A peak inside the bloggers' goodie bags

As a BIG thank you to the participants of last week's DDB Spring Market, the 20 bloggers went home with some very nice treats, most of which were one-off, specially created batches. Many showrooms showed their thanks for the bloggers' attention, coverage and participation with goodies ranging from tote bags to pens to jewelry. Thanks to everyone who donated, and once again to the bloggers for all of their great reporting. (We'll continue to share all that the bloggers have to say in their post-market recaps, so keep checking back.)

ANICHINI: Merino Wool Scarves, made in Italy from 100% Merino wool, and renowned for their soft, silky feel. Designs are exclusive to Anichini
CREATION BAUMANN: Umbrellas
CRESTRON: Zipdrives, that are both techy and adorable
DONGHIA: Leather Notebooks, made with a soft cover and lined pages to document your every design need
GRACIE: iPhone Case, with Gracie’s scenic hand-painted wallpaper, combining the finest level of hand painted detail typical of the 18th century Chinese designs with a modern bold orange accent
HOLLAND & SHERRY: Fountain Pens, covered in their signature wool
HOULES: Beaded Key Chain and Post it Compact. This beautiful beaded keychain offers a glimpse into Houles newest trim line, the Palais Royale
KNOLL LUXE: Nail Polish in Knoll Textiles custom color, “Tryst”
LUTRON: Maestro Wireless Dimmer, Single Pico® Wireless control has the power to control up to 10 Maestro Wireless dimmers and switches, up to 100 feet
MAYA ROMANOFF: Slink Notebooks
NEKTAR DE STAGNI: Bracelets, Nektar De Stagni  "Smiley Face" Freshwater Pearl earrings, with black Crystal pave

PIPINO 57: VIP Member Cards
POTTERTON BOOKS: Book Du Jour
QUADRILLE: Tote Bag
QUINTESSENTIALLY: A two-week pass to Quintessentially Unlocked
ROBERT ALLEN: Ikat Pouches
ROSE TARLOW: Leather Coaster. It's 5 o’ clock somewhere! Coasters in RTMH leather with our signature house emblem – the perfect desk accessory
SCUBE DESIGN: Hand-crafted pencil pouches, with silver-foiled glass beads and Swarovski crystal stones
VAUGHAN: Tape Measures

In the News: Anichini Fabrics Launches New Website

We love Anichini for its interesting textiles of every kind and category—especially the rare and subtle hand looms and durable, unique contract fabrics. We also love that the Anichini website just got a redesign, making it even easier to browse the beautiful fabrics without wasting any time.

Anichini has long been known for luxurious and unusual fabrics, and the company has a passion for authenticity. Hand-loomed fabrics are at the top of the list, and Anichini has recently unveiled fresh hand-loomed products in the showroom that you can browse on the new website's fabrics site.

These textiles are produced in a manner that has been handed down through the millennia. Hand-loomed textiles have a quality of richness and depth missing from commercially produced textiles. There are irregularities and nuances of color and texture that are deeply pleasing to the eye and hand. Hand looms are the “genuine article” of textiles.

Check out Anichini's website and tell us what you love most about the changes, and get yourself over to the Anichini showroom at the DDB in Suite 923 and at DCOTA in Suite C-170.

Where in the DDB?

Think you can guess which DDB showroom we snapped these two photographs in? Leave us a comment with your guess to show us how well you know the DDB. The answer will be in next week's Where in the DDB? post.

Hint: This company's renowned Color Library was the first of its kind to be introduced to the industry and is known for its exceptionally effective method of organization by color.

If you guessed the Anichini showroom for last week's "Where in the DDB?" post, you're right!

GDG Gift Guide: Anichini Keeps Your Neck Warm & Your Style Fabulous

Tis the season! Rockefeller Center is officially all lit up and the time for gift shopping is now upon us—and what better place to find those perfect treasures for clients and friends than the DDB? In the days leading up to Christmas, we'll be posting a series of articles to help designers looking for the perfect holiday gifts.

At Anichini, scarf's the word and with so many to choose from, you'll have a  full afternoon choosing one for each person on your list. The Verona and Taormina scarves, made with 100 percent Merino wool, are woven in Italy and they're as soft and cozy as they are beautiful. The designs are inspired by architectural friezes from the Renaissance and are exclusive to Anichini in multiple colors.

If you're looking for an even more exotic pattern, the San Miguel scarf may be a perfect fit. Available in Sage, Fig or Gold color schemes, the San Miguel scarf is also woven in Italy with 100 percent Merino wool. Exclusive to Anichini, the design is based on a Moorish pattern found in the Alhambra Palace in Spain.

Gifts from Anichini don’t stop there—if you're gifting to she or he who love to host, Anichini's Lido, Nobel and Mykolas linen napkin collection are perfect dinner-party partners. Available in too many colors, patterns and sizes to name, check out Anichini online to browse them all.

For more information on gift ideas with Anichini, stop by the Anichini showroom at the DDB in Suite 923, or call the showroom at 212-715-9623.

In the News: Anichini Gives You Twilight Set Bed Sheets

Anichini certainly knows bed sheets, but we had no idea it knew vampires, too! If you love the Twilight film series, find Anichini on Facebook and enter to win the sheets from Edward and Bella's honeymoon suite in Twilight, Breaking Dawn.





Visit Anichini's facebook page and visit the Anichini showroom on the DDB's 9th floor.

Anichini Introduces Barbara in Preaching to the Choir

Stay tuned for more of Anichini's Preaching to the Choir videos and visit the Anichini showroom at the DDB in Suite 923.

Anichini Introduces Rosa, In Preaching to the Choir

Stay tuned for more of Anichini's Preaching to the Choir videos and visit the Anichini showroom at the DDB in Suite 923.

Anichini Preaches to the Choir

Stay tuned for more of Anichini's Preaching to the Choir videos and visit the Anichini showroom at the DDB in Suite 923.

Fall Market Buzz: Anichini's Tribal Tales with Susan Gomersall (Part 3)

Earlier this week we introduced you to Susan Gomersall, the field expert of traditional textiles and the woman behind Anichini's newest collection. Now we're going to give you a sneak peek at the collection,Tribal Tales, which will be previewed at DDB Fall Market, along with her book Tribal Tales in Wool.

GDG: Can you tell us about the collection for Anichini?

SG: The first selections of rugs that will be available at Anichini are all made with unbleached, un-dyed wool. There are examples from Iran, Turkey and Morocco. I chose to show these first because they exemplify the ingenuity of the nomadic weaver. Dyes were expensive and these pieces show how to make something amazing with nature.

GDG: How did you and Susan Dollenmaier (founder of Anichini) meet?

SG: I came to live in America in 1985 and met Susan Dollenmaier a couple of years later when I was starting a wholesale business. I was exhibiting at The New York Gift Show and Susan was there with her company. The management of the show didn't quite know where to put me so they decided to put me a section called Museum Source, so I set up my booth with all these amazing rugs amidst unlikely fellow exhibitors. They were very good people but they sold the kind of product you find in museum gift shops like post cards and educational toys.

I was feeling a little discouraged and out of place when Susan appeared and went wild! I think she bought almost everything that was on my walls! After that she kept sending her clients, designers and architects to my booth and voila! My business in America was launched! The appreciation was mutual as I am a dedicated Anichini devotee. In the early years, we even bartered our goods, like any true nomad!

Tribal Tales with Susan Gomersall takes place Thursday, October 13 from noon to 12:45 p.m. at Anichini (Suite 923) at the DDB.

Fall Market Buzz: Anichini's Tribal Tales with Susan Gomersall (Part 1 of 3)

Vermont-based Anichini will host Tribal Tales, an introduction to a new collection of tribal rugs, at its DDB showroom during the upcoming Fall Market. In lieu of the event, we met the woman leading the event. An expert in the field of traditional textiles and the woman behind Anichini's newest collection, Susan Gombersall will discuss the use of tribal rugs in contemporary design. Susan frequently travels to Central Asia and Africa, returning with unique and hard-to-find pieces. Her collection is the culmination of the decades of world travel in her quest for unique and beautiful tribal and village carpets and textiles.

Susan sat down with us to tell us more about herself and her trade.

GDG: When did you initially start pursuing your love for tribal rugs?

SG: I'm originally from England, and in 1971 I left to purse my studies in the world of tribal rugs. I proceeded to study ancient stone carvings in the Middle East and after living with Kurdish nomads for years, I then traveled throughout Asia buying and trading rugs.

GDG: Can you tell us about your experience in the regions where tribal rugs are made?

SG: In the decade from 1970 to 1980 I was lucky enough to travel "The Orient" with a few nomadic groups. I witnessed first hand their amazing lifestyle and culture. It often amuses me to imagine finding the nomadic group again and showing them a photograph of their family's "sleeping rug" in its new home, maybe in a Tribeca loft or a wonderful farmhouse on Martha's Vineyard.

GDG: What inspires you most about tribal rugs?

SG: My passion and livelihood is buying and selling tribal rugs and my greatest pleasure is convincing people to embrace the oddness of a tribal piece--its shape, the talismanic imagery of it and most of all, why it was woven in the first place. A genuine tribal rug is made for a specific purpose: sleeping, eating, sitting, praying, getting married in front of or using as a screen to afford the newly married couples privacy in the tent—at least physiological privacy. They are the real deal.

Stay tuned to GoDesignGo for more about Susan Gomersall and her experience with tribal rugs. In the meantime, save the date for her Tribal Tales at Anichini (Suite 923) on Thursday, October 13 from noon to 12:45 p.m. at the DDB.

Linens Are Turning a New Leaf at Anichini

The next turn for linen has arrived, and that is the re-emergence of the linen towel. Long the norm in many European countries, Anichini's Myklos Linen Towels are both classic and modern and the freshest way to wrap yourself up at the beach or poolside.

These super traditional, hand-loomed 100% linen bath towel are the perfect addition for those looking for a more rustic look. Durable and anti-microbial, linen towels, bathmats and robes are ideal for the home, at the beach, or on your boat. A natural exfoliant, Linen towels invigorate the skin, circulating blood flow and giving you a more healthy appearance. See how you feel. See how you look. The world is catching on.

See and feel Anichini's Mykolas Linen Towels for yourself at their DDB showroom before the Summer starts to simmer out.

Product Pick: Pillow Talk

We know Anichini for their charming bedding and authentic textiles, but did you know that they also have a brag-worthy selection of decorative pillows?

We stopped in to check out their Sitara pillow collection, which is made of lightweight dupioni silk and comes in a rainbow of colors from feisty orange to tantalizing teal—perfect for accenting.

The collection also comes in three finishes including tufted, quilted and channeled. Best of all, you can get these wonderful silks as bedcovers, shams or even drapery.

GDG Gift Guide: Staying Warm in Style

Whether you’re having a quiet night in or a wild night out, GDG Gift Guide has the perfect gift to keep your loved ones warm.

Anichini's luxurious signature Merino wool throws can tame any temperature—and although they’re more commonly used for cuddling up on the sofa, they can also double as a fashion accessory for a night on the town.

These soft, silky throws are woven in Italy of 100% Merino wool, and they come in five styles and a wide range of colors to suite any décor, explained Jennifer Hanson, Anichini’s Showroom Director. "Or, you can wear it as a gorgeous wrap at your holiday or New Years party!  I have two of these wonderful throws and I wear them all the time.  Especially when I head North for the Holidays!

Take Jennifer's advice and get to Anichini to dress your furniture or yourself with warm Merino Wool before the holidays.

DDB: Suite 923

DCOTA: Suite C-170

Please Pass the Sergente Curry Napkins

Anichini's sensuous textures and robust colors are the oh-so-perfect dressing Thanksgiving tabletop. GoDesignGo got the lowdown on what some of the best items for every Thanksgiving table. "The Taj Camel Tablecloths, the Sergente Curry Napkins, and the Grazuole Cocktail Napkins are the must-haves during this sale," said Showroom Director Dena Richardson.

When we asked what have designers have been most excited about, Dena said, "In the weeks and days before Thanksgiving, Anichini's most popular items have been the festive colored linens and sophisticated jacquard sateens."

And what is Dena's own must have this Thanksgiving? "Table Runners!" she said.

We don't know about you, but we're certainly thankful for the fact that Anichini is having a Thanksgiving Sale—15% discounts from now through November 30, 2010.

Places, Please!

There are hardly enough holidays in the year to find an occasion for each style, size and colorway of Anichini's newly expanded tabletop linen collection. Perhaps not even enough fall meals to exhaust every autumnal hue of orange and red.



We suggest employing these linens at minor snacking events. Triscuits and cheddar while leaning on the kitchen counter? Choose a periwinkle to contrast that Cracker Barrel. Ice-cold Corona on the bar car on the way home from that Connecticut project? Caribbean blue will make do. Bring a couple spare squares to share with your neighbors like a true tastemaker should. This just in! Every single runner and napkin can be customized. You'll spend a lifetime finding ways to enjoy these. Start now at Astra with cocktail napkins—it's 5'o'clock somewhere.

Anichini...True Story Collection

ANICHINI is pleased to introduce their new True Story Collection.  What’s so True?  This naturally organic, glossy, fine textured and durable silk is hand spun and woven into quilted, tufted or channeled pillows, bed covers, bed skirts, duvets, window treatment, you name it!  The result is a luminous almost living silk in various golden to dark golden tones, depending on the time of year the silk is harvested.  Also pictured is our Luxurious hand woven, hand knitted and finished Himalayan cashmere available in 2, 4 or 6 ply weaves.  We custom finish in hundreds of color combinations and sizes and better still there no minimums.  Come up to ANICHINI on the ninth floor and let us enlighten you with luxury.