To Market To Market...

Gina and Portia here.. We scouted the Dallas World Trade Center June Gift Buyer's Market. (Sorry, we respected showrooms' privacy when it comes to no photo rules). But they can't stop us from blogging about it right? Well, there was a lot of eco-concious (& budget friendly) design work-again we saw lots of natural and organic fabrics (burlap, hemp, cotton, linen) as well as lots of roots, vines, branches, rocks, shells, bark, etc, in every kind of container imagineable. We noticed a big Indian influence( from the movie Slum Dog Millionaire we assume). Showooms seemed to be either clean and pared down or full blown "sensory attack" stacked full of small items (inexpensive impulse buys?) We didn't notice quite as much tween stuff for the kids, but there was still lots of jewelry to be had- especially charm-like chains that can be added on to (long shelf life!) We saw our friend Jeff Krause in his brand new permanent showroom the Round Top Collection. He and his family have strong connections to Round Top, Texas. He sells metal decor that would brightenthe dreariest day(http://www.thertc.com/) He also used very cool antique furniture and props in his showroom that he buys @ Country Garden Antiques! (Jeff is talented and smart!) Well, I could go on and on, but in the interest of time: Still lots of French, still natural.. birds, brighter colors are stronger than 6 months ago, India, jewelry (duh!) Neutral larger pieces with bright accents, clean or clutter- your choice! Signing off on the topic till the really big market in January. (By the way, Chartreuse, one of Portia's favorites was really strong! Such good taste!!)