FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jean Thompson
410-889-2933, ext. 218
www.NICHEmag.com/Marketplace
JeanT@rosengrp.com
The Buyers Market of American Craft Expands Online Catalog
Now Open to the Nation’s Craft Artists
BALTIMORE, Md. (June 30, 2009) – A new wholesale catalog of handcrafted products is delivering the gift tradeshow experience to the retailers’ computer screen, at www.NICHEmag.com/Marketplace.
NICHE Marketplace launched less than a year ago as the virtual catalog of artists who exhibit at the Buyers Market of American Craft. Both site and show promote American and Canadian artists who produce fine jewelry, glass art, home accessories, handbags and other goods for resale by museum gift stores, craft galleries, gift shops, art catalogs and other retailers.
Since its inception, NICHE Marketplace has grown to 1,400 handcraft artisans and studios displaying nearly 5,000 products. The site has just opened membership to the greater art community. Artists may purchase a $225 membership to receive a full year of Web promotions seen by credentialed wholesale buyers.
For retailers, this will mean an expanded offering of the same quality work for which the Buyers Market is known: For example, the goods must be wholly produced by artists in the U.S. or Canada. No imports or overseas finishing is allowed. Memberships for credentialed buyers are free.
For some, NICHE Marketplace will become “a local annex” of the national tradeshow. Gerry Etzler, owner of Etzler’s Antiques in Keymar, Md. was thrilled to discover the new service. “I often have a conflict of dates to get to the Philadelphia show each year so having a website with the Buyers Market artists all together makes a wonderful way to browse their wares and place orders at any time of the year.”
Opening the site to the wholesale trade during the recession, The Rosen Group has attracted anticipated questions about the future of its biannual tradeshows.
“We see NICHE Marketplace as an extension of the Buyers Market, not a replacement,” said Wendy Rosen, founder of The Rosen Group shows and publisher of AmericanStyle and NICHE magazines.
“Nothing will ever take the place of the one-on-one, face-to-face relationships between artists and retailers that the show has built over nearly 30 years. If you’re an art retailer and you’ve had to cut back on travel, you can visit NICHE Marketplace to stay in touch with Buyers Market artists. Between the shows, this will also make just-in-time ordering easier for buyers who have that gap in inventory to fill today.”
Qualified retailers register for free at www.NICHEmag.com/Marketplace. The next Buyers Market of American Craft will take place August 1-3 in Philadelphia, Pa.
# # #
Produced by The Rosen Group, 3000 Chestnut Ave, Ste 300, Baltimore, MD 21211
Comments