All Posts

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

Chicago’s Recipe for Culinary Icons – Passion+Inspiration=Today’s Top Chefs

In the culinary world, if you asked most people to name the leading trend-setting U.S. cities the answer would be easy – it follows a line across the United States from New York to Chicago to San Francisco. These cities are often the birthplace of hot new concepts that flow out in waves and trickle down to the masses. And as culinary diversity grows across the country, these…

Trends: Dieting Gives Way To Healthy Eating

Every January as consumers begin the new year with resolutions for a new body, research shows that when it comes down to actually eating, Americans are less focused on dieting and more focused on adopting a healthier lifestyle. Instead of turning to diet aids and products, consumers are looking for the authenticity and purity of the foods they eat, according to The NPD…

Stats: Time Facebook Posts for Impact

For many smaller retailers, Facebook pages are a key marketing tool. Retailers post cooking school schedules, holiday sales, as well as daily promotions to the social media network and many keep a more personal log about their stores, as a way to underscore their community presence with local customers. But few track just when they post to Facebook with any regularity.…

Loews Chicago Hotel – A Legendary City Has Some Great New Stories

A low, introductory rate of $169 + tax for the 2016 International Home + Housewares Show. Take advantage of 10% off all hotel food and beverage charges. Guests of the International Home + Housewares Show will enjoy complimentary WiFi in their guest rooms and the hotel lobby. Book Your Discounted Room at Loews Chicago! Breaking into the Chicago skyline is not for the…

Trisha Yearwood, Rick Bayless, Ming Tsai Headline Cooking Theater Line-up at 2016 Show

Country singer Trisha Yearwood, Top Chef Masters champion Rick Bayless and James Beard Award winner Ming Tsai will be will be part of the line-up of celebrity chefs appearing in the Cooking Theater at the 2016 International Home + Housewares Show, March 5-8 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Also appearing will be Rose Levy Beranbaum, cookbook author, blogger and James Beard…

Retail Profile: Compleat Lifestyles

Retailer: Compleat Lifestyles Owner: Connie Stevinson Location: Centennial, Colorado Founded: 1984 (changed hands in 2011) Square footage: 5,000 sq. ft. (kitchenware store) The full name of her business says much about the way owner Connie Stevinson views the gourmet market: Compleat Lifestyles/Gourmet & Gifts and Home Accents. This umbrella concept is where shoppers…

THE LANGHAM, CHICAGO – Number One Hotel on Trip Advisor

Book now and enjoy these additional incentives: Book Early and enjoy a special low rate of $275 per night. Offer will expire on December 31st. Complimentary WiFi/Wired internet in guest rooms. Complimentary access to Chuan Spa & Health Club. Book Your Discounted Room at the Langham Chicago As an International Home + Housewares Show attendee, experience the timeless…

Cooking Up Atmosphere

In Hayden, Idaho, residents don’t have many options for fancy restaurant food. But they do have Tiffani Roesler and her store, Gourmet Way, which hosts cooking classes in the retailer’s big commercial kitchen. “You can’t just go and get Moroccan food here,” Roesler notes. “There aren’t that many places to eat out. So if you offer a Moroccan cooking clas,s you get a lot of…

Inspiring the Path to Purchase: Social Media Influencers

Meet Melissa Maker, the woman behind the Clean My Space YouTube channel, and Beth Le Manach, the woman at the helm of YouTube’s Entertaining with Beth. Millions of people view these clever cleaning and cooking queens online, making them some of today’s top social media influencers and YouTube stars. There is one obvious thing that Melissa Maker and Beth Le Manach have in…