By Jenni Oglesbee
BDA director of merchandise

BDA was busy scouting the latest material and color trends at last week's winter edition of the New York International Gift Fair in White Plains.

NYIGF is the nation's premier gift, home and lifestyle marketplace, with 2,800 exhibiting companies featuring an extraordinary breadth and depth of design-driven home fashion products and complementary giftware.

The show set three consecutive days of record-breaking attendance. Organizers reported the six-day event drew nearly 35,000 attendees, representing all 50 states and 86 countries. NYGIF fills 638,000 net square feet, including the entire Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the Passenger Ship Terminal.

"NYIGF attendance skyrocketed the first three days of market, resulting in 10+ percent gains over winter 2010," NYIGF director Dorothy Belshaw said in a release. "While the mid-week storms in New York impacted NYIGF's overall attendance figures, there was still brisk buying on the exhibit floor throughout market."

BDA was on the lookout for innovations in material, specifically new eco-friendly materials with a high perceived value. Regenerated leather, flexible cork and coated bamboo were our favorite sustainable materials. They provide different textures to everyday products and have the added benefit of being good for the environment.

Bold and bright colors and strong graphic prints were everywhere. And much to our delight, FUN is back in a big way.

In the home, we were drawn to knitted rubberized pots, buddah bowls and plastic bistro-inspired drinkware. Cool kitchen items included funky prints and goofy, character-shaped utensils. And at the office, there's all sorts of toys for the over-worked, like stress-release puzzles.

Find a complete rundown of award-winners from the show here.