Mar 20, 2012

Dallas Total Home & Gift Market Aims to Inspire

Dallas Market Center today announced that the Dallas Total Home & Gift Market being held March 22-25 will focus on inspiration through product, visual displays, stories of retailers giving back, seminars, and much more. The Market is held in conjunction with the Dallas Apparel & Accessories Market and the Dallas Western Market.

“March Market is an excellent, once a year, crossover buying opportunity for attendees,” said Cindy Morris, COO, Dallas Market Center. “The wide range of available products and our special events centered around inspiration and giving back create a unique market experience for buyers.”

On Thursday, March 22 Dallas Market Center will host The Inspired Event, an all-market party, in the Hall of Nations, World Trade Center 1st floor atrium. During the cocktail party and fashion show, the winners of this year’s The Next Big Give, a national search for retailers who give back, A. Dodson’s and Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy, will be honored. The two stores will receive awards presented by Bill Winsor, president and CEO, and Cindy Morris, COO of Dallas Market Center; as well as special guest designer Kathy Hilton, designer of The Kathy Hilton Collection. Retail expert Rawlins Gilliland will lead the walking tour “Sure-Sell Gift Item Trends” on Saturday, March 24 at 10 a.m. Those wishing to attend should meet at the front escalators on the Trade Mart 1st floor.

The Range, the permanent neighborhood of western home accents located on the WTC 6th floor, will be open during March Market. An acoustic guitarist will perform from 3 to 5 p.m. near the Range Café & Bar each day of Market. Attendees are invited to enjoy a beer or snack and listen to the live music.

Buyers will find additional inspiration through ADORN — Accessories for a Cause, located in WTC 13-13852 and 13-13652, a collection of cause-related accessory lines shown in a shared showroom setting. Buyers have the opportunity to give back through their stores and tell an important story behind a product line. The showroom will be open throughout Market. Featured lines include:

• Akola Project, a non-profit enterprise in Uganda, East Africa that trains, empowers and equips more than 200 women through the crafting of jewelry accessories (www.akolaproject.org) 
• Banner Theory, a line of durable bags made of recycled material and benefitting the 2000 Roses Foundation, which helps women who have recently been released from incarceration transition into a successful self-supportive life (www.bannertheory.com)
• DeAnna Cochran Jewelry, a line of metal and leather, nature-inspired jewelry benefiting a range of charitable causes (www.donnacochranjewelry.com)
• FEED, a line of bags, accessories and t-shirts founded by Lauren Bush, raises funds and awareness for the United Nations World Food Programme’s School Feeding Programs which fight to eliminate hunger and malnutrition around the world (www.feedprojects.com)
• Folksie, a line of headbands, jewelry and clothing benefitting Girls, Inc., an organization helping young girls learn to sew
• Nisolo, a line of shoes benefitting job creation and equality in Peru (www.nisoloshoes.com)
• Raven + Lily, a line of handmade bath, jewelry and paper goods created in eco-friendly materials by North Indian and Ethiopian women to help alleviate poverty in their communities (www.ravenandlily.com)

A list of new lines debuting during March Market can be found on the Dallas Market Center website as well as a full list of Market events and seminars. Keep up-to-date on market information by visiting Dallas Market Center on Facebook and Twitter.

About Dallas Market Center
Founded in 1957, Dallas Market Center is the world’s most complete wholesale marketplace. Within its marketplace of more than five million square feet, retailers from around the globe source products ranging from home furnishings, gifts, decorative accessories and lighting to textiles, fashion accessories and men’s, western, women’s and children’s apparel. With more than 50 markets each year attended by more than 200,000 retail buyers from all 50 states and 78 countries, Dallas Market Center offers hundreds of events and seminars geared toward helping retailers expand business and increase profits. As a result, more than $8 billion in estimated wholesale transactions are conducted annually within the Dallas Market Center complex. The Dallas Market Center website is available at www.dallasmarketcenter.com.