Manual MagazineVOLUME 1, NUMBER 2 FALL 2008

Season’sShow

Stoppers

CreateSeasonalSparkle!

Take a Peek InsideEbony Art

Closet

Isabella’s Bijou

Bestowal

Contents

COVER STORY

FEATURES

14 Isabella’s BijouxIsabella’s Journey™ is putting on the ritz with an exclusive jewelry collection composed of semiprecious gemstones and handmade glass.

2 Seasonal SparkleIt’s never too early to start stocking up on this year’s hottest holiday products. Offer irresistible holiday gifts that will have consumers asking for more!

4 Gift Show StoppersFind out what Manual products had show participants stopping in their tracks and stocking up for the season.

16 What’s NewCheck in on Manual’s latest products in home furnishings, wall décor, accent metals, tabletop ceramics and more!

11 Tap into TrendFall 2008 is brimming with spice-infused colorways, designs inspired by nature and affordable décor with an approachable look of luxury.

28 Dear IsabellaGet the skinny on inspirational products that may be the answer to slumping sales.

24 Who’s Who at ManualMeet one of Manual’s in-house artists, Sarah Lowe, and get an inside look at the genesis and development of Flora & Fauna.

26 Artist at WorkThomas Kinkade shares his perspective on art and the inspiration behind his works.

19 Ebony Art ClosetTake a peek inside the Ebony Art Closet. Get a products preview on the latest African American home décor accents and gifts

Vol.1 No. 2

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Seasonal Sparkle

Holiday Cheer

Frosty Frolic

Fiber OpticHandbag

Retro, classic or contemporary, consumers delight in bright and beautiful holiday décor. Manual offers a variety of holiday home accents to add that special “seasonal sparkle” to the home. Holiday Cheer revives a vintage Christmas allure with clean, simple lines, scallop motifs and candy cane stripes. Tabletop ceramics in this collection also coordinate wonderfully with pieces in Frosty Frolic, a vibrant ceramic and tapestry collection of merrymaking snowmen. Consumers can bring their holiday magic in the home and on the go with fiber optic handbags. Each tote features holiday imagery with lights that constantly move and change color. Classic design, like that of the Twelves Days of Christmas, creates a charming wall display upon the matching Christmas tree plate rack. It’s just not the holidays without a hint of humor. The hostess gets the last laugh this season with a © Terri Puma Designs apron. For an endearing, winter-warming ambiance, the Frosty Friends collection displays toasty hues of almond and amber with darling holiday imagery.

Twelve Days of Christmas© Susan Winget

© Terri Puma Designs

Frosty Friends© Angela Anderson, Licensed by Suzanne Cruise

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Show Stoppers

Despite a lighter show attendance, buyers were stocking up with products sure to grant a seasonal sparkle in their stores. Participants scouted for products with originality, personality and pizzazz. Greetings from the North Pole charmed buyers with a hip version

of Mrs. Claus’ holiday apron and tote bag. Frisky and fun, the Family Meltdown apron made way as a top seller at the shows. Retro is on the rise for holiday décor. Items like the Holiday Cheer chargers and Frosty Frolic hand towels kept attendees coming back for more!

What would the holidays be without a little flash and sparkle? Fiber optic items, door hangers and handbags, are all the rage and sure to brighten up the holidays. Traditional holiday décor, 12 Days of Christmas mini plates and tree plate rack, verified their hold in the market with solid sales points.

Greetings From the North Pole

Frosty Frolic

SnowmanFiber Optic Handbag

Holiday Cheer

SnowmanFiber Optic

Door Hanger

12 Daysof Christmas© Susan Winget

This is as Merry...Fiber Optic Handbag

Family Meltdown© Terri Puma

Shown<UnlitLit>

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7Occasions of the Season

© Gillian Fullard/London Portfolio

Seashells Tencel

Cabernet du Soleil

Flora & Fauna

Travel Clocks

Lauren

BasketweaveHearts

Holiday décor goes beyond cute and crafty for a sophisticated, seasonal allure with the Occasions of the Season Collection. This design harmonizes an elegant collage arrangement with classic Christmas imagery and colorways to revitalize a familiar, traditional look that consumers love. While new holiday items captivated buyers with fresh looks, older items and collections retained their foothold on sales. These seasoned favorites continue to be tried-and-true sellers due to their fashion, function and versatility for a variety of home décor styles. The Cabernet du Soleil candlesticks display beautifully on tabletops, curios and shelves while the Seashells Tencel and Basketweave Hearts throws

make excellent accents to any room in the home. Popular patterns like Lauren’s classic toile on a ravishing red continue to stay on top of the game. Other new introductions were all the buzz with nature-inspired design trends shown in the Flora & Fauna Collection as well as the charming set of three vintage Travel Clocks.

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Home for the Holidays© 1990 Thomas KinkadeFiber Optic Wallhanging

Silent NightFiber Optic Wallhanging

Gulf of PoetsCanvas Art

Inspirational Items of Interest

Place your faith in sales!Check out these hot tickets in the

inspirational market.

Simple and sincere, Manual brought a touch of heart to the gift shows with delightful, uplifting and functional products like the Sentiment Bible Covers, Inspirational Totes and Sentiment Wallets. The most popular items in this category featured the “I can do all things...” verse from Philippians 4:13 and “Love God, love one another.” Matthews 23:37. Inspirational products are on their way up up up!

Sentiment Bible Cover

Inspirational Totes

Sentiment Wallets

Thomas Kinkade’s Home for the Holiday’s fiber optic tapestry wallhanging lights the way for top selling wall décor at the gift shows. The twinkling lights, continuously moving and changing color, set the mood for an enchanting display. Silent Night, another fiber optic contender, displays a quiet moment in awe of the Christmas star. As wall décor trends reach their peak, we see a rapid increase in demand for accents that identify with the owner or reflects their personality. The Canvas Art Collection, specifically, Gulf of Poets, received a wealth of attention and sales. Other great sellers in this collection include Archway to the Sea, Streets of Venice and View from Palazzo.

Watch out! for Wall Décor

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Madeline CollectionLeft: Handbag, Right: Tote with Ribbon

Venice CollectionLeft: Handbag, Right: Tote with Ribbon

Consumers desire the latest looks, but the practicality of day to day utility. Isabella’s Journey™ luggage and accessories unite fashion and function to create unique looks for everday use. Luggage and accessories made their mark at the shows with the latest trends in design, colors and construction. The most popular styles flying off the shelves were the handbags and totes with ribbon from both the Venice and Madeline Collections.

In the know andOn the go...

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Fall 2008 peaks with love for natural beauty. Expect to see intriguing products displaying biomimicry seen in the Fall Flair collection. Floral and botanical elements juxtaposed with ephemeral designs produce a romantic and nostalgic ambiance like that of Kimberly Poloson’s Fleur Market design. Feel confident that a spice-infused palette rules the home décor roost! Rooster décor remains desirable for home accents due to their brilliant plumage coupled with warm Mediterranean colorways. Simple additions, polka dot ruching and cotton crocheted binding, give rise to retro design elements while retaining contemporary country charm shown on the Fabulous Foul hand towels.

Fleur Market© Kimberly Poloson

Fabulous FowlHand towels

Fall FlairLeaf Bowls

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Tap into Trend

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Toile, an elegant and seasoned design classic remains prominent in today’s trends. Designers have rejuvenated this style as subtle embellishment on everything from home furnishings to fashion and accessories. The form-fitting Madeline jacket features stylish and comfortable cotton-quilted toile trim, red piping and a modern twist of denim and dots. Women looking for timeless beauty will gravitate to this lovely and sophisticated fashion find. It’s in the bag! Isabella’s Brown Lauren luggage collection displays a warm, golden brown that provides a radiant glow harmonizing with savvy stripes and a touch of toile. Off the trend radar for a few seasons, stripes have come full circle proving their gravity in design. Adventurous color combinations unite with varying stripe thickness for a burst of energy shown in the Jacobean-inspired Tryon luggage collection.

Isabella’s Journey™

Fabulous & Functional

Every parent wants their baby’s nursery to embody a fresh as sunshine feel. They want to surround their children with the bright and bubbly, not to mention the fun and frisky. While some parents stay on the urban trail decorating their child’s room, others seek a combination of soft and simple. Consumers will be turning the trike away from the tony turnpike and crawling back to cute. Colors and design emerge from pastel and posh to a slightly more charged palette with simplified embellishment. Continuing into 2009, expect to see more tropical forests and animal designs, especially endangered species, popping up in baby décor.

Madeline Jacket

Brown LaurenSatchel

TryonHandbag 13

Chic, sharp and fly, Isabella stays on course with fabulous fashion sense shown in her new signature jewelry collection. This stunning collection consists of semi-precious gemstones and handmade glass beads in unique combinations. Individual pieces are accented and finished with sterling silver and lead free pewter. The eight distinct styles of fashion jewelry come in necklace, bracelet and earring combinations. To own a piece of Isabella’s Journey Jewelry is to possess an exceptional, hand-crafted piece of art. Mother Nature rarely makes exact duplicates, and this was adopted for the creation of these striking and original jewelry collections. No two pieces will be exactly alike which adds to the charm and distinction of it’s owner. All of the jewelry is designed by Sarah Mautner and handcrafted by disabled artisans in the U.S.A.

Isabella´s Journey™

Signature Jewelry CollectionIsabella’sBijoux

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You name it, Manual’s got it! Manual has become a one-stop-shop with its quality, diverse offerings. Brown Lauren, the latest addition to Isabella’s Journey™ Luggage, fashions timeless toile offset by honey brown and savvy stripes. Seek some natural inspiration with Susan Winget’s Morning Song. Charming avian elements and unexpected color combinations compose a beautiful and serene collection. Biomimicry, shown in the metal leaf hooks, is taking shape upon countless veranda and home décor accents. Integrating natural elements into design satisfies a need to touch base with Mother Nature. Manual now offers bed-in-a-bag in queen and king sizes for Rose Hill, Tea Rose, Linwood Blue, Luxemburg, San Remo and Savannah Rose bedding designs. Each bed-in-a bag is comprised of a bedspread, two shams and bedskirt.

Consumers will glory in Flora & Fauna. Engaging earth tones and flecks of yellow gold upon winged wonders create a stunning display throughout the home. Southern style steps away from passé stereotypes to proudly parade a simpler, sophisticated facet shown in the A.S.A.P. collection. Last, but certainly not least, Manual transforms they way we perceive storage. Cosmopolitan and quirky, think of storage spaces as treasure troves. An old-world look and well-traveled veneer creates an intriguing décor accent as well as stylish storage.

What´s New!

Brown Lauren

Morning Song© Susan Winget

Leaf Wall Hooks

Flora & Fauna

ASAPAS SOUTHERN AS POSSIBLE™

Isabella’s Journey™Storage Trunks

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Canvas Art CollectionGrand Canal

Courtyard Stairs© Fabrice de Villeneuve/Art In Motion

Sunflowers at Window© Artist Suzanne Etienne.

Licensed by Bently Licensing Group Wielding expertise in décor design and construction, Manual branches out with three new wall décor categories: Canvas Art Collection, Distinguished Décor Grandé Wallhangings and Artisan Accent Grandé Wallhangings. Consumers seek affordable, elegant furnishings that are warm, inviting and carry a sense of self expression or interest. These new collections promote an exalted sense of style and engender approachable refinement. The Canvas Art Collection features handpainted oils on canvas wallhangings with picturesque scenes from across the world.

Each piece comes with top and bottom scroll rods for a delightful and romantic display. In the Distinguished Décor Grandé Wallhanging Collection, striking tapestry scenes, elegantly framed with luxurious chenille, achieve regal appeal in any room. Each chenille bordered tapestry wallhanging fashions lovely twisted fringe to complete a balanced look of comfort and class. Gorgeous double rods with ornate metallic embellishments set off the tapestry wallhangings in the Artisan Accent Grandé Wallhangings Collection. Each piece invites you to gaze upon a world of beauty and creates an enchanting addition to a variety of home décor themes.

Luxe Redux∏

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© Terri Puma Designs Vibrant colorways and sprightly sayings speak to our fun-loving side of design. © Terri Puma Designs creates a variety of engaging home accents such as word aprons, hand towels, accent throws and pillows. These designs communicate the playful personality of the owner while exhibiting an array of retro fashion elements. These collections dare you to be bold. Express with a little espresso philosophy to make it through the day, hold it together in a hot set of heels and concoct a cocktail to take the edge off!

Ebony Art Closet

Recognizing a rising demand for African American products, Manual took the initiative to create Ebony Art Closet, the company’s first African American home décor catalog. An abundance of relevant and inspirational home décor pieces are designed by today’s most prominent and influential artists in the black community. Annie Lee, Henry Battle, Albert Fennell and Larry “Poncho” Brown are just a few among many of the new licensed artists featured in Ebony Art Closet. Renowned artist Annie Lee, portraying contemporary and historical African American family life, demonstrates a style defined as “Black Americana” with her trademark of faceless figures shown in the Market Place tapestry collection. Another of our highly collected licensed artists, Albert Fennell, exhibits his signature, sensual and fluid imagery in the Still Waters and African Dimensions collections. He has created an abundance of works reflecting strong, beautiful women illustrating the many facets of the African American female. These new collections, expressing intriguing cultural history, treasured moments and inspirational insight, are highly identifiable with today’s consumer. This is a great opportunity to provide more diversity to the market with unique, vibrant and refreshing products.

Going to Market

My Cup Runneth OverANNIE LEE & FRIENDS,™ LTD.

Market PlaceANNIE LEE

& FRIENDS,™ LTD.

Faith Hope & Love© Henry Battle

African Dimensions© Albert Fennell/Applejack Licensing

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Flora & Fauna Enchanting, elegant

imagery enables the viewer to explore the secret world of winged wonders. Flora & Fauna revs up décor with deep shades of red, brilliant touches of pear and a flutter of flax. Nature-inspired designs will reign in home furnishing for Fall 2008 with insects and other airy arthropods to quench curiosities for freedom, escape and mystery. Ferns, sprouting up ubiquitously in design, exhibit a natural arabesque, generating a sense of flow and equanimity.

The delicate flutter of wings embrace the winds of change that caress each leaf, bud

and blossom.

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Who’s Who at Manualsarah lowe

Her first year at Manual as a computer artist could not veil her passion for art and the development of design. Excelling in her position, Sarah made haste and was promoted to her current position as an illustrator in the concept and design department. Here, she works with other illustrators who are extremely talented and each bring a unique artistic sense and style to the design table. Sarah enjoys being a part of the department because the illustrators allow Manual an alternative to licensed artwork by cultivating creativity and getting involved in the designs for each season. After only two short years, Sarah has without a doubt mastered her skills to produce a profusion of popular home décor and accessories to include her latest work with Flora & Fauna.

Flora & Fauna, a captivating nature-inspired collection, was brought to life by Sarah from meager beginnings. She was presented with a single image of a dragonfly and leaf etching. Taking this as her initial

motivation, Sarah thumbed through a lot of 19th Century botanical etchings in search of the perfect allure. The group was originally intended to be just dragonflies, but butterflies were added

halfway through to keep a palette of beautiful home-friendly colors.

Illustration/Design“Even youths grow tired

and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but

those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will run and not

grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

-Isaiah 40:31

Inspiration is everywhere! Sarah stays savvy to market trends, but isn’t afraid to branch out and initiate one. Like many artists, Sarah frequently looks to nature for inspiration as well as vintage décor. When presented with an assignment, she is given a very lucid idea of what is wanted. Other times, it’s more of a suggestion and she’s given the freedom to get really creative. Sarah’s not all work and no play. Art is entwined in her everyday and leisure time. She loves to paint and draw, portraits especially. She also enjoys watching old movies, baking desserts, jogging with friends and hanging out with her husband Josh and dog Rockwell, named for one of her favorite artists.

Sarah’s words of encouragement...

Meet one of our best and brightest in-house illustrators, Sarah Lowe.

“I feel like I have the greatest job in the world because I get to do what I love doing-art.”

-Sarah Lowe

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With a scrap of paper or sketchbook close at hand, Thomas Kinkade is always ready for inspiration to strike at any moment. Thom’s art derives from his life experiences and travels. He believes seeing new places inspires new visual direction and each place harbors its’s own color palettes to explore. Perceiving both pain and joy as necessary motivators for the creative process, Thom ultimately expresses joy through his work with simple pleasures and inspirational messages because it is more contagious to the viewer. His paintings refer to the foundational themes of family, home, faith and community. The familiar glowing of lights from inside a cottage or smoke billowing out of a chimney represent the warmth of home. This feeling of warmth, peace and joy that people feel when they view Thom’s art is what he believes to be an outgrowth of his own family life.“I truly see my art as a way that I can bless and serve others. My desire is to bring more beauty and more hope and joy into people’s lives through my work.” –Thomas Kinkade

“Every region has its own color palette, and I think it’s good to bombard your senses

with different geographic areas as a means of triggering a new emotional response.”

–Thomas Kinkade

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Dear Isabella,DEAR ISABELLA: Books, greeting cards and music just aren’t enough! After my parents passed away, they left me a Christian gift shop. Running this business is sort of out of my element. I scrape by every month hoping for a miracle. I’m afraid to take chances on new products. The last time I was duped into trying something new, the product sat on the shelves collecting dust. People would walk by and comment on how nice and cute the product was, but there was no real interest or practicality. What can I do to improve my sales and save my store?--HOPEFUL IN MONROE, GA

DEAR HOPEFUL: Take a deep breath because this too shall pass. Finding the right inspirational products to stock your store with is no easy task. Some gift items will surprise you to see how well they sell while others plummet without a cause. It’s important to know your customers and the demographics of the region. Some consumers like to see all the bells and whistles, but won’t consider buying.Try something different. Start with a product like sentiment wallets. They are convenient, colorful, practical and feature inspirational phrases and verse wherever they travel. This item could have a profound effect on your sales, but don’t forget about items like bible covers, sentiment totes and hand towels.Once you’ve got your business back on its feet, consider diversifying your store with inspirational products that connect to other ethnicities. 28