Hey everyone!

Well, the Atlanta market is wrapping up. The traffic picked up over the weekend, and many vendors said they had good shows. But others still said it was a struggle. And there were noticeably less companies exhibiting in some areas. On floor two of Building 1, which is where many country-themed temps as well as lodge, coastal and garden temps are located, aisles were shorter and portions of the room were curtained off.

Nevertheless, Atlanta is always a good show for getting the general feel of the market. And it is exciting to walk the halls, seeing all the product, and hearing other retailers talk about business. For those who have never been to Atlanta, here is a picture of Building 3 where many of the temps are located. This can give you an idea of the scope of the buildings.

Next January, the market grows even bigger! I spent five full days at the show and just managed to see everything. Goodness knows how tired my feet will be next year! In January, the West Wing of Building 2 opens. The Distinctively American and High Country Lodge temps, which have been on floor 2 of Building 1, will move to floor seven of the same building. Floor 7 and floor 8 will also have home accents and home furnishing temps. So all the home-related temps will be together. A few other changes of note: The gourmet temps on floor 1 of Building 3 will move to the new West Wing, and Cash & Carry Jewelry will move to the previous gourmet spot. The rest of the new West Wing will house High Design, Coastal, garden and souvenir temps as well as General Gift, Resort, Gourmet & Housewares and Garden permanent showrooms (the previous garden showrooms on floors 14 and 15 will now be home to home accents showrooms). The new West Wing will bring several more floors to the Market, which means more aisles to walk, but it will also connect Building 3 much better with the other two buildings. We'll see how it all works out in January.

So on to the displays! Below are some of the ones I thought were interesting.

Midwest always does a fun job with its displays. For their display, the designer attached the handle of one bucket to the underside of another bucket to make two or three buckets hanging together. The buckets were filled with colorful ribbons and product.

Peking Handicraft showed off some of its rustic woodsy textiles in a bed designed around a campfire theme. Twigs were attached to the four corners of the bed, and a large branch was hung from the ceiling over the bed (sorry my camera didn't capture the top branch). Designers swagged fabric over the hanging branch to create a canopy and hung a chandelier from the branch to hang right above the bed. In front of the footboard of the bed, logs and small branches create a faux campfire, and a bed tray setting on the bed was filled with S'more's fixings.

Round Top creates incredible displays for all seasons, and everything is always bright and colorful. For their spring 09 line, they showed it on a staircase angled out from the corner and a window, swagged in red-checked fabric was placed on the top.

Another display from Round Top had a wooden crib display filled with moss and faux dirt and then cute bunny in cabbage and carrot stakes are planted in the crib. A cut piece of green fabric acts as faux grass to provide a base for the display.