Industry Insider: A Conversation with Su Hilty

Giftware News catches up with industry vet Su Hilty, vice president of marketing at 7 W New York. Hilty, with more than 40 years experience in the industry, recently announced her June retirement.

Giftware News: What are your plans after retirement from 7 W? What are you looking forward to the most?
Su Hilty: I plan on spending time writing my next chapter, which will include the following subchapters:Adventurous travel: There are places still on my list: Australia/New Zealand (my last continent to visit), India and Alaska, to name just a few. I have taken a major adventure trip every year since my husband died — Amazon, Machu Picchu, Antarctica, Galapagos, Africa, China, Mongolia, Egypt, Grand Canyon white-water rafting, etc. Why stop now?Design/art industry organizations and affiliations: Giving more time to discover, learn and volunteer with Gift for Life and DIFFA: Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS, Alpha Workshops, FIT, Bard Graduate Center, MAD, Rubin Museum, Met Museum, etc.

Charities: Hoping to make a difference. Of special interest is the Nature Conservancy and the Global Giveback Circle. I am most looking forward to doing things on my own schedule.

GWN: What are a few of your proudest moments from your career?
SH: After five wonderful years at 225 Fifth Avenue, followed by a difficult sale of the building and then a quick transition to a new building, [one of my proudest moments was] actually being able to cut the ribbon for our opening market at 7 W.
The other moment was winning the coveted MMPI Marty Award in 2010, which is the annual Wallace Olman Award, named for the first successful general manager of MMPI, who set the standards against which all recipients are judged.

GWN: Where do you think the gift and home industry is heading? 

SH: My favorite expression is “all we can be sure of is change” and this is what is rapidly happening to the industry. Those we thought would always be major players are no more. Those who did not exist last year are becoming the poster children for the industry. I look forward to seeing what will transpire over the next year and beyond.

Technology is and will continue to change how we do business, and those who succeed will embrace new ideas and processes.

GWN: What would you advise to new buyers, retailers, etc. just entering the industry?
SH: Embrace the new technology, but don’t forget the importance of the human touch in all business relationships — common courtesy, listening and being open to new ideas and direction. 

Image courtesy 7 W New York. 

The May Digital Issue of Gift, Gourmet & Decor is Now Available

Dear GGD Reader,

Welcome to the May digital issue of Gift, Gourmet & Decor Magazine.


This Month's Featured Content:
• Greeting Card Gazette
• Plush: Soft & Cuddly
• Halloween: Best Witches
• Newsmakers
• Colors: Honeysuckle
• Candyland

• Calendar

 
New Feature:
Now Viewable on Ipads
 
Please Note:
GGD Digital requires NO special downloads or applications to view in its entirety.

Please click HERE to begin reading now!

We hope you enjoy this issue and all future digital issues of GGD. Feel free to contact us with your thoughts and feedback at gwnplus@talcott.com.

Sincerely,
The GGD Team

Giftionery Taipei: Unicake Bag

We all know that we're supposed to care of Mother Nature, but who remembers to tote along reusable bags when going out? Unicake Bag to the rescue! Starting out as a cupcake, cake, or other sweet treat, when you open the package they unroll to reveal a reusable bag.

Unicake can be personalized for weddings or companies, and make a great door prize or favor. The bags are the perfect size for bringing to farmers markets or the library. Established in 2004, the company initially offered a face towel wrapped up like a cake under the Unique Cake Towels brand. In 2010 they expanded to Unicake Bags. To learn more about Unicake, email sales@uni-paragon.com.

Giftionery Taipei: Pim

Serving tea is a traditional Chinese custom, but between the rise in Asian restaurants and hotels offering tea service, it's a ritual that seems to be gaining popularity in the United States. Pim, a Taiwan-based company, offers some of the most beautiful tea pots and cups I've ever seen.

Made of bone china, the designs for the tea pots, cups, and saucers are based on nature—cups resemble raindrops, the curve of a tea pot's spout is based on a person's smile. The line includes cups that can swivel in saucers, cups with handles and without, and tea pots with a little red hat (above). Pim also offers trays, soy sauce bottles, and salt and pepper shakers, like a cute angel and devil set.

To learn more about Pim, visit their website or email smilelilly@gmailc.om

Giftionery Taipei: DOSEE

One of my favorite companies that I met at Giftionery Taipei is DOSEE Design, which inverts traditional Taiwan crafts to give them a modern spin. The company, run by a group of young artists, got its start through metal arts, manufacturing sculpture, bookmarks, and more. Recently, though, they've made the jump into paper products, offering creative, unique items.

DOSEE takes the idea of a Taiwanese market, which sells fruits and veggies on the street, and presents paper products in the same way. Garlic shaped coasters are wrapped in red plastic bags, a presentation that mirrors the way garlic is sold. Small flower pots actually offer mini Post-it notes as opposed to leaves and buds. The line is focused around a traditional Taiwanese family, with images representing family members displayed on each product. The set-up of the group's booth at the fair, seen above, also mimics a market. It's colorful, innovative and providing a breath of fresh air to the traditional arts.

For more information, visit the group's blog here, or email them at dosee2002@gmail.com

Giftionery Taipei: Piyo Piyo

One company worth noting for U.S. gift stores that offer kids items is PiyoPiyo from Tung Ling. I met with Piyo Piyo in at Giftionery Taipei and learned about the company, which offers products for children ranging from newborn to pre-teen.

While most design for the products is done in Taiwan, production is done in China. Piyo Piyo began 20 years ago on the stationery side and moved into children's products 10 years ago. They've recently begun entering the junior market, with new bedding and lunch boxes, and are working toward offering more stationery.

The photo is of a line of stuffed Piyo Piyo ducks, Abby Bear, Kaeru Fog and Genki Dog. The line includes stuffed toys, sheets, lunchboxes and silverware, rattles, clothes, and more. There's also a related Christmas line.

To learn more about Piyo Piyo, visit their website.

Giftware News Goes to Giftionery Taipei!

Giftware News Associate Editor Amy Cavanaugh is currently attending Giftionery Taipei, the annual exhibition of gifts, stationery and other products. She's meeting with Asian companies and attending seminars to uncover new and notable products and anticipate trends for the coming year. This is the first blog post about what she found; look for products to appear in future Giftware News articles.

 

On Thursday, Giftionery Taipei held an afternoon of international seminars on design trends. The most compelling discussion, on what we can expect in the world of product design in the coming year, was led by Elaine Tam, product manager of WGSN, which predicts global design trends. Tam presented three different areas — Cinematic, Laboratory and Primal Futurism — which can be directly translated into gift stores through products or store displays.

 

• Cinematic is based on 1950s California style, so think vintage, tropical florals and summer shades. Turquoise is hot, and so is retro photography. The age of digital cameras isn't over, and iPhones feature apps like the Hipstamatic, which takes retro-inspired shots. 

 

Ways to incorporate this into your store: cool reproductions of vintage cameras (Diana and Holga cameras are huge right now), products with Hawaiian floral prints or tiki-inspired dining items and generally anything with a laid-back vibe.

 

• Laboratory is the intersection of art and technology, which Tam says is inspired by art galleries showcasing work in online blogs. Think punches of bright colors set against white backgrounds. 

 

Ways to incorporate this into your store: Look for gift items made of transparent materials, like glass, or bright designs printed on a neutral background. Geometric shapes are big, and you can find cool geometric-inspired jewelry to sell.

 

• Primal Futurism is a complicated way of saying something we've been including in sister magazine HomeFashion & Hospitality a lot lately -- rustic is chic. The trend features heavy forms that are made upscale and more contemporary for today's living. 

 

Ways to incorporate this into your store: Rustic doesn't just include furniture — think accent pieces like throw pillows in dark browns and greens, country-inspired products (look to our June issue for a round-up of new country items!) and animals prints.

 

WGSN predicts that we'll see all three of these trends in the coming year, so if you start including them in your stores, you'll be ahead of the curve!