We've just returned from our annual fireplace products trade show, having seen the newest products unveiled by the manufacturers who attended.
Both exhibitors and attendance was down again this year due to continuing struggles in this economy. Although our business does not concentrate on new construction, a vast majority of fireplace manufacturers do, so weakness in new home starts continues to weaken our industry in general. Sluggish sales mean there were fewer exhibitors and fewer new products unveiled than we've been accustomed to seeing at our trade show.
We noticed that gas fireplace styles are evolving into contemporary European designs that incorporate stones, glass beds and even simple ribbon styles with no media in the fireplace. Americans who've craved this look now for several years will soon have many more choices within this design category.
We were glad to see some new products within the categories of products on which we focus, including electric and gas fireplace models. We've found a manufacturer of very tiny electric stoves and inserts, our most exciting discovery at the show. We're also considering some very specialized outdoor cooking appliances including a very small gas grill, a small electric grill and an infrared turkey fryer that cooks without all that dangerous oil. As many of our customers live in early 20th century row homes with small yards and small porches, we feel these products - which are very competitively priced - will uniquely suit our customers' needs.
Be sure and check our website in the upcoming weeks for some great new hearth and barbecue items that we think you're really going to love.
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