New Day Christian Distributions has teamed VeggieTales with Floppets, introducing the collectible character item to the Christian market.

Floppets can be attached to anything as each has a versatile connector and Velcro tether. They can be worn as a ring or used as a personal accessory attached to a shoe or backpack, for example. They also can be linked together by connecting their tethers, creating wrist bands, rings, anklets and necklaces.

African American Expressions launched its new “Sister Friends Collection” this month. The line includes all-occasion assortments ($14.99), blank note card assortments ($12), decorative magnets ($4.95), journals ($10.95) and magnetic notepads ($4.99).

Sales Manager Ron Gilmore called the collection “a new, fresh line” and noted it was well-received at this month’s Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market at AmericasMart.

The 2014 Christian Retailing’s Best awards program is now accepting nominations. Companies can enter at ChristianRetailingsBest.com by Feb. 14 for the Early Bird discount (for every five paid, get one free), or until Feb. 24 at the $60 per-product rate.

Vendors and authors who nominate 2013 products for the awards will be invoiced for the nomination fee. Products released in 2012 or before may be entered in the Backlist category. No product sample is required.

New Day Christian Distributors recently began working with Gifts With a Cause, a San Diego-based company that works with artisans in more than 20 countries.

A member of the Fair Trade Federation, Gifts With a Cause was founded by Liz Allen and Mark Fangue in 2006. The company helps families in developing countries gain economic independence and receive social justice while providing retailers and nonprofits with a line of handcrafted products, including jewelry, handbags and scarves.

Christian retailers convened Wednesday, Jan. 8, for the first CPE at AmericasMart held in conjunction with the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market. The one-day event hosted by Munce Group, the Florida-based retail marketing group, helped to make navigating the gift show easier for Christian retailers and brought in non-gift vendors for the purpose of making time away from the store more productive.

Kirk Blank, president of Munce Group, said that vendor spaces were sold out with 28 of them setting up shop. Among the gift and distribution companies exhibiting at the one-day CPE were Anchor Distributors, Art & Soul Works/Gifts That Give Back, Barbour Publishing, Bob Siemon Designs, Christian Art Gifts, DaySpring, Kerusso, New Day Christian Distributors, Send the Light Distribution and Swanson Christian Products.

Providence, R.I.-based Cathedral Art Metal Co. has changed its name to CA Gift. The change is reflected in the company’s 2014 catalogs and at winter markets now underway.

Leo Tracey—president of the family-operated business—notes that the new name reflects changes in the marketplace that demand more unique and innovative product. He stresses that CA Gift will continue to offer the inspirational product that made the company a leader in its field for more than eight decades, in addition to introducing new categories that celebrate life’s occasions.

Severe winter weather did not dampen December retail sales as shoppers took advantage of heavy promotions and last-minute deals. December retail sales, which excludes automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, increased 0.4% seasonally adjusted month-to-month, and 4.6% unadjusted year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Total holiday retail sales, which includes November and December sales, increased 3.8% to $601.8 billion, which was in line with NRF’s projected forecast of 3.9% and $602.1 billion. In addition, non-store holiday sales, which is an indicator of online and e-commerce sales, grew 9.3% to $95.7 billion.