Taigan was in good company last week with some top names in retail this week!

Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine announced the winners for the magazine’s 59th annual Retailer of Excellence Awards and Taigan.com is pleased to accept top honors in the category: Retail Internet Innovation.

The List of Retailer Excellence Awards
Gift Store Design: bluecashew Kitchen Pharmacy, Rhinebeck, New York
Visual Merchandising: Poppy, Columbia, Missouri
Community Service Events: Jenss Décor, Amherst, New York
Marketing Achievement: Swagger Gifts, Cary, North Carolina

Retail Internet Innovation: Taigan.com, Brentwood, Tennessee
In addition, a Special Award for Service to the Community was presented to double finalist Leon & Lulu of Clawson, Michigan, in recognition of the 65 events hosted in the store during the year, most of which raised funds for local charities.

Winners were named at a gala dinner during the New York International Gift Fair on Sunday, August 15 at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City overlooking the Hudson River.

The Retailer of Excellence Awards are sponsored by Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine and the New York International Gift Fair, along with Dallas Market Center, 7W New York, 230 Fifth Avenue, Chicago Market Living and Giving, California Gift Show and Wellspring.
Congratulations to all the other finalists and the winners!

For those of you who don’t already know about Taigan and Fetch, let me introduce you. Taigan is a beautifully designed, sophisticated, members only (membership is free) online collection of the very best specialty shops across the country (and some abroad) for almost everything – fashion, home decor, art, antiques, jewelry, gourmet food and fine gifts. Sit at home and shop from such places as Suzanne Rheinstein’s stylish Hollyhock, the luxury Relais & Chateau destination Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, or at today’s quintessence feature Susan van der Linde.

Taigan’s creative director is none other than noted author Julia Reed, the former writer and editor at Vogue and longtime contributing editor at Newsweek. She also edits the chic online magazine at Taigan, Fetch, where she delivers news on people, places, and fascinating discoveries, all in entertaining fashion. She has in the past featured such people as Dallas decorator and designer Jan Showers and L.A.-based designer, decorator and entertainer Joe Nye.

Last week she featured one of my favorite designers, Miles Redd. As Julia Reed writes, “In addition to being a decorator, he is a perfect (and perfectly polite) Southern gentleman, a terrific cook and entertainer, and an impeccably turned-out clotheshorse. Most important, he’s got a boundless imagination, a fact that makes him not only good at what he does, but also great company.”

Be sure to bookmark this wonderful site, the quintessence of online shopping!

Online shopping site Taigan has been recognized as the top Internet Innovator by Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine at its 59^th Annual Retailer of Excellence Awards.

Nashville, Tenn. – August 16, 2010 Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine announced the winners for the magazine’s 59th annual Retailer of Excellence Awards and Taigan.com has been awarded top honors in the category: Retail Internet Innovation.

Launched in September 2009, Taigan has quickly grown into an international online shopping hub featuring a highly edited collection of shops in the US and abroad, representing designer apparel, gifts, home decor, gourmet food and wine and more. Based in Brentwood, Tennessee, Taigan welcomes shoppers from 128 countries monthly, adding new shops and thousands of items each month.

Winners were named at a gala dinner during the New York International Gift Fair on Sunday, August 15 at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City overlooking the Hudson River.

The Retailer of Excellence Awards are sponsored by Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine and the New York International Gift Fair, along with Dallas Market Center, 7W New York, 230 Fifth Avenue, Chicago Market Living and Giving, California Gift Show and Wellspring.

Gifts & Decorative Accessories serves retailers, manufacturers, and vendors of general gift products, decorative accessories, stationery, greeting cards, collectibles, personal care products, jewelry, and gourmet food items. Founded in 1917, Gifts & Decorative Accessories currently boasts a circulation of 27,000. Industry news, trade show news, new product introductions, and trend information highlight Gifts & Decorative Accessories’ monthly coverage.

For more on Taigan connect on Taigan’s Facebook Fan Page or Follow us on Twitter @TaiganFinds.

“The creative energy that goes into making each piece is as individual as the woman who wears it. Wear it, and you connect with history”, says designer Melissa Braniff, as she launches Melissa Braniff Designs on Taigan.

Houston designer Braniff hand-selects ancient Roman, Greek and other coins and crafts them into one-of-a-kind necklaces, cuffs, rings, pendants and earrings – all original jewelry pieces.

“The jewelry exemplifies adornment, wonder and history.” Braniff explains.

“My mother always said that it seemed I was born with an old soul. Maybe that explains my love for all things ancient some 40 years later. My curiosity started when I was a young girl with a love for Aphrodite, which developed into an interest in ancient Greek mythology, followed by a brief obsession with Queen Cleopatra and Helen of Troy.”

Braniff fuses authentic coins with luxurious heavy metals and sparkling gems ranging from a Cleopatra necklace to a Byzantine cross cuff to a Constantine bangle bracelet, these one of a kind pieces create a true statement of style and history.

Each Melissa Braniff Designs piece on Taigan tells the story of its history and materials included. Visit today to find the piece that speaks to you.

Columnist, author, reporter and famed hostess Julia Reed Highlights Gourmet Recipes, Backyard Dining Tips and More with Taigan Fine Food and Wine Retailers Blackberry Farm, Wine for All, Delaware Chicken Farm and Seafood Market and St. James Cheese Company.

Nashville, TN – August 11, 2010 – The country’s premier place to find the finest and freshest gourmet foods is online at Taigan.com, according to Vogue alum and Newsweek Food & Drink Columnist Julia Reed. But you don’t have to be a gourmand to shop on Taigan.com, as foodies of all ranks are taking note of the online shopping site’s gourmet retailers like South Florida’s Delaware Chicken Farm and Seafood Market, Blackberry Farm located in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Atlanta-based Star Provisions, St. James Cheese Company in New Orleans and New York-based Wine for All.

“Finding high quality, great tasting food online can be time-consuming and, frankly, a bit dicey,” says Reed, who regularly shares entertaining stories, ideas and recipes on Taigan’s Online Magazine, Fetch. “Fortunately, Taigan has a highly edited collection of specialty shops offering gourmet foods and wines from around the world.”

Check out Julia Reed’s gourmet picks on Taigan.com:

Grill, baby grill with Blackberry Farm’s famous J&S Barbecue Sauce. It’s that end of summer time of the year where everyone breaks out the gourmet barbecue concoction and the men show off their flame broiling skills.

Sommelier Eli Hardof, owner of Taigan’s Wine for All, prefers to help customers choose a wine with food pairings in mind. Hardof recommends a dark and layered wine such as Pertuisane 2004 to pair with lamb, a summer barbecue favorite. Made from 90% Grenache and 10% Carignane, the vines are 40-80 years old and yield fruit of tremendous depth and character.

Delaware Chicken Farm and Seafood Market offers the finest and freshest seafood, meats and poultry available. Coast to coast, from show-stopping Alaskan King Crab Legs to succulent South Florida Lobster Tails, any order from Delaware Chicken Farm and Seafood Market will turn a meal into a gourmet event!

St. James Cheese Company on Taigan strives to offer its customers a wide selection of perfectly ripe cheese that will entice novice and veteran cheese lovers alike. Shop for all kinds of artisanal cheeses like Fleur de Maquis. Also known as Brindamour, this French cheese is made with sheep’s milk from Corsica and coated with rosemary, juniper berries and bird’s eye peppers.

For more on Taigan connect on Taigan’s Facebook Fan Page or Follow us on Twitter @TaiganFinds.