The 2015 AmericasMart Atlanta - The Nation’s #1 Product Destination, Part I

Ming and I just came back from an inspiring and busy AmericasMart Atlanta. What a fun show - so many people, markets and amazing products! I walked the same show in 2013 for the first time and it's still my favorite one.

It's very different from Surtex in that the Mart has over 1,400 permanent showrooms and some 2,500 temporary manufacturer exhibits. This makes it the ultimate market experience because everything is there; three enormous buildings full of all kinds of merchandise on display.

There a buyer discovers the styles that start trends and sees the actual products of an overwhelming amount of brands and designs. In short, you can shop the largest collection of gift, home, rug and apparel in one easy-to-navigate downtown location.

The Mart was very lively and busy as usual but I heard many artists and manufacturers this year celebrating a high volume of sales and successes across the board. We only got a glimpse of so much excitement and with the permission of the showroom owners, we took some pictures to share with you all.

We went by lots of showrooms. We stopped by Jellybean to see my new rugs and meet with Edward Chu, the owner. It's always such fun to talk to him!

Pictures above and below are © - All Rights Reserved - Courtesy of Jellybean

Midwest-CBK was one of our favorites places and we got a very inspiring tour through their amazing product displays by the lovely Vice President of Design & Creative, Margo Tantau. It was a pleasure to meet her in person!

Pictures above and below are © - All Rights Reserved - Courtesy of Midwest-CBK

Another very colorful and beautiful showroom was Certified International, where many talented artist products are featured and trends are made. It was also a pleasure to meet the owner!

Pictures above and below are © - All Rights Reserved - Courtesy of Certified International

We dropped by Magnet Works, which is now re-branded as Studio M - you can see the official video presentation by the owners, Sue and Curt Todd. It was also great to meet up with Anne McFarland Brown, Director of Product Development, and admire the bright new products that surrounded us.

Pictures above and below are © - All Rights Reserved - Courtesy of Studio M

Phil Cowley, Chief Marketing Officer at Design Design Inc. was very kind, too, to take the time to show us the new products in their very fun and colorful showroom.

Pictures above and below are © - All Rights Reserved - Courtesy of Design Design Inc.

By the end of Saturday we were ready to take a break. It was party time at Leanin' Tree, Inc. so we joined the many artists celebrating their successful show! We met the amazing Susan January, Vice President of the company and took photos of their great displays.

Pictures above and below are © - All Rights Reserved - Courtesy of Leanin' Tree Inc.

We left Atlanta so inspired and full of industry good news! We hope to share more of our insights next week when we will post more details about the market, artists signing events, and trends - so stay tuned for more!

A view of Atlanta downtown from the AmericasMart bridge connecting the buildings.