The Trend Report from Our Market Trip!

Hello Everyone!

Well, we had a bang up time at market. (Well, that was kind of corny for the 4th of July week.) But, as usual, it was like a whirlwind trip except for the flight home. That took FOREVER! Plus, when you don’t fly but every few years or so, it was like I had entered another world at the DFW airport. I really felt like an old lady as I saw how all the seasoned flyers knew exactly what to do and I’m looking around trying to figure out what was going on. I’m so glad April was with me to guide me. And even at that, at times I just felt like I needed to be in a wheelchair with a lap blanket on. After being on the runway to unload for over an hour (No one knew why we had to just sit there.), stepping off the plane and onto the ground felt like life would be back to normal and all was well! Thank God for Kansas.

Let’s talk about what I bought and saw at market!

First thing I noticed was the vendors are not hiring all of the designers to come in and decorate their showrooms. I miss that because I gleaned such good ideas from them as well as they were able to sell me more product for those creations. As you may have noticed here in the shop, I’ve enjoyed supplying you with great floral stems and picks for you to make those beautiful arrangements and designs. While I know many of you don’t want to make your own, I count it a privilege to create them for you and with you.

Another thing I noticed was most of the vendors were pushing buying more from them and rewarding us with better shipping prices, and in some cases a small discount. That kind of sounds like our rewards program. Well, I can tell you what it did for me was slim down the amount of vendors I used and spent more on quality and not as much on so much stuff. I know what items sell for me and I did not, for the most part deviate from that.

And then there is so much BLUE, I think that is because it goes so well with the grays they introduced about 10 years ago. The transition is beautiful.

However, I’m sure you’ve noticed that the jewel tones are coming back around, maybe with a little different hue. Whatever, it’s made me want to bring a lot of blues into my home. Not just one set hue of blue. But many different colors of blue.

We have seen a decline on the vintage side of decorating. However, there’s still an abundance out there and I bought quite a bit of it still. I really don’t think it will ever really go out because it brings back so many memories to our lives. And that will never go out of style.

And of course, my buying trips are never complete until I buy light fixtures and furniture. Both of those items pack so much of a punch in a home.

There’s so much more I could tell you, but gotta go for now. I’m hosting a “Granny Camp” for 8 of my grandchildren. And since it’s supposed to rain all week, I have my work cut out for me. I think I’ll need lots of indoors ideas, so I need to get on the hunt! It will be fun–inside or out!

Don’t forget our warehouse sale. July 15, 16 and 17. We open at 9 o’clock and I have a special surprise for all of you who subscribe to my emails.

Blessings!
Debbie