The New York International Gift Fair continues today. A few observations from walking the aisles of the Jacob K. Javits Center: A few tabletop companies—including Mariposa, Caskata and Juliska—introduced or enhanced their high-end jarred candle collections, with retails that range anywhere from $25 to $60 apiece ... a number of giftware companies stepped up their packaging efforts with beautiful giftboxing programs ... embossed and debossed ceramics continue to be a popular design option in tabletop ... gray and pewter tones remain a design trend in tabletop, as exemplified by collections from Vietri, Arte Italica, Rosanna and others ... Netherlands-based Mimex has brought three of its brands—Pip Studio, At Home with Mariele and Miss Blackbirdy—to the U.S., with a warehouse and sales and marketing headquarters in Pella, Iowa. The brands offer dinnerware, much of it updated vintage, with complementary textiles and are targeting the specialty store market ... Italian tabletop company Seletti showed its Hybrid line, a handcrafted dinnerware line of bone china, which offers half of two patterns in one piece ... barware accessories continue in popularity, witnessed by the number of new aerators that attach to the top of the wine bottle as well as new ice cube alternatives, such as Sparq’s whiskey stones and stainless steel wine pearls ... Corkcicle, after basking in the success of its clever in-bottle wine chiller, has come out with a series of wine bottle stoppers and toppers ... Oggi showed its new Glitter & Glitz barware collection, a handmade beaded line of bar essentials such as ice buckets and cocktail shakers, laminated for a smooth finish. “We don’t usually do mid-year introductions but the retailers we showed it to said, ‘You have to bring this out now,’” said Richard Murphy, director, sales and marketing. A premier line has hand-hammered metal accents ... Jonathan Adler blew out its juvenile line, adding ceramic animal-shaped banks, blankets, storage bins, animal pillows and lamps ... Italian lighting company Flos exhibited at the show for the first time, introducing its 2012 Gift Collection, which is comprised of 12 portable lighting options targeting the gift market, including new designs such as the MiniKelvin by Antonio Citterio and the Piani designed by the Bouroullec Brothers ... Among the Mexican products displayed in the Comercio Internacional Mexicano booth was Cerdo Ahorrador (Energy Saving Pig Lamp), a ceramic lamp that plays on the concept of saving with a CFL bulb as a tail, and the Acapulco chair, handwoven with PVC plastic cord with UV and antioxidant additives ... The textiles section saw a significant emphasis on linen, particularly in window treatments with washed looks ... Needlepoint products, particularly in decorative pillows, were also prominent ... Exhibiting textiles vendors were not shy about colors, with many products in all categories featuring bright and cheerful colorations.
