Sales of high-end, trendy gifts rise despite downturn
High-end kitsch and trendy gift items, like monogrammed notepads and crafty bejeweled designer knickknacks, are selling big, despite a sagging economy.
Worldwide from New England to Europe, sales of luxury gifty-stuff rose nearly 30 percent during 2009 — among buyers with $250,000 annual income — according to Gift & Decorative Accessories, a 93-year-old gift-industry magazine published worldwide.
From small gift shops to Beall’s, to Lowes and QVC, goods such as licensed ceramics, greeting cards, matching paper napkins and plates, sticky notes, yard flags, rubber stamps, designer kitchen towels, fancy pocket mirrors, magnets and birdhouses are having a heyday.
BJ Lantz, 48, of Ormond Beach designed some of those goods and is making it in the kitsch business.
“I license my art designs to manufacturers to put on their products, and they pay me royalties,” Lantz said. “When I tell people what I do, they usually look at me with a blank stare, then nod and say, ‘That must be interesting.’ “
