Oser Communications Group

Giftware GIFTWARE 3 0 KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n MARCH 2014 n www.kitchenwarenews.com MARCH 2014 n www.kitchenwarenews.com stackable set of two and is BPA and phthalate free. Finalist: Charmeur, LLC (Provo, Utah) for its Chocolate Making Kit. Finalist: Uniware® Housewares Corp (Hauppauge, N.Y.) for its Ecolon Ceramic Coated Cookware. DINING Winner: SPARQ Home (Denver, Colo.) for its Dining S/4 Vodka Shooters with Caddy, which includes two-ounce shooters with a rustic wooden serving tray for easy transport from freezer to table. F inalist: International Innovation Co./Vacu Vin (Indian Trail, N.C.) for Dining Snap Wine Thermometer. Finalist: The French Farm (Houston, Texas) for its Six Stainless Steel Steak Knives in Wooden Block. KITCHEN PREPARATIONS Winner: Aquaovo (Montreal, Canada) for its OVOPUR, an offline gravitational filter made from natural materials fusing age- old traditions with tomorrow's trends. Finalist: Natural OliveWood (New York, N.Y.) for its Rustic Cutting Board. F inalist: P icnic T ime®, Inc. (Moor park, Calif.) for its Par lor Ice Cream Mixing Set. Award Winners (Cont. from Page 1) BY SAM RUDDICK Irish playwright Oscar Wilde famously said that he never traveled without his diary, because "one should always have something sensational to read in the train." Most of us travel by air today, and I suspect that few if any of us have diaries as sensational as Oscar Wilde's must have been, but journals are still popular gifts, and this spring promises a selection that circumnavigates the globe. We begin in northern Italy, where Florentine artisans have a long tradition of producing some of the finest handmade leather and stationery in the world. Florence is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, and with offices in both Florence and New York, Eccolo, Lmt. imports journals that evoke a Renaissance feel. The 5" x 7" Green Frieri journal, one among many in Eccolo's "Old World" line, features a soft, antiqued leather cover with a flap closure and matching tie. Candy Hutzell, who handles public relations for Eccolo, says that the company's journals are particularly popular with students, writers and people who keep diaries. She also says that journals, in general, "are popular in the fitness industry (because) a lot of people like to journal their workouts." Eccolo's "Old World Journals" are all handmade in Italy. Four thousand miles to the east, Marina Paper maintains a similar commitment to traditional craftsmanship in Nepal. Founded by Marina Shrestha in 1993, Marina Paper works exclusively with Nepalese artisans to preserve not only the local economy, but Nepal's cultural heritage. Marina specializes in Daphne paper, a durable, insect resistant paper made from the long fibers of the Daphne shrub, which is indigenous to the Himalayan foothills. Known locally as Lokta, the Daphne shrub is a self- regenerating plant and grows back very quickly, so it can be harvested in ample quantities without harming the Nepalese ecosystem. The company is also committed to maintaining ethical business practices and raising employment standards in the impoverished nation. Employees are provided with an excellent benefits package, including health insurance for their families and scholarships for their children. Marina's daughter, Nadia Shrestha, is the International Sales and Marketing Manager for Marina Paper, and she says the journals are popular for "their unique design, their vibrant colors, and their authenticity." Authenticity seems to be a particularly important point. "I think that with the Journals: An International Selection growing culture of iPads, iPhones, and computers," Nadia says, "society in general feels the need to create a balance with authentic objects that are natural, more palpable and have a story.... People will not buy our journals to write down their shopping list or things to do. But they will want our journals to capture a moment in their lives." Daphne paper has been used in Nepal to make high quality paper goods, including prayer books and official documents, for hundreds of years. All kinds of people buy these books," Nadia says. "Anyone looking for inspiration." But some journals are designed for very specific purposes, and that makes the target market much easier to identify. If, for example, we travel the 7,000 miles from Kathmandu to Portland, Ore., we reach the home of Pomegranate Communications, publishers of the National Audubon Society Birder's Journal. At 144 pages, this lightweight, compact (4 3/4" x 7 1/2") journal includes space for recording the date, time, and location of bird sightings, as well as the weather, the species and description of the bird, sketches, and any other observation the average bird-watcher might want to record. The Birder's Journal is one of Pomegranate's most popular items, currently in its second printing. Finally, for a more playful approach, we complete our trip around the world and return to Europe, where the Libretto Group, a manufacturing and licensing company in Paris, France, specializes in fine stationer y and paper goods. The Libretto Group's guiding principle is that stationer y "Should be fun, inspiring and amusing," and to that end, Libretto works "with leading designers (to) create products that are as innovative and stylish as the finest fashion." Libretto's spring catalog includes journals by Christian Lacroix, a fashion designer famous for bringing an element of fantasy to the runway. The "Love Who You Want" journal, which is manufactured by Libretto under the Christian Lacroix license, brings a similar aesthetic to stationery. Featuring sketches by Lacroix, the pages are decorated with imaginative figures in unconventional couples— Michelangelo's David in modern clothing, and a Minotaur in high heels. The pages are split horizontally, so when you flip the panels, different characters (and, therefore, different couples) are created. It's a sort of paper dating game. Hence, the title of the journal: "Love Who You Want."

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