NY gift show honors Areaware, Sweet Bella, 2 others

By the New York International Gift Fair 
 
Four companies exhibiting in Accent on Design® at the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) were presented yesterday with Accent on Design Awards recognizing excellence, innovation and creativity in product or booth design. Accent on Design runs through Thursday, February 2, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
 
“Our judges bring decades of design innovation and experience to the selection process,” said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president. “They’ve identified the products and exhibitors which best showcase the incorporation of design in every step of production, from concept to manufacture and from marketing to merchandising.” 

Winter 2012 Accent on Design Awards were presented in three categories: Excellence in Product Design, 
Excellence in Booth Design and Lifetime Achievement.
 
Lifetime Achievement:
Eva Line, Eva Zeisel for KleinReid (Long Island City, NY) in recognition of the lifetime successes of Hungarian-born artist Eva Zeisel, who passed away in late December 2011 at age 105. Zeisel was known for her work with ceramics that were often abstractions of the natural world and human relationships. The Eva line, an instant classic since its introduction by KleinReid in 1999, features classic and sensual handmade porcelain vessels, serving ware and limited edition prints.
www.kleinreid.com

Excellence in Product Design:
Karl Zahn for Areaware (Brooklyn, NY) for its Dovetail Animals, available in five styles – dog, llama, elephant, horse and crocodile. The three beautifully polished pieces – head, torso and tail – made from solid Beech wood converge with perfect dovetail joints to form the animal or can be mixed for a unique animal creation.
www.areaware.com

Excellence in Product Design:
Sweet Bella, LLC (New York, NY) for its Woolfiller Kit which repairs holes and hides stains in woolen jumpers, cardigans, jackets and carpets in a simple, sustainable and satisfying solution for an age old problem. Capitalizing on the specific character of wool fibers that contain miniscule scales which open when pricked with a felt needle, the kit contains patches that bind with the opened scales and will not separate.
www.sweetbellausa.com

Excellence in Booth Design:
Cameo by Rux (New York, NY) for its use of mirrored plexiglass on two intersecting walls to reflect the booth interior and product tower thereby creating the illusion of added space while prominently showcasing the hand-carved Cameo by Rux Baby Rattle marketed at the Fair. The booth walls, constructed of polished maple to mimic the wooden rattles, were set into the booth at slight angles to provide undetected booth storage areas.
www.cameobyrux.com

The Accent on Design selection committee for winter 2012 includes: David Alhadeff of The Future Perfect; Miguel Calvo of Calvo.co; Ilene Shaw of Shaw + Co! Productions; Kathy Thornton-Bias of MoMA; Laura Young of Areaware; and Wilma Wabnitz of Wabnitz Editions. 

For more than 25 years, Accent on Design has been the industry’s leading resource for design-led merchandise, presenting a dynamic, juried collection of contemporary and innovative product lines from 200+ designers across all categories. Accent on Design is one of 10 divisions presented semi-annually at the NYIGF.
NYIGF is the nation’s premier gift, home and lifestyle marketplace, with 2,800+ exhibiting companies featuring an extraordinary breadth and depth of design-driven home fashion products and complementary giftware. The summer 2012 New York International Gift Fair will take place Saturday, August 18, through Thursday, August 23, 2012. Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 80 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nyigf.com.