Accent on Design Jury Accepts 30+ New Companies
White Plains, NY — From 220 applicants, some 30+ companies have been selected by jury to exhibit in the highly-selective Accent on Design® at the summer 2010 New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®). Other highlights of the August edition include an influx of new and returning companies, expansion of Accent on Japan and the addition of new design collectives from Chicago and Seattle.
One of ten carefully categorized divisions of NYIGF, Accent on Design is a dynamic, juried collection of nearly 200 contemporary and innovative exhibiting companies across the gift, home, and lifestyle spectrum. Accent on Design has been the industry’s leading resource for design-led merchandise for over 25 years.
“Interest in Accent on Design has increased dramatically in the past six months and is now back to pre-recessionary levels, with an impressive number of new and innovative resources vying for positioning in the New York market,” said Dorothy Belshaw, GLM senior vice president and NYIGF director.
Among those returning to the August market after a hiatus are seven design-leaders – Alessi (New York, NY, and Crusinallo, Italy); Ameico (New Milford, CT); ASA Selection (Hoehr-Grenzhausen, Germany); Design Glut (Brooklyn, NY); esque studio (Portland, OR); Normann Copenhagen (Copenhagen, Denmark); and Stelton A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark). Notable newcomers to Accent on Design this August include: brinca dada (dollhouses and accessories) from New York City; DBA llc (home and office accessories) from New York City; le mouton noir & co. (furnishings) from New York City; and SCP Limited (furniture, accessories, lighting) from London.
Accent on Design also will welcome two new regional design collectives – JOIN: Design Seattle and the Object Design League from Chicago – this August. Founded in 1998, JOIN: Design Seattle promotes emerging independent American design by providing designers a forum to show work, get feedback, and share resources. The Object Design League is a new organization that promotes experimental and independent object design in Chicago and provides a venue through which independent object designers can present their work, share resources, collectively self-promote, collaborate, and experiment. These two new collectives will join American Design Club (AmDC), a professional community of American designers and three-time participant in Accent on Design, at NYIGF, bringing some 20 emerging design talents to the Fair.
In addition, NYIGF continues to present A+™: The Young Designers’ Platform, a showcase for emerging talents and brand-new products within Accent on Design. In related news, the., a former exhibitor in A+: The Young Designers’ Platform, will “graduate” into an independent exhibit space to feature an eclectic mix of whimsical products.
NYIGF welcomes applications from promising designers; including students, recent graduates, or young companies to participate in A+: The Young Designers’ Platform. Applications to this juried “incubator” space, which provides an affordable opportunity to expose concepts, prototypes and finished products to the wholesale marketplace, will be accepted through Tuesday, June 15, 2010. Applications are available online at http://www.nyigf.com/Exhibitors/NYIGFDivisions/ATheYoungDesignersPlatform/AApplication.aspx
“Accent on Japan,” a consortium of independent Japanese exhibitors, will expand to include five participants this August. Saikai Toki Trading, Inc. will join returning “Accent on Japan” participants – Gallery 91, Inatome, Morihata International Ltd. Co. and Tanuma Co., Ltd. These five companies are positioned next to each other within Accent on Design, as part of a shared space through which they will showcase gifts, accessories and tableware from Japan.
Accent on Design runs Sunday, August 15, through Thursday, August 19, 2010, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. NYIGF is the nation’s premier gift, home and lifestyle marketplace, with 2,800 exhibiting companies featuring an extraordinary breadth and depth of design-driven home fashion products and complementary giftware. Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 85 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nyigf.com.
