We are pleased to announce...

...that we are finalists in two categories for the 2009 Retailer Excellence Awards. We are just a tad bit excited, as you can imagine, as well as honored to be considered a finalist along with other select retailers. You can read more about the awards and finalists below. The store staff and I will travel to New York in August to attend the awards gala and shop the New York Gift Show. Stay tuned to find out if we are indeed winners and about all of the great new products that we will bring back from the show!

Gifts and Decorative Accessories Names 2009 Retailer Excellence Awards Honorees

By Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 6/19/2009 1:34:00 PM

New York — Gifts & Decorative Accessories is pleased to name the finalists in its 2009 Retailer Excellence Awards competition, its finalists for Rep of the Year and its 2009 Industry Rising Star award recipient. These honorees will be feted at Gifts & Decorative Accessories’ 58th annual Retailer Excellence Awards Gala, which will be held at New York’s Marriott Marquis overlooking Times Square on Sunday evening, August 16, 2009, during the New York International Gift Fair, a co-sponsor of the event.

An additional element will highlight the evening when Gift for Life, the industry’s charitable arm raising funds for DIFFA, honors Bobbie Gottlieb of Two’s Company with the Gift for Life Industry Achievement Award in recognition of her 40 years of leadership and contribution to the gift industry.

The Gifts & Decorative Accessories 2009 Retailer Excellence Awards Finalists are:
Store Design/Redesign:Under $1 Million
• Elizabeth Allen Atelier, La Jolla, CA
• Flore, Southbury, CT

Store Design/Redesign: Over $1 Million
• Market Place Florida Hospital Orlando, Orlando, FL
• The Store at the Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
• Vera Bradley, Ft. Wayne, IN

Visual Merchandising/Display
• Kate's Paperie, New York, NY
• Slifer Designs, Edwards, CO
• Watson Kennedy, Seattle, WA

Marketing Achievement: Overall Marketing
• The Scarlet Tassel, Atlanta, GA
• Ten Thousand Villages, Ephrata, PA
• The Cordial Cricket, Chester, VA

Event-based Community Service
• Homeward Bound, New Milford, CT
• Leon & Lulu, Clawson, MI
• The Bowerbird, Olde Lyme, CT

Retail Internet Innovator/Innovation
• Dreamy, Encinitas, CA www.shopdreamy.com
• The Cordial Cricket, Chester, VA www.thecordialcricket.com

Rep of the Year Finalists
• Deb Cabrera, Ganz USA, Cheektowaga, NY
• Julia Elliman, Goetz Inc., Dallas
• Cheri Leos, OneCoast, Birmingham, AL

Industry Rising Star
• Under Stella’s Umbrella: Fine Whines, Bellemonde, Noble Initials, Gerard Puvis – Stella Martin, Atlanta, GA

Trophies specially designed by Italian ceramic-maker Deruta will be presented to the winner in each retailer category. Trophies for the Gift for Life Industry Achievement Award, the Rep of the Year and Industry Rising Star will be provided by Mikasa, div. of Lifetime Brands.

For further information or to purchase tickets for the gala, click here.