New York International Gift Fair Recap of Opening Day, Sunday August 16, 2009

After overcoming a poorly-planned half marathon, which dissected Midtown Manhattan and most routes from its Hotels to Javits Center, the Gift Fair opened without a hitch. Once exhibitors and attendees managed to wind their way through (and ultimately, under) the labyrinth of NYPD barriers and marathon runners, the August Gift Fair was underway.

A few Highlights

A new booth design - Anchored by innovative Ribbon Fixtures designed to vanish into our classic MIDORI black curtain backdrop, this year’s MIDORI booth stood out for its brevity and simple beauty.

The 6’ tall, 36” wide fixtures allowed the quality and sheer beauty of the colorful Ribbon they supported to truly shine. An edited showing of the MIDORI Ribbon and Handmade Gift Wrap collections, creative displays, and a thoughtful layout all helped contribute to visitor interest. Amid the sensory overload of a packed and vibrant show, a simple, clean booth design was a welcome, refreshing, and eye-catching sight for most.

The attitude – Bright, optimistic, playful, and eager to bring wonderful products to shops and design studios this Holiday season, Gift Fair attendees appeared excited to find MIDORI in a new booth space (#2457) and it was fantastic to see old friends, as well as to meet new ones.

Thinking on our feet - A customer's flip-flop broke under the pressures of rigorous first day action. Fortunately, her shoe gave way in our booth - Mary Ellen Kauffman, the MIDORI Rep for New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, snapped into action. Below is a photograph of what followed:

The customer was able to secure the tired and broken flip-flop using a cutting of MIDORI Organdy. By looping the ribbon around her sandal, wrapping it around her toes, and tying it to her ankle, she was able to continue her opening day at the show!

MIDORI at the New York Gift Fair August 16 - 20, 2009

The New York International Gift Fair is next week, will you be there?

MIDORI® has a new booth location, 2457-2459, and will be unveiling a new booth design, a new Ribbon line, and additions to the popular Gift Wrap and Icon lines.

Fun, educational, and frantic at times, the summer NYIGF should be an exciting middle-point to what has been an interesting year in our industry. Here at MIDORI, we view the upcoming show as a great opportunity. There has been an abundance of change in the marketplace, and we are eager to demonstrate how we have strengthened our commitment to our value proposition, and re-focused our design eye.

We look forward to reconnecting with those of you coming to the New York show. Please stop by to say hello and experience the new MIDORI booth and introductions in person.

And as always, we want to thank you for your business throughout this challenging year and the nineteen before it. We are grateful for each one of you, regardless of whether or not we will see you at a show this year.

MIDORI Update on the MAY 2009 National Stationery Show

MIDORI Update on the MAY 2009 National Stationery Show
New York City -- May 17–20
One big highlight of the National Stationery Show for us was our Crafting Unique Wedding Favors presentation on the opening day of the show. We discussed the DIY trend and demonstrated two simple, inexpensive DIY projects. We partnered with Violet Brandwein, Senior Buyer, Kate’s Paperie. We were told to expect up to 50 people, but we had well over 90 people show up!

Christian Fulghum, Vice President, Midori, Inc. made a few brief remarks to welcome everyone and share some details about the origins of our company. He noted that MIDORI was a company founded by a single mom during a recession, and added that while none of us can control the economy, we can control how we respond to the challenges we are all facing, and the attitude we take towards adversity. Violet spoke briefly about the current retail environment, and cultivating the DIY customer.


Next, Sales Coordinator, and former teacher, Heather Davis, helped our audience through the two “unique wedding favor” craft projects we had prepared. It was truly wonderful to watch a group of adults break into smiles and laughter as they did something most of them probably haven’t done since they were in Kindergarten. The success of our simple craft presentation shows us that people are always eager to learn how to make something distinctive and beautiful with a few simple high quality elements. The instructions for both of the favors we demonstrated are now available on our website this summer in the Ribbon Ideas section (CD holder and Gift Wallet).


Our new offerings, found in the “New” section of our website, here, were popular at the show. Our Skull Wings Gift Wrap was an eye-catcher and some at the show dubbed it “Rock-and-Roll wedding” worthy. Also new, the Masquerade line drew a lot of appreciative comments and generated intrigue even at a show famous for its love affair with skinny ribbon.

All in all, we had a great time at the show. It was great to chat with our friends, customers, and peers throughout the industry. We also enjoyed the opportunity to share our new additions to the MIDORI line as we continue to celebrate our 20th year by showing our gratitude to all of you. Do you have any show stories or note you would like to share? We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences about the 2009 National Stationery Show!


Your friends at Midori