Trade show season has started at Impressions again. In November Maddy and Mare flew to Gatlinburg Tennessee for a Souvenir show. Tomorrow we head out Atlanta Georgia for the gift show, our biggest trade show! We have a few smaller local ones throughout the next three months too.
What do we do at trade shows?
We shop till we drop! We start each morning we start at about 8:00 at one end of a building and we walk through every booth of every floor. Some shows are small, and fit in a single convention center, others (like Atlanta) 
are huge and are multiple buildings up to 20 stories tall, filled with show rooms! These ones take multiple days to finish. But that is where we find the best stuff. Vendors from all over come to show off their new products and when we find the best ones we order them and bring them home to you!
Each day ends late, normally after 8:00, so we grab a bite to eat and head to our rooms. There we plan our next day, go through the orders we have already placed, look at reports, and finally go to sleep! We dream of displays, inventory, and racing season!
We get to network with fellow store owners, meet up with our sales reps, meet new sales reps, and trade ideas. Some people come up with some amazing ideas and you think; “why did’t we think of that?” We find out how others are doing and what they are expecting for the new year. At all of these shows we are always reminded of how lucky we are to live where we do. There is no place like Saratoga Springs!
What can you expect from us during trade show season?
Well, we will be posting new finds on social media so make sure you are following us on Facebook and Instagram, that’s where we do most of our posting. When we find exciting new products we will let you know first!
Trade shows give us lots of ideas for new displays and windows. So expect some rearranging and fresh new looks after we travel. We may even get in some new display pieces if we find the perfect fit for our store.
Requests for your input! Sometimes we post something on Facebook we are not sure about. We will ask you what you think? Do you love it? Hate it? Can’t wait to see it in the store? Make sure you keep an eye out for any questions we may have for you! Your input means a lot to us!
Shenanigans … we always find something fun to do and we have to share it with you! We need to keep ourselves laughing on the long days walking floor after floor of merchandise! Most of our time is spent working but we always find a way to have fun too!
Who will be at the store?
Jamie and Carrie will be holding down the fort! Make sure you stop in and say hi to them… it can get lonely these cold winter months! Plus they have the daunting task of inventory counting, don’t worry, we will help too when we get home, we couldn’t ask them to do it all by themselves… but if they finish before we are back we won’t be heartbroken! Kathryn and Emma are also home from school for the month and are taking care of our new year project list!
That is trade show season in a nutshell. Make sure you follow the fun! We will start posting tomorrow!
