WINTER 2018
FEATURE
The Godinger Group Rises To New Heights Not only does The Godinger Group, with its 10,250-square-foot showroom on the 27th floor, occupy the highest floor among those within the 41-story building comprising the Merchandise Mart, but this giant among homegrown companies is soaring beyond its original roots as a resource for silver flatware and giftware. Today, in addition to its mainstay crystal and silverplate giftware business, Godinger also boasts Ricci Argentieri, the distinguished guild line of 18/10 silverplate flatware and a bridal favorite; Studio Silversmiths, a brand featuring crystal, glass, metal and even porcelain designs; and Philip Whitney, best known for its unparalleled offering of photo frames and more recently blazing a breakthrough into lifestyle with impressive creations such as candlesticks, wall frames, desk sets, covered boxes, trays and other decorative accessories for nearly every room of a home – from bath and boudoir to living room and den. Arnold Godinger founded his namesake business in 1969, quickly earning the brand a sterling reputation for the private label silver
Terre de Or fron Godinger Ceska from Godinger
and silverplate creations he designed and produced for retailers such as Cartier and Neiman Marcus, among others. He continues to lead the company with extraordinary vision and relentless passion that have kept the group brands fresh and perennially appealing to consumers even as tastes and lives evolve. At the helm with him is partner and brother-in-law William Lefkowitz, and both gentlemen have sons (Isaac Godinger and Chaim Lefkowitz) who’ve grown up in the business and are following in their fathers’ footsteps. With corporate headquarters in Queens, New York, Godinger employs an in-house design team that is continually raising the bar when it comes to developing home
ance for the products. Natural lighting yielded by
décor items to meet demands of form and function in balance with price
the perimeter of windows also is fully leveraged
and value. Customization is always an option – from monograming a
for displays. A conference room incorporates
consumer’s purchases to
not only the prerequisite furnishings but also
adapting the packaging to a
a number of surfaces where products can be
retailer’s specifications.
assembled for individual retailer presentations,
Stepping inside the New York showroom one finds cohesive story-telling that unifies the four brands and their symbiotic
Slate from Ricci On the cover: NOVO from Godinger 2 WWW.41MADISON.COM
Ashby from Godinger
and a roomy working kitchen enables hospitality to be offered when sales associates convene with customers. Showroom manager Yvette Rivera, an eight-year Godinger veteran, opens the doors daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 2 p.m. on Fridays.
product categories. The space
“We’ve long appreciated the benefits of having a permanent New
was painstakingly designed to
York-based showroom that is open year-round,” said Arnold Godinger.
ensure that collections literally
“In locating to Forty One Madison in 2015, we’re now at the heart of
are shown in the best light
the tabletop and housewares industry with abundant space to properly
season-to-season with state-of-
display our growing lines and experiencing a strong level of buyer traffic
the-art LED fixtures tunable to
that’s on target for our brands. Our presence here has helped attract
the most complementary ambi-
an even broader spectrum of buyers – not only traditional retailers, but
PARTY
A BUBBLY BASH Infinity from Godinger also event planners, interior designers and those in the hospitality world.”
Guests were in high spirits with champagne flowing at the annual Forty One Madison party. It was a “fête accompli” toasting two Tabletop Market milestones – the completion of the exquisite new entrance, lobby and buyers lounge, and the send-off for Laurie Burns, departing as senior vice president and director after a distinguished nine-year tenure.
To help direct that buyer traffic to its showroom, the company jumped at the opportunity to add a display in the newly renovated Forty One Madison lobby. It teases up its
Hammered Copper Tumbler from Godinger
offering in one of the sleek vitrines now lining the building entry.
and r Jeffrey Phillip Interior designe org Jensen. Ge of er gh lla Brooke Ga
Michael Rudin and Eric Rudin led the salute to Laurie Burns.
Bruno, The Christofle team – Kara Trelo. a Sar and y alle Suzanne O’M
Wall frames from Philip Whitney With its classy and incredibly spacious new digs plus its swelling line of distinctive products, Godinger is on track as a top player in the industry.
an and Kiana Kiyasa founders Kamr e Burns. uri La h Bahadorzadeh wit
David Hall and Da rren Shick of Willia m Yeoward Crystal and Paul Kratz, dir ector of sales for Th e Alpha Workshop s.
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FAMILY TIES
Alex, Sal, Solomon, Brian and Dar Gabbay
Three brothers – representing three generations of the Gabbay family – are the backbone of Gibson Overseas. Soloman, the oldest and CFO, Sal, middle and front man as CEO, and Dar, youngest and COO, grew up in the import–export and manufacturing business that their grandfather Soleiman began in the 1950s in Iran. Their father, Nejat, a lawyer by training, joined the family business and was instrumental in it becoming one of the region’s largest traders in everything from buttons to glassware. Ultimately, glassware was a key product line for Gabbay & Sons Company, along with other tabletop, housewares and appliance necessities.
so was the company’s reputation. Manufacturers and retailers trusted and valued working with Gibson. While Gibson Home, Gibson Elite and Laurie Gates have become company cornerstones, licensing also has proved to be a lucrative venture. Just a few brand partnerships include Newell Brands (Oster, Mr. Coffee, Crock-Pot), Weight Watchers and Pioneer Woman. And, an exciting coup announced this past October: Gibson is to be the exclusive agent in the U.S. for Pasabahçe glass.
Gibson now works with 240 factories around the world (including several Rebranding to become here in the U.S.), employs 700 with dozens of offices across the globe, Gibson Overseas came maintains 1.4 million square feet of warehouse space among two Los with a growing international Angeles locations, and, in addition to Forty One Madison in New York, factory base plus a move in has showrooms in Los Angeles and Shenzhen. 1979 to the U.S. where the Gabbay brothers already had International sales represent 20% of the company’s total volume and settled as students. Nejat and increasingly more overseas markets are opening as the company deals Soloman scraped up enough with major global retailers. Online opportunity is being fully leveraged and money to rent a one-room the Gabbays are steadily steering Gibson to integrate this channel more office in downtown Los fully into their strategy. Angeles and began Gift-boxed sets were Today, a fourth generation is being pioneered by Gibson their business anew. groomed to usher the company into Several turning Nejat Gabbay future decades. Solomon’s son Brian points fueled and Sal’s son Alex have taken on the turnaround of the roles in the business. The outlook Gabbay fortunes as is promising for this family and its father and sons grew Gibson to its current global proportions. The legacy in the world of tabletop kick-starter was discovering a locally based glassware distributor, and housewares. which led to a long-time relationship with that company’s executive, Gil Silver. The brothers credit Silver with helping to establish a sales department and cementing a foundation for success. Within a few years they added dinnerware to their offering – but rather than “upstairs” fine china, they imported porcelains from China that could be priced to sell “downstairs” and mass market. In fact, Gibson was among the first in the U.S. to do business with Chinese factories, at that time an underdeveloped resource. Another historic moment came with the introduction of 16 and 45-piece dinnerware sets in colorful boxes vs. generic brown packaging. The concept catapulted sales. “We were selling gift box sets before they would even hit the Long Beach port,” said Sal. “Retail results were way above the norm. This innovation truly put us on the map.” It wasn’t long before their portfolio was expanded to be multi-category, unlike any competitor’s. And, as exponentially as business was growing, 4 WWW.41MADISON.COM
A Gibson Elite style with matte glaze and speckled highlights
WHAT’S ON YOUR TABLE?
WHAT’S ON YOUR
T A B L E ? There are a slew of acclaimed chefs in this world. And then there’s Chef José Andrés – a culinary supernova and a committed humanitarian. Here’s what you should know about this indefatigable entrepreneur who heads his D.C.-based business, ThinkFoodGroup:
Though it’s hard to imagine this man has any private time to enjoy a meal at home, we were fortunate to pin him down long enough to find out his personal tablesetting pleasures. His dinnerware choice is “Ola” from the Spanish brand Porvasal, designed by his friend Chef Ferran Adrià of the renowned restaurant il Bulli. The pure white porcelain, manufactured in Valencia, is favored by Spain’s hospitality industry, and the basic geometric shapes are perfect for food presentation. It’s a design that Andrés uses every day as well as for special occasion entertaining.
Photo by Ryan Forbes
A pioneer of Spanish tapas in the U.S. (he was born in Spain but became an American citizen in 2013), Andrés is known for his groundbreaking avant-garde cuisine and his award-winning group of 27 restaurants – including minibar by José Andrés (a two-star Michelin operation), Bazaar Meat at SLS Las Vegas, and sibling locations at SLS Beverly Hills and South Beach. In 2012 he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and the year prior was honored by The James Beard Foundation as an Outstanding Chef. He founded World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization aimed at providing smart solutions to hunger and poverty in Haiti and other corners of the world and was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama in 2016. This past fall, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, he headed to Puerto Rico, teaming up with local chefs to prepare and serve more than 2.4 million meals in an independent and heroic relief initiative.
He’s a Riedel “Vinum” fan for drinkware – no surprise, since it’s purposely crafted for wine connoisseurs. “It’s a simple yet elegant style,” said Andrés. Chef’s wife Tichi usually puts together a floral centerpiece using cuts from their own garden and sometimes even composes a treatment from fresh vegetables. “When it’s truffle season, a couple of truffles under a beautiful glass cloche is the most amazing centerpiece,” he said.
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A cozy seating area is exquisitely merchandised.
Photo by Scott Clark
DISPLAYS
DISPLAY’S THE THING
Beverly Hills is a capital of luxury and a mecca for high-end shopping. GEARYS Photo by Noteworthy Collective
Beverly Hills is its epicenter. The retailer of crème-de-la-crème tabletop and jewelry originated as a modest neighborhood purveyor of hardware and dinnerware, founded in 1930 by H.L Geary, a former president of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce. The Beverly Drive-based enterprise has since evolved to its current status as a renowned curator of luxury and style, an achievement of three generations of the Meyer family, who acquired the store in 1953. Thomas J. Blumenthal and Athena Bizanis Photo by Noteworthy Collective
The latest edition of the retailer’s catalog.
Today, Thomas J. Blumenthal, the Meyers’ grandson, is president and CEO, and under his stewardship GEARYS has upped its game even further. While growing the company with four additional locations exclusively selling watches, he’s also reinvigorated the 15,000-square-foot flagship where tabletop and home décor are center-stage. A recently completed major renovation has yielded Upstairs at GEARYS, a second-floor showplace dedicated to lifestyle environments including living room, dining room and even an exquisite full bar. “Everyone needs to be inspired,” said Blumenthal. “At GEARYS we are constantly feeding the desire to own and use beautiful home décor and tableware
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NEW YORK TABLETOP SHOW ® I APRIL 10 – 13, 2018 I OCTOBER 9 – 12, 2018
through our innovative ways of displaying it. We are constantly promoting #EntertainBeautifully, and that’s what GEARYS is all about.” DISPLAYS
Charged with creating the visual merchandising “wow” factor is Athena Bizanis. She joined the company earlier this year from Lalique, where she was VP of sales and marketing, and she cut her retailing teeth during a 15-year tenure at Bloomingdale’s. Now as VP of merchandising, Bizanis is keenly observing and listening to GEARYS’s clientele – how they’re living and what trends are impacting them. She’s constantly on the selling Photo by Noteworthy Collective
A dining room setting. Photo by Noteworthy Collective
floor when not attending major trade shows, both domestic and overseas. “There are no set rules anymore. People are living more casually, with everyday life moving faster than ever before,” she said. “So our challenge is not just to keep pace but to always stay one step ahead – opening their eyes and minds to new ideas and different uses.” Customers entering the new Upstairs at GEARYS gallery are immersed in a home-like experience, with a flood of natural lighting adding to the inviting, The new Upstairs at GEARYS is ideal for staging events.
welcoming feel. By design, the space also is intended for hosting customer events and parties. Engaging,
Photo by Noteworthy Collective
slice-of-life displays are re-merchandised every two to three weeks and often freshened up even more frequently, with no restrictions on mixing vendors or high-low price points. By leveraging Instagram, displays are instantly echoed online. Two storefront windows feature home products receive equal attention and are integral to driving traffic into the store. As for the Style Book catalog, which is issued in November, all of the photography and pages are designed and produced in-house, further reflecting the boundless creativity of the GEARYS team. Brimming with world-class designs staged in inventive, evocative uses, GEARYS Beverly Hills can stake a claim that few retailers, let alone one The bar area is loaded with inspiring setting and serving ideas.
specializing in tabletop, aim for: It is a destination shopping experience.
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SHOWROOM S
The Forty One Scene On Interior Designer Day, Jon Call and Daun Curry dish with Editor TV segment host Dannielle Kyrillos about the inspiration behind the lobby tablescapes they created.
Sombrero-less Ross Patterson, president of Robinson Home, hosted a festive Oneida fiesta where guests included the Wayfair team – Marta Hermansdorfer, Laura Cooper, Kacie Garganta, Dawn Swenson and Tyler Brennick.
Stephanie Mourao and Tammi Evans of Dillards toured the Noritake showroom with Debbie Weger.
Deborah Shearer was tapped to be the official Tabletop Market trend expert for 41 Madison Instagram, and while in the Fiskars showroom she posted about the new Ellen DeGeneres crafted by Royal Doulton.
Libbey sales director Serena Williams (center) worked with Elaine Berg and Michele Crowley of Wegmans.
Tim Jenkins, of William Yeoward Crystal, and Margot Shaw, editor-in-chief of flower, toast at the publication’s 10th anniversary celebration in the company’s showroom.
Clare Northwood of London-based luxury retailer John Lewis learned about the latest from Lenox from Laura Jaussi.
Suso Balanzá, EVP of Hampton Forge, discussed new designs with Pottery Barn’s Debbie Hom, associate buyer, and Allison Mast, VP of merchandising.
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Steve McGuire of LSA International greeted design writer Elaine Markoutsas.
Greg Gershon of Orrefors Kosta Boda led the showroom walkthrough for Lawrence Dautch (far left), Diane Wexler and Marsha Dautch of Buffalo, NYbased Jenss Décor.
Karen Hong of Design Within Reach reviewed Sambonet flatware options with Amy Weinberg of Rosenthal.
Melissa Bandock of Martin’s Herend Imports showed Moser crystal to Caroline Junnarkar, wedding registry director at Jung Lee NY, and the boutique’s owner, Jung Lee.
Laurie Burns and Bill Rudin were greeted at the Lenox party by company CEO Katrina Helmkamp and CMO Michele Barbone.
Luigi Bormioli had a smash hit on its hands as company VP Jim Eckert demonstrated product durability with an impact machine that slams a hammer onto a wine glass without shattering it.
Kathy O’Malley, Laura Lowe and Roland Wolfe from Hoagland’s of Greenwich toured the DeVine Corporation showroom with sales rep Stephanie Belleveau.
Mottahedeh owner Wendy Kvalheim showed new Robert Haviland & C. Parlon dinnerware patterns to Traditional Home senior style editor Krissa Rossbund.
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SHOWROOMS
In the Riedel showroom Stein Mart buyer Liz Worley Boyd met with sales rep Ben Tally.
SHOWROOM S
The Forty One Scene Fred Dohn, CEO of Arc International, met with Tyler Alamand and Jan Tanner from Costco Wholesale.
Malky Gestetner, of Israel-based retailer Dress Your Table, talked flatware finishes with Susan Goldstein, sales representative for Mepra.
Matthew Boland, principal of Scottsdale, AZ-based interior design firm MMB Studio and founder of The Main Dish, was joined by his store’s manager Jennifer Davis in reviewing new products with Pam Crow of Daum-Haviland & Co.
Designer Thomas O’Brien showed off his new collection for Reed & Barton to Madeline O’Malley and Katie Tomlinson from Architectural Digest.
Interior designer Natalie Kraiem snapped away in the Julia Watts showroom for her Tastemaker Takeover of the 41 Madison Instagram.
At Circle Glass, Barry Miller met with Yitzhak Zafrani and Arthur Blowe III from Amazon.
Celebrating the latest Wedgwood book in the Fiskars showroom: Fiskars president Ulrik Garde Due, Lady Mary Regina Wedgwood and Rizzoli publisher Charles Miers.
Mixologist Ulysses Vidal, from the popular NYCbased bar Employees Only, helped to shake up the Bormioli Rocco party with his spirited craft cocktails.
David Papenfuss of Meyer Corporation showed a selection of French presses to Steven D’Iorio, Tuesday Morning senior buyer.
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Paolo Cravedi, managing director of Alessi North America, manned a “pop-up” in what will be its permanent 8th floor showroom, slated to open in January 2018.
Jennifer Mayo and Cynthia Smith from Belk checked out new seasonal Fitz and Floyd styles with Lifetime Brands designer Sharon Nale.
In the newly opened Qualia Glass showroom, company executives Chet Mattia and John Falzer gave a product presentation to Sara Reisinger of Bealls.
Walmart buyer Jasmine Allen received a product download from Over & Back SVP Angelina Azevedo and president Richard Gillett.
Gerard Caramannello showed Villeroy & Boch introductions to Daphne Anthos from Bloomingdale’s.
Maureen Tompkins, co-owner of PA-based luxury boutique FX Dougherty Home & Gift, met with Juliska sales manager Cynthia Flores.
Benjamin Reynaert, market editor for Hearst Design Group, toured the new Deshoulières showroom with the brand’s national sales manager, Virginie de Toustain.
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SEMINAR
Kendra Simek, Jennifer Schwallie and Rebecca Surma of retailer Von Maur made the Fiskars showroom a stop where they met with Christa Siddy.
NEW YORK TABLETOP MARKET® April 10 – 13, 2018 October 9 – 12, 2018 (dates subject to change)
41 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010-2202 212-686 -1203 www.41madison.com A RUDIN BUILDING
www.41madison.com
/company/forty-one-madison /fortyonemadison @41madison #tabletopny #41madison
MAGNIFICENT MAKEOVER Our newly renovated entry and lobby are a visual treat. Not simply cosmetic, the changes include a new self check-in to help streamline registration. Sleek built-in vitrines help illuminate the lobby and elevator banks. Adding sparkle for the inauguration of the space, artisans from The Alpha Workshops created decorative tables and custom backdrops for select product displays composed by two leading interior designers – Jon Call and Daun Curry.