By Jennifer Alexis
It doesn’t have the words “area rugs” anywhere in the title, but rug vendors find that the New York International Gift Fair is a venue worthy of their time and effort and one that allows them the opportunity to generate further interest in their products.
Held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and in several piers of the Passenger Ship Terminal, NYIGF’s biannual presence in New York offers a unique opportunity for interested rug companies that want to appeal to a wide array of attendees who are seeking to build their lifestyle and gift assortments.
Company C values the show for its ability to draw an eclectic assortment of product lines. “There’s a lot of very unique, one-of-a-kind items at the NYIGF, which we love,” said Kristi Lefebvre, marketing manager. “We also exhibit at High Point and Las Vegas [World Market Center], which are more furniture markets, so we attract a slightly different crowd in New York. It’s a nice variety.”
The company has shown at NYIGF for the past three years after taking a brief hiatus from the show. Its current setting at the show has been a boon for Company C.
“We have a wonderful space on Pier 94—island space right as attendees walk onto the pier,” Lefebvre added. “With our colorful products, the space really grabs your attention. It’s worked out great for us.”
Going to the show is something of a no-brainer for Asia Minor Carpets’ President Alp Basdogan. The eclectic feel of the show, he said, is a great fit for a company that seeks to stay on the creative cutting edge of design, color, style and construction.
Basdogan also appreciates the mix and variety of attendees and exhibitors. “The more vendors you have coming to the shows, the better you do,” he said. “People get to see more merchandise on one roof.”
The rug company Dash & Albert has been a regular at the show since its inception and credits the show for helping to build a customer base early on. “We launched the company at the 2003 January gift show,” President Annie Selke said. “The show gave us instant credibility and a wonderful group of buyers.”
All three companies will introduce offerings at the January show, hoping to delight existing customers and grab the attention of new ones.
Company C will be showing its Modern Tropic collections, a display of bright, bold tropical prints in colors such as kiwi, mango and watermelon. Asia Minor will unveil new color schemes of its Patchwork collection, stitched from remnants of authentic antique Turkish rugs that Basdogan hand-picks. “They are all one-of-a-kinds with color themes that I put together,” he said. “Each one becomes a mosaic of Turkey.”
Dash & Albert is also sure to unveil new color palettes, as Selke asserts, “People always come to Dash for color direction to help choose other products and accessories.
“We are working on a new fixturing program and we, as always, have a bunch of great-looking new rugs in many categories, including indoor/outdoor, wool tufted, and we are adding a brand-new category of woven wool rugs,” she added.