Americasmart Summer 2014 [final] Wrapup | I think

I hope that you’re enjoying these series of posts about Americasmart summer 2014. For those of you who’ve been following, just ignore the next line or three. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, Americasmart is a market in Atlanta Georgia for the home and gift trade. It takes place twice a year, in January and in July.

I have to admit that I had some qualms about going to “Hotlanta” as us Yankees fondly call it in the middle of JULY! However, the weather was actually outstanding.

I was very lucky. And even luckier to get to go. For free. I received a sponsorship to come without even knowing it existed and I’m extremely grateful. Traveling to new places is always enlightening and I also enjoy observing and experiencing the cultural differences in different parts of the country.

Here’s one. The iced tea. There’s unsweetened and THEN there’s sweetened. Tea is really a misnomer, IMO. The drink is more like a simple syrup brewed with a teabag. That’s how sweet it is!

As I’ve stated in the previous posts, the folks at the show put on quite a spread of delicious bites for us hungry shoppers. [If you want to see the other posts, you will be able to find them in the related posts at the bottom of the page.

I happened upon this showroom one hour before closing time with my little legs ready to fall off and absolutely ravenous. I did show enough self-control to snap this photo, however of the immense spread. I had no idea who I was snapping and apparently, they didn’t see me either. I love photos like that.

But the food. So, so delicious!

Oh wait. What is the showroom?

Oh, sorry. yes, of course. It’s called Hester and Cook which is actually a consortium of several businesses, which you can read about here. But for now… food, aside… this had to be the coolest, hippest showroom in the entire show. Just look at those light fixtures!

The food kept on coming and coming. It was insane! And that’s not all.

There was drink too. And that brings me to something else I learned. Atlantanites [is that the word?] like their tea super sweet and their BOURBON with a bit of flavor. That sweet young lady made me a peach, basil, BOURBON concoction that instantaneously after three sips rendered me incapable of moving one more inch. So, I sat in a glazed stupor and nibbled on my chicken and was a very happy girl. What you are missing, however, is the band! There was a banjo pluckin’ group and they were really great! What fun!

See that little opening on the green sofa? That’s where I parked myself for the next half hour or so.

Earlier in the day, at a point where I was still reasonably fresh, I found yet another delectable buffet, but I wasn’t looking at the food this time. Nosiree…

I feasted my eyes on the delicious furniture, this time. This is the Phillips Scott Collection. I decided to wait it out a bit and came back a little later when the crowd had thinned out.  This was one of the smaller showrooms. I spoke with the owner [to get the entire spiel] and forgive me, but names are not my forte. If he had told me his birthday, that I would’ve remembered, because dates stick in my head by association! More about that in a bit because I have something really freaky to share with y’all. [BTW, I am from {southern} INDIANA originally, and we said “y’all” all the time; it is not in any way mocking the charming people of Atlanta, Georgia]. Sorry.

I spoke with the owner whose name might be Phillip or Scott, or Mike or John. No matter, he was super, super nice and very helpful. Just visiting this one showroom, totally made the trip. First of all, the furniture is largely neo-classical with influences of English, Swedish and French. This is my absolute fave style in furniture and architecture. And— a lot of it is painted.

AND, here’s the best part. They do custom finishes! yahoo! I just found that out today. I’m in heaven, because lots of companies do not do that and to boot, the pieces are surprisingly affordable. However, I am looking at wholesale prices, but even at retail, these pieces won’t break the bank.

Here’s more of the Phillip Scott Collection at Americasmart summer 2014.

I absolutely flipped over this Gustavian-Swedish inspired armoire. The detailing. The finish. Really, really well-done. And the finishes are hand-painted at the assembly factory in Atlanta. Yes, the rest is from you-know-where, otherwise this piece would be 15,000+ dollars and it’s nothing like that.

As a matter of fact, their slogan is:

“Tomorrow’s Antiques”

brilliant!

Beautiful neo-classical table which expands with a self-storing leaf. The chairs are verrrrry comfortable, too!

 Fabulous sideboard!

In a corner leaned up against the wall, I found this really pretty headboard and it gave me an idea. I have been having trouble getting a bed for a client and this one would be perfect! Not in the charcoal, but in a custom pale color.

BTW, sometimes people wonder why I am divulging my sources so freely. My answer is… Why not? If you’re not in the trade you can’t get it yourself and if you are…I’m happy to share what I’ve discovered. It’s all good and I appreciate it when I learn new things and sources from other designers. There’s plenty to go around!

Another wonderful vendor who is best known for their lamps but also sells a small boutique line of interesting furniture and rugs is Currey and Company. And I am going to take this opportunity to switch gears, because I realize that it looks like everything was lovely and muted, greige and so forth. And certainly, while there was a lot of that, there was also a lot of

this.

Also, from Currey and Company.

Intense, gorgeous saturated color!

A gorgeous rug below, also from Currey and Co.

Okay… Wishful thinking. This isn’t the end, but maybe it’s better to keep the posts a bit shorter. I have one more post that’s also full of color and beautiful accessories and art. Stay tuned!

Oh, what was the interesting thing I was going to tell you? Well… the last time I went to Atlanta was in early March for the blogger’s conference and a few days after I came home the first Malaysian plane was lost. And now, a few days after I returned from Atlanta in July another Malaysian plane went down and in the most disgusting circumstances.

I think the next time I go to Atlanta, I should send a memo to Malaysian Airlines and tell them to suspend all flights for the next ten days. Poor people. My heart goes out to them and it sickens me that humans can be so utterly depraved as to do such a heinous act. I pray that the victims didn’t know what hit them and that their families will find the strength and courage to go on…

xo,