Housewares going purple

CHICAGO, March 16 (UPI) -- Red, white and blue are always big colors in U.S. presidential election years, but purple?

Various shades of purple and numerous varieties of greens were the breakout colors at the International Housewares Association trade show in Chicago.

"I expected the green with the emphasis on 'green' products, but the purple really surprised me," said Lisa Casey Weiss, who monitors trends for the trade association.

Missing from this year's show were new products for the patio. In the past couple of years, house manufacturers sported items that made the patio an extension of the living room, offering grills and fire pits as well as other outdoor accessories. This year only a few grills were on display.

One new product for the outdoors was the Drink Daddy Portable Wine and Beverage Station from Iola Global Designs LLC. The table is lightweight and foldable, with cup holders in the corners as well as deeper holes for bottles.

Still big are various speaker sets for MP3 players. Aside from the clock radio version and various tabletop speakers, Sound Oasis featured a speaker pillow and Homedics offered a $10 speaker shaped like a sprocket -- it's even called Sprocket -- aimed at the stocking-stuffer crowd.