Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/264025
O C G S h o w D a i l y Fe b ru a r y 3 , 2 0 1 4 8 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 was- n'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 prod- uct, manufacture it and bring it to 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 compo- nent," 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 bot- tom, 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 starboard- collection.com. See it at NY Now in booth #3566. BABO BOTANICALS PRODUCTS HELP KEEP BABY CLEAN, SAFE AND COMFORTABLE By Lorrie Baumann Winter weather can be particularly tough on babies, whose skin is 70 percent thin- ner than adult skin and very susceptible to dehydration. Baby's skin needs to be moisturized frequently with products that do not strip natural oils from the skin. Products should allow the skin to breathe easily and be free of irritants that can cause allergic reactions. The Babo Botanicals products meet these requirements and are also all-natu- ral, free of parabens, phthalates, gluten, synthetic fragrances and colors as well as nuts. "These are things that more and more kids and adults appear to have sen- sitivities to," says Babo Botanicals owner and CEO Kate Solomon. "We wanted to make the most hypoallergenic products on the market." The products are all dermatologist-tested, allergy- tested and tear-free. Each of the product lines within the brand are formulated to provide specific solutions to problems that babies and their parents commonly experience. For dry skin or eczema, Babo Botanicals' oatmeal and calendula shampoo, diaper cream, moisturizing lotion and body wash are the solution. For calming the fussy baby, Lavender Meadowsweet bubble bath and shampoo is great. Berry Primrose sham- poo and detangler spray are the solution for tangled locks. The products are all made on a farm in upstate New York from pure flower and plant extracts. They come from a mom with a back- ground in working with farmers and who began her career with the Peace Corps by developing a beekeeping program for farmers in the Paraguayan village of San Antonio Guazu. Solomon had applied for the beekeeping program after raising bees with her father at the family home in Connecticut. "Paraguay was one of the few countries that had beekeeping as part of their agriculture program," she says. With a grant from the World Bank, she was able to develop a very solid bee- keeping program there before the end of her two-and-a-half-year assignment. Home from the Peace Corps, she went to work for Avon Products. I was attracted to Avon because I wanted to go into a global personal care business, and I loved the Avon philosophy of women making extra money with their own per- sonal care products businesses," she says. "I've always wanted to have my own business, always. I come from a line of entrepreneurs in my family." While at Avon, she realized that she had a knack for developing brands and products, and she continued her career doing that for other companies, includ- ing, most recently, almost a decade with L'Oreal developing products for the pro- fessional market. I realized I had a knack for develop- ing brands and products, and I continued my career doing that for other compa- nies. "I saw a real need for very high quality products using the power of botanicals for the kids that could be used by the entire family. The botanicals are important because plants and flowers can produce amazing results in a natural way. That's better than depending on chemi- cals that may irritate the skin." She began developing the Babo Botanicals products after leaving L'Oreal in 2007 and launched the busi- ness in 2010. Babo Botanicals, named after Solomon's son's security bunny, was immediately successful in the mar- ketplace. "It's doubled every year, and we expect it to continue to double," Solomon says. The Babo Botanicals products retail from $12 to $14.95. For more information, visit www.babo botanicals.com. JEWELRY BOX FIGURINES FROM ARTISTIQUE 5 DESIGN By Lorrie Baumann Artistique 5 Design is launching more than a dozen new items in its jewelry box fig- urine collection this January at NY Now. These animal figurines are pewter set with crystals with sturdy hinges on the panels that open to reveal that they're also jewelry boxes. "The quality of the enamel is very high," says Alfred Mesri, an officer in Artistique 5 Design. "These are not like many other products out there. The quality is very high." The pieces were designed in the U.S. and Europe and are made in China. The line is currently being sold in the gift shops of some of Las Vegas' finest hotels, including the Venetian, Palazzo, MGM Grand and Mirage as well as other fine giftware retailers across the country. The pieces are sold only through retail shops; none of the collection is sold directly on Artistique 5 Designs' website. Retail prices range from $16 to $120. See them at NY Now in booth #1282. WÜSTHOF INTRODUCES COLLEGIATE STEAK KNIFE LINE WÜSTHOF introduces its Collegiate line of GOURMET steak knives, cus- tomized with university sports team logos engraved on the knife blades. Available now at retail stores nationwide, the new gift-ready sets, customized to support more than 40 different college teams, include: the Collegiate GOURMET 7-Piece Steak Knife Block Set (model 8305) with six knives and a compact light-colored wood storage block engraved with the team logo ($149.99 suggested retail); and the Collegiate GOURMET 4-Piece Steak Knife Set (model 9729), priced at $89.99 suggested retail. These best-selling WÜSTHOF steak knife sets are now available with over 40 university logos; colleges fea- tured in this season's initial roll-out include: Auburn, Florida State, Texas A&M, UCLA, Nebraska, Oklahoma and more. Additional universities will be added in 2014. The new Collegiate sets are perfect gifts for the holidays, alumni, tailgating, graduation, and every college fan. Features: The specially-designed Collegiate GOURMET Steak Knife Sets feature laser-cut, full-tang knives crafted in WÜSTHOF's factory in Germany. The extraordinarily sharp straight edge knives are made of a high- carbon stain-free steel that resists rusting and staining, facili- tates sharpening, and holds its edge. The high-impact black handle is seamlessly attached to the blades with triple rivets for a totally hygienic and secure fit. The new Collegiate GOUR- MET Steak Knives feature a slim blade that curves at the tip to effortlessly and cleanly slice through the thickest steaks, as well as other roasts made of beef, veal, pork, chicken and other poultry. College team spir- it is proudly exhibited with the school team's logo engraved at the heel of the blade on every knife. The Collegiate GOUR- MET 7-Piece Steak Knife Block Set also includes prominent positioning of the team's logo on the center of the storage block. All WÜSTHOF knives are fully guaranteed to be free of defects in craftsmanship.