From the Design Icon Awards to the FIRST LOOK trend program and “Oprah’s Favorite Finds – Live!,” the Winter 2020 Las Vegas Market’s programming lineup is sure to educate and entertain.
“Las Vegas Market boasts an expansive roster of trend-focused and business-building activities,” says Dorothy Belshaw, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer for International Market Centers. “As the leading home furnishings and gift market in the western U.S., Las Vegas Market is a platform for innovation and ideas that help buyers and suppliers succeed in today’s competitive marketplace.”
Trend Forecasting
Winter Market trend programming includes Las Vegas Market’s proprietary FIRST LOOK program, which will highlight 5 trending themes for the decade ahead in curated displays located throughout campus, in an educational seminar and in a showroom tour. FIRST LOOK curator and editor Julie Smith Vincenti will showcase best new-to-market furniture, home décor and gift product introductions in a seminar tailored to the needs of today’s cross-category buyers, lifestyle stores and interior designers, from 10 to 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 27, with the related showroom tours from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
Las Vegas Market’s Best of the West features a panel of 4 design-duo, taste-making influencers and designers including Rochelle and Chad Broadhead, founders of Cambridge Home Company; Catherine and Justine Macfee, founders and partners of Catherine Macfee, Inc.; Brendan and Jillian Bader, founders of Modern Nest; and Aly Morford and Leigh Lincoln, designers and co-owners of Pure Salt Interiors. The panel, which is co-sponsored by REstyleSOURCE, will be moderated by Kelli Lamb, Editor-in-Chief of RUE Magazine, and will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Other trend-focused sessions include: Oprah’s Favorite Finds – Live! featuring Adam Glassman, Creative Director of O, The Oprah Magazine and host Allison Zisko, Editor-in-Chief of HFN, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28; PANTONEVIEW 2020, with Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28; and Turning 2020 Trends into Year-Round Profits, with Erica Kirkland, Christie Manry and Deborah Breiher, in partnership with GIFTBEAT, from 2 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
Networking and Awards
Winter Market will feature an exclusive slate of networking receptions and industry award events. Highlights include the 2020 Design Icon Presentation from 2 to 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27. Martyn Lawrence Bullard, an award-winning interior designer recognized internationally for his broad range of styles and eclectic, yet sophisticated and inviting interior designs and licensed collections, will be honored as Las Vegas Market’s 15th Design Icon. Additionally, the Business of Design™ Conference Jan. 2020, in partnership with the Las Vegas Market, will be held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Saturday, Jan.25, through Sunday, Jan. 26. The “Learn and Earn” Buyer Breakfast Roundtables, in collaboration with various associations in partnership with the Las Vegas Market, also is returning from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
Other special events include the return of a late-night Cash & Carry Shopping Event from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27 in DISCOVERIES: The Antique Vintage Marketplace in Pavilion 1; and the Malouf Fifth Bi-Annual Forging Freedom industry event to help raise funds to protect children, from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27.
Educational Sessions
Las Vegas Market will feature more than 20 educational sessions over four days. Seminars on Sunday, Jan. 26 include: Desert Modern Design, with Adele Cygelman, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Designing for Diverse Demographics, with Monica Wilcox, Toma Clark Haines, Martha Lowry and others, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.; How to Achieve Great Financial Results & Keep Your Sanity, with Gail Doby from 4 to 5 p.m.
Sessions on Monday, Jan. 27 are: CEO Bedding Roundtable Luncheon, with Dave Perry and co-sponsored by Furniture Today, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Retail Roundup, with Bill McLoughlin and co-sponsored by Furniture Today, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.; and How Any Store Can Capitalize on Digital Marketing, with Specialty Sleep Association, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Educational seminars on Tuesday, Jan. 28 include: The Competitive Advantage of Successful Entrepreneurs, with Shell Brodnax, CEO of Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Educational seminars on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Include: The Ins and Outs of Marketing for Real Designers, with Dawn Brinson from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.; and Looks Matter: Using Visual Merchandising to Boost Sales, with Michelle Lamb and Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf with The Trend Curve, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Guided Product Tours
A number of the industry’s best and brightest will bring concepts to life with guided product tours this winter. Tours include: Meet the Makers Tour – Experience the Creativity with Lenise Willis, Editor-in-Chief of Gifts and Decorative Accessories, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27; FIRST LOOK 2020 Tour with Julie Smith Vincenti from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28; Touring the Trends – Antiques with Toma Clare Haines, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27; and Soft Design Lab Red Carpet Experience, led by Deb Barrett and Jackie Von Tobel, from Saturday, Jan. 25, through Tuesday, Jan. 28.
Amenities
Las Vegas Market offers a range of buyer amenities to enhance the overall shopping experience. Highlights include fully-equipped lounges for buyers and designers and a dedicated International Buyers Lounge. Onsite hospitality includes morning “grab-and-go” breakfasts Sunday through Wednesday in the Courtyard and The Pavilions; complimentary “Happy Hour” bars in the afternoon and cocktails in the Grand Plaza Courtyard in the evening; and nightly entertainment and after-parties at various nightclubs. Las Vegas Market also offers a campus shuttle and complimentary shuttle to/from host hotels; paid onsite valet parking; buyers’ lounges; mothers’ lounges; and convenient café and food kiosks.
Additionally, Las Vegas Market’s digital platform offers buyers, designers and market attendees a way to make preparation easier and more efficient. With the Las Vegas Market website and app, marketgoers can use the Exhibitor Directory to search by company name or by keywords to explore a robust catalog that includes more than 400 exhibitors and one million SKUs. Market Planner tools also allow attendees to create and customize their preferred exhibitor and product lists, as well as access their Scan & Go QR code during registration. Comprehensive building floor plans, registration details, and tips for attending market are also available through both the website and app.
