Our Show gives them an opportunity to fill their shops with wonderful locally-produced merchandise – just what their customers are asking for in an age where ‘buying local’ and Made In America is favored.”

“At New England Made, I really like that I don’t have to question what country the products are made in. I’m usually meeting the owner of the exhibiting company and get to hear the story and inspiration behind each product,” said Joyce Dossett, Owner of Templeton, Massachusetts, country store The Kitchen Garden and a repeat NEM attendee. “This is important to me and my customers.”

An online retailer preview book featuring more than a hundred pages of stories and products by New England companies is now available at
https://www.flipsnack.com/9E56F998B7A/new-england-made-buyer-preview-fall-2106.html.

Qualified buyers can register for the show at www.nemadeshows.com/.

French Bull Unveils Holiday Collection

French Bull has debuted its first holiday collection, a natural extension of the celebratory lifestyle brand’s LIVE VIVID® attitude. The collection FrenchBullcomes packaged with dangling ornaments and gift tags, ready for gifting. The festive mix includes a Cookie Platter for Santa, a four piece dessert plate set in the brand’s cheery Dotty Tree pattern, four neatly wrapped spreaders in a candy-cane pattern and a set of two nesting storage containers in a merry ornament-inspired pattern for treats and left overs.

Jackie Shapiro says, “My favorites are the candy cane spreaders because of the sparkling dangling ornament around the set of four. Since nobody remembers who brought the wine, I think our customers will make a lasting impression with whomever they celebrate the season, and they will make fantastic stocking stuffers.”