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www.kitchenwarenews.com • MAY 2020 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW bought it and renovated it into a shop with its original tin ceilings and chandeliers in every room. "I love sparkle. I have chandeliers in both of the windows," Carrico says. "I take old chandeliers and spray-paint them, and that's what's in the shop. There's some bling in them." The city of Waterloo helped with a revitalization grant for improvements to the building's facade. " We put new awnings on the f ront and put a handicap accessibility ramp in," Carrico says. Inside, she offers gift items and a selection of women's apparel in five rooms, each built around a theme. Customers are drawn in by the display of clothing and jewelry items in the f ront windows, and they stay to browse through her displays of home decor, florals, wreaths and lotions, candles and cards until they come to the tiny room at the back that contains a mirror where they can try on clothing or check how a pendant drapes across a bodice. "Right now, it's full of flamingos. People love it," Carrico says. "During the summer, it was a tropical room. Now it's home decor and jewelry and floral decor." One room offers a selection of food items – dip mixes, jellies, soups, chocolate, bread mixes and dessert mixes along with Coffee City coffee and Republic of Tea products as well as private-label tea. "People will say, 'You have very unique taste,'" Carrico says. "They like how I do my designs and the decorating." "I just picked up a new line of candles. The scent I am really featuring is called Sweet Grace," she says. "I have a lot of inspirational and Christian items in my shop." The candle line comes f rom Bridgewater Candle Company, which is partnered with Rice Bowls, a non-profit organization that provides food for children in orphanages around the world. W hen Bridgewater sells a candle, a child is provided three meals. "I was looking for a new line, and I just stumbled on it. The scent of it is just so nice," Carrico says. "I saw the poster about feeding a hungry child." Her buying philosophy is to go to market and buy what she likes, a strategy that's endorsed by her customers, who tell her that her taste is unerring because they like what she likes. "I've found that when I put things in there because I think it's what other people like, it doesn't go over as well," she says. "I have a line of lotions and creams f rom Kiss Me In The Garden that sells really well. Everybody likes that I have different and unique jewelry. And I do have bling – chandelier earrings and things like that." Carrico's marketing strategy relies heavily on social media and on the network that binds other small businesses in a community that's just 30 miles f rom Saint Louis, Missouri – close enough for tourists f rom the city to come down to Waterloo for a day of browsing in the shops, eating in the local restaurants, sipping from a flight of local craft beers and enjoying the festivals that Waterloo's business community mounts frequently to entertain both tourists f rom the city and 10,000 or so local residents. Waterloo has just really been busting at the seams with new restaurants, two microbreweries and the wine bar," Carrico says. "It's really becoming a hopping town." The business owners meet monthly – some in the morning and some in the evening to plan a lively events calendar that includes the annual Witches Night Out in October, German bands on the courthouse square on summer evenings when the weather allows and the Christmas Walk that's been going on for about 30 years. Chantilly Corner was an active participant in the community's recent Chocolate Lovers event, and for Weddings in Waterloo, she plans to offer bottle openers that say, " I do," and bridal tiaras. "We have things that appeal to bars and restaurants and other events that are more for retailers," Carrico says. "It's really neat to have everybody involved. We have a meeting and announce the event coming up and accept volunteers. Someone else will say, 'I'll help you with that.'" Notice of the event goes up on the Facebook pages of each participating business and on the website belonging to the business association, Explore Waterloo. The local newspaper advertises the events and includes it in an email blast to its subscribers. "It goes to a lot more people that way," Carrico says. "There's a lot of little shops for people to come in and spend the day... It's just a wonderful, cute little town." KN LOVE DWELLS Continued from page 1 The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas, a new 315,000-square-foot exposition facility, will transform the buying experience in the Las Vegas Market temporary exhibits when it opens in July 2020. With a new easy-to-shop layout, enhanced categor y presentations and seamless connection to the Market 's permanent showroom offerings, the Expo will expand the product resources available to furniture, home décor and gift buyers at Las Vegas Market. "The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas will enhance the experience for the buyers and suppliers who do business at Las Vegas Market," said Bob Maricich, Chief Executive Officer of International Market Centers. " The state-of-the-art facility will be the new gateway to the World Market Center, creating a dynamic new synergy between the Market's 4,300+ furniture, home décor and gift showrooms and temporary exhibits." With an easy-to-walk and efficient-to- navigate layout, The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas will be a one-stop- shopping destination for temporary gift and home products. The grid-like layout will be divisible into two halls – North and South – which will showcase 1,000+ booths in six well-defined categories. Beginning in summer 2020, The Expo will present 650+ temporary gift and home exhibits, a projected 25-percent increase from winter 2020 Market, in six updated destinations: Design, Gift, Handmade, Home, Immediate Delivery and Luxe. Design will present 50 suppliers in a curated collection of contemporary and design-led gift and home décor resources; Gift will feature 320 exhibitors in an integrated collection of traditional and contemporary giftware that includes decorative gifts, tabletop and housewares, gourmet foods, jewelry, apparel, personal care, baby and kids resources, stationery and innovative lifestyle products; Handmade will showcase 100 artisans in a curated collection of handcrafted and designer maker products; Home will present 120 suppliers in a destination that features accent decor, furniture, textiles, linens and decorative accessories; Immediate Delivery will feature 130 lines of cross-category products that are available for immediate purchase including vintage, antiques, jewelry, accessories, gift items, found objects, repurposed and recycled home décor, and apparel, among others; and Luxe will feature 50 exhibitors in a juried showcase of luxury gift, home furnishings and home décor goods. The Expo's contiguous positioning with Building C makes it the gateway to the entire World Market Center campus. Attendee and exhibitor registration will move to the lobby of The Expo in a repositioning that improves traffic flow between the Market 's permanent showrooms and temporary exhibits. Other building amenities include an onsite shuttle bus depot, attached parking garage and two permanent "grab and go" food service areas. "The Expo is designed to drive new resource growth for both our permanent and temporary presentations, solidifying Las Vegas Market 's claim as the West Coast's premier gift and home market," said Jo Ann Miller Marshall, IMC's President of Tradeshow Leasing. Leasing efforts for the Summer 2020 show are underway. Outside of the January and July Las Vegas Market, The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas is available for tradeshows and conventions, as well as corporate and private events. For information and exhibit space availability, contact Jennifer Muna, CEM, General Manager of The Expo, at JMuna@imcenters.com; or Kaela Simeonoff, Sales Manager, at KSimeonoff@imcenters.com. KN IMC Transforms Las Vegas Market Temporary Exhibit Experience 3

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