The verdict is in (unofficially) that the January Atlanta Gift Show was overwhelmingly successful for 99% of the exhibitors who we interviewed during, and after, the show.

Steve Rose, marketing coordinator for burton + Burton said, "Traffic in the halls may have looked like it was down, but we had over 30 reps writing orders at one time, and still had some who were waiting in line for the available sales rep! The show was non-stop for us."

Among the many companies we chatted with, Tom Zimmerman, VP of Sales & Marketing for Two's Company, also told us that the show was very successful for them, and that sales were up this year in comparison to last year.

And here's more! Yesterday I received survey results from a non-profit organization, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The institute recently concluded a survey of roughly 1,000 retailers in the gift sectors. These retailers were in cities with active "Buy Local" campaigns and the survey found that many retailers reported strong holiday sales. Also, 82% of survey respondents said that the fact that their businesses were independently owned mattered to most of their customers.

How does all this upbeat news square with the more sobering reports from Wall Street? It's simple: independent gift and home furnishing stores are finding new messages that work. They are playing up their strengths, superior service and a merchandise mix not found in mass merchandise stores and urging customers to buy local. There are opportunities out there for every shop owner; you just have to figure out how to tap into it.

Sea Stones… Fantastic line of products such as hooks, knobs and drawer pulls created from rocks found at the beach. The bottle stoppers are the newest addition to the line. I loved the organic look of the product and the company owners replace a rock with a stone from the quarry every time they take one from the beach.

Bluewick… A terrific mix of fresh fragrances made with natural ingredients, all captured in pure soy wax candles and body care products. The line is available in five distinct collections and the packaging is beautiful. If you're looking for a new bath and body collection, this one is worth considering.

The Piggy Story, Inc.… Adorable collection of gifts for children. The coordinating fabrics are designed in-house by the company. Product line ranges from artist smocks to luggage totes to art boxes.

Homespice Decor… New line of contemporary, 100% cotton braided rugs. Sizes range from 2×3 to 8×10. They are available in nine colors and Scotchguarded for protection.

New Creative/Square Nest… New Creative's Countryside collection line features an oversized working clock and utensils perfect for a kitchen or family room. I think these items will appeal to Gen X'ers in search of home decor items.

About two weeks ago we launched our new gift shop retail forum, where retailers can chat with one another about issues and challenges. Yesterday a hospital gift manager who is new to the industry posted a great question. She wanted to know if there are any benchmarks for the gift industry.

So I asked my colleague, Susan Noyes (who happens to be a local hospital gift shop manager at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, MA) if she has developed any benchmarks or seen any that are widely used in our industry. I was so impressed with her response, I thought it would be helpful to share with everyone.

Here are the benchmarks (which she calls key performance indicators) that she has established for her store.

Key performance indicators used at South Shore Hospital:

• Actual sales to last year and plan

• Average sale: In my hospital shop, it runs typically around $8.75, as we sell alot of small items, candy, single items, etc. (The benchmark that I currently have set for that shop is $10.50.)

• Customer count: from traffic counters

• Transaction count: retrieved from register tapes

• Conversion rate: should be at least 50%

Susan explained to me that in order to get to this point, she had to establish a base. Then she ordered traffic counters, and started recording customer counts (that's been going on for about a year now).

The traffic counters are set up to enable you to track over a four week period, and then establish your own average based on those four weeks of data.

Does anyone else have other key performance indicators in their store?

Stayed tuned, more products from the Atlanta Gift Show tomorrow!

The Birthday Interview… This new product just launched at the show, and I think it's a very innovative concept that is well packaged and priced. Once purchased, the kit will encourage your customers to conduct yearly birthday interviews with their children. The kit includes a booklet of questions to ask, tips for conducting the interview, DVD of sample interviews, custom labels and media storage.

Picnic Time… I absolutely loved Picnic Time's line of picnic bags and wine totes, but they also offer an insulated baby bag (perfect for the baby section of your store). As a mother, I know how handy it would've been to have this all-in-one bag. I also thought their wine purses would make a great hostess gift or be the perfect way to tote wine to a restaurant or event.

Vessel… Vessel sells wonderful, high-quality amber jewelry, and they are certified as a 100% genuine, gem-quality, natural Baltic amber supplier by the International Amber Association. The pieces are well-designed and the price points are terrific.

Cassie's Flower Box… This is another company that launched at the show, and they carry a wonderful line of inspirational handmade wall art. Each piece features pressed flowers and accompanying text. They range in size from 5×5 to 5×19.

Pepper Pot (Division of The Gift Wrap Co.)… An adorable line of notepads, pins, mouse pads, journals, portfolios and notecards, in five designs. Using images and words, they create cute slogans, such as "Queen Bee," "Monkey Business," "Cool Cat," "Top Dog" and "Biker Chick."

get READY Girls, Inc.… A fashionable line of collegiate licensed footwear and tote bags (which are made from team jerseys). Custom orders are available and they currently have licenses for 32 teams.

Today is the fourth day of the Temps at the Atlanta Gift Show and it's been fantastic so far. Show traffic has been wonderful and my show bag is busting at the seams with interesting new products and fresh takes on products you may have seen before.

Over the next week I'll be showing you some wonderful things I spotted at the show. Here are today's picks:

Lush Life… Lush Life's new line, That Laptop is Mine, is an innovative leather pen and business card holder for a laptop. Rather than attaching with a magnet (that could erase a hard drive), it attaches with rubber feet that never lose their stickiness. This handy product will help your customers keep their pen and business cards close at hand while traveling, and if they ever lose their laptop, their contact info will be attached. The product is available in two colors: lime green and black.

Evergreen Enterprises… Evergreen Enterprises created a line of high-quality glass wine stoppers (available in 50 designs), along with wine bags (available in seven colors).

Matahari… Matahari just launched these fantastic butterfly photo frames at the show. Available in four designs, three feature a colorful butterfly with name and description, while the fourth features six butterfly designs. The frames are constructed of recycled wood from Thailand.

Two's Company… A new line of hyacinth candles for spring would add a wonderful spring atmosphere to your store. I was particularly impressed with the innovative display idea: candles in a painted wheelbarrow with real soil.

KenzArt Creations… Fantastic collage art pieces created from magazines. Each print is hand signed by the artist and would make a nice addition to the baby section of your store, or in your general home decor area. Prints range in price from $15 (unframed) to $118 (framed).

Fortis Design… If you're looking for innovative gifts for men, then you have to check out this company! They just launched at the show and I loved their magnetic paperclip holder tee box and Magwear, a magnetic wristband that is both practical and a fashion statement. I also enjoyed their remote control pillow holders.

Check back tomorrow for more fun show finds and trends.

When I was 22, on the cusp of my publishing career, I met a businessman who over the years became a good friend and mentor.

I admired him not only because he built a successful business (it grossed $20 million the year we met), but also for his charisma and passion. And he was always willing to offer advice to help a budding entrepreneur. He made it his mission to help as many people as possible.

I received word today that he passed away.

Now, 12 years later, as I reflect on what he taught me, I feel so lucky that we met.

And so, three really important things I learned:

1. Whatever you want to achieve in life is possible.
   It was very similar to Walt Disney's philosophy, "If you dream it, you can do it." He believed that all you need is the vision, and once you set your goal, you can figure out how to make it happen.

2. Surround yourself with ethical people.
   Not only on a personal level, but also in business. This might seem like common sense, but early on in my business career, I found myself faced with a opportunity that was not the best deal. It was tempting based on size ($100,000, which at the time represented a lot of money), but the client was unethical and demanding unreasonable terms. (In particular, if I worked with him, I couldn't work with any of his competitors.) I took my mentor's advice and turned him down. In hindsight, it was one of the best business decisions I have ever made. 

3. Track sales vigilantly.
   He believed in posting big charts and graphs depicting sales on the walls so the whole team could see not only where sales are for the day, but where they are compared to last year's sales for that day, that month and the year.

Lessons to live by.

I love the start of a new year. It's the perfect time to look back on the last one and reflect on what worked and what didn't… and a great time to plan for what's ahead.

Yesterday, on our new forum, a retailer posed a question inquiring what tools other retailers use (wall calendar, day planner, etc.) to plan for the year. Personally, I love posting a large wall calendar so I get a big picture view of upcoming trade shows, deadlines, etc.

Last year I attended a seminar given by a very successful CEO. He recommends that CEOs spend at least 80% of their time thinking strategically about their company. While it may be difficult to spend that much time all year long, I encourage you to take the time in January to think about new strategies for the year ahead, such as store promotions, website plans, new marketing ideas and creative new visual merchandising ideas.

Maybe you can even map some of them out on a big wall calendar.