Curious about the 2024 Las Vegas Market? You’re in luck! This bonus episode is all about the 2024 Vegas Market thanks to Diana Rushton who went and did all the walking so you don't have to. And is sharing all the details so you'll feel like you were there too. Each time Di goes to market she brings fresh, new ideas to our projects and we couldn’t be more excited to share them with you too!

 If you’ve been feeling like your creative cup is dry, this episode is sure to reinvigorate you. Tune in to find out if we’re getting rid of greyscale, if blue is still the hot accent color, which market you should go to—Vegas or High Point, and what’s trending in sustainability. You’ll also hear hot tips for your next visit to market. Plus—stay tuned to the end to find out if this week’s Colorful Question is yours!

In this episode, we cover:

• What’s taking the place of greyscale

• What accent colors and textures we can expect to see in 2024

• The color making an unexpected comeback

• Design styles that are on their way out the door

• A side-by-side comparison of the Las Vegas and High Point markets

• What the market offers by way of networking for designers

• What to know if you’ve never been to market

• What’s trending with design and sustainability

What was your biggest takeaway from the 2024 Vegas Market? And what did you think about this week’s Colorful Question? Drop a DM in one of our socials and share your thoughts with us!

More about Diana Rushton

Diana specializes in project management and interior design. She likes that the partnership between project management and design work fulfills her lifelong love of art and puzzles. Diana feels she's found her true calling with 15 years of experience in brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, residential, and commercial design. She strives to create beautifully inspired work with each project while bringing transparency to the process. You'll probably find her sipping iced coffee or petting as many puppies as possible when she's not designing or managing projects.

Links and Mentioned Resources

The Studio

Phillips Collection

Las Vegas Market

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Book Your Coaching Strategy Session with Katie!

Business Coaching for Interior Designers

Facebook

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More about Colorful Conversations with Katie

Welcome to “Colorful Conversations with Katie”! Join us for a vibrant webcast where we seamlessly blend the realms of design and business in a fun and professional setting. Available on YouTube or any of your favorite podcast platforms!

Hosted by the dynamic Katie, a seasoned expert with nearly 20 years of experience in both fields, this engaging series promises to ignite your creative spark and sharpen your entrepreneurial acumen. From exploring the latest design trends to uncovering strategies for building successful ventures, we dive deep into the colorful world where aesthetics meet profitability.

Whether you’re a budding designer or a savvy entrepreneur, this webcast is your go-to source for inspiration, insights, and a dash of lively conversation. Tune in and let your imagination, business and life take flight!

This post may contain affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on my site at no additional cost to you. 

This episode of Colorful Conversations with Katie is brought to you in partnership with Leah Bryant Co.

The unedited podcast transcript for this episode of the Colorful Conversations with Katie podcast follows

Katie (00:01.827)

Hello, Di, and welcome back to the show. We're so glad you're back. We're so glad you're here because you're back from Vegas. You saw all the trends and saw all the fun happenings. And I know this is kind of a cheesy question. Was it everything you hoped for?

Diana Rushton (00:05.646)

I'm so excited!

Diana Rushton (00:19.202)

It was everything I hoped for and more. It was probably one of the better Vegas markets that I've had. Yeah, it was phenomenal.

Katie (00:22.58)

Yay!

Katie (00:27.511)

Okay, so what made it so great?

Diana Rushton (00:30.698)

I think what made it great is because going to the different showrooms and really focusing on what trends that we're seeing that like we had even forecasted last time we went to market versus now, like to see that all kind of filter in and trickle into some of these bigger manufacturers was encouraging to see that all like come to fruition. And so that was like really rewarding and just exciting because it's

going from a lot of those gray scales into the warm scales that we were talking about. And it's like, I'm excited as a designer to like be able to just freshen it up a little bit. And new is just fun and exciting. So it was life-giving for sure.

Katie (01:02.368)

Yes.

Katie (01:12.92)

Oh, I love that.

I always say you can't pour from an empty cup. You gotta go and you gotta fill up your cup. If you're feeling like your cup is dry, which I've certainly had in my career, I mean, after almost 20 years, dryness happens and you just have to go somewhere and have that reinvigorated. I know when I walk a market, it feels really good. Just even going to an art gallery helps. You gotta fill up the cup. I'm glad to hear this one filled up your cup because then you bring all of that to our projects, which we just absolutely love. I love that. I really do.

Diana Rushton (01:21.1)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (01:36.21)

Yeah, yeah, that was really good.

Katie (01:44.637)

And it's just fun to see the new trends integrate in and see what you're coming up with. Okay, color, you mentioned that we're getting out of gray scale, which is so overdue because the 2008 great recession that precipitated all the grays because we know that there's a direct link between economics and between color. I mean, my gosh, it's been almost 20 years. Like we gotta say goodbye at some point. And it's not necessarily goodbye, right? It's more of a tweak.

We're seeing those grays navigate towards worms. I mean, everyone's going to say too, I don't want to see beige. Please tell me beige isn't coming back though, either.

Diana Rushton (02:11.679)

Mm-hmm.

Diana Rushton (02:20.238)

I would call it oatmeal. I don't, it's not like the like old school, like beige vanilla, like with the yellow undertone that every like contract grade, everything has painted on the walls. It has like more texture to it. So it's like, it's beige, but also like caramel swirled in there. And it has pops of texture and a higher pile and the tweeds and just like.

Katie (02:30.421)

Yes.

Katie (02:43.171)

Hmm.

Katie (02:47.171)

Hmm.

Diana Rushton (02:49.958)

The overall feeling of it is a more luxurious feeling rather than just being like a flat beige or like a typical linen. So I feel like the textures have really elevated as far as like in the furniture space and even in like the accent cabinet. So like there is one piece that really stood out to me that it was an accent cabinet. It had like a warm walnut finish on top I believe but the front of it was almost like a sandblasted look. So it almost looked like stucco and it was beige and it had like this really cool kind of hand plastered look and I was like

Katie (03:09.007)

Hmm

Katie (03:14.651)

Pretty.

Diana Rushton (03:20.138)

Yes, if you're going to do like a two tone kind of more Southwest inspired vibe, like get the color and the texture right. And they, they really did. So it's more of a beige in that, in that regard that it is warmer, but it's not yellow.

Katie (03:35.387)

I love that. And as you're hearing, I talk about these trends. She took pictures of these trends so you don't have to imagine them that we're going to put into the studio and check out the show notes. We have a whole back in studio for you and that will be in there so you don't have to try to envision this. We're going to give it to you. We want you to have access to this. So die graciously has imagery of all this. So if you didn't go to market, you get to feel like you did go to market and you know what's going on. I love that textures are coming back. It's interesting.

talking to our cohorts in Italy and they were actually saying that the bucle and all of the heavy texture cycled for them about two years ago and so I'm curious to see they're more into linens now and not just like linens like you picture linen pants but it's got more like fibrous going fibrous there's still texture to it it's just not as much and I were you seeing any of that yet are we still really into the heavy the heavy textures here in the States

Diana Rushton (04:21.678)

Mm-hmm.

Diana Rushton (04:27.735)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (04:37.366)

We're still in that like buklé phase. I feel like well some of the new introductions still have that really heavy look to it I don't think it was as Prevalent across all of the manufacturers, but it was still there And it was it's really come away from being like the entire sofa to being like the accent pieces So like a chair or a bench or like an accent Ottoman so but I was still seeing them so they're still here and I still think they're cozy and

Katie (04:48.03)

Mm-hmm.

Katie (04:56.564)

Okay.

Diana Rushton (05:05.374)

like pops of it I think are still gonna be around. I just feel like it's going away from like the full on sofa being that fabric.

Katie (05:05.516)

I know, I like them.

Katie (05:14.815)

Yeah, I was trying to tell my sister who was telling me that I have a fleece jacket that has other fabrics in it. I'm like, no, I like to think of it more as like Sherpa kind of meets boucle fabric for a coat for I'm like, I know it's not fleece. It probably is fleece. But yeah, it's fun to see the textures.

Diana Rushton (05:33.25)

Hahaha. Yeah. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this.

Katie (05:35.751)

It's a true story. Let's talk about the colors, accent colors. We have been, I think the grays precipitated, the blues for so long, navy blue, marine blue, teal blue, I mean, every blue and green undertone. Like, I wouldn't say green. It's really just strong blues for a really long time. What did you find when you were out there this time?

Diana Rushton (05:45.122)

So long.

Diana Rushton (05:48.797)

Mm-hmm.

Diana Rushton (06:02.114)

So the blue's still there in some of the bigger pieces. I don't think it will ever go away. Obviously, it's a staple. But with all of the accent pieces, and even sofas and some bed frames, yellow. And it is anywhere from vibrant yellow to more of a golden yellow, but it's done really well. And it's super fun and vibrant. So yellow's around orange, like a burnt orange. Not like a bright neon, but like a burnt orange, I think very southwest.

Katie (06:25.388)

Yeah.

Katie (06:29.455)

Thank you. Yeah.

Diana Rushton (06:31.742)

um, very rich. It's not like, it's very fall-esque. It's not, uh, neon by any means. So orange is around and then green is, um, in all the shades. It's, I saw this one, Tara, I'll put it in the, in the collage or, yeah, Emerald Jade, uh, all of it. And there was one that had, it was like more of an Emerald, like Emerald Jade combo, like it was the most beautiful color, but the piping around it, they did neon pink. It was the coolest thing. And like a mix that I, in my heart, was like,

Katie (06:42.624)

emeralds, everything.

Katie (06:54.094)

Ooh.

Diana Rushton (07:01.502)

If you would have just verbally told me, I would have been like, that's gonna be interesting. Like not my style. I don't know. Yeah, like, it makes me a little nervous. But when I saw it, I was like, oh my gosh, no, this is great. Like this is like perfect. Like they nailed it. So I'm excited to show you all that one. But yeah, it's nice to see the green, the orange and the yellow come and just add some color and a little bit of life back into it that helps like the sea of beige, gray and brown that are just everywhere. So.

Katie (07:04.643)

That's cute.

Katie (07:14.712)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (07:31.114)

We have a little bit of fun with it.

Katie (07:33.111)

which I absolutely love. And on those yellows, I feel like the mustard yellow's been around for a really long time. Is that still the case, or is it more like a golden rod? Like, which way is it bending?

Diana Rushton (07:46.326)

I've seen it both, but I think it's more of a golden rod, like almost like if antique to gold was a fabric. Like that is kind of what I was saying. And I have a color swatch of that too. But even like, just like with the greens, like I saw a few different shades of yellow, a few different shades of orange, but it was updated. Like it wasn't pastel. Like it wasn't like 1960s pastel. It was more like 1970s, like antique to gold. So I'm.

Katie (07:55.544)

Mmm.

Katie (08:06.363)

Mm-hmm. Yay, I'm glad to hear that. Yep.

Diana Rushton (08:15.338)

It was beautiful. Like, and I'm not normally like in my own personal life. Like I'm not usually a color person, but I'm like, when I saw some of those, I was like, yep, okay, sign me up. I can do it. I'll add a couple of those pieces.

Katie (08:26.831)

For those of you that don't know, Di's favorite color is black. By far, I think I can say. It's all the colors smooshed. Yeah, it's all black all the time. No, she's great at integrating color, but like, which I sympathize with, because you know if you've been watching this webcast for any period of time that that's all I wear is black. And we go really big on a day we do like an emerald green. Speaking of those greens, I wanna go back to that. Avocado green, you referenced 1970s colors.

Diana Rushton (08:31.126)

Yes it is.

Diana Rushton (08:35.23)

into one.

Katie (08:53.551)

Avocado is that part of the green across the spectrum where we see an avocado come back? No way, I did not expect that. Okay, so it's all coming back

Diana Rushton (08:53.62)

Mm. Mm-hmm.

Diana Rushton (09:02.271)

Yep. And I like it. I'm here for it. Yeah.

Katie (09:05.739)

If it's done right, it's like anything. You can pull off anything if it's done right, which is such a huge, yeah. Okay, let's talk about the small details. Lots of small details coming out of Vegas. Tell me about them.

Diana Rushton (09:10.402)

Yeah. Exactly. So, that's it.

Diana Rushton (09:19.154)

Mm-hmm. The two that really stood out to me are an overflow arm. So that small detail in the accent chairs, I'm sorry, it's like where they're taking the fabric and they are truly like overlapping the arm of it, but it's all one piece and it truly looks like an overflow. So I saw that in a few different manufacturers. It's just like a cool line, a little bit more artistic without just being like your typical block arm or like your rolled arm. So it was...

Katie (09:36.411)

Hmm.

Diana Rushton (09:48.13)

fun to see the spillover of all of that. And a lot of them too, like on a manufacturing side and as like designers to know that most of those pieces are coming fully assembled so that your team when they're doing installs and set up, like they're not gonna be like, how am I supposed to get this metal arm or this wood arm over, you know, like in my head, I always go back to a little bit of the operation side because you know, the execution of it needs to go just as smoothly as the pitching, right? So.

Katie (09:59.195)

Ah, yes.

Diana Rushton (10:14.354)

It was interesting to see that they, a lot of people were highlighting like this ships as one, it don't get freaked out that this is going to cause issues with your install team. So that was cool. And then the second one was fluted. So we're seeing that, um, in tile everywhere. Um, but I was seeing it in coffee tables. So coffee tables, it was like the second layer finish of a lot of accent cabinets. So it was like, they would have like more of a, like a live edge look on the front and then they would overlay with like a fluted.

Katie (10:26.948)

Hmm.

Katie (10:32.08)

Ooh, pretty!

Diana Rushton (10:43.074)

texture over top and it just made that extra texture like make the accent cabinet go from like, oh, this is the live edge accent cabinet that we've, that's like a thing, right? To like, oh, this is like extra special and a little bit of glitter. So the fluted was all over the accent cabinets, accent tables, dining tables, the lampshades. So the fluted kind of channeled look is really, really popular.

Katie (10:44.015)

Hmm.

Katie (11:04.195)

Hmm.

Katie (11:10.411)

And I'm kind of glad to see something elevating beyond the live edge. I feel like we've been at the live edge for such a long time that I'm ready to kind of wrap that up and move into something more sophisticated and just kind of new and exciting, to be completely honest with you. Speaking of things that are on their way out, what else is on its way out? Like, what else did you see that is headed out the door or just minimizing?

Diana Rushton (11:15.722)

Yeah, right.

Diana Rushton (11:24.398)

Mm-hmm.

Diana Rushton (11:33.646)

Out the door farmhouse, I was happy to see the season change on that one. So the like whitewashed everything, the turquoise, yeah, it's, yeah, we're moving past that, you know, you have a couple of vendors that sell this flash of it, but a couple of big ones that usually like that was their bread and butter to see that farmhouse look and it was like their entire showroom. Like I went into some of those showrooms and it was like...

Katie (11:37.391)

Yay. I'm so happy. Oh.

Katie (11:56.175)

Hmm... Yeah.

Diana Rushton (12:01.814)

bare bones and I was like, oh, like, well, here we are. It's like, we're moving on from this. So that's again, I think kind of exciting, not because I don't like it, but I just, it's, you know, I'm over it, like it's been how many years. So that, and then the gray, the cool tones, we're, we're moving past it. The new introductions on stationary, I feel like we're all warm tones. And you know, you have probably, you know, a 10.

Katie (12:11.009)

Yeah.

Katie (12:24.655)

Hmm.

Diana Rushton (12:27.874)

10 to 15% still in those grays, which will always be, because they're tried and true, but the mass of it, we're lifting our heads out of the fog.

Katie (12:30.219)

Always. Yep.

Katie (12:37.635)

I'm so glad to see us. And nothing against farmhouse. And it will morph. What is it morphing into? Is it just becoming? A few years ago, someone had asked me, where do we go after farmhouse? And I think I said, well, it's going to turn into a Scandinavian mix in some way. It's going to be a simplified, pared-down, cleaner-lined farmhouse. That being said, I almost feel like that's coming and going. Yeah, where do you see farmhouse going? What is it turning toward instead?

Diana Rushton (12:58.643)

Yep.

Diana Rushton (13:09.142)

I feel like they're just getting more on board with like the modern finishes. So it's like if it is like a heavy grain, it's like very like cowboy modern. So black finishes, black steel instead of everything being completely turned. So yeah, I mean, you're still going to have those. Let me pause. This is going to go away.

Katie (13:14.149)

Yeah.

Katie (13:32.135)

It's okay. Take a minute. Yep. Go do it all. It's okay.

Katie (13:38.763)

Yep, that's horrible when that happens.

Diana Rushton (13:43.702)

Um, so instead of it just being whitewash and the heavy texture of like the live edge, we're pairing that with a fluted bottom or pairing that with like a metal, uh, black base. So I'm calling it like it's very, uh, Montana, very cowboy, but modern. So we'll have a live edge. Like there's this one table. It was like a live edge, um, very art piece, very dramatic, but instead of it being like a wood, they painted it black.

Katie (13:55.023)

Hmm.

Katie (14:02.98)

Yeah.

Katie (14:07.631)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (14:13.758)

It's still there, just updated in the finishes to be more contemporary.

Katie (14:19.075)

I really like that. I really love that. Okay, so if I'm a designer and I'm sitting here and I'm going, gosh, Vegas sounds like it was amazing. This is everything I needed infused into my creative pot. But I also understand there's Highpoint and that's a totally different market. Let's do a side-by-side comparison for folks who are struggling with that of like, I'm gonna pick one market to go to, which one should it be and why?

Does the seasonality of it matter? Do I go in the spring? Do I go in the fall? Because we, I mean, you, like I said, you've gone to both. Like, you know, and it brought those trends in. I love seeing them integrated into what you create for our clients. Like, what would you say to a designer who's struggling through that right now?

Diana Rushton (15:03.69)

I personally really enjoy Vegas. It's logistically easier to get to the accessory vendors and the small accent furniture vendors there are crushing it. Forehands just redid their showroom there, so it's bigger and they started to show their outdoor furniture, which is the hardest part. Like most people go to Atlanta for that, but it was nice to see them expand their showroom in that way.

Katie (15:11.907)

Mm-hmm.

Katie (15:19.745)

Nice.

Diana Rushton (15:32.738)

Philips collection was still there and they do phenomenal pieces especially if you're looking for oversized so I mean I feel like Vegas if you're looking for accents and accent furniture and some of those kind of like unique vendors in that regard I would go I would go to Vegas if you're looking for like more I feel like there's more lighting in High Point so it really kind of depends on like what you're on the hunt for but the my one issue

Katie (15:47.682)

Yep.

Katie (15:56.527)

Hmm.

Diana Rushton (16:01.71)

issue with High Point. It's just hard to get to. Like, it's hard to go there. The hotels are hard. Logistically, it's hard. It's more expensive. It takes a ton of time. So I feel like the networking and everything in Las Vegas, and if you're looking for like accent pieces, Vegas is still, is still my go-to.

Katie (16:05.547)

It's so hard.

Katie (16:26.583)

I love that because I feel like that's what, yeah, I feel like that's what designers are looking for is that we have our basic lines that we love to work with, but then you need the glitter. And just as is the case with glitter, too much is a bad thing, but you need those special pops that do add to these trends that make your designs relevant that bring them up to date and keep you current and moving even forward and beyond that. And this is a great place to do that.

Diana Rushton (16:26.998)

Just overall, it's just easier.

Diana Rushton (16:36.001)

Uh-huh.

Diana Rushton (16:49.039)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Katie (16:50.035)

I love that you brought up networking because I think we can see going to market for trends, going for vendors, going for whatever, but there's a bunch of other things that go on in market if you haven't been specifically market in Vegas. Talk us through that and the value add that can be to your firm and to establishing you as a subject matter expert when you're speaking to your clients.

Diana Rushton (17:00.897)

Totally.

Diana Rushton (17:12.498)

Yeah, the people who are going to Vegas, I feel like the vendors that are there aren't just merchandise, aren't just soft goods. There were a ton of pop-ups for marketing specialists and adding technology into your showroom if you have it or how to add in pods for there like that we saw at Neocon. They were on the first, I believe it was the first floor of A. And so it was nice to see them there because I hadn't seen that kind of pod introduced.

Katie (17:32.885)

Yes.

Diana Rushton (17:40.618)

very heavily. So I saw a ton of that. So it's taking certain designs just next level and just being able to talk to those people in person and see some of those like marketing tools for not only your business, but also if you're helping your client, depending on the application, like I met a ton of cool people that they are going to really help give the resources and being able to like shake a hand and give a card and say this is who I am instead of trying to like

Katie (17:43.895)

Nice.

Katie (17:53.112)

Yes.

Diana Rushton (18:09.838)

track someone down, especially for marketing, I felt like was easy. And they had all of the things that you could look at. It's like if you need this kind of custom signage, they just have so much in-depth knowledge that isn't always related on their website. So yeah, all those people are there. It was phenomenal.

Katie (18:11.683)

Yes.

Katie (18:26.287)

Well, I feel like it's a one-stop shop. Like everybody shows up and the ability, like what you can get done in two days is so ridiculously significant compared to what you would get done.

Diana Rushton (18:30.241)

Yeah.

Katie (18:39.107)

just sitting behind your machine as you're clicking or scrolling through a site versus just walking a showroom. And it's not like you have to drive showroom to showroom to showroom. They're all there waiting for you, which is super duper helpful. And even vendors you're having a hard time getting established with. We use the market for that. We've had a hard time reaching some of the bigger vendors that we wanted to get established with. And it's like, they don't want you to find them and set up an account with them because they probably get people...

Diana Rushton (18:42.638)

Mm-hmm.

Diana Rushton (18:50.203)

Exactly, exactly.

Diana Rushton (18:55.33)

Mm-hmm.

Katie (19:07.107)

residential people who are trying to do it themselves, and they're not even real firms coming in. And so they've made it very difficult intentionally to even set up an account with them.

but you go to market and you're like, hey, I'm here, I'm vetted, I'm at market, this is what I need done. They're like, oh hi, we'd love to do business with you. And you're like, oh my gosh, yeah, exactly. Like, I've waited so long to shake your hand. You know how many times I've been on your website and used your email form and haven't found you. It's so nice to actually see you're a live living human breathing or breathing human being. Yeah, and so I think that's a great thing too. If you go into market, and we always peruse the website beforehand, who are the exhibitors that are gonna be there and who do we wanna single out or who do we wanna capture

Diana Rushton (19:22.636)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (19:28.616)

Yes.

Katie (19:45.805)

a hard time with this vendor, we should go to market and say, Hey, we're here. This is what has been our pinch point in working with you. How do we get through that pinch point? There's just something about sitting face to face that is so different.

Diana Rushton (19:55.518)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (19:58.702)

Totally agreed.

Katie (20:00.599)

Yeah. And then also you brought us back something really cool which I'm really excited to share with everybody. You're talking about all these colors. You went and matched the trending colors to Sherwin Williams paint colors just for you, our audience, and I'm so excited to share this with you. So what is so great is we are going to put that.

in the studio again, it'll be a link in the show notes where you can go and download and it's going to be open to all of our key holders at no additional charge. So if you're a key holder, that's awesome. You're going to get this like you've been to market, but we're going to have those Sherwin Williams paint colors matched to every one of these colors that die is talking about so that you have that resource. So even if you haven't been to market, you feel like you've been there and you can sell that to your clients, which is going to be great. I'm super duper excited about that.

Diana Rushton (20:48.042)

Mm-hmm.

Katie (20:49.267)

What else are we missing in the conversation about Vegas trends, the value of market, anything else that if you're a designer, even down to it's going to take this long to register and make sure and wear your tennis shoes that people need to know if they've never been to market before.

Diana Rushton (21:08.654)

I would say just have map out your plan. All of that information about where the vendors are within A, B, and C building are all online. So I always make a plan so that when you're trying to navigate all of the floors, it's like, okay, we're gonna start in A building and work our way over because there are skywalks. So I always start at the top and work my way down personally, just because it's easier for the elevator ride and then hitting all of those. But I would just map it out.

Katie (21:33.771)

My body works better with gravity.

Diana Rushton (21:38.106)

Exactly. By the end of it, you can really, as far as time wise, time is money and we're all busy, but if you can carve out even just two days, if you're not buying, I think two days is applicable to be able to walk the handful of showrooms you want to walk, go explore the top tier, go explore the convention, the tents that used to be called, they're not tents anymore. But those small vendors, carve out like...

a few hours to walk those because those are where those little gems are. Like if you're able to go up to the 14th floor on, you know, B building, I can't remember what exact floor it is, but they have like all the book vendors. So if you're looking for like coffee table books and you're looking for those types of like small accents that usually are a little bit more challenging to find, especially with the big vendors to get it all grouped into one, like take carve out a few hours to go to walk the small guys and see what's out there.

Katie (22:08.911)

Hmm.

Diana Rushton (22:34.39)

But yeah, just have a plan of your building so it'll go a lot smoother. You won't be wasting time trying to figure it out. But then also utilize the great stuff that's on those first floors. Like the information center, there was one that you told me it was a vendor we wanted to see, but it was like, said it was on like floor 17. I'm like, there's no way. Like there's no way this vendor is on floor 17. Like really too high. So utilizing the great people who work there because they will help guide you if you get turned around if it's your first time. Yeah, and wear tennis shoes because it's a lot.

Katie (22:39.163)

Thanks for watching!

Katie (22:53.638)

Thanks for watching!

Diana Rushton (23:04.182)

And everyone who has been to market, at least once, I feel like if you're not wearing tennis shoes, they're like, oh, this is your first time. Oh, like, oh, sweetie, you're gonna be hurt by the rest of this. Yeah, hard. Yeah, it's not worth it. Yeah, yeah, don't do it.

Katie (23:13.823)

tell you, you will out yourself so quickly, yes, if you show up in dress shoes. Like do not. Everyone will go, oh, is this their first time to market? No, show up. Bring your snacks, bring your water bottle. I, you know, it's kind of like a glamping trip. Like you need to show up with all of the accoutrements that you need to survive a day in the design wilderness, because it is, it's as full as you want to make it.

Diana Rushton (23:34.283)

Yep.

Diana Rushton (23:41.602)

Yeah, pretty much. Yeah.

Katie (23:43.263)

Right? And especially because especially at lunchtime, like food vendors get stacked and I'd rather just have apple granola bar, we're gonna keep moving, we have more stuff to do and then we'll go out for a great dinner, kick our heels up, have a glass of wine.

Diana Rushton (23:52.75)

It's yeah, it's like time. Exactly. Oh, I'm so glad you mentioned that the last thing that so this was the first time I did this at market and I was like, Oh, well, I feel like now I'm going to do this every time. So I stayed off Fremont street this time. I didn't stay on the strip and normally I stay on the strip and then utilize the pre shuttles and like shuttle back and forth to market. But because of where I was staying, I could just walk my little self over there. And I didn't have to deal with the shuttles. I didn't have to deal with the cab line. I didn't have.

Katie (24:13.38)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (24:22.038)

figure out Uber, like I just walked myself over there. And then at the end of the day, when I was actually like tired, it's like then I would catch the shuttle. And the shuttle took 12 seconds to get to Fremont Street where I was staying. And yeah, then we went out for a nice dinner. So it even though it wasn't aesthetically maybe where I would have preferred to stay because you know, like it's fun to see all the you know, big hotels, but the convenience of it girl, I'm telling you, never again, like, I'll stay down there every time it was so much easier and

Katie (24:36.777)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (24:52.194)

just efficient. So that would be like my hot take. Ha ha ha.

Katie (24:52.567)

Yeah. Well, and I think that the

Hot take. Don't worry. This isn't you're not coming for the architecture of Vegas necessarily Like if you're really coming here to do market bring your tentages bring your sacks stay in the little grittier place That's super adjacent and like bear down and do market. That's like how Dianna This is why when we when we do markets together conferences, it's like Ninja Warrior Conferencing, but I just feel like if you're there you should make the most of your time And if you are there and you want to go see the Bellagio lobby like knock yourself

Diana Rushton (25:05.714)

Yeah, frame up. Yep. So much easier.

Diana Rushton (25:19.831)

Hahaha

Katie (25:26.917)

But like if you're really there to just do marketing, get in and get out and get what you need to for your firm. Like show up in the comfy clothes. No one has any shame about your elastic waistband in those cute little fabletic leggings. And we're just gonna haul. It's about comfort and getting in and getting out. And that's how we like to play.

Diana Rushton (25:38.902)

nurse.

Diana Rushton (25:42.506)

Yeah, get it done. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Katie (25:45.155)

Totally. One thing that I wanna make sure addressed too is the whole idea of sustainability. I'm seeing it more and more as we're watching the Facebook interactions and groups as far as designers, and it's my client wants to work with a sustainable cabinet company, my or my client. How, what did you see as far as sustainability and how hard is that being pushed out market?

Diana Rushton (26:08.942)

Honestly, it wasn't being pushed that hard. This market, I feel like there are some markets where it really hits you over the head with like, this is where this is sourced, you know, and the showrooms POP and all of that. But it was more of a just like this, I almost wonder if it's just like an assumed at this point because we've done that, we've said those words, like these rugs are made out of plastic water bottles. Like this is the line for that. This is the line where these are made in the United States. Like that POP is still there, but.

Katie (26:13.184)

Okay.

Totally.

Katie (26:28.141)

Yeah.

Katie (26:36.727)

Yep.

Diana Rushton (26:38.59)

last, I feel like the last two markets, like that was like everyone's like window. It was like, you know, with the water bottles going down or like that story being told, um, in their marketing. So I feel like they're like, okay, we did that. So now, you know, so now we're like, not going to showcase that as much. I mean, it was still there, but honestly, it wasn't as, um, as talked about this market for better or worse, I guess.

Katie (26:46.8)

Hmm?

Katie (26:55.545)

Yep.

Katie (27:04.402)

Well, it almost feels like it's become not a value add, but an assumed. We've gotten to the point in society where we're expecting that yes.

Diana Rushton (27:10.493)

Right, exactly.

Katie (27:13.231)

please tell me I have plastic water bottles in my shoes. Thank you, is it Rothy's? And that my carpet has some level of recycled fibers and my clothes should be, there's a huge push by H&M right now to have a certain percentage of their new textiles because they've been branded as like the poster child of fast fashion. So now they're trying to back that image up a bit. Yeah, it seems like all that has become more like, it's not a consumer request, it's a consumer assumed.

Diana Rushton (27:13.764)

Right.

Diana Rushton (27:20.014)

That's right.

Diana Rushton (27:35.106)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Diana Rushton (27:39.938)

standard. Yeah, exactly. It's just a standard. And if you're not that way, and we find out, then it's going to be a whole different conversation of like, well, what do you mean, you're not treating your factory workers well? Or what do you mean, you're sourcing this would that you shouldn't be sourcing? Like, so it's, yeah, very much just now a standard. It feels like so.

Katie (27:41.377)

standard.

Katie (27:53.849)

Yeah.

Katie (28:00.319)

And you brought up window design. I want to tease that out for a second. What are you seeing in the window designs? Because I always feel like that's a really good snapshot when you walk of kind of like, what are the trends? Was it just all over the board? Or were you seeing some trends in what people were showcasing?

Diana Rushton (28:13.826)

Yeah.

Diana Rushton (28:18.23)

You know, it was kind of all over the board, to be honest. Like that front entry way of a lot of the vendors I went to, again, were the warm tones, the heavy textures, the oatmeals with the, you know, just kind of showing off those features. And I saw actually a lot of antique gold, which I was a little bit surprised by, because I really thought that was going to go more silver. I just don't think we're there yet. I think silver may be more of a July market, so summer market, because it just is now, you know, starting. So.

Katie (28:29.347)

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Katie (28:39.241)

Yeah.

Katie (28:43.259)

I was gonna say.

Diana Rushton (28:47.21)

It was a little bit all over the place. The rug manufacturers, they were really highlighting a lot of color. Like one of them had like the pinks, the orange, and the green within like their woven. So I saw a lot of that from like the textile side, but the furniture side was really.

Katie (28:52.932)

Okay.

Diana Rushton (29:05.43)

just all over depending on who the manufacturer was. So I wanna say there was a specific.

Katie (29:10.915)

And one final question for you that we always love to ask, because you're so good about finding one random little vendor who is a sweetheart little vendor doing something really cool. Like last time you were in Vegas, you brought us back this awesome, awesome coffee book company that was doing these huge coffee table books and just had really neat resources. Did you find a nugget like that this time that you're like, oh, this is gonna be fun to integrate that?

is worth our viewership taking a look at.

Diana Rushton (29:45.182)

I would say the one, I found them last market and they're relatively, I don't know that they're a super small vendor, but Phillips Collection, they had these wood sculpture type-esque things. I don't even know what you would call them because I've never seen them before, but they were all custom and they were all individual. So they were selling them off the floor and then they were doing reproduction of them. I'll put the picture in them.

Katie (29:53.654)

Okay.

Katie (29:58.636)

Ooh, pretty.

Diana Rushton (30:09.574)

That company, I feel like if you're looking for a showstopper, if you're looking for something that is like going to be in an entry or like you can have, you know, really high ceilings and you need something to really have some drama there, like that company is doing such great artwork in scale. And they're also doing like metal sculptured pieces that you can like attach to like the wall. And so in my head, I'm just like, this is what an entry way, you know.

Katie (30:14.427)

Hmm.

Katie (30:27.322)

Mm, I love that.

Diana Rushton (30:37.818)

is in need of, especially when you're looking for scale. So I would say they're one that was really top of my list, and I'll include the pictures on that one, but they were phenomenal. And for them to have enough business sense to say, okay, these ones are our custom ones, and you can buy them on our showroom if you're looking for a very specific client. But also to say, hey, also, we recognize that you might be on a budget, or your client may be on the fence on this, so we need to make sure that it's mass produced. To be able to see the trend here and then manufacture it,

so wise because you have to fit into that budget and you have to have that kind of like resource and it's not just one and done because you know the process can take a long time sometimes. So like that to me was like a no-brainer and it was in their window and then I saw it and I was like not going to go in there like at that exact minute but I was like now I have to go in there like it caught my eye and you know the gentleman that was helping me was like so nice. Yeah exactly so it sold as well.

Katie (31:09.793)

Yes.

Katie (31:29.462)

It did its job.

Katie (31:35.147)

I love this. This is such a good conversation. Thank you for taking us to market virtually. This is all the things. My creative juices feel juiced. I love hearing, especially when I don't have to go put five miles on my fitness watch. I love hearing about this. I'm 100% here for it. And we will have all of these resources for everyone down in the show notes. We're so excited. Thank you, Di. This is another reason we are so lucky to have you on our team. Thank you.

Diana Rushton (31:59.47)

Thank you.