Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so is this INPEX deal! During the month of February, enjoy our Sweetheart Special of 15% off any booth price for the 25th anniversary show!

And speaking of Valentine’s Day, I’ll be spending the day in New York City at the 2010 Toy Fair looking to meet toy companies who are interested in attending INPEX 2010. It’s always a great show and a great opportunity to meet toy industry folks. And of course, spending the week in New York City is always fun too!

Booth space on the show floor is quickly filling up, so be sure to take advantage of this offer by visiting www.inpex.com calling one of our sales representatives at 1-888-54-INPEX for more information.

Hello inventors!

I just returned home from the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. It was so great meeting some of you in the InventHelp-INPEX New Product Showcase at the ERA D2C Show. I enjoyed getting to see everyone’s inventions and prototypes. Many of you received some positive feedback from the ERA members who sat on our Pitchmen Competition Panel. I know many of the inventors mentioned to me how exciting it was to present your products to executives from companies like Guthy-Renker, LiveLink TV and QVC.

I hope that everyone who exhibited had a chance to sit in on the DRTV 101 class! Hopefully you learned something new about the direct response industry that you can take with you. And as some of you know, the crew from Discovery Channel’s Pitchmen was on site interviewing inventors for Season 2 of the series, so be sure to stay tuned for the premiere release date.

I also want to say congratulations to the following six inventors whose products were voted "Most Pitchable Products" by the direct marketers on our panel:

• Terry Lewis – Ab Training Wheels
• Jay Arieli – Cat Litter Sifting System
• Craig Dockal – Cool Caster
• Nick Mazzulla – Smash Yo Trash
• Layne Evans – Selectorized Ab Machine
• Norman Lucas – The Smart Roller

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the status of these and all the inventors who exhibited at the show.

Hello Inventors!

I am happy to announce that the InventHelp-INPEX Inventor’s Showcase at ERA’s D2C Convention is officially sold out! I’m excited to welcome 42 inventors from all over the country who will be participating over the next few days in many activities, including the chance to potentially present inventions to a crew from the Discovery Channel’s show Pitchmen.

We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with the ERA next year, and will hopefully be able to bring more inventors to the ERA’s 2010 show!

I look forward to seeing you all in Las Vegas and be sure to check back next week for highlights from the show!

Hello again inventors!

I’m excited to report that we have all returned home from Chicago after a productive week at the 2009 International Home & Housewares Show, at McCormick Place.

After attending this show for many years, I can still say I never grow tired of taking a look at all the new inventions and products on display. Everything from cleaning gadgets to supplies for keeping your food fresh always seem to catch my eye. And, speaking of keeping food fresh, that leads me to my next piece of news, the winners of our two panel reviews at the show this year.

The winner of our Direct Response Panel Review was Michael Tseng of San Francisco, California. His invention, the Plate Topper, is a cover that keeps food fresh by sealing itself over the top of a dinner plate. Michael was not only thrilled to take home a prize sponsored by Livemercial, but was also excited to have the award presented to him by Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan, the stars of the new Discovery Channel show Pitchmen, which airs later this month. (Incidentally, Michael met Billy Mays four years ago while studying at Princeton. It was there that Billy gave him feedback about his invention; improvements that Michael worked to incorporate, which he feels helped make the Plate Topper the product it is today!)

Ed Ferencik of Reno, Nevada took home the prize from SkyMall from the “Pitch to the Pros” panel for his invention, the Impressor, a handheld multi-function meat tenderizing preparation tool. We will soon see Ferencik’s tool, a product he perfected while being a butcher for years, in SkyMall.

Thanks to all the inventors who participated in the 2009 Inventor’s Corner at the Home & Housewares Show. I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback from many of you, and hope you’ll join us again next year!

If you are an inventor with a housewares invention or new product, it’s not too late to purchase a booth in the Inventor’s Corner at the 2009 International Home & Housewares Show. Booth space is filling up quickly!

Also, without further adieu, I’m happy to announce the group of professionals that will be participating in our two “DRTV & Pitch to the Pros” panels during the show.

Exhibitors in the INPEX Inventor’s Corner pavilion will have the opportunity to present their ideas to the following panels of new product professionals for review and feedback.

One panel will consist of experts in the DRTV industry, which includes home shopping and infomercials. The other panel will consist of professionals from companies, mail order catalogs and retail establishments looking for new products.

DRTV Inventors Review panel includes:

Wendi Cooper & Scott Hynd will present a “How to Pitch” session that includes the basics of Direct Response TV Marketing

• Wendi Cooper — Moderator, C Spot Run Productions
• Tom Haire — moderator, Response Magazine
• Karen Hyman — LiveLink TV
• Scott Hynd — Proformance Marketing
• Bernadette Voelker — QVC
• Ron Perstein — InfoWorx
• Tim Harrington — Reliant International
• Gary Sullivan — Allstar Products
• Paul Greenberg — Thane Direct
• Anthony Sullivan — Sullivan Productions

Open Innovation Seminar — Conquering Innovation Fatigue

Presented by Cheryl Perkins & Jeff Lindsey of Innovationedge

Pitch to the Pros — Corporate Panel Review Includes:

• Diego Hoic — Church & Dwight
• Jeanne O Connor — Reckitt Benckiser
• Michael Sweeney — Merchandising Services Group
• Barb Downey — Skymall
• Michael Italiano — Innovationedge
• Cheryl Perkins — Innovationedge
• Bill McCoy — Skymall
• Michael Sweeney — The Merchandise Group

Open Innovation Best PracticesWorkshop

Cheryl Perkins from Innovationedge will talk on best practices in making Open Innovation work for your company.

If you have a housewares invention or new product and are interested in joining us in Chicago in March, complete our information request form or contact an INPEX representative at 888-54-INPEX.