Gift Ideas | Welcome to FGmarket Buzz

Top Ten Wreaths Your Store Should Carry

October 27, 2008 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

Though most popular during the winter holiday season, many types of wreaths can be seen year-round and as decorations in many locations around the home. To satisfy your customers, FGmarket is sharing the top ten most popular types of wreaths that your store should carry for 2008 and 2009.

Christmas Wreath From Flower Shop Network

1. Christmas wreaths are always popular. Typically made of evergreen branches such as fir, Christmas wreaths are common decorations each winter.

2. Advent wreaths typically mark the passing of the four weeks of advent. These horizontal, circular wreaths are displayed with four main candles often called the Prophet’s candle, Bethelem candle, Shepherd’s candle and Angel’s candle.

3. Grapevine wreaths refer to the type of branch and material intertwined to form the circular wreath base. Grapevine wreaths are also excellent wreath bases when decorating holiday wreaths, sympathy wreaths and more. Continue reading “Top Ten Wreaths Your Store Should Carry” »

Your Customers’ Next Novelty Gift Ideas For Children

October 22, 2008 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

Educational Foreign Language Books for Children

Customers looking for an extraordinary gift idea for children need look no further than your store thanks to Kane/Miller Book Publishers. With a fantastic and diverse selection of books for children, it’s easier than ever for your customers to captivate their tiny audiences during nightly readings of bedtime stories.

Is your customer interested in introducing a foreign language to his or her child? Kane/Miller Book Publishers has a fine line of libros del mundo (books of the world) that introduce foreign culture and language in a fun and playful way that is perfect for the early education of young children. A valuable addition to your educational toys and products, the foreign language books from Kane/Miller Book Publishers are excellent novelty gift ideas that suit a diverse customer base.

Continue reading “Your Customers’ Next Novelty Gift Ideas For Children” »

Discover The Satisfaction of Preserved Flowers

September 18, 2008 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

Verdissimo USA Preserved Roses

Enjoy the beauty of the nature that lasts with preserved flowers, trees and foliage from Verdissimo USA. The world’s leading manufacturer of preserved flowers and foliage, Verdissimo USA provides extremely high quality preserves that can easily be mistaken for fresh flowers, trees, plants and more.

Quality and durability are very important to your customers. These excellent products satisfy your customer’s needs for longlasting quality and natural beauty because wholesale preserved flowers add something to your store that few other products can boast. Preserved flowers have quality, highly marketable emotional appeal, and longevity that almost cannot be matched. Your happy customers won’t be the only ones smiling when you add preserved trees, foliage, and flowers to your product line.

Continue reading “Discover The Satisfaction of Preserved Flowers” »

Party Favors Make It A Party Plus Celebration

August 21, 2008 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

Boy Baby Shower Favor

There is so much to love about sitting down at the table with all of the guests at a wedding reception and immediately spotting personalized wedding favors. Special moments are created when mothers and grandmothers share personalized party favors with their favorite young lady during her Quinceanera. Hardly a special event goes by that does not warrant the gift of a unique party favor or special wedding favor. When browsing party supplies for your customers special moments, don’t forget to grab some of the great party favors at Party Plus.

There is no way to go wrong with personalized party favors from Party Plus. Not only are the party favors unique and charming but they can also be customized with personalized ribbons to make them even more special to the person and to the event. Little Johnnie Doe’s parents will be thrilled with his personalized communion favors. Where will they return when it’s time for graduation, his sweet 16 celebration, his wedding to Little Janey and the rest of the many big events in his life? Secure your place as the go-to party supply store for Little Johnnie’s whole family with the great party and wedding favors. Continue reading “Party Favors Make It A Party Plus Celebration” »

Pump Up Home Decor Sales With Pampeana!

July 22, 2008 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

Orange Artisan Candle Holder

It’s hard to go wrong with the fabulous wholesale home accents created by environmentally conscious artisans at Pampeana. Offering a wide variety of home decor products ranging from hand painted tiles and murals, hand painted bird feeders, wooden ducks and animals, decorative glass vases, hand crafted suncatchers, unique hand crafted candle holders, handcrafted artisan jewelry and much more. With such a large selection of unique, gorgeous wholesale products, the artisans at Pampeana provide you with great gift ideas for the home and garden.

Handpainted Calla Lily Wall Mural

Visitors will be stunned by the brilliant colors and clever shapes of the wholesale artisan products at Pampeana. Art deco home decor products complement the lifestyles of many of today’s customers while more classic and traditional colors add a very rich beauty to many of Pampeana’s home accents. Unique handcrafted jewelry will also strike the fancy of customers as their friends “ooh” and “aah” over the original shapes, styles, and colors of the necklaces, bead earrings, bead and leather bracelets, and other jewelry. Do your store a colorful favor by adding Pampeana’s handcrafted and handpainted home accents and watch the registers light up!

Special Gifts for Special Moms part 2 of 3

April 3, 2006 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

As promised, we offer more Mother’s Day gift ideas from the wholesale gift suppliers on FGMarket.com, including Heaven & Earth Works. The company’s “MILESTONES” line of greeting and note cards, framed/unframed poetry, handmade journals, commemorative books and keepsake boxes are beautiful. The collection offers beautiful, uniquely personal creations which strive to deepen the expression of common sentiments through poetry with heartfelt, intelligent messages and visually warm presentations.
The Milestones line attracts a diverse range of ages and interests, giving it a universal marketing appeal. All books are handmade with acid-free and tree-free papers, and they open flat for ease in writing and collecting. Covers are embellished with natural elements, such as feathers or stones. Heirloom flip-top boxes come with an original poem inside. Several poems, such as “Mother Love” and” The Art of Woman” are especially appropriate for Mother’s Day.

The Nittany Quill, by the Talus Corp. is a source for delightful gifts that celebrate life’s most treasured memories. Their line of meaningful and evocative quotes, rendered in graceful calligraphy and bordered in delicate floral motifs, is available as framed miniatures printed on key chains or bookmarks, or sprouting from the top of cleverly crafted wire flower sculptures which also serve as clips for photos, notes or business cards. Quite a few of the quotes under the ‘Family’ heading have to do with mothers and the special place they hold in the lives of their children.
The loveliest items from The Nittany Quill are found in their Framed Inspirations line of calligraphy art. Each quote is beautifully illustrated and illuminated with gold foil, and then set within a complementary mat of acid-free board. Every piece is meticulously assembled by hand in an antique gold finished frame and protected by glass. The 8×10 frames come with easel backs for display on any wall or tabletop. The larger 11×14 frames are also available with a cherry wood finish. Unframed versions are offered as well. Three of the tenderly written quotes in the Framed Inspirations line are specifically for mothers, and any of them would surely be welcomed as a unique and cherished gift.

Laura Leiden Calligraphy is another source of fine calligraphic gifts, offering hundreds of original poems that are hand lettered in calligraphy, then printed and framed or made into greeting cards.
They specialize in heartwarming verses for specific family members, such as mothers. These messages have been known to strike such a powerful chord in the hearts of those who read them that some stores keep a box of tissues near their displays. They are that meaningful.

Inspirational gifts for moms can be found at Lighthouse Christian Products. The company has observed that renewed commitment to family and home, coupled with booming sales of digital cameras, have increased the sales of photo frames significantly.
Studies show that people buy and give gifts to build and enhance their emotional connection to the receiver. Lighthouse’s frames are designed to help bring out that emotional connection. Each product in their extensive line of single and multiple photo frames and hand-held albums is etched with an appropriate biblical quotation.

Finally, watch for the last part of FGMarket’s newsletter series featuring gift ideas for Mother’s Day.
These and other fine wholesalers and suppliers of Mother’s Day gift items can be found in our FGMarket Mothers Day Holiday and Special Occasion vendors’ category.

Special Gifts for Special Moms, part 1 of 3

March 26, 2006 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

Well, whose mom isn’t special? With Mother’s Day approaching soon – May 14th this year – your customers will be looking for unique cards and gifts for that special woman who means so much to them. It’s time to stock your store with the kinds of appealing merchandise that will allow them to find just the right thing, and FGMarket is ready to help you satisfy their needs. We’ve gathered together a sampling from our roster of exceptional vendors who can supply you with merchandise that will delight your customers and set you apart from the crowd. Special moms deserve special gifts, and you can find them right here.
A charming line of cards is available from Buffalo Gals, Inc. Their distinctive, beautiful cards feature Victorian, art deco, and art nouveau designs, literary quotations, and heartfelt greetings. Reviving the style of artwork that was found on postcards and in children’s books at the turn of the last century, the cards evoke a sweet sense of femininity and nostalgia. In addition to several Mother’s Day selections, the company also produces blank note cards that may be sold individually or in boxes of ten. You can feel good about your purchase from Buffalo Gals; ten percent of profits is donated to charities that support primary education, women’s health, and parenting skills.

Blue Turtle Studio is another company with a conscience, supporting animal welfare and environmental causes with a portion of their profits. Their handmade cards are truly beautiful! Designs are cut from the artist’s original or laser prints of her large abstract watercolor paintings. The images are then placed on handmade paper, many styles of which have a variety of flower and plant inclusions. No two are exactly alike. A range of acrylic display units, including counter top, wall mounted, and freestanding models, is available as well.
Blue Turtle Studio also produces an exquisite line of jewelry. Artist/owner Allison Thibos has designed most of the settings that bear her abstract watercolors, creating a new, unique line of “watercolor gems” set in sterling silver. When customers see this jewelry, they can’t believe that some of the stones are actually watercolors covered with a glass-like resin to preserve them, and to make them shine and shimmer like real stones. Select from pendants and necklaces, pins, earrings, bracelets and watches, or complete jewelry sets.

Angels are a common motif among the pewter pins, charms and other jewelry offered by Chelsea International. Angels are popular collectibles, too, and for Mother’s Day, Chelsea has designed a sweet little angel pin. She’s clutching a heart between her hands, and the word “MOM” is engraved across the bottom of her skirt. The pin is affixed to a pink-toned card that bears a lovely “thank you” verse addressed to “a special Mom”. Angels of all sorts dominate the line, but other pins and charms feature whimsical animals, flowers, sports themes, crosses and more.
It can often be difficult to find a gift for a fashion-conscious mom. Styles come and go so fast. But whatever her taste in clothing, the gorgeous, hand-dyed silk scarves created by K.A.T.’s Silks are sure to delight her. They really are exquisite! The beauty of silk is that it is warm when the weather is cool and cool when it is warm.

All silk designs created by K.A.T.’s are treated to be washed and dried. No dry-cleaning required! K.A.T.’s silks are created in a mixed medium process, which combines batik, French painting, and marbling. Various floral or foliage motifs, among other patterns, are set against abstract backgrounds in a wide variety of colors or stripe combinations. All scarves will be packaged in plastic cylindrical tubes for shipment in a box. They are steamed and ready for display. No matter what type of store you have, these beautiful and versatile scarves are sure sellers.
For more information, watch for part 2 of FGMarket’s newsletter series featuring more great gift ideas for Mother’s Day.
Find these and other fine wholesalers and suppliers of Mother’s Day gift items in our FGMarket Mothers Day Holiday and Special Occasion vendors’ category.

Barbecue and Grilling – The Secret’s in The Sauce

July 1, 2005 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

If heat and humidity have left sales stagnating, rejuvenate your gourmet food business with a sizzling summer promotion for barbeque sauces and BBQ-related gifts. It’s just the spark needed to ignite sales throughout your complete gourmet food and gift basket line!
The good old summertime allows us to direct marketing efforts toward the popularity of backyard barbecuing and grilling outdoors with family and friends. Extra momentum gained now can carry you successfully through the fall sales season, with promotions geared at back-to-school barbecues, football tailgate parties and cook-outs, and then eventually through yearend for a much-anticipated “Red Hot Holiday Season!”
BBQ’s universal appeal, as well as the countless barbeque/grilling-related products being offered, has given rise to a gourmet foods category that’s quite prolific. Moreover, blending new available items with existing product lines and implementing a cohesive promotional strategy can be overwhelming. So, specialize! Discover new grill and barbeque seasonings, sauces, and tools you’d like to incorporate, like specialty items from family-owned and operated manufacturers, Crazy Jerry’s, Inc., Jimmy O’s Texas Marinades, and others for example. Choose only products that have unique selling points, like “catchy name, appealing taste or savory, one-of-a kind flavor,” and you’ll end up with popular new gift items that are fun to sell and easy to market.

Interest in ethnic cuisine continues to grow, so also consider sauces and marinades that feature distinct ethnic influences and flavors. Illustrating this point, Big Acres Gourmet Sauces’ latest addition is an award-winning Chipotle Peanut Sauce, featuring a unique blend of both Latin and Asian flavors that’s great for grilling or baking. The barbeque sauce most recently introduced by Pyrate Isle Sauces LLC, is infused with papaya fruit, a true Caribbean favorite that’s also been used for thousands of years in South America as a meat tenderizer.
Another trend in the barbeque sauce market has been the integration of unusual, and seemingly far-fetched, flavor combinations. Pappy’s Moonshine Madness Barbecue Sauce from Kentucky BourbonQ has the flavor you’d expect from a gourmet barbecue sauce, with an added nip of Pappy’s XXX White Lightnin’ hooch from the hills of Kentucky. Other liquor, like whiskey, tequila, and rum are also used to spice up barbecue sauce recipes, as well as create “buzz” about the product, so to speak!

A variety of fruits, in combination with mainstream spices, are also used in sauces to create rich flavors, natural sweetness, and appealing textures that only fresh fruit can offer. A Perfect Pear from Napa Valley obviously features pears in their Roasted Pepper & Pear Vinaigrette, Pear Chipotle Grill Sauce, and other specialty items in their product line. WAAZUU! Bar B.Q. Sauce offers “Bar B. Q. Sauce with a Kick” in varieties that have boysenberry, red raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry as primary ingredients, as well as a recent introduction, their mango-sweetened Mango Tango Spicy Gourmet BBQ Sauce .
Of course, original and more traditional flavor enhancers, including hickory, honey and mesquite are still enduring favorites from coast to coast. Strawberry’s Bar-B-Que Seasonings takes pride in their recipes’ heritage and specializes in keeping things simple and traditional, offering their famous shake-on seasoning in four convenient sizes and two sizes each in their basting sauces. The Austin Spice Company uses no liquid smoke or flavor additives, but only genuine mesquite-roasted peppers in their sauces for an authentic smoky flavor that could only have originated in Texas! Family-owned and operated supplier, Texas Firehouse, LTD., invites us, in a sense to gather around the dinner table to enjoy “real Texas eating” and the timeless taste of their Mesquite Bar-B-Que Sauce, an old family recipe with a tad of brown sugar and honey added for a sweet boost that enhances the flavor of beef, pork, fish or poultry dishes.

Barbecuing is so popular because it combines our love of the outdoors with our love of convenience. Grilling outdoors has long been considered an easy way to entertain with great tasting food and little clean up! Consumers today looking for the latest grilling gadgets, as well as convenience features in their BBQ products and tools have a plethora of choices now available on the market. Mr. Mist, Inc. markets a sauce, Remington’s Grilling Sauce & Marinades, that comes packaged with a trigger spray-nozzle, allowing direct spray-basting of grilled and smoked foods. A concept the company says was inspired by the “pros,” the “spray-baste” method keeps grilled foods moist and flavorful while adding the benefits of ease and simplicity to the grilling process. Another, BBQr’s Delight has handy, variety sampler gift sets that include 20 single use sized packets of their real wood, smoke-flavoring pellets, a product that allows the speed and convenience of gas grilling, while incorporating the flavor of real wood smoke.

And in the seemingly-alternate universe of BBQ-Land, there is no place where America’s passion for barbeque and the novelty of barbequing as a fun outdoor activity, is more visible than in the unique and creatively-descriptive names in the vast assortment of barbeque, grilling sauces and products marketed from coast to coast. For example, Mo Hotta Mo Betta features Scorned Woman Fiery BBQ Sauce in their sauce and hot sauce collection, along with the claim that hell hath no fury like, the proverbial “scorned woman!”
Here, we have offered just a small taste of the available choices in barbecue sauces, grilling sauces, marinades, BBQ-related products, etc., as well as the vendors and manufacturers, that continue to “season” our lives and food shared with family and friends at summer backyard barbecues and cook-outs year round.
A more complete list of product sources can be found on the FGmarket Barbecuing – Grilling Gourmet Foods pages. Take an interactive tour of the online trade show located at FGmarket.com anytime, open 24-hours a day for your convenience.

What’s In Store For The Future? It’s All In The Cards!!

June 1, 2005 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

Let’s face it. No matter how cleverly-animated or musically-scored, an electronic greeting card just doesn’t take the place of a paper one. A recipient of the traditional paper card knows someone took the trouble to go out and shop for, buy, sign, and mail their chosen card. With no offense intended toward the designers of e-cards, the experience of tearing into the envelope, opening the card, and reading the inscription sure beats waiting for a download any day. And it’s because of this fact that the market for original greeting cards will always remain strong. Fortunately, there are scores of vendors out there who are ready to supply that market with cards that appeal to every taste and personality.
A lot of us are old enough to remember the advertising slogan of a certain national chain, advising that when we ‘care enough to send the very best…’, well, you know the rest. Yet, today’s consumers are looking for something more; something that makes a personal statement and reflects their individuality. Far from being generic, greeting cards these days can be works of art. They can tell a story or benefit a cause. They can be beautiful in their subtlety or bawdy in their message. They can also be extremely profitable, generating substantial retail sales while occupying a minimum of square footage.

Blue Turtle Studio, for example, offers a line of exquisite handcrafted cards created by cutting images from abstract watercolor paintings and mounting them on handmade paper. Each one-of-a-kind card is individually signed by the artist. Motifs from nature dominate the line, and a portion of the profits are donated to charities that benefit the environment and animal welfare. Handmade cards are also available from Crafted By Hands, many of which are also embellished with dried flowers. These cards take on the qualities of a collage, with layers of imported papers giving the cards added dimension and texture.
The tasteful greeting cards offered by Eunco have the look of being handmade. Printed with vegetable inks on post-consumer recycled paper, the classy, understated artistry of these cards comes from the creative minds and hands of three Korean sisters (“eun” means grace of gift in Korean). Leaves and flowers figure prominently in the design motifs of these cards, beautifully expressing everyday sentiments or celebratory wishes. The simple, natural beauty of leaves, flowers, and feathers is also the inspiration behind the lovely line of cards produced by Branch Out, celebrating the depth of color and nuance found in the intricate details of nature. Using digital reproduction of actual leaves and pressed flowers, the cards express simple messages of strength, unity, and friendship. A bug-chewed leaf is accompanied by the question, “So what’s eating you?”. A skeletonized leaf expresses the sentiment, “Life is fragile.” A single, slender green feather symbolizes “Peace”. Proceeds from the sale of some of Branch Out’s cards go to benefit Alzheimer’s research and care.
Flowers are the subjects of the fine art greeting cards from Perennial Press, featuring blossoms photographed at close range to emphasize form and texture while exploring the interplay of light and shadow. Nature also figures prominently in the line of cards created by Hudson Street, where photography again becomes art. Flowers, leaves, and landscapes are among the selections which seem to prove that beauty is all around us, and that sometimes all it needs to be seen is to be isolated and framed by a talented observer. Besides themes from nature, Hudson Street has captured crisp photographic images of statuary angels, nostalgic antiques, faraway places, holiday memorabilia, the architecture of theatres, and a collection of signs that, taken out of context, will make you look twice. Both Perennial Press and Hudson Street offer their exquisite photography in the form of enlarged prints perfect for framing.

Fine art is the feeling generated by the cards from Gina B Designs, which feature exceptional design accompanied by simply stated messages. Artists’ paintings are reproduced and printed on recycled, textured stock with the look and feel of original watercolors, making these cards something far from typical. Many of the images are also available as boxed note cards. Gina B also produces a line of photo cards – cards which accommodate a 4″ by 6″ photograph within a decorative border on the front, leaving the inside blank for original prose. Their holiday photo cards are available pre-printed with a seasonal message.
If you hear your customers chuckling to themselves as they look at your card rack, chances are you’re carrying The Queen of Cards line, also known as the Institute of Laugh Therapy. Pairing vintage photographs with humorous and irreverent captions, these hilarious cards are great sellers, with twisted messages for all occasions or no occasion at all. Their edgy, over the top humor has won this line a Louie Award (the ‘Oscar’ of the international greeting card industry), named for Louis Prang, the nominal father of the American greeting card.

The clever cards produced by Wright Card Company also make use of an extensive collection of photographs from yesteryear, captioning these nostalgic images with a unique sentiment or a wry bit of humor. Envision an amply-proportioned farm wife standing with her arm draped over an equally large heifer: “To the girl who has almost everything … happy birthday!”. These cards have a ‘retro’ appeal, and many are sweetly nostalgic. Cards are hand-constructed with the photographic treasures mounted on heavy, recycled paper.
Some cards are more than just greetings. Award winning, Symphony Hand-Made Seed Papers are created from natural and biodegradable fibers, seeds, and plant material taken directly from nature. They are 100% recycle-able and actually grow herbs, flowers and vegetables when planted! Custom cards can be also created using certain seeds and inclusions. In a similar vein, K Kina creates cards of seed packets with either inspirational themes (Seeds of the Soul) or fun ones (Grow Your Own Handyman – filled with bachelor’s buttons, of course). Many of the cards from Jody Houghton Designs come with acrylic patchwork heart pins attached, supplying a gift as well as a greeting. Relying heavily on “girlfriend wisdom”, these cards have a special appeal to the women in our lives. Remember that women buy the vast majority of greeting cards.

There is some truly creative ingenuity in the cards from the Peace Company, some of which pop up or unfold to become three-dimensional sculptures or mobiles. Others combine translucent panels with graphic design to gradually unfold a simple sentiment. Their inspiration series of cards communicate positive messages about balance, happiness, and awareness. Paper Words produces unique cards for unique events, such as adoptions, opening nights, or civil unions. Their clever line of ‘shaker cards‘ are the two-dimensional version of snow globes – shake them up and watch the confetti fly! Hand-made ‘window cards’ feature transparent panels that let light shine through to the inside, creating a stained-glass effect.
We’ve barely, er .. ‘addressed’ the issue, but as you can see, the choices in original greeting cards are nearly endless. And that’s a good thing, because cards are like flowers in that everybody loves receiving them. They’re such simple gestures that can mean so much. Human beings – your customers included – are not generic, so why stock generic greeting cards? The card vendors we’ve mentioned here, as well as all the others listed in the FGMarket Cards & Stationary Category, provide you with the opportunity to offer your customers a selection of cards that are a bit – shall we say – outside the box., while at the same time allowing you to ring up extra, effortless sales. They’re easy add-ons. Good cards will sell themselves, and many of these suppliers can also provide racks and stands for displaying them. Some even have programs that reimburse you the cost of the display unit in merchandise. You can be sure that once your store establishes the reputation for carrying unique and unusual greeting cards, your customers will keep coming back for more.

Skin Deep

May 2, 2005 by FGmarket Leave a Comment

The market for personal care products – especially products for skin care – continues to grow. And it’s easy to see why. The skin is the largest organ on the human body. After a hard day of battling the environment, whether indoors or outdoors, our skin can really take a beating. It needs protection, repair, and rejuvenation. At the same time, consumers are seeking ways to de-stress and nurture themselves. Taking care of one’s skin is an affordable luxury that’s readily accessible and easy to personalize, bringing a sense of balance to our busy lives. It can be done at home in the peace and quiet of one’s own nest, it feels good, and it makes us look better. A vast array of luxury skin care products is available to nourish every need, desire, and whim and to help harmonize the body, mind and spirit.

The big trend in skin care is toward the use of all-natural ingredients derived from vegetable, mineral, or animal sources. In soaps, for example, the move is away from the detergent-based products found on mass-marketers’ shelves, many of which contain petroleum products as well as artificial dyes and perfumes. Most of the commercially manufactured bar soaps on the market actually dry the skin, whereas handcrafted soaps use only natural ingredients that have a happy rapport with the body. Companies like Essencia and Arcadia Aromatics make their soaps and body lotions with essential oils and botanical essences, long known for their healthful benefits. Lavender, for example, has been revered for centuries for its cleansing, soothing, and healing properties. Its name even comes from the Latin root, lavare, which means “to wash”. Other botanical ingredients generate different feelings and effects. Rosemary can be stimulating and energizing. Comfrey and tea tree promote the healing of wounds or irritations of the skin. Geranium is balancing and uplifting.
Riding the wave of interest in aromatherapy, many companies are creating lines of skin care products based on the wisdom of this ancient science. Bath Bloomers, for example, has produced a series of lotions, creams, and bath salts in nine unique fragrance blends, designed to elicit a particular therapeutic response. Fields of Ambrosia offers an aromatherapy line of body care products based on their own special formulations of essential oils, herbs, and spices.
Shea butter is an important component of many handmade soaps, balms and body lotions and it is the basis of several product lines from Kiss Me In The Garden and SandPea Herbal Soaps, as well as other manufacturers/suppliers. Shea butter is extracted from the nuts of the West African Shea Tree (Vitelaria paradoxa). The tree is called ‘Karite’ by the locals, meaning “Tree of Life.”

With so many practical applications, shea butter is really quite the magical stuff! It is extremely high in vitamins and has a molecular structure that allows it to be readily absorbed by skin. In addition, shea butter also has the following healthful benefits:

protects from ultraviolet exposure
promotes cell regeneration and capillary circulation
helps in healing small wounds, skin crack, & ulcers
has anti-aging effects
promotes a healthy scalp
can cure eczema

And besides… shea butter is used in making chocolate, so you know it’s got to be good!
Another essential component commonly used in luxury body care products is jojoba oil (pronounced ‘ho-HO-bah’), a pure liquid ester (not a true oil) extracted from the seeds of the native North American perennial woody shrub (Simmodsia chinensis). Because, jojoba “oil” is a natural mimic of the oil secreted by human skin, it can be used to protect and lubricate skin and hair. It is also soothing, it stops numerous skin problems, and it protects against premature aging and wrinkling of the skin due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Jojoba is just one of the choices in the wide range of skin and hair care products offered by Bath and Body by Tracy.
Botanical ingredients aren’t the only beneficial additives used in body care products. Natural mineral salts have their own healing effect on the skin as well. Awakening Mineral Therapies and Botanical Skin Works each have a line of products fortified with mineral deposits from the Dead Sea. Its water is rich in minerals like bromides, calcium, magnesium and potassium that serve to hydrate the skin, remove toxins, improve cell metabolism, and act as anti-allergens. Valuable earth elements like these are found in a wide range of goods from soaps to bath salts to mud packs.
Another organic product, goat’s milk, is the basis of the body care products offered by Meadow Creek Farm and Nature’s Best Soaps, among others. Goat’s milk has the same pH level as the skin, allowing it to be easily absorbed. And it also contains alpha-hydroxyl acids that have rejuvenating and skin softening properties, as well.
More than ever, today’s pet owners feel their furry companions are just like children, caring for and pampering them equally as well as they do themselves. Luxury spending on dogs and cats is at an all time high and fortunately, companies like Junie Moonies Natural Soap Company and Herbal Offerings carry products that have been developed just for them. These soaps, shampoos, flea repellants, and aromatherapy candles are products you won’t find in an ordinary pet store.
If you thought that ‘exfoliating’ was something that happens to elm trees in the fall, guess again! Removing layers of dead skin cells through mild abrasion is what exfoliation is all about, and there are all sorts of body-scrubbing products that will help you do just that. One such product, the Spa Cloth, is specially-constructed to scrub as is cleanses, providing the user with luxurious spa-like results. Gilden Tree offers a terra cotta Body Buffer for a uniquely stimulating skin scrubbing experience.

Many handcrafted soaps are made with inclusions, such as oatmeal or tapioca pearls, that will gently exfoliate the skin. MD Crafters markets a body scrub made with ‘muscovado’ sugar – unrefined cane sugar – that’s just gritty enough to leave the skin feeling tingly all over after a good rubdown. Unrefined sugar still contains all its healthy, natural components – water, minerals and vitamins – that are readily-absorbed by the skin and that get stripped away in the processing of ordinary white crystals that come out of the sugar bowl.
Much of the pleasure of enjoying a handmade soap comes not only from its fragrance or its feel on the skin, but also from its appearance. Luxury soaps such as those offered by Savonerie resemble gourmet desserts, swirled with color or textured with ground espresso beans. With names like ‘CrÃƒÂ¨me Brulee’ and ‘Bourbon Vanilla,’ these soaps and massage bars look almost good enough to eat. Visual appeal is a strong factor in the popularity of boutique soap products like these, generating healthy sales as well as healthy skin.
Attractive packaging can certainly help stimulate gift sales of skin care products too. Roger & Gallet does a very stylish presentation of their scented soaps line. They are wrapped in tissue paper, packaged in trios, and enclosed in artfully embellished boxes. Another company, Encantos (means ‘enchantments’ in English) offers their super creamy, natural soaps packaged in a variety of custom-wrapping styles, including beautiful floral patterns and series of flower photographs.

Most retailers find that upscale body care products are very popular sellers. When given as gifts, specialty handcrafted soaps, at-home spa treatments and other body nurturing items are welcomed by recipients who may not purchase such items regularly for themselves, but enjoy the chance to relax, pamper themselves, and indulge guilt-free in a bit of luxury. Decorative baskets overflowing with combinations of soaps, scrubs, lotions, aromatherapy products, washcloths, etc. are great gifts any time of the year and for any occasion. They can be personalized for a man, woman, baby, college student, gardener, or anyone, and they are great for corporate clients, volunteers and other groups, just to name a few. Attractively-displayed and conveniently-positioned near the cash register, skin and body care products can successfully generate impulse purchases and add-on sales opportunities. Several companies, such as Camille Beckman for example, provide self-contained, customized display units that make it easy to sell their products.
This discussion just barely scratches the surface of what is available in today’s skin care market. From homespun to tres chic, you’ll find a myriad of wonderful choices among the vendors and manufacturers listed on the FGmarket Personal Products pages. Check them out for yourself by taking an interactive tour anytime, 24-hours a day.

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