David Tutera Makes DIY Easy With New Michaels Partnership
Entertaining expert David Tutera has a brand new line for DIY lovers that allows them to make their own flowers for any special occasion, including birthdays and weddings. Tutera sits down with Alyssa Julya Smith in Los Angeles to talk about creating the line and what he hopes people get from the project.
Tutera also talks about his shoe line that is exclusively for special occasions, saying the shoes are perfect for brides on their big day since they are shoes "that should be seen." The entertaining expert, who has planned numerous celebrity weddings, gave his take on the Royal Wedding next year, including what he thinks Meghan Markel will wear on the big day.
As a style expert, Tutera is well versed in all things fashion and he says he knew ultra violet with the Pantone color of the year in 2018 before it was even announced. Tutera's DIY Sizzix line is exclusively available at Michaels.
The federal government and numerous industries have been preparing for a greener future, setting goals to reduce greenhouse emissions by switching to electric vehicles. But the next hurdle to clear is convincing the wider public to get on board. Arun Kumar, managing director in automotive practice at AlixPartners, spoke to Cheddar's Ken Buffa about consumer trends related to EV transition and said he believes a widespread switch is imminent in 2022. Despite this, he acknowledged there are still significant obstacles to overcome, including high prices and more charging stations. "Without charging infrastructure, people are going to struggle with increasing adoption of electric vehicles in the future," Kumar told Cheddar. "I think by 2030 our estimate is that about a million chargers need to be put in place nationally in the U.S."
The pandemic has supercharged the creator economy, and there are no signs of it slowing down no matter when the pandemic officially ends. Creators prove to be a key factor in driving purchasing decisions and retail sales, and an increasing amount of platforms are taking advantage of the social influence. Karissa Bell, senior editor at Engadget, joins cheddar news to discuss the creator economy boom.
The National Women's Soccer League is partnering with Voyager Digital as its first-ever cryptocurrency brokerage in a multi-year deal. Marla Messing, interim CEO of the NWSL, and Steve Ehrlich, CEO of Voyager Digital, joined Cheddar to discuss benefitting the league and educating players and fans as a way of democratizing cryptocurrency. Messing explained that the players themselves will own half the assets as part of how the deal is structured. "My hope is, just in terms of the expectations of crypto over the long term, that I hope a lot of them are able to just let it sit there," she said. "And that one day this will be a nice retirement account for them."
Howard Lorber, chairman, president, and CEO of Douglas Elliman Inc., and Scott Durkin, CEO of Douglas Elliman Realty, joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to talk about the real estate brokerage company's recent IPO launch on the New York Stock Exchange following the spinoff of its tobacco subsidiary Vector Group. "There are many investors that cannot buy tobacco because of their mandates," said Lorber. "And therefore splitting off Douglas Elliman the real estate, and there's a lot of people looking for real estate investments, so they'll be able to buy Douglas Elliman, and those that want tobacco can buy Vector alone." The pair also discuss the future of New York real estate and the auxiliary business the property broker sees as growth prospects.
Despite a champagne shortage ahead of New Year's Eve, adult beverage retailers are staying optimistic about 2022. Cathy Lewenberg, COO at online alcoholic beverages platform Drizly, joined Cheddar to talk about the sunny outlook for next year and the current state of the industry. She noted a 20 percent higher demand for champagne year-over-year has led to the holiday's shortfall and that the spirit category is continuing to thrive with tequila on pace to outsell vodka for the first time. "Tequila has just been on fire on our platform. It's grown 13 percent in share on our platform over the last couple of years where vodka obviously had been the leader," she said. "Tequila is the top thing in addition to bourbon that retailers are looking to give more shelf space to in 2022."
Travel expert Francesca Page joined Cheddar's Baker Machado to break down how the omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge of cases on cruise ships is impacting the industry, as the CDC is actively monitoring at least 92 ships for outbreaks. Page also talked about the upcoming expiration of the CDC's conditional sailing order mandating mask-wearing and addressed passenger concerns. "Everyone is asking, financially, should I cancel my cruise should COVID surges keep going, which it looks they are, and to a large degree I think that decision is very personal and is based on one's own risk tolerance," she said.
