Jul 2, 2013

AmericasMart’s Outdoor Living Category Thrives at July 2013 Market

Savvy home and gift buyers are sure to seek out the incomparable LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR.® THE GARDENS® collections at The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market® July 10 – 17, 2013 (TEMPORARIES July 12 – 16).

Featuring a complete range of product for inspired outdoor living – including casual furniture, exterior living space décor items, coastal-themed items, gardening supplies, birding accessories, gifts and more – the LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR. THE GARDENS. PERMANENT and TEMPORARY collections enable buyers representing all types of retail and in all locations to easily tap into this incredibly popular and highly profitable product category.

Also drawing buyers to the meandering paths of the LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR. THE GARDENS. floors is a series of networking events and informative presentations, highlighted by John Gidding host of HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block.

July Market attendees visiting the PERMANENT LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR.THE GARDENS. collection will notice that AmericasMart has retired the Building 2 WestWing name. This change makes navigating the campus even easier for buyers and recognizes that the buildings are essentially one destination providing a seamless shopping environment. The fully integrated space invites buyers to explore this popular category from anywhere on campus.

UNITING INDOOR AND OUTDOOR LIVING THROUGH CASUAL FURNITURE
Driving current design trends that unite indoor and outdoor living spaces, home furnishings buyers are sourcing well designed and thoughtfully-crafted casual furniture from the LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR. THE GARDENS. collections.

“We are seeing traditional furniture stores devoting floor space to casual furniture and designers and decorators are incorporating outdoor living spaces into their design plans,” says Jill Ford, vice president of leasing, LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR. THE GARDENS.

Casual furniture is available on Building 2 Floors 9 and 10.

THE SOURCE FOR UNIQUE AND ARTISAN GIFTS
Gift and home accessories buyers looking to expand their product offerings are finding success among the unique, artisan and interesting garden and outdoor-focused collections on theLIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR. THE GARDENS. floors.

Gifts for al fresco living are more popular than ever,” says Ford. “Our buyers who have incorporated this category of product are consistently telling us that is has been wildly successful, and that they cannot wait to look for new product at the next Market.”

The PERMANENT LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR. THE GARDENS category features new exhibitors through its two floors of product. The Lonestar Group presents a whimsical line of home and garden décor made from recycled metals on Floor 9. Highlights of the new Floor 10 showrooms are Slate… naturally featuring planters, water features and furniture crafted from solid slate, Desert Steel Company showcasing intricately designed steel cactuses, palm trees, and other plants; Mr. Bird one of the largest seed block and bird seed gift manufacturers in the nation; Kitras Art Glass displaying handmade art glass items; and Star Imports offering a collection of garden décor, pottery, birding accessories, license plate art, collegiate gifts and seasonal items.

The TEMPORARY LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR. THE GARDENS. collection on Building 2 Floor 4 compliments the PERMANENT collection with even more desirable outdoor products. Highlighting this lively collection are Arundale Products offering the original Squirrel-Proof Mandarin Bird Feeder and outdoor-themed novelty t-shirts, mugs and gifts; My Spirit Garden featuring consciously designed products for the garden and home; sun protection clothing and hats by Sunday Afternoons; and beautiful and whimsical sculpture and jewelry designed by Steven Cooper Metalsmith.

BIRDING & BACKYARD NATURE TEMPORARY COLLECTION RETURNS
Retailers looking to tap into the $55 billion dollar birding and backyard nature industry find that dedicated TEMPORARY collection returns to the July 2013 Market on Building 2 Floor 4. The avian-themed products showcased in this collection are appropriate for nature centers, garden centers, dedicated birding retailers as well as general gift retailers looking for new gift ideas.

Buyers find longtime AmericasMart lines including Bobbo, Inc, presenting handmade Indonesian birdhouses, birdfeeders and other gifts, and Aviologie offering beautiful and lifelike hand-crafted bird sculptures in the TEMPORARY BIRDING & BACKYARD NATURE collection.

COASTAL LIFESTYLES COLLECTION AGAIN OFFERS SEASIDE STYLE
Celebrating oceanfront outdoor living, the COASTAL LIFESTYLES TEMPORARY collection is again located on Building 2 Floor 4. Featuring home furnishings, décor and gift items with a nautical feel, this collection is ideal for buyers from coastal and resort areas as well as buyers who want to include seaside style in their product offering.

New to the Coastal Lifestyles collection is Botanical Collection presenting elegant, hand-thrown pottery from the prestigious Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England. Returning to AmericasMart is the popular Sailor Bags showcasing bags and accessories made from custom-woven sailcloth.

NETWORKING WITH THE LEADERS AND LEARNING FROM THE BEST
Buyers interested in learning more about the LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR. THE GARDENS. collections are invited to enjoy a complimentary full breakfast as they explore the collection and network with other buyers. Breakfast in the Gardens is offered July 11 through 13 beginning at 9:00am on Building 2 Floors 9 and 10.

Buyers will learn about product trends from the LIVING. OUTDOOR/INDOOR.® THE GARDENS.® category in a series of outdoor related seminars hosted in the Seminar Room on Building 2 Floor 10 including:
· Residential, commercial and landscape architect John Gidding, host of HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block, presents “Maximize Curb Appeal in Minimal Space.” Friday, July 12. Gidding shares tips and tricks for boosting the curb appeal of an outdoor space regardless of its size.
· Lolita Healy, celebrations expert and founder of Designs by Lolita, presents “A Look Inside Outdoor Entertaining.” Saturday, July 13. Healy creates the perfect outdoor celebration with tips that can easily be applied to any retail store.

A full list of events is available online at www.americasmart.com/gift/july-2013/events.

HONORING INDUSTRY LEADERS: ICON HONORS 2013
The centerpiece of the July Market, AmericasMart celebrates professional achievements at the most important and anticipated night in the gift and home industry, ICON HONORS 2013.

The ICON HONORS 2013 celebration will be Thursday, July 11 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, just blocks from AmericasMart. Cocktails will be served at 7 p.m., and the dinner and 2013 Honors Presentation begin at 7:30 p.m. Honors will be presented to home and gift retailers, manufacturers, sales agents and service providers from across the industry. Tickets and tables can be purchased at www.americasmarticonhonors.com.

ABOUT AMERICASMART
AmericasMart Atlanta is the nation’s only global wholesale marketplace housing the world’s single-largest collection of home, gift, area rug and apparel merchandise. The largest of AmericasMart’s 14 annual Markets and shows, The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market and The Atlanta International Area Rug Market in January and July are the ignition switch for global retailing with buyers from every U.S. state and more than 90 countries discovering product in more than 1,400 showrooms and more than 2,500 temporary exhibiting companies.

Located in downtown Atlanta, the AmericasMart complex contains more than seven million square feet of space. It’s a huge global stage on which manufacturers, designers and sales representatives unveil new lines, launch new designs and introduce new categories – all for the benefit of buyers seeking all that is fresh and first in the home, rug, gift and apparel arenas. For more information, please visitwww.AmericasMart.com. Follow us @AmericasMartATL or @AtlantaApparel.