Is it me or did this day just fly by? I feel like I covered a lot of territory and yet didn't see near enough.

I did a quick run through of new products downstairs. Amongst the toy folks and paper suppliers was a new vendor named Tinkering Ink. Check this company out. their attention to detail is impressive. I wanted to steal one of the custom tops the ladies were wearing today. The embellished tee shirts reflected the paper design and I think this team has an opportunity to add scrapbook paper-inspired fashion to their lovely collection of products. Also notable were supremely gifty limited edition hand lotions with fragrances inspired by the names of the paper collections. Alot of thought went into these products to position them as an affordable luxury. I can't wait to see tomorrow's tee shirt.

Plaid is going after that future customer in a big way with new lines that support their fashion art products. Great display ideas that could be easily replicated in a craft store. I liked the customizable belt program and new embroidery kits from Michael Jolly that looked like something you'd see in Vogue.

Categories I am watching closely.... paint. Some interesting new product introductions for use on fabric as well as water-based "craft" paints that dry like a fine art paint. Embroidery- especially contemporary takes on classic techniques such as crewel and stamped embroidery designs.

If you have toddlers at home or are just a fan of the enormously talented Eric Carle, search out Loew-Cornell's new Eric Carle line of craft kits. Eric Carle is an author and collage artist/illustrator whose popular book series is often used by educators to connect art with math and language. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear products sang to me. This is a recognizable brand in a thoroughly gifty educational toy format.Retail priced under $20 for those of us on the 4-year old birthday party circuit.

If I didn't know better I'd swear I was at the Leather and Luggage Show. The breadth of luggage and tote offerings is immense not only are they well crafted and well-executed design-wise. They have lots of special storage sections for crafters to tote stuff between classes and crops.

Lots of surfaces for scrapbookers that aren't pages cards or albums: alphabet letters, clip boards, frames, shadowboxes. DCWV made a strong statement about home decor in their booth. Very Attractive.

"Pretty" powers on  whether it is rhinestones from Thermoweb, glitter, flower embellishments or pretty color combinations. Vintage chic, boho, soho- whatever you call it, we still love an informal mix of print and pattern.

Neat wall shelf in Making Memories booth. Whitewashed wood with deep shelves and a bar to hold ribbons. It was craft storage made to look like furniture.

Ribbons! Buy them on the spool and cut 'em yourself.There's more of a profit margin for you and there is more of an opportunity to coordinate them with the paper lines you're bringing in.

Martha Stewart packed the house for the keynote. I don't think I have ever seen such attendance at a keynote speech. Apparently she spent quite a bit of time visiting booths looking at products and taking photos with fans. Too bad she isn't staying through the whole show. She was adding to the excitement.

A good full day. Now we all rest up for another big day tomorrow- Beth

If you happened to be one of the unfortunate souls checking into the Hilton on Saturday between 1:00 and 9:00p.m. you most likely got caught up in  what I imagine is every hotel's nightmare- the check-in system was down.

Now I have a soft spot for folks who work in hotels, one summer as a housekeeper at a Jersey Shore oceanfront hotel can do that to you. But to say the Hilton management fell a little short in their dealings with inconvenienced customers is the understatement of the year.

Ok, for whatever reason the check-in system was down. You'd think there'd be a back-up plan, especially in the case of a VERY large hotel that caters to convention travellers. After all, smooth check-in and check-out is vital to a hotel's service promise.

Early on inconvenienced customers were annoyed but understood it to be a situation beyond the staff's control. But when hours of being told "a few more minutes" or "another half hour" spun into hours on line without a clear picture of when the situation would be resolved, patience thinned and tempers flared. Some frontline staff, wearied by tongue lashings from frazzled travelers became clip or detached from the intensity of emotion swirling around them.

There's some lessons to be learned here.

1. Have a actionable plan B. What would you do if your registers went down on the day after Thanksgiving? What would you do if the ship carrying your product from China was lost at sea? What would you do if your office computer crashed taking with it all of the records of purchase orders placed in the past month? Do a "disaster" drill and test if that plan B actually works in practice.

2. Have a communications plan in place. Not only do you have to solve the problem, you need to communicate with your customers to tell them what is going on and how you are going to deal with it. Don't make excuses. Take your lumps. You need to be as honest as possible. The earlier you can tell your customers about a problem, the more time they have to explore other options. Keep your staff updated with whatever pertinent information is available so that they never have to say "I don't know" or "I can't help you."

3. Apologize meaningfully. Saying you're sorry is one thing but feeling sorry is an entirely different proposition. People were standing in line for hours, staff made fruit juices available but it took quite a while- well past dinner hour- to roll in any food. Some chairs were eventually brought in for folks standing in one long line.Ironically no chairs were ever brought for the folks standing in the VIP Hilton Honors line. Tired and hungry people get crabby. Crabby and losing patience= mean. Mean = security people standing behind the front desk.

4. Diffuse the situation as quickly as possible. When folks stand around for extended periods of time they begin to chat with others in line. That's when everyone starts sharing horror stories of past bad experiences with the company and how they will exact revenge for the inconvenience. When someone has a bad experience they tell five people and so on and so on and so on.


The bottom line is when something unexpected happens, even if no one is to blame, you need to step right up and take responsibility for the inconvenience to the customer. This will likely cost you money. It will likely expose you to some griping that frankly, you've heard 100 times already today. But your grace under pressure says something about you and your business. Handled well,
 a terrible situation does not have to result in losing a customer's trade permanently.

By the way, around 9:00p.m. when a back up system was up and running, the Hilton did do something right- they put people at every check-in computer possible and started moving those people through lines as quickly. Also, I give the more experienced managers credit for taking QUITE a bit of flak without losing their cool.

To my fellow Hilton guests... a good night...tomorrow will be a better day.-Beth

Good morning.

Well here I am shoving things into suitcases and briefcases as I get ready to leave for the airport. Boy have times changed. Last year I was worried that I had enough notebooks and business cards, this year I'm wrangling a laptop, iPod and digital camera. Travelling light is an oxymoron in business. 

From what I hear, people will really be making the most of peer networking opportunities this week at the show. Whether it is organized chats or a "let's catch up in the hotel lounge" I see an extra effort to reach out.

One of the best things about trade shows, something we take for granted, is the chance to catch up with colleagues that we may deal with every day by phone or email, but see only at trade shows. That "face time" is invaluable. The Internet certainly has made the world smaller. With email I can follow up with international show attendees as easily as I follow up with colleagues in the states.  But without trade shows I would never get to see those friendly faces.

These relationships, and the gatherings where we exchange stories, are really the cherry on top of the trade show sundae. Sure we go there to see new products and identify trends but we also get as much out of catching up with our industry friends.

I can't tell you how many times I have gotten story ideas or great resources from a casual conversation in the Press Room or cafeteria. My favorite question- What are you seeing? I love to hear what people say and I track trends by tallying up similar responses.

If you don't already make it a habit, ask your colleagues what is working for them- it could be a class, a way to handle a staffing issue, a great designer. And, share your success stories. Retailers should especially be exchanging ideas for classes, demos and displays with store owners from other parts of the country. Spread the good ideas around!

I'm looking forward to seeing you at the show and if I do... be prepared because I'm going to ask, What are you seeing? Safe journey-Beth

Thank you for joining me on this exciting new adventure.

Those of you who know me well know I have resisted the lure of technology and the opportunities it offers. I cherish my collection of coffee-splattered, dog-eared steno notebooks. I'm not giving those up yet but I am officially leaving the Luddite community.  Since I've joined the staff of F+W Publications, I've jumped into the fascinating world of online media. Now that I am here, I see dozens of ways that CNA can not only bring more information you, but more importantly provide that information to you in a more timely manner. It's all very, very exciting.

Like many of you I am knee-deep in last-minute preparations and scheduling for the CHA Show. The steady stream of new product press releases and requests for appointments suggests that exhibitors know they are going to have to do even more to get the Buyer's attention at this show.

I hear from manufacturers that one of the ongoing challenges they face is shrinking product development time. In the "old days" manufacturers introduced new products for the CHA Show in the winter and the ACCI Show in the summer (now known as CHA Summer). As manufacturers move into different product areas and participate in category-specific shows they feel an obligation to bring new product to each venue in order to feed the buying community's insatiable appetite for new product. The pressure to consistently produce winners is enormous.

That tide may be changing. This weekend I expect to see evidence of vendors rethinking their positions on new product introductions in order to maximize both financial and human resources. I think we'll see tons of new product but perhaps fewer new lines or items. By carefully editing new introductions, companies can put more energy into marketing support. I believe that is good news for all links in the supply chain.

I also expect to see more new programs for independent retailers. These could be independent-exclusive collections, special promotions or lines that will not discounted for Chains. That last one is tough because the world revolves around volume discounts so if I ferret one out, I'll let you know.

What are your expectations? I'd like to hear from you, so get out your crystal ball and share your forecast with me: Beth.Mauro@fwpubs.com.

If you're going to CHA I wish you safe travels and healthy kids. For those of you who won't be joining us in Anaheim, stay in touch through cnamag.com.-- Beth