Jim Shreve made Baccarat hip. Now, he and his longtime partner, Mark Brashear, along with Sally Burnside, the former Baccarat sales V.P., intend to do the same for DeVine Corp., the 32-year-old distributor of elite European brands. You're invited to the opening!
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Congrats to you all. This is very exciting. Tim, we’ve known each other since before you started DeVine Corp., 32 years ago. You’ve been looking for the right opportunity to retire. TIM ...
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It’s a 40th anniversary for the company founded by Colin Riggs (left) and Ned Voelker’s parents, Abigail and Ed Voelker. Over the last four decades, the entire family has created a curated collection of handmade tableware and giftware for the nation’s independent store retailers.
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Congratulations on a milestone 40th year in business. Are you surprised Abigails has endured? Ned Voelker: We are surprised. It’s a tribute to Ed and Abbie ...
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I got to thinking about the generational make-up of today's workforce when I realized all the folks I interviewed in the current issue are well-experienced, older workers with decades of expertise and know-how, who are still creating and innovating with alacrity. (Yours truly included.)
There was a time when you entered the labor force, worked until a certain age, and retired. Now, more and more people are working into their golden years, a trend that's expected to continue fueled by aging ...
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Brighten up your home with a touch of Sicilian tradition by VIETRI. Sicily has a tradition dating back generations of displaying female and white sculptural heads, and they are often used as planters on doorsteps, porches, and balconies. No matter the placement, these handcrafted Sicilian Heads are sure to be a conversation starter. There are 7 different styles to choose from. Stop in to see our selection.
Join us for an irresistibly Italian experience with VIETRI's Susan Gravely! She will be...
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In celebration of vietri’s 40th anniversary, Susan Gravely, vietri Founder and CEO, has written a memoir and a cookbook.The 240-page book features 52 recipes straight from the kitchens of Susan’s dearest Italian friends. In addition to these treasured family recipes, each chapter tells the story of how Susan met each friend and the meals and memories they have shared together over the years. The book also includes glimpses into these friends’ beautiful Italian homes and gardens...
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Susan Gravely – alongside her sister, Frances, and mother, Lee – founded VIETRI 40 years ago after a serendipitous vacation where they discovered the charms of Italian ceramics. Gravely’s new book, Italy on a Plate, equal parts travelogue/cookbook/memoir, is a culinary delight celebrating four decades of bringing the best of Italy’s tableware to an adoring fan base.
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You and I go back almost to the start of VIETRI in 1983. [Editor&rsquo...
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It’s a formidable task, overseeing product development for all of Lenox’s flatware brands, which includes Lenox, Kate Spade, Oneida, Cambridge, Hampton Forge, Reed & Barton, and Gorham. Your tenures at Oneida and Bed Bath & Beyond, as the tabletop buyer, provide a solid foundation for this position.
Prior to Oneida, where I was senior product marketing manager when Lenox acquired us, I was at Bed Bath & Beyond for 12 years, most recently as the tabletop buyer. My whole ...
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Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio, a software company valued at $28 billion, was recently interviewed in the Wall St. Journal. When he shared who his advisors are, I was surprised to see Danny Meyer, the restaurant kingpin who owns Shake Shack (another publicly-traded company). Mr. Lawson read Mr. Meyer’s book “Setting the Table” and was impressed to learn about the difference between service and hospitality. Service is the delivery of the technical aspects of ...
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Peloton’s new CEO, Barry McCarthy, was recently interviewed in the New York Times (Read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/business/dealbook/barry-mccarthy-interview-peloton.html). The authors asked Mr. McCarthy if he thought that everyone who needs a workout bike already had one. They questioned where else a company making stationary exercise bikes can go (…an ironic question for a bike product that literally can’t move). The Times wanted to know what ...
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In the movie 'We’re the Millers,' a character played by Jason Sudeikis interviews a teen boy wooing Sudeikis’ teenage daughter. Sudeikis interviews the boy about his interests and compatibility with his daughter. (Watch the scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjkLKKgOMRY .) The boy’s neck tattoo reads “No Ragrets.” When Sudeikis inquires about this tattoo, the boy confidently claims that he has no regrets, to which Sudeikis asks, "Not even&...
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Last February e-commerce company Shopify Inc. replaced the “Ottawa, Canada” dateline that began its press releases and earnings reports with a strange new one: “Internet, Everywhere.” The geographical shift came at the insistence of Shopify’s founder and chief executive officer, Tobi Lütke, who tends to view such matters through the prism of cold, hard logic. In May 2020, only a few months into the pandemic, he’d made the early, seemingly rash decision to...
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In last week's RetailDive, Kaarin Vembar penned an article about small businesses and their pains during the pandemic. Ms. Vembar and RetailDive promote the groundswell to e-commerce but sadly shortcut its existence in their very article.
She interviews the owner of Adorned Abode in Tacoma but doesn't add a link to the store's website--which would've boosted the store's Google ranking and increased clicks from readers, and she doesn't give much attention to the store's website offerings. ...
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Shopify's Chief Operating Office said on CNBC last week:
“While other companies are trying to build empires, we are arming the rebels...”
That's a clever quote that could be applied to our retailer base. Bridge is helping hundreds of retail 'rebels' fight back against the hegemony of Amazon. Bridge gives indie stores and brands the software tools they need to connect, sell, and grow.
Today is President's Day, and rebels fighting a big empire is fitting. Let the ...
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September 14, 2019
September 14, 2019
Think that e-commerce-only stores have it made? Guess again. Everlane's CEO says that online-only stores often lose money, and that omni-channel is the sweet spot. See the interview and article:
Today’s WSJ interviews Crate & Barrel CEO Neela Montgomery. Interesting points: - 50% of media budget spent on digital. - 47% of its furniture sales are online. - 95% of products it sells are private label. - It doesn’t plan to sell on amazon.com. - It’s working to speed up shipping times.
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September 14, 2017
September 14, 2017
Know someone that shops on Amazon.com? Thank them for supporting a company that cheats American schools (taxes pay for better schools), safety in our community (taxes pay for safety), and the repairing of roads (ditto).
Need some proof? Here's some:
Franklin Foer, in his book World Without Mind, recounts how Amazon, according to IRS calculations, has used a headquarters in Luxembourg to dodge "a bill of at least $1.5 billion that would otherwise have been paid to the US government."
How important are reviews to your business? It turns out, very important. Read my latest column from Tableware Today magazine on the importance of reviews.
Turning Reviews Into Sales
Does this sound like you...You need a hedge trimmer so you click on Google, read a few reviews, head to Home Depot, and make a purchase. You’re on a favorite clothing store’s website. The pants you’re interested in have poor fit comments so you choose something else. The reviews for the family theme park say it’s dirty...
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March 10, 2017
March 10, 2017
The Bridal Council interviewed Andrew Pickard Morgan about the historic manufacturer's history and future. Please find the interview below:
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10 Questions with Andy Pickard Morgan, President of Pickard China
1) Pickard China is made in America a fine china company since 1893, what kind of china are you known for?
Pickard China is a fine porcelain china company best known for luxurious gold, platinum and cobalt-based china patterns.
What would dinner with Salvador Dali be like? Hint: he liked to throw food...
We're volunteering with the public library to help collect local stories. Why? Bridge believes in supporting independent businesses and local people that support them. Here's our friend Gordon Hawkins sharing his experience as an artist in Soho who ate with Dali at the St. Moritz in 1969.
Note: the interview is about two hours. The Dali dinner is about half way thru.