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!

Celebrate Two Milestones with Homer Laughlin China!

By Vicki Matranga What dinnerware line was designed in 1936, is a hot collectible for antique seekers, and is made by the only ceramic tableware manufacturer remaining in the U.S.? If you guessed Fiesta®, you are correct! Headquartered in Newell, West Virginia, the family-owned Homer Laughlin China Company celebrates two special anniversaries in 2011—the 140th year since…

Housewares History: West Bend Hit the Century Mark!

by Vicki Matranga Cooking Up Traditions for 100 Years Remember your grandmother’s biscuits? Did your mom let you lick the mixer’s beaters when she baked a cake? What about that platter you inherited? You can thank a housewares company for such kitchen memories. Some of IHA’s member companies continue to make great products that people love and use for generations. We…

Housewares History: Seasonal Foods/Local Foods

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator It’s the season for farmers markets and gardening! Even in the chilly Midwest, backyard gardeners are tending their vegetable plants. But how to savor the bountiful harvests ahead? Unless camping or dealing with a power outage, rarely do we think about how people preserved food before refrigerators and freezers. Especially…

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…

HIPster Trends: What’s Hot in Housewares for 2011, part 2

Each year the International Housewares Association and Riedel Marketing Group partner together and go to the source to find out what is trending up, down and sideways in the housewares industry. IHA brought the HIPsters together in mid-October to learn about housewares trends for the coming year and this is a breakdown of the hot items they discussed. If you missed part 1, be…

HIPster Trends: What’s Hot in Housewares for 2011, Part 1

Each year the International Housewares Association and Riedel Marketing Group partner together and go to the source to find out what is trending up, down and sideways in the housewares industry. Consumers that make up RMG's HomeTrend Influentials Panel, or HIPsters, give invaluable insights as to what products/services everyday folks from all different walks of life are buzzing…

How to Get an Education in Housewares and Skip the Tuition

Author: Perry Reynolds, IHA VP of Marketing & Trade Development Are you looking for a single resource to learn more about the housewares industry? Your first stop should be The Knowledge Center tab on IHA website at www.housewares.org. There you will find five separate areas of learning: IHA University, Data and Information, TrendWatch, IHA Gourmet Home and Latest New…