POOL Trade Show August 2012

POOL Trade Show was an intense adventure! With months of prep (heart & ring forging, jewelry assembly, photo editing, line sheet work) we packed up the car with our suitcases, supplies, hopes, and dreams for 5 days in Vegas. This was my first trade show experience, and while I have participated in many independent design shows, I knew this was a whole other kind of show. My vendor friends who had done POOL answered my countless of questions and shared their advice the weeks leading up to the show and I am immensely thankful for their kindness and support. honey my heart had a wonderful POOL, learned about ourselves and brand, and are ready for the future!

Just a peek at the trade show floor in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The Cash & Carry booths lined about half of the hall. A great option for newer business who are ready for their first trade show experience, Cash & Carry allowed buyers to purchase as much merchandise as they wanted and carry the merch back to their boutiques. It also allowed attendees, employees, media, and various others to purchase from the designers. 

 

I had a lot of fun at Cash & Carry because I got to buy a few necklaces from ISWAS+WILLBE.

The rest of the hall was full of booths. The sheer amount of design and talent that filled the booths was energizing and inspiring. Booth designers showcased their upcoming collections and could only take wholesale orders from buyers/retailers. I liked being able to browse the new collections of some of my favorite designers, and discover new designers.

Awesome fan installation that separated POOL and PROJECT.

As a POOL designer, I had access to the other trade shows going on including PROJECT, STREET, SLATE, and MAGIC. It was hard to leave my booth, but I did get a few chances to explore the extremely massive PROJECT. And oh was it amazing! Designers showcasing at PROJECT included Billionaire Boys Club, Dogeared, Ted Baker, Lacoste, Trina Turk, Ben Sherman, and Bench. All booths were taking wholesale orders only, but boy do I wish that I could purchase right then and there.

I spent most of my time here at the honey my heart booth. Days were full of explaining our designs, materials, and process. We met lots of awesome people from around the country, Costa Rica, and Japan, passed out business cards/postcards and line sheets, and shared our story. It was overwhelming, then slow, then busy, then easy. And it was worth it.

 

 

New York, New York was our home for the week. Lots of slot playing and dining was done there. I totally felt at home :)

View from the Mandalay Bay roof top. The lights and the colors were amazing.

Mandalay during the day. This photo was taken at the end of our first POOL experience and is just so calming.

Thanks Vegas and POOL. Can't wait til next year!