The Atlanta Home Gift and Home Furnishings market always has a great line-up of design talent speaking throughout the show.  I always make it a point to attend and always come away learning a few new things. 

One of the events I attended was entitled, What’s Your Style:  New Media and Design.  The panel discussion was moderated by Krissa Rossbund, the senior design and style editor for Traditional Home, and included design icon Stan Topol, design maven Tobi Fairley and the co-founder of Matchbook Magazine, Katie Armour.

The panel discussed a variety of topics, but much of the conversation centered around developing a successful design or retail  business utilizing both traditional and modern forms of marketing and social media. 

1. Be Professional, in what you say, how you act and how you run your business.  Clients will trust us as designers it we run every aspect of our business in a professional way. And, always work with a contract. 
2. Be Clear and Concise with clients. As designers, we are hired for our skill and ideas, and it is our responsibility to make sure that our clients clearly understand our vision so they can buy into it.
3. Don’t under-value your time or creativity.  This hit home to me, as I sure it will with many designers.  We often give away our ideas, time and talent when were in the moment, versus fully acknowledging our gift and charging for it.
4. Use your blog to showcase your work….it’s a great way to reach a wider audience and showcase your expertise.
5. Share your design experience with your blog readers and build a relationship with them.
6. Develop a source for original content–this will give your blog its unique personality.
7. Use twitter to strike up a conversation with others in the design industry.  I wasn’t on the twitter band-wagon at first, but I now realize how value it can be to building your business and most importantly building friendships. 

And, one last bit of wisdom shared by Mr. Topol that I took to heart was this…”Our payment is our creativity…when we compromise our creativity, we are cheating ourselves!”

It was great to chat with Tobi after the presentation and have this photo taken. 

Another wonderful presentation I attended was with designer Vicente Wolf.    He discussed his design philosophy and had a few words of advice:

• Don’t over think the design process–follow your gut!
• To create the most interesting and beautiful spaces, mix old and new elements.
• Think of design like you do cooking..a pinch of this, a touch of that–combine elements to give the space its flavor.

I also attended a presentation by Kathryn M. Ireland, one of the talents on the hit Bravo show Million Dollar Decorators. Kathryn was so down to earth and such a pleasure to listen to.  She shared stories of the show, her “insane” life as she calls it, and a few photos of  her work.

Kathryn was signing copies of her new book, Summers in France, so I picked up a copy and had a photo taken with her.

And finally, I sat in on a presentation given by Marie Nygren, co-founder of Serenbe and Keith Robinson, owner of the event design firm Gloriosa Event Design.  This dynamic duo gave tips and techniques for developing stylish party settings using eco-friendly products.

Marie and Keith

A beautiful floral arrangement with fresh herbs and plants added in.

A casual tablescape using items taken from inside the home.

Here are few party  design ideas shared by Marie and Keith:

• Monogram flat bed sheets and used them as a stylish tablecloth option
• Incorporate vegetables from the garden into your centerpiece and tablescape–it’s an easy way to add color and texture
• Cover plastic chairs with bed sheets, curtain panels or fabric remnants (as Keith did in the above photo)
• Layer, Layer, Layer for interest and to create depth
• Don’t be afraid to move furniture from the inside the house, out and use it as part of your decor
• Candles are a must for any party occasion
• Don’t be afraid to mix and match china or dinnerware–this can sometimes create the most beautiful table decor
• Be unique and do something that will make your table decor stand out.

The Atlanta Market always brings in great talent during the show, so if you get the chance to attend, jump on it.  The next major show takes place in January 2012.

I hope you enjoyed my insider view of market. Tomorrow  I’ll be back with the final installment of my visit to market, focusing on some of the new design books coming out later this year.

Have a great weekend!