By Allison Zisko
Clever gadgets and giftable accessories dominated displays at the Gourmet Housewares Show, part of last month’s New York International Gift Fair.
Barware accessories continue in popularity, evidenced by the number of new aerators that attach to the top of a wine bottle, including ones from Vacu Vin and True Fabrications, as well as new ice cube alternatives, such as Sparq’s whiskey stones and stainless steel wine “pearls.” Corkcicle, enjoying the success of its in-bottle wine chiller, introduced a series of wine bottle stoppers and toppers, while newcomer Bar10der, which introduced a 10-in-1 tool that is fashioned after a Swiss Army Knife and includes everything from a muddler to a strainer and jigger, was a finalist in the kitchen preparation category of the Best New Product Awards. 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 for Oggi, and the reaction was “unbelievable” at the show. A premier line has hand-hammered metal accents.
Joseph Joseph, the design-oriented British housewares company, won the Best in Show Award for its new TriScale, an ultra-compact digital kitchen scale that unfolds with three arms to evenly support mixing bowls.
Winners and finalists in each category, which included cooking, dining and kitchen preparation, were selected by a panel of editors based on innovative design; creative use of materials/construction; and use of new materials/technology.–Andrea Lillo contributed to this story