Inventors – Finding Industry Resources

This article discusses resources for the housewares industry but later at the end also discusses how to find similar resources for your industry. So read on no matter what your product is.

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Houseware Industry Resources

Housewares is a broad market category that includes many products, and is category many inventors try to break into. Wikepedia’s definition of housewares, which are also called household goods is listed below.

Household goods are goods and products used within households. They are the tangible and movable personal property placed in the living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, family rooms, great rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, recreation rooms, hallways, attics, and basements and other rooms of a house.

Examples of household goods include air conditioners, baby items, baking dishes, beds/bedframes, blankets, bedding, linens, towels, blenders, mixers, bookcases, books, bureaus, dressers, wardrobes, cabinets, can openers, chairs, clothes dryers, coffee makers, cooking utensils, couches, sofas, loveseats, sectionals, sofa beds, curtains, curtain rods, drapes, decorative items, desks, dishes, dishwashers, entertainment centers, fans, freezers, (drinking) glasses, hand tools, hutches, irons and ironing boards, lamps, lawn chairs, (table) linens, love seats, mattresses, (home) medical equipment, microwave ovens, mirrors, pillows, pots and pans, rugs, silverware (flatware), sheets, sofas, love seats, sectionals, sofa beds/futons, space heaters, tasters and toaster ovens, tools, towels, toys, televisions and shower curtains.

Wikepedia doesn’t mention it, but gifts are also a key product in this market. This is a big market area and products are sold through a wide variety of stores. The entire industry revolves around the truly enormous International Home and Housewares show which is held every year in Chicago, www.housewares.org/show/info.

The housewares industry has a helpful industry group, the International Housewares association, www.housewares.org, which offers a great deal of industry information, some of which is helpful for all inventors. It has on the left side of its home page:

• Manufacturing Directory by Product Category – ideal source of possible licensing candidates
• Find Manufacturers Representatives – has over 150 rep agencies with showroom that could possibly sell your product. Reps play a key role in the housewares industry because they have showrooms where buyers come to see and buy products.
• Find US Retailers – a good source if you want to market your product directly.
• Find Related Associations – you might be able to locate an association that is directly related to your business. Dozens are listed including School & Home Office Products Assn. and the Professional Picture Framers Assn.
• Find Trade Journals – this again is an excellent source for fining the trade magazine directly related to your business. Some examples are Brushware Magazine, Chef Magazine and Giftware News.

Besides having a great, easy to use site with lots of great invention, the International Housewares show also sponsors an inventors corner, http://www.housewares.org/show/info/inventors_corner.aspx. The costs are less than a regular booth and inventors can typically receive important exposure at the show.

While the Housewares industry is particularly friendly, most industries have an association that is typically helpful to inventors. You can sometimes find the association on the Internet but I’ve found that can often be difficult because sometimes the associations have names that don’t tie directly to the industry. In that case your best bet is to go to a larger library and look in Gale’s Source of Associations. It will list all associations, and often their web pages. While at the library, you should also look for Gale’s Source of Publications and Broadcast Media. The book has a large section devoted to trade magazines. Those magazines will have industry news including announcements from associations and information about upcoming trade shows. The magazine and association web sites will often have much market information, and often a member directory. If at all possible try to locate a member of the association that lives close to you that you can network with as you go through your introduction. Often their help will save you at least 50% on your product introduction costs.

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