Housewares

Provo, Utah-based Natural Trends LLC introduced a number of new products and brands to the promotional products industry at the PROMOTIONS EAST 2011 trade show in Atlantic City, N.J. this week.

As I write this, it's 10 a.m. on the East Coast, but it's 5 o'clock somewhere and that means it's time for the Martini Set Travel Case from Starline USA. The leather case includes two martini glasses, a shaker, a jigger and a dash of panache.

This month's My Best Promotion shows how one distributor whipped up a popular self-promotion piece based around a cookbook.

The three keys to success for any party are: snacks, drinks, frisbee. Picnic Plus by Spectrum solves all three with their wooden Cocktail Trays. The four set of trays carries food, has a cut-out wine glass holder, and after a few of those glasses of wine makes a great flying disk (as long as it isn't your house).

Starline USA announced two new hires this week. Paula Coomer has joined the company as regional sales manager for Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, and Anthony Destino has joined the inside sales team as an inside sales representative working with the Northeast territory.

The industrialization of China, India and other emerging nations combined with American companies outsourcing manufacturing has created serious competition for American workers.

Promotional knives are one of those specialty gifts that are not given away every day. They are usually more expensive than popular gifts such as promotional pens and mugs that are needed daily.

Bridgeport, Connecticut-based Prime Line unveiled its new tradeshow booth at the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) Expo taking place in Las Vegas this week.

Miami-based Bullet, a member of Polyconcept North America, the second largest hard goods supplier within the promotional products industry, has added a plastic tumbler and a collapsible vase to its line of products. The Sizzle Tumbler with Straw is available in eight translucent colors, and the Fiore Vase is clear with the choice of seven base accent colors.

As of September 27, 2010, Norwood Promotional Products' credit department has been operating out of the Clearwater, Fla. headquarters. The team has been preparing for this move for several weeks in order to make the transition as smooth as possible for our customers.