Our journey began at IHFC, a 12 story building filled with vendors and manufacturers of all kinds.
Following are the highlights /findings during our first day:
Vintage, a small company that had unique iron and metal clocks, and accessories along with Tuscan pictures wrapped in iron decorative framing. So different and so beautiful!
Just next store to Vintage we quickly discovered another showroom where a beautiful set of 3 Tuscan Pictures w/ a crackle finish caught our eyes. Check the picture out below! They also had numerous accessories; candleholders, trays, metal wall art with candles and small furniture pieces. This is one we definitely want to loop back to on our last day!
We moved onto J. Douglas to take in the gorgeous new Gallery Lamps and Aidan Gray, a cool company that carries French Country style accessories, lamps, wall sconces and more.
Ashton Fine Art - Len, my rep out of Chicago walked us through their showroom and showed us all the new art pieces, several beautiful ones from a local photographer in Whitmore Lake, Terry Lawrence. She travels the worlds and takes unbelievable scenery. Her pieces will be arriving in the store in the next two weeks!
Uttermost - couldn't miss them as they introduced over 500 new items. Definitely one of the best showrooms from our trip. The most unique items; a plush leather wrapped doggie bed and very sophisticated sports figurines in sets of 3 - Football, Soccer and Basketball.
We had the privledge of meeting Mac Cooper, CEO and President of Uttermost. It was such a pleasure meeting him. He definitely was as nice as my rep Michelle described.
We spent a fair amount of time in their large showroom seeing all the new items and placing our order! Check out some pictures of future items that will be arriving in the store soon! My favorite 3 picks - the Divya Writing Table, Hoops Statues, and Distressed Black Cabinet.
Our last stop of the day was to Cyan Design where we stopped and starred at their showroom window; a 36" X 36" purple chandelier was hanging! It's so beautiful! We also found some cools mirrors, lanterns and candleholders that will be arriving next month.
Done for day one! Our feet were sore from all the walking.
Day Two - Sunday, October 18
We started our morning earlier so we could get to market by 8:30am. Exploring the smaller buildings within the High Point campus, we began at buildings C & D, only four floors compared to 12 the previous day. Our morning was spent at the most fabulous showroom. The vendor, out of Missouri has all their furniture made in Indonesia. We've had some of their pieces in the store, however this time they had so many new furniture pieces that we fell in love with from large to small side tables. You can tell by the all the pictures taken! Some of these will begin arriving in the next 30 days to 90 days. They are all brand new and so distinctive, not your typical furniture.
From there we headed to John Richard, whose designers travel the globe to create and interpret distinctive lines of furniture, lighting, wall art, mirrors and accessories. There furniture is created using only the finest materials and is intended to be passed from one generation to the next. All their pieces are hand carved, hand painted or drawn, etc. Some of their art is original artist productions that sell in galleries for as much as $15,000. The owner travels the world seeking out talented artists. These were some of our favorite pieces.
The rest of the afternoon we popped in various furniture showrooms - VanGuard, Harden, Sherril, Massoud, and more to check out design styles, and color trends in upholstered furniture - we saw various styles, but what stood out was straighter lines; crisp and clean looking, but comfortable using many shades of greys, browns and shades of purple. Leathers in brown and tans were also shown extensively, as well as many lower seating chairs.
Well known Designers, such as Michael Weiss and Thom Filicia from “Dress my Nest” were at Vanguard Furniture introducing their new furniture lines.
We ended our Sunday in Market Square going to Eastern Accents to see all the new bedding, pillows, throws and window treatments and partaking their famous Sangria! They had beautiful monogrammed throws and pillows which would make a great holiday gift, as well as fun accent pillows.
Walked over to the suites for an end of day party where we enjoyed taco salads and beverages!
Monday, Oct. 19 - our last day we decided to loop back to some of the places we visited on Saturday to make our final buying decisions and hit the showrooms we missed, and boy did we find a new great one!
Seven Shell, a company out of the UK had the most unusual accent furniture selections It was their first time at market. All of their furniture is produced in Indonesia and they own the factory, very unusual, but very good. It's made of mahogany and they apply different finishes, colors and patterns on the pieces. Each piece also has it's own hardware to fit the style and intended design. We were lucky enough to be there to meet the Designer, Steven Shell. Yes, we ordered several pieces, but the lead time is a little longer. We'll be getting these pieces in February of next year. They will be worth the wait! Check them out below.
Spent a couple more hours taking time to visit Four Hands - they always have the coolest and most colorful accessories, C Company Rugs, again very colorful and fun and Cyan; had to have the purple chandelier and a handful of accessories for our next upcoming mantel date in November.
All in all we had a very successful market buying trip, and will definitely frequent High Point in the future.
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We celebrated in style this past Friday and Saturday with good food, drink and friends, and some really fabulous specials to thank everyone for their patronage, and shopping locally in South Lyon.
It was wonderful to see so many of you come out to just drop by and say congratulations, or for those of you who came in and bought many goodies, including our new Halloween Decor, which is oh so cute!
Pat and I really enjoyed working this weekend and seeing all the familiar faces, and some new ones too!
Not only did we celebrate in style, we also had giveaways and a raffle drawing for gift cards and merchandise. We'd like to say congratulations to our winners! They are:
-- Tracey Marzonie - $50 Gift Card Winner
-- Kathy O'Dell - $25 Gift Card Winner
-- Pat Durston - $10 Gift Card Winner
-- Julie Ostrowski - Photobox Frame Winner
-- Rhonda Mazilauskas - Lolita Wine Glass Winner
-- Cherie Franges - Monogram Purse Holder Winner
We look forward to many more years to come so we may continue to bring you distinctive merchandise and provide you with personalized customer service.
Many thanks!
The Gals at Grande Trunke Home
Sue, Susan, Diane & Pat
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I was very excited about attending the Atlanta Gift Mart last week as I had a rather large checklist of items that I needed to find for the store, particularly gift items that can be sold for $25 or under. Plus I knew the new West Wing in Bldg. 2 was going to be opening, which meant more showrooms to see, and I was hoping to discover unique items to purchase.
We arrived on Thursday, January 8 in the afternoon, took the Marta from the airport, grabbed a quick sandwich and immediately started our search for fabulous gift items. Let's just say the afternoon was not very fruitful. Although we were finding new showrooms to shop, the items we were in search of, Wedding, Anniversary, Girlfriend, Birthday, and Baby Gift items just weren't good enough or different enough for my customers. Leaving the market Thursday evening we were a little frustrated, however did manage to find a few very adorable baby gifts for boys and girls along with a couple fun items for "Tweens".
Over dinner at Legal Seafood (very yummy), we planned our agenda for the next day, the first being a stop over to the never ending Building 3; our first stop was Bombay Duck and Santa Barbara, two very chic and hip companies. Bombay Duck, based in London, England offers fabulous gifts for all occasions. Just wait until you see the blingy letter key rings! They are a great size, high quality, and will be available very soon, later this month in the store. I also picked some really cute charm bracelets and charms that will be perfect for birthday gifts, and priced $15 and under.
Moving over to Santa Barbara, I couldn't resist the new Lolita Sundae Bowl, "Eating for Two", the perfect gift for a friend or family member that is expecting a little one. I had to add a "New Mommy" Wine Glass as well - that was just too cute! We found a few other classy and fun items and moved back to Building 2 starting at the very top, the 18th Floor.
I knew my favorite vendor showrooms would surely add or expand on their product line-up, and I was not disappointed. The photobox frames I carry in the store were shown with new sayings, sizes, colors and patterns. And you will absolutely love the new wine glass coasters and new matching wine bags. They are bright colors, and in new patterns and design shapes. My favorite is Zori, a japanese sandal; it's very fun!
For those that have ordered the personalized plaques in the past for Wedding and Baby Gifts, you will be delighted when you see the new personalized frames. They are 12" X 12" and hold a 4" X 6" photo and also have a keyhole for hanging. Along with the popular pair of chairs background for Weddings, and the traditional baby pink/brown, blue/brown for Baby, they also have special frames for a dog and cat and a very classy one for weddings. These are true keepsakes!
After walking through several other showrooms on the 18th Floor we finally made our way down to 17 about 4:30pm. I'm not quite sure where all the time went, but we had to get a move on as we still needed to look for home accessories and holiday. Two's Company, who was celebrating their 40th Anniversary offered some truly unique items with lots of glitter and bling - pens, rings, nail files; all the fun items that you would love as a gift! After a couple other stops we made our way over to the West Wing to CC to see all the introductions. All I can say is "wow" to several of the items, particularly glass bottles, furniture pieces and a couple clocks - all very different, and I know they are sure to please customers! A couple other stops, including Sadek and Vera Bradley and we were done for the night - exhausted, feet throbbing and in need of a cocktail! Needless to say we ended up at Legal Seafood again (convenient that it's connected to our hotel) and partook in delicious calamari, salad and soup with some wine of course! After planning for the final day at market, I couldn't wait to get back to the room and get a good night's rest.
Early Saturday morning, the first stop was the Uttermost Showroom to view the new product additions to their already fabulous line of products. As I expected I saw beautiful new pictures and mirrors, and had no issue putting together an order. We moved directly over to Building 2 and started our search for Holiday even though I can honestly say I really would prefer not to; I've had enough holiday over the last couple months. Through talking with other buyers and a referral from a vendor we headed over to Building 1, Floor 19 and could not believe what we were walking into; a mobbed showroom! I hadn't seen a showroom that packed since my first market in Atlanta in July of 2007. That sparked my curiosity, and suddenly Holiday shopping was in full gear; both Halloween and Christmas. All I can say is glitter, glitter and more glitter along with bronzey pumpkins, jeweled mistletoes, and lots of owls and birch bark! I absolutely love everything I purchased and am so excited for the upcoming holiday season! Unfortunately, one of my very talented girlfriends, my silent buyer that I counsel with over products and purchases, had to return to Detroit snow and all for her son's Swimming Banquet.
My mom and me must have been in the right holiday mode because our next showroom stop that we made was another big hit! Again we discovered a new vendor with high quality products at value pricing. Their ornaments are beautiful, and not like everyone else's. Two artists, Mandy Bagwell and Carole Jean were also in this showroom signing their own ornaments that they produce for this company. One whimsical and the other hand carved wood ornaments and figurines. I swear we were in this showroom almost two hours! Again, we were running out of time and still had so many more places to go and see.
On our way back over to Bldg 2 West we walked by a showroom that looked very interesting plus everyone was wearing decorated paper bag hats! Stray Dog Designs offered all kinds of very cool and unique high quality furniture, lamps and accessories with a twist. We found out that one of the employees had made all the hats, embellishments and all, and every buyer that walked in received a hat - you'll see the picture below of me and this "artist". I told her she should sell these for a living for parties!
Ok, back on track and headed for Momo Panache to see what new glassware they may have. Those that have purchased Momo know the quality of their glassware along with their fun and festive designs. Let me say that their new "Happy Hour" collection has to be the coolest thing I have ever seen; cordial glasses, shooters and wine stops all in one - how awesome! Even better, the packaging - a bright colored "Happy Hour" box and matching condi bowls and plates. Look for these and their new "Special Moments" Wine Glasses and Bud Vases in the store soon. These make very classy and exquisite gifts for weddings, anniversaries, graduations and birthdays.
Last stop was Demdaco or so we thought. Frames of different styles and textures were what attracted me to their showroom initially, however my favorite item was the canvas covered pictures by Kelly Rae Roberts. The more I looked and read the sayings on them the more I fell in love with them. They are so unique - I felt they connected with me, and I would definitely choose of these as a gift. I can't wait for my customers to see them!
With 15 minutes to spare before the Market close on Saturday we decided to make one more stop and visit Enesco. It was worth our while. I've always liked the Jim Shore collections for the holidays, and they had plenty of them. Bronze figurines are what caught my eye though. Stylish girls with names in dresses with an attitude - that's all I'll say for now!
With Mom exhausted, we headed back for the evening trying to figure out how we could fit in another hour or so on Sunday morning before our departure back to snowy Detroit Metro. I spent the next hour recapping the day's purchases and showroom visits and mapping out the final leg on Sunday. I had a plan - kids gifts and tweens and knew just where I wanted to go.
Arrival at the market started at 8:30am even though the showrooms didn't officially open until 9:00am. Luckily our first stop at 225 Unlimited was open. We quickly put our order in and headed over to Building 3 to check out gift items for Tweens and Kids heading off to college. RIU and the Mainstreet Collection had some cool items; monogram everything, lap desks, beach towel sets, and shower caddy's. On our way out we also spotted a bright colorful showroom with lots of baby signs, clocks, letters, blocks and more all with little sayings and all with glitter accents - so cute!
I can say our trip was a success, but it's getting more difficult to find distinctive gifts. Momo Panache, Demdaco, Murval, Two's Company and 225 Unlimited were very refreshing - lots of great items to choose from! Two more days would have been wonderful. Next market I'm definitely adding an extra day to my agenda.
Can't wait for all the new merchandise to roll in. Some new items will arrive as early as next week!
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