New England Products Trade Show Announces 2008 Winners
Portland, ME – The New England Products Trade Show (NEPTS) recently announced the winners of this year’s Best New Product and Best Booth awards. The 13 honorees were recognized at the 24th annual New England Products Trade show, Portland, ME earlier this spring.
The 2008 Best New Product Giftware winners are:
Artful Wares, Old Town, Maine (First Place)
One Lupine Fiber Arts, Bangor, Maine (Second Place)
Monroe Salt Works, Monroe, Maine (Honorable Mention)
Brookside Nature Products, East Waterboro, Maine (Honorable Mention)
The 2008 Best New Product Specialty Food winners are:
Vervacious LLC, Biddeford, Maine (First Place)
Monica’s Chocolates, Lubec, Maine (Second Place)
Appledore Cove, North Berwick, New Hampshire (Honorable Mention)
Pickles N Things, Auburn, Maine (Honorable Mention)
The 2008 Best Booth winners are:
Island Granite Works, Wiscasset, Maine (Best Booth)
Maine Mountain Soap, Greenville, Maine (Honorable Mention)Infinity Glass, Leominister, Massachusetts (Best NEW Booth)
Patchwork Woo, Standish, Maine (Honorable Mention)
Dana Elle, Winthrop, Maine (Honorable Mention)
The NEPTS Best New Products awards are sponsored by MEMIC and given in two categories, giftware and specialty food. Best Booth is sponsored by the Maine Small Business Development Center and recognizes exhibitors for both Best Booth and Best New Booth. Winners of both Best Booth and Best New Products receive awards of either cash or credit towards their 2009 booth payment. Awards are generously underwritten by NEPTS sponsors, MEMIC and the Maine Small Business Development Center.
“We see the heart and soul of New England reflected in these winners. The products are of the highest quality and the families behind them are the true winners,” says Stefa Normantas, Show Producer.
The 24th annual New England Products Trade Show, the country’s only trade show featuring products exclusively from New England, ran March 15-17, 2008, at the Portland Sports Complex. NEPTS attracts around 2,000 retail buyers from across the country and showcases over 200 exhibitors. The show presents a juried selection of giftware, home furnishings and specialty food from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The New England Products Trade Show is owned and managed by Giraffe Events, LLC.
MEMIC sponsored awards in the following categories:
Best New Product: Giftware First Place: Artful Wares (Old Town, Maine) for their “Mussel and Lobster Serving Tile”. The Mussel and Lobster Serving Tile is both artful and functional and is designed from recycled mussel and lobster shells.
“The NEPTS is respected by buyers for the high quality class of New England manufacturers that display there, so for us to be selected as the Best New Product is an honor that gives us a great sense of pride,” says Mickey Shattow, Owner. “The NEPTS Best New Product award has helped Artful Wares create the reputation of excellence that fuels the growth of our business.”
Second Place: One Lupine Fiber Arts (Bangor, Maine) for their “Fusion Coat”, a vibrantly colored hand felted wool coat.
“My line is a contemporary interpretation of the world’s oldest textile-felt,” says Jodi Clayton, Owner. “Recognition of the quality of this product is an acknowledgment of the time and dedication to process that is needed to make my pieces and keep my company moving forward. It also implies the relevance and importance of continuing to produce handmade goods here in the U.S.”
Honorable Mentions: Monroe Salt Works (Monroe, ME) for their “Bean Pot”, and Brookside Nature Products for the “Solid Birdseed Wreath Feeder”.
“The NEPTS was an excellent outlet for my molded birdseed products with a response far exceeding my expectations,” says Sheryl Roux, Owner of Brookside Nature Products. “Winning Honorable Mention for Best New Product was a pleasant surprise, especially because there is such a large number of high caliber products being offered by a wide variety of businesses. I’m still receiving orders weeks later from businesses that saw me at the show.”
Best New Product — Specialty Food First Place: Vervacious, LLC (Biddeford, Maine) for their “Espresso Balsamic Drizzle”.
Heidi Stanvick, Owner of Vervacious, LLC explains the inspiration behind their specialty food products: “Winning ‘Best New Product, Specialty Food’ at the 2008 New England Products Trade Show has given Vervacious a terrific upshot in customer awareness and interest. The fact is, customers buy Vervacious products the first time for their beautiful art-glass packaging and come back for more because our products are even better than their package promises. All our products are designed to be unique, truly ‘special’ specialty foods.
“Inspiration for our products comes from the extraordinary flavors we’ve encountered sailing the world – flavor profiles unheard of here in the States until now. For instance, our ‘Espresso Balsamic Drizzle’ (is modeled after the finest aged Tradizinale Balsamicos of Modena paired with freshly brewed espresso. We’ve found Italian espresso to be a magnificent foil to the complex character of fine balsamic and pairs wonderfully with all kinds of easy to prepare dishes.”
Second Place: Monica’s Chocolates (Lubec, Maine) for their “BonBon”.
“For Monica’s Chocolates, the second place in NEPTS best new product award in specialty food is a source of pride,” says Monica Elliot, Owner. “It is also an incentive to continue giving and making the best we can for our customers.”
Honorable Mentions: Appledore Cove (North Berwick, New Hampshire) for their “Sea Side Barbeque Sauce”, and Pickles-N-Things (Auburn, Maine) for their “Wild Maine Blueberry Salse”.
“The experience was great, it gave us ‘bragging rights’ & brought us new customers,” says Chris Baker, Owner of Pickles-N-Things.
The Maine Small Business Development Center sponsored awards in the following two categories: Best Booth First Place: Island Granite Works (Wiscassett, Maine).
Island Granite Works is known for unique and functional items handcrafted from stones gathered from fields, rivers and the coast of Maine. Each stone is carefully selected and distinct in shape, color and texture as only nature can create them.
“The Best Booth award is a great honor. We have a general idea what the booth should look like but then we have to place each piece just so to get the look, feel and balance that we’re looking for,” says Kathy Chadwick, Owner. “This is a painstaking process but it is necessary to display our product in the best possible way.”
Honorable Mention: Maine Mountain Soap (Greenville, Maine)
Best NEW Booth First Place: Infinity Glass (Leominster, Massachusetts).
Infinity Glass creates hand-blown glassware as well as sculpted and functional glass ornaments, fish, pumpkins, bowls, vases, and fountains.
“Winning an award for Best booth was great. We started Infinity Glass in July of 2007, so to come this far so fast and be recognized for it is simply awesome,” says Brian Gingras, Co-Owner. “The whole idea behind our booth design was to bring a clean and functional look to the space. We wanted the space to be inviting to the clients and feel open and spacious. I think we accomplished all of these things with this design. We feel that a show booth is a reflection of who we are, so we put 100% into making it right the first time.”
Honorable Mentions: Patch Work Woo (Standish, Maine) and Dana Elle (Winthrop, Maine)
“It was truly an honor to receive an award for the 2008 NEPTS best new booth,” says Wendy Koons, Owner of Patchwork Woo. “This was a very exciting first year at the show for me. I had such a fun time introducing my jewelry to New England and meeting so many new people.”
