To Market! To Market?

Market opens today. In Atlanta. Even in good weather I must navigate this concrete spaghetti to get to market. Park about a half mile from the Mart in impossibly steep lots or, leave the Fizz in a public lot on the outskirts and take the MARTA downown.

That's when things are normal. Now there is snow. Lots of it. Topped with ice. I think there is still a state of emergency declared  through today.



The MARTA website instucts one to check status before starting out.
"Expect delays" is a flashing message for both buses and rails.  Caution noted.
Worse than in the market do I want to be stuck on a MARTA train with ..???

I am wondering if the goods, the reps, the brass, the guest lecturers, the food has made it to market?

In the best of conditions it is a huge undertaking to set up for market.  Americasmart is smack in the middle of downtown Atlanta. The logistics are tough. Merchandise from all over the world must be selected, shipped, displayed, priced for thousands to view. All those thousands  will enter into 3 joined buildings in search of excitement, possibilities and  rejuvenation of their businesses. They, plus the thousands working there, will need, food, beverages, toilet paper.

Do I actually want to get in this?
I may not need to worry as there is no guarantee I will be able to exit my ice crusted driveway.
I hadn't planned on going until Thursday or Friday. Now I may have to wait until Monday.

I  have cabin fever after just two days of confinement. I want out !  I want creative stimulus. , I want to hear people laugh and smell food not of my kitchen. I want to fall in love with new offerings and possible new opportunities. I want to have hope.

When I turn on the news, hope fades.



The view out my windows looks like black and white photography. At noon Tuesday, the world was still gray. Bleak. Today the weather heads say there will be sun. But at noon it will only be 29 degrees. There is a prediction for temps above freezing, 33, for about an hour between 3 and 4 pm, after which it will drop to an overnight low of 17, with wind chill, 10.  There will be no real melting of ice and snow until the weekend.


There will be no Chickory-like videos of dogs frollicking in the  snow. I can hardly  shoo  Will off the deck. He is quite patient.  He looks at the snow then back at me as if to say, " Would you put your naked parts in that?"  I would not but, I point out to him I don't have fur and I do have a toilet. He is not persuaded by my logic and resists encouragement to get out there!  So instead of having engaging conversations with people at market I am talking to a dog about when and where he drops his load. This is low. Really low.

Market is calling.
Color! People! Laughter! New creations to evaluate or fall in love with.  And there is the need to get a feel for the new vibe of a changing industry. I am eager to read the signs. Are the showrooms updated or just reworked? Is the merchandise all new or revamped with a few new introductions carefully disbursed . Are the buyers looking or ordering? Are the reps looking excited or strained? Is there something  new and different coming from the young entrepreneurs in the temporary showrooms? Will there be a pervasive excitement or the pall of contining caution? Will I find answers in my observations? I need answers.  I have decisions to make as my primary client base , architects and developers, are dormant.  My secondary base has been  individual homeowners. I need to determine if I can successfully make a conversion. There are doubts as long term, successful, really good  designers in this arena are failing nationwide.

" Market research" has a new meaning now.

 The early sneak previews seem to be split between the renewable and practical and top of the experience
 luxe. There are those in " the industry" who believe strongly the world has endured three years of severity and are ready to bust loose and demand a change of pace.  They may be right but I do not have a queue of folks desiring $12K sofas or $8K soaking tubs.   I do have clients who say, " Fishy I would like to have a new X but only if the price is right."  I need to go  walk the halls of market if I am to find the well priced X my clients desire. If they exist. If not, I need to locate superior alternatives.

For today, I will let others know I am not coming. I will study the promos and try to plan my trip by building, by floor,  by showroom, by client need, by my need to satisfy creative curiosity. I wonder if this entire process is a part of a past I cling to?  There is no question our industry, like so many others, is in the midst of a paradigm shift. I do not know on which side of the shift I will land. But I would like to be in control of the landing location as well as the landing itself. Certainly there is logic in recognizing there is a difference in the need to survive and a desire to thrive.  What I want, is both. Will I find a way to achieve both by a trip  to market?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
I have to get there first.