AmericasMart Atlanta has been, for over 50 years, a global leader in retail which aim is to connect the buyers with top brands from all around the world. On July (12-19), will take place a new edition of Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market, and we have an interview with the organisers to discover, not just which are the highlights of the next edition, but to know how they do to stand out from other similar shows after decades of exhibition. If you are planning to visit, you will find it very useful, and if you are just a lover of gifts and home furnishings, you will be delighted...
Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market takes place twice a year, what novelties will we see in July's edition?
-
The launch of two new Temporary collections, ANTIQUES and DÉCOR | Light & Lifestyles. ANTIQUES showcases an extraordinary range of authentic fine furnishings and classic, one-of-a-kind home accents. The collection showcases 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th-century furnishings and accents, original art, glassware and china, sterling silver, heirloom jewellery, and estate collectables by top-tier dealers in more than 30,000 square feet of exhibition space. DÉCOR is a juried collection featuring furniture, lighting and home décor presented by top design-lead manufacturers within the home industry.
-
Retail and design intersect with sophisticated style in AmericasMart® Atlanta’s celebrated vignette design exhibition, “It’s All Here – Where Retail Meets Design” this July. The exhibition features vignettes curated by the Southeast’s top design-led retailers with merchandise sourced at AmericasMart.
-
The continued growth and innovation of AmericasMart’s Home collection, which becomes the epicentre of American design as trend-leading designers and retailers gather to network, connect with thought leaders and source product from the industry’s top home furnishing, décor and rug purveyors.
- The centrepiece of the July Market, AmericasMart’s ICON HONORS 2016 celebrates professional achievements of home and gift retailers, manufacturers, sales agents and service providers at the most important and anticipated night in the gift and home industry on Thursday, July 14.
What do you think that makes the Show stands out from other similar events?
Designed to create a business environment unlike any other, AmericasMart’s facilities and services are unmatched in efficiency, accessibility and convenience. The extraordinary mix of speciality product presented in its permanent showrooms and temporary exhibit halls eclipses that of any other single marketplace, anywhere. The product mix and service standards are so essential that retailers from every U.S. state and more than 70 countries worldwide identify AmericasMart as the wholesale marketplace most important to their business, as compared to all competing U.S. wholesale markets in independently conducted quantitative research.
What is the exhibitor's profile?
AmericasMart’s large and ever-growing product mix covers the broad gift, home furnishings and area rug landscape, and extends to include fashion apparel and accessories product in huge quantities. AmericasMart assures retailers access to the nation’s largest single collections of product in:
- Home Furnishings
- The Gardens®
- Home Accents
- Area Rugs
- Holiday & Floral/Home Décor
- Tabletop & Gift
- Juvenile/Children’s
- Fashion Accessories/Fine Jewelry
- Apparel & Fashion Accessories
- General & Specialty Gift
- Gourmet & Housewares
Can anyone visit the show, or you have to be a professional?
AmericasMart Atlanta is a wholesale facility open to the trade only. To enter, you must be affiliated with a business that resells product represented in the Mart.
During the show we can also enjoy a networking and educational program, do you recommend us a session or activity in particular?
Supporting the ANTIQUES launch is a panel discussion “Aged to Perfection: Why Antiques are Essential to Design Today, and How the Industry is Meeting Digital-age Demand” moderated by Elizabeth Ralls, editor-in-chief of ”Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles” featuring Toma Clark Haines, Chief Executive Diva of The Antiques Diva® & Co, Beth Webb and Ben Cochrane, interior designers of Caroline Faison Antiques.
Thursday, July 14 | 10 – 11 a.m. | Building 1, Floor 15, Designer Workspace Think antiques are intimidating? Think again. Access to antiques—and trusted dealers around the world—has never been easier, thanks to a world where connections are made instantly through social media, a testament to the power of visual marketing. There’s never been a better time to be in (or shop) the antique industry, with quality items and indispensable knowledge available at the swipe of a smartphone. Antiques (and authenticity) are more desirable than ever. Leading experts will discuss how the antique market has changed, why antiques are essential to design projects across a wide range of ages and aesthetics, and how to thoughtfully integrate the quality and history of such time-honed treasures into well-edited, elegant, yet unpretentious interiors.
Give us at least three reasons to don't miss Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market.
1) Innovation – When we say “It’s All Here” we really mean it. AmericasMart houses the single-largest collection of home, gift, rug and apparel merchandise in the world. The three-building campus is brimming with new product introductions across its 45 distinct home, rug, gift and fashion categories including nearly 100 new and expanded showrooms and two new Temporary categories ANTIQUES and DÉCOR | Light and Lifestyles. With this unmatched depth and breadth of product, buyers can see trends and new product introductions across many categories of a lifestyle product.
2) Inspiration- Inspiration abounds at AmericasMart as tastemakers and thought leaders share fresh ideas for business excellence through the Market’s robust schedule of educational presentations, networking events and industry celebrations.
-
Interior design influencers appearing at the Market include Elizabeth Ralls, editor-in-chief of “Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles” discussing antiques in the digital age with Toma Clark Haines, Chief Executive Diva of The Antiques Diva® & Co and Beth Webb and Ben Cochrane of Caroline Faison Antiques; Julia Buckingham, Bobby Berk, and licensing authority Kate Verner of KV + Associates sharing the inside track on licensing and building an authentic brand; Carley Knobloch, tech expert and HGTV host, showcasing apps for creative businesses; Ron Woodson and Jaime Rummerfield of Woodson & Rummerfield’s House of Design and Caleb Anderson of Drake/Anderson discussing capturing cultural inspiration in interiors on a panel moderated by Marisa Marcantonio of “StyleBeat;” Tom Mirabile, senior vice president of Global Trend and Design for Lifetime Brands sharing top home trends for 2016; and Robert Leleux, Antonino Buzzetta, Barbara Westbrook, Zak Profera and Denise McGaha discussing the benefits and challenges of showhouses.
-
In the lifestyle category, entertaining expert and award-winning event architect Tara Guérard shares the secrets to mastering the desirable indoor-outdoor lifestyle.
-
The AmericasMart Demonstration Kitchen is more interactive than ever with four participation classes held throughout the Market. Buyers learn to make tasty libations in two classes from the talented bartenders at new Downtown hotspot JP Atlanta and try their hand at rolling sushi in two “Sushi 101” classes. Inspirational chef presentations range from chef Fabio Viviani sharing his favorite “go-to” Italian-inflected recipes for home cooks to the Donutologist Todd Jones preparing and presenting his twist on Southern style donuts, Chef Zeb Stevenson of Watershed on Peachtree sharing Southern favorites and blogger, author and baker, Manuela Kjeilen giving tips and tricks for making the perfect dessert. Atlanta’s brunch culture is also celebrated in a Demonstration Kitchen with brunch masters from Atlanta landmarks Twisted Soul, Buckhead Diner, Thumbs Up Diner and West Egg sharing their mouthwatering morning picks.
- The Education Center, AmericasMart’s celebrated business educational programming, again presents a series of mini-workshops throughout the Market. The 30-minute informational “Essentials for Success“ sessions feature business advice for retailers by Lyn Chin of Global Purchasing Group, Linley + Lauren of the LP2 Boutique Agency, and REstyleSOURCE.
-
AmericasMart celebrates the home, gift and rug industries through a series of at-Market events. ICON HONORS 2016 will be staged at Atlanta’s world-renowned Fox Theatre in a dramatically new staging featuring an iconic venue rich in cultural and entertainment history. The 1929 movie palace will see more than 1,000 finalists, honorees and guests on hand for the evening’s cocktail reception and buffet dinner served in the theatre’s Egyptian Ballroom and Grand Salon with the ICON HONORS 2016 celebration following on Fox’s 80-foot stage, capped by top-flight entertainment amid the theatre’s superb acoustics. The July Market’s new favourite tradition, the White Party is again the signature event of the Market, taking place in the Vignette Gallery.
-
The “It’s All Here – Where Retail Meets Design” exhibition, presented by AmericasMart Atlanta in collaboration with “Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles” magazine and REstyleSOURCE, showcases excellence in visual merchandising as designed and executed by leading retailers Tracery Interiors (Inlet Beach, Fla.), steve mckenzie's (Atlanta, Ga.), Huff Harrington Home (Atlanta, Ga.), Nandina Home & Design (Atlanta, Ga.), Mathews Furniture + Design (Atlanta, Ga.) and The Iron Gate (Franklin, Tenn.) and FOUND (Mesa, AZ). REstyleSOURCE also presents trend vignettes in the lobbies of AmericasMart Buildings 1 and 2.
- A full list of Market programming follows and can be found at www.AmericasMart.com/July.
3) Convenience - Atlanta is within a two-hour flight of 80 percent of the United States population, with more flights from more places—150 U.S. destinations and more than 75 international destinations in 50 countries. More than 12,000 hotel rooms are within walking distance of the connected three-building campus.
Finally, can you give us some participation results from the last edition? (visitors, exhibitors...)
The July 2015 Market had 88,023 attendees representing every US State and more than 70 countries. Exhibitors showcased the product in 1,500 showrooms and 3,000 temporary booths.