Having Fun at the Accessory Trade Show

I promised that I would talk about the accessory trade show I attended at a couple of weeks back. There are many cities in North America that put on accessory trade shows. The CGTA (Canadian Gift and Table Association) puts on two a year in Toronto, one in January and one in August. It is the largest show on its kind in North America for the trade only; the general public is not allowed to attend. This is where everyone that sells any kind of accessory, lamp, area rug etc. goes to buy their inventory. It is in 12 different buildings with over 1.3 million square feet of space used to house the show. To give you an idea how big that is, you would take all on The Bayshore shopping centre in Ottawa and add another 30% and it would be close to the physical size of this show. There are over 1,000 unique suppliers/importers/manufacturers there showing off their products. It is like going to the Christmas Signature show at the Ottawa Congress Centre, only on a grander scale. Some of the booths you go into are 10’ x 10’; others might be 50’ x 50’. There is one booth there, a 10’ x 10’ and all they sell are bows, and there are others where it is like walking into a large furniture store. It takes us 3 to 4 days to go through the show properly. We might spend 5 minutes in one booth, walk by many and then spend 2 or 3 hours in the next. We are always looking for unique, quality items. I discovered many years ago that many companies that have the word “quality” or “fine” in their company name usually are not! So we are careful to check out the quality we are looking at.

I go to these shows armed with my list of clients that need finishing touches to the projects, along with fabric swatches, digital pictures from client’s homes and in some cases, throw pillows from the sofa so I can find just the right item to finish that room. Have you ever noticed when you go into a room in a home where they have too much “stuff” that the room never looks finished, just cluttered and then you go into other’s and they have no accessories and the same holds true, it just doesn’t look finished. That is why putting up the correct size wall décor and the correct number makes such a difference. Same holds true for table top accessories and for lamps, area rugs etc. Accessorizing a room to me is a lot of fun and so important, it pulls everything together to give the final look you are going for. So many people don’t do that, they buy a room full of furniture but don’t think of accessorizing it and wonder why their room doesn’t look as nice as they hoped for. You should always allow 10 to 15% of your total budget for those final finishing touches. Your will be glad you did! I recommend that people accessorize room at least twice a year, to give it a whole new look. By changing the wall décor or lamps you will be amazed how the room changes. Greenery is so important too. A good quality faux trees are very popular and it is amazing how they can pull a room together. I just love doing it!!

Wow Factor

Well I am back from my trip to Toronto to the accessory trade show. This show is for the trade only and is held twice a year in Toronto. This trip was a bit different. I am sure most of you heard that Toronto had a huge thunderstorm with plenty of lightning, wind and rain last Sunday evening. My husband Jerome and I were just returning to the hotel we were staying at from dinner around 8pm when the storm struck. The restaurant we had dinner at was a short distance from the hotel so it only took minutes to drive there. As we approached the intersection where the hotel is, we could see two fire trucks blocking the intersection and the 4 hotels on that corner were all in darkness. It turns out there had been a lightning strike that took down a hydro pole and there was a “live” wire laying on the street sparking. At first we thought it was the flares that emergency personnel use but after taking a second look I realized it was a “live” hydro wire. At the hotel it was completely in darkness with the small exception of some emergency lighting. We were told there was no way to get to our room at the moment unless we wanted to climb 9 stories in the dark and 30 degree temperature. So back to our vehicle we go and we drive a short distance to the Tim Horton’s along the airport strip and sit in our vehicle for 90 minutes watching the most amazing “natural fireworks” looking out over one of the large runways at Pearson International Airport. Now my husband just loves this kind of storm, the more lightning the better for him. I, on the other hand, hate them. I confess I am a chicken in this kind of storm and can’t wait for them to end, although I have to admit, the sky does look amazing when you see one of the wide spread sheet lightning and then two or three bolts go shooting across in front of you. It occurred to me that no matter how talented a designer I think I am, someone up above does a better job with the WOW factor!! By-the-way, we didn’t get power in the hotel until noon the next day. So no air conditioning, no hot water for showers in the morning and worst yet, no power for the hair dryer!! I will give you an update on the trade show in a future blog posting.

Never settle for what they have, get what you want

I can not believe that once again, as I sit at my computer to write this, it is absolutely beautiful outside today. For those reading this from the Ottawa area, you know that this year has not been good year weather wise. Maybe it has something to do with me writing my blog, ok I doubt it.

I am not sure if most people know that good interior designers and decorators have access to many unique suppliers that the general public don’t. Many of my clients are always so surprised when I am presenting my suggestions to them that included are the products necessary for project to be completed as we envisioned it. And I buy very little from local retailers. I find that they all have the same thing and that is not want our clients are looking for. This coming week I will be at a trade show that will have over 1,100 exhibitors presenting everything from furniture, lighting, accessories, area rugs to pop up toasters!! Ok, so I don’t put pop up toasters in my presentations, but I wanted to make a point, that everything we need to make your house your dream home is available to us. When I head off to this show I will go with many client files in search of just the right mirror, or just the right area rug to finish their room. I always tell clients it is worth the wait rather that going to a local store and limiting your self to their selection. The nice thing about not being a designer that is associated with one store, there is no limit to want I can supply to the client. If I need a certain item for a client and we don’t have a current supplier for it, I will find a supplier of it and buy from them. Never settle for what they have, get what you want and need to make that room just perfect!!