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Home and Holiday Show continues at Expo Center
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
Home remodeling may not be high on the list of priorities with Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season only 18 days away, but sponsors of the free 2013 Home and Holiday Show this weekend at the Eastwood Expo Center hope to change all that.
“We’re not looking at a time line,” said Jennie Brewer, executive officer of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of the Valley. “This is a long-term business.”
This is the first time HBA has had this event, which replaces the Home and Harvest show that took place in the fall. “That was not a great time to hold it, because we were up against high-school football,” Brewer said. “But I’ve been pleased with the attendance this weekend.”
The show has attracted more than 50 vendors, including retail giant Lowe’s, which is sponsoring a drawing for a free KraftMaid kitchen valued at more than $6,000. The winning entry will be drawn when the show closes today at 5 p.m.
Nick Schuller, an estimator for JM Clemente Co., Warren, said he views the timing of the show as an opportunity to put his business “in front of mind.” The kitchen and bath company is displaying stair lifts and a walk-in bathtub for those with mobility issues.
“These people remodel out of need as opposed to redecorating,” Schuller said. “A life-changing event is not seasonal.”
Other displays run the gamut from home and bath remodeling to Christmas crafts. Barbara Snowden, who began selling decor and organizational baskets for Signature Homestyles last year, offered a spiritual response appropriate for the holidays when asked if she expects the show to help increase her sales.
“I put it in God’s hands,” Snowden said.
One attention-getting display features Loki, a 155-pound dog with a huge face and a gentle disposition accompanying his master, Ken Kemmer of Liberty, owner of an in-home dog-training service, Sit Means Sit. It meant that for Loki who sat calmly when petted by passers-by.
Sheli Long of Champion said she came to the show hoping to find something attractive in wooden crafts for Christmas. “It’s a nice show, but I haven’t found what I’m looking for just yet,” she said.
Russ Masaitis of Cortland, accompanied by his wife and daughter, said he had no particular purchase in mind when a gutter-protection system caught his eye. “I just came to check [everything] out, but I might be interested in that,” he said.
The HBA’s Brewer hopes others will have the same experience. “We’re changing the concept, so we’ll see how well the show is received by our members and consumers,” she said.