NY Gift Shows – Exploring the Market

16 August 2018 |
 Blog

As Submaterial continues to develop new product lines, we’ve begun looking into ways to break into the gift market.  While we design a new category of residential products, we’re excited to share some of the experiences along the way.

NY NOW

This past weekend, we sent a team to Manhattan to visit the NY NOW show. This tradeshow is held twice per year, featuring designers in the world of home, lifestyle, and handmade categories. We spent a few hours visiting hundreds of booths and have highlighted a few of our favorites below.

Oropopo – laser-cut leather fashioned into wearable sculpture. Oropopo is also based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and draws design inspiration from the local land and culture.

Group photo

Freshie & Zero – delicate handmade jewelry company in Nashville, Tennessee, named after the founder’s nickname and her dog, Zero. We love the jewelry but were drawn in by their wonderful booth display.

Freshie & Zero

Bamboozle – an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic for kitchenware, made with bamboo, a rapidly renewable and biodegradable material.

Bamboozle

SHOPPE OBJECT

While attending NY NOW, we were informed of another design gift show a few blocks away. Shoppe Object is a response to the design industry’s desire for a radical evolution in the gift market.  With the intention to bring top-quality brands together for maximum collaboration, this intimate event promotes a passion for excellence. Below are some of the brands we saw at the show; however, every booth left an impression on us. 

“A focus on elevated and synergistic collections of new product is key, and will be SHOPPE OBJECT’S signature.”

People I’ve Loved– a small print-making team with a focus on tactile experience and messages relating to human interaction. With affordable and relatable products, we had to make a few purchase orders at their booth.

People I’ve Loved

AREA – established in 1990 with the intention of producing really nice bedding and home accessories with natural fibers and endless coordination possibilities.

Area

Light + Ladder – produces fine objects for the home with beauty and function as the pillars of their brand. As you may know, Submaterial is all about plants in the studio, so the creative plant displays caught special attention from our team.

Light + Ladder