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IHA’s blog features informative posts written to keep the housewares industry educated and informed about key strategic issues and IHA member services.

IHA Media Events: A View from Behind the Table

By Beth Jester, Public Relations & Marketing Events Manager BISSELL Homecare, Inc. Because BISSELL is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., it can be difficult to reach the shelter, women's interest and other national media outlets in a meaningful, personal and cost-effective way. We look forward to the International Home + Housewares Show each year because many of these…

Housewares Connect 365 Tip: Special Events

By Marie Kulik, Manager of Exhibitor Business Development Generate Interest – Tell us about your special event Housewares Connect 365 allows companies to add information regarding special company news, events, celebrations or milestones that you think buyers, media or consumers may be interested in while attending the Home + Housewares Show. Whether you're demonstrating…

Act Today and Speed Up Your Post-Show Buyer Follow Up! Reserve Your FREE Lead Retrieval Unit / Buyer Connect Unit Compliments of IHA – Limited Quantity Available!

By Sharon Janota Manager, Trade Show Operations Speed up your post-Show follow-up by creating a complete buyer contact list of every buyer who visits your booth. Use this buyer list to track your sales and measure your Show's return on your investment. Don't delay, order your FREE lead retrieval / buyer connect unit while they are still available! Here are the benefits of…

Housewares History:Bundt-ing into the conversation

Bundt cake may not be your favorite, but it's definitely one of the most noticable desserts to come out of the kitchen. Bundt pans are the signature product of Nordic Ware, a company founded by David Dalquist in the 1940s, after being created at the request of a woman from Minnesota in 1950. The pans had a rough go early on, but sales picked up in the 1960s after receiving an…

Don’t be a Greenwasher! Make your products sustainable the right way!

By Jeffrey Rosenholtz Vice President, Sustainability Solutions for NextLife Sustainability is a phrase that is widely used, yet rarely understood. Sustainability is about the capacity to endure; to continue with the model you are doing, not just for a long period of time, but essentially, ideally, "forever". A symbiotic relationship where the waste that is generated becomes…

Student Designers Impress the Judges Year after Year

The Student Design Competition, sponsored by the International Housewares Association (IHA), began in 1993 and is recognized by design practitioners and professors as a valuable contribution to industrial design education. This rigorous competition is judged by 10 design professionals and managers at housewares companies. Each entry receives two written evaluations and top…

2011 Housewares Design “Best of the Best” to be Announced at Feb. Luncheon

The 65 finalists are set for the 2011 Housewares Design Awards. The five finalists in each of 13 awards categories were selected from a field of more than 320 entries. "Best in Category" winners for each of the 13 awards categories will be announced during a special Housewares Design Awards presentation ceremony and luncheon. A trio of "Best of the Best" winners— gold,…

Housewares Connect 365 Tip: Visually Appealing

By Marie Kulik, Manager of Exhibitor Business Development Get noticed - Add catalogs and product images As part of your Housewares Connect 365 listing companies can add catalogs and/or product images FREE of charge. Show the media and housewares buyers what you have to offer by adding product photos or catalog sheets to your listing. In 2010, listings with images were…

Housewares History: White or Wheat? We’re Talking Toast

Toast may not seem like an intergral part of any meal, but people sure do eat a lot of it. Breakfast wouldn't be the same without a side of toast, sandwiches are that much better on toasted bread and where would we be without made-for-the-toaster items like frozen waffles? Then & Now Early toasters, like this 1929 model pictured below, were very small and compact with…