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16 HOME DÉCOR KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n JANUARY 2014 n www.kitchenwarenews.com Home Décor Carina Line of Nautical-Theme Dinnerware to Launch at NY Now Starboard Collection, a company launched in 2013, will be debuting its first products for the market, the Carina line of casual dinnerware, at NY Now 2014. The Carina line issues from the mind of Aimee Marti, the CEO and founder of Starboard Collection, an avid sailor who found that the dishware available on the market wasn't well-suited to life on the open seas. "We spend a lot of time on the water – my kids are school-age," Marti says. "I had a piece of dishware that I had bought at a local store break. We were out on the ocean for a week, and I just became attuned that this wasn't right in any respect: it wasn't the right shape, it didn't store well, and it's not durable." Marti has a marketing background and an entrepreneurial spirit, and after that plate broke when it slid off the table as her boat rose on a wave, she knew there had to be a better dishware product out there. And when she couldn't find it in a store, she decided that she'd just have to make it herself. She asked industry experts for their advice about how to design a new product, manufacture it and bring it to Distinctive Wine Frames Turn Wine Corks into Art About 10 years ago, John F. D'Onofrio was visiting a friend. His friend had a beautiful frame specially designed to store wine corks. D'Onofrio said to his friend, "I want one of those." His friend explained that someone built it for him. D'Onofrio was unfazed, certain he could find one. "And for 10 years, I looked for one. I couldn't find one anywhere," D'Onofrio said. Finally, he told another friend, who happened to be an architect, about the elusive wine cork shadow box. The architect said, "I can build that." And he did. So began the story of Distinctive Wine Frames. D'Onofrio's beautifully designed wine cork shadow boxes are now available in three sizes — large, small and skinny. The large frame holds about 500 corks. The small holds about 250 corks, and the skinny holds about 190 corks. The boxes are available in three types of wood, Brazilian Cherry, White Oak and Clear Pine. "These are luxury items," said Susan Hauptfleisch, owner of New York City Kaia Wine Bar. "Based on our experience, the wine niche market is hungry for this beautiful shadow box, perfectly designed to create an experience and memories." High-end retailers, including gift shops and gourmet stores, across the country have recently picked up the item, featuring it as a wine accessory that people use and as a gift or shower idea for couples getting married or celebrating anniversaries. Selected wineries are also featuring the wine cork shadow boxes. The wine cork frames come with invitations to throw a Fill Up Your Wine ARTEL Offers Arabesque Collection ARTEL, which produces luxury crystal couture, will be showing Arabesque, a new design motif that captures all of the aesthetic elegance evoked by its name, at NY Now. Inspired by antique ceramic tiles that ARTEL's founder and director Karen Feldman discovered in a friend's flat in downtown Prague, Arabesque is the latest addition to the firm's popular Graphic Collection, which includes boldly patterned motifs such as Herringbone, Hexagon, Mod, Saturn, Weave, Polka Dots, and the recently introduced CHEQUERS. Each Arabesque glass is mouth-blown and hand-sandblasted by ARTEL's team of highly skilled Czech artisans, resulting in a matte finish that creates a visual and textural contrast with the adjacent crystal and is extremely satisfying to the touch. Arabesque is offered in a wide range of vibrant colors and a variety of shapes, and is available in both "positive" and "negative" versions (with the sandblasting defining either the 'inside' or the 'outside' of the pattern), making for a variety of mix-andmatch opportunities. "I love the simple yet graceful nature of this classic design," says Feldman. "It lends itself equally well to formal and casual market. Then she hired an engineer to work with her sketches and develop prototypes. "It had to be made in the U.S.A, and it had to have a sustainability component," she says of the design process. "I wanted it to be the highest grade of plastic possible, so that I knew that I was offering the highest quality product possible. It needed to be shatterproof; it needs to be nonbreakable in that setting." The Carina line is being manufactured in northern California from a high grade of polypropylene polymer. "It is made from recycled material, and it can be recycled. That's important, both ways," Marti says. Bowls are round but have a square top, so they'll stack neatly into a small cabinet, using the space efficiently. Every piece of the dishware has a nonskid bottom, so it's less likely to slide off the table when the boat tilts. "Every piece has it, not just the bowls and plates, so that the bowl can be on the tray, and the tray won't slide off the table," Marti says. "I designed it with a nautical aesthetic. Typically with plastic outdoor dining, there's the nautical connection, but anybody on a patio or in an outdoor setting will love this," she adds. "It's really good for people who have small spaces. It's really good for a lot of applications." Retail prices range from $36 for the serving bowl to $59 for the large serving tray. The pieces can be seen at starboardcollection.com. The collection will start shipping in January. See it during its maiden voyage at NY Now in booth #3566. Cork Frame Party, which is a great event for bridal/couple showers, wine tastings, book clubs (especially appropriate for discussions of books with a wine or winery emphasis — like Sideways by Rex Pickett), wine clubs, fundraisers or any reason to get together and drink wine. The host provides the frame and guests each brings a bottle of wine — with the corks often being signed and dropped into the frame as a perfect memento of a special gathering. Additionally, some wedding venues, especially wineries, are offering the frames as a feature of wedding receptions. The frames also come engraved with the honoree's or couple's name(s) and the date. Distinctive Wine Frames encourages those attending or hosting a Fill Up Your Wine Cork Frame Party to take photographs and email them to the company for publication on its Facebook page. Each consumer who emails pictures from a Fill Up Your Wine Cork Frame Party will receive a $10 company gift card. The item is beautiful for its simplicity and understated elegance — and after ten years of searching, D'Onofrio assures one and all that this is an item that, "won't be found anywhere else." For more information about Distinctive Wine Frames , go to www.distinctivewineframes.com or contact Joelle Polisky at 615.516.0358 or via email jpolisky12@gmail.com. table settings and complements both traditional and modern home décor." Established in 1998 by American designer and entrepreneur Karen Feldman, ARTEL specializes in handcrafted, functional crystal glassware of high design. The company takes its name from an early-20thcentury collective of Czech artisans whose dedication to preserving the traditional methods of handcraftsmanship led them to reject industrial production techniques. ARTEL carries on the spirit of these artisans and their commitment to producing – entirely by hand – lasting objects of impeccable quality, design, and functionality. ARTEL's innovative product line can be found on the shelves of Asprey, Paul Smith and Christian Dior, among other exclusive retailers. Available in all ARTEL colors, the Arabesque Collection includes a single old fashioned glass, tumbler, highball, vodka glass and ice bucket as well as a wide range of decorative items. The double old fashioned glass has a suggested retail price of $123 for clear crystal and $147 for colors. The barware decanter retails for $482 in clear crystal or $579 for color. Visit Artel in the Accent on Design division at NY Now in booth #3937.