Jul 29, 2008

Expanding AmericasMart is a hit with buyersBy Rachel Tobin RamosAJC.com

Five times a year, fashion buyers from around the country descend on Building 3 of AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta to buy the latest sportswear, trendy handbags, jewelry and prom dresses for their boutiques, department stores or other retail stores.

On Aug. 16, when the August Atlanta Apparel Market starts, Michelle Harrison & Associates will be stationed right outside the John Portman-designed elevators on the 10th floor with a new 1,000-square-foot showroom.

The new space — looking much like a high-end salon — will be dedicated only to special occasion dresses for mothers-of-the-bride, bridesmaids and prom queens.

“We do everything but white dresses,” said Harrison, meaning she sells all but wedding gowns.

A Queens native, Harrison has built her small clothing business around AmericasMart for more than 17 years. She already has a 12,000-square-foot showroom on the ninth floor where she’ll exhibit the latest sportswear and dresses catering to Southern women’s “three C’s”: church, country club and career. She has four full-time employees and a bevy of fashion interns that help her handle the volume during the shows.

Harrison is part of a cadre of small-business owners that work in the often overlooked but mammoth complex downtown that is AmericasMart.

It’s not open to the public, but to buyers of gifts, home furnishings and apparel. And the series of large buildings downtown hosts some of the city’s biggest events each year.

The AmericasMart complex was founded in 1957 by John C. Portman, the architect and developer who built much of Atlanta’s downtown skyline.

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