Thursday, July 15, 2010

Market Ideas

From the Atlanta Gift Show: XL carved wooded horses.

Once again I am roaming the isles at the Atlanta Merchandise Mart, searching for product, unique ideas and a little inspiration to bring back to Curious Sofa. I am fortunate to be staying with a friend this time in the charming town of Roswell, Georgia. She has shown me around town to some unique shops and great restaurants because all work and no play makes Debbie a dull girl.

Back at the gift show, while looking through many showrooms the new goods are obviously outnumbered by the scattering of old but I found some things in the crossover category where you are not so sure which one they are. This is what I hunt for and what I hope my customers want from me. Below are a few examples that caught my eye:

Photo albums (hint: you can do this too. The spine has been bumped out gluing rope pieces under the paper!)

Stacks of shoe forms. Repetition is always a dramatic display no matter what the item.

Old paper pages roped together as filler for urns or bookshelves.

Printed tissue paper glued around average thrift store books.

Obelisks made from salvaged wood. Someone make these for me with neutral colors!

And my personal favorite: A chandelier for fall using Edison bulbs and cornstalks!

More to come this week on my journey around Atlanta.