This Little Piggy Went To Atlanta
I think what I buy at gift markets differentiates my store from big boxes, wholesale clubs, nurseries, department stores and other specialty retailers in my area. My store looks different than those because each table is set with anything from centerpieces, plates, glassware, napkins, to serving ware. So, when customers come into the store, they aren’t faced with a sea of undistinguished sets of furniture. Instead, they see individual sets looking just as they had imagined for their outdoor rooms. It makes selling furniture easier AND we also sell the accessories to complete the dream. Larger tickets? It’s a win-win situation.
Shopping gift markets is much harder than shopping the casual furniture show. There are way more showrooms and temp spaces, but way less product for outdoor furniture shops. That means I have to shop every space just in case they have one outdoor product I can use. Lots of walking for very few products. But, the products I find can create a look that makes my store special to a consumer.
I just got back from the Atlanta gift market and just in case you didn’t make it or you missed a product, here are some of the products I bought.
onehundred80degrees: “not paper” paper plates. These
melamine plates have the nostalgic look of “Dixie” paper plates. The line includes a
serving platter, dinner plates, desert plates, and bowls. Cute as a button.
onehundred80degrees "not paper" paper plate
They also had hard clear plastic “go cups.” For those of you not from New Orleans, a "go cup" is a disposable plastic cup you have to put your drink in when you leave a bar. Having a drink on the streets here is legal, you know. (When you go to their site, you will have to contact the company to get a password to get beyond the home page. They make that simple and fast)
onehundred80degrees Clear Reusable Go Cup
Infinity Instruments: outdoor clocks with style and presence. Sure, they have 12” outdoor clocks; but, they also have 36” diameter clocks. Even the most near sighted guest will be able to see these.
Infinity Instruments Small Slate Outdoor Clock
Hen Feathers: outdoor clocks that look like they are made of bronze, copper, or aged iron but are acutally a man-made poured product invulnerable to the elements. Designs run from the whimsical like the Lily Pad Clock to the sublime. (Hen Feathers is now licensed to Giftwares Co., Inc. which doesn't show Hen Feathers on their site; however, they do have their contact info on the site. Call them.)
Hen Feathers 12" Lily Pad Clock
Slant: Insulated plastic cups made to look like the something you would get from a fast food company including a lid and straw. I found a product like this at the Chicago furniture market from Merritt, too. Slant offers many more designs and larger sizes. Drink up!
Slant Insulated Plastic Glass with Lid and Straw
Beatriz Ball: It may be premature for me to mention this
product because they limit their distribution and I have not gotten final approval
to carry the line. But, you know me, nothing as insignificant as lacking
approval to carry the product is going to stop me from talking about it. This
is a line of high quality Mexican make polished aluminum serving pieces. The
best thing about the line is that it includes large scale pieces, ideal for
outdoor entertaining. It has a high buy in, protected distribution, and long
delivery times. Oh well, every silver lining has a storm cloud.
Beatriz Ball Vento Ice Bucket
Regal Art: Just in case you haven’t heard, the Saints won the 2010 Super Bowl. Before the game, a sports announcer said on air that they had about as much chance of winning
as pigs flying. Regal Art has flying pigs. Guess how many I sold after we won? A lot! But they also sell other cute creatures for the garden. You know, kitsch sells; sometimes better than other things.
Regal Art Frog Family
Deco Breeze: It gets hot down here during the summer, duh! We are always on the lookout for stylish outdoor fans. Deco Breeze fits that bill. They have a line of fans U/L approved for outdoor use. They also have fans more suited for use in covered outdoor areas. Check out their universal snap-on misting system.
Deco Breeze Outdoor Fan
The Marshall Group: I originally went to this space to shop for standing hurricane and table top lamps. I liked them and ordered some. As the sales rep was writing up the order, I stumbled across a fireplace screen they had stuffed in a under a table. It was so good that I couldn’t pass up. You just never know what you are going to find or where. (They don’t show their complete line on their web site. Contact them for a catalog.)
Marshall Group Hearth Screen
The only thing left to say is that the Atlanta market is one of the most confusing I have ever shopped. I don’t know who designed the West addition for building 2; but, they neglected to include direct connections from some of the new floors in West to the same floor in the older part of the building. On the other hand, The Atlanta Market makes it very cheap for outdoor specialty shoppers to attend because they give you free hotel stays for two nights Take the good with the bad.
Yours in confused retailing, Bruce
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Ahmad commented:
Do I have Indian Meal Moths in my bdroeom? Long but help please )?I live in quite an old house and in two of the three bdroeom there are about a half a foot wide crevices with iron grates which have chimneys above them, they arent used but still lead up to the roof. I can hear birds cooing through them and in the winter the wind whistles down them.At the bottom we get grain, dried up bread and seed fall down often from where birds have dropped it down the chimneys. They are sealed off' with some padding but its just pushed up there as far as it will go and we still get stuff fall through.My question is, long sorry! That we are plagued with moths in all three upstairs bdroeoms, although the one without the chimneys has far less. I have used the pheramone traps and over a period of a couple of weeks we have about 120 moths between the traps and thats without the ones I kill.There is an area of our carpet that looks as if it may have been eaten so I had assumed they were fabric moths and being a knitter I have a stash of wool shich is all wrapped in ziplock bags because I'm terrified it will get eaten, it is a BIG stash!Having looked on the net though I am sure these are Indian Meal moths by the pictures, but they usually live in kitchens? Could it be they are in the chimneys because of the dried bird food we get down them? Occasionally they fly downstairs but I have never seen any in the kitchen so they arent coming from there.I can't do anything about the chimneys only regularly hoover to get rid of all the dried food we get come down, and we have had these for a couple of years now. The traps are catching them but we still get them again the next year.If they are Indian Meal Moths will they eat wool / cotton or just food stuffs?TIA
Cathy commented:
Do you have more great artilces like this one?
Cinde W. Ingram commented:
This is great advice from an experienced retailer. Those casual furniture stores that don't sell the accessories they display are leaving money on the table. It's not too late to reconsider the value of add-on sales. Thanks, Bruce, for sharing your Atlanta Market "finds."
