Our cover story on art museum shops, which are prime locales to sell artful specialty stationery and accessories, offers a close look at how buyers and managers are handling the category. In a separate story, we examine how college students are still buying stationery and related items at independent college bookstores across the country.

This is also our Profiles in Excellence issue. Twice a year, we bring you half-page stories about the vendors that can make doing business more profitable and productive. For this the summer edition, 46 companies are profiled.

The retail possibilities for zoos and aquariums are especially bright, as these shops cater to a diverse audience looking to spend at the full spectrum of prices. In our Zoo and Aquarium section, we offer a look at trends in toys and plush at zoos in one story, and at the role colors and lighting play in successful aquarium displays in a second piece.

Our jewelry section covers jewelry sales at music museums, a strong category for shoppers who want portable, unique souvenirs that proclaim their musical affiliations. Hospital shops are also offering jewelry, and it is reportedly a top category for the stores.

In our Apparel section, we offer stories on “green” wearables as well as a piece on popular religiously themed apparel.

Some of the iconic images of baseball involve fathers and sons, but women and girls make up a large fan base, and the stores that sell minor league baseball souvenirs are catering to females in ever more inventive ways, our story found.

Now is the time to start thinking about the winter holidays, and we offer stories on how college bookstores and party stores stock up for holiday selling.

Flowers are another traditional holiday gift, and flower shops in New York surveyed by an SGN contributor are experiencing healthy add-on sales with candy, both expensive and affordable.

We also cover name-dropped gifts at APPL stores, offer a listing of new exhibitors to the 2009 International Gift Exposition in the Smokies (IGES), and present a story on licensed and name-dropped souvenirs at airport shops.

We hope you enjoy the issue. Please e-mail us at the address below with your comments, questions and suggestions.

We hope you enjoy the issue, please contact us with your questions, comments and suggestions at the e-mail address listed below.

Scott C. Borowsky
President and Executive Editor
SOUVENIRS, GIFTS AND NOVELTIES MAGAZINE
EDITORSGNMAG@KANEC.COM

“In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity”
— Albert Einstein