Create your own virtual housewares show

Didn’t make it to the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago? No problem!

 I didn’t make it to the International Home + Housewares show in Chicago last month. It was the first time in eight years I missed the show. In case you missed out on the housewares show, like I did, not all is lost. I’m here to help you create your own virtual housewares show. 

Take some time out for education

Maybe you went to the show but didn’t have the time to check out the educational sessions? Now, you can listen and learn at your leisure. There’s three days of sessions from which to choose .  Maybe the merchandising sessions could inspire a few creative ideas for your store’s kitchenware displays.

The International Housewares Association has posted MP3 files of all the education programs here.

Listen to them from your desktop or download them to your iPod.  Plus, you can download the Powerpoint presentations. What great resources that’s at our fingertips, and for free. Personally, I plan to check out the following sessions:

• 10 Consumer Trends to Help You Create New Housewares Business in the Next 12 Months
  
• Experience of the Future: Retail and Packaging Top Trends for 2010
• &  my perennial favorite, Color & Design by Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute.

Look at the new housewares products

And what’s a show without new products? Our sister publication, Kitchenware News and Housewares Review, has the show’s hottest items in its February, March and April issues. Click here to flip through the pages via the epubxpress tool—in full color. Plus, you can share and print this information easily.

Want to know what was abuzz at the show? Check out Karen Martin's show recap in my previous blog post or here.

If you were at the show, I’d love to hear what you thought of the show and what caught your eye. Drop me an email. 

 

Anna Wolfe, editor of Gourmet News