I'm on vacation in North Conway, NH, and aside from trail runs and alpine sliding, I stopped by to visit some of the adorable gift shops in the downtown area. For one thing, I love to shop (surprise, surprise!) and for another, I enjoy being able to hand out our magazines personally (which is a great idea for any entrepreneur… think of vacations as a chance to get out there, visit new shops and show off what you make/sell).

In one shop, I happened to meet the store owner and we ended up having a very interesting conversation about how she chooses vendors. While design was at the top of her list, equally important was the vendors' commitment to keeping their lines out of mass merchandise stores. She said that many vendors she had worked with in the past promise that they won't sell to discount or chain stores, but then end up creating an almost identical line with a different name to sell there, so she drops their line.

I have talked to many vendors who have told me that they need the revenue of the mass merchandiser. But maybe there is a way for them to stay loyal to the independent gift store owner and still make their numbers. If the industry wants to help gift shop owners thrive I believe this process needs to start on the vendor level. What do you think?

Salad Sac… I love how this product works. You wash your lettuce and dry and store in the clever sac. It keeps lettuce fresh longer and is a great housewarming or hostess gift for the person who has everything. Nice addition to the gourmet section of your store.

Goose Berry Patch… A cute calendar concept that provides a new recipe every day (it's called the Every Day Calendar). Perfectly sized for countertops, it's a calendar your customers won't want to throw away.

Traverse Bay Confections… Cute cookie collection for Valentine's Day, summer or the holiday season. I was impressed by the quality of the designs (especially for an edible product).

Applelicious… Fantastic Washington apples and candies hand-dipped in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate or peanut butter. They are as yummy as they look!

Next up… handbags!

I absolutely love products that can be personalized. Not only do I buy them for myself (recent purchase: a new necklace with my initials engraved on a shell at the show via Cash & Carry), but I also give them out as gifts. The fact is, personalized gifts offer gift store owners the opportunity to sell something different than mass merchandisers.

Here are six personalized products that I found at the show:

1. It's a Wrap… cute coffee cup holders and mugs. You can only get a single initial personalized, but I loved the fabrics! It's a great impulse item.

2. Royalty Custom Kids… adorable dresses for babies, toddlers and children. With their fantastic quality and price, it's a cute addition to any store. Available in four styles and eight fabrics, and the baby and toddler dresses even have coordinating bloomers.

3. Gift Giant… they are now offering a new line of hand-painted signs (Door Doodles) for kids' bedrooms. I loved the graphics and the fact they're made in the US.

4. AB Designs… a fantastic line of frames.They can be personalized with a first or last letter initial, and the quality is amazing, as are the fabrics and embellishments. Frames are perfect for a wedding, baby or in-your-home-decor department of the store.

5. Wee Paint… adorable wall art for children. The graphics are amazing for both sexes, and they sell the art on a rod with or without ribbons. Each piece is customized and growth charts are available.

6. The Pink Monogram… a great line of clogs that can be personalized. Not only are they super cute (with a wide range of fabrics), they're also very comfortable!
   
   

   Check back tomorrow, as I'm covering new gourmet products I found at the show.

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I'm back in the office after five days at the Atlanta Gift Show. My feet are tired and worn (I have several blisters), my notebook is filled with new products and this year's show was fantastic. And not just for us… several retailers told me they found new products and placed loads of orders.

So I'll be posting all week about neat, trendy and hip products from the show. Today's were all spotted in the One Coast Showroom:

1. Beatriz Ball… contemporary handmade tabletop items. Many of her pieces were inspired by nature and cleanly designed. I loved that the pieces can go from the refrigerator to the oven to the table. The artist herself (Beatriz Ball) is pictured.
   
   
   

2. Mud Pie… Known mostly for their pet collection line, they are branching out to include a wonderful tabletop Christmas collection and a line of monogrammed (with a single initial) wine bags.
   
   
   
   
   

3. Abbott… Great home entertainment collection. What impressed me the most was the value pricing and wonderful quality. They have a very wide line of products, so it's definitely worth checking out.
   
   
   

4. Danielson Designs–They have created a very nice line of signs. The newest product is a line called Small Talk. The signs retail for just under $10, and the POP is very well done. Great impulse item for any gift store.

Be sure to come back all week to see products you might have missed at the show. After all, it's almost impossible to visit all 10,000 vendors that were there!

Today is my last day in the office for the next week, as I'm heading out first thing tomorrow morning for the Atlanta Gift Show/AmericasMart. For those of you who've been to the show in Atlanta, you know how big it is, and how crazy it can get trying to see the entire show in just five days.

I received a call yesterday from a retailer who is opening her first gift shop and planning to attend the show. She asked me for some advice on where to go and what to do to get the most out of it.

So I shared with her some tips that I've gleaned from my many years of show attendance.

1. Create a budget in advance
   It's easy to get caught up at the show and spend more then you planned. Keep a running total of your orders and stick to your budget.

2. Bring a notebook
   With thousands of companies exhibiting, it's easy to forget what you're seeing and where the booth is located. You might want to set-up sections in your notebook to represent the departments in your store, or categories you need to buy. By keeping your notes sorted this way, you'll know if you have purchased enough within each category. Plus, it's a great way to remember products that you want to order down the road.

3. Make a list of the vendors you want to be sure to visit at the show
   Do it in advance, that way you can check them off and ensure that you have seen them all.

4. Wear comfortable shoes and bring multiple pairs
   There's a lot of walking and somehow I always end up with blisters, so it's helpful to bring at least two (if not three or four!) pairs of shoes. OK, so my suitcase looks like I'm going away for a month, but at least I know I'll be comfortable!

5. Have fun
   The energy at the show is always high and it's really an amazing experience. Enjoy it!

I'm looking forward to finding some new products and meeting lots of people. Hope I see you there!

I took last week off (it was so nice to have some down time) and we went on a day-trip to Martha's Vineyard (for those of you not familiar with the island, it's a 30 minute ferry ride from Cape Cod). It's an absolutely charming place and I love going… mainly because the streets are lined with adorable shops, fantastic cafes and a yummy fudge store.

While there I spotted a cute new shop called Imagine. I was immediately drawn in by both the name and the enticing garden that lined the path to the store's front porch. I just loved everything about it, from the signage, to the garden, to the merchandising, to the owner's big smile as she told me about her store and her story.

For awhile I've been thinking about blogging about storefronts. They are so critical as a means to attract customers and yet so often neglected. I was thrilled to see how much time and energy the owner put into making her storefront just as attractive as the inside.

Just imagine what your storefront could be… have you fully tapped into merchandising it?