This year marks the 40th annual Orrefors Ornament, which began with the 1984 Dove, left. “That iconic inaugural piece set the tone for the collection, emphasizing quality and traditional holiday themes,” says Emon Maasho, CEO. “The ornament continues to be a cherished tradition, with collectors eagerly awaiting each new release. From classic holiday motifs to modern innovations, the series offers something for everyone, making it a lasting part of the holiday season.” ...
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Brand strategy is one of the most powerful initiatives an organization can undergo. It’s an opportunity to evolve a company’s mission and value proposition based on current and future customer needs with the result being a purpose-led, customer-centric road map to create enhanced value for customers. ANDMORE recently completed this process as we rebranded from International Market Centers (IMC) last year. ANDMORE is more than just a new name and logo, it’s a framework for how ...
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A BICENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY REPRESENTS REMARKABLE LONGEVITY AND VISTA ALEGRE IS TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE of it with dozens of new pieces created specifically to commemorate the 200 anos occasion. “It’s a very important milestone and a time of reflection to see how far we’ve come and where we want to go,” says Daniel Silva, who helped bring the brand new luster here since he started the American subsidiary in 2012. Nuno Barra, Vista Alegre product development director and board ...
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Perfect for gifting and for Christmas Eve reading, The Magic of Old St. Nick children's book series brings Italy's Santa Claus, Babbo Natale, to life and is written by VIETRI Founder Susan Gravely. 📚🎅🏼
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BERTIL VALLIEN is a gift to glass. The impressive portfolio of this prolific artist is haunting, memorable, and mesmerizing.
His 60-year career, spent advancing the craft of sand-casting, is a study of one man's existential questioning actualized on hypnotic works of art.
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BERTIL VALLIEN IS A 60-YEAR KOSTA BODA ICON, DESIGNING FOR THE BRAND SINCE 1963.
He is one of Sweden's most celebrated glass artists with numerous awards and museums exhibitions around...
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How competitive techniques can help lure clients and grow a network.
September 10, 2023
Andrew Chen shares in 'The Cold Start Problem' that many times, networks are competing in a zero-sum game. One network gets a customer to join their network and thereby not participate in another. For example, when a driver used Lyft instead of Uber, Uber, which Chen helped, lost. And it lost in two regards: Uber lost the revenue from the lost ride, and Lyft gained the revenue. Chen’s team was tasked with getting drivers to use all their time driving for Uber and thereby unraveling Lyft&...
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We are pleased to announce Villeroy & Boch products are ready for Syncing.
Villeroy & Boch joins our network of 115+ premium brands that Sync products with 1,300+ fine indie stores.
Since its founding in 1748, Villeroy & Boch has grown into a leading, global, lifestyle brand offering dinnerware, drinkware, flatware, and home decor. They continue to leave lasting impressions all over the world with their fine products that include popular ...
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It was October 2021, and I had just finished my first in-person trends seminar since the pandemic impacted all industry shows. At the end of the image-packed program, an audience member raised her hand and challenged, “Do trends even matter anymore?”
It was a valid question. The pandemic had disrupted business, upended supply chains, transformed education, revealed vulnerabilities, altered priorities, and unexpectedly claimed many lives. The question was tinged with cynicism. Pent...
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The Michael Aram Ornament Collection portrays a series of unique objects that celebrate symbols of the holiday season. Whether seen individually or as a group, they evoke a sense of charm and fantasy. Drawing profoundly from Michael's background as a sculptor, each piece emerges from hand-sculpted clay and offers a child-like quality. Stop at the Shadyside store to see the selection of pieces!
Scott Galloway, the NYU business professor and firebrand, pens a weekly, attention-grabbing article about business trends. In last week’s post, he noted the rise of the attention economy. (...Yes, my post is an attention-seeker writing about an attention-seeker writing about attention.) Comparing our current economy to those of the past, Mr. Galloway notes that today’s oil is time. He tracks the growth of digital companies like Netflix, Microsoft, Facebook, and TikTok that...
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While eating a slice of coal-fired pizza at Arturo’s in Soho yesterday, and getting an occasional whiff of Houston Street garbage, I had to admit: I was at a loss for insight to share with my coworkers this week. Each week, I send out a motivational message to my team that precedes a summary of what they accomplished. We call this report the Brick report. This would be my seventy-second Brick introduction: What else could I say--and would they miss it if there was not an introduction...
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In a 2007 article in The New Yorker, Atul Gawande, a surgeon and an author, advocatedthat more hospitals use checklists. He cited many medical studies showing how checklists save lives (and money). Implementing one checklist, a hospital "…prevented forty-three infections and eight deaths, and saved two million dollars in costs." The startling part: the list was only five steps long! In other words, people don’t consistently follow...
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The Jason series of frames in Beatriz Ball’s signature polished metal enhance your favorite photos, and look positively brilliant when displayed on the mantle, desk, or shelf.
The footed, self-standing frames makes fine wedding gifts--or presents for any special occasion--and are simply elegant solutions whenever metal frames are called for.
Available in vertical and horizontal formats, and sized to fit 4 x 6, 5 x 7 and 8 x 10 photos.
I enjoyed today’s WSJ article about stores teaming up to take on Amazon. Since Bridge has collectivized 800 indie shops to push back against Amazon, we can relate to efforts to help stores team up and boost their communities.
The article mentions Shopify and its popularity among indie shops. Shopify, along with BigComerce, Big Cartel, Wix, and Magento, are platforms that have helped indies to grow online independent of Amazon.
While we appreciate any platform that helps indies...
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Best of Thymes, an indie store in Iowa, just closed (https://bestofthymes.bridgecatalog.com/news.cfm?id=20645). Hopefully, they’ll continue to operate online and keep using Bridge. Best of Thymes is part of an industry-wide series of closures that is affecting large and small retailers. Due to this, brands are increasing their efforts to go D2C. Brands justify this by saying that there are fewer stores to show their wares. While this is true, surely they are motivated by: 2x the margins. ...
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Arnold Schwarzenegger, Future Bridge Spokesperson?
Today's Wall St. Journal shares that Target stores saw a 20% increase in revenue--more than the chain had seen in the last 11 years combined. How did it do it? Target converted many of its physical stores into 'mini-warehouses,' where they can ship goods or have customers do curbside pick up.
What does this mean for indie stores? Stores will have to become more efficient in receiving online orders, which make up 40% of retail these ...
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Companies that sell brands on Amazon are increasingly profiting by using a series of checklists, some with 503 steps, to ensure they maximize a brand's potential.
This article leads us to ask: if we could make a checklist with 503 to-do items, what would those be? What checklist should a retailer follow to succeed online? A brand? Bridge offers members a variety of checklists to help them succeed in including the New Member Success Checklist and the Smart Brand Boarding Checklist....
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