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.