I'll be in the South Hall...

Once again we all enter the chute, ready to be ejected at warp speed into that alternate reality that we call the Housewares Show.
 
If you are a buyer it’s a pressure-drenched few days in which to meet with all your current vendors, work on programs, set follow up meetings, and then (oh God, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) discover THE ITEMS that will make you a star in the coming year.
 
If you are a manufacturer it’s a matter of getting the booth and samples delivered before Saturday afternoon, then unpacked, set up, and displayed without enough help while hoping late samples magically materialize. All the while you field unending “helpful suggestions” from folks who have the time and energy to criticize but who also beam themselves out of the building when really nasty and dreary set-up chores have to be done. Like labeling. And cleaning.
 
Reps on the other hand constantly calculate the odds that they will actually have face time with accounts that refuse to make appointments but promise to drop by a booth “sometime on Sunday.” This calculation is only slightly more complex than predicting all the brackets in March Madness. And be aware that as you stand idly waiting for an account in a booth, the manufacturer giving you the hairy eyeball is as pissed at you for apparently doing nothing more than taking up space as your other manufacturers (whose booths you are not in as your accounts come looking for you) are likewise convinced of your ineptitude and total lack of planning.
 
Yes, the Housewares Show has something for everyone.
 
Lest you think I have a really bad attitude let me assure you that these observations are strictly mostly tongue in cheek, based on my own experiences in buying, manufacturing, and selling. For me, part of the experience at the Housewares Show is what happens in the aisles, not necessarily the booths. The aisle are where you run into old friends and acquaintances, the aisles are where you network, the aisles are where even a jaded industry veteran can be blown away by something really new in a booth you didn’t know existed.
 
That being said, here’s a list of our manufacturer’s booths. Swing by and there’s a reasonable chance that you’ll bump into me as I’m coming or going. If there’s enough time maybe we can split an $8.00 pretzel.
 
Thermos S2443
Marinex  S3225
Sagaform  S3267
Pillivuyt  S4333
Chef’s Planet S4410
C60 (6 Ideas) N6004