RETAIL ROUNDUP:

It’s not just for megastar rappers, sports stars or Hollywood socialites — Newport-Mesa residents also want to bling their portable electronic devices.

Cellphones and iPods have essentially become an appendage for many.

So, as everyone continuously updates to the latest and greatest technology, the focus for many turns to getting ahead of the trends.

Ice Accessories Inc. at South Coast Plaza carries iPod and cellphone holders of varying designs, and with the store getting in a new shipment of merchandise every Tuesday, there’s always a chance of finding something new.

The store is great for people who want to set themselves apart since they order only limited numbers of items.

“A person wants to put their own style in it,” Ice manager Lesley Logan said. “Everybody has an iPod … and so they want to make it their own.”

A popular item recently at Ice was an iPod cover with a picture of the Virgin Mary on it. Some websites feature limited-edition covers created by artists, including Huntington Beach artist Aaron Kraten.

But the overwhelming trend seems to be rooted in the bling, which Ice carries. Cases at the South Coast Plaza store run from $30 to $100.

Swarovski crystal-encrusted gadgets have caught the eye of many women.

Irvine resident Sue Kerr holds many parties around Newport Beach to sell purses, jewelry and cellphone bling. Charms that can be fixed on or hang from cellphone antennas have been a hot item since she started selling them with her business, called It’s in the Bag.

“I think that women love bling at the moment, and anything they can put bling-bling on they do, whether it’s on shoes, the telephone…. It’s just on everything, and I think that’s why they sell so well,” Kerr said. “They just accessorize what today’s woman really has to use, which obviously are their cellphones.”

Kerr had to take a hiatus from holding parties because she was recently injured, but she suggests people look out for philanthropic events and sales that often have these kind of trinkets.

Newport Beach resident Nikki Gutshall and her business partner Kailynn Bowling of Canyon Lake conducted a survey at their Irvine business and magazine, ChicBlvd.com, which indicated that 85% of women questioned between 18 and 40 years old own at least one iPod.

To spruce up the look for these women, Gutshall and Bowling created what they call ChicBuds — earphones that can be used with iPods, CD players, on planes and any other place a person may want to use headphones.

Looking for a more tech-minded accessory for your iPod? Newport Beach-based www.davidsteele.com sells the iBreath — a breathalyzer that can be attached to an iPod.

“People really like the fact that their iPod can give them an alcohol readout and at the same time use the FM transmission feature,” Davidsteele.com founder and owner Don Bassler said.

Bassler, whose business participates in Apple’s “Made for iPod” program, came up with the idea after seeing a wine database accessory for the iPod and first started selling the product in January.

By the end of February, several thousand had already sold.

The iBreath calculates up to a 0.12 blood-alcohol content, and Bassler said he won’t tweak the technology to go any higher.

“We didn’t want this to be used as a one-up type of product,” he said. “After 0.08, you’re unsafe no matter how you slice it.”

GROCERY STORE LABOR CONTRACTS ARE DUE TO EXPIRE

Labor contracts between union workers and grocery stores are set to expire Monday, but it may not be deja vu for shoppers as labor representatives are saying a strike may not be imminent.

Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs stores had not scheduled a meeting between store representatives and labor negotiators, but United Food and Commercial Workers International Union California spokesman Mike Shimpock said the stores have received the union’s proposals.

Stater Bros. and Gelson’s already completed negotiations, he said.

“A lot of things can happen…. If both parties feel OK about it, they can extend the agreement — that’s really only if participating in negotiations — or it can be a strike or the markets can choose to lockout our employees. The combination of those two things happened last time,” Shimpock said. “Or you can continue working without a contract.”

The union and grocery stores could be at odds because of the two-tiered wage and benefit system that resulted after the almost five-month strike three years ago.

The tumultuous strike continued to be rocky for the worker and the stores after it ended.

The two-tier system left many workers with more limited healthcare and lower wages, while the stores lost billions of dollars in revenue.

Ralphs was convicted of illegally hiring workers who crossed picket lines using fake Social Security numbers and was ordered to pay $70 million and is on probation.