Trends in AmericanMade Merchandise at Gift and Hallmark Stores

Does the label “Made in America” translate to great gift sales and quality products? For this article, gift and Hallmark shop owners and staff provided their takes on top sellers in this category, and whether it is difficult or easy to find these items for their stores.

At Tweak - the Original Giftery in Los Angeles, Calif., Owner Tara Riceberg cited artist-made pieces and small, artisan-driven American companies as among her top-sellers. “We do very well with Yuzu soap bath products, particularly with their effervescent, delicious shower tablets that release essential oils as you bathe, so you are steaming with lavender or eucalyptus.” Yuzu is headquartered in San Francisco; New Mexico-made printed hand towels, and South Carolina-based Savannah Bee’s food items are also strong-sellers at Tweak. “Savannah Bee has a charitable aspect to it as well, as they give back to save bees and toward educational products. Poppy’s brand and their cool cylinders of popcorn, and Ancient Olive Trees, which is a California-based, also have very popular food-based items that we offer.”

Riceberg finds it somewhat difficult to find a great deal of Made in America merchandise to sell, however. “It’s easier to find imported items. Children’s toys, for example, are all manufactured in China, or at least the fabrics originate there.” She said that customers appreciate most of all having hand-made, artist-made items as gifts. “I think if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s the importance of being connected to people. And purchasing a product that is purposeful, that is hand-made, that offers that kind of connection.” She noted that “The interest level is similar to the reason that people want to shop in my store in the first place, instead of just buying something made in China on Amazon. They know I select merchandise that brings joy to people, so my customers like shopping here for the curation and the passion for being a connector.” That said, she noted, “I don’t think anyone specifically comes in and says to me ‘What’s made in America?’ But it is an upsell point to say something is handmade or made in the U.S. It is added value.” She asserted, “I believe in value as connected to having something no one else has, having something handmade, rather than due to cost. It is all about a sense of something

Continued on page 128

Trends in American-Made (From page 126) being special.”

Comparing the quality of Made in America items to imports, Riceberg asserted “When you feel something that is made by human touch, which is more often the case with locally-made merchandise, you

- get that personal connection. It’s different if you are touching a toy from China. But we buy many imported items because we really don’t have a choice. The majority of what is sold is mass-produced and imported. Still, there is a designer who originally created that product, so I do relate to well-made mass-produced items, and others do, too. There is still a person behind them originally.”

At Ooo! (Outside of Ordinary) in Scottsdale, Ariz., Owner Susan Cassidy said, “It is more difficult to find Made in America merchandise for the store, honestly. It all comes down to price points. Most things that are U.S.-made are more artisan-like items, and those items have a higher cost, because people need to put a value on their time. We do have people who come in and they just want a $20 gift. If something is more expensive, they’ll ask me what I have that costs less. So, it is difficult; the lower cost items usually come from China.”

As to customer interest in American-made items, she said, “Maybe one in a hundred say ‘Oh, do you have something made locally or made in the U.S.?’ They really don’t search that out to my knowledge here. But I do my best to promote those items.” She said, “I tell them that I carry a jewelry line, for example, that is made locally and point out that these handmade pieces look different than manufactured jewelry.” Cassidy said she also displays these items in a “special way” and talks about them a great deal to bring people’s attention to this merchandise. Interestingly, she observed that “When people are buying for themselves, they tend to be more interested in the locally made, or U.S.-made, handcrafted items. I don’t

Continued on page 130

Trends in American-Made (From page 128) know what people are gifting these days, other than cards and that kind of small item, but they are definitely not spending as much in that area. So, making the merchandise switch that I am, it is challenging.”

When it comes to merchandise quality, Cassidy asserted, “The quality is better for sure when you buy

Plates Full, sells whimsical, locally-made ceramics and metal wall pieces, as well as fused glass pieces and Judaic items made in the U.S. “One of my top sellers is Sticks furniture and object art out of Des Moines, Iowa. They do everything from lazy susans and mirrors to big, hand-made tables and smaller, burned wood art works. We try not to buy imported items in general, which has saved us in terms of supply issues. I try to find mostly U.S., Canadian, or very locally made merchandise.” Her price range in American-made products is extensive: “from $10 ceramics on up to furnishings that are in the $4,000 range.”

American. I am tired of the constantly resin-made, poorly made products where you pick up an item and you see the material isn’t natural, it isn’t what you think it is at all, it’s totally different. And I don’t like it. If I don’t like it, I don’t want to sell it to my customers.”

Also in Scottsdale, Terri Weisz , owner of Two

Weisz said the majority of shoppers are interested in American-made items. “The quality is much better. The American companies in general, and the artisan crafts people all provide greater detail, better quality, less merchandise that has problems of any kind.” She explained, “I do carry commercially made, imported items, but on the whole, I try to find all different price ranges within American or Canadian-made products, whether its kids’ cactus-shaped crayons or candles that have a touching story behind them, and contain small hearts inside every candle designed to represent a child who passed away at an early age.” That personal touch also improves customer interest.

In Issaquah, Wash., at Trudy’s Hallmark, Assistant Manager Shauna Milne stressed that while “imports are much easier to find” the store does include some items in the Made in America category. “Our Silver Forest jewelry which comes from Vermont, our locally made candy, Springbok puzzles made in Missouri –those are some of our top sellers that were made in the U.S.”

At this store, Milne said interest in American-made items is about “Fifty-fifty. Some people really do want to purchase products made in America, and to some extent I think they would purchase those items all the time if they could, but those kinds of items aren’t always available to fit their needs. So, a lot of people just think that they need something, and they need it now, whatever is most easily available, regardless of where it came from.” While price point also is a consideration, Milne said the quality of Made in America merchandise is excellent and that also makes a difference to people. “Overall, Americanmade products are just higher quality, I think. Maybe it’s due to workers having more pride in their craftsmanship, or perhaps the components are just constructed better, with better materials, than some of the imports.”

In short, gift shops are turning more toward Americanmade items, and guiding their customers in that direction too, even in an increasingly global economy. ❖