The Portland Press Herald / The Maine Sunday Telegram

March 14

Trade exhibit for New England products holds its own

The event, which is not open to the public, features about 200 exhibitors hoping to attract buyers.

By Edward D. Murphy emurphy@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

PORTLAND -- Despite the economy's roller-coaster ride over the last year, the number of companies exhibiting at this weekend's New England Products Trade Show is about 200, about the same as in 2009.

"It's held steady, which we're very grateful for, flat being the new up," said Stefa Normantas, whose Giraffe Events produces the show.

The trade show, which is not open to the general public, is held at the Portland Sports Complex on Warren Avenue, a large indoor soccer field that can house the hundreds of companies showing off their products, buyers looking for new items to offer consumers and jurors who help pick the winners of the Best New Products Awards.

One of the winners is Rachel Chaya Caron, whose Chaya Studio in South Portland offers "ethically sourced jewelry."

Caron isn't making jewelry out of recycled paper or soda cans -- she uses recycled metals and fair trade gems, which emphasize fair prices for the miners who actually pull the gemstones from the ground.

Caron said people recognize the value and ethics of recycling household waste and they should exercise the same mindset when buying jewelry. There's no reason for mines that scar the land when there's so much gold and silver around that can be recycled, she said, adding that gold mines use cyanide to separate the gold ore from rocks and that toxic chemical can wash into streams and rivers.

"It's a pretty new concept," she said of using only recycled metal. "The jewelry industry has been very slow to be sustainable and environmentally sensitive."

Caron said she's been talking up the idea of using recycled materials for years, but it's only been in the last year or two that customers have really tuned in.

"I would explain it to them and there would be glazed eyes," she said. "They didn't really care as long as it sparkled and shined."

Caron said she encourages customers to re-use the metal in their own jewelry. She said companies that buy used gold and silver, especially those advertising on late-night television, rarely give anything close to the actual market value of precious metals. Better to have a metalsmith melt the material down and create a new piece, she said.

Caron said it's fairly easy to confirm that metals are recycled, since most of them come from the U.S., and companies have started up that certify that all their metal is recycled. It's a little harder with gems, she said, since most come from overseas and the standards are different, so that's why she tries to work with dealers who engage in fair trade practices.

There were some buyers on hand at the trade show Saturday, although it seemed a little slow after the doors opened in the morning. Delese Hovey was up from Wells, where she owns Pine Tree Place Home & Garden, a gift store,

Hovey said she saw some good deals on bells, wind chimes, jewelry and women's accessories.

"The prices are excellent," she said, noting that she was looking to stock more Maine-made goods in her store.

"That's what people coming to Maine expect," she said.

 

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:

emurphy@pressherald.com