This August, Ruffina.nyc participated in our first trade show with NY NOW. NY NOW is a biannual show held at the Javit's Center that focuses on home and gift merchandising. They recently added a “PET” Category, which allowed us to feature the latest in small dog apparel alongside our talented petwear peers! We had a 10x10 booth, where we displayed Ruffina’s line of American-made Polartec® fleece coats for dogs, as well as their matching accessories for humans. Ed and Meg moved me in and my daughter Aurora helped me set up the booth display and get ready for attendees. I couldn't have done it with out her! Friends Gloria, Maggie, Pam, Sophia, Chris, Leslye and Paula all pitched in on working the booth. Thanks to all of you it was a huge success.
The Bood & The Snood were voted Best New Product for NY NOW's Destination Now. The Destination:Now display was located near the entrance to the show. Destination: Now was a curated selection of the show’s Best New Products. We were proud to be included! After browsing this area first, many of the show’s visitors stopped by our booth to check out our sophisticated silhouettes for dogs with an eye for design.
Store owners especially loved our "Best New Products" -- The Bood, a pullover coat for small dogs in five different sizes, and the accompanying Snood, a scarf/hood that looks great buttoned to the Bood or on its own! With the help of NY NOW’s shout out, I signed up seven great stores located all the way from Brooklyn, NY to Lyon, France, and I am excited to announce that Ruffina's products will now be available at Christopher's Gifts in St. Louis, MO, Cordially Corinne in Millburn, NY, Ally Bally Bee in Redding, CT, and The Depot in Midland Park, NJ.
We spent three and a half days meeting customers and talking to other creators and tradespeople. Over the course of our time at NY NOW, we learned a lot about trade shows. A word of advice to new exhibitors — bring a stapler! Everyone wants you to staple your card to their order. Who knew? Most importantly, we are grateful to have received so much helpful feedback in such a short timeframe from our visitors. People loved the colors and quality of our products, and many stores opted in for the matching Human Snoods and Gloves. Who doesn't want to match their dog! Huge thank you to NY NOW for a fun and productive weekend — we can’t wait to get started with our newest partnerships, and we’ll see you next time!