Three Big Lessons from The Atlanta Gift and Home Market

Now that the Market is over, I want to share with you the three biggest things I learned.

Big Lesson #1
At the Atlanta Market, I saw a lot of booths and showrooms that didn't "have it".
Their displays were drab or too simple, reflecting a lack of effort or even worse,
a lack of awareness of their product and how it looked from the curb.

Then I would pass by a showroom that was packed tight with buyers, music was amped up, 

and the atmosphere was electric with positive energy.  

It was a happy uproar.

Image of Creative Co-Op Showroom by Creative Co-Op

Showrooms like Creative Co-Op had attended to every detail of their appearance "vocabulary".
They were confident in their work because they had done their homework,
attended to every tiny detail,
 and were consequently comfortable enough to let 'er rip.
They were having fun.
And it showed.

The Lesson?
Do your homework before you start.
Be aware of what is going on in the Market.
Know what your vocabulary is.
Then work your composition until you know there are no holes in it.
Have a blast while you are doing it, because that will automatically show up.
Stand back and see if it has curb appeal and joy - if it does, it will grab the buyer's eye and hold it.

Big Lesson #2
While walking this Market, it was easy to spot the new trends,
alongside the trends which have already run their course.

Owls and chalkboard art have had their time, but you will continue to see both for seasons to come.
Farm animals, big florals, and outdoor activities like camping were strong,
along with coastal and shore images, but there were still foxes, hedgehogs, dogs, alligators, crabs...
know what I mean?

Orange and blue were dominant "trend" colors, but I also saw every color in the rainbow.

Image from Company C

When you walk through any large shopping district, you see eye-catching displays
of "on Trend" products.
But you will also see other themes displayed just as beautifully.
What anyone ends up buying to put in their home or to give as a gift
 will always boil down to personal choice.

The Lesson here?
If you are an artist trying to sell your art for application, stay aware of what's going on out there,
and then just go and make your own absolute best art.  Every day.

Because there is a buyer out there for everything.

Big Lesson #3
Amy Howard of Amy Howard At Home has been tremendously successful because she practices several personal rules, which she passed on to us in a short seminar at Market.  I won't go into full detail here, because I'm sure Amy will be teaching this in her upcoming seminars and retreats.
But what I took out of her session was this:  Get Your Game On.  Really.

Images from Amy Howard At Home

When you walk a Market like this, you realize with absolute certainty that you have to be at the top of your game, and you need a game plan to follow to get there.

I picked these two simple steps from Amy's rules to

Be The Best At What You Do Best:
1.  Figure out what your Achilles heel is.
What stops you from being the best you could be?
Procrastination?  Record keeping?  Organizing your studio?
Face it head on and figure out a way to handle that weak point.
Create a solution to keep it from gomming up the works
and stopping your work flow.
Do that NOW, with a firm hand.
Commit to your solution.

2.  Then, take a critical survey of all that you do with your creative self.
What do you do BEST?
Now apply yourself to doing that better than anyone on the face of the earth,
and let the things that you do WELL fall by the wayside.

As Amy loves to say, "don't be a Jack of All Trades, and a Master of None".

Make what you do best be what you are known for.

And that's it.  I hope these Three Big Lessons will help you out - I am off to school again:

School@LillaRogers.com

Lilla Rogers Assignment Boot Camp!

More Trends from the Atlanta Gift and Home Market

The Atlanta Market is winding down,  but I continue to be blown away by this show.

Image from Peking Handicraft

The showrooms I visited at the beginning of the show in the Merchandise Mart were all about Old European Style, wood, metal, flaking paint, burlap and tweed,
unbleached canvas and natural linen.
A fairly masculine feel.

And then...
The last two days, I focused on the flip side - Powee!
Fabulous color - several million square feet of it.  And florals, chevrons, dots, patterns, 
and throbbing style:

Image from All For Color

Image from Peking Handicraft

Image from Thomas Paul

If I had to name a single color that stood out the most in the Atlanta Show, it would have to be Orange.  Followed by Blue.

Image from Kay Dee Designs

Image from Peking Handicraft

Motifs and themes that popped out of this more colorful side were all about the Shore, 
both Lake and Coastal. 
Lots of Octopi, Sea Horses, Conch Shells, Starfish and Sea Turtles. 
And Whales.  I saw whales everywhere.

The Great Outdoors was also a constant theme - 
camping, hiking, and playing outdoor sports.

Canoes, Bears and Moose.
Fly Rods.

Image from Sideshow Press

A huge, beautiful Market! 

Now, think about the millions of dollars spent in developing all these products.
And the thousands and thousands of hours that artists spent 
creating the icons for these products.
It will all wind up on store shelves and then float into your homes.

It all starts with a sketch.

Pretty unbelievable to think about, huh?

Think I'll go put my feet up, pour a glass of wine, and sketch something...

Report from Atlanta Gift and Home Market

Wow!

I've walked the Market for two days, and that just about sums it up in one word.

This show is HUGE.

And the products are gorgeous.

Take a look:

Block and Brayer image

Block Prints on canvas or twill or linen.  
Colors ranged from charcoal to every hue of the 2014 Pantone chart.

So beautiful, so graphic, yet so "mark of the hand".

All made in America.  
The lovely prints above from  Block and Brayer are just one of the collections represented in the Market that are either hand printed or screen printed from the original 
hand-carved blocks.

Image from Low Country Linens

Low Country Linens had a pretty booth, chock full of block printed linens that are made in the Low Country area of South Carolina.

Image from Design Legacy

This image from  

Design Legacy includes many of the themes that the Atlanta show is filled with-

Lots of Blues - Cobalt, Indigo, Delft, and Navy.  Most of the time, the punch combined with these blues is....

Orange, of course!

Wooden spools of every size, most wrapped with cord, ribbon, or jute.

Maps.  Maps.  Maps.

Old World Maps,
 Compass Point Maps.

Printed on a variety of surfaces.

And those vintage style numbers are still everywhere.

Lowcountry Originals (those artisans in South Carolina sure are busy!) pulled me right in to their oyster-shell adorned booth, as always.  Lovely lighting, furniture, and accent pieces, all cleverly incorporating oyster shells.  

Image from Lowcountry Originals.

Sitting on one of their mantels was another icon that permeates the Atlanta show...
Hogs.  Pigs.  Wild Boars.

Like this pig from Eric and Christopher, who take pictures of animals on Eric's farm, and then Christopher turns them into screen prints.  Visit their website and read about their process; it is very inspirational.  Makes me want to Push, Pull, Print!

Animals are huge in this Market, with Pigs leading the way, accompanied by Sheep, Goats, Cows, Chickens, Squirrels and a few Foxes and Hedgehogs.

Mostly, it was all about large farm animals.

Owls, Blackbirds and Crows 
were still around, 
but not as much.  









The overall feel of the Market is still very Old World European, with delightful punches of color.  There is still a lot of burlap, iron, rust, distressed paint and topiary, relieved with natural linen and softened canvas.

The Authentic Movement Showroom was divine...

Fishs Eddy.
Always pleasing to look at and pick up.






Check out this Bow Tie from Forage;
their packaging is perfect.




Lucia Soaps, and more divine packaging:

The fabulous Mara Mi:

 And Lotta Jansdotter...

Tomorrow and Monday will be filled with more scouring, observing, and appreciating...

Appreciating all these thousands of artists who design all this lovely stuff.
Now do you see why Lilla Rogers says "Get Cracking!"??