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UPDATE: KNHR @ THE HOUSEWARES SHOW SEE PAGE 15 PRODUCT REVIEWS: BELLINI KITCHEN MASTER SEE PAGE 14 GADGET OF THE MONTH: SAVORA SEE PAGE 31 H o u s e w a r e s R e v i e w KITCHENWARE NEWS S E R V I N G K I T C H E N W A R E, H O M E D E C O R A N D G I F T W A R E M A R K E T S V O L U M E 1 9 , N U M B E R 1 0 THE KNIFE RACK n Le Petit Chef from Opinel 10 SMALL ELECTRICS n Show Introductions 12 KNHR @ THE HOUSEWARESHOW n Show Introductions PAGE 15 HOME DÉCOR n Rolf Glass PAGE 27 SERENDIPITY n Touch of Ice Cooler from Prodyne PAGE 29 GIFTWARE n Journals from Around the World PAGE 30 PRODUCT REVIEWS n WineO Stopper and Bella Tavola miniTorch PAGE 31 GADGET OF THE MONTH n Savora Can Opener PAGE 31 News ..............................................4 Ad Index .......................................31 www.kitchenwarenews.com VOLUME 20, NUMBER 3 MARCH 2014 n $7.00 BY DONNA BOYLE SCHWARTZ Ah, the beach…is there anyone who doesn't love the feeling of crisp sea air blowing in their face or of soft, warm sand beneath their toes? It seems that, as a nation, the people of the United States are drawn inexorably to seaside regions—indeed, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 123 million people, or 39 percent of the total U.S. population, live in counties located directly on the shoreline, even though these areas constitute less than 10 percent of the total land area (not BY SAM RUDDICK When it comes to home décor, the Southwest has a style and flavor of its own. You'll see plenty of color: a lot of turquoise, with lovely reds and browns. You'll see bronze Kokopellis, and Aztec designs on wool rugs. You'll see rustic dinnerware, and cactuses everywhere. There are cactuses painted on plates, cactuses on coffee mugs, and pictures of cactuses on the walls, not to mention the real live cactuses The Pear Tree House Brings Classic Charm to the Southwest Continued on PAGE 27 Continued on PAGE 28 Continued on PAGE 13 Continued on PAGE 30 outside. What you do not see— at least not as often—is classic and traditional home décor. To fill the gap, Chris Wangensteen- Eklund opened the Pear Tree House, a boutique shop specializing in upscale gifts in Tucson, Arizona. Billed as "a lifestyle store for classic and gracious living," Pear Tree House fills a very particular niche in Tucson because of the exclusive lines Wangensteen- Eklund carries. For example, she is one of only four retailers in the state carrying William Yeoward Crystal. The other three are in the Phoenix area, about 120 miles to the north. Pear Tree House also carries handmade Match Pewter dishes from northern Italy and fine ceramic dinner ware made in Portugal by Skyros Designs. The table linens are by Sferra, a luxury linens company originally founded along the BY SAM RUDDICK Working with family can be funny. Just ask Laura Johnson, Founder and CEO of Coton Colors, about the time her mother melted the vacuum. "Making potter y takes patience," she explains. Items have to be fired in a kiln, and between every batch, the kiln has to cool. "But we're not patient people," she says. "We're all the type who just want to get things done." So Laura's mother, Dee, thought it might be a good idea to attach a vacuum hose to the Family Owned and Operated: Coton Colors Gourmet Housewares New Products Award Winners Named Ocean Breezes Freshen Home Décor Offerings kiln. She thought if she could suck the hot air out of it, the kiln would cool down faster, and she could move on to the next batch. The vacuum hose melted on contact. "Other people might have been upset," Laura says. "But she has the ability to laugh at herself. We're all like that." Founded in 1995, Coton Colors is a manufacturing and design company specializing in unique pottery and creative gifts. In addition to its two retail stores, the company manufactures Coton Colors products that are distributed to retailers nationwide. " We're all really motivated," Laura says, and while Coton Colors is nothing if not her brainchild, it has always had family at its core. In fact, the company has its origins in family gatherings. When Laura's daughters were very young, she used to look after their cousins, too, and they often had meals together. To make the kids feel special, Laura painted including Alaska.) Furthermore, from 1970 to 2010, the population of these counties increased by almost 40 percent, and is projected to increase by an additional 10 million people, or eight percent, by 2020. Suppliers of home accents, tabletop and gifts are taking advantage of America's ongoing love affair with the sea and shore to launch countless collections of products featuring aquatic flora and fauna, nautical motifs and coastal themes in an array of soothing oceanic hues—cool green, deep blue and rich turquoise, punctuated with pops of coral and crimson. Fashionable introductions at last month's NY NOW Market for Home & Lifestyle featured myriad sea-inspired motifs, including coral, fish, shells, pearls, lobsters, crabs, turtles, seahorses, starfish and octopi, as well as nautical elements such as anchors, ropes, compass stars, fishing nets, ship's wheels and signal flags. Many suppliers used genuine coastal components in their home décor offerings, using actual shells, sea grass and driftwood to construct striking and unique Four companies were named Gourmet Housewares Best New Product Award winners in connection with the winter 2014 edition of NY NOW™, the Market for Home + Lifestyle (formerly NYIGF®). Lifetime Brands, Inc., received "Best of Show " honors for its Savora Colander. Awards also were presented in three product- specific categories, including cooking (cookware, bakeware and electronics); dining (serveware, bar/wine accessories, picnic/ barbecue accessories and specialty foods); and kitchen preparation (kitchen gadgets, kitchen textiles, cook books and storage/ containers). Winners and finalists in each category were selected by a panel of eight trade editors based on innovative design; creative use of materials/ construction; and use of new materials/ technology. " This product categor y is crowded with quality and innovation, but these companies in particular set a higher standard in product design and performance," said Marc Delman, Tabletop + Gourmet Housewares National Sales Manager. The winter 2014 winners and finalists are: BEST OF SHOW Lifetime Brands Inc. (Garden City, N.Y.) for its Savora Colander, a stainless steel colander with a premium, baked- on finish and drainage holes, designed in a vortex pattern. COOKWARE Winner: Zoku® (Hoboken, N.J.) for its Zoku Ice Ball, which forms perfect ice spheres by pouring water through the hole on the top of the food-safe silicone mold and freezing. It comes in a

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