Showing Our Wares - The New York International Gift Fair

Frenetic energy, lifting objects you never thought you'd have to lift, learning about trade unions, sheer exhaustion... this is the New York International Gift Fair experience. This year we sent two of our top sales people to the show to introduce our new product lines to the world of wholesale buyers. The show was a first for both of them, and they did an amazing job!

Traditionally, Cultural Intrigue brings a large selection of products to the show. This year was no exception. The focus was on glass - reproductions of Depression Glass, vintage bottle shapes, hobnail and hand-blown, recycled glass vessels. Although we are probably best known for our paper lanterns and paper parasols, the rules at the Jacob Javits Convention Center prevented us from hanging objects overhead. So it was a good opportunity to show buyers products they were not as familiar with.

Colorful vintage glass style votives and napkin rings on display at the NYIGF.
Colors shown: Purple, Fuchsia, Mango, Chartreuse, Red, Pink, and Clear.

A big hit at the show was our brand-new line of glitzy napkin rings. Bring on the bling! Loaded with rhinestones in gold and silver settings, they will make your tablescapes sparkle!

Lighting is always a challenge at the Javits Center. Only union electricians are allowed to touch a light. For our displays of mercury glass, iridescent ornaments, and jewel tone perfume bottles we use 4 spotlights per table. This time the electricians were efficient, and didn't take too long to show up. But thank goodness for battery-operated LED lights! No wires, no muss, no fuss. We lit all of our new Moroccan Hanging Lanterns with flickering, realistic-looking battery-operated tea lights.

New Line of Moroccan Hanging Lanterns lit by battery-operated LED lights.

Practical battery-operated LED lights that resemble wax tea lights.
The multi-color lights can float and change color.

Despite the grueling schedule, there was time for some real New York style entertainment: a Broadway show, specifically, "Phantom of the Opera". It's hard to believe this show is the longest running show on Broadway. The stars of the show now are Hugh Panaro, Trista Moldovan, and Kyle Barisich. It's been a long time since Sarah Brightman sang on that stage and won her Tony Award, but no one will ever forget it.

As they say at Stars and Popcorn, "Chicks dig candles".

Back at the trade show our glittering glass decor was attracting a lot of attention. Wedding planners were falling in love with our rhinestone-edged, mercury glass hanging vases and candle holders.

A sneak preview of some of the products above:

Tossed all around the booth were pillows sporting our new, genuine, Ikat pillow covers. These are made by hand by the women of a remote farming village in Bali. Imitations are made by printing the "Ikat design" onto the fabric. But ours are made of strands of thread skillfully died to create these patterns that are recognized world-wide. This season we have greatly expanded our selection of patterns.

Approximate arrival date for new patterns: Oct. 2012.
View our current pillow cover selection HERE.

Responding to customer demand, we've added a number of new designs to our vintage-styled mercury glass candle holder and vase collection. A few of the new shapes are seen below:

Mercury Glass collection on Cultural Intrigue website, click HERE.

Thanks for a wonderful show, NYIGF, Jacob Javits, and New York!

 Until next time, good-bye from Cultural Intrigue. Go forth and...
 

decorate & celebrate!