this week in home decor: February 15, 2008
Hello. This week in home décor:
Housewares made of biodegradable plastic debut
at New York gift show
My dentist tells me sugar isn't good for my teeth. But last week at the New York gift show, I learned sugar is good for my toothbrush holder.
Allow me to explain: There is a new biodegradable plastic, called EcoGen, that is created when bacteria are fed sugar from corn starch. Design Ideas has created a line of bath accessories, including a soap dish, a tumbler and yes, a toothbrush holder. Design Ideas president Andy Van Meter says the items will break down in 12 to 18 months when composted.
There are no limits to the colors that can be used (the items come in green, blue, white and black), but clear cannot be made. The Container Store has first crack at them. A company executive at the retailer told me the items will be available in Chicago-area and Manhattan stores first, beginning in late March, and retail from $7 to $30.
Design Ideas will launch a second line of EcoGen products at the Housewares Show in Chicago next month. If all goes well, a third line will be out by the end of the year.
A retailer to know
Gumption Gifts is a retail store in Chicago staffed by workers from CARC, a non-profit organization in Chicago that provides programs for disabled individuals.
Chris Dillehay, the store's creative director, says his motto is "use, use and reuse." With an annual budget of $600 for in-store displays, Dillehay and his volunteer decorators frequently Dumpster dive and use recycled materials to revamp displays, which are changed about six times a year. Even the store's chandeliers were found in the trash.
Gumption Gifts, which opened in November 2006, also benefits from samples donated by showrooms in Chicago's Merchandise Mart. About 7% of the store's sales come from these donated goods. The boutique sells a variety of home textiles made by people with disabilities.
Special events include sidewalk sales and parties, the most successful of which was a Halloween party that included a costume contest. "Our total investment in the party was only $80," says Ian McNeil, CARC's director of business development, "but it resulted in a ton of sales."
McNeil and store manager Brandon Rockhold talked about Gumption Gifts at a Merchandise Mart-sponsored seminar last week, which associate editor Ashley Trent attended. Rockhold said the store creates meaningful jobs for the disabled, showcases their talent and helps them enter the general workforce. One of Gumption Gift's first employees, Marlon Vantrease, now works 40 hours a week at Target where he was recently employee of the month.
A product we like
The 52-inch by 32-inch Tree of Life wall hanging ($24 wholesale) is handmade in West Rajasthan, India, from locally grown, unbleached and undyed cotton. The design (available in black, green and red) is appliquéd by hand on a cloth base as a single patch. It is available from Handmade Expressions. We featured this tapestry in the February Home Décor Buyer—See "Home accents with soul" by Megy Karydes, owner of the fair-trade website World-Shoppe.com. See other fair-trade items at Find It! (keyword: fair trade).
Catching up with Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour—actress, artist, author and now accessories designer. In an online seminar on Tuesday, she talked about home decorating. Seymour said she prefers to use an overall neutral palette in a room, then introduce color through the use of decorative accessories. She encourages homeowners to look to their life stories as the basis for their decorating. Take collectibles out of the curio cabinet and integrate them into creative displays, she says.
Seymour has a line of lamps and accessories licensed to Vintage Verandah and a line of soft goods from Thro. The seminar was presented by Find It!® and Vintage Verandah.
Know your housewares history
From the L.A. Times this week: "There's not a whit of unnecessary decoration," he says. "It's made inexpensively but responsibly, so it won't prematurely break or wear out. Viewed at a distance, it is an extremely elegant object." The speaker, design historian Bill Stern, is talking about the sugar shaker, designed in 1955 by Henry Keck and Bernie Craig. "Shaker's sweet success" tells the whole story. (Photo by Karen Tapia-Andersen, Los Angeles Times)
Power failure
One evening, my wife and I returned home to find that our dog decided that the toaster oven was a chew toy. Maggie had pulled it off the countertop and had her way with it. The oven was toast, so it was off to Target to buy a new one. The lovely Euro-Pro brand looked promising until I saw the "poewr" indicator (see photo) on the display model. I recalled the old Zenith slogan, "The quality goes in before the name goes on." So I took a pass on the Euro-Pro (made in China, despite the name) and bought another brand instead, which we store out of the dog's reach when we're not home.
Home décor people
At Royal Doulton USA, Dennis Marton was promoted to senior vp of sales and marketing, Chris Wilkey was promoted to vp of sales, and Joe Schmidt was promoted to e-commerce and media director. Karen Kirk, who is the bridal and field merchandising manager, added the duties of spokesperson.
Birthday greetings to: Russell & Mackenna's lovely Lisa McConkey (Feb. 18); Magenta's marvelous Monica Porter (Feb. 20), rockin' rep Michael Straaton (Feb. 20), Minnesota retailer Pam Williams (Feb. 21) and surfer/designer/retailer Cabana Joe O'Brien (Feb. 22).
Companies
Honolulu-based furniture retailer C.S. Wo & Sons has been inducted into the ARTS Hall of Fame by the Accessories Resource Team.
Sterling Industries said it recorded a triple-digit sales increase over previous shows at the Dallas Market Center in January and that 40% of all orders placed were from new customers.
Roma Moulding has a new, interactive website intended to help bridge the gap between its retailers and their customers.
Paragon launched a new website to better serve its wholesale account base. It was designed by Whereoware.
Oddball websites
The weather in Chicago this month has been so cold and snowy that we don't dare venture out, except to shovel or scrape ice off our cars. So with nothing else to do, my co-workers have had plenty of time to mine the Internet's weirdness, to wit:
Hambone and porky chop pillows
Sausage-inspired area rugs
Pimped-out powder room
Datebook
The Rosen Group's Buyers Market of American Craft starts today in Philadelphia and runs to Feb. 18. The American Craft Show (Feb. 22 to 24) will feature demonstrations of artists using glass, clay, textiles and other materials on the show floor at the Baltimore Convention Center. Learn how to dye yarn with Kool-Aid.
See other markets (and download a calendar) at Datebook.
That's it for this week.
Buy-Buy.
Jim Carper
Editor
Home Décor Buyer