M.J. Norblade
The thrill of the market season is upon me as I land in the Hong Kong airport the evening before the start of the Hong Kong Gift fair. It has been 21 hours since my plane left Tulsa. Each fair season I get very excited to find new and interesting products and allow my creativity free reign as I look for the next great trends for home décor. This trip I am focusing on spring color for our January introductions; vivid and vibrant colors in wall décor, glass and ceramic accents, accent furniture and planters.
After the long trip to Hong Kong the hotel is a welcome sight. A hot shower, good night’s sleep and quick cup of coffee have me ready to go! Hong Kong is a beautiful city to explore and I only wish I had more time to visit. With only one day planned at the show, we have a lot of ground to cover. With my companion buyers, I board the shuttle bus to the fair with my notebook and camera.
Even during this world-wide challenging economic time, the fair is a busy hive of activity, full of people and products. Vendors head in to set up and man their booths, buyers cluster at registration and lines form at the coffee stalls. The mixture of people is fascinating, representing multiple countries. It would be easy to spend the day watching and listening. French and German accents mix with Chinese and Turkish as we head in to the first of several halls.
A wide array of product is available, from “The World’s Greatest Potato Masher”, to pet products, to home accessories. With so much to see we split up, each of us walking different aisles, looking for fresh new ideas and factories.
Glass is one of my favorite materials. I found a potential resource for recycled glass and worked with a current resource for our mosaic glass. Look for great new mosaic items from IMAX this summer!
New mosaic glass for summer
After a long day on our feet, we pile into a couple of vans and head to Guangzhou, China for the Jinhan and Canton Fairs. I’ll blog about our experiences in Guangzhou/Jinhan in the next few days. Be sure to leave comments, I would love to hear from you!
