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These Gift & Decor Manufacturers Are Still “Made in the USA”

"In order for America to remain truly competitive in a global economy, we must invest in our workforce to stimulate small business growth. Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in this country, and the vast majority of them are paying their new workers higher than the minimum wage." ---Sen. John Kerry (source)

A year ago Gift and Home Retailer News featured vendors who manufacture in the USA because at that time the news media was daily reporting a new recalls of imported goods, primarily those made in China. Thanks to all Gift and Home Retailer News readers who responded to that issue. The vendors mentioned received a great response!

Teresa Thibault, founder of Heart Gifts By Teresa, began handpainting ornaments in her North Carolina home 16 years ago.

Today, with the world focused on the downturn in financial markets, we once again take a look at manufacturers who are bucking the trend of outsourcing to overseas factories with their cheap labor. Many of these manufacturers are very small and yet they manage to be profitable while imposing quality standards and employing local people.

One such company, Heart Gifts By Teresa, located in North Carolina, creates hand-painted, individually-packaged Christmas ornaments. They have been doing business since 1992. Like many small businesses, Teresa Thibault began her business at home and has seen it grow tremendously.

Despite decreasing show attendance, economic conditions and general consumer uncertainty, Channel Craft, maker of toys, games & puzzles, has seen an increase of 17% in the summer trade show sales from last year. Channel Craft has also seen an increase in the retailer's average order amount over last year. Retailers are expanding their selection of Channel Craft to meet the consumer's demands for USA-made goods. These factors will contribute to busy Holiday season of their crew of craftsmen and women, who have been making traditional American Pasttimes for 25 years in Charleroi, Pennsylvania.

Fiddler's Elbow has just released the new "Art for Cat Lover" collection with cat artwork by artist Sueellen Ross.

For over 35 years, Fiddler's Elbow has been designing and manufacturing USA-made, hand printed gifts in their Upstate, New York factory. Fiddler's Elbow has continued its history of licensing the most talented artists in the industry while designing and manufacturing everything from toys to doormats, kitchen textiles to totes, doorstoppers to soft sculptures and pillows to mugs. "We believe a great deal of our success can be attributed to capitalizing on the winning combination of a love for pets and an appreciation for fine art," says John Gunther, President.

Kiss Me In The Garden, Inc. produces all of its Body & Bath products in its Northridge, California facility. “Because we do it all,” says President Karen Mandell, “from the raw ingredient to the finished product, we have superior quality control and can afford to put in large amounts of the finest ingredients...and still sell them at a competitive price.” The 15-year-old company has over 100 made-in-USA products to choose from.

Coast Lamp Mfg., was established and incorporated in the state of Florida in 1955. Now, a North Carolina Corporation since 1975, located in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina, Coast Lamp is family owned and operated. The company's products are UL listed and approved and made in the USA. The Rustic- and Western-Lifestyle-themed lamps are truly distinctive.

Quality and attentiveness to environmental impact characterize the products produced in Surrey, Maine, by The Borealis Press. Borealis says it is one of the fastest-selling lines in the industry, partly because so many of the greeting cards seem perfect for many different occasions. The first Quote UnQuote cards, which quickly became the company's best-selling product and eventually, as one person said, "changed the look of the card industry" because so many others started copying the photograph-plus-quote idea.

Since 1990, Aspen Bay Candle Company has grown from an exclusively votive and pillar-type candle manufacturer to a versatile, industry-leading, international supplier of fragrant goods. By improving on already good products and introducing innovative and sophisticated designs, Aspen Bay has filled a niche in the sale of fine home accessories, one hand-poured candle at a time. Aspen Bay's unique NEW super-refined, high temperature Soy Wax formulation simply absorbs more fragrance oil than any other candle wax available. The Starkville, Mississippi company's food-grade Soy Wax blend burns cleanly, strongly, and lasts up to twice as long as "normal" candles. The fragrances are designed in-house with the assistance of the finest perfumers from all around the world.

Wellspring, recently moved across the Susquehanna river into a larger, more modern and efficient facility in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The company which began when JoAnn van Roden wrote and marketed her first cookbook, has grown over the last 25 years to create fun and functional gifts and stationery products such as Flip Notes™, Neck Pens, Luggage Tags, Bendinis™, Party Playas™, Auto Notes™, Wiggle Pens™, Pencil Pads©, note cards, recipe books, and shopping list pads.

"Stripes Are Calling" is the name of this Specialty Liner from Scentennials.

Sunny Southern California is home to Scentennials, in business for 19 years making the fine scented drawer liners, a large selection of paper designs, colors, and beautiful perfumes that are tailored to please everyone's taste. Scentennials, a trade mark of Taiusa, Inc., uses only the finest quality papers and perfume oils available, applying generous amounts of fragrance on the paper for a long lasting scent and value.

Jeane’s Things is another family-run business, based in Warrenville, Illinois. For over 25 years, the company has prided itself on being customer-friendly and offering probably the most generous terms of sale in the industry. Almost all of their products are 100% returnable and 100% guaranteed. The company produces a variety of items for both Christmas and Everyday. All products are designed by experienced artists in the U.S. who are leaders in the gift and card industries.

Four years of comprehensive research and development preceded the recent launch of Soypure Luxury Products' all natural, made in USA, soy skincare, body care and aromatherapy collections. The New-York-City-based company's flagship product was a finalist in the HBA Global Expo 2008 Excellence in Packaging Award for prestige skincare. "We have successfully produced a natural and truly effective alternative to cosmeceuticals, painful Botox injections and surgeries, by pairing our all-natural potent, age fighting ingredients with a controlled heating device for deep delivery. The results have been astonishing," says Soypure's CEO and Founder, Michael Goldenberg, a devoted environmentalist and expert in controlled heating from 25 years in the precious metals industry.

Servants Heart not only manufacturers its products in the USA but uses local suppliers to produce some components for assembly.

Another North Carolina manufacturer is Servants Heart, which, for the past 10 years, has produced and assembled a variety of inspirational gift items. The company takes pride in working with other USA vendors to purchase components for assembling its products, thereby doing its part to provide jobs locally and elsewhere throughout the USA. The company's products, such as aprons, kitchen towels, tote bags, bibs, framed prints and all sorts of decorative pillows & monogramable items, are combined with unique, fresh artwork on gifts that are encouraging and fun to give. The line includes Baby, Tween & Teen products and General gifts that wholesale in Atlanta & Dallas markets.

The #1 Personal Care Line in the Gift Industry for 10 straight years (GiftBeat 1998-2008) Camille Beckman can be found in the quaint Boise suburb of Eagle, Idaho. The 104,000 square foot facility is heated and cooled by a natural 62-degree, year-round artesian well. The Classic Camille Beckman Line originated in 1986 and is known worldwide for the quality of its fine Glycerine Hand Therapy and soothing lotions. Today the company offers the contemporary New Generation Spa Line in addition to their Classic Fragrances and will be launching their Gardener's Hand Therapy System, Nurse's Hand Therapy System and Gardener's Hand Therapy System this fall.

"If Anything Goes Wrong Ever, We Will Fix It" is the Kay Berry Guarantee.

Saxonburg, Pennsylvania is home to Kay Berry, a leading manufacturer of quality cast stone products including sculptures, benches and a variety of garden, memorial and home accent stone designs. Kay Berry began in 1991 as a spin-off of a sales organization that served gift shops and garden centers in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The product offering initially included cast birdfeeders and iron shepherds hooks. In 1993, the company developed its first stone products. All items are Made in the USA and guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Inserts make it possible to completely change the look of z becky brown handbags.

z becky brown of Columbia, South Carolina, makes the only handbag that will never go out of style: it can change with every outfit and every season of the year. The total look of a z becky brown handbag can be changed in just a moment by simply changing an insert. The company's collection of handbags and over 60 designer inserts allow a fresh smart look with up to the minute style. The owner of a z becky brown handbag can also personalize it and express her creative side with photos, art or needlework. Sized templates are included with each handbag. The handbags are eco-friendly; made from a renewable resource "The Natural Polymer".

Northern Alabama is home to Applelicious, maker of hand-dipped apples. Washington state apples are dipped in rum-flavored caramel, rolled in pecans and then dipped in either milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate or peanut butter chocolate. Each apple will serve 6-to-8 people. "All handmade with love the the USA, our chocolate gourmet apples are Appelicious! the gift that fits everyone," says the Dayna Blankenship of Applelicious.

Other OmegaNet Inc. clients that manufacture and/or assemble their products in the United States include Brownlow Gift (gourmet line), Crown Mulling Spices, Bay Pottery, Frankoma Pottery, Great American Puzzle Factory, The Greeting Place, Laura Leiden Calligraphy, Maison de Vie, Northridge Gardens, The Professionals, Sugar Street Weavers, and Suzy's Zoo.