Education

Learn about educational events, informative webinars and special reports, designed and prepared to help members stay up-to- date on current business topics, trends and issues!

Armaly Brands: From the Bahamas to Brillo

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator More than 100 Years of Innovations in Cleaning In the early 1900s, W.J. Armaly found opportunity in locally available resources. Living in the Bahamas, he began harvesting and processing natural ocean sponges and shipping them around the world. Two generations of family management and more than 100 years later, Armaly Brands…

tag Marks 35th Anniversary of Design Success

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator In 1976, a young NYU graduate with a degree in biochemistry met two French women who manufactured candles in Bordeaux. At the time, Norman Glassberg (pictured on the right) had already hung up his lab coat for good and was searching for a new business opportunity. Previously he had been one of the partners of a group that…

Housewares History: Mixing it up!

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator Multi-tasking in the kitchen with Sunbeam What kitchen appliance created such a stir in American homes that nearly 70 years after its premier it merited its own U.S. postage stamp as an icon of household convenience? You probably had one in a kitchen during your lifetime—the Sunbeam Mixmaster. In 1929 when the Mixmaster…

Housewares History: Ever Think of Coffee Drinking as Romantic? Savor a Sip of 1930s Glamour

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator This elegant chrome-plated Maxwelton Braes Sunbeam COFFEEMASTER set, with brewer/server, table stove, circular tray, creamer and sugar, is a classic of Depression-era streamlined design. It was promoted by the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company in the late 1930s as one of the company’s glamorous tableside cooking appliances. The…

Antique or Modern? A Look at Kitchen Evolution

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator In the late 1800s, home economists and social reformers focused their attention on the functionality of the American kitchen and improving the efficiency of domestic labor. Kitchen furnishings were spare, with an assortment of simple work tables, cupboards and wall shelves. By 1900, the pace of change sped up. Industrialization…

A Bake-Off Propels A Take-Off

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator Nordic Ware Celebrates 65th Anniversary of Bakeware Innovations Today’s talented performers dream of winning American Idol or other TV competitions, knowing that success will follow. In 1966, when a woman won the 17th Pillsbury Bake-Off with her recipe for a cake baked in a Nordic Ware Bundt® pan, Pillsbury and Nordic Ware were…

IHA Launches Alternative Dispute Resolution Initiative

By Debbie Teschke, Manager of Media Relations & Communications With U.S. civil litigation costs escalating to $200 billion to $300 billion annually, the International Housewares Association (IHA) has launched an initiative to help members save time and money by exploring Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) instead of litigation in a courtroom setting. ADR methods include…

A Seasoned Success Story – Cookware that Lasts

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator Cookware that outlasts the kitchen In an industry that’s all about “What’s New?”, how can a housewares company continue to thrive by selling products that last for 100 years? Just ask Lodge Manufacturing Company, a family-owned and operated business based in South Pittsburg, Tennessee since 1896 and the sole U.S. manufacturer…

Housewares History: Bicentennial Salute to Pfaltzgraff!

By Vicki Matranga, IHA Design Programs Coordinator 200 Years of Tradition and Trends Over the past two centuries, much has changed in how food is prepared and served in America, but what hasn’t changed is how Pfaltzgraff continues to meet the needs of busy families. With a best-selling dinnerware line named Heritage, you wouldn’t expect anything less. In 1833, potter…