Recordable photo albums are ideal gifts

Prinz introduced more album styles to its Recordables collection. The company introduced the new albums at the winter markets and they are available for shipping March 30. New titles include Live Love Laugh, Grandchildren, Mom, Family and Holiday. Easy-to-understand instructions are included.

Consumers can record and save a personal, 10-second greeting. Inside pages of the 40-photo capacity albums feature coordinating interior designs and include a memo-write area. Three AG10 button cell batteries are included. For merchandising ease, a six-piece album counter display is included with each retailer order.

Colorful dinnerware collections from Rosanna

Les Fleurs En Rouge

Les Fleurs En Rouge is a new collection from Rosanna Inc. It features refined botanical prints in a vibrant combination of red and green, making it a fresh approach toholiday entertaining. The company states the "botanicals’ contemporary look makes it easy to grace spring and summer tablescapes as well." The collection is comprised of baroque mugs, dipping dishes, appetizer plates, a rectangular tray, a French pitcher, and a teapot. Each item is made of porcelain and comes in Rosanna’s signature decorated gift box.

A new decoupage collections of moderately priced gifts includes round, square and rectangular trays made of pressed glass. The felt back makes them suitable for jewelry, makeup or soaps.

The Chocolaterie collection

The Chocolaterie collection is comprised of porcelain mugs, dessert plates, a pitcher, and a two-tiered tray with antique label prints of famous European chocolate makers.

Search "Rosanna" in this blog to see the company's winter 2011 collection.

Stacking wood votive set for holiday gift giving

Teroforma has partnered with Rhode Island independent designer Ayako Takase to offer a whimsical way to sleekly store numerous small votive holders. Inspired by the traditional Japanese children’s game daruma otoshi (whose rounded pieces stack on an accompanying mallet), they conceived a system of pierced votives to store totemlike on the internally embedded handle of a complementary snuffer.  

The Avva style (top photo) consists of 3 flare-in votives and 2 flare-out. It is 9 3/4” tall stacked. The Ekke style (above) is cylindrical in shape and also measures 9 3/4” tall when stacked. The company is exhibiting at the New York International Gift Fair this month.

Dishes and serveware for the winter holidays

Rosanna Bowles, the so-called Diva of Dishes, is showing her fall/winter collection from Rosanna Inc. at the New York gift show this month. Also, her lifestyle book, "Coming Home: A Seasonal Guide to Creating Family Traditions" following a successful printing, is available for download as an e-book.

The Happy Christmas Collection (above) features prints inspired by vintage wrappings from Rosanna’s grandmother. The collection is comprised of mugs, large and small trays, dessert plates, a two-tiered tray, and a canvas tote.

The 12 Days of Christmas returns to the collection. The set of 12 square scalloped plates are made of refined porcelain and come in a decorated gift box.

New candle fragrances for the holidays

Six new Colonial Candle fall and holiday fragrances are designed to inspire holiday memories and create year-round favorites with distinctive and exotic scents. Exclusive new fragrances include Crimson Festival, Falling Leaves, Moroccan Market, Fig Torte, Sparkling Pomegranate and Illusion. Colonial's new fall and holiday fragrances are available in 8 and 22 ounce classic oval containers; 10, 15 and 23 ounce Traditions containers; 4 and 12.5 ounce flared square containers; as well as textured and smooth pillars, tealights, trialights and votives.

Colonial Candle's new Zinnia Garden candle collection features a vibrant and fashionable assortment of candles including 10-ounce round filled glass container candles with four assorted floral designs, floating flower-shaped blooms in pink and orange, flower tealights, a vanilla Bath-lite gift set, tea lights and votive holders. Varieties include Fresh Aloe, Southern Magnolia, Rosewood and Apricot Mint.

A 2-story black cat for Halloween

Hammacher Schlemmer's two-story inflatable black cat is nearly 21 feet tall. The cat’s underbelly is 9 feet above ground at the highest point. That's high enough to allow trick-or-treaters to walk underneath. Each paw is the size of an armchair. The cat’s head automatically sways side-to-side and it has illuminated, piercing red eyes, a fanged grin and 9¾-inch-long claws.

The inflatable cat is said to be easy to set up. The owner plugs in the integrated fan and the cat inflates in four minutes. The novelty folds to less than two square feet for convenient storage. See the Hammacher Schlemmer website for more information.

Candle warmers and fragrances for the holidays

Candle Warmers Etc. has introduced several new festive candle warmer designs that are said to help protect against holiday candle fires. The products promote the use of flameless candles in the home, while providing the appearance and fragrance of a regular lit candle. “Fall Leaves” is a ceramic pitcher in a gold-tone leaf motif. "Santa” has a merry smile.

New cheerful Plug-in Fragrance Warmer designs make decorating every room an especially safe and easy option for hosts this holiday season. The new “Jack-o-lantern” and “Snowman” Plug-in Fragrance Warmers use scented oils and wax melts.

The company suggests pairing its fragrance warmers with its Jamie Clair Wax Melts in new holiday fragrances: Pumpkin Spice, Peppermint, Evergreen, and Chocolate Mint. New Jamie Clair Home Fragrance Oils include Vanilla Crème Brulee.

Illumination Fragrance Warmers use a soft light to create the ambiance of a burning candle. The company’s candle warming lamps and lanterns use a patented top-down design to warm a wicked or wickless candle. Four hand-painted fall and winter lamp shade designs are also available this holiday season for the company’s popular Aurora Candle Warmer Lamp.

Happy 4th of July

Here is a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson's handwriting. See more at the Library of Congress.

Area rugs for Halloween and winter

Peking Handicraft Inc. will debut a variety of new rugs at markets in Dallas, Atlanta, New York and elsewhere. The latest introductions include seven hook rugs, both Halloween and winter season-inspired, designed by the company’s newest licensee, Scott Church.

Six of the seven pieces created by Church are winter-holiday inspired and feature animals both familiar and foreign to holiday décor. These colorful, fashion-forward designs include a zebra amidst falling snow, three penguin kings bearing gifts, elephants carrying a Christmas tree, and a hedgehog pulling a sleigh of gifts. Church also offers more traditionally-themed creations, which feature snowmen and dogs.

Additionally, Church has designed a playful Halloween rug showcasing trick-or-treaters in their costumes making their way through a patch of trees littered with jack-o-lanterns and a large, orange moon lightening their way in the background.

Hand-crafted Christmas ornaments

G. DeBrekht Artistic Studios has added to its various collections of Santa Claus ornaments in limited editions. Many pieces are hand-carved and free-hand painted. It takes months to complete a single ornament in the Masterpiece collection. It is carved in one Eastern European art village, then travels from village to village to complete the face, the expressive eyes, the highly detailed scenes and the elegant decorative trims. Items come in satin-lined presentation boxes.

Up, Up and Away, from the Masterpiece collection

Open Road Santa, Derevo collection

Santa on Owl ornament

Father Frost ornament

Tree giver Santa

Nativity manger ornament

Sharing Secrets ornament

Cuckoo clocks by Mark Feldstein & Associates

Mark Feldstein & Associates (MFA), a product development company and importer of housewares, giftware, and electronics for over 25 years, is rolling out a line of seasonal and holiday cuckoo clocks. The line includes: 
The North Pole cuckoo clock depicts elves  in Santa's workshop at the North Pole. On each hour, an elf comes out of the workshop holding a present, accompanied by one of 12 Christmas carols.
The Snowy Cabin cuckoo clock is a snow-covered log cabin. One the hour, a cardinal pops out from his roost chirping his distinctive, beautiful song.
The Garden Cottage cuckoo clock is a cottage.  Like the Winter Cabin clock, a Cardinal pops out on the hour to chirping its song.
The company previewed the clocks at the Housewares Show in Chicago in March. The will be available in August.

Dinnerware in stripes and solids; paper goods for Halloween

Trade Associates Group, better known as simply tag, exhibited more than 600 new items in a wide range of materials at the International Home & Housewares Show in Chicago this month. tag says many of the introductions are in stock and ready to ship.

Highlights included:

The new Sonoma Stripe

• 6 1/2" appetizer plates in 10 Sonoma dinnerware colors, with a handy new iron plate caddy (upper left). The company introduce new Sonoma Stripe in two colorways, Celadon and Chocolate, that complement the entire assortment. In addition, a rich, new Sonoma Navy colorway was shown (below).

• Handmade mosaic glass in Halloween (below); Jardin; Fall Flora and Harvest; and tag’s Christmas collections Mistletoe, Holiday Elegance, Christmas Holiday, and Hope, Peace and Joy.

An owl motif on mosaic glassware

• Colorful new paper tabletop products including plates, cups, bowls and napkins in Halloween, Fall Flora, Harvest and Hope, Peace and Joy.

Paper goods from tag

Home decor for winter holiday 2011

Hanna's Handiworks introduced Snow Birds at the winter wholesale gift markets. These holiday ornaments sport holiday-appropriate red hats. The company also offers home decor items for autumn, garden and everyday, as well as a line of collegiate gifts.

Saturday special: Happy Birthday Elvis

Elvis Aron Presley was born on 8 January 1935. Please enjoy this item from the Gift & Home Today archives (1 August 2009)/

Manual Woodworkers & Weavers' "Elvis Santa Baby" pillow features artwork by Joe Petruccio. The pillow measures 17 inches square. A throw and a tote are also available.

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.

Sunday special: Decorating the White House Christmas tree

Check out this cool video (made from more than 6,000 photos) of the Christmas tree being installed and decorated at the White House.

Casa Cristina's 2011 holiday collection

 

Midwest-CBK is partnering with Emmy award-winning journalist Cristina Saralegui to develop her first designer holiday collection of inspirational ornaments, figures, nativity sets, votive candle holders, lanterns, stocking and tree skirt. The Casa Cristina Holiday Collection will feature more than 50 new designs debuting during the winter 2011 markets in Midwest-CBK showrooms across the country.

The collection  features spiritual icons such as angels, nativities, birds, stars, crosses and hearts. Textures and materials include  metal, capiz, wood and glass. The color palette includes gold, silver, cream, blue, green and plum.
Midwest-CBK is also expanding the Casa Cristina Home and Lighting collection with more than 30 new designs, including lamps, pottery with unique turquoise glaze and distressed white finish, antique wooden mirrors and nested table sets with embossed metal detailing, that reflect Cristina’s unique Mediterranean style and taste.

Edgy greeting cards for springtime occasions

NobleWorks has introduced 31 new humorous greeting cards to celebrate all of the most popular springtime occasions, including Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Graduation.
These new spring cards feature cartoons from RUBES, Dan Reynolds, Andy Singer, Martin Bucella, McCoy Bros. and more, as well as additions to NobleWorks' "Talk Bubbles," "I'm Just Saying" and "Text" lines. The messages make fun of everything from mothers' nagging to graduates' employment prospects.

Inside greetings (clockwise from top left): "I'm only going to say it once. Happy Mother's Day." "Have a super Mother's Day." "Happy birthday. Call a doctor if it lasts more than four hours." "Hope your Father's Day is out of this world."

Build a holiday centerpiece

Build a holiday centerpiece with serveware from Andrea by Sadek.