Observations at market

In my last post about attending market in Atlanta, I might have whined a bit much about the state of things (so vast, so exhausting). It is all that (and more), and may have taken a full week to recover...

But it's also very exciting and energizing and inspiring. You get to see the new ideas and pieces that designers have been working on all year. You see amazing, creative and clever displays (sometimes  way over the top). You meet some really interesting people: fellow retailers and vendors alike. There's a buzz of optimism (at least for the last couple of years; not so much for the four or so years before that), a feeling of happiness and satisfaction that you've found just the right things for your shop. You start thinking about how you're going to merchandise it all (even if it's ten months away), and what the look, the style of the shop is going to feel like. Your head buzzes 24 hours a day with information, decision-making, sensory overload.

And I love seeing new vendors with a great product who are headed towards success. The American dream, right? Like I loved the guys who came up with all these gourmet sauces, bitters, and salts that they were smoking, brining, curing in old recycled Kentucky bourbon barrels. The whole booth smelled great; I loved their packaging (so important!), and their approach. Ultimately, I decided we didn't have enough room to show it properly, but I'm still mulling it over.

I especially love the "fantasy" displays: the crazy stuff some of the designers come up with that is more like art – just for the sake of catching your eye and not something anyone would necessarily try at home. Like the Christmas window that was done completely out of little strips of colorful vintage fabrics. The entire tree was wrapped in a million bits of fabric; the ornaments, the chair, the logs in the fireplace – everything! It was like a crazy quilt on an acid trip.

I always take note of trends, colors, styles; some I like, some not so much. Like I noticed that most of the Christmas décor manufacturers were still big on what I think of as "overload" style. Jam as much as possible onto one tree so that you can barely see the branches. They were ornamented, draped, festooned with so many baubles, ribbons, picks and glitz that the greenery was nearly obliterated. I like a less heavy hand, a simpler approach... and sense that you all – our dear clientele – are leaning that way, too. Yet I saw retailers marching in and ordering "the entire tree." Yes, everything on it (in multiples, so that they can recreate it and sell several iterations of the whole thing). To me, that's just boring. And overdone.

Christmas offerings on the whole were a little uninspiring this year (yet I managed to cherry pick a group of things I really like). I walked out of a few formerly tried-and-true showrooms without placing an order at all (there was just nothing that called out to me), yet I upped orders with other vendors that had come up with some wonderful new designs. It seemed like there were a lot of knockoff designs and duplication, which means some of these companies weren't really putting any effort into coming up with fresh ideas. If I see the same thing in four different showrooms, I'm not buying it. But overall, I'm truly pleased with what we have coming for Christmas 2014! It all kind of coalesced into a really nice collection. You'll see!

Some other trends. Burlap is still going strong as a natural accent. I do like it, but in small doses. I've never been a big fan of burlap as upholstery or pillows. Too scratchy! Give me a lovely, natural linen any day. But it's nice as ribbon, table runners (which I ordered) or window covering. I'm going to layer our burlap table runners with a cotton runner on top, to soften the look. As with everything, a little bit goes a long way.

Neutrals were headed towards grays and creams, seemingly away from the brown, chocolate, and rust tones (which will always be with us and always great, by the way). And I do love gray. My dear San Francisco apartment – years ago! – had pale gray walls with white trim, and I just adored it. Everything went with it, and it always felt fresh and light.

To contrast with the grays, I also saw a lot of brights and popped-up, intense colors at market. This is especially evident when you look at the pillow manufacturers, and realize that their top three shelves (at eye level, so, most important) are filled with a dazzling array of raspberries, yellows, oranges, aquas/turquoise, and red. It wouldn't take much to make a little color story with one of those great pillows. Unfortunately, we really don't have the room to show pillows properly (in a shop setting, you need a lot to have a good selection). And, most good pillows sell for at least $100 each... which was always a bit difficult for us in the past.

I was happy to see lots of bright, graphic geometric designs: chevrons, moroccan tile ruled the day... but again, you just need a little bit of it.

And the Union Jack is back. Brilliant! With London coming in as a favorite destination, we all want a bit of the royal reminder at home. You'll find it at Pomegranate on our canvas totes and a few other select accoutrements. In a few months our garden stuff will start rolling in; one of our vendors came up with a fabulous Union Jack pillow (as well as American flag design), both of which I ordered. In fact, at first I had forgotten to get them on the order, then tracked back several days later to add them, which caused a huge administrative snafu, with phone calls and unsnarling of paperwork. But such is the dedication of the Shopping Monkey! Must Have Pillows!

One almost-ubiquitous trend at market (which I didn't partake of) was the monogram craze. It seems that anything with enough surface area for a monogram will be monogrammed, by someone. Glasses, handbags, totes, pillows, cups, jewelry, coasters, lip gloss, cutting boards, sippy cups, soaps, socks, key chains, blankets, flip flops, dinnerware, candles, and of course, stationery – you could have your entire life covered in monograms. Somehow that just didn't feel like Bend. I do like our monogrammed glass program from Rolf Glass, however. I think having some monogrammed scotch glasses sitting on your bar – even if your style is more rustic – is kind of a fun, tongue-in-cheek nod to the mid-century style barware. But more than that? Maybe not.

And I was happy to see a lot of my own favorite design aesthetic: modern and vintage blended, with lots of organic shapes (big chunky wood bowls) mixed with simple lines in furniture and fabrics. It's a hard thing to pull off, but is lovely and interesting when done right. We're always looking for pieces that work, and bring in our favorites... if they fit within the confines of our quirky farmhouse shop space (like, don't expect us to bring in any sofas).

There are more market trips coming up (including some hunting for more vintage pieces). Can't wait! Stay tuned...