White x White was founded in 2010 by owner/designer Kristen White, who has owned a 10,000 sq. ft. retail store in Topeka, Kan., since 1987. Kristen has been traveling to Europe since l990 and her product designs are inspired by the homes, gardens and antique shops she sees on her antique hunting excursions. She launched a wholesale line at the winter gift show in Atlanta, and she will be exhibiting next month at the Dallas gift show.

In addition to being a product designer, Kristen is an artist and interior designer who saw the need for affordable home décor made of sustainable and natural materials such as willow, reclaimed wood, glass, iron and terracotta. The White x White mantra is “repurpose, reclaim, restyle.”

“We’ll offer buyers our entire line of home décor at the Dallas show, including furniture, lamps, baskets, statuary, lanterns, trays and mirrors, all with a hip vintage vibe”, said Kristen White, owner and designer, White x White.  “Our line was very well received at our first show in January and we’re excited to announce that White x White will have twice as many SKUs available to order at the summer markets.” 
 

The White x White space will feature a backdrop of brown kraft paper with aluminum grommets hung with heavy weight jute.  “Our booth in Atlanta was the talk of the temps.  We had so many positive comments about our booth including, not only the backdrop, but our cutting edge products as well.  Order response was tremendous,” White said.  
“I’ve been in retail for 24 years.  I know what other vendors offer, including their price points, and I have a good feel for what’s missing in the marketplace.  White x White is the start of some-thing huge and I’m so excited it’s finally off the ground”, said White.  “I’ve been a buyer at the Dallas Market Center for almost 25 years.  It’s a fantastic market and now I’m proud to be on the other side, as a vendor.”

Best in Show winners from the Chicago gift market

Exhibitors and showrooms were honored with Best Display Awards at the Chicago Market, which ran Jan. 20 to 26 at the Merchandise Mart. Winners were selected by an internal panel committee and were judged on innovation, design and creativity. The winners are:

BEST EXHIBIT DISPLAY AWARD WINNERS


Beckman's Handcrafted Show winners:

• 79 West Designs, www.79westdesigns.com. 79 West Design's line of "handmade essentials" includes holiday stockings, bottle cozies, seasonal home decor, and knit dog sweaters.
• Blue Barnhouse, www.bluebarnhouse.org. Blue Barnhouse offers handmade books, letterpress stationery, and publishing services.

Home winner

• Eastern Accents, www.easternaccents.com. Eastern Accents is a Chicago-based designer and wholesaler of luxury bedding and decorative home accessories.

Gourmet winner

• The French Farm, www.thefrenchfarm.com. The French Farm has searched the European continent to bring consumers the finest in wholesale imported gourmet foods.

Gift & Accessories winners

• Pose-ez, pose-ez.com. POSE-EZ flexible figures. Bend, flex, and pose these characters into any position you want! Their patent-pending design is totally unique.
• Aesthetic Movement, www.aestheticmovement.com. Aesthetic Movement provides award-winning design services with sales and marketing expertise.

What a Girl Wants winner

• Little Gorilla Designs, www.littlegorilladesign.com. Little Gorilla Designs carries a variety of personalized items for young ones. All items are hand-painted and personalized. Great gift items for any occasion, birthdays, baby gifts, holidays and more.

BEST SHOWROOM DISPLAY AWARD WINNERS

• K&K, www.kkgifts.com, showroom 13-207. K&K features top sellers in gifts, collectibles, home and garden decor.
• Designs Combined, Inc., www.shopdci.com, showroom 13-213. Designs Combined, Inc. is a wholesaler specializing in country gifts, floral and home decor.
• Patti White & Co, Inc., www.pattiwhiteco.com, showroom 1485. Patti White & Co, Inc. has been a leader in the Midwest wholesale gift industry since 1991. Patti White & Co, Inc. offers a diverse variety of product lines including: bath and body products, paper goods, home accessories, toys, apparel, books and trend items.
• White Ginger, www.whitegingerchicago.com, showroom 130416a. White Ginger is a multi-manufacturer’s rep group whose primary goal is to make lifestyle wholesale buying as exciting and as effortless as possible. Their objective is to partner with the finest luxury, eco-friendly, and specialty gift lines in the industry.

Luggage, aprons and manicure kits

Manicure kits in a ribbon design

Mommy & Me apron set

6-piece luggage set

Isabella’s Journey Brocade is a new six-piece luggage set from Manual Woodworkers and Weavers. (Last season's introduction was a zebra pattern.) The set consists of a traveler, a hanging jewelry/toiletry bag, cosmetics bags (in three sizes), a "Hipster" and a tote.
Other new items shown at the winter markets include manicure kits and mother-daughter apron sets.

Decorative white ceramic accessories

 Vellum is exhibiting its decorative ceramic accessories at the Atlanta gift show (in High Design) and at the New York gift show (Pier 94).

Fair trade handbags and totes

Mar Y Sol calls itself "a socially responsible resort accessories company that collaborates with artists in New York and artisans in Madagascar." The company designs and creates authentic accessories made by hand using natural materials sourced sustainably from Madagascar’s forests. The sale of the products enables families to gain economic independence and promotes environmental conservation. This is achieved through fair trade partnerships with artisans who make a living wage through Mar Y Sol's “trade not aid” business model.
The totes, clutches and zippered pouches are made of brightly colored raffia, jute and wild seagrass. Handles are made of wood.

The Avalon

The Guadaloupe

The Maybelle

The Panama

In Atlanta, see the bags at the Aesthetic Movement showroom (building one, 10th floor).

Two new accent tables from Foreside

Foreside Home and Garden is showing an accent table (above) and a console (below) at the winter markets in Atlanta and Dallas. The Sea Foam wooden table is 28.5 inches wide, 16.8 inches deep and 19 inches tall.

Also from Foreside's Coastal Collection is the Orleans half-round table, measuring 34.8 inches wide, 15.8 inches deep and 29.8 inches tall. Previously, Gift & Home Today featured the company's Portland cabinet.

Metal wall decor

The C. Jere Collection of contemporary wall art from Artisan House includes "It’s A Small World: Across the World" and "It’s A Small World: Unison." Across the world is patina on steel with brass- and copper-plated elements. Unison is made of ground steel with brass-plated flame-treated elements. Other items in the collection are titled Togetherness, Exhilaration and Foundation.

Suzy Toronto introduces a holiday line

At the winter 2011 gift markets, Midwest-CBK will launch the first Suzy Toronto Holiday collection. The new holiday line features a broad range of items, including personalizable and gift-boxed glass ornaments with humorous and uplifting text, gift-boxed Santa plate, banner, waterglobe, night shirt, travel thermos and mug. Prices range from $6 to $15.

To kick off the collection, Midwest-CBK is hosting an artist appearance and signing with Toronto during the Atlanta market on Friday, Jan. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Midwest-CBK showroom (Building One, Suite 16A7).

During the winter markets, Midwest-CBK will also introduce an expanded Suzy Toronto Collection of everyday gifts, including 85 exclusive designs. New gift items include gift boxed Celebration of Life birthday plates and banners; “Behind Every Successful Woman Is a Substantial Amount of Chocolate” night shirt with canvas bag, travel thermos and wood plaque; magnets; and wood hanging plaques.

The expanded Suzy Toronto Collection of everyday gifts also features continued best sellers such as Pink Ribbon breast cancer awareness items, mugs, coin purses, tile ornaments, night shirts, aprons and tea towels. Each item includes an uplifting, empowering or humorous message that speaks to women such as “A Wild Wacky Wonderful Woman Lives Here,” “Why Be a Queen When You Can Be a Goddess?” “Life Is All About How You Handle Plan B,” “Trust Your Crazy Ideas” and many more. Each item is also accompanied by a story or poem.

Bird-themed coat hooks

Bird wall hooks from The Manual Woodworkers & Weavers measure 4 inches by 10.5 inches. They are sold in a set of two. See the company in Atlanta (AmericasMart Building 2, West Wing, Suite 697) and at other wholesale markets this winter.

Wind chimes made of steel, aluminum

Spiral Waves (left) is a new product from Woodstock Chimes. It measures 32.5 inches long and 10 inches wide. It is made of antique-copper finished steel and black-finished ash wood. The chime is sold in a gift box.
The Meditation chime (above) is 39.25 inches long. It is made of silver-anodized luminum and cherry wood. The chime, which is sold in a gift box, is tuned to C, C#, Eb, F, G, Ab, B and C.
See the company at upcoming wholesale gift shows in Atlanta, Dallas and New York.

Humorous frames for all occasions

Prinz Ltd. has a new line of humor-themed photo frames called Be Happy. The grouping consists of 30 designs featuring popular themes and subjects for baby, tween, grandma, friendship, sports and hobbies. Each colored wood frame in the new collection includes a unique humorous expression, painted artwork and 4x6 photo opening. The 2011 series will begin shipping in mid-January.

Foreside returns with furniture, lighting, garden decor

Foreside Home & Garden's new Portland cabinet is from its Midnight Garden collection. Available in persimmon, the cabinet measures 30.5 inches, 19.8 inches deep and 28.3 inches high. Foreside also offers lighting and garden decor.

In January 2011, after several years of creating private label pieces, Foreside will re-launch its wholesale offerings as a division of Transpac Imports Inc.

Throw pillows with pig, beetle designs

Peking Handicraft's Pig Portrait Hook Pillow measures 18 inches by 18 inches. See it at wholesale gift shows in Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas and New York.

The Red/Green Beetle hook pillow is made of 100% wool and cotton. It measures 18 inches square.

Peking Handicraft is an international manufacturer and wholesaler specializing in home textiles, decorative accessories and giftware. The company offers a variety of looks, from contemporary to country to cottage. The company features licensed products by more than 30 of the top designers.

Candles and room sprays

New candle fragrances from Lakeshore Candle Co. include Cranberry Clementine, Vanilla Lime, Spiced Granola, and Pomegranate. A CandlePot Votive has a 25-hour burn time. An 18-ounce Click Clack Tin burns for 90 hours.
New room sprays complement the candle. Available in a 2.5-ounce aluminum spray bottle, scents include Lavender Eucalyptus, Lemongrass, Cucumber Apple, Sweet Bay Magnolia, Morning Rain, and Lilac. The company exhibits at gift markets in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus (OH), Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Philadelphia.

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Retailers: Contact the manufacturer for prices and minimums.

Shoppers: Ask your favorite independent retailer to order this item for you.

New furniture, accessories in transitional styles

The Santro aluminum vases are exclusive to IMAX, which has introduced a range of accessories and furniture for the summer. The vases reflect light as if it were ripples in the water. The design works in contemporary or transitional displays.

Mirabella Velvet Chaise Lounge

Manning Chair

Honeybee Trend pillows with British interior styling are reminiscent

of men's haberdashery with houndstooth, herringbone and pinstripe fabrics.

Chappin Glass Honeycomb Vases

Lightbulb tealight holders are caricatures of a lightbulb. Candle flames flicker in the holder by IMAX exclusive designer Melissa Vasquez.

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Retailers: Contact the manufacturer for prices and minimums.

Shoppers: Ask your favorite independent retailer to order this item for you.

Home decor for Easter, spring and summer

Midwest-CBK has introduced nine new Easter, spring and summer seasonal and gift collections featuring more than 225 new items, designed exclusively for the company. The company’s nine all-new spring and summer collections include:

• Spring Elegance, for Easter, spring and summer entertaining. A soft, fresh color palette of green, blue, cream and white highlights motifs of bunnies, birds, flowers and eggs. Product segments include bunny figures and table top accessories; silhouette plates, mugs, vases, egg cups and accessories; fabric pillows, table runners, ornaments and tea towels; butterfly clips; Easter eggs, canvas wall décor and a coordinate collection of floral organics.
• Natural Spring, featuring elegant bird figures and ornaments, ceramic birdhouses, ceramic planter and vases, glass vases and ornaments and terra cotta pins and necklaces. Colors featured include soft greens, blues, yellow and beige.
• Hippity Hop, a whimsical collection of Easter bunnies, chicks and eggs with an updated vintage twist. With a pastel color palette of pink, lime green, yellow, lavender and cream, Hippity Hop includes bunny and egg figures and ornaments; ceramic serving pieces including platter with server, salt and pepper shakers, dip and spreader sets, candy pails and egg cups; fabric tea towel, hot pad holder, table runner and pillow; bunny print canvas wall art; text block sets; and felt and sequin ornaments and wall décor. Hippity Hop items are designed to make excellent, inexpensive yet high value hostess gifts.

Other collections are named Springtime Cozies (below), Simply Easter, Wonderlights, Lights in the Night, Daisy Do and Summer Celebration.

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Retailers: Contact the manufacturer for prices and minimums.

Shoppers: Ask your favorite independent retailer to order this item for you.

Inspirational angels

Rivendell Gifts has launched Angel Wing Wishes, a figurine collection designed by Julie Kay of La Porte, Indiana. Cast in solid steel, the angels are packaged with “an experience” called a Moment of Meditation, enhanced with Flying Wish Paper. The experience is then set on fire so it soars to the heavens, the company says.

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Retailers: Contact the manufacturer for prices and minimums.

Shoppers: Ask your favorite independent retailer to order this item for you.