We're in the technology sector, and that is often about automating processes. Automating processes often involves reducing computer clicks.

Clicks = Delays and Labor Costs

The Wall St. Journal recently covered six decades of technological innovation, which extolled how technology would save users time and effort via various innovations, including the telephone, fax machine, and copying machine (my dad worked at Xerox!). While we don't make fax machines or copiers per se (sorry, Dad!), like these

The CEO of Strava, the exercise tracking app, is trying to convert more users to paid members. Strava tries many different paths to boost usage and revenue, including helping members compete against each other. 

Michael Martin, the CEO, noted in a recent The Wall St. Journal article that working out can be lonely, and Strava seeks to fix this by building a community around exercise. (Yes, people will pay to not be lonely.) We have long said that working in retail--and online retail in

NUDE launches BAR/GIANI, a cocktail collection where timeless craft meets modern mixology from award-winning mixologist Giorgio Bargiani

NUDE  has launched Bar/Giani in collaboration with award-winning mixologist Giorgio Bargiani, above, a barware collection that includes four cocktail glasses and one mixing glass. Says U.S. national sales manager Andrea Berta, “Bar/Giani blends sophisticated design with sleek functionality in a celebration of the art of mixology, conceived for bars and at-

After 40 years covering the tableware industry – 30 as founder, editor, and publisher of Tableware Today – the time has come to put down the pen, or, more accurately, the keyboard. This issue marks the final chapter of a journey that has been truly remarkable for me. It’s a bittersweet goodbye, filled with gratitude and happy tears. 

When I launched Tableware Today, I had one goal in mind: to serve this vibrant, ever-evolving industry with stories that mattered – from retailers to

While this may be the last issue of Tableware Today, it’s surely not the last of what the magazine has given us. What surrounds me and you has been touched and improved by Amy and Tableware Today in small and big ways. Over the last 19 years, thanks to Tableware Today, I’ve gained friends, grown my business, and enriched my life. In 2006, I was fresh into the tableware website scene and it was hot. I’m not talking limo rides, after-hours parties, and bottle service; I’m talking HTML, ColdFusion,

We're sad to share this is the last issue of Tableware Today. We will miss seeing our friends in the issues.

In the issue, Vista Alegre, Casa Alegre, Orrefors , and Kosta Boda promote the Shop Local platform.

• A brand displays our ShopLocal.org logo so that retailers reading the magazine know they can easily sell the products shown.
• When a brand offers our Syncing service, a retailer can instantly display the brand's entire product catalog online.
• The retailer's customers can buy the products

While this may be the last issue of Tableware Today, it’s surely not the last of what the magazine has given us. What surrounds me and you has been touched and improved by Amy and Tableware Today in small and big ways. Over the last 19 years, thanks to Tableware Today, I’ve gained friends, grown my business, and enriched my life. In 2006, I was fresh into the tableware website scene and it was hot. I’m not talking limo rides, after-hours parties, and bottle service; I’m talking HTML, ColdFusion,

SPHERES AND CYLINDERS AND CONES, OH MY!

These shapes form the basis of Geometry, mouth-blown glassware from Orrefors created by the 30-year Swedish architect and design firm Claesson Koivisto Rune, who have turned stem and foot into stylized geometry.

This crafted blend of minimalism, precision, and elegance uses intriguing geometric shapes to deliver an iconic and classic design that captures past and future.

Geometry is an exemplary example of the best of Scandinavian contemporary design from the

Gudrun, a new collection by Claudia Schiffer and named for her late mother is one of the few times that the two Portuguese brands, Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro, have collaborated. After the success of Schiffer's Cloudy Butterflies for Bordallo Pinheiro, Schiffer was eager to mix porcelain and ceramics for a fall-inspired range that pays homage to Gudrun and reflect Schiffer's domestic bliss in the English countryside.

.............................

“I grew up surrounded by a large garden full

One of the earliest documented examples of brands collaborating successfully is the partnership between fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli and surrealist artist Salvador Dalí in the 1930s, when they created iconic pieces like the Lobster Dress, blending art and fashion in a groundbreaking way. Brand collaborations are nothing new. Today, we regularly see collaborations between brands, artists, and celebrities.

Within the same sector, brands once seen as competitive become colleagues with mergers

In a recent Tableware Today article, I implored retailers to 'build their robot.' I encouraged them to invest in technology to automate their processes. I told them how larger retailers like Amazon and Walmart are spending heavily on technology, and that is the best spot to get long-term ROI. Yet, there is another area that indie stores can target to boost profit, and it requires less time and money than spending on technology. 
 

Low Prices > Pretty Website

We've recently discovered

We're happy to see Casa Alegre, Orrefors , and Vista Alegre promote the Shop Local platform in Tableware Today's April/May 2025 issue.

• A brand displays our ShopLocal.org logo so that retailers reading the magazine know they can easily sell the products shown.
• When a brand offers our Syncing service, a retailer can instantly display the brand's entire product catalog online.
• The retailer's customers can buy the products and add them to gift registries.
• The retailer doesn't need to add the

Each month, our Leaderboard reports the best performers from among 1,500 indie stores, 3,000 brands, and 300,000 products with no man hours. Leaderboard results are automatically tallied and published on the first of each month; it’s as if I have an omnipotent robot that does this work for me. Automation like this is crucial to running a successful business. 

Amazon, Walmart, and other retail giants spend massively on automation because this will decide the winners. In 2025, retailers will

We track the benefits of automation, and this human error caught my eye. An employee at Citigroup incorrectly typed in a refund amount, and it nearly cost the bank $81 trillion. The bank spotted this error and stopped it. The bank replied that it's adding more automation to its processes to avoid such mistakes.

While the stakes aren't as high for our indie stores, each day we see our 1,500 indie retailers manually entering product data into their POS and online stores. This process is ripe for

Each month, our Leaderboard reports the best performers from among 1,500 indie stores, 3,000 brands, and 300,000 products with no man hours. Leaderboard results are automatically tallied and published on the first of each month; it’s as if I have an omnipotent robot that does this work for me. Automation like this is crucial to running a successful business. 

Amazon, Walmart, and other retail giants spend massively on automation because this will decide the winners. In 2025, retailers will

The Wall St. Journal shares this weekend that Walmart has automated 50% of its fulfillment process, bringing down fulfillment costs by 40%. This 40% in savings will thereafter be used as a pricing advantage against indie stores (and retailers of any size). 
 

Walmart, like Amazon, is spending billions of dollars to accomplish this. The goal is to spend $1b today to save $1m tomorrow on labor and sell $1m more tomorrow. Long term, these numbers snowball and are in Walmart’s favor.

Last

We're happy to see Vista Alegre and Orrefors promote the Shop Local platform in Tableware Today's February/March 2025 issue.

• A brand displays our ShopLocal.org logo so that retailers reading the magazine know they can easily sell the products shown.
• When a brand offers our Syncing service, a retailer can instantly display the brand's entire product catalog online.
• The retailer's customers can buy the products and add them to gift registries.
• The retailer doesn't need to add the products to