George Little Management has continued to expand its show portfolio with the recent addition of two shows – SourcesNY and SourcesLA – that will connect international and domestic manufacturers, artisans and producers of materials, home décor, accessories, gifts, private label apparel and handcrafts, with U.S.-based importers, wholesalers, volume buyers, product designers and large U.S. retail chains.

The two news shows will complement GLM’s retail-focused show portfolio, according to Kevin O’Keefe, who was newly hired as GLM’s senior vice president.

"Sources will provide GLM's 6,000 exhibiting companies featured at the New York International Gift Fair, National Stationery Show, International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and Surf Expo with a dedicated resource of the world's better suppliers," O’Keefe said.

He added, "Now, our customers and the nation's importers need not search the globe for the best manufacturers and artisans; Sources puts them all in one place, all vetted by GLM."

SourcesNY will launch Sept. 18-19 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York City, one month after GLM’s NYIGF is held in the same locale.  

SourcesLA will launch February 2014 at the Long Beach (Calif.) Convention Center.

SourcesNY and SourcesLA strategically are  located near the nation's largest ports and each will have approximately 300 suppliers, with anticipated representation from Bolivia, China, Ecuador, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, The Philippines, Russia, Thailand, West Africa, Central Africa, Vietnam and other countries, according to GLM officials.

Featured product categories will include ceramics, craft items, desk accessories, floor coverings, frames, glassware, home entertainment, home textiles, housewares, jewelry, leather goods, lighting, pens & writing instruments, personal accessories, stationery, travel accessories, decorative accessories and woodenware.

The semiannual event is expected to attract nearly 4,500 representatives from U.S.-based buying offices, catalogs, importers, wholesalers, designers, distributors, mail order merchants, major retailers, product developers and volume buyers.

The Sources shows are the second launch announcement for GLM in recent months. The company partnered withST Media Group to launch SPACE (Strategy, Product and Architecture for Consumer Environments) New York, a new show for retail interiors that will be collocated with the GLM’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

SPACE New York will feature 150 exhibitors and serve as an opportunity for visual merchandisers and store designers to discover the latest in unique and innovative design-driven products for retail environments, according to show organizers.