THE SUMMER MARKET: AUG 4 – 7, 2024, JAVITS CENTER

WHITE PLAINS, NY, November 7, 2014… A comprehensive roster of educational sessions and special after-hours events will complement exciting product finds during the winter edition of NY NOW®, the Market for Home + Lifestyle, January 31-February 4, 2015, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. In addition, awards for product excellence and special feature displays will spotlight and celebrate the industry’s best product designs in several categories.

Industry experts will share design and color trends, social media and related marketing strategies, the basics of importing and other business-building advice. NY NOW-hosted after-hour events include the popular “Night on Broadway” featuring specially-priced tickets to THE LAST SHIP. A full seminar and event schedule is available online at www.nynow.com/programs and advance pricing discounts are in effect through January 27.

“From savvy business strategies to social media tips, NY NOW seminars cover practically every aspect of retailer education, and our after-hours entertainment showcases New York City’s best offerings and our industry’s highest achievers,” said Scott Kramer, NY NOW co-director and vice president. “In addition, NY NOW’s product excellence awards and special feature displays ensure that we spotlight the very best the industry has to offer.”

Four seminar “tracks” – HANDMADE, HOME, LIFESTYLE and NEW! IDEAS – are designed specifically to complement NY NOW’s comprehensive collections. Nearly 40 sessions presented during NY NOW also address issues and opportunities central to today’s home and lifestyle industries. Most NY NOW sessions cost $20 in advance, and $25 onsite, and advance registration is suggested. Complete details, and pricing, are listed online at www.nynow.com/programs.

As part of the HANDMADE track, Craft Retailers & Artists for Tomorrow (CRAFT) will host five daily “Power Hour” sessions focusing on different aspects of branding and marketing: “Social Media to Match Your Vision & Goals,” “The Power Of Collaborative Marketing,” “Image Marketing: Your Brand Is Counting On You,” “Using Storytelling To Boost Your Brand & Your Business” and “The When, Why and How of Content Marketing.” In addition, free “Importing 101” sessions will be presented daily, from February 1-4, in connection with Artisan Resource®, which runs concurrently with NY NOW at the Javits Center.

Within the HOME track, ART (The Creative Network) will host “The Well-Dressed Home: How Fashion Trends Influence Home Products.” Jaye Anna Mize, Home Interiors Editor of Fashion Snoops, will present an overview of fashion and color trends impacting the home, while Jenny Heinzen York, editor-in-chief of Home Accents Today will moderate and share findings from the magazine’s “Fashion Forward” outlook report. New York City’s International Furnishings & Design Association (IFDA) also will host “Explore the Future with ColorVoyant 2015: Silence,” in which Doty Horn, Senior Vice President of Design at Congoleum Corp and Founding Director of ColorVoyant, a visionary color marketing firm, focuses on practical applications for four forecasted color themes: Noise, Braille, Blur and Quiet.

As part of the LIFESTYLE track, the Day Spa Association will host “Spa-ctacular Products to Boost Sales” showcasing “can’t miss” products from the NY NOW exhibit floor. As an added bonus, seminar participants will receive coupons for show orders and a chance to win a swag bag containing free samples. Susan Tucker of Giftware News and Baby & Kids will share advice for trend-spotting and integrating trends into existing best sellers in a session titled, “Keeping It Fresh – How to Spot, Shop & Sell On-Trend Gift Items.”

A fourth track, titled “NEW! IDEAS,” recognizes the nation’s growing “Maker Movement,” and offers two seminars related to NY NOW’s “Maker Project”: Susan Szenasy of METROPOLIS will moderate “Modern-Day Matchmaking Redux: Tech Tools For 21st Century Makers,” a look at how technology is fueling a growth in design and how ideas become products. Panelists include Matthew Burnett of Makers Row, Evan Cohen from IndieGoGo, Joanne Domeniconi of The Grommet and Abigail Keifer of Red Clay. In a second “Maker Project” session, Erin Andrew of the Small Business Administration will present “Fostering Small Business Entrepreneurship in Today’s DIY Economy,” focusing on tools and programs available to small businesses creating and selling self-made products.

Also, as part of the NEW! IDEAS track, Linda Cahan, visual merchandising and store design expert, and columnist for Gifts and Decorative Accessories, will present “Store Design On a Shoestring: Design Or Renovate?” addressing trends in store design, and ideas for budgeting and creating a floor plan that works. In addition, the NEW! IDEAS track will include a series of 15-minute seminars presented by SnapRetail, focusing on a variety of e-commerce, social media and e-marketing strategies for retailers – from how to get the most out of a store’s website, to effective strategies for Pinterest and Instagram.

Two highly anticipated after-hours events are scheduled for Market Week. NY NOW’s popular “A Night on Broadway” features specially-priced tickets to the Tuesday, February 3, performance of THE LAST SHIP, a new musical written by Sting. Tickets, normally priced at $132, are $99 before January 27 – and $109 after – for market participants. Gift For Life hosts the 23rd anniversary “Party For Life” gala fundraiser on Monday, February 2. Proceeds from the tickets, priced at $125, benefit DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the U.S.

Market participants are also eligible for reduced-price admission ($9) to the newly redesigned Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum during Market Week with a winter 2015 badge. In addition, the concurrent Artisan Resource®, which offers U.S.-based volume importers, direct import retailers and wholesalers the opportunity to meet with international artisanal producers, will host a free welcome reception on its opening day, February 1. Members of the Museum Store Association attending NY NOW are invited to a Member Networking Event on February 3, which will include a cash bar and light fare.

Beyond events and education, NY NOW will feature three special products displays, including the debut of a special NY NOW NEW! Preview Display spotlighting products from exhibitors new to NY NOW and the Market’s three collections – HOME, LIFESTYLE and HANDMADE. For the first time, the “Made in USA” display will be curated by CRAFT (Craft Retailers & Artists For Tomorrow), showcasing the best in handcrafted and factory-produced American-made home and lifestyle products. Finally, the SustainAbility: design for a better world® display will feature eco-friendly and socially-responsible home and lifestyle products and producers.

Superlative product design and innovation will be recognized in four Best New Product Awards categories: Baby + Child, Gourmet Housewares + Tabletop, Home Textiles and Personal Care + Wellness, with popular voting to determine an overall “Best of HOME” and “Best of LIFESTYLE” winner from among these categories. Popular voting also will determine “Eco Choice Awards” winners in three categories – Most Sellable, Most Innovative and Most Sensitive Use of Materials.

Outside experts will select winners in three additional awards categories: The Accent on Design® Awards and the Accent on Design “Bloggers’ Choice Awards” will recognize excellence in contemporary home and lifestyle product design; and the ASID NY Metro Chapter’s “Best of the Best” Awards will recognize HOME exhibitors for product excellence in seven categories.

The winter 2015 edition of NY NOW®, the Market for Home +Lifestyle, will run Saturday, January 31, through Wednesday, February 4, 2015, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. NY NOW has staggered show opening dates and locations, with HANDMADE running Saturday to Tuesday, and HOME and LIFESTYLE running Sunday to Wednesday. Market hours are 9am – 6pm, daily, except Tuesday, February 3, when HANDMADE closes at 5pm; and Wednesday, February 4, when HOME and LIFESTYLE close at 2pm.

NY NOW’s comprehensive collections – HOME, LIFESTYLE and HANDMADE, as well as NEW! exhibitors – will encompass 100,000 products in 400+ product categories. Attendees from all 50 U.S. states and more than 80 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration are available online at www.nynow.com.