Since I always go early to market for specials, one-of-a-kinds and meetings, I was there three days before market officially opened. I found myself in tents and warehouses with pouring rain and blowing winds, but gotta find those treasures! The worst part was actually the day before market when most of the triad area lost power. Hotels were down and so were most places to eat. I found out that if I crossed over a certain highway, there was power, so I found a diner open – but so did many others!

They got the power restored first in the market showrooms and hotels, but people renting houses were without it for varying times. Many people had no power until Tuesday evening and market was over on Wednesday. I saw many people in the restrooms at market with curling irons and other items we are dependent on. Now I’m back, dried out, safe and sound, and ready to report on sightings, discoveries and trends.  I really don’t like that word: “trends”, and always suggest to people that they “trend lightly”, but here we go.

I have to qualify this report. It is impossible to cover all of the showrooms in a week, since there are more than 2,000 exhibitors spread over thirteen city blocks, which totals approximately 10 million sqft. Packing comfortable shoes is a priority!