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SPECIAL FEATURE: GIFTWARE: BUYERS GUIDE: HOME & KITCHEN STORAGE PET PRODUCTS BAMBOO SEE PAGE 11-18 SEE PAGE 20-21 SEE PAGE 21 K ITCHENWARE NEWS H o u s e w, a r e s R e v i e w S E RV I N G K I T C H E N WA R E VOLUME 19,1NUMBER 10 VoL uMe 9, N uMber 10 OCTOBER 2013 n $7.00 SMALL ELECTRICS n Yogurt Makers PAGE 9 n Kuhn Rikon PAGE 10 HOME DECOR n VIETRI PAGE 12 HOME & KITCHEN STORAGE n Ziploc Vacuum Sealer PAGE 15 RETAILER PROFILE n The Good Life PAGE 17 PRODUCT REVIEW n Chef Pro Super Chopper PAGE 18 GIFTWARE n Designer Pet Products "Made in America" Gains Strength as a Consumer Motivator BY LORRIE BAUMANN CUTLERY PAGE 22 "Made in the USA" is a trend that's growing in strength as its adopted by the mass market consumer, according to Architec CEO Jenna Sellers Miller, whose company is responding by increasing the number of American-made products it offers. "From the marketing standpoint, the Walmart announcement of $50 billon initiative to buy U.S. is going to drive the market, and we're going to see a lot of other companies following suit," she said. Walmart announced in January that the retailer plans to n Whisk Away: Modern Options Increase Efficiency, Alter Traditional Shapes PAGE 23 News..............................................4 Ad Index .......................................23 www.kitchenwarenews.com buy an additional $50 billion in American-made products like sporting goods and high-end appliances over the next 10 years. At the same time, Walmart announced that it will hire 100,000 American military veterans over the next five years. In past years, "Made in America" wasn't a strong seller, simply because American-made products tended to be more expensive than the same item made in China, but over the past five years, that's been changing, according to Sellers Miller. U.S. industries' costs are declining because they're experiencing Kitchen Minimalism: Scandinavian Design for Small Spaces lower energy costs as a result of abundant natural gas supplies, according to the Institute for Energy Research. At the same time, production costs are rising in China, and a study released in April of this year, the "AlixPartners ManufacturingSourcing Outlook," projects that the U.S. will achieve cost parity Continued on PAGE 6 Stronger than Titanium, Lighter than Steel, Sharp for Years. Is this Superknife? BY LORRIE BAUMANN GADGET OF THE MONTH H O M E D E C O R A N D G I F T WA R E M A R K E T S Step aside, Sheriff, there's a new knife in town. VMatter Cutlery has announced the launch of a crowdfunding campaign to bring to market a knife made of a new material that the company claims has the potential to change food preparation forever. The knife is among the first commercial applications of a metal alloy developed at the California Institute of Technology through research funded in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This alloy is a metal that has the amorphous structure of a glass rather than the crystalline structure of a normal metal. You can imagine the difference by thinking about the difference between the sharp edge of a piece of broken glass and the sharp edges that you feel on the grains of sand as you walk barefoot along the beach. This metal alloy is more like that piece of broken glass than it's like those crystalline grains of sand, and the folks at VMatter are claiming that's how it cuts too. Although the material was first discovered 20 years ago, it has taken its inventors a long time to Continued on PAGE 10 Product Knowledge, Passion and Family Involvement Make The Good Life BY LORRIE BAUMANN For more than 40 years, familyowned and operated The Good Life has been providing everything for the well-equipped kitchen of the chef at heart. Cooking classes with a resident chef, demonstrations in and out of the store and an extended family with a deep knowledge of the products are all instrumental in the store's long success. The Good Life is located in Naples, Fla., which has a winter tourism season that stretches from mid-October through April that swells the city's population and has drastic effects on the store's business during that time. "We're about six months on and six months off," says Dave Schwarz, who owns the store along with his wife Deb. "We still do business in the summertime, but it's nothing like what we do in the winter months." The Good Life incorporated Continued on PAGE 17 Modern Scandinavian design offers answers for cooks who find themselves in cramped kitchens short on drawer space. This multi-purpose kitchenware combines style with efficiency, reducing the need for extra kitchen tools, but freeing up space for cooks who just can't resist a few more. These tools and gadgets can be tucked away before guests arrive for dinner, but they're so beautiful that you'll want to leave them out. The Magisso Teacup eliminates the need for a teapot on the shelf and strainers in the drawer with its innovative steep-in-the-cup design. Place loose leaf tea in the small strainer end and fill up the cup with hot water. When the tea is ready for drinking, end the steeping process by tilting the cup away from the tea leaves and enjoy. Magisso also offers the Slotted Turner, a tool that transforms from a spatula to a serving utensil. The Sagaform Hold is a delightfully modern, stylish and minimalist way to hold your page in a cook book. Due to its weight and construction, the Sagaform Hold keeps the cook book open without breaking the binding. When it's not in use, it hangs on the wall. The Funnel and Strainer from Normann Copenhagen, designed by Boje Estermann, are made of durable rubber, allowing them to pop into form for use and nest flatly for storage. True to Scandinavian design, these tools play with bright colors and smooth edges that will brighten up the kitchen when in use and are easy to locate when tucked away.