Twice a year we close shop & head to Atlanta for this country's largest gift show. Although it can be a lot of fun, there is a lot of work in finding the most unique gifts for the shop. This year Evelyn's was featured in the Atlanta Market Magazine which was mailed out to buyers all around the world. We were honored that a small shop like ours was featured. And we were so lucky to have met the executive editor, Tammy Trout, on our way out one evening. Tammy recognized us and treated us like "celebrities". We do appreciate her kindness, especially after a long day of shopping.
Day 1 We left Barnwell at 4:30am so we could get to the hotel then to the market for a full day of shopping. Our first day at market is usually a day we look around for any new & unique items that have a "wow" factor. We had several appointments & found some great gift you are going to love. The market stayed open until 8:00pm for late night shopping. We got back to the hotel by 9pm & I worked on our invoices, schedule, & budget. It had been a long 16 hours since we had left Barnwell.
Day 2 We left the hotel at 8am for another full day of shopping. This day was for completing our Fall, Halloween, & Christmas shopping. Although the majority of Christmas was purchased in January, we spent the day finding some fill in items that will add some humor & warmth to our collections. And, we bought the majority of our 2012 Spring & Easter collections. I will blog soon on these wonderful finds. I hate that we were unable to meet our favorite Millionaire Decorators designer, Katheryn Ireland, but we just had too many appointments we had to keep. We did meet Katheryn last January, & she is as humorous in person as she is on tv! Once again we stayed at market until 8pm. After catching the bus back to the hotel we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Einsteins in Midtown, for a delicious meal.
Day 3 We left the hotel at 8:30am to make a 9am appointment. We got there just in time to find some wonderful decorative accessories that we will debut at our Fall Evening of Design. We spent the day choosing beautiful florals, fragrances, and accessories that will complete our winter collections. As we buy, we constantly think of our customers & whose home we think some of our finds will look great in. And we always strive to find the most unique items you are proud to give & receive. The market closed at 6pm, so we had an early dinner at Houston's & went back to the hotel to add up all our invoices & make sure we took care of all our special orders. This was another successful market trip & we returned home energized for a wonderful holiday season.
As always, we went over our budget a little, but I know you will love our new Fall & Christmas collection. Please remember that we will be having our Fall & Halloween Open House September 17th, and our Christmas Open House November 6. Come in the shop & see all that is new for Fall. We always appreciate your business.
