It's 2013: Let's Get Busy

Jenny Heinzen York -- Home Accents Today, 1/1/2013 2:00:00 AM

Jenny Heinzen YorkHAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
     Hope you all got to take advantage of at least a little bit of time for rest and merriment, because 2013 is upon us, and there's a lot to get done this year.
     First off, of course, are the winter markets. I hope that your holiday selling season was over-the top good, and you will head to Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, New York - or wherever you prefer to shop - ready to reload your shelves.
     Home accents vendors have a lot of great product all ready for you to come see (and buy, of course). For a preview of what's new for the various shows, see our winter markets coverage, beginning on page 30 with our key trends for the season, followed by a full rundown of who has what starting on page 36.
     The products this winter are fresh and fun, and though very classic in many instances, far from stuffy. We think there's something for every taste and price point.
     For this edition, I also interviewed a number of leading vendors asking them about their forecasts for the year. As it happened, the timing could hardly be worse for forecasting. As of press time for this issue (which by necessity fell prior to Christmas week), there was no resolution to the fiscal cliff negotiations and the two steps forward, one step back Washington waltz was still in full swing. So we asked our vendors to assume that the governmental powers-that-be come to their senses and get something together before it could do any real long-term damage to our already hobbled economy.
     And for the most part, the vendors are upbeat about 2013. No one necessarily expects a gangbusters year, but ongoing improvement in the economy in terms of the stock market, housing prices and sales, unemployment and other upbeat indicators do provide some reasons to be optimistic that the industry's gradual upturn will continue.
     As one vendor put it, once the cloud of "impending doom" is lifted, in terms of the fiscal cliff, everyone's going to feel a whole lot better. I had hoped that the resolution of the contentious 2012 election would also improve the country's mood. Let's face it - no matter who you were pulling for, all those negative ads were not cheering anyone up. And that once we knew the answer to the election question, we could all move on and ahead. Not so simple, it turns out.
     But you know what? We are a resilient bunch. We've been through a whole lot worse over the past few years, and we have made it to the other side, regardless of the silliness of our government. Chins up, everyone. We've got a busy year ahead of us.