Yesterday, I went to my first trade show ever: The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market! That is a mouthful, isn’t it?
It was exhausting, exhilarating, educational and tons of fun!
13 stories in ONE building. Bring it on!
I went with my fabulous fashion teacher to help out with one of her projects (which I will tell you about in detail later) and to be a pen provider, coffee holder + cheerleader! Can you believe the crazy lady flew in from Richmond in the wee hours of the morning, went all day at the show, and flew back late at night? You gotta suffer for fashion, ladies and gents.
There were so many interesting, creative companies there. In no particular order, my favorites of the day were:
Tegu – Children’s toys so gorgeous, adults will want to buy some for themselves! It’s like IKEA meets Lincoln logs.
Mercado Global – Beautiful pillows, bags and accessories made by co-ops in Guatemala I have traveled in Guatemala, and am really passionate about this company and what they are doing!
Don’t let our smiles fool yah, we were EXHAUSTED by this point!
Mata Traders – Super cool fair trade apparel and jewelry, produced in India and Nepal. The girls at the booth were super sweet too!
Reborn Designs by Samantha Barnett Evans – Minimal jewelry with a coastal, Southern flair. We met Samantha + her mom and dad! Such a great family!
I picked up my jacket (by Bill Blass) from Goodwill! Love that color green
Rewined Candles – Natural soy candles made from repurposed wine bottles. The picture of rustic elegance, based out of Charleston! Major cool points for their display + the wooden business card.
Fluffy Co. – Cool products, cool company + made in the US. It doesn’t get much better than that!
We got a little turned around (Read: Lost) a couple of times!
I’ll keep you updated about why we were there, (hint: jewelry) but in the meanwhile, check those companies out!
We had a wonderful time, got a lot accomplished, and now have to turn around and face the new semester on monday!
A must for everyone visiting Atlanta! (Although I will admit, I just turned around in the parking lot ;)
It was great to be home in Atlanta for a month, but now I’m headed back to Richmond!
