Our boutique-sized team is made up of 12 Wonderfully creative people working in an non-stop-busy interior design environment. We love imaginative people and the crazy worlds they envision. Our inspiration comes from everywhere – other designers, architects, landscaping, marketing gurus, photographers, and most importantly, our clients. We love to work with visionaries who are eager to change the way people use design and interact with it in their day to day lives. Our clients seek us out for our creativity, expertise, style and business acumen.
Hotlanta was definitely heating up at this year’s International Gift & Home Furnishings Market!
The heat and a few clouds in the city did nothing to disturb the thousands of buyers, all excited to see the latest and greatest trends for this year. It was refreshing to see so many buyers.
This being my first year attending, I was slightly overwhelmed by the four buildings full of wonderful vendors and several must-see showrooms. I focused my energy on furnishings, lighting and home accessories for this trip with a quick side trip to the cash and carry.
The overall trend at this market was still very much COLOR COLOR COLOR! Check out the great shot from Global Views. As you can see, Orange is still strong.
I was also thrilled to see lots of vintage or rather Paris flea market finds still really popular, like these items from Aiden Gray.
When walking into J.Douglas’s Cyan design, the first thing I noticed was their industrial look with a few colorful twists. I attached a video of the showroom, courtesy of YouTube.
Another wonderful showroom was Regina Andrew, I loved this gold leafed beveled top table, it’s a lovely piece of jewelry for any room.
The highlight of my trip was sitting in on the famous Jonathan Adler speech about the challenge designer’s face, staying trendy and true to themselves. He was such a breath of fresh “comedic” air, especially when all we’ve listened to for the last two years in gloom and doom about the current economic time.
His energy, love for color and love for all things well designed is inspiring. He mentioned several times throughout his speech that one should always add a touch of humor to every room. It’s easy for designers to become enthralled in the process and forget to have fun, it was a nice reminder.
Another pleasant surprise was stumbling across Shiner an Eco-friendly furniture line based out of Atlanta, GA. The line quality is organic and artistic. I wanted to take home the Pant Rocker and Ottoman.
Not only was the furniture edgy so was the man who makes it. While sipping a glass of complimentary green tea cocktail, I read through the literature provided by the company and was humored that the opening line was Joe Manus’s recalling his first black eye. I find it very clever to turn a memory such as that into your personal and professional emblem. “It’s dirty, sexy, clever and dark”.
Staying in the theme of stylish industrial items, Arteriors Home showed off their Caviar Cluster Chandelier by Laura Kirar for Arteriors. I loved the smoked glass and the brown nickel bulb coverings. It’s never pleasant to stair straight into a light bulb; this piece offers an artistic solution other than a shade.
Market was great, I love the ‘anything goes attitude’ we are seeing in the world of interior design. It’s always nice to combine a collection of styles in a home or space. It lets designers provide their clients with the one of a kind look they are in searching for.
Thanks to Nicole from BHID for her great market insights!
.
