Well, 2009 has not exactly gotten off to a great start.

At the four markets I attended last month, traffic was generally slow to just OK not as bad as it could have been, but far from great. Buyers were placing orders, but did so with great caution, limited open-to-buys and with an eye toward safe, best-selling products, freight discounts and other deals.

The entire world remains locked in this state of financial fear. And the quickly accelerating rates of layoffs have nearly everyone feeling sick to their stomachs. Our company has not been immune to the downturn, and there have been layoffs impacting us, too.

We are all in this together, and it is very important to realize that there are a lot of us who are going to survive. There are even many of you retailers who tell us you are continuing to post strong sales.

Your success is our success, and we are determined to help you find it.

As I outlined last month, Home Accents Today has refocused its editorial content in print and on the Web at HomeAccentsToday.com to make sure we are delivering what you need most right now. We have some additions to that strategy this month, with even more to come as the year progresses.

Retailer Insight debuts this month on page 61. This is similar to the Designer Insight pages that have been so popular, but this time, the question of the month is posed to our panel of retail experts. Check out the Retail Update column on page 20 for the low-down on what retailers tell us about their businesses and how they are staying alive.

Look for not just the new, but the best-selling, products in wall decor in our new Design Notebook, and in the Style Setters pages on tabletop this month. Many vendors told us that retailers are asking more frequently about best sellers in this time of economic uncertainty, so we are doing some of that work for you.

And we introduce you to Tara Riceberg, who joins our Retailer to Retailer column rotation, page 50. She has some fun and clever ideas to get things moving in your store by simply rethinking some of your product mix.

There are no quick fixes for any of us, but don't discount the value of simply weathering the storm so that when we come out on the other side, we are still around to regrow our businesses. So here's to keepin' on keepin' on.