Archive for June, 2007
Wholesale Chocolate Dragees - The Cocoa Room
Thursday, June 28th, 2007I didn’t really know what a dragee was until just now, but I have definitely eaten and used them. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, a dragee is (Thanks, Dictionary.com):
1. a sugarcoated nut or candy.
2. a small, beadlike piece of candy, usually silver-colored and used for decorating cookies, cake, and the like.
Anyway, I came across The Cocoa Room, and these people are dragee-crazy. Seriously. I tried to think of a kind of dragee that they wouldn’t have, and the only one I found that they didn’t seem to offer was the “sweat sock dragee mix”. I don’t blame them for that one. Check out their yummy-looking Fourth of July Dragee Mix:
While I haven’t tasted their product, their sheer volume of choices tells me that they must be pretty good. How else could they create that many varieties without going bankrupt? Anyway, I just figured I’d write up a mention of The Cocoa Room because they made me hungry. That’s not really much of a reason, but I’m sure that someone out there will find the information helpful.
You can get in touch with the nice folks at the Cocoa Room at:
Suzanne Weaver, The Cocoa Room
2341 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60616
Telephone: 312.326.COCO
Cool Wholesale Pen Company - Xonex
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007Xonex Pens makes more than pens, but inkpens are clearly their stong suit. In addition to contemporary, affordable pens, they also carry a number of journals, office/desk storage solutions, and novelties. I’m strangely drawn to their city journals, which a colorful alternative to the ever-popular Moleskines:
Of course, if you do a lot of catalog shopping (and any retailer should, to see what products are popular), you’re probably familiar with the Xonex Sudoku mechanical pencil:
If you’d like to get in touch with Xonex, send them an e-mail at:
Xonex
csr@xonexintl.com
Wholesale Recycled South American Fashion & Accessories - Escama
Monday, June 25th, 2007Fair trade supporters will definitely love Escama. If you’ve looked around at too many of the typical fair trade wholesalers, you’ll know that there are a few standard products that show up in a lot of places - knick knacks, bowls, tote bags, wooden toys. Escama has something a little different:
It’s a handbag made of those soda can pull tabs, all recycled. If you’d like to inquire about wholesale pricing and availability, contact Escama at:
Escama
Retail Opportunities
info (at) escama (dot) com
Confession: I’m An Office Supply Junky
Monday, June 25th, 2007You can probably relate. I feel like every job is done better when I have the right ink pens, printer paper, notebooks, forms, or files. Sometimes, I spend way too much time (and money!) in office supply stores. For that reason, I like to get the necessities at an online store like RapidSupplies.com.
I get what I need and not *too* much else. Plus, they offer free shipping on orders over $75. Just add in some printer ink and you’ll have no trouble reaching $75. Of course, my personal weakness is writing supplies, and I could get an awful lot of pens for $75.
Wholesale Scrapbooking Supplies - JustRite Stampers
Monday, June 25th, 2007Unless you’re completely oblivious to the world around you, you’re probably aware that scrapbooking is a huge hobby for many people. Depending on the type of customers you serve, there are a number of different ways that you could tap into that interest for profit. If you have a sporting goods store, you could select scrapbooking products that would help parents create scrapbooks to commemorate a child’s partcipation. If you run a crafts store, you could carry almost any scrapbooking items.
Either way, you can get a ton of cool stampers from JustRite Stampers. Most were very general (alphabet, ink pads, and tons of inspirational words like “imagine”, “believe”, and “wish”), so they’d fit it nicely with a display in almost any scenario. I liked the stamper rack, since it really cuts down on clutter:
If you’d like to sell JustRite products, get in touch with them at:
JustRite Stampers
105 N. Chestnut St.
Onarga, IL 60955
Email: sales (at) justritestampers (dot) com
Small Business Web Hosting - Concentric
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007Although I’ve long used a different provider for domain registration and hosting, I’m considering making the switch to Concentric’s small business web hosting, if only for my more business-oriented web sites. I like that they offer free domain registration with every hosting account, and they offer private domain registration, which is a huge plus. I know that sharing your personal information can be considered a sign that you can be trusted, but I don’t register under a business name, and you can never be too careful with your real name and home address.
If you’re in the market for a new site or domain, definitely check them out. There are definitely more well-known hosts out there, but I’m starting to believe that you can get better service by shopping around.
Wholesale Reading Accessories - The Best Book Light Ever
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007Owners of bookstores and lovers of books can appreciate a good book light. That’s doubly true if you have a partner who goes to sleep a little earlier, or who watches television in the dark. I just came across what might be the best book light ever. It’s made by Periscope and they offer several different models. This one is my favorite:
If you want to get in touch with Periscope Lights, call them at:
Periscope Lights
45N Broad Street
Ridgewood NJ, 07450
Phone: 201-447-9760
Fax: 201-447-8876
Email: sales (at) periscopelight (dot) com
Wholesale Garden Supplies - Bavarian Kunst Ventures
Friday, June 22nd, 2007If gardening products have a place in your store, you should check out the gorgeous watering cans from Bavarian Kunst Ventures. Not many companies make unique, contemporary garden supplies, but Bavarian Kunst nails it. Check it out:
They also have some really interesting historical information on the company.
If you’re interested in carrying Bavarian Kunst products, get in touch with them at:
Bavarian Kunst Products
Phone: 513.833.3900
Fax: 513.651.0860
E-mail: info@bavariankunst.com
Balanced Design - Home Accessories Wholesaler
Friday, June 22nd, 2007If you read my little rant on companies that block the public from viewing their collections, you’ll know just how pleased I am to see that Balanced Design does exactly what I was suggesting that other companies should do. You can view their pillow designs on the site, but you’ll have to cough up some credentials if you want to do more than peek.
Here’s one of the many inspired, contemporary square pillows offered by Balanced Design:
If you’d like to contact Balanced Design, get in touch at:
Balanced Design
47 Oriole Avenue
Providence, RI 02906
phone: 401.486.3589
fax: 401.331.9936
sales (at) balanced-design (dot) com
Areaware - Wholesale Products by Local Designers
Thursday, June 21st, 2007New York-based company Areaware sells cool, independently-designed products from area designers. It’s just one more great way to distinguish yourself from places like Wal-Mart, Target, and the department stores…I thought this was pretty cool:
I did think this gold retainer necklace was a little weird, though…Of course, I never had a retainer, so who knows if that’s kind of a silly, sentimental thing for some people.
If you’re interested in carrying Areaware designs, contact:
Areaware
Noel Wiggins
95 Spring St., 2nd floor
New York, NY 10012
1 212 226 5155
noel (at) areaware (dot) com
Eco-Friendly Wholesale Companies and Distributors
Thursday, June 21st, 2007Despite what some business people would have you believe, you don’t have to trash the environment to turn a profit. Plenty of companies make, distribute, and sell products that are easy on the environment. If that’s your thing, you should check out the companies below. While their policies vary from company to company, most will be thrilled to tell you what it is that they do to help out.
Aster & Sage - Eco-friendly home decor and accessories.
Bangkok Imports - Contemporary and sophisticated decor and accessories.
Add An Accent - Fairies and figurines.
Aid to Artisans - Hand-made goods from around the world.
Home Essentials - Wholesale Housewares and Decor
Friday, June 15th, 2007If you have any experience with product sourcing, you’re probably well aware of the fact that there are a TON of companies that sell attractive, neutral, unexciting houseware and decor items. Sure, some of them have different themes - Victorian, modern, country, etc. - but they’re all pretty much the same.
For some odd reason, nearly all of them make you get a wholesale login to view their websites, too. This means that you have to call them up, submit vendor credentials, and deal with followup calls for the next year or so, all because you wanted to browse their product line. Call me crazy, but I hate that.
So, after that wonderful build-up, I’m going to point you to one of those companies. Home Essentials is one more company in a long line of places that you can search if housewares are your thing. They have a total of 8 preview pictures, which makes them a little better than some sites I’ve seen, but it was still enough to deter me from looking into their product line. If I see them at a gift show this summer, I’ll check them out and report back, but I certainly won’t go out of my way.
While I’m ranting, let me explain why I feel this way. I am well aware of the fact that most wholesale companies do not wish to act as retailers, too. I know that they don’t like to share their wholesale prices with the public. What I don’t get is why they don’t want to show their product line to the public.
Seriously, what’s the harm in putting your products online, sans prices? Yes, non-reseller people will probably browse your products. The world will not end. The ability to browse products without a login is good for several reasons:
1. Allow actual, professional buyers to view your line without a lot of work. Yes, this means you lose the ability to pester your “browsers”, but consider how many more you will have. There are literally thousands of companies in the world where I can buy products. Unless I KNOW you have something I want, I’m not going to waste my precious time signing up for your membership.
2. Save money on catalogs. There’s definitely a cost to getting your products online, but there’s also an expense in sending out catalogs. Personally, I rarely request paper catalogs from companies that show their entire lines online. I just browse and order. When I want to show a product to a co-worker, I just print out a single page.
3. PR - Having your products online makes them accessible for regular people - your end buyers. Even if you can’t sell them the item, you could have a links and phone numbers on your page where people CAN get the items. Then, your resellers make sales and buy more stuff from you. Pretty sweet, huh?
4. Appeal to younger buyers - Baby Boomers are retiring now, and we younger types are moving into their positions. As a general rule, young buyers like to deal with their computers. We don’t want to spent an hour chatting with your area sales rep, and we definitely don’t want to fill out major paperwork without so much as a peek at the catalog. Sorry, your candles and vases can’t be THAT cool.
Wholesale Gumballs and Candy - Oh, Sugar!
Monday, June 11th, 2007Honestly, I have a hard time recommending Oh, Sugar because I’ve never actually tried any of their products. They have a cute website, though, so I’ll give them a few points there. If you’re looking for a line that makes gumballs, candy, and cookies, it’s probably worth giving them a call. I don’t know how well they do with internet retailers, but their cute packaging lends itself to brick and mortar sales.
If you’re interested, get in touch with Oh Sugar / Nams Bits at:
Oh, Sugar!
Roswell GA 30075
Phone: (678) 393-6408
Fax: (678) 393-6489
Sleek, Sophisticated, Modern Housewares - Umbra
Sunday, June 10th, 2007If contemporary or modern products fit the feel of your product line, you should definitely check out Umbra. Umbra has a TON of cute products for almost every area of a normal home. I’m loving this clock:
The main concern with Umbra is that you have to be a little careful about which items you decide to carry because you may end up seeing some of them in your local big box stores. That’s bound to happen with any successful company. Still, if you’re picking your products to fit your lineup, you’re probably going to do very well with their stuff. The few pieces I’ve owned have been pretty high quality.
To get in touch with Umbra, e-mail them at sales (at) umbra (dot) com. They’ll hook you up with your local sales rep.
Retail Bounces Back
Sunday, June 10th, 2007I’m experimenting a bit lately with using content from TheNewsroom to supplement what I actually write here on my blog. Since I have a day job, I can’t write for the blog nearly as often as I’d like. So - I’ll try to locate relevant content to share here from time to time.
I couldn’t resist this optimistic piece on recent retail sales. Perhaps there is a light at the end of the tunnel after all 
Wholesale Gifts for Pet Lovers
Thursday, June 7th, 2007Almost any store can do well by dabbling a bit in pet products, and E & S Imports is just one of many companies that would be more than happy to help you out with that. They sell a variety of pictures frames, notepads, magnets, and banks that feature different breeds of dogs and cats. Take a look:
If you’re interested, get in touch with E & S Imports at:
E & S Imports
80 13th Ave
Suite 3B
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
Phone: 631-467-7520
Fax: 631-467-7513
An Ode To Soccer Moms - Connexxions
Wednesday, June 6th, 2007If you’re targeting soccer moms, Connexxions may have just what you’re looking for. They have a variety of t-shirts, greeting cards, and mugs with cute sayings aimed at the average suburban mom. On one hand, t-shirts and mugs are incredibly easy to make, not to mention heavily represented in the giftware marketing - but on the other, I think these could be great if you have a brick and mortar store with a big soccer mom following.
If you want to get in touch with Connexxions, contact them at 1.866.527.4258. They can direct you to the appropriate regional sales rep.
Parasol Wholesale Hummingbird Feeders & Garden Products
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007If you like adorable garden products that aren’t too “country grandma”, you’ll love Parasol. I love at least 50% of their product line, and I’m not even much of a garden person. I’m especially loving the Sailboat Hummingbird Feeder:
Seriously, if anyone who reads this blog decides to pick up this product, let me know and I will be one of your first sales. It doesn’t really fit the style of where I work, but I definitely want one, maybe even two. You can get in touch with Parasol at:
Parasol Garden
Toll-free: 877-748-6637
Phone: 303-777-2944
Fax: 303-777-1178
Email: Info@parasolgarden.com