Las Vegas Market Feature

Bringing the Garden Home (From page 126) by our buyers to represent local vendors and bespoke items that guests could not find at big box department stores,” she explained. “We are providing not just items, but memories. One of our most popular vendors is a local company called Oxide. We carry their steel panels which are perfect for outdoor patios to indoor living rooms.” Rather than a seasonal or temporary trend, Herrera said items with a Southwestern flair or that are inspired by Phoenix in some way are in consistently high demand. “We carry a wide variety of items, from [saguaro] scented candles to cactus pillows. It’s about environment and atmosphere and guests are looking to recreate the ethos of the Garden in their homes and find that serenity after these challenging past couple of years,” she explained.

There is still strong interest in locally-made or locally-inspired items. Visitors like to support independent businesses that make or carry unique items. With ongoing supply chain issues, retailers are looking to local artists and vendors for unique items to stock their shelves. Wilcox said at Olbrich, she and her team have been working with and highlighting local artists. She mentioned one named Kim Russell, who creates bird drawings, prints, note cards, ornaments, and sculpture] that feature nature themes,” Wilcox said.

Karen Kohlbeck , WPS Trellis gift shop coordinator at Green Bay Botanical Gardens in Green Bay, Wis., said items by local vendors are always in high demand. “When I bring in our local lavender farm, and some of

What Are the Favorite Botanical Designs on Home Décor Items?

Flowers and butterflies abound on most items in botanical garden gift shops, but they are not the only motifs to catch shoppers’ interest.

“The number one thing for us are dragonflies. Also chickadees, which is the state bird of Massachusetts,” said Gift Shop Manager/Buyer Judy Coughlin at New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill. “We sell a lot of cardinalthemed items, too. Mushrooms are really hot right now; also gnomes. We’re pretty locked into the niche of what we do. We have lots of logoed and state merchandise,” she added.

Gift Shop Manager Sarah Wilcox at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wis., said, “Monstera designs have been, of course, very popular but people are starting to gravitate towards native plants that are specific to local environments.”

And butterflies continue to represent the beauty and wonder of botanical gardens. Karen Kohlbeck, WPS Trellis gift shop coordinator at Green Bay Botanical Gardens in Green Bay, Wis., noted their entire shop window has a butterfly theme during the summer. “In the same window I have wooden logs that I use to re-create an outdoor scene. Into fall/winter, I’m going to be doing a campfire theme. I’ll be bringing in items to echo that—a nice winter blanket, a multitool that fits on a belt. I will probably be bringing in specialty marshmallows; we have a line called Door County Coffee, which is a local company, so I’ll tie in the marshmallows, and also a lantern.” ❖ their lavender sprays, [the items] will sell really quickly for us. We have a local alpaca farm. When I bring in her items, such as the laundry dryer balls, they have sold really well, as do their hats, mittens, and blankets. We carry items by local artists, including one named Artistry on Glass, which is painted glassware. She has a line of wine glasses called Field of Flowers, and we’ve carried the line for 10 years. Local definitely does better.”

Kohlbeck said home decor is a difficult category to predict for the 600-square-foot shop. “Some things sell really well, and other items I think will sell well, such as vaseware, are slower to move,” Kohlbeck said. “Because we are a botanical garden, our garden items sell better than the home décor. In that category, our big seller was a line called June and December, which has kitchen and dish towels, napkins, stationery. Another one we brought in for the summer is a line called Chive; we’ve been doing well with their ceramic succulents. They make it so you can either use them on a table surface or wall décor with their ceramics.” Bees Wrap, an alternative to plastic wrap made with beeswax, has also done well. “It’s nice because they do the Swedish dishcloth, which is a reusable product, and they have a few different sizes of the Bees Wrap—[it’s available in] produce bags, sandwich bags, or you can buy a roll of it. The roll is probably the most expensive item at approximately $29.95. Some of the others are closer to $19.95; Swedish dish cloths are $15.95.” Kohlbeck said the definition of “home décor” has expanded over the past few years. “During COVID and now post-COVID, ‘home’ has come to mean more than just the indoor living space that provides us with comfort, but also evolved to include our outdoor living areas,” she explains. “We entertain, relax, and spend time basking in nature there, so it, also, has become a focus of decor. In fact, one of our most popular classes here at the Green Bay Botanical Garden this past Spring was ‘Decorating

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