In case you missed it, the 130th Annual California Gift Show,
held in Los Angeles in January, was a veritable gallery of trends.
From antiques to windsocks, more than 2,000 exhibitors from across
the country showed off the latest gifts and decorative accessories.
Here are the highlights:
Seed Off
Seeds, seeds everywhere. But they're not for
farming-earth-toned seeds have replaced multicolored beads as the
new exterior, covering everything from purses and pillows to
vases.
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Water Works
Feng Shui followers aren't the only ones benefiting from the
sounds of cascading water. Fountains are still the rage-and choices
range from wall fountains for the office and mini-fountains for
your desk to elaborate designs for living rooms. Lauded for their
relaxing qualities, indoor fountains fit nicely into today's
au naturel trend.
Seeing Green
Targeting the cubicle-dwelling, apartment-living, yardless youth
of today, Los Angeles' CityYard has sprouted an affordable take
on the urban gardening trend. With such items as Canned Land (a
self-contained grass-growing kit), astroturf bulletin boards and
push pins made of silk flowers, nonrural abodes can now grow their
own quick and easy symbolic gardens.
High-Tech Holiday
Consumers are hip to cell phones and modems; could fiber-optic
Christmas trees be next? From Los Angeles-based Home Brite Corp.,
these festive firs come in a bounty of sizes, with fiber-optic
technology lighting their branches (say goodbye to tangled twinkle
lights). Fiber-optic wreaths for the door and fiberoptic angels
complete the ensemble.
Fun Fetish
Sarut NYC/CityLimit Inc. has released a dazzling collection of
novelty gifts from abroad, including gel candles with trinkets
inside, a vast rainbow palette of contemporary Buddha and Ganesha,
lightbulbs posing as vases and cushions acting as trays. The
coolest item: Philips' "Set Your Life To Music," a
collection of classical "lifetracks" on CD perfectly
arranged to accompany you from morning 'til night-Mozart for
the morning commute, Baroque for beauty sleep.
It's In The Bag
1930s vintage has been hot for a while-look for vintage luggage
this season. Don't be surprised if hatboxes and wicker
suitcases reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie start sprucing up
homes and offices. Stylish and functional, the pieces serve well as
storage or historic eye candy. And if trying to sell genuine
vintage at such steep prices makes you cringe, look for replicas
that are anything but expensive.
Stork Of Genuis
Faith Knight, the artisan behind Marabou 2000 in Los Angeles,
displayed her faux fur and marabou-
feather-laden accessories. Telephones, alarm clocks, CD holders,
photo albums, make-up brushes, light switches, lamps, mirrors,
hangers, pens, trashcans-you name it, she's got it (covered in
stork feathers and faux leopard, cheetah and zebra prints, that
is). "[Marabou feathers] haven't died," explains
Knight. "Even the normal person loves to have something crazy
in their house." She'll also be putting her personal twist
on those new touch lights (by adding colored light bulbs and faux
fur trim) and plans to add a line of faux fur pompoms.
Contact Sources
Home Brite Corp., (888) 280-0280, 16710 Johnson Dr.,
City of Industry, CA 91745
Faith Knight, (213) 488-1569, 127 E. 9th St., #201,
Los Angeles, CA 90015
ProsperityRising.com, (714) 437-8278, www.prosperityrising.com.