It’s hard to believe that MEPRA’s sophisticated technicolor collection FANTASIA is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year because its incandescent chromatic complexion is as fresh today as its 1989 debut.
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The brilliantly-hued fantasia comes from the Italian silversmiths Mepra, post-war business founded in 1947 by the Prandelli family, four generations fashioning flatware in the industrial Lumezzane Valley, about 90 minutes east of Milan. ...
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Designer Don Estabrooks just may have the most compelling flatware portfolio ever. The longtime Towle Silversmiths designer joined the company in the mid-’60s and has created hundreds of flatware patterns in an almost six-decade (and counting) tenure.
Perhaps his greatest achievement is Wave, which debuted in 2004 to rousing fanfare and has been at the top of the charts ever since. Chris Wile, another longstanding staffer (33 years), is president of Lifetime Brands/Metals (which owns ...
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As the new year is underway, there’s reason to be bullish (or, at least, not bearish) about what 2024 may have in store. Holiday retail sales increased 3.1% despite lingering inflation, thanks to robust job growth and strong wage gains, which came as a big relief for retailers. Price-conscious consumers are still spending, suggesting the economy is strong. “What we’re seeing this holiday season is very consistent with how we’re thinking about the economy, which is that it...
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Thanks to Casafina, a leading maker of table and giftware, for including a Shop Local flyer in its packages sent to retailers. The flyer helps the recipient more easily market and sell what is in the box online 📦 —> 📱—> 🎁
The recipient can open the box and in minutes do what otherwise may take hours. The store can scan a QR code on the flyer, sign up for a free Shop Local Store, Sync with Casafina products, and instantly show and sell the products online...
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Greetings from Dallas. Good to see our brand partners promoting their Shop Local Syncing service in their showrooms. Here we see Neil Peters, national sales director for Carmel Ceramica, holding a Shop Local display. A merchant can scan the QR code and get all Carmel’s products online instantly.
We love the German tradition this time year of giving gifts of marzipan pigs as a symbol of good fortune in the new year. However, we think gift recipients would squeal with joy and go hog-wild (see what we did there?) over a longer lasting Herend piggy.
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Your Shop Local account offers a built-in solution to shop thousands of products. The Wholesale service combines the best features from wholesale marketplaces and buying on a brand’s site into a new service. Shop Local retailers can save time and money by using the Wholesale service.
The Ivy House, an indie retailer in Texas that has used our e-commerce software since 2015, uses the Wholesale service to save time and money. Laura May, the owner of The Ivy House, easily places...
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How a checklist can be used as a valuable tool for existing clients or prospects.
December 20, 2023
This past Thanksgiving, Austin Kleon, the author of "Steal Like an Artist" and other inspirational books, shared a free gratitude journal via his weekly email newsletter. (Please view that clever, hand-drawn journal here: https://austinkleon.substack.com/p/a-gratitude-zine) A part of this journal is making a list of what one is grateful for. (He also has an ad lib for gratitude!) I can imagine him having a gratitude checklist. A checklist is a very efficient tool to deliver...
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How to share your Shop Local Store and gift registry service on social media.
December 18, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've added a new "Social Media" section to your Marketing Materials page. This new feature makes it easy to promote your Shop Local Store and registry service on your social media account.
In the "Social Media" section, you'll find a graphic and the following text that you can post on your social media account:
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Receive wedding registry gifts via our store in just four steps:
The Atlantic shares how Chinese factories have found a new way around U.S. retailers and into our homes: Chinese apps. SHEIN and other Chinese apps are bypassing Amazon to be a new leader in Chinese goods. In addition to Amazon, Target, Walmart, and indie shops now have a new group of digital competitors embedded in customers’ pockets.
Except from The Atlantic article:
MATERIAL WORLD
IS THIS HOW AMAZON ENDS?
An open embrace of cheap foreign products has helped ...
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Staff at manor department stores like Saks are finding success with Instagram and social media. The Information shares this:
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Tyler Bell was encouraging all her clients to “tag your bag.” Every time Bell, a Saks Fifth Avenue stylist in Troy, Mich., closed a sale, she asked the buyer to show off their purchase on Instagram and tag her account, @tyler.saks. Bell posts Saks inventory multiple times a day on Instagram Stories. Her 27,000 followers will...
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I recently saw a car with the license plate: WHYWRK. I had a sad feeling for the driver, who perhaps wasn’t as lucky as I to have the best job in the world – getting paid to shop for the most beautiful goods in the world – which I am now retiring from. After 40+ years as a buyer of tabletop and gifts in Buffalo, I have the opportunity to put the dishes away, polish the flatware, and store the stemware. As a small specialty store, we’ve been through our share of ups and ...
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Kate Spade New York tableware and accessories has for two decades held a singular spot on retail shelves and on customers’ tables thanks to a timeless charm and chic stylings. Even after 20 years, the fun, fresh, playfully sophisticated, and refreshingly original collections from Lenox occupy a unique niche in the tableware pantheon.
Kate Spade’s contribution to fashion cannot be understated. She became synonymous with fashionistas everywhere when she started her fashion ...
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How to navigate around your site quickly using breadcrumbs in order to save time.
December 8, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've added breadcrumb navigation to a brand's Home (Collections) page and a product's Details page. The trail of links (or "breadcrumbs") at the top of these pages shows the site's structure and identifies the hierarchy.
Benefits of Breadcrumbs:
Helps shoppers identify their current location on your website.
Helps shoppers find what they're looking for more easily.
Encourages shoppers to navigate from the current page to different
It’s a 40th anniversary for the company founded by Colin Riggs (left) and Ned Voelker’s parents, Abigail and Ed Voelker. Over the last four decades, the entire family has created a curated collection of handmade tableware and giftware for the nation’s independent store retailers.
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Congratulations on a milestone 40th year in business. Are you surprised Abigails has endured? Ned Voelker: We are surprised. It’s a tribute to Ed and Abbie ...
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