This year Market was one big bust. I had planned on 3 days but one day was spent in the hotel room with a migraine. No fun.

Overall I was under-impressed.

• The look that Bobo Intriguing Objects created and licensed last year to Restoration Hardwareis simply everwhere now. Bo-ring. I saw it at every price point. Most of my clients would not be interested in this look. It's dusty looking, feels dirty, causes splinters when you rub your hand over it, and will date. It's like shabby chic for occasionals. A piece here or there, OK, maybe. I'd rather sell the real, artist-inspired stuff that has a little bit of soul.
• Silver and shiny continues to be everywhere. I like reflective materials. Like how it bounces light around, but just a little bit of it.
• Embellished pillows were everywhere this year: rose petals adorning the casings, raised detailing. It's already at Home Goods. No interest for me.
• I also noticed that there were not so many of the "ladies" at market. People were much more casual. Not so many high heels and uber-feminine outfits. Clogs, comfort shoes, sneakers. I did not feel like a fish out of water this year.

But of course, it was not all for not:

Halo Styles never fails to inspire. Here is a shot from their showroom.

Halo also licenced a few things to last year's Restoration catalogue, but they do have great merchandising in their space. I am not sure I could sell a lot of it, but it's nice to walk through. These icebox storage pieces were cute.

Councill had a great dining table at 36" wide. For urban spaces, this can sometimes be all you can fit, and short of doing custom, it's virtually impossible to find. So it's nice to have this option at a moderate price point in my back pocket. They show the table with an inlay, but you have choices of solid top and also edge details. Their quality for the price is spot on!

Visual Comfort never disappoints. They have some exciting introductions and their price point and quality is quite "friendly."

The main upside of Market was that I did get a chance to meet with my vendors and see full product lines. Many of these lines are represented at the Boston Design Center, but they might only show a sampling of pieces. It's helpful to see the full lines so I can tell my clients about how things sit, what the quality and finishes are like. Building relationships with the sales reps is also another reason to go to market. They can help to fix problems and help with getting samples when the showrooms are slow to respond. That allows me to give my customers better service and that's what it's all about.