MAIYA :: Las Vegas Market 2012 Recapaganza!

Hey, remember when I went to the Las Vegas Market two weeks ago and I promised a recap full of photos and pixies and unicorn dander??  Well, that time has come friends.  Hold on to your pants, because it's a doozy!  (And by "doozy" I mean it's full of pretty photos I took with my smartphone... because I'm smart. And I travel light.)  Ready?  Read on!

Are you wondering why all those pretty faces are crossed out?  It's because I didn't end up meeting #2, #3, or #4 (that would be Priscilla Presley, Monica Pedersen, and Anthony Baratta respectively).  A little bit of a bummer that was more than made up for by the fact that I got to meet Genevieve Gorder (of HGTV fame) and Adi Tatarko (Founder and CEO of Houzz.com)!!  How freaking fantastic is that?  A small group of us were able to chat up Genevieve about her new rug collection, life in the biz, and what makes her tick.  She was one of the coolest, most down-to-earth people on the planet.  Genevieve: if you're looking for a new BFF, I know a girl.  (Psst: it's me!)

We also got to meet up with the founder and CEO of Houzz.com, Adi Tatarko.  Along with Houzz VP Liza Hausman, she chatted with us about how Houzz got started, what it means to be a part of the online decor and design communities, and how to engage within those realms.  Talk about a couple of inspiring women!

After chatting with Genevieve and Adi, we hit the showroom floors like a bunch of professionals, badges and all, and searched for the American Dream.  Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Just kidding, this isn't Fear and Loathing--people didn't turn into lizards and bats didn't appear out of nowhere (that I'm aware of).  No, no... we searched for home decor trends and color stories.  Here's what we found:

Nature, y'all.  Trend number one at the Las Vegas Market this year.  From cowhides (which the lovely Adrienne Breaux is so provocatively modeling in the photo above) to metallic antlers (by artist Owen Mortensen), nature-inspired decor was everywhere.  We also noticed a large amount of horse-themed decor..?  Odd.  Anyway, cowhides, artsy antlers, raw wood, organic patterns, colorful stone and agate pieces: TRENDING.

Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year "Tangerine Tango" was all over the Market as well.  Which, as a color-obsessed design blogger, made me very, very happy!  If you haven't embraced this titillating color yet, mark my words, you will by the end of the year.  Just in time for Pantone to announce a different color.  Them's the breaks.

In a sea of decor and home furnishing booths, I found one dedicated to -- wait for it -- TIN TOYS.  Holy bovines on a stick!  Of course, I totally geeked out on chatted the friendly booth man up about my tin robot collection.  And then I placed an order for the robot you see on the right.  He arrived this morning.  His name it Tank.  I love him.

Before flying home from this whirlwind trip, I absolutely HAD to meet up with my favorite person on the entire planet: Megan (who happens to be an awesomesauce photographer--book her!).  Megan and I have known each other for a really, really long time and, knowing my compulsion for posing inappropriately with statues and/or sculptures of all kinds, she kindly introduced me to this installation at The Cosmopolitan:

I really just can't help myself sometimes.

So that's my Las Vegas Market 2012 recapaganza, recapalooza, recapathon!  Many thanks to the World Market Center for shipping my blogger belly out there -- I had a grand ol' time!

Comments

[Liza Hausman - Houzz]

Great spending time with you Capree! Love your recap - I missed Genevieve but did meet Monica who is also a total doll and BFF material :)

[CapreeK]

Thank you so much Liza!! I think we should all become BFFs -- that's totally possible, right?? :D