New contest from Midwest-CBK, Colonial Candles

TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH MIDWEST-CBK AND COLONIAL CANDLE’S “PASSPORT TO SUCCESS” CONTEST AND EVENTS 

press release

Pack your suitcase and prepare to travel the world! Midwest-CBK and Colonial Candle invite retailers to enter its first “Passport to Success” sweepstakes and events during winter 2012 markets. Two winners will be chosen to receive their choice of a trip to romantic Paris, France, or a relaxing tropical getaway to Nassau, Bahamas.

To enter, retailers simply visit any Midwest-CBK and Colonial Candle showroom during winter markets, request a passport from a company representative, and visit designated destination themes throughout the showroom to have their passport stamped. No purchase is necessary to enter or to win.

Retailers can enter the “Passport to Success” sweepstakes in any Midwest-CBK showroom during the winter market show time periods. Midwest-CBK showrooms are located in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, and Seattle. In addition, retailers are invited to join Midwest-CBK and Colonial Candle to celebrate and enjoy food, cocktails, music and entertainment inspired by Paris and the Caribbean during upcoming winter markets including:

• Atlanta, Building One, Suite 16A7: Friday, Jan. 13 and Saturday, Jan. 14 from 4 to 8 p.m.
• Seattle, Suite 133 & 134: Friday, Jan. 13 from 3 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 27 from 3 to 7 p.m.
•  Dallas, Suite 407 & 409: Friday, Jan. 20 from 3 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 21 from 3 to 6 p.m.
•  Chicago, Suite 13-155 & 13-152: Saturday, Jan. 21 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Las Vegas, Building C, Suite 999: Monday, Jan. 30 from 2 to 5 p.m.

Each prize includes round-trip air transportation for winner and one guest to their choice of Paris, France or Nassau, Bahamas, plus four nights double occupancy hotel accommodation and transfers for an approximate retail value of $5,000 for each prize package. Two prize winners will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received during the winter markets. The drawing will be conducted and winners will be notified and announced in mid-February.

For more information or to view contest rules, visit www.mwcbk.com/t-passporttosuccess.aspx or call 800-394-4225.

About Midwest-CBK
Midwest-CBK, a national design leader in holiday, gifts for home, garden and giving, is proud to bring independent retailers more Design, Style and Sparkle than ever before, through exclusive designs and best-selling formats. New introductions feature excellent prices and terms designed to boost your margins; an experienced, dedicated sales team to assist you at the store level; award-winning display ideas; a drop ship program to provide incremental décor sales; website providing 24/7 access to account history and online ordering.

Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Midwest-CBK parent company MVP Group International designs, manufactures and markets an extensive line of holiday, seasonal and everyday gifts and decor, and candles and home fragrance products under the Colonial Candle® brand.

Please call 800-394-4225, visit www.mwcbk.com or contact your local Midwest-CBK account manager for more information, to request a catalog or to locate a showroom near you.

Vendor offers a round-the-world trip for retailers, reps

GuildMaster, a wholesale of furniture and decorative accessories, www.guildmaster.comannounced a new "Amazing Race" promotion for retailers and sales reps. The trip includes stops in nine of the topglobal fashion capitals or $10,000 in cash.

For each $1,000 in product purchased by a retailer or sold by a sales representative, one entry is earned so that the chance to win increaseswith the value of the orders.

The contest ends on Friday, Nov. 19 when fivefinalists in each group will be pulled from the entries. The following week onBlack Friday, Nov. 25, one winner in each group will be drawn from the fivefinalists and GuildMaster CEO Steve Crowder will personally deliver the news tothe winning retailer and sales representative.

Each of the winners will receiveeither two tickets for a dream trip around the world or $10,000.The Top 25Global Fashion Capitals according to the Global Language Monitor are in thisorder:
London, New York,Paris, Milano, Los Angeles,Hong Kong, Barcelona, Singapore,Tokyo, Berlin, Sydney, Madrid, Rome, Shanghai, Monaco, Las Vegas,Melbourne, Moscow,Amsterdam, Buenos Aires,Bali, MexicoCity, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai and Sao Paulo.

To identify the favorite cities, GuildMaster’s Facebook fans (www.facebook.com/guildmasterfurniture)are asked to Tell Us Your Dream City bytelling why and by posting photos of the cities on the company’s Facebookpage.

During the course of the contest, GuildMaster will highlight the topglobal fashion capitals, along with ongoing posts revealing the top dealers andreps. The winning destinations willbe based on the response from GuildMaster’s Facebook fans.

Two good chairs from Las Vegas

Two chairs were named winners in the third annual “One Good Chair” competition, sponsored by World Market Center Las Vegas and the Sustainable Furnishings Council. An awards ceremony was held Jan. 26 at World Market Center.

Eric Tong and his Zpine chair

Eric Tong’s Zpine chair received the grand prize and Juan Mercado’s RE_Flex chair won in the People’s Choice category.

The grand prize winner, Tong, from London, England, created his chair using a honeycomb core (also known as “cellular structure”). The piece converts seamlessly between a chair and a chaise, collapsing with ease. Tong said he chose honeycomb for its magnificent strength-to-weight ratio and because it’s inexpensive, sustainable and biodegradable. He received a $4,500 cash prize that he says he will apply towards the manufacturing and marketing of the chair.

Juan Mercado and his RE_FLEX chair

Juan Mercado of Jackson, Mich.,  created his chair from a standard 4-by-8-inch wood sheet. The chair can be used as a sleek modern desk chair or a comfortable reading/rocking chair, depending on the owner’s mood. Its design is simple yet sophisticated, and requires minimal packaging and space for shipping.

The goals of the competition revolved around minimizing material, production, shipping and assembly while maximizing comfort, utility, durability and beauty. Sustainable Furnishings Council members, including The Phillips Collection and Handy Living, created prototypes of some of the finalists’ designs. More than 360 participants submitted entries in the competition, representing both professional and amateur designers. Five finalists mastered the seeming paradoxical challenge of celebrating abundance while doing more with less.

The final jury included television host, writer and producer Sarah Backhouse of “Planet 100” on the Discovery Network’s Planet Green, Shashi Caan of Shashi Caan Collective, Kira Gould, director of communications with William McDonough + Partners and Zem Joaquin, founder and CEO of ecofabulous, the online source for the “well-lived eco-life.” The jury selected the grand prize, or “Judges’ Choice” winner, while the public voted for People’s Choice.

Other finalists for the competition include the following:

• Helena Bueno, Brazil, Broom Chair: This simple yet whimsical chair is made from nine sticks of birch wood that fit easily into a bright plastic seat. It’s playful, yet remarkably efficient to mount and collapse—all of the sticks can be removed and requires no glue, nails, screws or metal components.
• Tom Fereday, Australia, Allt Chair: This linear-framed chair is reminiscent of classic handcrafted Danish furniture, with a mesh and fastening system that are 100 percent contemporary. Made from recyclable birch plywood and stainless steel components, the chair uses non-permanent fasteners and can easily be disassembled, reducing its environmental footprint on a number of levels, from beginning to end.
• Klaus Peter Berkemeyer, Germany, ELXE: Elegance meets functionality in the ELXE. The backrest and seat are made of two molded wooden shelves, which merge with two wooden legs that also form the armrests. With two light front legs of stainless steel, ELXE can be dismantled into just four components for easy moving or storage.

Vote in Homeworkshop.com's Imageglow Design Challenge

Homeworkshop.com invited its readers to submit original designs that could be used on a candle, made by Imageglow. It received 350+ entries from all over the world in its
"Imageglow Design Challenge."
A panel of judges (including me) narrowed the field to three. The winner receives a case of candles and royalties. That's a really good prize. Take a look at the finalists, then cast your vote. Voting ends Sunday, March 28.

GuildMaster visual display contest opens

Retailers can begin uploading photos of their store displays today to the GuildMaster on Tour Facebook page The contest is intended to recognize the most outstanding retail displays across the U.S. and to support the favorite charities of the winning dealers.
Ten retailers from across the country will be named as winners based on voting by fans March 15 through 28. The awards for each winning display include a $1,000 donation made to the retailer’s favorite charity, 500 trees planted in their honor, and $1,000 in GuildMaster bucks for additional product.
GuildMaster will donate $10,000 to charity and plant 5,000 mahogany trees. As part of its ongoing commitment to reforestation, the company has planted thousands of trees in Indonesia in a one-for-one replacement for each tree that’s used.
1.At least 250 square feet need to be allocated to the display that is exclusively comprised of GuildMaster product in the following categories: accent furniture, accessories, wall decor, lighting and mirrors. Non-GuildMaster product such as upholstery, bedding, flowers, dinnerware, jewelry or rugs may also be included.
2. Only one entry per company may be posted.
3. Participants must submit a 5" x 7", 300 dpi photo, along with the name of the display and maximum 150-word description of why the display works, what they were trying to accomplish and the inspiration for the display, along with the name of their charity. (Videos to further support the entry may also be posted on the GuildMaster Facebook wall.)
4. There is no limit to the number of times GuildMaster on Tour fans can vote.
5. Promotion of the contest to employees, customers, local media and the community is highly encouraged.
6. Winning retail store displays must remain in place through April 15.

Serta, NHFA sponsor American Idol contest

from a press release

Serta® and the NHFA Sending Four Lucky Fans to the American Idol® 2010 Finale Live in Hollywood

The National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA) and Serta, its exclusive mattress partner, have launched a sweepstakes to send four lucky American Idol fans to the 2010 American Idol finale show taped live in Hollywood this May. NHFA and Serta will award four grand prizes each including two round-trip flights to Los Angeles, two tickets to the American Idol finale scheduled to take place on May 20, 2010, in Hollywood, hotel accommodations and transportation plus an American Idol “Gift Bag” that includes various American Idol branded gifts. 

Hoffman Estates, IL (Vocus) January 28, 2010 -- The National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA) and Serta (www.serta.com), its exclusive mattress partner, have launched a sweepstakes (www.sertasweeps.com) to send four lucky American Idol fans to the 2010 American Idol finale show taped live in Hollywood this May. NHFA and Serta will award four grand prizes each including two round-trip flights to Los Angeles, two tickets to the American Idol finale scheduled to take place on May 20, 2010, in Hollywood, hotel accommodations and transportation plus an American Idol “Gift Bag” that includes various American Idol branded gifts.

In addition, the NHFA and Serta will award 25 first prizes (a Nintendo® Wii game bundle), 100 second prizes (the American Idol® Gift Bag) and 500 third prizes (an American Idol® Quiz Game)

Fans can enter the sweepstakes (www.sertasweeps.com) by taking the “Serta Test Rest” in a bedding gallery at a participating retail location through April 25th, 2010 (to locate a participating retail location please visit www.homefurnishings.com). No purchase is necessary. Upon taking the Test Rest, consumers will receive an Official “Serta Test Rest” Entry Form that will be provided by a retail Sales Associate that includes a unique Test Rest Code and instructions on how to enter the Sweepstakes.

Terms and Conditions
No purchase necessary to enter or win. The Serta® American Idol® Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 years and older at the time of entry. Void in Puerto Rico, U.S. territories and possessions, outside of the U.S., and where prohibited by law. Begins at 12:01am ET on 1/1/10 and ends at 11:59 pm ET on 4/25/10. For complete Official Rules visit www.SertaSweeps.com. Prize photos are for reference only and do not necessarily reflect actual prizes to be awarded. American Idol® 19 TV Ltd and FremantleMedia North America, Inc. © 2009 Serta, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


About National Home Furnishings Association
National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA) is the nation's largest non-profit organization devoted specifically to the needs and interests of home furnishings retailers. NHFA's membership comprises 2500 business entities representing over 9,000 stores in all 50 states and several foreign countries. NHFA's mission and vision encompass the association's commitment to helping home furnishings retailers operate highly profitable businesses that provide an exceptional level of service to the consumers who buy their furniture. The mission of National Home Furnishings Association is to provide its members with the information, education, products and services they need to remain successful. NHFA's vision is to excel as the definitive resource for information and leadership for home furnishings retailers.


About Serta
Serta is a bedding brand leader and the manufacturer of the best selling premium mattress in America, The Serta Perfect Sleeper®, the upscale Perfect Day® collection and the elegant Vera Wang by Serta® Collection. For more information, visit, www.serta.com . As the leading provider of mattresses to the hospitality industry, Serta partners with hotel groups such as Hilton Hotels, Marriott, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Bellagio Hotel, Wyndham Hotels, Omni Hotels, Choice Hotels, Accor Hotels and many more. Serta has 23 U.S. and four Canadian manufacturing plants. In addition, Serta is distributed internationally in 60 other countries. With its worldwide network, Serta is able to respond quickly to customers’ needs while still preserving strict control standards to ensure the highest quality products.


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