Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe it is 2024, and it is even harder to believe that it’s been a whole year since Breakwall Publishing acquired Souvenirs, Gifts & Novelties magazine. What an adventure it has been as we work toward improving all aspects of the publication from content to design to our circulation and more.
We’ve made many great strides over the last 12 months, and those steps are continuing to take shape in 2024 with some new content introductions in the magazine.
In addition to the Product Showcase in the back of the magazine, we’ve introduced a new section called Fresh Ideas in the front of the magazine. These pages are designed to help you stay on top of product trends with merchandise ideas for your store. Turn to page 26 to see what exciting product themes we are featuring in this issue.
And we didn’t stop there. We’ve also launched the Sunshine Award for destination retailers who give back. Each issue will feature the story of a retailer who is doing good in their community and beyond with their charitable efforts. You can read about our first Sunny recipient, Impressions of Saratoga, on page 82.
And as if that isn’t enough, all these new and wonderful additions also could not have been possible without a fabulous editorial and design team. Christine Schaffran has officially joined us as managing editor and Megan Smalley as associate editor in the latter half of 2023. They have a combined 27 years of business-to-business publication experience.
In addition, Debby Clarke’s longtime role as designer and ad production coordinator has expanded.
It is an exciting year ahead and we look forward to continuing to build upon our publication’s rich history within the industry. Here’s to another fantastic year!
