KNHR's Top Drawer

KNHR Has A New Editor!

Kitchenware News & Housewares Review welcomes Joanne Friedrick as its new editor. Joanne replaces Karen Martin, who is leaving to pursue other interests. She can be reached at joanne_f@oser.com and at 207-780-8656. As you’ll note from the telephone number, Joanne is also based in Portland, Maine. She is a former editor of Gourmet News and has wide-ranging experience as a free-lance writer.

Please join me in welcoming her to Kitchenware News.

Kelly Lewis continues as KNHR’s new associate editor. Kelly joined the magazine staff last month, and her first contribution will appear on the front cover of the January issue. You can reach her at Kelly_l@oser.com and at 520-721-1300.

Publisher Karen Taylor, based in Los Angeles, can still be reached at Karen_t@oser.com and at 323-512-5113.

 

Gourmet Housewares Show Moves To New York In 2011

GLM, LLC, owner of the Gourmet Housewares Show, has announced that the show is moving to New York in January, 2011. No Gourmet Housewares Show will be held in 2010. In January, 2011, the Gourmet Housewares Show will be co-located within the New York International Gift Fair. GLM is hoping that some of the 150 new exhibitors it expects at NYIGF as a result of the move will also exhibit in the fall NYIGF show.

Pet Tabletop

Being an editor of a trade publication covering kitchenware and tabletop comes with many perks. Last year, I was invited to serve as a judge for the tabletop event at Pet Fashion Week in New York. Yes, I said Pet Fashion Week. And, I was judging pet bowls.

Despite the fact that I felt the runway fashions (yes, there was a runway show) were decidedly skewed to the small dog set, I had a great time looking at products that could easily be placed in high end kitchenware stores. Ok, not the Swarovski crystal dog bed, but the bowls, cookie jars and dog treats would work.
 
I am the first to admit that I love dogs.  And while I do not dress my extra large, long haired dogs, I do like nice dishes that go with my kitchen.

According to the 2009/2010 National Pet Owners Survey, 62% of U.S. households own a pet – 71.4 million homes (American Per Products Association). An estimated $45.4 billion will be spent in the pet industry according to the same source. Sales between 2008 and 2009 are estimated to increase by $2.2 billion. Not bad for this year.

If you are not familiar with pet tabletop, I bet you’d be surprised at the number of “people” tabletop companies that are producing such products. Just take a look at Signature Housewares. They carry several lines of pet dishes. The image above is Signature Housewares' City Pets Collection. The one below is the Dog Cat Party Collection.