Hi there! I just returned from the IWCE show in Las Vegas, where we were joined to KBIS and the BIA shows. What a fantastic week it was! Here are my highlights from the show:

1. Tuesday

I toured IWCE the first day as the showroom floor was abuzz with all kinds of new products and vendors. There was no shortage of fun and innovation! The biggest buzz was from QMotion who featured a cool new motorized drapery rod for the first time ever, at the tradeshow. Horizon Shades has an iPad app that I really liked. It seemed to have everything a gal could want when it comes to making our lives easier in a client’s home. It was fantastic! (I wish they had an android version.) Later that evening, I met up with some new friends from LinkedIn. We ate at a fantastic French restaurant. The food was delightful and the company was even better! We each introduced ourselves and our businesses. It was nice to put names to faces and meet people in person! I met Amy Wolff, Kathy Barry, Deborah Smith, Deb Pinelli and a few more new friends. David-Bromstad-HGTV-in-Vegas

Oh, did It to mention that my friend and I inadvertently crashed the HGTV (invitation only) luncheon without even realizing it?As a result, we got to meet David Bromstad and had our picture taken with him. (So funny! If you ask me about that I’ll tell you how that happened some time.)

2. Wednesday

The next day was all about KBIS. Talk about amazing! If you were there, did you get a chance to see the Kohler booth? OMGoodness… it was huge and enormous! I felt like I was walking into “Kohlerland” (“So Barbara, now that you’ve won the Pulitzer prize, what are you going to do next?” “I’m going to Kohlerland”!) It felt like another world with all the music playing, flat screen TV’s, running water, a gazillion showerheads, bath tubs bubbling, plush carpeting under foot, pedestal sinks everywhere, big name designer vignettes and more! There had to be about 100 people working there at Kohlerland. I also found out that they sell a really nice, high quality chocolate. Whaat?! (Yep, kinda strange. But it certainly was delicious!) Later in the day, I attended 2 seminars put on by WCAA. They were fantastic and very informative. I ran into a couple friends – Katy from Connexionsoft.com (who did a fantastic job putting on the Design Tech Summit – where does that girl get her energy?) Super cool celebrity designer Kelly Ellis was also there and sweet as ever. Gail Doby was there and moderated the Design Tech Summit one of the days, who by the way has the coolest accent and is soooo nice! (Just luv her!) katy design tech summit interior design marketingDid you hear much about the “Design Tech Summit”? It was loaded with super valuable information from people ‘in the know’. The presentations took place throughout the day, in 45 minute segments, on a variety of topics – from Google +, SEO, 3D Software, Evernote, computer apps, and so much more. This part of the IWCE show was so valuable and so worthwhile! If I could, I would have sat there, taking notes, the entire day! For dinner I met up with Donna and Ross Barlett of 3Dream.net… such a delightful couple with very cool software just for interior designers. Have you seen it yet? Did you know there is a Google+ community of Interior Designers? You’ll want to go check it out and join it. There are some fantastic bloggers and writers and designers over there. I met them at dinner.

3. Thursday

The very last day most of my time was spent running around in the Builder’s show checking out all the really cool products and innovative design ideas that I could be providing to my clients. A few of my friends and I took some silly pictures throughout the day in different booths, posing with a variety of props and products. We were deliriously tired, but having fun.

All in all I’d say the show was a big success and well worth my time and investment. I hope next time you too can join us and attend the IWCE show. And if we cross paths, be sure to stop and say hello.

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